Spring 2022 Course Evaluations

Below are the responses to the three open-ended questions asked regarding the instructor and the course. Please note, student responses have not been edited in any way. Blank pages indicate no response for that question. What aspect(s) of the course or instruction enhanced your learning? Professor Ahearn used relevant cases to offer "real" examples of how the law is applied. Short video clips were also helpful. Explanation of cases and outline of key elements Reading real cases that showcase the foundation for special education and disability law was extremely interesting. Professor Ahearn’s passion and knowledge for the subject also was extremely helpful as he always provided great answers and lead inquisitive discussions. I thought the material in class was presented in a way that is helpful for actual practice in the field not just to pass an exam so I thought that was very useful and engaging Because Professor Ahearn doesn’t drag on once we are finished with a topic I was able to focus more in class. Professor Ahearn understands that people’s attention spans’ wane after a short amount of time, and didn’t hold us in class longer than needed and I really appreciated that. - Professor Ahearn is wonderful. His examples in class tying the material we were learning to real practice were invaluable to my understanding of this material. Even though I don’t intend to practice in this area after school, this class has made me feel prepared to go down that path if I wanted to. Professor Ahearn clearly has a wealth of experience in this area and is a thoughtful, helpful, and clear teacher. He promoted respectful discussions and illuminated many different pieces of the puzzle in a non-confusing way. He effectively wove themes and broader takeaways that help me feel that I have gained a general understanding of this area of law. Professor Ahearn’s slides were incredibly neat and organized, and overall very helpful. I appreciated how much Prof Ahearn sought to use modern cases. I have also never had a professor so open to student questions or willing to re-explain a concept, which was really nice to see. Prof. Ahearn was an excellent professor and made an already interesting subject even more engaging. He was clear and succinct with the cases, really assisting the students in understanding how the rules applied. The cases could be long but I really appreciated Prof. Ahearn getting to the point and assisting us in seeing it and then applying that rule in further conversations. Class discussions and reading assignments. I appreciated the clear and concise powerpoint slides that walked us through the various important concepts. I think that reading the cases and learning the law and then going through the forms and examples was beneficial. It gave students the chance to learn the law and then learn how to apply it in real world situations. Examples of forms and the real world practice application of the work. Prof. Ahearn also did a terrific job of helping us understand the different ways that counsel for different parties 7