Students' End-of-Semester Evaluation Comments
FREN 332-4, Spring 1998

FREN 332 is a multi-section course normally taught by French faculty members. It is the second, and final, course required for French majors and minors and serves as a prerequisite to most succeeding French courses.

Questions have selected to avoid redundancy. Students are labeled by letter (A, B, C, etc.) to preserve anonymity while still offering the opportunity to see how an individual answered different questions.

Summary of evaluation [Rating scale: Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent]:
Rate the course overall: 4.9 / 5
Rate the instructor overall: 5 / 5
Would you recommend this course to another student? 9 "Yes" (One student did not respond to over half the questions.)

MY QUESTIONS, SPECIFIC TO MY SECTION:

1. What did you learn in this course?

A. -to think about lit. analytically. --to write more structured essays. ---to speak more fluently.
B. I improved my writing style, probably in English as well as French, and learned how to improve both my essays and my French.
C. tons and tons about writing papers in French.
D. That a French essay must be well organized and that cannot be done at 3 a.m. the night before.
E. I learned to defend my arguments logically and strongly. I improved both my french skills and my organization skills.
F. I learned how to organize my thoughts and to express what I want to say in french. With the different subjects, I learned how to emphasize certain topics and change the tone of my essays.
G. How to write clearer papers! Organization was stressed.
H. how to write better in French, how to correct others' papers.
I. I learned how to analyse [sic] French texts and how to write critical papers on them. I also improved my French and my French reading skills.
J. (no response)

2. How effective were the following aspects of the course, and how could they be improved in the future?

Peer editing:

A. good that we were graded, more stringent guidelines so we receive them before the due date.
B. definitely good, it was nice to see what other students thought of my papers, and helpful to see their comments.
C. fairly helpful and fostered sense of community in the class
D. effective and a good grade boost for helping others.
E. Great! Since we were graded on how we responded, we carefully edited each other's essays.
F. Very good.
G. it helped a lot
H. very helpful- more for me correcting other's essays than receiving others correction of my essays.
I. Very helpful
J. (no response)

Class discussion:

A. good, but some people overpower the conversations
B. -very effective, discussing the material makes it so much cleaner and
C. great when people participated - sometimes I wish we all said more.
D. Very good as long as people weren't asleep.
E. Pretty good; because the class was so early and we were often up very late doing homework for the class, not everyone was up all the time and actively participating.
F. Excellent - it's good to hear others and discuss.
G. The discussion helped us understand the litterature [sic] better.
H. Mme leads discussion very well.
I. Also very helpful in analyzing the texts.
J. (no response)

Student-student interactions and teacher-student interactions:

A. -group work is a great idea, more class time to work - teacher very approachable and easy to talk to.
B. Extremely Effective! There was just amazing interaction between students and with Mme Barnett and it was definitely the most effective aspect.
C. wonderful - we feel "bonded" in this class students & teacher.
D. I loved the group work because I feel that I really got to know people in the class.
E. We really felt comfortable around each other because the class was so small. She put us at ease and se felt like she respected our opinions, whether she agreed with them or not.
F. No so much other than the class discussions, but the writing groups were a great idea.
G. the groups helped with the student - student interactions
H. Very Good!
I. good - felt comfortable with everyone.
J. (no response)

QUESTIONS FROM THE FRENCH DEPARTMENT FORM:

I) Course

1. How challenging was this class?

A. Very challenging because it's strenuous and not in my mother tongue.
B. It was definitely challenging but not impossible.
C. Very challenging.
D. Very. Mme Barnett graded fairly and made us work hard.
E. Very.
F. Very - lots of work.
G. I found it very challenging.
H. Very, the grading was tough, but good. I feel like I learned a lot.
I. Fairly challenging.
J. (no response)

4. How useful did you find the writing assignments [if applicable]? How much writing were you required to do in this class (double-spaced pages?) Please specify such factors as rewrites and response papers.

A. rewrites, peer editing, figures and style. First draft good idea. Should require outlines too. Seemed less writing than it actually was.
B. Probably 15-20 pages double-spaced, in a total of 6 papers. We did rewrites for all of them.
C. We did a lot of writing and rewriting in the class but I feel like I've improved a lot.
D. I liked that we weren't graded on our 1st drafts.
E. Very. We turned in first drafts, were evaluated on those, and rewrote them, so we should have had great papers by the end. We wrote 15 - 20 pages.
F. Yes, we did drafts and finals.
G. Yes, around 15 pages. I think I have improved my writing skills from these papers.
H. They were useful. About 15 pages of writing. We had rewrites - that was very helpful.
I. Probably wrote around 20 pages - writing assignments were always relevant.
J. (no response)

5. Did you receive helpful comments on your assignments? Were assignments returned promptly?

A. Yes, except when group members didn't turn their comments on time. Good, analytical, thoughtful comments from prof.
B. Yes! The comments were extremely helpful and assignments were returned promptly.
C. Yes, ton of comments returned promptly.
D. Yes
E. Yes. Very promptly (within 2 weeks of turning them in)
F. Yes, they were very important.
G. Yes, always promptly returned.
H. Yes - her comments really helped clarify my problems with my papers.
I. Yes, work was always returned promptly and all comments were helpful
J. Yes - Yes

7. What do you feel are the strengths and/or weakness of this course?

A. Very good teacher, well organized, loves what she does, I'm still not confident about my grammar, maybe some brush up session, or required index cards for vocab, worksheets would help with that.
B. Strength: Mme. Barnett!!!
Weakness: none.
C. Mainly strengths - excited prof, interesting and challenging material.
D. Mme Barnett is so organized, helpful and understanding - she is an excellent teacher.
E. See all above. No weaknesses!
F. Strength - the emphasis of writing clearly. Weakness - only on behalf of the student.
G. The course definitely made me work very hard. I think I've improved a lot on my grammar and writing and organizing skills.
H. Strengths: teacher Weaknesses: my effort
I. Definite strengths are the class discussions and peer-editing!
J. Strengths - Barnett Weaknesses - Me, lazy can't finish sentence

8. What specific suggestions would you have for improving the course?

A. More time, give Mme. Barnett more classes to teach - I think I would've benefited from 331 much more if she'd been my teacher.
B. none, it's great the way it was!
C. *None - it's incredible. *the only bad thing was my own doing and lack of working as hard as I should have.
D. None.
E. None. She took all our suggestions to heart. She changed the final exam because of our suggestions.
F. Probably change the writing teams every now and then to see what others write.
G. (no response)
H. N/A
I. None
J. (no response)

9. Did you find the course enjoyable? Which aspects? Please comment.

A. I learned a lot, better at speaking and writing. I liked the group dynamic, I wish we had gotten close earlier.
B. Yes! It was a lot of work, but I felt like I learned a lot and Mme. Barnett made the environment enjoyable - she's so enthusiastic and helpful.
C. Yes, especially how enthusiastic the teacher was.
D. Yes, except that it was at 9:30 am.
E. Yes! I learned a lot
F. Yes, the satisfaction of completing a paper and understanding the topic/subject in the end.
G. The flexibility
H. Yes - I liked the text, the papers helped me learn and the students were great.
I. Yes - class discussion was the best
J. (no response)

10. Would you recommend this course to other students? Why or why not?

A. Yes!! The teacher rocks my WORLD!! My 331 prof. recommended her to me, I'm glad I didn't settle for Rueben's easy A.
B. Yes if with the same professor!!!
C. Yes, it's been hard but fun.
D. Yes if they wanted to learn and work hard.
E. COMPLETELY. Even if someone's not a french major it teaches a lot of practical skills.
F. Yes b/c it's challenging and helps you with your writing problems.
G. Yes if that person wants to improve on writing skills.
H. Yes
I. Yes - enjoyable and a learning experience
J. (no response)

II) Instructor

1. Did the instructor seem knowledgeable about the subject matter?

A. Yes, very.
B. Yes, definitely.
C. Yes very.
D. Yes
E. Yes
F. Yes
G. Yes
H. Yes
I. Yes, she was very knowledgeable
J. yes

2. Did the instructor seem organized, well-prepared and in control of the class?

A. Yes - experienced, good resources from TRC, life.
B. Yes!!!
C. Yes always.
D. Yes.
E. Yes
F. Yes
G. Yes! always prepared
H. Yes
I. Always organized, well-prepared, and in control
J. absolutely

3. Was the instructor accessible to students outside of class (e.g., during office hours)? Did s/he seem approachable?

A. Yes, very friendly, comforting, wise and calming, and caring.
B. Yes, I spent many hours getting help, she was willing to let her personal life overlap, and she was extremely approachable.
C. Very, she spent many hours helping me.
D. Yes
E. Yes!!! Completely
F. Yes, esp. on the phone at home
G. Yes, definitely approachable!
H. yes, very available and approachable.
I. Yes, very accessible and always willing to meet with students.
J. She cooked us dinner

4. To what extent did the instructor help further your interest in the subject?

A. enthusiastic, made me confident in my ability, pushed us to our limits.
B. A lot! I was definitely more interested in French during this class!!!
C. She made me want to learn.
D. (no response)
E. A LOT
F. Explain the other courses we could take
G. Yes!!
H. I'm kinda burnt out from writing so many papers, but I'll be back.
I. Yes, she made me want to minor in French.
J. I took more interest in the subject because she took a lot of interest

7. Please comment on the classroom atmosphere fostered by the instructor.

A. Friendly and conducive to getting to know people, I would have liked a day of discussion to practice speaking french more.
B. This class is more than a class, somehow she pulled it all together so we are closer. It's really amazing how she just made the atmosphere so much more open to everyone's opinions and made everyone comfortable.
C. Very fun but difficult.
D. We worked together and really got to know each other.
E. Very comfortable
F. We go to know each other pretty well.
G. (no response)
H. it was excellent.
I. I always felt comfortable joining in class discussions - she always welcomed new ideas.
J. Studious yet not excessively formal

8. Please comment on what you feel to be the instructor's strengths and/or weakness in this course.

A. An awesome woman, she is the epitomy [sic] of how I want all my teachers to be. She's intelligent and enthusiastic, she's also a hard grader who's fair and pushes us to do our best. I would major in french just to stay in contact with her.
B. Strengths: enthusiasm for the material but especially for teaching, and a willingness to do whatever necessary to help us. Weaknesses: none!
C. All strengths - excited, loves the subject cares about us, works with us.
D. Organized, available, understanding, knowledgable [sic].
E. She is probably the best professor I've had here. On a scale of 1 to 5, she's about 1000
F. Strength - nice, open, and a good teacher
G. Very flexible and well-prepared
H. All strengths!
I. The instructor made the course great!
J. (no response)