Student Testimonials

Higher Education

Thank a gram

Prof. Burris made more of an impact on not only my future teaching career, but my life; she has been more influential than any other college professor I have ever had… She was a perfect example of what I want to be when I am a teacher… I am so lucky that I had her this semester. Prof. Burris chose readings that I actually wanted to do, so much so that when I missed the readings for one week, I actually went back and read the chapters I missed (for fun)! In a time where I am freaking out about actually becoming a teacher, prof. Burris made me feel confident, she shared so many teaching practices… She was the most genuine professor I have had, and I think that is the #1 reason why her teaching was so great. That was the most important lesson I took from prof. Burris: to be genuine. I am honestly amazed about how much a college class could affect my life, I hope prof. Burris has the chance to affect many more future teachers in her career. – Student Evaluation, Spring 2018

I appreciate the metacritical approach to this class as a learning resource. Having the time to recognize specific teaching strategies and seeing them modeled throughout the class was incredibly helpful. – Student Evaluation, Fall 2019

This was an excellent course because Jennifer went beyond what was required of her and made sure that she was teaching us not only as students, but as educators. Not only did we learn about social justice and equity, but Jennifer continually gave practical lessons on pedagogy. She also fostered a sense of community within the classroom. I can genuinely say that I enjoyed coming to this class and learning from it. – Student Evaluation, Fall 2019

This was the first education class that I have taken where I have feel like it truly helped me for my future. We were given tools, tips, and great information for our future classrooms. The professor also did an amazing job in depicting expectations while being compassionate about any sort of logistical issues, emergencies, or other issues that may have arose. I would also like to highly commend the instructor for acknowledging all of the various subject areas we were looking to teach in. With my major, none of my previous education professors at the University of Maryland knew about my content area. She was the first to actually listen when I explained what I was pursuing a degree in, and go the extra mile to incorporate readings, activities, and other coursework that was in my content area. Student Evaluation, Fall 2019

This course is fabulous, informative, compelling, and absolutely essential. It should be a required course for all pursuing education degrees or other programs of study that will eventually place them in a setting with learners of any age. – Student Evaluation, Spring 2019

This was the best course I have taken at Maryland. I think more people should take this course as it opened my eyes up to all the diversity issues there are in the classroom and in society. – Student Evaluation, Fall 2019

This was, hands down, the best education course I’ve taken at UMD. Professor Burris was engaging, knowledgeable, an active listener and conversationist, passionate about the topics, and flexible. The course content was relevant, varied, and informative for all educators. As an education class that was not content–specific, Burris did a fantastic job creating small spaces in class to discuss content–specific scenarios and ideas while also fostering cross–content collaboration. Everyone should have to take this course. I can’t say enough good things. – Student Evaluation, Spring 2018

The content in the course is some of the most valuable material that I have ever seen. This class has material that all teachers need to learn. Even if they have already learned about diversity in other classes, this class just reinforces the importance of diversity within a classroom. This class had a mix of theoretical texts, as well as more visual material that helped students learn the concepts that were taught in the course. The discussion–based teaching mixed with the belief in interacting with one another made this class exciting for students. Personally, I came to class excited to learn, which I cannot say the same for some other classes. – Student Evaluation, Spring 2018

Out of all of the courses revolving pedagogy, this class really helped me understand the impact that teachers have on students and how to create a classroom environment that allows ALL students to succeed. – Student Evaluation, Fall 2018