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French 125, Winter 2014
Question: Explain how good the course was
Holly, literally, is just so wonderful. She actual gives a damn about her students and goes absolutely out of her way to help everyone. She is attentive and caring and makes you want to learn. She is kind and diligent and really had a passion for her profession. How on earth she doesn’t have tenure yet is beyond me. Seattle University should feel lucky to have a staff member as excellent as Ms. Waddell.
Instruction was comprehensive and multimodal, with attention paid to aural, visual, and kinesthetic learners in class and in assignments. Created a welcoming and fun environment in class. Cares about students.
I’ve taken French before, and some aspects were very confusing. Holly did a great job explaining difficult concepts in the most easily understood way I have encountered.
Great variety of activities to learn the material. Movies, discussions, and worksheets were always helpful & well-organized. Class time was always used for learning & review.
The course was both informative and enjoyable. I looked forward to coming to class each day.
This class was much more informative than my last french class, it was much more interactive.
We did lots of activities that were engaging and fun but also spent a lot of time going over the information in the chapter to build upon our foundation knowledge.
Holly made French exciting with interesting activities and projects, mixing up the usual French syllabus.
In many ways I liked this french quarter much better than the last. Watching movies and going on outings made the class much more fun.
I had a lot of fun in this class and learned a lot. There was a variation of learning types and many different interactive activities.
Holly is great at explaining key concepts and works very hard for us.
This course was fun and interesting and the teaching style was relatable and easy to follow.
Question: Explain how challenging the course was
French is a difficult subject for me, and the class pushed me to the limits of what I was able to do in a quarter class.
The course was challenging, but I have taken this level of French 2 separate times in the past, so it wasn’t new or nearly as difficult as it might have been had it been completely novel.
Tests were sufficient in checking course material and required studying assignments may have been a bit too repetitive.
Already having experience in French, this course was not difficult for me. However, it exposed things I failed to fully learn in the past.
I was in AP Spanish before I came to college but always had a passion for French, so I decided to switch! Switching languages is extremely difficult though, and learning a language is extremely difficult so its not the course that challenges me so much as the language itself.
Only because I took four years of french in high school, meaning that much of what we have learned I had prior knowledge of.
She went at a good pace but French is always challenging.
Since Professor Waddell spoke in French almost the entire time (with the exception of explaining the more difficult grammar), it was really tough for me to follow sometimes. It is supposed to get me more integrated in the French language but I was challenged considerably.
I took French in High School so it wasn’t as difficult for me but I still learned a lot!
This course was very challenging for me. I learned a lot and I had to put in a lot of time to study.
I have taken French in the past so it was fairly straight forward.
Question: Instructor effectiveness
See above, attention to multiple learning styles, passion for subject, cares about students.
Best French professor I have ever had. I would take her class again in a heartbeat if at all possible.
Made sure students understood course material.
Always asked us questions in French. Always had lesson plan. Always prepared and helpful.
Holly was always engaged and enthusiastic while teaching.
Her enthusiasm for class each day made the class more fun, along with the presentation of subject matter (i.e. power points and videos)
Speaking in French all the time might be better in the long run but I was really lost sometimes.
She was very enthusiastic about the class and did many interactive activities including outside of class which I really enjoyed.
She was very good at being patient when asked a lot of questions. She explained things very clearly and always went above and beyond to give extra help.
Question: Explain active learning
A variety of assignments and activities.
She did very well. Actively encouraged us to pursue language learning on our own. Used a variety of teaching methods which helped.
Class engagement and mostly French spoken in class made sure we understood and projects were a good way of simulating use of the French language.
Variety of activities.
Lots and Lots of in class activities and interactive worksheets, very fun! 🙂
It’s a very participatory class.
The essays after a movie helped me to not only enjoy myself in class due to the movie, but also practice my french by putting my thoughts into essay form. The activities in class help to set my mind in a french state so that french words (in known) come to mind before the english.
She would ask each and every one of us questions and we would watch movies to make us try and follow what real French people sound like.
Many worksheets that we went over in class. We did a fashion show during out clothing unit and got to go to a french restaurant during our food unit.
All of Holly’s lesson plans are interactive and comprehensive
Our assignments were often very creative and fun which helped students to get involved and feel motivated.
Question: Availability and helpfulness
Helped me recover from health issues early in the quarter
Had some inconsistencies with location, but I think that was more due to clerical issues within the school.
Offered class hours and time after class to go over material learned in the classroom.
Easy to communicate and reach. Always available to help.
Holly is a great professor.
JUST GIVE HER TENURE ALREADY!!!! AND LET HER TEACH FRENCH 225 NEXT YEAR!!!! I DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO SWITCH TEACHERS AGAIN THAT IS SO ANNOYING!!!!!
One of my favorite French classes. I’m sad that I won’t be in the same class next quarter!
Question: Student contribution
May have occasionally not put my best effort into homework but came prepared and studied outside of class for evaluations.
I feel like when it comes to class participitation I work no harder than the rest of the class, but I don’t work below them either. I put in effort into my assignments and turn them in on time to the best of my abilities.
I felt prepared and organized in this class.
I just put tons of effort into the class because I want to become fluent 🙂
I do a lot of French outside of class (by reading French stories and making note cards) and did all off the homework, even when it was not collected. I also made sure to go to the conversation groups.
Taught in 90% French so it was difficult to understand, since I am still very new to the language thus making it hard to respond/talk/participate in class
I tried doing all my homework and listen as thoughtfully as I could. I could have been better with participation.
I always came to class prepared and emailed her with questions that she would often then address in class. My level of participation in class was high.
I completed all of the work that Holly assigned and tried to participate in all of the activities. I also studied on my own time
Except for when I was not feeling well, I went to class every time and did all the homework and participated in class.