Its judgment day and the anonymous student feedback forms have finally arrived. I contended that they were probably filled halfheartedly. It was the last day of classes and everyone had something better to do. But I did hope that they would at least provide me some feedback on my teaching style.
Unfortunately however, there weren't many long comments. Most of the responses to "What did the instructor do that most helped your learning?" were "Helped me when I got struck" or "Explained the problem well." Fortunately, the response to "Additional Comments" was always "Very good TA" or "Best TA ever." I am satisfied but (a little) sorry that I will probably not be TAing again - I have an RA now.
Of the lighter side, there were some interesting comments as well. The following was a response to "What did the instructor do to help..."
"Was able to look at the circuit and instantaneously tell the problem."
In reality, I have always sucked at circuits. This was the reason why I kept away from circuits courses in my undergrad and chose communication. In the lab though, every one is doing the same experiment and makes similar mistakes. Since I was always skirting around the lab trying to see where people got struck, I was always up-to-date with the common mistakes of the session. From a student's perspective though, it would have appeared instantaneous. Too bad the speed of light is finite.
The following was a response to "Additional Comments"
"I wanna be the very best
Like no one ever was
To catch them is my real test
To train them is my cause..."
I was stumped when I first saw these lines. Who is this guy trying to catch ? A little search revealed that the lines are from Pokeman (the anime) and the only thing he is trying to catch is his breath from running animarathons. Ironically, his response to the number of course hours spent was 0-2: pretty low for someone who wants to be the "very best."
