FACULTY PEER REVIEW

Instructor: Mike Splane

Reviewers: Kent Webb, Wendy Wang, Ashraf Shirani

Class: Bus91L

2007 Comments:

The B91L instructors have cooperated very well in insuring that their classes are consistent with the goals of this computer lab. Mike Splane has been a leader in developing content and has designed a very effective and extensive web site that all of the instructors use, while allowing for some individual personalization of the instructors material as well.

Mr. Splane has developed a workbook for his lab that fits the teaching goals of giving the students practical training in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. In addition, a very detailed web page used to support the class provides the students with a great deal of information without the high costs found in some of the other lab classes in the department. This is a very significant contribution to teaching of the students and I applaud Mr. Splane for his efforts.

Class opened with a distribution of previous exams, noting a few students were missing. A short overview of the material for the day was presented; perhaps a little more extensive outline would help set the stage. As the presentation continued, there were numerous forward references to tie concepts together; references to material that would be covered that day and to material to be covered in future class meetings. Mr. Splane was careful to talk about alternate ways of using the Word Drawing Toolbar (the topic for the day) and efficient approaches that were available.

The lecture was conducted in the computer lab BBC301. Mr. Splane made good use of the computer demonstration. Students in the class were following along at their computers. Everyone seemed to be paying good attention and all computer monitors were apparently being used for the lab presentation, rather than surfing the internet.

The presentation in the lab was easy to follow, even from the back of the room. Mr. Splane points to parts of the screen using both his hand and the cursor. Through the presentation alternate approaches for achieving some of the computer goals are explained. Special issues related to using the tools are also clearly explained.

Mr. Splane speaks clearly and is easy to hear throughout the lab. He has a kindly, helpful tone to his voice that helps establish a comfortable learning environment. He does a good job of maintaining eye contact, although with the lights down in the lab (so the overhead projector can be easily seen) this is a little difficult.

Students follow along through a well organized but spontaneous demonstration. Mr. Splane occasionally walks back through the lab to see if anyone is having trouble. The appropriate pacing of the presentation keeps the students from becoming bored and surfing the internet. Students are encouraged to provide information about their own knowledge of the tools being demonstrated.

Students felt comfortable to ask questions. All of the students were engaged in working through the examples on their computers. Questions from students were more limited to those working in the front of the room, but it seemed that the clarity of the presentation was good enough to keep almost all of the students working throughout the lecture. Toward the end of the class a few students would briefly multitask over to the internet, but not enough to be an issue.

Exams are carefully designed to measure progress. A very thorough web page has been developed to help the students with their lab work and to provide access to class schedules, outside information, and grading criteria. There are a number of good lab assignments that Mr. Splane has developed. This variety of assignments provides plenty of feedback for student progress. Practice exams are also supplied.

Examples related to homework assignments are presented in class. This helps keep student attention since they know they will be responsible for completing an assignment. They are interested in following the presented example since it will make it easier for them to complete the homework assignment.

Mr. Splane is very knowledgeable about the material he is presenting in class. The classroom demonstration was done on the basis of an outline, but materials were developed through the lecture, often in response to student questions. Alternate ways of doing computer operations were discussed, and Mr. Splane often explained what the easiest or most effective approach would be. The demonstration was not only good technically, but playful and entertaining for the students.

Mr. Splane is doing an outstanding job teaching this lab and there are really no improvements needed. Presentation, testing, course content are all very good. I am particularly impressed with how well the 91L instructors are cooperating to make this a successful course under Mr. Splane’s leadership.

2006 Comments:

Mike is a very sincere, warm, and patient individual. He has a passion for teaching and desire to help students excel. His attitude is well reflected in the course that he teaches this semester, 91L. 91L is a hand on lab course that teaches office applications. The skills that students learn in this course are very important for their university education and future career.

I visited Mike’s 10:30 class on April 4th. The impression that I got was quite favorable. Mike demonstrated the assignment at the podium, and students followed him on their own computer step by step. I noticed that Mike was quite sensitive to students’ needs. He paced his demonstration well and constantly asked for feedback. And students had been paying a lot of attention to him. The hand out that Mike gave was well thought out and clear. The only suggestion that I might have for Mike is that, if he can add more energy in his voice, it will be even better. Overall, I think Mike has done a wonderful job in teaching this course.

2004 Comments:

Mike presented the topic of adding notes to PowerPoint slides. He also distributed PowerPoint and Excel handouts. Mike then explained the concepts and techniques of how to add notes with the help of examples from a restaurants opening hours and menu. The subject matter and difficulty level of the material presented were highly relevant to the course objectives and were presented in a very effective manner. The lecture and demonstration were done using the most current technology and versions of the Microsoft software. I am confident that students would benefit greatly from this experience and use what they learned in many other courses.

Mike presented and discussed the topic with the help of [an] overhead computer projection system. He began his lecture with a quick review of the material discussed the previous week. The PowerPoint slides that Mike presented were expertly done and well organized.

Mike first introduced the topic and the new terminology that was to be presented that day. He spoke clearly and enthusiastically – and asked and answered questions in a cogent manner. To maintain student attention, Mike interspersed his lecture with humor and examples of interest and familiarity to students.

The lecture, discussion, and software demonstration were lively and clear. Mike frequently interacted with students. His intonation and presentation style were very appropriate.

Students followed the software demonstration by working hands-on using their computers. Mike paced, paused, and demonstrated, as necessary. He maintained students’ interest by asking questions and prodding them to share their own experience relevant to the topic.

Student participation was fairly good. Given that this was a computer lab with students working at varied pace, Mike patiently handled many difficult questions.

I have reviewed the syllabus, examples of homework assignments, exams, and handouts that Mike gave to students in this course. These documents are sufficiently rigorous and reflect objectives of the course very well.

Mike is very competent in all aspects and components of this course.

Mike is a talented instructor and prepares well in teaching this course. I am convinced he is doing an excellent job.