Evaluations

These are some of the comments I got from my students. They are arranged from the latest classes to the older ones.

431

There are lots and they have their own page. Follow the link on the left.

419:

The lectures are interesting. The instructor is very enthusiastic. I like the lectures a lot.
Math 419 is the most interesting math course I have ever had. The professor is so energetic and enthusiatic. The only thing that is not so perfect is the grading standard is a little bit too high.
Q: If a friend planned to take a course from this instructor, what would you tell them?
A:
- You need to spend more time than expected while maybe also learn more than expected.
- Take it if you enjoy math! Classes are fun, but be prepared for tough exams.
- I would tell them that you would learn alot ans she is very helpful, but that the concepts can be confusing and that her tests require you to think quick and work fast. She is overall a good teacher but challenging.

127:

This was one of the most interesting classes that I've taken. I would gladly take it again, and recommend it to others.
I think you did an amazing job teaching this course! I really enjoyed it because not only did you teach, but you let your personality shine through and make it more enjoyable for me.
I really enjoyed taking this class. Emina made it interesting and fun to attend. She presented material very clearly and made it easy for students to comprehend. She was very concerned that we learn the material, she was helpful and encouraging.

531:

Emina was excellent. When I fell behind in the class, she worked hard with me to help me understand.
Emina's extremely nice, accessible, and fun. She clearly knows what's going on, but lectures were pretty fast.
Overall, an excellent instructor. Keep this one!

115:

The instructor of this course was good, I learned a great deal in this class. Emina explained things in terms for us to understand. I enjoyed the class atmosphere.
I enjoyed taking this class with Emina. I usually do not like math, but Emina's enthusiasm for the subject and her desire to help us learn and understand made it an enjoyable course.
I feel that she was a good instructor who really cared if we succeeded.

1220:

Emina gets the "My favorite Teacher award" for the following reasons:
1- She is very clear and thorough when explaining new ideas.
2- She knows everyone's name!
3- She is creative on her approaches to teaching, and her level of enthusiasm keeps me awake and interested.
4- She loves what she does.
5- She made it so I enjoy Calculus!
Emina is very enthusiastic. She truly wants us to take an active role in our education. She explains the material very well, has a great sense of humor, and uses many good examples which all help me enjoy the class, and learn the material well.
I believe that in today's technologically driven world, as a student, I would be better served if technology was used in the class room, even if it was just a calculator. ... In previous math classes, we have been allowed, encouraged, and sometimes even required to use a calculator, and I believe, if properly integrated, enhances a student's mathrmatical understanding, especially in areas such as visualizing graphs of functions, etc.
This is just a small request, but I wish the teacher could write down the section number on the board to which the notes and examples pertain. It would make it more clear as to which section in the book we are working on.
The teacher always asks for questions, which I appreciate. The only problem for me, and most likely many other students, is that the teacher writes so fast that we are always trying to just catch up to where she is on the notes. Thus, when she pauses momentarily between examples and asks for questions, most of us are still trying to process the information on the board and figure out how to formulate questions. If just a bit more time could be used in presenting examples - just a little slower- although not quite as many examples could be covered each day, but the absorbtion rate would increase, and thereby facilitate more questions to be asked by the students.

The same student:
A few weeks ago, just prior to the last test, I sent you an evaluation form. I gave you some suggestions on how I thought our class could be improved. I just wanted to send another evaluation and tell you THANKS. I can see you really care about our learning and desire to help us. I appreciate the serious and timely consideration you gave to each of my suggestions. I have noticed that you have slowed your pace a little, allowing more time to digest the info and formulate questions, you always write the section number of the section being covered on the board, a small thing, but I still appreciate it. Also, you allowed us to use calculators on the last test. In retrospect, considering what you said about calculators last test day, I don't know if we weren't better off not using calculators. A part of me believes we ought to utilize technology, while another part agrees that often a calculator acts as a crutch or a distraction, rather than a tool.
I think you are a great teacher. I appreciate the energy and effort you put into teaching.
Very friendly and easy to approach. Encourages class participation.

1030:

Creating problems that mimic real, everyday life, is a definite strength... Your energy is a definite plus, I find myself looking forward to the class. This is the only math class I have taken (in recent history), that I understood, and gained confidence in my math skills by being able to complete the homework with little trouble.
I'll give you an "A" on your evaluation for remembering your students. Many of my instructors don't even know our names when we finish the semester. I'm very impressed that you actually care about our names, our grades/performance in your course and you even remember what our hand writing is like. I am impressed.
She has a real passion for teaching and helping understand mathematics.

1090:

Definitely the most available instructor I have encountered. She is always willing to spend time to explain a concept no matter how simple or complex. I especially like the way that she deals with questions that are "beneath" our class level, she doesn't huff and puff and make a stink like some other teachers that I have encountered. She just demonstrates as best she can.
(Mostly answers the questions from the evaluation form. I believe the actual questions can be deduced from the answers, hence I did not list them here.) Class time is used very well. Sometimes you are moving quite rapidly but that is understandable w/the 6 week course... I feel comfortable asking questions, as I have already. I appreciate the extra study session given for the mid-term...I would reccomend this instructor. There is a positive atmosphere in the classroom which is hard to keep in a two hour period. And I really like being able to see my grade on the web the same day I take the quiz and being able to compare my scores to the class average and other class members. Great idea!
(A note: the grades were only listed with the code names.)
I have been extremely happy with the instruction in this class. Emina is a very effective instructor. She clearly explains the concepts and provides meaningful and thorough examples. She comes to class well prepared and organized. In the past, my math instructors were less than average, however, Emina was well above average. Great job! ... Since this class was a condensed class, the pace was quick, however I never feld bogged down with too much information... I personally don't find math inspirational, however, the examples, enthusiasm, and preparation on Emina's part were fantastic...
My reason for writing is that I went to my Math 1100 class tonight planning on you being the instructor and to my surprise, you weren't... I still wish that you were teaching it! Although you are a rather difficult teacher, I really learned a lot, you are a great teacher.