Teaching
As a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the English Department at Brigham Young University and the University of Alabama, I have been the instructor of record for 15 sections over the past seven years. My teaching assignments have given me the opportunity to work students of all majors ranging from those in the university’s required core curriculum courses to students who are actively pursuing degrees through in the Honor’s College. In 2025, I was awarded the university’s premier graduate student teaching award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student.
On this page, you will find links to my teaching statement, sample syllabi, and a teaching recommendation letter. Below the links is an overview of of the teaching evaluation data I have gathered while teaching at the University of Alabama.
Student Evaluations
The following information was compiled from Student Opinions of Instruction (SOI) surveys issued through the online learning management system at the University of Alabama for courses taught Fall 2021 through Spring 2025. Surveys are made available to students after ten weeks of instruction and must be completed before the first day of final exams. All SOI surveys are anonymous, and responses are not released to the instructor until after final grades are posted.
Overall Instructor and Course Ratings
SOI surveys are divided into two basic categories: evaluation of the instructor and evaluation of the course. Both overall instructor and course ratings are measured on a scale of 1-5 with response options being: (1) Poor; (2) Below Average; (3) Average; (4) Above Average; and (5) Above Average.
Instructor Evaluation
In evaluation of the instructor, students are asked to respond to specific statements that illuminate key characteristics of an effective teacher. Statements relating to the professional traits of the instructor were measured on a scale of 1-5 with response options being: (1) Strongly Disagree; (2) Disagree; (3) Undecided; (4) Agree; and (5) Strongly Agree.
Statements for student evaluation of the instructor included:
• The instructor communicates well with students.
• The instructor is accessible to students.
• The instructor is well prepared to give instruction.
• The instructor effectively uses class time.
• The instructor treats students with respect.
Course Evaluation
In evaluation of the course, students are asked to respond to specific statements that illuminate key characteristics of an productive learning experience. Student evaluations related to their experience in the course were measured on a scale of 1-5 with response options being: (1) Not at all; (2) Sometimes; (3) Often; (4) Usually; (5): Always
Statements for student evaluation of the course included:
• The course requirements were clearly defined.
• The course materials were relevant/useful.
• Assignments were course appropriate.
• The grading process was fair.
• The course was a valuable experience.
Student Evaluation of Success
The final section of the survey asks students to evaluate their learning success in the course with the additional option to leave written comments regarding any of the previous sections. Students are invited to measure their success in the course by responding to the question: How much did you learn in this course? with responses measured on a scale of 1-5 and response options being: (1) Nothing; (2) Little; (3) Some; (4) Much; and (5) A Great Deal.
Written responses about the instructor
Professor Bird has become one of my favorite professors, she is great at getting the class to engage in what we are learning and is very kind and understanding. I have learned so much and I really loved taking this class.
Amber Bird is a very kind and helpful professor who wants to see her students do well. She was very personable while also remaining professional for class.
I have an endless list of great things to say about Amber Bird. I have never had an English teacher who cares so much about the success of her students. She has truly made this class so useful and fun.
She facilitated discussions well, was helpful in her critiques on my essays, was a very fair grader, and overall was my favorite teacher I've had so far at the University of Alabama.
Written responses about the course
This is the most engaged I have ever felt in any class.
Very well paced course.
I enjoyed how we discussed each work as a class, because I was able to hear what everyone else took from each piece and began to see patterns and other similarities between works after they were pointed out by fellow classmates.
The close reading assignments made me look closer at each of the texts and brought aspects of them to my attention that I probably would not have noticed otherwise.
This class helped me organize my thoughts, claims, and ideas for any while analyzing complicated texts.
After taking this class, I feel much better about being able to write and structure an essay in future classes.