Public speaking, I believe, could be one of the most important courses offered on our campus, and I pride myself in the work I do with students in this course. Purpose is paramount and I try to make this point very clear, this course will help in many aspects of your life going forward. With that said, many students go to great lengths to avoid this class because of their own communication anxiety and for those who take it, the challenge can be formidable. When planning and executing this course, every decision involves being empathic towards students experiencing high levels of public speaking anxiety and to assist students in learning how they can manage this personal challenge. Increasing self-awareness, learning skills, knowledge and gaining experience in a safe context, all help over time to manage one’s personal anxiety. Ultimately, supporting, encouraging, and empowering students to stand up and deliver a speech in front of people is no easy feat, and due to these unique challenges, I enjoy every moment of teaching this course. Given all this, after throughout review of these evaluations, I am very proud of this student feedback.

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In examining 9 evaluations received from Public Speaking, Fall 2019, below is a summary of ten questions applicable to my teaching.

• 100% of students reported being an “active participant in the class.” 83% often, 17% sometimes, 0% rarely, 0% never.

• 100% of students favorably reported “gaining knowledge and skills in the course.” 67% strongly agree, 33% agree, 0% neutral, 0% disagree.

• 100% of students agreed the “assignments facilitated learning."    17% strongly agree, 83% agree, 0% neutral, 0% disagree.

• 84% of students reported agreement they perceived the “grading criteria clear.” 17% strongly agree, 67% agree, 17% neutral, 0% disagree.

• 100% of students reported very favorably to “opportunities for participate.” 83% strongly agree, 17% agree, 0% neutral, 0% disagree.

• 83% of students reported very favorably to a “positive environment.” 50% strongly agree, 33% agree, 17% neutral, 0% disagree.

• 84% of students reported favorably to “helpful teaching techniques.” 17% strongly agree, 67% agree, 0% neutral, 17% disagree.

• 67% of students reported favorable to “effective communication.” 0% strongly agree, 67% agree, 17% neutral, 17% disagree.

• 84% of students reported favorably on “useful feedback.” 17% strongly agree, 67% agree, 0% neutral, 17% disagree.

• 100% of students reported excellent or good "overall ratings of this course." 33% excellent, 67% good, 0% fair, 0% poor.

 

Student Comments:

• “Leaning how to present effectively” (Positive aspect of the course).

• “Learning to speak in pubic, getting over the fear of speaking.” (positive aspect of the course).

• "Professor Matte's leniency. I'd like to think I'm pretty good about staying on top of things, but if I messed up, Professor Matte was more than willing to work with me and discuss courses of action.

• “The feedback from my fellow classmates on how my presentation was” (positive aspects of this course).

• “Professor Matte's leniency. Oddly, his being so nice is a double edged sword. We ended the semester trying to cram presentations into little time, because most of the semester people were given too much leeway. There's a balance to be struck” (Improvement suggestions).

• “Be clear about the requirements from the start. the very first presentation was pushed back by weeks because something new would be added every class, (for example, "we weren't told we were supposed to have handouts until the day were we're supposed to present the first time, so it was pushed back)” (Improvement suggestions).

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Overall Takeaways from the student comments:

This course demands proper planning depending on the number of students in the class.  Specifically, calculating the number and types of presentations possible based on the number of people enrolled in the course. Overall, creating this plan as best as possible prior to day one of class is imperative.  This also includes prepping the Canvas course for the term and aligning presentation dates accordingly.  I recall this being a challenge for this course.  Also, for the first presentation in the course, I micro unit the steps of the work over several weeks so that students can learn in more detail and time the specific expectations.  I learned getting all most of the course information up on Canvas prior to the start of the term is critical to the success of this course.