During a given semester, I am generally assigned two lower-level courses (100-300 series; grammar, composition, and rhetoric in the Spanish language) and one upper-level seminar. At the lower-level, I have mainly taught the 100-series (and their respective semesters):
SPN 101 (fall 2021, fall 2022, spring 2023, fall 2023)
SPN 102 (spring 2022, spring 2023, spring 2024)
Likewise, I have taught the following upper-level seminars (and their respective semesters):
SPN 304 – Introduction to Iberian and Latin American Literature (fall 2023)
SPN 413/410 – Spanish Literature: 1140-1700 (fall 2021, fall 2022)
SPN 411 - Spanish Literature 1700-present (spring 2024)
SPN 493 – Literature Seminar: La comedia (spring 2022)
SPN 493 – Literature Seminar: La generación del ’98 (spring 2023)
COR 450 – Senior Capstone (fall 2022, spring 2023, fall 2023)
I have also taught two honors seminars:
CSP 101 – The Liberal Arts Tradition (fall 2023)
CSP 261 – Boccaccio’s Decameron (spring 2022)
In my evaluations, I often receive praise for the enthusiasm and energy I have as I teach, as well as my meticulous preparation of each lesson. Students occasionally comment that my passion for language and learning helps them feel unafraid to apply themselves and use Spanish more consistently. Some students complain that my classes are occasionally too structured and that we sometimes need to rush through a text; others (infrequently) comment that we spend too much time in class reading important passages/criticism of primary sources. I try to sincerely consider all the advice I receive in my student evaluations and adjust accordingly, but it is admittedly at times difficult to determine what pedagogical strategies work best in a given class with a particular group of students.
For example, in many of my SPN 101 evaluations, students will on one hand frequently comment that they appreciate my efforts to make Spanish the lingua franca of our classroom. If they adopt the right attitude and overcome their anxiety and trepidation, these are the students that grow the most as speakers. On the other hand, some students will complain about the amount of Spanish I use in the classroom and grow increasingly frustrated given that I gradually ramp up my Spanish as the semester progresses. While I sympathize with the plight of language learners, I also know from personal experience that my students’ linguistic ability will never improve unless I provide them with an environment that challenges them to understand and communicate in the foreign language.
Overall, I am grateful for the constructive criticism I receive from these evaluations. I strongly feel that teaching is a malleable process that requires constant adaptability for continued success. I appreciate the plaudits and do my best to incorporate the criticism. By and large, students tend to enjoy my courses, my teaching style, and my passion for the material.
hillsdale college
(2021-present)
buena vista University
(2015-2021)
As an institution specifically directed towards teaching, I was evaluated twice per semester at Buena Vista University. First, the dean of my school visited a selected class from a given semester and offered her evaluation; second, my students gave a final evaluation of each course. Unfortunately, student evaluations are much harder to regulate--given their voluntary nature, I might have gotten only 25% of the class to respond. Regardless, here is a brief summary of my evaluations at BVU:
Dean's evaluations: Between 2015-2021, my class instruction was evaluated five times by my dean, once each semester. Her evaluations tended to describe how the course rolled out on the day that she visited--she discussed lessons taught, activities held, student participation, etc.. In her evaluations, I consistently received high praise for my lesson preparation, student engagement, and overall enthusiasm. Classes that were evaluated by my dean include: (1) SPAN 101 (fall 2015), (2) SPAN 202 (spring 2016), (3) 0BVU 100 (fall 2016), (4) SPAN 101 (spring 2017), (5) SPAN 410 (fall 2017), (6) SPAN 102 (spring 2018), (7) SPAN 101 (fall 2018), and (8) SPAN 102 (spring 2019). Copies of these evaluations are available upon request.
Student evaluations: Students were offered the opportunity at the end of each semester to evaluate their professor. These evaluations covered a wide array of questions, including personal details (e.g., is this a required course for your major? What grade do you expect to receive in this course?), aspects of the course (e.g., did the course assignments reflect the goals of the class? Were the expectations of the class clearly designated in the syllabus?), and observations on the instructor (e.g., what aspects of the instructor contributed most to your learning? Did the instructor make difficult material understandable?). In order to submit the evaluation, each student was required to answer 24 such questions, some of which used a scale of 1-5 (strongly agree - strongly disagree) while others were open-ended, providing students a text box to give helpful feedback or constructive criticism.
Of greatest interest to me personally and professionally were the students' responses to the following three questions:
What is your overall rating of this instructor’s teaching effectiveness compared with other college instructors you have had?
I felt the instructor did a great job giving me constructive feedback and communicating with me personally inside and outside of class.
What aspects of the instructor contributed most to your learning?
For the first question, I tended to average a higher approval rating of my overall teaching effectiveness in my lower-division Spanish courses (101, 102, 202; 4.7/5) than the higher, more intensive classes (335, 410, 498, etc.; 4/5). The difference averages out to 4.2/5. I suspect that the upper-level students were primarily concerned over the increased workload between a lower- and upper-division class.
For the second question, I averaged a respectable 4.4/5. I am proud of this statistic, given that I consistently feel that timely and constructive feedback is one of the areas where I need the most improvement. I appreciate the fact that the students recognize that I was making a real effort to get their assignments back in a timely fashion and strived to provide meaningful feedback.
Finally, the last question was always open-ended. Of my students' responses, many underscored my "enthusiasm for the material" and "consistent organization" as incentives for their learning. I firmly believe that if we want students to get animated and excited about the material we teach, we need to repeatedly demonstrate to them that we, too, are animated and excited about it. I try to remain as upbeat as possible in my lectures, something I feel the students have noticed. As per my personal organization, I admittedly do not teach well without a daily lesson plan that details the content and activities for a given class. Once I have the basic shape of the day's lecture established, I like to tinker with activities and exercises until I find one that functions well with a group of students.
Copies of the evaluations from a specific course/semester are available upon request.
university of california, irvine (2008-2015)
At the end of each quarter, the instructors at UC Irvine were assessed on a scale of 0-7 with thirteen questions answered by the students of the course. The questions asked are as follows:
Enjoys and is enthusiastic about teaching.
Has helped me feel more comfortable when speaking Spanish in class.
Uses English in class only when absolutely necessary.
Is helpful when a student or the class does not understand.
Is organized and always well-prepared.
Is always in command of the class.
Presents grammar points clearly.
Returns assignment and exams the following class period.
Prepares me well for exams.
Makes me want to continue learning Spanish.
Does not show favoritism.
Is accessible during office hours, or by appointment.
What is your overall rating of the Instructor?
I always paid careful attention to the feedback provided by my students and did my best to improve as an instructor. In the chart to the right, I have compiled the mean of the results of my Spanish teaching experience at UC Irvine between 2009 and 2012.
My overall average as an instructor was 6.45 (out of 7). As you can tell from my data, I have progressively improved, improvement I attribute to the careful attention I pay to my class evaluations. The lone irregular quarter (winter 2011) I averaged 5.7, a high score, albeit not as respectable as my usual teaching standard. I attribute its irregularity to the rigors of the quarter; I was preparing in earnest for my exams and was not able to divide my attention between my exam work and my teaching. A special insight comes from one of my students from my spring 2011 Spanish 1C course: “I had Profe. Blanco last quarter, too, but didn’t enjoy the class half as much as I did this quarter. The difference in his teaching style feels like night and day, considering how much more comfortable I felt this quarter thanks to his encouragement and enthusiasm.” As you can see, I rebounded the following quarters and made certain to learn from my mistakes.
Some of the areas where I have been most applauded are my enthusiasm, my organization, and my helpful assistance. One student from my fall 2009 Spanish 1B course comments, “[h]e is completely enthusiastic and well-educated in the field of Spanish. A ‘real’ strength would be his constant energy and passion for the material.” Another student from my spring 2011 course remarks, “[h]e is always prepared with his own activities and powerpoint lectures which are helpful in learning. It shows that he has spent a lot of time planning lessons and material. [. . .] He creates a great learning environment where I feel comfortable in the small classroom setting and assures us that it is okay to make mistakes.” Finally, a student from my winter 2012 Spanish 1A confirms, “I am not afraid to speak in class or to participate with my partner because I know that if I get something wrong, he’ll kindly correct me in a way that allows me to learn but doesn’t humiliate me. He makes learning Spanish fun.” Comments such as these abound in my evaluations.
Summer sessions are evaluated by different questions than those used during the quarter. For the two summer sessions that I taught–daily, fast-paced, 3-hours-per-day classes–, I averaged an impressive 8.88 (out of 9). The ten questions by which I was evaluated include:
The course instructor shows enthusiasm for and is interested in the subject.
The course instructor stimulates your interest in the subject.
The course instructor meets stated objectives of the course.
The course instructor is accessible and responsive.
The course instructor creates an open and fair learning environment.
The course instructor encourages students to think in this course.
The course instructor’s presentations and explanations of concepts were clear.
Assignments and exams covered important aspects of the course.
What overall evaluation would you give this instructor?
What overall evaluation would you give this course?
Again, my results demonstrate that I excelled in enthusiasm and technique. One student from my 2012 Spanish 1BC course comments, “[h]e is very dedicated, he truly wants his students to excel, and he is always finding ways to keep the course interesting.” Another student from my 2013 Spanish 1AB class shares, “he teaches the material is such an understandable manner in a safe environment.”
After I passed my qualifying exams (June 2012), I received a year-long scholarship to prepare to write and begin my dissertation. I resumed teaching a Humanities Core Course, UCI’s flagship undergraduate introduction to the Humanities, as a Teaching Associate in fall 2013.
In my Humanities Core course, I was evaluated by different questions than those used for my Spanish classes. During my first three quarters as a Teaching Associate, I averaged an 86% approval rate (6 out of 7). The nine questions and comments by which I was evaluated include:
How would you rate the effort that you put into Humanities Core Course this quarter, including reading, writing papers, and discussion?
How would you evaluate your section leader’s enthusiasm for the subject and dedication to your learning?
How well did your section leader help you to understand the reading?
How well did your section leader help you to understand the lectures?
How well did your section leader foster open and intelligent discussion in class?
How well did your section leader help you improve your writing skills?
Please comment on the kind of writing instruction offered by your instructor during the drafting process (from prewriting to final draft).
What is your overall estimate of the quality of your section leader?
Please offer comments evaluating your section leader as an instructor.
In these evaluations, my students focused on my dedication and teaching ability. One student from my fall class comments, “[h]e was very dedicated to helping us understand the material, and he would go into detailed explanations if we ever had any hazy understandings of the lectures or concepts.” Another student from my winter class shares, “[a]fter having [him] for 3 consecutive quarters, I can say that my way of thinking, speaking, and my writing skills have improved greatly.”
brigham young university
(2005-2008)
While at Brigham Young University, I taught up to two grammar and conversation based classes each semester. My main source of evaluations were my students, who were provided the opportunity to evaluate each course at the end of a given semester. As an upper-division undergraduate and newly-minted graduate student, these courses represented a chance for me to gain experience teaching Spanish and to begin to develop my pedagogical materials.
Each class was assessed on a scale of 0-8, ranging from the following categories:
Overall course
Overall instructor
Amount learned
Materials and activities effective
Well organized
Evaluations good measure of learning
Grading procedures fair
Intellectual skills developed
Testimony strengthened
Hours spent in class
Valuable time in class
Hours spent outside of class
Valuable time outside of class
Interest in student learning
Opportunities to get help
Active student involvement
Prompt feedback
Useful feedback
Responded to students respectfully
Explained concepts effectively
Integrates gospel into concept
Spiritually inspiring
Contributed to BYU aims
Regarding numbers 9, 21, and 22, Brigham Young University is directly affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). As such, certain spiritual expectations were set for each class.
For the second category, "Overall instructor," I averaged a score of 7.19 (of 8).
Each evaluation also gave the students the chance to provide some comments on the overall course and indicate ways for me to improve as an instructor. Most notably, students recognized my enthusiasm and preparation for each course. In my fall 2005 Spanish 101 course, for example, a student remarked, "Prof. White was one of the hardest working professors I have ever had. He came to class prepared each day with a ton of organized material. He provided activities and exercises that made learning enjoyable and effective." Another student in my fall 2006 Spanish 105 class mentioned that, "Professor Blanco was great! He was very enthusiastic about the subject and helped me to have a desire to learn. He was very animated when he taught and made class a joy to go to. Especially since it was every day!" Responses such as these abound in my class evaluations from BYU.