The following comments are from my students and are offered through online forms for Student Feedback on Units (SFUs), Student Feedback on Teaching (SFTs), emails and personal conversations.
Comments that show students are inspired:
“Through this project, I have learnt how to implement meaningful curriculum through investigating children’s interests, forms of knowledge and scaffold[ing] the teaching strategies” (SFT 2014 1H 101899 ).
“I was consistently inspired after doing the readings and going to class. I want to be the best pedagogical leader I can be” (SFU 2013 2H 101899).
“Teacher has a lot of knowledge and experience and its great that she is able to share it with us and inspire us” (SFU 2013 1H 101103).
“This unit has been the best I have ever done. It has brought all my learning together and made me feel confident for the first time about being a professional educator” (unsolicited student feedback at expo 2013 after completing 101899 Introduction to Pedagogical Leadership at the end of her B.Ed).
“The hands on workshops were very informative, gave practical and hands-on creative ideas, examples and experiences. Made me appreciate how critical and important incorporating all the areas of creative arts are to the early childhood program and curriculum” (SFU 2013 1H 101103).
“When I read one of your slides, which had pictures about you, I felt it would be so interesting for us to express our childhood through field visits …. Similar to how you allow us to draw pictures in the classroom. I am not sure why but I feel I do best when I involve my personal experiences. Your units are so amazing” (unsolicited student email 2014 2H 102047 ).
“It was very refreshing and inspiring to have such a hands on and practical unit” (101103 SFU 1H 2013).
Comments that show appreciation for the organisation of and resources in the tutorials and online materials:
“The tutorials were very engaging and hands on. Each tutorial, I look forward to coming to class as I know the activities developed by the teacher will be engaging” (SFU 2012 1H 101103).
“The best practice is also having the teacher as both a tutor and lecturer as she has great background knowledge about arts” (SFU 2012 1H 101103).
“I love your units because I feeI I am starting to get an idea now of what I really am passionate about” (unsolicited email communication from a student in Learning Environments Spring 2014).
This is evident in student feedback when asked about the best aspects of the units:
“Use skills of reflective practice to examine my personal values and beliefs and consider the implications for [being a] professional” (SFU 2014 2H 101899).
“I’ve learnt how to be a professional and a leader in pedagogy. I’ve learnt to find my own philosophy and direction in the career. Thank you” (SFU 2014 2H 101899).
As a future teacher I learnt lots of things ie. Information, knowledge and programming from the teaching staff. It was so valuable and meaningful to my study. I am satisfied with study in this Unit (101099 SFU 2H 2012) and “She is very clear with explaining and teaching in this unit with different resources”. (SFT 2014 1H 101099)
“The only important thing was that she was great. The unit was streamlined and had a natural flow” (SFT 2013 2H 101899).
“Variety of types of theory was good. I particularly liked the organization and set up of the course” ( SFT2013 2H 101899)
“I enjoyed observing the diversity of learning spaces in other countries and how they meaningfully integrate the environment into curriculum” (SFT 2014 1H 101899).
“The readings were excellent. I felt the learning materials which Dr. Teacher put up on views were very helpful to me” (SFU 2014 2H 101899)
Comments that relate to assessment practices and support:
“I felt that the unit coordinator lecturer was very organized and was clear in her teaching and what was required for the unit” (SFU 2012 1H 101099).
The following comment relates to the ‘best aspects of the unit’ on SFUs: “ The ongoing support leading up to expo [assessment event], when the teacher shared personal experiences from her degree, hands on experiences in tutorials, and feedback on assignment marking sheets ” (SFU 2012 1H 101099).
“The tutorials were very engaging. It was refreshing to see content taught differently. Assignment 3 gave me the opportunity to be involved in experiences that, if not for this subject I wouldn’t have ever done” (SFU 2012 2H 101103).
“Teacher – was organized and eloquent in her explanations of concepts. Hands on tutorials. Beneficial feedback in assignments” (SFU 2014 1H 101899).
“The lecturer was a great teacher, always emailed to update us on our modules of learning and tried to help us with our assessments by answering questions related to the assessment” (SFT 2013 2H 101899).
“Feedback on assignments was thorough and therefore assisted in future assignments and learning – introduced new ideas / theories teaching – relevant to the course” (SFU 2014 2H 101899).
“Readings and videos watched during the unit were very educational and helped during assessments. I enjoyed the whole experience of this unit” (SFU 2014 2H 101899).
“The assignments were divided into parts and that has lead to increased flexibility for completing different tasks” (SFU 2014 2H 101899).
Kumara Ward 