What MS/HS Students Say
In his last teaching position, every term students were able to anonymously give feedback on how their instructor was doing on 29 qualitative metrics using a 1-5 scale. Timothy's score on any of the metrics never dropped below a 4.25 during any term, and on his last evaluation he earned 18 perfect 5.0 rankings (with about 50 students giving feedback). Students also had the chance to leave anonymous feedback. Here's what they had to say:
"You are the best teacher I've ever had!"
"Mr. Maylander is a great teacher and I hope to be in his class or see him next year."
"I think he is a very good teacher. He always has a positive attitude. He is also very nice and caring - he cares about his students a lot. He's also a funny teacher."
"This teacher has taught me a lot in just a little bit of time and I am very thankful to have had him."
"He is my favorite teacher - funny and very nice."
"Mr. Maylander is a vey nice teacher and he is someone who I wish I will get again!"
"I learned a lot in this class. It was my favorite class this term - you did a great job!"
"He is one of the nicest teachers I know. He is always positive... I know he cares about all of us and he always explains the frontloading (homework) and always helps the students. He does everything positive."
"Really good teacher and makes me excited for class every day."
"I loved this class very much. Mr. Maylander always had such a positive attitude and always encouraged us to do our very best. Every day I would look forward to coming to his class."
"He is a really nice teacher. I personally don't like journalism but he's making it fun."
"I didn't like the flavor but I loved the teacher."
"Mr. Maylander made learning fun for me, and it was really easy to understand concepts we were learning that day. I always looked forward to going to his class."
"This was a very well-taught class and I feel like I obtained a lot of knowledge."
"Mr. Maylander is a really nice teacher and I enjoy his enthusiasm - it's a really nice way to start off my day."
"He is a fun teacher. If I could, I would recommend him to everyone in the school. He is very helpful and very nice."
"A really fun - yet hard - teacher."
"Mr. Maylander is great. I love his class. He makes learning so fun and I hope I have him next quarter too."
"He is an awesome teacher without a doubt. He always makes things so fun and I look forward to coming into his class."
"He is one of the best teachers I've ever had. He's a hard teacher, but he teaches really well."
"By far my favorite English teacher."
"Mr. Maylander is overall a good teacher. He has fun teaching and is always happy and positive. He makes class fun and helps to make sure you understand. I do recommend this teacher."
"Mr. Maylander makes learning concepts fun. He also checks to see if people understand."
"Mr. Maylander is an incredible English teacher. I love the way he explains things. He is also kind and detailed in explaining projects."
"He is just so fun to be around and the energy is fun even if you're tired. I would recommend him to a lot of people."
"He is the best."
What College Students Say
At the midpoint and end of the semester, Timothy has his students fill out a completely anonymous online survey. He asks them what they enjoyed/hated about the class, how he can do a better job as an instructor and what they'd like to see changed. He also has them give him a "grade" for his teaching ability on the traditional A-F scale. Finally, the students have the opportunity to provide open-ended feedback. Below are the results of those surveys:
of Timothy's students feel they learned the course material
of Timothy's students were satisfied with his instructional ability
of Timothy's students would recommend his section to a friend
Timothy has his students anonymously "grade" his teaching ability on an A-F scale. So far, the average grade is between an A- and B+.
Anonymous Student Feedback from Timothy's MU students
“He always has been reasonable, helpful, and determined to make sure this class not only runs smoothly, but to make sure we learn everything this class is designed to teach.”
“I respect him and am grateful for the flexibility that he has, knowing that in journalism some things are hard to plan for because numerous things can come up that are out of our control.”
“His teaching has been great so far. He is always open to answer questions even on the weekends through every medium like email, call, text etc., which not a lot of other teachers I know are willing to do. Also, he gives helpful feedback and is really punctual with posting grades.”
“He did what he could to go above and beyond to help us. He was flexible and understanding when it came to computer issues and problems we had. He would constantly stay in contact with us and let us know what the deal is and I like a proactive teacher that can give me good insight and they have no problem with me asking questions.”
“Keep your quirky personality and teaching style you have in the class. It's really personable and as a student it makes me more inclined to talk to you more because you make yourself presentable and make me comfortable to talk to you.”
“I'm learning a ton, receiving helpful and timely feedback and becoming a better and more marketable journalist in the process.”
“Thank you for all of your help and understanding. This has been a rough semester for me, and you have been very understanding when I have troubles in this class.”
“He was personable, understanding, and genuinely cared about our learning.”
“He was really understanding about the difficulties of trying to take this class over the summer and seemed really knowledgeable and interested in the material.”
“Good instruction, good feedback, very knowledgeable.”
“He is definitely one of the most laid back easy going professors I've had. Laid back but still challenging.”
“His feedback is much appreciated and all the examples he puts online are very helpful.”
“He does a really great job of providing examples, giving feedback and helping us when needed.”
“I think his feedback is useful and he knows what he's talking about.”
“Compared to what my friends in other sections say about their instructors, I feel like I lucked out with a pretty good one.”
“Thank you for understanding that this is not my only class and not being understanding when things come up. Most professors don't care.”
“He's efficient in both communication with students outside and inside of class for assistance on projects.”
“He is very knowledgeable and gives great feedback. Communication and grade turnaround is good too.”
“I really appreciate how understanding and co-operative you are. You understand things come up and are generous with offering re-submits and extra help. Your communication is also very good.”
“I'm really freakin’ happy he is my TA.”
“He has been my favorite journalism teacher I have had so far!”
“You are a great teacher and I really am enjoying your class. It has made me a better journalist.”
“He grades fair and gives pretty good real world examples of each project. Also the rubrics are well-defined.”
“He is an excellent lecturer and great at giving in class examples. He is also extremely lenient when there is an issue with technicalities in rescheduling and making arrangements for assignment deadlines.”
“He is a good instructor who cares about his students. He is also lenient about outside circumstances.”
“Love the way he can connect with us as a student, he understands the struggle because he is going through it as well.”
“Continue to be approachable/helpful to students. It really pays off. It gave me reason to actually try when I was basically ready to throw a table over a project. Keep it up.”