History Department Response to Student Feedback
HSTY2009 - Black Experience in the Americas (2003)

Unit Coordinators: Prof Shane White White and Dr Clare Corbould

When asked if they were satisfied overall with this unit of study, 97% of students either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed.’ To quote the students:

• “The most informative and interesting course I have ever participated in!!”
• “It was challenging, but I felt that the very high standard expected brought out some new skills in me.”

There were some specific concerns that I will address when the course runs again in 2004.

Lectures:
I will provide outlines in advance and link clearly the material to the themes of the course.

Tutorials:
I will review the reading as several students said that it is higher than for most units.

Assessment:
As in 2002, many students liked the longer essay (4000 words) as it allowed them to develop their analytical and writing skills. The essay synopsis, which I introduced in 2003, seems to have worked well with many students commenting that it helped them to write their essays. Then again, several students were dissatisfied with such a large assessment at the end of the semester with no tutorial paper. In 2004 I will introduce a tutorial paper due in the first few weeks of semester to ensure that students receive formal feedback before the essay is due.