Teaching Assistant Discussion Evaluation - Darwin
Did the students enjoy this discussion / project
1) I don't think they enjoyed reading Darwin ("it was boring") but I think
they benefitted from it
2) Didn't like reading Darwin - thought he went on about his examples too
much
What did the students learn from this discussion project?
1) Why Darwin may have been so long-winded with examples - how he was trying
to convince people.
2) Why Darwin used so many examples. They were introduced to why evol.
biologists are fascinated with variation in nature
What did you like best about this week's discussion?
1) I think the insect collection was very nice.
2) Insect collection
What didn't you like?
1) I think it is important to talk about the collection before bringing
the students to see it - otherwise the disruption results in them losing
interest.
2) Not enough time to discuss Darwin effectively
In what ways can this exercise be improved?
1) I think it is valuable to have them think about the time (period) Darwin
was writing in and what ideas were persuasive (then).