This page contains feedback from students in several forms. The first is end-of-semester polls. I posted these polls before the end of the Fall 2011 semester and asked students from both Fall and Spring to come to my teaching portfolio and answer the polls. You can click “view results” to see the results of any poll. I also created a forum for comments on my strengths and weaknesses as an instructor at the bottom of this page. In addition to these two “digital” forms of feedback, I have also included departmental evaluation scores for Fall and Spring, as well as mid-semester and end-of-semester evaluation responses for Spring 2012 when I was the instructor of record.
ISE 441 – Fall 2011
Overall Teaching Effectiveness: 4.6/5.0 (4.0 Department Average)
ISE 441 – Spring 2012 (Information From Spring 2012 Students Coming Soon)
Overall Teaching Effectiveness: 4.7/5.0 (4.0 Department Average)
Mid-Semester Evaluation Questions and Selected Responses (Link Coming Soon)
Polls:
In the space for comments provided below, students were asked to identify my strengths and weaknesses as a instructor this semester. I will use this feedback to identify aspects of my teaching that need improvement as well as techniques that were successful.
Comments:
Jeremy J. Tejada's Teaching Portfolio 
Jeremy,
You did a good job explaining the arena simulation material in class and reviewing problems. You were also helpful when I came to your office hours and you assisted me with a missed ICA. I don’t really have anything negative to say about you as an instructor other than to try and present the material at a slower rate. Although I was able to understand your teaching methods, that doesnt mean I completely comprehended everything that you were doing. So my advice for future teaching semesters is to explain material in a slower manner so that everyone can follow what you are doing, rather than having to ask you to repeat a task.
Jeremy’s laid-back yet direct teaching style was extremely effective for the technical nature of simulation. He is someone who will get right to the point, waste minimal to none of your time, and stress the fundamentals; all in a fast-paced environment that keeps you interested and not ready to fall asleep in your seat! He does move fast because he’s very experienced in Arena, but he’s extremely receptive to questions and is willing to repeat a idea/concept as many times as it takes for the class to understand.
Excellent in office hours. As far as grading, he wants you to submit professional and neat work but rewards you generously for doing so!
Jeremy was very clear in his teaching and made himself available through some source of media if he couldn’t make office hours. He was readily willing to help and go out of his way when he could. He would ask the students questions during class to keep everyone engaged and make sure he had everyone’s attention. He related well with the students.
Jeremy is in his early stages of teaching, but he comes across as if to already have been teaching for years. He is very enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. Not only is he one of those teachers that keep you awake, his goal each class is to have the whole class engaged and fully understand all material taught. He is also open to suggestions in ways to potentially improve his teaching, in an ultimate goal to be as effective as possible.
Jeremy,
You were helpful during office hours, and were very motivated to make sure that anyone who asked a question understood the answer.
Jeremy is by far the best TA I’ve had during the semester. He knows how to well explain every subject that was under his responsibility for teaching. The only negative point that I can point about his method is that, sometimes, he went too fast over a few explanations and the classroom could not follow him. It is understandable that this kind of thing is improved over time and I am sure that Jeremy will do. He is a nice and easygoing guy, what makes his lecture get everyone’s attention.
Jeremy did a great job breaking down the concepts, and was a fantastic help outside of class.
Jeremy was a great TA, one of the best I’ve had. He taught material well, and in manner that was engaging to students. Jeremy was prompt in responding to e-mail questions, and always gave helpful feed back.
Jeremy did a good job teaching my class how to use Arena simulation. I really like how he is honest and direct when teaching. He is a fair teacher and is willing to help students when needed. I really enjoyed his teaching because he gets straight to the point and interacts well with the students.
Jeremy does a great job in keeping the class interactive. He makes constant references to how the simulation models can be applied to real world examples, which is huge because at the end of the day that is why we come to class. My confidence to make a simulation model is much higher than it was and expected it to be. Cheers.
Jeremy has been one of my favorite teachers I’ve had at this university primarily because he seemed genuinely interested in the success of his students in the class. It was very apparent that he would match the effort that his students put into the class. For each student that put a real effort into the class, Jeremy made sure that received as much attention that they needed in order to succeed. I also really respond well to teachers that teach in an informal manner and allow a class to be an open conversation about the subject rather than a simple lecture.
Jeremy was a great instructor. He knows his simulation well and was able to convey that to the class. I like that he taught by playing with Arena in class so that we could become more familiar with the program! Eventhough this class was hard and time consuming, I feel that I have a good understanding of simulation and can use it in the future!
Jeremy is a highly effective instructor. He was able to motivate us to read the book or to at least pay attention and come to his office hours and see him with questions and curiosities in the simulation world. His motivation was very compelling. He told us, that if we want to be able to show our boss they hired us for a good reason and show them how the company can save money, Simulation is a tool we can use to defend our recommendation. He was clear in saying, if any student is not interested in making money, then they would not find this course useful. Obviously those who really don’t care, dropped the course, however the remaining 99% of the students remained in the course and we all continued to impress him, when he compared the performance of the previous semester to the current semester. It’s a great way to get students motivated and show that they are doing a fantastic job!
Jeremy puts on a tough exterior shell, but when you get to know him and speak with him, or ask him for help, he is very receptive and actually a really nice and funny guy.
I worked my tail off in this class. I have never had homework assignments that were so intense. I also went from having no idea how simulation worked to feeling 100% confident that I can simulate nearly anything and get solid results. I spent a lot of time and energy on this class but it never felt like an evil professor torturing me with assignments. Jeremy expects his students to push themselves, but he makes it clear that he is pushing himself as an instructor to be the best he can as well. well done Jeremy.
Jeremy did a good job of going step by step through the material. During class we would go through each model and make sure to look into each step to make sure it was modeled properly. On more difficult and complex topics a little more explanation and time spent on those topics would have been a little more helpful. Not being in IE I did learn the applications of this software and class and got an insight into the workings of Arena and simulation analysis. Overall I am glad I took this class as I was challenged on most homeworks but it takes time to completely understand the material so the homeworks did as assigned..
Jeremy is a great instructor! He is always energetic and seems excited about teaching simulation. We have learned TONS this semester. He’s also very approachable and open to suggestions which I thought was great. He expects a lot from his students, but he does not demand beyond what he has prepared us for. Great Job Jeremy!!
Jeremy not only taught us nearly everything we need to know in regards to Arena and simulation but now that I have finished his course, I feel I can use Arena in a real world setting and be extremely confident about my work.
As an instructor Jeremy truly did an outstanding job teaching the course. His material was well organized, and difficult concepts were even recorded. From my own undoing I struggled at the start of the semester, but with motivation and his visual and relaxed teaching style, I was able to make outstanding improvements. I have learned Arena so thoroughly and find it to be so essential, that I actually enjoyed taking the final examination. Nothing feels as good as understanding the material so well after having fallen behind so far. Thank you Jeremy
Jeremy was a great professor. He made the class interactive which transformed a class that could have been difficult to comprehend simply easy to relate. His way of showing how to do modeling instead of telling how to do it was much more effective and I definitely appreciated it. I know for a fact that such a topic of simulation modeling, when somoene tries to learn on their own it can be very difficult to understand the logic behind it. Jeremy’s methodology of teaching enabled me to grasp the logic behind it and I now possibly like this program better than other simulation programs I have worked with before!
Jeremy is very knowledgeable in the subject of simulation. The skills I acquired under Jeremy enabled me to acquire a job, which involves simulating multiple manufacturing processes. I would not have been able to do this without Jeremy’s simulation skills.
Jeremy was in interesting professor! His teaching style is what I expect to see in most university classes in the near future. He did a great job by incorporating technology into his lectures along with relevant real life examples. I know that the skills he taught will help me in my future manufacturing career.
Jeremy did a great job teaching this course. I thoroughly enjoyed it, I loved how he was always very interactive with the class. Sometimes it was hard to follow along because he talked so fast, but he had many tools available to make sure we could understand everything. He was also always available outside of class to help us if we needed it. His teaching style was perfect for me. He showed us how to do it instead of just talking at us. I feel confident that I could use simulation modeling in future jobs.
Simulation is an incredibly effective tool in the workplace, and Jeremy did a very good job conveying its application. As it was his first semester teaching, there were certainly some minor bumps in the road, but Jeremy actively sought out and made adjustments because of extensive feedback. The fact that he cares about his students – making sure they understood the material balanced with presenting as much as he could possibly fit in about Arena in one semester – was evident every single day in class. He truly has his students’ best interests in mind. Jeremy’s class is difficult, but I learned a tremendous amount and would recommend it wholeheartedly.
Definitely learned a lot. I have a severe disposition to busy work and I’d have to say the best part of Jeremy’s teaching is that there is none. All of the assignments were for a purpose and taught you exactly what you needed to know. Super pleased overall.
Jeremy knows a lot of simulation, not only building models to represent the actual system accurately but also the statistical information needed as well. This knowledge he is very enthusiastic about passing on to his students and will go to great lengths to teach it correctly. The skills that I’ve learned from Jeremy will be useful to me in a, hopefully successful, career as an Industrial Engineer. While Jeremy can come off as a bit hostile and a bit rough around the edges, he knows what he is doing and only has the best intentions for his students in mind.
Jeremy is an extremely tough professor when it comes to understanding the material immediately. There is definitely no “ease in” phase to his classroom. He talks extremely fast when he is making a point and is hard to follow sometimes when he is providing examples in class.
However, Jeremy uses this as a tool to ensure each student understands the material as well as he does by the time they leave the course. This is extremely important as many other courses just touch on material important to the workplace. Jeremy harps on it. Once you have spent time in Jeremy’s class and have proven your worth through hard work, you quickly gain his respect. Although he will not answer all of your questions about specific models because he wants you to figure it out yourself (this can be annoying), he understands the effort you put into the course and your models and will grade you accordingly. Most professors do not take this into account, no matter how much they say they do. I am confident I learned more in this course that is pertinent to the workforce than most of my other courses.
The Bad: talks fast, needs to understand students will not understand material immediately
The Good: can gain his respect through hard work, understands the student’s mindset, teaches students what they actually need to know for industry.
Though he’s a little unorthodox and may still be a little immature when dealing with students who wish to argue, Jeremy is a very effective teacher and this course has been one of my best all semester. He works hard to make sure everyone understands the material and has access to resources to help them learn Arena. His classroom is a laid-back environment but he has a great knowledge of the program and is serious when teaching us important concepts. Overall I thought this was a great class and Jeremy was one of my best teachers this semester.
Throughout the semester, Jeremy’s class proved to be challenging and interesting. The pace of lecture was enjoyable — fast enough to keep us engaged, while never leaving us behind. Jeremy was always willing to answer questions during class, and made himself readily available after class and during office-hours. Assignments, learning objectives, and expectations were stated clearly. The atmosphere generated through Jeremy’s teaching was comfortable, and as such a catalyst for class discussions. I feel fortunate to have taken Intro to Simulation with Jeremy, as his instruction has made me a confident Arena user.
Jeremy challenges you to meet his expectations. He doesn’t have patience for students who are lazy or try to get by with minimal work. Some students don’t like him for this, but students who take Jeremy learn the material and learn it well.
Almost immediately Jeremy let us know that this was going to be a tough class. I’m not sure if that ran off the people who didn’t want to put in the time or if it scared the rest of us into working really hard, but whatever it was, it worked. I know I’ve spent more time on this class than any other class in my college career, but I learned a ton. Jeremy was a great instructor, he helped us to see the practicality of simulation and explained concepts very clearly. He was always willing to slow down or go over a topic a second time if we were struggling. The atmosphere was a little more relaxed than most other classes but I think it came from the fact that Jeremy was very close to most of our ages. Despite this, I feel that I’ve learned more in this class than many of my other classes. Jeremy pushed us to work hard but we can all now see the benefits of the extra effort he encouraged.
Jeremy can be an effective teacher. He learns as he goes along and recovers quickly from missteps. His attention to statistics as an integral part of understanding simulation has elevated his class beyond Arena for Dummies.
Jeremy does tend to give what he considers to be grad-level assignments and exams. However, Jeremy solicits feedback from peers before distributing assignments so that he learns as much as he teaches.
Jeremy,
I really enjoyed this semester. You did a great job teaching Arena and I feel like it is going to be a very useful skill for my career. Also, thanks for not being a boring powerpoint teacher who just reads slides to the class. I really appreciated the way you made class interactive and always kept it interesting.
The class was interesting. Jeremy did good job teaching Arena but sometimes, he did a lot of mistakes that made students give up following his class. Also, sometimes, he looked a little impatient. However, I enjoyed his class overall.
Jeremy was an awesome teacher. The one negative thing I have to say about Jeremy is that sometimes he went VERY fast which caused students to not be able to follow along with what he was doing and then stop paying attention. But that is something that can easily be improved on with practice. Jeremy did a great job overall teaching and explaining arena. I think it was nice that he was so laid back, it made him more approachable to students.