Spring 2022 Course Evaluations

What aspect(s) of the course or instruction could be improved?

Sometimes same instructions are repeated rather than providing a different instruction for students. There should be more feedback time for all the students for improvement. The two hours is not enough the way the class is designed right now. The feedback was always helpful but it was a but longwinded and could have been consolidated and more to the point. In my opinion, this class needs to be re-thought and re-vamped from top to bottom. I was very excited to take this class, which turned out to be disappointing and frustrating. 1. The class size MUST be smaller. There needs to be a cap on the number of students that take this class. If Judge Giles truly wants students to learn, she will work with the registrar to ENSURE this change. Having almost 20 people in this class disadvantaged all students. Because of the class size, students could not practice each part of the trial. For example, some were selected for the opening, and some never had the chance. Having this many students in the class caused us to rush through questions and specific exercises. Judge Giles would sometimes only provide a sentence or two of feedback after a performance because of time constraints. Judge Giles would also rush through questions at the end. After many exercises, I was unsure what was proper, and Judge Giles said there was no more time to answer. Even more problematic is that Judge Giles would often release us from class early instead of making sure all questions were answered. The only way for students to learn everything required in the courtroom is to devote more time to feedback and questions, which will only happen if this class is capped. 2. This class does not follow the required textbook. In my opinion, the textbook was a waste of money for students. Textbooks are an exorbitant expense for students. More often than not, Judge Giles would ask us to disregard what we read in the textbook or instruct us differently. Why even have this book if Judge Giles disagrees with it? 3. This class MUST HAVE written feedback. The most disappointing part of this class was the lack of memorialized feedback. Judge Giles should provide more extensive written feedback that each student can review on their own time and then reference to ask questions. Currently, Judge Giles rushes through comments at the end before moving on to the next student. Often, students are left confused, but in the name of "class time," she would plow onward without clarifying. 4. This class did not have a clear grading system. Grading was not transparent. It remains unclear to the students how grading was conducted. Judge Giles told us that it was on "participation" and the "ability to improve." Well, some students were better at particular exercises than others. So, how is grading conducted then? Students did not receive grades after each performance. I honestly felt uneasy asking Judge Giles about my grades because she had class favorites, and I was in fear that asking may jeopardize her opinion of me. Grading in this class must be memorialized through a written system or posted on BlackBoard for transparency. Grading should not be based

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