University of Hawai'i eCAFE

eCAFE: Course and Faculty Evaluations

Instructor: Melisa Casumbal

Available Survey Results

POLS 335, Summer II 2010
POLS 335, Summer I 2010

Melisa Casumbal: POLS 335, Summer II 2010

Campus:	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Department:	Political Science
Course:	POLS 335 - Political Philosophy & Theory	Crn (Section):	90960 (701)

1. Class Level (pick one)

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Freshman	Sophomore	Junior	Senior	Grad	Other
3.5	16	0.63	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	1 (6%)	6 (38%)	9 (56%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

2. Course

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Elective	Required
1.94	16	0.25	Freq(%)	1 (6%)	15 (94%)

3. The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.88	16	0.34	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	2 (13%)	14 (88%)

4. The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.63	16	0.81	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	1 (6%)	0 (0%)	3 (19%)	12 (75%)

5. The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.75	16	0.45	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	4 (25%)	12 (75%)

6. I felt that this course challenged me intellectually.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.75	16	0.45	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	4 (25%)	12 (75%)

7. Which aspects of the course were most valuable?

The readings and writing assignments.

everything was valuable. All of the assignments and readings added to the understanding of the course.

the aspect of the class that was most valuable to me were in class discussions. reading works from plato and aristotle can be difficult to read, but through our in class discussions, were able to unpack the very ideas of the the ancient philosophers. discussions also provided us with opportunities to ask questions and challenge some of the things discussed in class.

All of it

The reading material and the power point slides.

What I foudn most valuable about the course are the discussions in class. It helped to clarify all the readings.

The classroom environment was very conductive to discussion. Anybody could say what they wanted.

Applying readings in different ways for the exams

-applying ancient philosophy to contemporary politics and to everyday life. -i love that she accepts all answers, and it's never a wrong one - loved that. -i love that she accepts ANY opinions.. -the random extra credit points - awesome!! ignore what everyone says, don't stop the creative application, super fun and helpful in regards to the material! :)

I really found it interesting just learning about different philosophies and how they all helped contribute to society today. Class discussions were also very fun and interesting.

I always enjoyed the discussions that began with the professor's question: "so, what do you make of this?" The course was valuable to me because I was able to understand the relevance of philosophical canons in contemporary society. Studying the works of major philosophers have developed a foundation that will help me understand and analyze politics of contemporary society.

I really enjoyed the conversations. I feel like a lot of different views were represented and they would often be very spirited.

Discussion and her teaching style.

8. Which aspects of the course were least valuable?

None

i thought all aspects of the class were valuables.

None that I can think of.

I felt everything that was incorporated in the class were valuable.

Schedule was a little too ambitious; class prone to going off on tangents. Good amount of material pushed back.

MILL, MILL, MILL!! maybe a criteria for page numbers of midterm. maybe staying on schedule? and not go on 45 minute tangents, of irrelevant material. maybe more contemporary philosophers? probably wasn't enough time during course. tell annoying, opinionated people to shut their trap more often..

I didn't really like the Philosopher presentations. I felt they were a little useless because the teacher did a better job than the students, including myself! (More thorough)

Some of the heated discussions in class were interesting but I would have rather read through more texts and have discussions on the content of the articles.

None...she is so engaged that nothing was least valuable.

9. The instructor seems to enjoy teaching.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.81	16	0.4	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	3 (19%)	13 (81%)

10. The instructor was able to explain concepts clearly and effectively.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.81	16	0.4	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	3 (19%)	13 (81%)

11. The instructor stimulated me to think about the subject matter.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.69	16	0.6	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (6%)	3 (19%)	12 (75%)

12. The instructor broadened my understanding and grasp of the subject.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.63	16	0.62	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (6%)	4 (25%)	11 (69%)

13. The instructor was thoughtful and precise in response to questions.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.67	15	0.49	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	5 (33%)	10 (67%)

14. Global appraisal: Considering everything how would rate this INSTRUCTOR?

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Very Poor	Poor	Average	Good	Excellent
5.0	16	0.0	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	16 (100%)

15. Global appraisal: Considering everything how would you rate this COURSE?

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Very Poor	Poor	Average	Good	Excellent
4.63	16	0.62	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (6%)	4 (25%)	11 (69%)

16. Other comments:

Enjoyed the class very much and the fact that she allowed us to participate in class and debate our ideas.

Melisa was always available to help and was very understanding. She was excellent at helping us learn the material. She is passionate about teaching and passionate about our learning, she is one of the few professors I have had that actually seemed to care if we understood. And unlike most professors she didn't expect us to do the reading and know everything about the subject. She is a teacher. Which is not something that can be said about most university professors. The course had a heavy workload, but a managagable work load. It was a summer session class that I didn't dread going to.

i would take another class taught by this instructor.

Loved,loved,loved this teacher! She is a great professor and explained difficult material in a way that was easy to understand. I believe that I was able to do well in her class because of the direction she took in teaching the material. She is very clear and explanatory which made the class much less stressful than it could've been had it of been any other teacher perhaps. The homework assignments were very helpful for the readings which forced us to pay better attention to the material and in turn I believe it gave us a better understanding of the text. I trully enjoyed this course and would recommend the class and the professor to other students. Excellent and Brilliant teacher!

Professor Casumbal is a very passionate and highly intellectual instructor. She always made herself available outside of class and through emails when we needed to talk to her. I am extremely happy with this class and I feel I had taken it with someone who should be the primary model of most professors. I walk away from this class much more knowledgable.

LOVE YOU MELISA!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU DA BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^.^ :D <3

I have really enjoyed this course and my instructor. Great experience!

Melisa Casumbal: POLS 335, Summer I 2010 Back to top

Campus:	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Department:	Political Science
Course:	POLS 335 - Political Philosophy & Theory	Crn (Section):	90364 (601)

1. Class Level (pick one)

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Freshman	Sophomore	Junior	Senior	Grad	Other
3.56	9	0.53	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	4 (44%)	5 (56%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

2. Course

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Elective	Required
2.0	8	0.0	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	8 (100%)

3. The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.89	9	0.33	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	8 (89%)

4. The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.89	9	0.33	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	8 (89%)

5. The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.89	9	0.33	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	8 (89%)

6. I felt that this course challenged me intellectually.

Mean	N-Size	Std Dev		Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
4.89	9	0.33	Freq(%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	8 (89%)

7. Which aspects of the course were most valuable?

All aspects of the course are valuable because one cannot distinguish from the other without learning each of it that were taught in class.

The philosophies and logic from each philosopher being related to contemporary society. The contexts that are inconsistent or consistent with views and understanding of each philosopher.

She provided a wide array of literature and reading assignments. There was also a nice variety to the assignments. Much of what was covered in class was foundational for understanding political science. It even gave me a better understanding of human rights, which I am very interested in. Sometimes we accept something as obvious and this class made me question why and its origin.

The readings, class discussions, and presentations. The class discussions will be the most valuable because I learned the most about philosophical thinking about philosophers and the ideas that students get from the philosopher's belief.

The lectures and the class discussions on the readings. I think I gained more out of that then the actual readings themselves.

Ms Casumbal is stellar on all counts. She is deeply knowledgeable, commands the classroom, patient, prepared, helpful, available, responsive, involved, concerned, organized, provocative, deliberate and fair. Her lectures are concise and her delivery is smooth and natural. I really feel like I got my money's worth, simply awesome!