Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are fraught with problematic issues. Woman and marginalized teachers endure abusive comments each semester and receive comparatively lower scores (Smibert, 2017; Jones, et al., 2014; Tucker, 2014; Adams, et al., 2021; Valencia, 2021; Boring, et al., 2016; Fan, et al., 2019; Heffernan, 2021). Ben Schmidt created an interactive chart on gendered language using reviews from RateMyProfessor.
It’s with this knowledge that I post my own evaluation metrics and selected comments.
For semester evaluations at Purdue, students use a Likert scale (1 to 5) to rate statements.
* Purdue changed evaluation companies; some questions were not on the previous evaluation reports.
| Term | Course | Responses/Enrolled | Rating |
| FS19 | ENGL 106 (First-Year Composition) | 17/19 | n/a* |
| SS20 | ENGL 106 (First-Year Composition) | 17/20 | n/a* |
| SUM20 | ENGL 106 (First-Year Composition Online) | 13/18 | n/a* |
| FS20 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing) | 15/21 | 4.67 |
| SS21 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing Online) | 8/19 | 4.50 |
| SS21 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing Online) | 12/19 | 4.33 |
| SUM21 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing Online) | 8/18 | 4.13 |
| FS22 | ENGL 419 (Multimedia Writing) | 17/17 | 4.78 |
| FS22 | ENGL 421 (Technical Writing) | 20/20 | 4.35 |
| SS23 | ENGL 419 (Multimedia Writing) | 18/18 | 4.17 |
| FS23 | ENGL 421 (Technical Writing Online) | 17/18 | 4.78 |
| Term | Course | Responses/Enrolled | Rating |
| FS19 | ENGL 106 (First-Year Composition) | 17/19 | 4.90 |
| SS20 | ENGL 106 (First-Year Composition) | 17/20 | 4.80 |
| SUM20 | ENGL 106 (First-Year Composition Online) | 13/18 | 4.96 |
| FS20 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing) | 15/21 | 4.60 |
| SS21 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing Online) | 8/19 | 4.57 |
| SS21 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing Online) | 12/19 | 4.50 |
| SUM21 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing Online) | 8/18 | 4.13 |
| FS22 | ENGL 419 (Multimedia Writing) | 17/17 | 4.82 |
| FS22 | ENGL 421 (Technical Writing) | 20/20 | 4.63 |
| SS23 | ENGL 419 (Multimedia Writing) | 18/18 | 4.67 |
| FS23 | ENGL 421 (Technical Writing Online) | 17/18 | 4.71 |
| Term | Course | Responses/Enrolled | Rating |
| FS19 | ENGL 106 (First-Year Composition) | 17/19 | n/a* |
| SS20 | ENGL 106 (First-Year Composition) | 17/20 | n/a* |
| SUM20 | ENGL 106 (First-Year Composition Online) | 13/18 | n/a* |
| FS20 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing) | 15/21 | 4.67 |
| SS21 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing Online) | 8/19 | 4.50 |
| SS21 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing Online) | 12/19 | 4.42 |
| SUM21 | ENGL 420 (Business Writing Online) | 8/18 | 4.25 |
| FS22 | ENGL 419 (Multimedia Writing) | 17/17 | 4.71 |
| FS22 | ENGL 421 (Technical Writing) | 20/20 | 4.30 |
| SS23 | ENGL 419 (Multimedia Writing) | 18/18 | 4.56 |
| FS23 | ENGL 421 (Technical Writing Online) | 17/18 | 4.82 |
“Victoria is amazing! She takes time to help students outside of class and gives valuable, specific feedback. She’s super understanding about students needing extensions on assignments. She communicates clearly, both during class, through email, and on Brightspace. The entire course was laid out ahead of time and we’re given a reasonable amount of time to complete assignments and projects.” FS22
“Throughout the course, Victoria does an amazing job keeping the class engaged, whether by asking questions or creating discussion posts for people to participate. This ensured that everyone knows what is being taught. Along with that, the class is structured really well, everything is placed nicely on Brightspace, which makes it easier for me to navigate around. I hope that Victoria continue to keep up this amazing job!” FS22
“Victoria is one of the most understanding instructors I’ve had, and makes me feel seen/heard as a student. I’ve never once felt like she brushed off my concerns and has always been very helpful.” FS23
“I think that it is clear that Victoria is passionate about the material and puts a lot of time and effort into the class. I appreciate that the objectives are clear and everything is organized, especially for an online class where things can get messy. I also think that Victoria does a great job at ensuring that we have feedback and access to her time if we need help.” FS23
“It is clear how much you care about your students and want them to succeed in your class. Please never stop making this a safe environment to take risks.” FS22
“Victoria allows students to follow their own interests and goals when working on projects, and this mindset and organization allows the class to be incredibly engaging and useful. I hope she will continue to allow students to pursue choose your own adventure assessments because I found my comprehension of the material to be most effective when I applied it directly to my personal goals or future professional interests.” SS23
“I liked how a wide variety of topics were covered in the class. I felt like I got a good understanding of many types of multimedia, and I especially liked how the projects allowed me to explore my own interests within multimedia writing. I was genuinely excited to do the projects for this class. I also liked the DEJ assignments because they forced me to think about the readings, which gave me something to discuss in class. Victoria also made it a point to get to try to know students and to be an approachable instructor, which I appreciated. I always felt seen in this class, and it made me want to show up and learn about multimedia writing.” FS22
“Victoria is very engaging and has a great enthusiasm about the content and a great overall personality towards us. In my opinion, the lectures were the best part of the class, and that was largely because of Victoria’s personality and attitude.” SS23
“Couldn’t have asked for a better instructor. Great connection with students, great personality, and shows care and understanding to students.“ FS20
“Victoria does a great job relating to her students and being understanding of the crazy times we are in. She is always open to my questions and answers them fully. Her online classes were engaging with the activities she assigned during them. Her grading was consistent and made her grading expectations well know. She did a great job teaching this course!” FS20
“The instructor did an amazing job at making me feel safe and welcome. I really appreciate how the weekly threads were done, and really appreciate that they made it a point to be inclusive and accessible.” SUM21
“Victoria takes the time to answer any questions, whether it be in class (Zoom), or via email. Also, she brings examples of some of her own work to show good examples and bad examples when necessary, which is something I think she should continue doing to bring home to lesson for lectures when possible.” FS20
“She does a great job of including everyone within the class and assuring that no student is left out at any point in time throughout the course. This, in turn, fosters student engagement and makes for a more open and collaborative learning environment.” FS19
“Victoria is a great example of the ideal TA. She was very interactive with her students and I always looked forward to going to her class. The way she taught the course and the projects she involved really challenged my critical thinking skills and the peer reviews/discussion posts helped me be more conscientious of what I am writing before I submit it.” SS20
“Victoria is great at giving constructive feedback. She does a wonderful job at putting herself in a student’s point-of-view, and is always willing to help. Anytime I had a question, she was very quick to respond with helpful feedback. I am so glad I had Victoria as my instructor.” SUM20
“Extremely kind and considerate. Very easily accessible, and always willing to help with any problems that arise.” SUM20
“Victoria Braegger has provided a challenging and rewarding experience for engaged students while simultaneously delivering important content to students new to technical and professional communication practices. All students have the opportunity to observe writing professionals at work while providing important support for professionals writing in the workplace. Overall the class was fun, engaging, and had enough transitions between tasks to help students participate effectively. Victoria clearly is comfortable in her classroom and creates a friendly, professional dynamic with her students. These students, Purdue University, the English Department, and the Professional Writing Program are all well served by Victoria Braegger’s professionalism, dedication, and effective pedagogy. I observed an effective classroom that was built on a semester of successful preparation and planning and believe this class worthy of emulation by other instructors.”
Dr. Michael Salvo, ENGL421 FS22 Observation
“I appreciate the way Victoria is very calm and patient, explains concepts clearly, and engages students even though she can’t see them. The students also seem to appreciate the relaxed approach. One student commented that he enjoyed the way Victoria explained things so “nothing seems too hard or overwhelming” (close paraphrase). Class was very organized and moved through the content smoothly and logically.”
Jane Smith, ENGL420 SS21 Observation
“In the minutes before class, Braegger’s rapport with her students was evident: when we entered the Zoom class a few minutes before it was scheduled to start, Braegger was interacting with students in a friendly and comfortable manner. Whenever a new student entered the Zoom class, Braegger greeted them individually on entering. Braegger began the class by asking how the students were doing and how the recent reading day had been, showing clear interest in the students’ wellbeing and stress level. Next, Braegger gave an overview of the class session’s content. The class session demonstrated Braegger’s skill and familiarity with teaching online in several ways. For example, Braegger verbalized whenever she used the Zoom controls (“I’m going to share my screen now”) and elicited consistent participation from her students. Additionally, each class had a clear and effective structure, was focused in terms of its content, and was almost exclusively comprised of active learning. Overall, Braegger is a well-organized, effective, and dynamic instructor who will enrich the Professional Writing program through her innovative approaches to teaching Business Writing.”
Dr. Jennifer Bay, ENGL420 FS20 Observation