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Dan Amernick
dpamerni@syr.edu
10/15/15
Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness
In Spring 2015, I was an Instructor of Record for Communications & Society, the introductory
course for all students in the S.I. Newhouse School of Mass Communications. As the sole
instructor of the course, my role was to develop the lectures covering the mass communications
industry. Some of the lecture material was based towards my strengths, particularly the section
on television history and television production, while others dealt with material from other areas,
such as journalism, advertising and public relations. My goal as instructor was to provide a
strong overview of all of the areas, making sure my students walked away with a greater
appreciation and understanding of all forms of mass media and communications.
Communications & Society
As Newhouses introductory mass communications course, Communications & Society is
designed with several learning objectives in mind, including: understanding the changes that
have affected the old media in the last 40 years and recognizing the impact of the digital
revolution; developing an understanding of the business landscape in which the media operate,
historical and present day; and examining the challenges facing all the media over the next
decade, emphasizing how digital media are completely overhauling established norms, to name a
few. To achieve these learning goals, the class sections would include discussion and activities,
where the students would be placed in real world scenarios facing journalists, advertising
executives, PR practitioners, or television producers. Working in groups, my students would
engage with the topic, and come up with the solution to whichever crisis they were assigned.
In addition, the course would have weekly current events quizzes, keeping the students informed
on national and world events, as well as a focus on media business and developments that were
taking place in the rapidly changing media landscape. The course has three sections, culminating
in an exam at the end of each one. The first section covers the history of mass communication,
media effects, and journalism. The second section focuses on public relations, advertising, the
newspaper industry, and how all these industries have been affected by new technologies. The
final section is about visual communication, the music industry, video games, radio, television,
and film, along with the changes brought on by emergent technology.

Teaching Evaluation
Communications & Society had 50 students enrolled in the class, with 44 of them filling out the
evaluations (88%). For the evaluations, the students were asked a series of questions on a scale
of 1 through 5, with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree. The questions
were:

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Average Score
My instructor is well-prepared for class meetings
My instructor explains the material clearly
My instructor is regularly available for consultation
My instructor shows genuine interest in students

4.05/5 (SD: 1.07)

3.19/5 (SD: 1.22)
3.98/5 (SD: 0.76)
3.95/5 (SD: 0.96)

The students were also given a series of short answer questions, asking for suggestions or
comments on the course, and the professor. The following is a brief summary of student
evaluations.

Word Cloud created using comments from all 44 respondents for List five words or phrases that
best describe the teacher (Spring 2015 COM 107 Class)

* Selected comments for Would you recommend this teacher to a friend? Why or why
not?

Yes, interesting and involved and cares about his students.

I would recommend this professor to a friend because he is able to explain things well
and isnt vague.
Yes, he knows what hes talking about.
Yes because he is a very passionate teacher.
Yeah hes very friendly and helpful.

*Selected comments for The teachers greatest strengths are:

Professor Amernick was very funny, approachable and showed genuine interest in the
topic of communications. It was very cool that he worked on The Nanny and was able to
share his experiences with the class.
His passion about teaching all the topics
Knowledgeable and knows the topics well
Has a lot of real world experience and is very passionate and knowledgeable about the
material.
Engaging the class with enthusiasm and patient explanation

*Selected comments for Has this course made you think? Why?

Yes, it has made me think about my future in the communications field and if I want to
minor in Newhouse.
Yes, because we cover the history of a lot of things in the media and it is interesting to
think about the changes that things such as radio and film have gone through
Helped me to realize what my interests are in terms of a career in communications
Yes, it has made me look at news, TV, and advertisements in a different light
Yeah I think a lot about how technology and communications didnt used to be what they
are today and how they evolved

As with any evaluations, especially for the first course that I was the instructor of record for,
there was negative feedback along with the positive, some of it constructive and helpful. I was
pleased to see that many of the students appreciated my passion, knowledge, patience, and sense
of humor. I also took great pride in the handful of students who came to me at the end of class
and offered some kind words of gratitude. I was particularly impressed that some students didnt
always mesh with my teaching style, but still would recommend me as a teacher, or at the very
least, they respected my knowledge, energy, and dedication.
However, while many students appreciated my style of teaching and the course content, there
were others who didnt. Since this was, as mentioned above, the first course which I was the
instructor of record for, I knew from the very start that there was going to be room for
improvement. There were students who felt that I went through the slides too quickly, which was
something I attempted to remedy during the course of the semester. While most of my students
appreciated the jokes and the puns, a few of them felt they were a bit unnecessary. Although I
planned the group activities as a way to make sure that the students were all participating on a
regular basis, the format of going around the room and having each one speak became redundant
for many. Throughout the course of the semester, I learned how to adapt my teaching style, and
following the evaluations, I learned some valuable lessons on how to improve the overall
classroom experience. These lessons are:

Slow down the pace during the PowerPoint presentations, and do not move on to the next
slide until the students have signaled that they grasp the material.
Make sure to not to gloss over the material; explain concepts in detail.
Find different ways to generate class participation. Pulling names of students at random
to answer questions would create an environment where students understand they will be
called on at some point during class to contribute.

My goals during the semester were to remedy these issues, working with faculty mentors in the
Future Professoriate Program, and gaining insights from other instructors at varying stages in
their teaching careers. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with students, and to get
their honest feedback, and I am certain that my teaching skills will continue to improve.