| The following are some of the comments provided by students on the course evaluation questionaires near the ends of prior terms: |
Fall 2005 |
| Very impressed with Prof. Deardorff, especially with his collection of ties. (I don't think he wore the same tie twice to lecture.) |
| Too much memorization on the exams. |
| Keep kicking ass and rocking the brown suits! |
| I thought that most importantly, a shift to powerpoint slides definitely made a huge difference for the course. Not that I have taken this class twice, but I took Econ 102 from you and I didn't like the idea that lecture was all over the place. |
| Class was too G-- d--- f---ing boring! Probably the most boring class that U-M has! Also, the instructor was not very approachable. I could have spent a fortnight in the ER, he wouldn't have cared less about my grade. |
| Professor Deardorff, you're wonderful! One of the best prof's at this university. Class was always engaging and interesting. |
| Professor Deardorff was as stimulating a lecturer as he could have been given the material being presented, but it is not on its own the most interesting of the econ courses I've taken. I appreciated his cheeriness! |
| More explanations on graphs and number concepts, especially how to answer them or understand their significance. |
| I wanted to take this class but I'm not sure if I'm glad I did. You were always really prepared but maybe you should incorporate the readings more into the lectures. Also exam questions were sometimes far too specific. |
| Students talking during class was very distracdting while you were talking. |
| Good job switching over to powerpoint. I took 102 with you before the switch and the powerpoint helped me to stay organized with lecture material. |
| You have an excellent knack of explaining things clearly. I wish all my professors spoke as well as you! |
| The professor is fun, but lecture slides were boring. Really want to pay attention to the class and the materials. But I can't help myself for falling asleep the same time. |
| If inflation is only caused by expectations of inflation, then grade inflation exists because professor say so. There is no such thing. We're just running on 3 hours of sleep. We work. |
| Your style has improved but your jackets still belong primarily in a log cabin environment. For an internationalist, pay more attention to fashion. Get Esquire or something. You're still better dressed than most profs. |
| This class was an excellent supplement to my world politics class. I think the exams are too easy. |
| Although I took quick naps regularly, I really enjoyed your class. You were always on top of your game (prepared!). Thanx. |
| A man in a coat and tie deserves all my attention! |
| Deardorff is a hoot. |
Fall 2003 |
| I thought that overall you did a good job explaining and talking about a topic that I found boring. You made it exciting enough/entertaining enough for me to not skip it like I planned to and for that you should be commended. |
| You're not boring but the class sure was. |
| I think the exams were way too hard. They should not have covered such precise material. Also you should offer bonus or take attendance to help students' grades. |
| A lot of required reading, Wow! Nice suit coats, dude. |
| *yawn* |
| I don't like the fact that the prof was always out of the country when we had exams. |
| Great course. Mostly application of basic principles, not more theory. I loved it. |
| Don't take this class if you plan to get an A. He sets median at C+/B-. Only 10% get A's. [Actually, it's more. See curve.] |
| I really enjoyed lectures. This is an excellent class and the instructor is superb. |
| Class was excruciatingly boring at times. I think that a discussion section could help breath some life into this course. Too much stupid memorization & not enough application. |
| The reading assignments were a bit too much, but they helped. And let me say nobody wears brown as well as you, Prof. Deardorff. I'm truly envious. |
| Professor Deardorff is sweet! I love listening to him make fun of himself. My favorite quote is, "If I were poor, then I wouldn't wear the fine clothes that I do." |
| Excellent teacher; exams unnecessarily difficult. Exams focus on too many details that are not the main point of the course. Would be helpful if grade included other factors than simply 3 exams. |
| Tests are not difficult enough. While it is an introductory class to the material, it is still a 300 level class. At the very least, questions should not be taken directly from practice tests or review questions. Otherwise this was a very interesting and worthwhile class. |
Winter 2002 |
| Although this class was very interesting and information was great, there is too much to learn for one test let alone the final. Lectures are extremely boring. I will tell my fellow econ majors to avoid taking the class. |
| Seriously - people can't just sit and listen to endless talking with little else. Something must be done to retain the attention of students and keep us from falling asleep. |
| Exams are harder than they should be for such a class. This is supposed to be an intro to world economics for non-econ majors. What gives? |
| Professor droned a lot, material was somewhat interesting. However, test questions were often very picky. |
| I learned a good deal of practical information about this course pertaining to international economics. And I loved the jokes. |
| You need to go through material more quickly. I liked the use of current events int his class, and I liked the way you say "measure" like it's spelled "maesure." |
| Professor, you are the man!! I learned so much, thanks. One day when I'm President you will be my chief economic advisor. |
| I © boobs |
| Lectures are very articulate, easy to understand, etc. Exams for the most part were very fair, readings good, material intersting, and overall workload is just right! |
| You have a very calming voice. |
| Prof. Deardorff is a great professor and was always extremely well prepared for class. His website is a great asset, and I appreciate having had that resource. |
| I wish we would have discussed the readings more. Some were really interesting and no one ever talked about them - what a waste! |
| Cool |
| Overall, I feel this was an excellent and interesting course. However, I often felt overwhelmed by the numerous readings, textbook readings, and lectures of the course. I felt that it was hard to distinguish what would be tested and wouldn't be. |
| Great website, too much outside reading, slightly outdated in dress. |
| Overall, this was an awesome course and I think you did the best you could in getting all the material out. There was a lot of material - that's for sure! |
| The MC part of the test did not test anything except for how to memorize the practice test and insignificant material presented in articles written two years ago. Also the hour and a half lecture was dragged out and the actual info he explained could be presented in half an hour. However I do feel like I have a better understanding of the news and current events. |
| You have a very unique approach to teaching, mainly using humor and current events to explain theories and concepts; I like this a lot. |
| I was excited for this course, and it started out OK. But, especially after the second exam, I felt that we did not devote any time at all to the theoretical aspects of the course. |
| I am asleep, as always. |
| I would have liked to have seen more than a perfunctory analysis of the anti-globalization viewpoint in class, not just the readings. |
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· Deardorf U are awesome but when you lecture, you are soooo BORING - try not to talk too much!
· Too much reading! Cut it out! · Need more interesting topics · Buy a new jacket [I'm crushed. That was a new jacket.] |
Winter 2001 |
| I especially liked his attitude toward trade & econ. My fav quuote was when he said high tariffs were bad because they were "NOT NICE." |
| Although we don't learn a lot of math related econ, this course was definitely the most interesting econ course I have taken. |
| I really enjoyed this class. Don't ever let anybody ever tell you to change your dress. You are professional. But seriously... the only thing I would change is to make the exams a bit more difficult. I did very well on them, and I'm not trying to screw the future classes, but I studied for the test very hard and I feel that people who totally half-assed studied got many questions right just b/c they were so easy. |
| Overall this has been the least productive and/or beneficial economics class that I have taken at this university. |
| I think it harms more students than it helps when a class is based solely on exams.... I understood the matieral but my test grades sucked so now I have to bust my ass on the final when I have 5 other classes to study for. |
| I found you to be a very gifted lecturer who was genuinely concerned with your students - a quality I wish more professors at this university had. However I believe too much material was packed in this course, making studying for exams a nightmare! |
| I feel that the instructor could have had more flexible office hours. |
| The review questions for each lecture were very helpful and the professor was more than willing to accomodate my class schedule and meet outside of office hours for assistance. |
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This class was torture to sit through. He went over and over very obvious concepts that everyone already knows. He was also doddy & went off on a lot of tangents. Somehow, even though I perfectly understand everything presented & do all the readings, I am still |
| As a senior, it was nice to have an easier Econ class to finish my U of M experience. |
| Exams are easy. |
| It's harder than you think. |
| Good prof, he puts me to sleep 1/2 the time. He knew his shit though. Easy to ask questions to, and easy to approach. |
| You should wear your suit more often. |
| Excellent course. Dr. Deardorff clearly enjoys teaching & he communicates well w/ his students. |
| Deardorff, You rock brotha. |
| Throw away the tan jacket! Way too much reading that wasn't even tested. |
| You're a good teacher and a good guy. I'm glad to see you don't get upset when people leave anymore. |
| You are good dancer and musician. Keep it up! [Huh?] |
| Holy smokes man! This guy knows a lot of stuff! DEARDORFF = SUPERECONOMIST |
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Some of his jokes were extremely insensitive to some people, and simply |
Winter 2000 |
| Many students had warned me that Deardorff was boring and that I would sleep during class. However, on the contrary I enjoyed going to class and would recommend Alan Dear to others. |
| Please make this class more difficult. The exams are far too easy & stupid. |
| You do seem to portray the "absent-minded professor" a bit, but at the same time, you are totally on top of things. I think that's the trick with you. One should never underestimate you! |
| Please, the university needs to start paying this man more money. He has to buy some new suits! |
| If I were criticizing your dress -- and I'm not -- I think I'd deal mostly with your ties, not your coats. |
| If I could have a shrinking machine, I would shrink Professor Deardorff and stick him in my backpack. Why? He was the most resourceful portion of this course. |
| Good teacher, severely boring class. |
| You need to stop wearing brown pants and fish ties. [But I like brown pants. I don't think I own a fish tie, though.] |