Note:
WSU: Wayne State University
OCC: Oakland Community College
CCS: College for Creative Studies
Quantitative Scores from Student Evaluations
Student Evaluations, Fall 2015 (WSU, ENG 1020: Intro to College Writing)
Student Evaluations, Winter 2016
Student Evaluations, Spring/Summer 2016
Student Evaluations, Fall 2016
Student Evaluations, Winter 2017
Student Evaluations, Spring/Summer 2017
Student Evaluations, Fall 2017
Student Evaluations, Winter 2018
Student Evaluations, Spring/Summer 2018
Student Evaluations, Fall 2018
Student Evaluations, Winter 2019
Student Evaluations, Summer 2019 (OCC, ENG 1710: Intro to Literature – Short Story & Novel)
Student Evaluations, Fall 2019 (WSU, ENG 1010: Basic Writing & ENG 2390: Intro to African-American Literature)
Student Evaluations, Fall 2019 (CCS, DEN 316: The Graphic Novel)
Student Evaluations, Winter 2020 (WSU, ENG 1020: Intro to College Writing)
Student Evaluations, Winter 2020 (CCS, DEN 316: The Graphic Novel)
Written Comments from Students
Fall 2015
“She clearly loves what she teaches.”
“Shelby was very clear when explaining topics/assignments.”
“Very available/easy to get in touch with”
“She is very interpersonal with her students and always offers any supplemental help that she can give, whatever the schedules may be.”
“She actually cares about our success in the course and she makes sure she is available for assistance.”
Winter 2016
“Overall, this was a great course. I learned a lot and increased the value of my writing.”
“A lot of assignments, but all helpful.”
“Shelby was very organized and I always knew what she was expecting from me.”
“Very glad to have had Shelby. She made my least favorite subject available.”
“You’re very detailed in comments and feedback…you make class lectures fun and entertaining, which makes me participate.”
“All grading had feedback so I knew what to improve on.”
“[I] like her revision rule because it allows you to see what you did wrong and fix it or make it better.”
“What [I] like most about the course are the student conferences and peer review because it keeps us on track with our papers.”
Spring/Summer 2016
“I want her to keep teaching ENG 1010, 1020, and hopefully any other high [level] English classes that I will take in the future.”
“I love this course compared to the other ones I have taken this semester. I strongly believe Shelby is an amazing teacher. She has been so helpful to all of us in class. She has kept her doors open for us no matter what.”
“I think the organization in this class is good. All the assignments and projects are already planned out on Blackboard.”
“The instructor’s enthusiasm on the subject along with her willingness to assist students in succeeding was probably the thing that encouraged me the most to participate . . . Group interaction during peer review was helpful and gave a larger audience to review out work.”
Fall 2016
“Professor Cadwell did a great job, I hope to have more professors like her in the future.”
“Shelby was a very funny, nice, and hardworking teacher. She cared for her students.”
“She’s the G.O.A.T.”
“The class structure was very organized yet the professor was very flexible.”
“Grading was fair if you put in the necessary work.”
“I always received feedback on my work. I felt very confident when I turned in my work and I thought the pass/fail system was super helpful for this course.”
Winter 2017
“Instructor was amazing in my opinion, she wanted everyone to be successful.”
“Grading was fair.”
“Seemed enthusiastic to teach the class most of the time.”
Fall 2017
“Everything was well organized. I liked that the calendar was easy to get to and I didn’t have to flip through 20 pages of the syllabus to find it.”
“The feedback I got on my work really helped. I like that Shelby pointed out the good and the things I need to work on.”
“The teacher was ALWAYS happy and full of energy.”
“I loved how we all laughed together at stupid jokes, but still got work done.”
“Grading is very fair and clear. She went over at the beginning of semester and clarified it when needed.”
“Very organized since day 1. I knew exactly what to do throughout the course.”
“Amazing work. I really enjoyed my time in this class and if I ever had another opportunity to take a course with Shelby I definitely would.”
“Shelby is my favorite instructor. She has actually made writing fun. She’s not the type to teach from the book because she knows we won’t pay attention that way. Instead she actually talks to us like we’re people and not just her students. Whatever you do, please keep her around. She’s one of a kind.”
Spring/Summer 2018
“Her teaching was almost like talking/listening with a friend.”
“Fantastic presentation of this course. I gained a lot of knowledge and insight. Shelby was a very helpful and great teacher.”
“Very well organized. Good, strong clear speaking voice. Clear and concise explanations. Clearly knowledgeable about the subject, as well as passionate. I notice I now view movies differently.”
“Shelby is a great instructor that shows a lot of enthusiasm when teaching the subject matter of film.”
Feedback from Classroom Observations
Fall 2015
“Shelby is a natural teacher/speaker. She has a good rapport with her students and is organized with her class plans. Students seemed to know what to expect and moved comfortably between activities. They spoke sparingly, but the participation credit seemed an effective motivation for them. As Shelby hones her teaching practice, she’ll grow comfortable varying the pacing, and likely will be able to slow down a bit at moments, while speeding up at others (in terms of verbal delivery). Overall, she ran a solid, organized, student-centered class and was a pleasure to observe” – Professor Nicole Varty
Winter 2016
“I found Ms. Cadwell to be well prepared and in total command of the subject matter. She strategically discussed the format for five major types of arguments . . . Most significant is Ms. Cadwell’s use of “Edgar Wright – How to Do Visual Comedy” video to elicit critical thinking. Ms. Cadwell used the video as a heuristic for having the class consider the following questions: what types of arguments are being used in the video? How do you know? These questions helped prepare students for the large class discussion on identifying and understanding arguments . . . Ms. Cadwell is an excellent instructor. She is knowledgable and is able to connect with a diverse population of students. After class concluded, one of Ms. Cadwell’s students approached me and stated, ‘Instructor Cadwell is the most thorough and helpful teacher I have ever had.’ This further speaks to Ms. Cadwell’s level of excellence as an instructor” – Professor Shenika Hankerson
Winter 2017
“Shelby demonstrates that, as an instructor, she is also an engaged writer. She gave examples of her own writing practice that it seems students could relate to (for example, realizing that in an early draft of a paragraph, she started every sentence with the same word). Her review of concepts related to the summary assignment rubric and of the purpose and value of peer review during the first fifteen minutes of the session set the groundwork for the activity to follow. She carefully prepared students for the homework due over the next few days, by explaining details and suggesting process (for example, writing the peer review response assignment sooner rather than later, while the ideas from peer review are fresh in their minds). . .
In addition to demonstrating knowledge about the value of and best practices for peer review, Shelby helped students work through definitions and applications of concepts like “higher order” and “lower order” concerns, “objectivity” in summary writing, and the key components of a summary. While students did not have many questions about items other than logistics (like due dates and where to access Shelby’s feedback), Shelby seemed to anticipate a lot of the questions students might have in their minds, for example, by explicitly explaining why reading aloud and writing on drafts was valuable for peer response and why items in the rubric were placed where they were on the scale of higher order and lower order concerns . . .
Shelby is an engaged and enthusiastic teacher who thinks carefully about constructing class time to make sure students understand and can apply key concepts. Her students had ample time to practice and discuss the peer review tasks and to talk with Shelby about their work. One of Shelby’s strengths as an instructor is her ability to attempt revisions to her classroom practice—to try new strategies—and to reflect on these approaches for constant improvement. I encourage her to keep this up, identifying manageable spaces for revision when needed, and to reflect also on her strengths as a responsive classroom teacher” – Professor Adrienne Jankens
Shelby Cadwell 