Highlights from Student Evaluations

This is the first class that I have ever taken that 1. made me enjoy writing papers and 2. made me feel like I was appreciated as a student. Annie is one of the best professors/teachers I have ever had and I will miss having her as a professor.

This was by far the best discussion I've had at the University of Iowa. Not only was the instructor exceptionally likable, but I can name specific instances within discussion where my thoughts or opinion on the various reading materials of the course either changed radically or evolved spectacularly.

Annie is the best discussion instructor I have had during my 3.5 years at Iowa. She offers an intelligent and empathetic teaching attitude which was motivating and comforting. Annie has compassion that reflects in her teaching and the way that she handled curveballs that would happen throughout the course. She will make a great college professor. If I could have had Annie for all of my discussion sections throughout college, I would have become a much stronger and concise writer than I am now.

I really appreciated the amount of care and understanding you gave us. You created a learning environment where I felt comfortable asking for help. I could tell that you are genuinely dedicated to helping students learn.

My accommodations were followed and kept in mind, I never felt like the class was less accessible to me than anyone else and I never felt like my accommodations were a nuisance or like they got in the way. The speech and essay structures made me feel like I had room to be creative and put my own spin on them but the requirements and prompts were still clear.

I really appreciated the support and the connections that you gave to us as your students. You realized that there is other things going on outside the classroom which not a lot of people do. I think because of the relationship that we had, it made me want to perform better in the class because it was not just another class to get done.

Annie made sure that the things that she explained were understood, and that if someone didn't understand she would explain it in different ways until she did. The simple and organized way that she laid things out was super helpful for a person like me with ADHD.

I think the most useful aspects of this course was the open and welcoming environment created by Annie along with how welcoming other students in the class were. Annie had us turn on our cameras during class, which was hugely beneficial to our learning and being comfortable with the other students in our class.

She lets us openly discuss everything that we like or dislike so it’s not a classroom setting, more of a community setting.

I really appreciated the structure that the class had. It was laid out nicely, especially if I had to miss class due to appointments or other things. I felt that it was helpful as a learner to get the quick response on papers and speeches in order to help us with the next assignment that was due.

Very pleasant experience. Professor Burkhart is the first instructor I've had at Iowa that I can tell enjoys their job and interacting with students.

I really enjoyed this course! I am not an English person at all and I do not find writing enjoyable but I actually really liked the class. I also felt that you were very relatable and understanding of circumstances going on individually and in the world. I also liked how open you were.

I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to like this course because I didn't really consider myself a feminist when I signed up for this class. It was the one that fit best in my schedule so I decided to take it just to complete the gen ed requirement. However, I really enjoyed this class. I liked the discussions we had and how everyone was encouraged to participate and how everyone's opinions were welcomed. Thank you for making this class enjoyable and welcoming.

This was the best English class experience I have ever had in my life. I loved how open you were about your beliefs and how you welcomed everyone’s beliefs with open arms. I have never felt so comfortable in a class to share my opinions than with this class. The overall environment that you created is like no other and I cannot thank you enough for this experience.

I thought that it was incredibly helpful that at the beginning of the course we reviewed the rhetorical appeals and the professor explained exactly what a rhetorical analysis was because I didn't go into class really understanding what rhetoric was. Leaving the class, I understand not only the rhetorical appeals and how to use them to persuade, but also what rhetoric is and how anything (even a picture of a dog on a blanket) can have rhetoric.

It was an honor to be in your class and I am so thankful to have you as a professor . . . You are the first teacher to treat me like a normal person rather than just another student. You are very kind and make rhetoric easier to learn. Overall you are an outstanding teacher and person.

This class has greatly helped me improve as a writer. Not having a strict outline for essays like I did in high school allowed me to grow and enjoy the writing process. My instructor has also supported all of her students not only academically but being understanding and truly caring about us.

Best TA I’ve ever had and arguably one of the best instructors. Super understanding and helpful and always encouraged participation and new ideas now [sic] matter how strange they seemed at first. If you could support your points anything goes.