My teaching evaluations are continuously positive. Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Students note not only the curriculum, but also in-class engagement. They appreciate my willingness to meet them where they are in their educational journey.
Excerpt from Student Evaluations from Florida State University (2020 – present)
- “Elaine is always very passionate about the subject she is speaking on, and this shows through very well in her teaching.”
- “The way they are able to teach students in a fun, respectful, manner while fostering exciting discourse is truly substantial.”
- “The easy encouragement of all of our ideas was probably the best part of the class. The way the class was laid out also encouraged me to actually do the readings and be prepared for class.”
- “I have loved having a safe space created in class for everyone to discuss their opinions and ideas about what we believed the subject matter was about. She made a class that had previously not been a student favorite one I looked forward to every week.”
- “I for one did not expect … to have such a delightful atmosphere while having to dissect so much text. And I think that has everything to do with how the instructor just is as themselves.”
- “Elaine is great! I appreciate her kindness and support!”
- “Elaine does not settle for simply liking or disliking a play or a reading. We must form opinions about what she’s teaching, and they don’t necessarily have to be good or bad. They have to be specific. She cares that her work is engaging us as students. This allows the work and reading to almost fall into place right after. I wanted to read. I wanted to speak in class. I wanted to have something to say. This class was awesome.”
- “She really actually knew a lot about everything she was talking about and could give us real life experiences. She gave us amazing feedback on our work and showed she really cared. She is an amazing teacher and I cant wait to be working with her again. Very intelligent and understanding woman.”
- “Elaine is amazing and I love her! Great teacher, 10/10 would recommend :)”
- “Elaine Smith has been one of the best professors I have had at FSU. She made a class that I was dreading into a class that I am sad is ending.”
- “I loved going to class with Elaine. She always connected everything back to our own experiences and gave us a platform to have healthy debates and dialogue regarding any topics we saw fit.”
- “Times where we the students led the discussions. I found that useful because it made me think differently rather than just being asked a question and made to answer it. It was amazing when people would actually engage and answer the questions I prepared.”
- “Elaine actively engages all students in conversation, ensuring that everybody in the class has a voice. We tend to disagree often, which stimulates such captivating conversation. Providing a safe space for students with all differing opinions to genuinely express their thoughts on the course material allows us to think critically and develop our opinions.”
- “Elaine facilitated a very open and comfortable learning environment. It’s very easy for a class like this to be boring, but Elaine made it very interesting & I actually looked forward to going to class each week.”
- “She provided such clear teaching and real world examples. All the readings we did were extremely useful and relevant to what we were focusing on in class.”
- “Her ability to be an exceptional listener as well as an engaging speaker have proved valuable in understanding how much she values and cares about her students.”
- “Elaine is just very nice. She just has a very warm personality that makes people want to go to class and I just really enjoyed that.”
- “Elaine Smith handled and respected her students so much and has put so much energy into making us succeed in this class.”