UPDATE: evals are now publicly available
I admit it: I haven't updated this page in a long time. I guess I put it off because pulling out text from student evals takes a long time. So, instead, I'm putting all my University of Utah student evaluations online. I haven't written a frontend for it, but you should be able to navigate it. I will keep the old, selected comments below. But now, with the evals being public, you can also see the bad comments -- like "worst professor ever" and the like. Enjoy!
Teaching evaluations: testimonials from students
The following are testimonials from students, drawn from end-of-year evaluations.
My average instructor effectiveness at Utah is 5.55 out of a possible 6.0.
Original documents and statistical data available upon request.
From Comm 5640, Communication Technology and Culture (Utah)
"Professor Gehl is a wonderful teacher, he really knows and loves what he is teaching. Although I probably won't receive a high grade due to my rusty writing capabilities, I would definitely love to take another course from Professor Gehl."
"Professor Gehl is a really nice guy and I enjoyed his style of teaching. It seemed like some of the more abstract concepts he was trying to explain required more background in specific areas than some of the class had, but he did a good job of bridging the gap."
"I started out not liking the class because it seemed all philosophy and talking in circles. It became interesting though to see how technology affects society and how society affects technology. You can not have one without the other in my opinion. Turned out to be a great class. Tons of reading."
"Super friendly, incredibly knowledgeable, a wonderful teacher!! I hope to take another class from him in the future!"
"Rob blew my mind on a regular basis. This guy is so smart, its a bit intimidating, but he's really personable, and I'm glad his class got me thinking more critically, and writing better as well. he was always open to new ideas, and perspectives in class, and I enjoyed listening to his lectures, because he helped everything make sense- especially when the readings were really heavy and hard to get through, he was good at drawing out the main points to make the topics easier to understand."
From English 3, a developmental writing course meant to bridge the gap between high-school and college-level composition (Northern Virginia Community College).
"I feel that the best thing about this class is that our teacher is flexible, well-spoken, and does his best to make sure all students understand what he is teaching... Mr. G is dedicated to his job."
"I would definitely recommend this instructor to another student. He's very relaxed and when he teaches the material he'll make sure you get the material. With Robert as our instructor, the year seems to have gone by fast and I feel like I don't want it to end."
From NCLC 331, a course exploring the non-profit sector in the United States. In this course, I brought in a lot of guest speakers from the non-profit sector. We also blogged at http://nclc331.blogspot.com. This blog allowed us to discuss the readings prior to class.
"Rob was totally awesome... This class was a winner. Rob was a winner. We were all winners... This class was ideal and I can't stress enough that Rob was great."
"I really liked the speakers; they helped me to get a view of what life is really like in the field. I also thought the blog posts were a good way to force me to engage with the material."
"The class made me want to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector."
From Cultural Studies 320, an upper-level course which examines globalization and culture (George Mason University). I focused this class on discussion, since the class was comprised of students from many different majors (anthropology, global studies, economics, English, history).
"I really enjoyed this class. It's not often that I find a class so focused on discussion and debate. Those aspects just made the class so much more enjoyable. Don't change a thing!"
"This class was amazing. It's my single favorite class I've ever taken, hands down. The atmosphere more than welcomed open discussion, respectful disagreements, and flowing topic changes. I learned more in this class, intellectually stimulating, and at times, funny, that I have in so many tedious, lecture-style classes. A million thanks to the professor and my fellow classmates!"
"This is probably one of the first upper level courses I have totally enjoyed. I have learned a lot. Thank you."
From Composition 111, a first-year comp course (Owens Community College).
"I think Mr. Gehl is a great teacher - ie, fun and exciting. He is on his way to becoming an excellent educator."
"I really enjoyed Comp I. Rob was very helpful with anything I needed. He was willing to help whenever I had a question and willing to have open discussions. Thanks for a great semester, Rob! Good luck on your PhD."
"I enjoyed the laid-back teaching style of this instructor."
"I can honestly say you are the best English teacher I have ever had. I'm taking a lot of knowledge away from this class. I am 100 more times confident in my writing."
"Robert Gehl was by far the best professor I had this semester. I feel he was very informative. He was there if someone needed the extra help. Keep it up!"
"This course really helped boost my confidence as a writer, and I learned a lot."
"Mr. Gehl was a great teacher. He made things make sense to us. He would always be up to helping you in any way. I learned a lot about myself that I was unsure of, due to the essays we had to write."
"Thank you for everything. You are a great teacher. You made my first semester of college a good one."