Health 57 A and C student evaluations

"The class is fun and I have learned a lot from the course as well as from the instructor. I would love to recommend this instructor to my friends."

"I fell very confident in my skills to care for an injured person. This class is very thorough and well organized."

"Mary is a wonderful teacher who is very anal about the details...which is good. Because of her, I have learned the material more fully than I would have if she didn't require so much."

"Mary made everything clear and the course was well prepared. I would recommend this teacher for future references."

"I'm ready to be a Good Samaritan."

"I would recommend Mary's class to anyone and everyone."

" I do highly recommend Mary's class."

"I felt like a 'seek and find' with the homework assignments on the various webpages. But, there was a lot of interesting and helpful info on the websites - Thank You."

( A note from the instructor on this comment: All the links to every homework assignment, extra credit and optional reading are on one webpage. If I put every assignment at one page it would be too long and difficult to read.)

"Great instructor - loved her stories. She really knew her course material. If I ever went hiking into the wilderness, she is the person I would want most to take with me."

"Thanks Mary!"

"I enjoyed the class, thank you."

On the check-mark-the-boxes sections of the Red Cross course evaluation, these were the responses:Instructor was well prepared

5 students agree 23 students strongly agree 0 disagree 0 not sure

I would recommend this course to a friend

4 students agree 23 students strongly agree 0 disagree 1 student not sure

Instructor helped me during the practice sessions

5 students agree 22 students strongly agree 0 disagree 1 not sure

Instructor answered questions clearly

5 students agree 23 students strongly agree 0 disagree 0 not sure

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Official student evaluations are required by De Anza College for each faculty member at least once every three years, or nine quarters of employment. The evaluation is handled and tabulated by a staff member other than the instructor being evaluated.

This is the tabulation of official De Anza College student evaluations on March 17, 2006 of my HLTH 57A class. 28 students responded.

About the course:

1. The course contributed to my general knowledge and education. Strongly Agree 22 students Agree 6 students Disagree, Strongly Disagree, No opinion / not applicable 0 (none)

2. Text and other reading material were appropriate and useful. Strongly Agree 17, Agree 9, Disagree, Strongly Disagree 0, No opinion / not applicable 1

3. Course objectives and grading policies were distributed and clearly explained. Strongly Agree 19, Agree 4, Disagree 4, Strongly Disagree, No opinion / not applicable 0

4. Amount and types of assigned course work were appropriate. Strongly Agree 19, Agree 4, Disagree 4, Strongly Disagree / No opinion / not applicable 0

5. Course content was well organized. Strongly Agree 17, Agree 7, Disagree 3, Strongly Disagree, No opinion / not applicable 0

6. Class activities were appropriate. Strongly Agree 21, Agree 5, Disagree1, Strongly Disagree, No opinion / not applicable 0

7. Tests were clearly written and related to subject matter. Strongly Agree 21, Agree 3, Disagree 1, Strongly Disagree ,No opinion / not applicable 0

8. Grading was fair and impartial. Strongly Agree 21, Agree 4, Disagree 0, Strongly Disagree 2, No opinion / not applicable 0 About the instructor:

9. Demonstrated an enthusiasm for the subject. Strongly Agree 20, Agree 5, Disagree, Strongly Disagree, No opinion / not applicable 0 10. Was knowledgeable and prepared for class. Strongly Agree 20, Agree 6, Disagree 1, Strongly Disagree, No opinion / not applicable 0

11. Motivated student interest and intellectual effort. Strongly Agree 18, Agree 7, Disagree 2, Strongly Disagree, No opinion / not applicable 0

12. Encouraged students to ask questions and participate in class discussions. Strongly Agree 18, Agree 6, Disagree 3, Strongly Disagree, No opinion / not applicable 0

13. Encouraged individual thinking and differences of opinion. Strongly Agree 14, Agree 7, Disagree 4, Strongly Disagree 1, No opinion / not applicable 1,

14. Used class time effectively. Strongly Agree 21, Agree 5, Disagree 1, Strongly Disagree 0, No opinion / not applicable 1

15. Maintained classroom atmosphere conductive to learning. Strongly Agree 19, Agree 6, Disagree1, Strongly Disagree 0, No opinion / not applicable 1

16. Spoke clearly Strongly Agree 20, Agree 4, Disagree 2, Strongly Disagree, No opinion / not applicable 0

17. Was accessible for individual conferences and office hours. Strongly Agree 9, Agree 10, Disagree 2, Strongly Disagree 0 , No opinion / not applicable 6

18. Demonstrated sensitivity in working with students of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and physical and mental disabilities. Strongly Agree 19, Agree 3, Disagree 2, Strongly Disagree 1, No opinion / not applicable 1

19. Convened class regularly and on time. Strongly Agree 21 Agree 5 Disagree, Strongly Disagree, No opinion / not applicable 0

20. I would recommend this instructor. Strongly Agree 22, Agree 3, Disagree, Strongly Disagree 1, No opinion / not applicable 1

Written evaluation (not all students wrote).

1. What did you like about this course?

I liked learning more on how to deal with emergency situations and not making the situation worse.

It's a fun class. Mary Donahue (instructor) is really good at teaching. She is very active & lively.

Found it very informative and love the exercises that we do in class when we actually do the things to remember it more.

A lot of exposure to many possible situations.

The information: unlimited, clear.

Everything was fun to learn about first aid.

She is a very informative teacher. I enjoyed and look forward to coming to her class each week.

Learning so many stuff.

A lot of helpful information that I can learn from.

The fact that it taught me how to use first aid for when I'm at home, at work and at play.

Good info all around. Actually doing things (affixing slings, etc.) helped cement the knowledge in our heads.

I liked the physical demonstrations. I especially enjoyed the wilderness first aid part.

Broad range of topics. Instructor was knowledgeable. Good info.

It was very, very. very informative and very, very clear as to what to do in emergency situations.

The course was informative, had lots of helpful tips from many different sources.

I like it because I get to learn materials that I have never known of. In addition, I get to practice on class mates.

It's fun, helpful and realistic.

Useful information. Fun.

I learned so much useful information through a variety of learning methods: lecture, videos, demos, applications.

The instructor's enthusiasm, experience, knowledge and teaching style. You included a lot of visual demonstrations and that helped me understand the material better. I really enjoyed your outdoor activity stories.

It was very helpful. It taught me some things I didn't know about the outdoor camping. And it also taught me how I can save someone's life.

2. What did you dislike about this course?

Having to write an essay to get an A.

Writing the "story."

I would have used two breaks instead of one.

Only offered Friday afternoons.

Too long.

Too short.

Spread the time out. Two days a week instead of one.

The class take too long.

Long hour lecture.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

I really did not like the Red Cross book.

Nothing

I prefer the class to be in the morning on Fridays :)

What I disliked was that some students were disruptive during class. But I guess in every class you get a few people who don't like to pay attention to the instructor.

None.

Nothing.

3. What specific changes could improve this course?

Having more class time.

My level of retention would be higher if I had more homework.

More class exercises.

More hands-on - to have more time to practice skills.

It was a class in which I would love that all classes would be taught this way. Very clear, understandable and to the point. It made learning very easy to do by the way It was taught.

Shorten the time each day.

Nothing

Nothing needs to improve.

Longer break (15 minutes or a half hour)

Shorter lecture time.

Probably more practice of what we learn.

Nothing.

4. Please make any additional comments or suggestions about this course and/or this instructor.

I think she is a wonderful teacher and I love all the stories!

Mary is great. She brought a lot to my life, I had lots of fun in her class.

Excellent course.

Mary has excellent anecdotes to reinforce the material, which makes the content interesting.

This instructor was very clear, very upbeat and of course the most important very very knowledgeable in exactly what she taught. I was very impressed.

I think this teacher is a very loving teacher.

very good class.

Great teach but long lecture.

She is a great teacher!

You policy of 100% attendance motivated me to come to class on time and stay awake. It helped me to learn materials that will be so useful for me.

The instructor was funny to listen to.

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These are the comments from students' Red Cross evaluations of a Fall 2002 Health 57A class:

"The instructor was very well prepared and informative."

"Mary is a wonderful instructor!!!"

"Mary is a very knowledgeable & charismatic instructor. I look forward to returning in Spring quarter."

"Instructor showed good, positive, energetic attitude towards subject."

These are the comments from students' evaluations of a Winter 2003 Health 57C class:

"This class was great! You're a great and encouraging teacher, Mary, keep it up!"

"Very clear. Very organized. Cool teacher (not boring)."

" Good communication among students and teacher. Absorbed everybody."

"It was very in depth and it was fun."

"Everything was great. I will probably be here again to re certify."

"On top of school I also work full time, so I liked it that this class was quick. The instructor is very knowledgeable and her personality helps the class time go by faster!"

"She explained everything thoroughly."

"Informal atmosphere. Easily understandable."

"Everybody needs to take this course. Great for beginners and for those that need a refresher."

"I can use all these skills in real life. The teacher was enthusiatic and used lots of examples and possible real life scenarios."

"I really did not find the videos very helpful. Drop the videos or make new ones maybe from actual students who have taken the class."

(Note from your instructor - -We use the videos required by the Red Cross for each class.)

"Too many students"

(Note from your instructor-- De Anza requires at least 20 students for every class or the class is cancelled. Many students have heard about this but many do not know that classes don't break even cost-wise until they have from 26 to 32 students.)

"Need a room that is more suitable to practicing skills." "Moving the course into a more spacious room would speed up and assist training." "The room was kinda small."

(Note from your instructor-- I agree (that's why I bring extra pads to kneel on so some of the class can work outside). We will look into a possible relocation, but have you noticed that every single classroom on campus is booked days and evenings?)

On the check-mark-the-boxes sections of the Red Cross course evaluation, these were the responses:

Instructor was well prepared

22% agree
72% strongly agree
0% disagree
1 student not sure

I would recommend this course to a friend

22% agree
78% strongly agree
0% disagree

Instructor helped me during the practice sessions

42% agree
58% strongly agree
0% disagree

Instructor answered questions clearly

29% agree
68% strongly agree
0% disagree
1 student not sure

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Links to student evaluations of other classes are at: Give me proof you're such a great teacher