Course Evaluations - Multiple Choice and Text Responses Fall 2014 Summary for Sections Sharing an Evaluation - Text Responses Included Economics Evaluation: Econ - Standard

Combined Enr Completed Evals Pct Complete 64

58

90.6%

Sections using this evaulation: ECON 1210 S02

Student Demographics Class Level Class

Current or Intended Program of Study (Individual students are counted once for each concentration/program of study) Count

Percent

Count

Pct of Responses

Pct of Responding Students

3

5.2%

Applied Mathematics

1

1.6%

1.7%

Sophomore

40

69.0%

Business, Entrep. and Organ.

8

12.9%

13.8%

Junior

11

19.0%

Classics

1

1.6%

1.7%

Senior

4

6.9%

Computer Science

7

11.3%

12.1%

Total

58

Computer Science-Economics

1

1.6%

1.7%

Development Studies

1

1.6%

1.7%

East Asian Studies

1

1.6%

1.7%

17

27.4%

29.3%

Education Studies

1

1.6%

1.7%

Engineering

3

4.8%

5.2%

History

4

6.5%

6.9%

History of Art and Architectur

1

1.6%

1.7%

International Relations

8

12.9%

13.8%

Neuroscience

1

1.6%

1.7%

Philosophy

1

1.6%

1.7%

Political Science

2

3.2%

3.4%

Psychology

1

1.6%

1.7%

Public Policy and Amer. Inst.

2

3.2%

3.4%

Urban Studies

1

1.6%

1.7%

First-Year

Major Desc

Economics

Total

62

Section 1. Student Information 1. Please indicate your reason(s) for taking this course (check all that apply). Option

Count

Pct of Responses

Pct of Responding Students

Pre-requisite for other course(s)

15

14.9%

25.9%

Requirement for concentration

42

41.6%

72.4%

Elective within a concentration

3

3.0%

5.2%

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Fall 2014 - Economics - Evaluation Template: Econ - Standard

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Option

Count

Pct of Responses

Pct of Responding Students

Elective outside concentration

7

6.9%

12.1%

Reputation of instructor

8

7.9%

13.8%

26

25.7%

44.8%

Interest in topic Total

101

2. Please indicate how often you attended class. Option

Count

Pct

(1) Always

31

54.4%

(2) Frequently

22

38.6%

4

7.0%

(3) Less than half of the time Total

57

3. Please indicate the number of hours per week you spent on this course outside of class. Option

Count

Pct

(1) 0-2 hours

3

5.2%

(2) 3-4 hours

18

31.0%

(3) 5-6 hours

25

43.1%

(4) 7-8 hours

11

19.0%

(5) 9+ hours

1

1.7%

Total

58

Section 2. Effectiveness of Course 1. What knowledge or skills did this course help you develop? Please comment on your own learning and intellectual growth. 1. [179394] learned about the basics of macroeconomics and how the economy works on a large scale 2. [179721] I gained understanding of macroeconomics principles, current economic events, and substantial understanding of real world problems. 3. [180320] This course helped me to understand macroeconomics concepts in a way that I was unable to understand the same concepts in Principles of Economics. 4. [181082] A broad range of Macro topics. I learned how to study for midterms more effectively. 5. [181169] great global perseptive 6. [181768] I gained strong analytical abilities and an understanding of high-level macroeconomics theory 7. [182428] A broader overview of how a global economy works. Complex issues such as the housing crisis were broken down and analyzed to effectively understand what was going on. 8. [184680] Knowledge of the macro economy, mathematically proving or showing concepts that I knew before from economics experience 9. [185133] It helped me look at the importance of economics in a more hands on manner. 10. [185345] I learned about Macroeconomic theory. 11. [187382] Principles of Economics 12. [187401] This class taught me about the IS-LM model given different assumptions, and also taught me basic economic growth theory. 13. [188105] Good foundational knowledge of macroeconomics. The topics are pertinent to anyone even mildly interested in public affairs. 14. [188198] I learned about macroeconomic systems for both closed and open economies. 15. [188982] Modeling and better understanding of growth and macroeconomic policy. Gave me greater in sights into how international and domestic macroeconomies function.

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16. [189394] Intermediate Macroeconomics taught me the basic principles of macroeconomic concepts such as inflation, unemployment, and GDP. The course went over the IS/LM model and covered such topics as the recession of 2007/08, long-run economic growth, and differences between a closed and open economy. I felt that I enjoyed this course overall and progressed my learning with each week. 17. [189813] Gave me some basic frameworks and analytical tools to study economics. Gave me some economic perspective on historical events. 18. [190283] This class helped me understand the basics principles of macroeconomics. When I read the news, I already feel that this knowledge has helped me understand what is happening in world news and politics. 19. [190683] I learned a lot about macroeconomics and feel like I can now pick up a newspaper and understand what's going on in the world. I also feel like I now know enough to participate in an intellectual conversation about fiscal and monetary policy. 20. [190922] Helped me understand the way financial markets work 21. [192623] Learned the basics of macroeconomic theory and many models that help explain why things are the way they are in the world. 22. [192643] To list everything I learned would exceed the purpose of this question. Having completed the course, I can read and understand Bloomberg and Wall Street journal. 23. [192656] I learned how to think critically about issues in Macroeconomics and to apply Macroeconomic theories to different economic problems throughout the world. 24. [192661] Ive learned a lot of how government policy affects a country's economic standing. I've also learned about the exchange rate and many other things. 25. [192718] This course helped develop my reasoning and analytic skills as I furthered my knowledge of economics on a macro scale. 26. [192772] The course helped translate mathematical formulae and data into something tangible and real life the made sense. The course help me how to learn to effectively use math to explain and understand models. 27. [192828] Learned a lot of macro and specifically econ. Growth 28. [193090] Developed my knowledge of macroeconomics. 29. [193334] Understanding of macroeconomics 30. [193495] Learned about macroeconomic trends, how different variables affected aggregate supply and demand, etc. 31. [193600] A general knowledge about concepts in Macroeconomics and the ability to incorporate new elements into existing mathematical models. 32. [195142] I learned how to analyze macro economic policy- crash of 2008 etc... 33. [195229] The class wasn't clear and exams were really difficult. I learned most of the material from the textbook. The class went really fast and I couldn't keep up 34. [195654] Basic understanding of the variables that determine macroeconomic phenomena, including the effects of policy. 35. [196499] Not many. 36. [198152] The course helped develop skills in macroeconomic analysis and its application to real-world situations. 37. [198242] The course helped me develop a survey understanding of the core concepts of macroeconomics. 38. [199723] Helped me develop a better understanding of macroeconomics and the principles of economics which I felt I didn't have a good background in coming in as a transfer student. 39. [199861] My knowledge of Macroeconomics developed throughout the course.

2. Please indicate your overall evaluation of the quality of the course. Option

Count

Pct

(1) Excellent

17

30.4%

(2) Good

28

50.0%

(3) Satisfactory

7

12.5%

(4) Poor

4

7.1%

(5) Very poor

0

0.0%

Total

56

3. Please elaborate on your responses above, or on anything else you wish to discuss about the course design and content.

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1. [179721] Professor was wonderful, work load was appropriate and reflective of teaching, exams were fair. 2. [181082] I did not enjoy this course. However I appreciate that Professor Michalopoulos was a great teacher and was an enthusiastic lecturer. I just didn't understand what was going on. 3. [181169] love the theory, didn't like the math application as much, but that's just personal preference 4. [182428] Great professor but the content is a little dry. 5. [184680] Content for midterms were always finished two or so weeks before the midterm itself. This meant that it was really hard to pay attention to the new material whilst worrying about the midterm covering the previous material. Most people I knew would perpetually be two weeks or so behind with the readings and material because of this. 6. [185133] I really liked the subject matter, except I didn't like my section very much. I liked the lectures, but the discussion section I felt wasn't very effective. 7. [187382] There were not enough practice materials, and the problem sets did not prepare for the midterms and the finals. 8. [187401] The professor gave effective lectures and, at times they were a bit disorganized. I appreciated that there was repetition of the material at the beginning of each class. 9. [188105] The material was engaging and the course was well designed. 10. [188982] Interesting material! Keep it up. 11. [189394] The assigned homework problem sets due each Monday were helpful in helping prepare for midterms and exams, yet some were a bit long and overly tedious. 12. [189813] Exams were ridiculous. Homeworks were long and irrelevant. Lectures a little disorganized. 13. [190283] While the material was very interesting, I think a lot could be improved in the teaching of the class. At the beginning the instructor was very effective and asked questions of the class. The second half of the class was not as well taught. The formulas were difficult to understand and we did not have a strong grasp of what they stood for. I could only understand the material through reading the book. It would have been more useful to have more problems that were recommended by the class and feedback on what we were doing wrong. 14. [190683] Great design. 15. [192623] The readings were a lot more helpful than the lectures. 16. [192643] Very interesting if you like political economy stuff. 17. [192656] Very enjoyable course and the subject matter is also highly valuable. 18. [192661] Professor was great. Always available, and extremely willing to talk. Also made lectures funny and interesting. 19. [192718] This course was challenging, but rewarding. 20. [192772] The course was very good. The material and teaching were very good. The only problem for me was the difficulty and also the lack of transparency about grades (I.e. What's the curve, how it's calculated etc.) 21. [193090] I disliked the use of the Economic Growth textbook at the very end of the course but everything else was great. 22. [195142] Steelios is a great professor 23. [195654] Lectures were very helpful. I think that the problem sets would have been more valuable had the professor written them entirely, as the professor-created questions on the homework assignments were usually the most beneficial. 24. [196474] Overall, the course design and content were good. I wish that the homework throughout the semester were more helpful -- even though it was from the textbook, many of the questions felt like busy-work and were not very effective in preparing us for the exams. Also, the sections were not particularly helpful. 25. [196499] I wish I liked Macro. I really do. 26. [198242] Course design was fine. 27. [199723] I think the material was extremely relevant but feel like the class lectures could have been more helpful for preparing for exams. 28. [199861] It was all good except that I think the way the final exam was structured was a little unfair. 65% of the material on the final was over material we spent only a few days on, and didn't have a textbook for.

4. Please indicate your evaluation of the quality of: a) the textbook or other readings. Option (5) Excellent

Jan 13, 2015

Count 19

Pct 33.9%

Fall 2014 - Economics - Evaluation Template: Econ - Standard

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Option

Count

(4) Good

Pct

27

48.2%

(3) Satisfactory

9

16.1%

(2) Poor

1

1.8%

(1) Very Poor

0

0.0%

Total

56

b) the course compared to others at Brown. Option

Count

Pct

(5) Excellent

13

24.1%

(4) Good

26

48.1%

(3) Satisfactory

10

18.5%

(2) Poor

3

5.6%

(1) Very Poor

2

3.7%

Total

54

5. Please indicate your evaluation of the difficulty of the course based on: a) heaviness of workload. Option

Count

Pct

(5) Very Heavy

4

7.1%

(4) Heavy

9

16.1%

39

69.6%

(2) Light

4

7.1%

(1) Very Light

0

0.0%

(3) Average

Total

56

b) overall degree of difficulty. Option

Count

(55) Very Difficult

Pct

9

16.1%

(4) Difficult

24

42.9%

(3) Average Difficulty

21

37.5%

(2) Somewhat Difficult

2

3.6%

(1) Not Difficult

0

0.0%

Total

56

c) importance of previous academic training. Option (5) Very Important

Count

Pct

9

16.1%

(4) Important

19

33.9%

(3) Average

16

28.6%

(2) Somewhat Important

8

14.3%

(1) Not Important

4

7.1%

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Total

56

6. Would you recommend this course to other students because of interest and relevance? Option

Count

Pct

(2) Yes

43

79.6%

(1) No

11

20.4%

Total

54

7. Please tell us what is good about the course that should be retained? What is bad about the course that should be improved? 1. [179721] Incredibly engaging, I actively enjoyed attending lectures. The class would be better if the TA's could be more involved and better explain concepts. 2. [180320] The textbook for this course was excellent. More explanation of practice problems would be very helpful. Maybe a problem solving session? 3. [181082] The last few lectures were very good. Overall, I thought the material was too hard and I could not keep up. 4. [181768] I think there could be a better textbook. There are many errors in the text. Lecture is perfect and Prof Michalopoulos is readily available and a great prof. overall. 5. [182428] Using specific real life examples to relate certain topics. 6. [185133] I like the curriculum. Please make sure your TA's actually know how to teach (and actually speak English). 7. [187382] It was a good and interesting introduction to macroeconomics. 8. [187401] It would have been nice of there was more discussion in class that helped to do the homework problems. 9. [188105] Organization and material covered, timing of exams, instruction were all great. The excessive difficulty of the final exam was counterproductive, as it (I predict) failed to provide a good evaluation of the knowledge of the final third of the course. Compared to the midterms, where the difficulty of the problems gradually increasedfrom basic to demanding, the final exam had too big a leap in difficulty right after the multiple choice questions. While I might be wrong, this seems to me to result in less precision in distinguishing between the level of knowledge among students. 10. [188198] Everything about this course was good. 11. [188982] The growth material was a little sped-through, but in general it was very interesting stuff. Definitely made an effort to have realworld applications, which I thought was very good. 12. [189394] The content of Intermediate Macroeconomics is extremely relevant and fitting to a slightly more advanced look at the economy in terms of macroeconomic principles and definitely should be retained. The course lacked variety in terms of its assignments, as each week consisted of two 80 minute lectures. Something like a group project at the end of the semester or collaborative assignments would help contribute to this aspect of the course. 13. [189813] Professor is a good guy who makes this stuff somewhat exciting. The homework he assigns is terrible and needs to be changed. Exams are pretty unfair, but with more relevant homeworks they might end up being fair. 14. [190283] The textbook was great! Good reading material. To be improved: more problems that fit with what will be on the test. Better feedback and TAs to help us actually learn the material. 15. [190683] I really enjoyed lecture because it was very engaging. The homework sometimes felt like it wasn't entirely relevant to what was being shown on the exam. 16. [191545] The last few lessons on Growth Economics seemed a bit rushed and there was not a lot of practice questions on the material, so it was hard to gauge what was important for the final. This meant it was a little hard to study for other than reading the textbook, but there were some questions where more exposure to the topic would've helped think them through more. 17. [192623] The problem sets should be more relevant to what we will be tested on. The textbooks are very good and the lectures are helpful in understanding the readings better. 18. [192643] Understanding how government policy controls markets and economic behavior. No complaints. 19. [192656] Honestly, an excellent course. Very well taught and structured, and the subject matter was interesting and relevant. 20. [192661] The course should stay as is. If anything just make tests a little bit less difficult. 21. [192718] The material in the course is complicated but interesting. The problem sets seemed overlong and not incredibly relevant to material covered in class. In addition, they were not very good preparation for the exams.

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22. [192772] The course is very well taught and extremely topical given the notoriety of The world's current economic climate. It's cool to see the background and models for what's happening in the real world. The difficulty and the lack of communication about grades were very bad. I didn't know there was a curve until well the second midterm. 23. [192828] Professor Michalopolous was amazing and readily available 24. [193090] Everything is good except the use of the Economic Growth textbook at the end of the course. I felt as though it was completely different from everything we had been learning thus far and made the class much harder and also a lot more boring. 25. [193259] Second textbook was not worthwhile. The information was pretty self-explanatory. There was additionally not enough preparation for the second exam. 26. [195142] Home work problems that are more relevant to the test material. 27. [195229] More tips for how to keep up with the pace 28. [196474] The professor was great! Caring, engaging, and passionate. He seemed to put the time and effort into making the lectures the best he could. The exams were fair overall, except for the final, which included material that was poorly covered. 29. [198242] The TA sessions were not as helpful or informative as sessions in microeconomics - a more problem solving oriented section would greatly enhance the experience. 30. [199723] I think the lectures especially in the first half of the semester were great, but I think the textbook was too difficult and could've been more user-friendly. I also think section could have been more productive if it was a review of overall concepts rather than a review of the problem sets. 31. [199861] The overall structure of the course is good, the final should be weighted as a more eclectic test of all the knowledge from the course.

Section 3. Effectiveness of Instruction 1. Please indicate your evaluation of the instructor's overall effectiveness. Option

Count

Pct

(1) Very effective

23

40.4%

(2) Effective

26

45.6%

(3) Somewhat effective

6

10.5%

(4) Ineffective

2

3.5%

(5) Very ineffective

0

0.0%

Total

57

2. Please elaborate on your responses above, or anything else you wish to discuss about the teaching in this course. 1. [179394] good lecturer, lectures supplemented the readings well, not boring so it wasn't hard to pay attention 2. [179721] Excellent professor. 3. [180320] Lectures were clear and easy to follow. He was also very receptive to answering questions and having discussions in class. 4. [181082] Professor Michalopoulos was a good teacher and used real life examples. 5. [181169] one of the best professors i've ever had 6. [181768] Excellent teacher, straightforward. You will learn a lot from him and he's always available to clarify. 7. [184680] Great teaching, bad assignment of midterms as explained before 8. [185133] I really liked the way he taught the course. He was also very available and helpful during office hours. 9. [187314] great communicator. very good lecturer. 10. [187382] The instructor did not prepare us for the midterms and the finals and practice exams did not reflect what we actually encountered. 11. [187401] Professor Michalopoulos is an excellent economics professor. He is enthusiastic and his explanations of concepts were very effective. I also liked his style of engagement with the class. 12. [188105] Clear, insightful, approachable. 13. [188198] Stylianos was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable.

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14. [188982] I LOVED him. Very approachable, very clear in his explanations, incredibly smart man. I am tempted to replicate some of his research in different parts of the world. Paired with what I learned in econometrics, I can't wait to do further econ research, and he was absolutely an inspiration toward that goal. Can't speak highly enough of Professor Michalopoulos. 15. [189394] The professor was always very enthusiastic in his lectures, and was always willing to answer students' questions. One thing that may have detracted some people from going to class was the fact that he took his material straight from the two textbooks we used throughout the semester. Nonetheless, professor Michalopoulos was efficient and very knowledgeable in explaining concepts learned in class and relating them to various aspects of the real world. 16. [189813] He's smart and a good lecturer but he gets too sidetracked. His lectures aren't very methodical. Class is worth going to but you still end up learning most of the actual equations and relationships on your own. 17. [190283] He was very passionate about the class, and especially engaged in the first half. He always took our questions and tried to get the class to participate. However, sometimes he would simply list a bunch of equations on the board that were hard to follow. 18. [190683] Great charisma! Super intelligent and witty and on top of it. Didn't have to use notes and still was right on point with the book. 19. [190922] Stelios knew the material well and was open to questions. Everything was thoroughly explained. 20. [192643] Great instructor. Lectures were off hand rather than him reading off a list. He occasionally used slides. He also was very good at getting students to participate and stopped for questions frequently. 21. [192656] Very knowledgable professor who was also extremely effective in presenting the material. 22. [192661] Awesome teaching, great professor. 23. [192718] It is obvious that Professor Michalopoulos is very knowledgable and passionate about economics. 24. [192772] Very clear, concise, topical, and engaging in class. 25. [192828] Always explained in detail. And was always readily available for questions in office hours, responded within minutes of emails 26. [193090] Often times he gave lectures that were almost verbatim what the textbook had to offer. 27. [193358] Great Lectures! He makes dry concepts interesting 28. [193465] Stylianos is awesome!! 29. [193495] Amazing, very nice, but could speak a bit slower 30. [195142] Great Professor. Really passionate about the subject. Made the course material exciting and interesting. 31. [195229] Tough to understand what he's saying sometimes, but funny professor. I didn't go to class enough to be able to evaluate him properly 32. [195654] Stelios has a lecturing style that is very easy to follow, as he is very clear and very logical. His classes appeared to be well planned and organized. He does not limit his discussion to the fundamentals covered in the textbook, and having some intuition for the applications of the subject matter helped keep me motivated to study. 33. [196474] Great professor! 34. [198152] The instructor provided an extremely interesting and in-depth analysis of modern macroeconomic theory. He was very focused on making sure his students understood the current economic situations of the world. 35. [198242] Stylianos is an enthusiastic and engaging professor who does a good job of communicating the core materials. He is more engaged than past economics professors I have had. 36. [199723] Stelios was passionate about the topic and his knowledge and interest really came through during lecture. 37. [199861] The pace of the lectures is good, they were extremely hard to follow without some prior knowledge of the topic (But I guess that's not really his fault).

3. Please indicate your evaluation of the quality of: a) the lectures by the professor. Option

Count

Pct

(5) Excellent

26

45.6%

(4) Good

24

42.1%

(3) Satisfactory

3

5.3%

(2) Poor

3

5.3%

(1) Very Poor

1

1.8%

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Total

57

b) the professor's general attitude toward students. Option

Count

Pct

(5) Excellent

40

70.2%

(4) Good

14

24.6%

(3) Satisfactory

3

5.3%

(2) Poor

0

0.0%

(1) Very Poor

0

0.0%

Total

57

c) the professor compared to others at Brown. Option

Count

Pct

(5) Excellent

28

49.1%

(4) Good

20

35.1%

(3) Satisfactory

6

10.5%

(2) Poor

3

5.3%

(1) Very Poor

0

0.0%

Total

57

4. Would you recommend this course to other students, a) because of professor? Option

Count

(2) Yes

49

86.0%

(1) No

8

14.0%

Total

Pct

57

b) all things considered, and if taught by the same professor? Option

Count

(2) Yes

44

77.2%

(1) No

13

22.8%

Total

Pct

57

5. Please tell us what is good about the teaching that should be retained? What is bad about the teaching that should be improved? 1. [179394] talks really fast, accent sometimes unclear but usually easy enough to understand 2. [179721] Super engaging, I felt like I was actively learning concepts and skills during ever lecture. In an ideal world, students would have already looked at the material and could asks more questions during lecture that weren't related to what he was exactly talking about - but that wouldn't drastically improve the class. 3. [180320] Lectures were very clear as long as you read the section in the book. Maybe a bit more organization in lectures would be helpful. 4. [181082] Professor Michalopoulos's questions during the lectures were engaging. The summaries at the beginning of class was also useful. The teaching was good. 5. [181169] he's just great 6. [181768] Strong lecturing.

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7. [182428] He did a good job of tying the course concepts to real world issues. 8. [185133] He was very energetic and entertaining. Sometimes I just couldn't understand his accent. But overall, he was great. Also, sometimes there was some disorganization particularly with random math equations/proofs. 9. [187382] The instructor was enthusiastic within class. However, attending lectures does not prepare you for the degree of difficulty of the exams or the problem sets. 10. [188105] All was great, except for the inappropriate difficulty of the final exam. 11. [188198] His receptiveness to questions was helpful. 12. [188982] I've got no suggestions! He's doing a great job. 13. [189813] Stelios is great I would just say that he needs to more organized with his lectures and he needs to assign different homeworks. Homework 14. [190283] See above. 15. [190683] The energy, the clarity and the order in which topics are presented. 16. [192623] He goes very quickly sometimes but he explains very well and gives many real life examples that make the course seem more relevant to the real world. 17. [192643] Great teaching in general. Very clear, very intuitive, and left nothing untouched. 18. [192656] I only have positive things to say. I wish he taught every econ course. 19. [192661] Every professor at brown university is smart in his own right. However, Stelios simply amazed me by his knowledge over the subject and his apparent passion for it. I don't think anything about his teaching should be changed! 20. [192718] The lectures, though covering heavy material, proved to be enjoyable and engaging. Further summarizations and reviews of materials covered in lecture would be helpful. 21. [192772] Lsane style should be retsuned. 22. [192828] Keep everything the same 23. [193090] The teaching should stray a little more from the textbook in terms of lecture material to be more interesting. Because otherwise I could just skip lecture and read the textbook and be fine (which I often did). I want to really get something more out of lecture. Also, maybe we could have done more example problems in lecture. 24. [195142] The lectures could be more relevant to to the test material. 25. [195654] Lecture style is organic but very well organized. I liked that he included a few lectures about his research at the end of the course. 26. [196474] The professor was great! Caring, engaging, and passionate. He seemed to put the time and effort into making the lectures the best he could. 27. [196499] I think he did the best he could with the material he was given. 28. [199723] The lectures during the macroeconomics section of the course were great but I think the economic growth lectures were not helpful in terms of preparing for the exam.

Section 4. Effectiveness of Teaching Assistants 1. Please indicate your evaluation of the teaching assistant's overall effectiveness. Option (1) Very effective

Count

Pct

8

11.3%

(2) Effective

18

25.4%

(3) Somewhat effective

29

40.8%

(4) Ineffective

10

14.1%

6

8.5%

(5) Very ineffective Total

71

2. Please elaborate on your responses above, or on anything else you wish to discuss about the TA's teaching. 1. [179394] not very clear, but good enough

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2. [179721] He did not know what we were learning in class and could not answer basic questions. He was not a helpful TA at all and actually confused me more. 3. [179721] She was very helpful and accessible during office hours and one-on-one, her sections weren't very good however. 4. [180320] The TA was not readily available and often made concepts more confusing than before. 5. [181082] Mahesh was a helpful TA. 6. [181082] She was not clear on many things and could not answer some of our questions 7. [181169] difficulty explaining concepts 8. [181768] Violeta is a great TA. Always available, and willing to help. 9. [184680] Couldn't answer questions and often used methods to solve the homework that we hadn't learn in class or learnt differently 10. [185133] I feel like she wasn't passionate about economics and 90% of the time, I wasn't really sure what we were discussing in class. Her one on one office hours were helpful though. 11. [187314] He didn't seem very confident when speaking even though he clearly knew the material about the material and I thought that it was hard to ask questions during section. His explanations were often hard to follow if you needed clarifications. 12. [187382] TA had a difficult time explaining simple concepts. Deterred students from asking more difficult questions as students expected TA would not be able to explain. Section attendance also fell over time due to no help received from the TA. 13. [187401] He was very willing to help and provided helpful responses when questions were asked. 14. [187401] I did not have this TA. 15. [188105] Helpful, approachable, clear. 16. [188105] N/A 17. [188198] She taught one class fairly well. 18. [188982] She was fine. I had no qualms with her especially. 19. [189394] TA Gutkowski was a good teacher yet lacked the ability to clearly explain certain concepts throughout the semester. She was very willing to answer questions and was undoubtedly very knowledgeable about the material. 20. [190283] Mahesh brought down my opinion of this class. After attending the first few TA sessions, it became clear that he had no idea how to answer any of our questions or explain any of the issues that the students had. He barely could explain the answers to the problem sets without his notes. Very very ineffective. 21. [190283] N/A 22. [190683] Disorganized. 23. [190683] Needs to have more confidence. 24. [190922] She literally did not know the material at all. Would not answer any questions she did not prepare in advance. Was not open to helping students. Confused us more than she did help. 25. [191545] Never went to his section because the timing wasn't good for me, so I have nothing to say good or bad about him. 26. [192623] Her explanations were a little incomplete sometimes. 27. [192623] Was not in his section. 28. [192661] Always discussed any questions with the students and conducted office hours and was very open to talk. 29. [192661] I never had Mahesh as a TA so I wouldn't know. 30. [192718] Several questions presented to Violeta during section were not answered either correctly or at all. 31. [192718] n/a 32. [192772] Pretty clear and knowledgable. 33. [192828] I don't know who this is 34. [192828] I prefered going to professor 35. [193090] Mahesh seemed very unenthusiastic often. 36. [193090] Violeta is an effective TA except for the fact that she doesn't always know the answers to things/isn't able to explain them clearly. She obviously cares about helping us students though which I am very grateful for. 37. [193495] Great, but could work on having neater handwriting on the board 38. [198242] Violeta was friendly and approachable, but often very rote in her presentation of the material - she had difficulty finding alternate ways to explain concepts if they were not grasped inititially. 39. [199861] I wasn't really taught by him. Jan 13, 2015

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40. [199861] I wasn't taught by her.

3. Please indicate your evaluation of your primary TA's a) ability to communicate effectively. Option

Count

Pct

(5) Excellent

11

16.2%

(4) Good

23

33.8%

(3) Satisfactory

18

26.5%

(2) Poor

10

14.7%

6

8.8%

(1) Very Poor Total

68

b) availability during office hours. Option

Count

Pct

(5) Excellent

22

33.8%

(4) Good

25

38.5%

(3) Satisfactory

15

23.1%

(2) Poor

1

1.5%

(1) Very Poor

2

3.1%

Total

65

4. Would you recommend your primary TA to other students? Option

Count

Pct

(2) Yes

39

60.0%

(1) No

26

40.0%

Total

65

5. Please tell us what is good about your primary TA that he/she should retain? What is bad that he/she should try to improve? 1. [179721] He needs to know the material and know how to explain it. 2. [179721] She's great one-on-one, so her explanations of concepts was great. 3. [180320] I often left section more confused than I had previously been before I attended section. Homework was never thoroughly explained. In addition, the TA was often not available to answer questions and was unresponsive when I asked to meet with her. 4. [181082] He answered all the questions we had and graded the homework comprehensively. 5. [181169] he was nice 6. [185133] She was very available during office hours. However, I really feel like I did not learn much from her section. 7. [187314] Needs to work on how he can simplify the material for students and explain it effectively. 8. [187382] There were no qualities to retain. TA was late, he was copy answers from his notes. Often make mistakes while copying and not be able to explain what he was writing on the board. 9. [188105] All was great. 10. [188105] N/A 11. [188198] He was very helpful with the homework, but didn't seem to help very much otherwise. 12. [188982] She was certainly approachable, but it didn't seem like she was really that prepared. Fine instructor, no qualms.

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13. [189813] She could go slower walking us through problems. She wasn't very focused on teaching. She just rushed through the solutions without explaining much 14. [190283] As above. 15. [190283] N/A 16. [190683] More confidence. 17. [190683] Review more thoroughly before presenting. 18. [192623] She should continue her perseverance to make students understand but should prepare her explanations better. 19. [192661] Again, never had him so I don't know. 20. [192661] She always went over the homework with us and discussed any qiestions. I didn't find anything that could be improved really. I had no problems with her style of teaching. 21. [192718] Violeta made herself available and was always willing to answer questions, but at times her lack of knowledge of the material was unhelpful. 22. [192718] n/a 23. [192828] Manage sections better, not structured well 24. [193090] He should be more enthusiastic and engaging. 25. [193090] Maybe know the material a bit better but honestly she was quite perfect as a TA. 26. [196474] Unfortunately, she was not the best at explaining the concepts and often left us more confused. She seemed like she did want to try to help, however. 27. [199861] I didn't interact with either TA on a regular basis. 28. [199861] I didn't interact with either TA very much.

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