Teaching
My goal as a teacher and mentor is to provide students with individualized and inspired learning experiences to enable their growth as independent and conscientious scholars. As a reflection of this teaching philosophy and its application over the years, below I summarize student evaluations of the teaching assistantships that I have held over the years. These are presented as both quantitative ratings of my teaching effectiveness and teaching style, and qualitative illustrations from my teaching evaluations.
** denotes classes where I have received teaching assistantship awards.
Quantitative Summary of Teaching Effectiveness
Student ratings of my teaching effectiveness were based on the question:
- “Overall, this TA was a valuable educational resource for me” for all Queen’s University classes (from Fall 2012 to Winter 2014)
- “Overall, this TA is an excellent teacher” for all McGill University classes (from Fall 2018 to Winter 2020)
Quantitative Summary of Teaching Style
Student ratings of my teaching style and communication abilities were based on the question:
- “This TA presents information in an engaging manner and is able to keep the class interested” for all Queen’s University classes (from Fall 2012 to Winter 2014)
- “This TA explained concepts clearly and contributed to my learning of the subject matter” for all McGill University classes (from Fall 2018 to Winter 2020)
Qualitative Illustrations from Teaching Evaluations
All comments below are presented in full, though personal information has been removed for anonymity purposes.
Cognition (McGill University | Winter 2020)
“Best TA by far, best organised, best lecturer; in conferences, when other TAs were teaching their segments of the course, frequently had to ask Effie for help.”
“Phenomenal TA reviews! Meticulous, clear, understandable presentation of material. Uses realistic examples to explain theories.”
“By clearly explaining theories during TA reviews, I have a much greater comprehension of the material, than I would have from just the lectures.”
“Clearly knowledgeable about the content. Presented the material with interest and was engaging.”
“She explains very well, and she summarized the material very effectively.”
“Effie is the best! Love her!”
Special Topics in Neuropsychology (McGill University | Fall 2019)
“Effie Pereira is an amazing TA. She was extremely helpful in office hours, her review sessions for midterms were outstanding, and she seems genuinely passionate about her students and her work. One of the best TAs I have ever had.”
“Effie explains concepts really well and is very helpful. She definitely played a huge part in me going from a C on the first midterm to a high A on the second.”
“Very clear and organized in explaining materials. Her midterm reviews are excellent in that she did not just repeat what Professor X said in class, but also incoporated her understanding, which definitely boosted my comprehension of the material. Very approachable and helpful. Lovely person.”
“The Review sessions for the midterms and the last week of class were all amazing! Effie is a natural talent at teaching”
“Effie’s review sessions were very helpful. She was also very enthusiastic and was open to answering any and all questions. I also appreciate how quick she is at responding to questions via email.”
“Effie is great! Her slides are super clear and her review sessions for the midterms were the best!”
“Her review sessions always made the material crystal clear.”
“Very responsive via e–mail, gives a clear overview explanation of hard concepts to grasp on during midterm review classes!”
“You should include stuff about the readings in the review session.”
“Her review sessions were very helpful for the midterms”
“Her review lectures are godsend!”
Cognition (McGill University | Summer 2019)
“Effie is a great TA! She spares her time for the students and explains the material really well. We all love her. :)”
“Always made herself available for questions or discussion, clearly knowledgeable about the material and presented it in a warm, accessible manner so that students could understand it clearly.”
“She is such an helpful and kind TA”
Statistics for Experimental Design (McGill University | Winter 2019)
“Effie J. Pereira is by far the best TA. We have often had others lecturing during labs, but she is honestly the only one that was truly effective and clear. She made everything easy to understand and follow, even for someone like me for whom statistics is like a foreign language. She is the only one I have encountered that could be held at a close level with our course Professor Dr. X.”
“Effie was the TA who taught my lab period, and in 40 minutes with her I understood the material better than in 100 minutes of lectures with Dr. X, who is a good lecturer. Additionally, the few labs which were taught by other TAs were harder to follow, and it seemed as though Effie knew the material much better than the other TAs.”
“Effie explained topics thoroughly, in a patient and understanding manner. Statistics is not an easy class for a lot of people, and Effie’s lab sessions greatly helped to solidify concepts taught during class lectures. She is approachable and kind, which only helps a student’s motivation to continue on in a difficult class.”
“Effie should be considered for the TA award due to her confidence and commitment to teach the lab material of PSYC 305. She does not simply read off of her slides but goes above and beyond to make sure that we understand the material. She makes sure to repeat verbal instructions when using SPSS “click here and then here”. She is a great role model and a natural teacher.”
“She is just, so good at teaching and making tables and stats fun ugh her mind it amazes me.”
“Very knowledgeable, helpful, kind, bright and gentle. She taught me more than I ever learned by going to Dr. X’s lectures.”
“Effie was very helpful and obviously knew what she was doing, presented material in a meaningful way that reached through to the students and it was evident. She seemed genuinely invested in the success of each student and went above and beyond the duties of a TA to help out on assignments and general problems, even beyond the scope of the class.”
“Effie is an excellent TA. She comes to lab prepared and ready to teach in a clear, confident tone. She is excellent at responding to questions and encouraging students to ask any questions they may have. She replies to emails quickly and makes sure to explain the concept thoroughly. I really felt that her slides and her teachings in lab contributed a lot to my understanding of the material. Thank you Effie!”
“Effie was so fun and her comic book references were the best. I loved her energy and her ability to explain really outshined the other TAs which I only found out about when they substituted for her a few times. She makes things very clear and takes questions and speaks at the right volume. Overall just a fabulous human being and one of the best energies I’ve felt from a TA or prof ever. If you’re reading this, thank you for being awesome.”
“She is very kind and really helped me understand the concepts. I think she deserves this award because she is one of the most helpful TA’s I have ever had.”
“She is outgoing and extremely clear with her reasoning, to the point that even someone who has not taken a statistic class could understand her explanations.”
“Effie is incredible!! She is so patient with students and explains things very clearly. It’s nice to be able to learn from someone who genuinely enjoys their subject. As statistics really isn’t my strong point, I really appreciated Effie’s understanding, patience and excellent teaching of material!”
“Effie helped me so much in this course. She explained concepts very well and had a sense of humour. I often found her conferences more helpful than the lectures themselves. She definitely deserves the award”
“Effie had a lot of enthusiasm.”
“She is great and deserves to be nominated.”
“BEST TA!”
“Very helpful and knowledgeable, she taught the weekly labs and although other TAs had to sometimes sub for her, they never taught with as much gusto and brightness. She’s my favorite TA in this course.”
“Effie’s labs are great!! Her slides are organized and effective, and she explains things in a really helpful way (clearer than Dr. X in my opinion). She’s also very sweet and happy to help.”
“Effie really helped me through this class. Her lab sessions taught me a lot and really helped clarify information. I wouldn’t have been able to get through the class without her.”
“I learned most of the material from Effie.”
“The lab sessions were definitely helpful in cementing concepts”
“Effie is a great TA, her labs were very understandable and I found she was very good at explaining things really well. Though she did have a tendency to speak a bit too quickly she did get her points across and made sure we all understood the material.”
“Effie was an AMAZING TA, she was able to explain the assignment and relevant concepts in a clear and organized manner, and was always available via email and office hours”
“She is so kind and open to answer questions. She explains very well and she cares if you understood. She also answers emails that you send her in short delays.”
“The conferences were very much focused on the assignment and the software and I think that the small summary of the lectures at the beginning of each tutorial was useful. Also, the slides were detailed and the explanations of the analysis were appropriate.”
“Effie’s notes are were easy to follow. She is able to answer questions in a clear manner and offer great explanations. Overall, she was a great TA!”
“Excellent work, very clear and straightforward with the concepts. Makes it easy to follow and understand”
“Great SPSS tutorials! Effie was very well organized and clearly knew the material.”
“Effie was very sweet and approachable, taught very well and answered questions effectively.”
“Great, engaging teacher - presented the material concisely and clearly.”
“She was very efficient and very helpful.”
“Best TA.”
** Cognitive Development (McGill University | Fall 2018)
“TAs are always invaluable in assisting the professor, but also the students with the material. Effie was able to make up for the lack Dr X displayed, often saving us students (and our grades). She was always very clear and thorough in her explanations. The one lecture she gave was very interesting. Effie seemed a very knowledgeable individual and an amazing presenter.”
“Effie is extremely professional and knowledgeable. Frankly I think she is more than sufficiently competent to teach a course of her own. She is also highly approachable and provides clear answers to questions.”
“Effie helped me multiple times explaining difficult concepts in a simple, easy to understand way. She also provided me with insight and enthusiasum outside of the classroom which aided to my overall experience of the course.”
“Preferred the manner the one class given by her was given than usual class time. Discussions were based after a lecture, and the stress levels were very much decreased.”
“Effie had a huge contribution to this class, she taught the few lecture format classes that we had, she answered our questions relation to our research proposal and she was always available when we had questions. She also graded our work.”
“If it wasn’t for the TA, I would have been left high and dry in this course, because Dr. X provides us with very little actual direct information.”
“Effie was always helpful. She explains concepts clearly, and when I had a problem with assignment, she kindly guided me through thinking processes.”
“She knows all the material, is very helpful and fair, and stimulates questions and discussions. She is also very kind.
“Effie is really kind and helpful with my assignments.”
“Effie is an amazing TA. She always answered my questions and exceeded all expectations.”
“Effie’s comments and feedback were very helpful and she would always reply back in very brief delays.”
Introductory Psychology (Queen’s University | Summer 2013)
“Effie is a very knowledgable TA & is extremely sweet & approachable. She is very positive & teaches us in a way that we can understand and grasp the concepts.”
“You have been amazing! These lessons have been far more enjoyable than my other courses.”
“The TA for our tutorial has been amazing! She has been such a great teacher and one of my favorite Tas.”
“Really good TA! Understanding & knowledgeable!”
“Awesome TA, review package for exam will help a lot. Really knew what she was talking about.”
“Effie definitely goes above and beyond, and always answers questions well.”
“I think my TA is great, no complaints.”
“I have no complaints with the facilitator, she was great!”
“Best T.A. Ever!!!”
“You’re so positive! :)”
“TA was great!!”
“TA was great”
Introductory Psychology (Queen’s University | Fall 2012)
“I love Effie! She is very personable and approachable with both questions and concerns. She is also highly knowledgable about the course content and has helped me understand the material!! She’s also just about the nicest, most lovely TA there is!”
“The learning labs have helped me understand all of the concepts and topics this semester. My TA has been a huge help and you can tell she really loves her job!”
“The learning labs contain helpful content + useful information, and my T.A Effie presents the material very effectively =)”
“This was my favourite tutorial of all my classes! I know that I want to major in psychology! Thanks!”
“My T.A. makes things interesting to learn and listen to, she is funny and relatable, never negative and always fair and reasonable”
“I loved my TA! Effie is great and she’s hilarious. She has really helped me understand concepts and she made the activities fun”
“Really positive and enthusiastic when teaching which creates a very positive environment”
“I loved how our TA taught the learning labs, thank you Effie :)”
“Great job, Effie! You are awesome!”
“You are a great T.A.”
“Great job, lots of enthusiasm and good information, really liked the optical illusion demonstration”
“She is very enthusiastic, presents very clearly and helpful but sometimes talks a bit fast”
“Effie is great and is doing an awesome job with helping us understand the course material!”
“My TA was extremely helpful”
“I enjoy your enthusiastic attitude and it makes me enjoy the course more!”
“Loved your enthusiasm!”
“She’s great!”