I believe in competency-based learning and practice that approximates towards eventual mastery. My learners know the objectives of the course and are given multiple opportunities to close knowledge gaps and performance expectations. My design choices in creating learning experiences are informed by adult learning principles, cognitive science, and learning theories.
How did those decisions impact learner experience and results? Here are comments from past online and face-to-face learners, collated from end-of-course evaluations.
Timely feedback so that performance can approximate desired mastery
- “Provide feedback in a timely manner. Scoring guides and assignments were clear”
- “She was extremely responsive to e–mails and provided lots of examples of good papers to look at.”
- “Dr. Gan was always extremely helpful. She gave constructive feedback and was always encouraging us to engage in discussion amongst ourselves in order to promote positive teaching and learning practices.”
- “She set clear and high expectations and gave valuable feedback on papers.”
- “I loved her weekly communication and providing opportunities for extra credit.”
Engagement with learners to sustain and increase motivation
- “The instructor provided continual support and took inventory of the students’ concerns in a mid course survey. The instructor made accommodations based on that feedback and is planning on discussing other concerns with the course creators.”
- “I really liked that Dr. Gan checked in frequently and was always available. She clarified expectations for the whole group and quickly responded to my messages. She also graded all assignments very quickly which was helpful in gauging my understandings of each topic before moving on to the next. I also really appreciated the inclusion of very clear rubrics for each assignment. There was never any confusion about what was required.”
- “I think Dr. Gan is my favorite professor so far. She is pragmatic, professional, and really made me feel like she cares about my personal education. I felt like everything we were doing had a really solid reason behind it, which made it easier to invest. Every assignment had a pretty good balance between philosophy and practical use, and I felt like she made it really clear what we were doing and why. Other than the readings, I don’t feel like there was any wasted effort, which I really appreciate.”
- “I love this class! I was really excited for it anyway, because the content interests me naturally, but the class was run in a really respectful and practical way and I think that my teaching will be better for it.”
- “The instructor was very knowledgeable, and the most caring instructor I have had. She genuinely cared about the students learning. She made herself available for more than she had to, and would work with me until I understood the material. She went completely above and beyond in her job.”
Sharon Gan, PhD 