Teaching Observation Report
He stimulated class discussion with excellent questions, accompanied by follow-ups that helped to shape the discussion. These questions focused on the particular assignment, although Gilmore occasionally reminded students of things they had read earlier in the course and pointed ahead to things they would be covering later. Sometimes he was a little quick to move discussion on to a fresh point, but this was a small problem. In general, he encouraged the students to speak freely and they responded well to his teaching. I estimate that around two-thirds of them participated actively in discussion. This is an excellent percentage for a fifty-minute segment. A difficulty of teaching an author like Thucydides is the density of the material and the wealth of details. The issue is to help the students to see the forest as well as the trees. I believe that the students left the class with an enhanced understanding of the assignment and, more importantly, gained some idea of how they could arrive at this understanding with less help in the future.
Mr. Gilmore and I met after the class to discuss his performance. I found only a few points on which he could improve. In sum, I thought this was an extremely well-taught session.
Christopher Kelly
Professor
Department of Political Science
Boston College
POLI236 Rights in Conflict – Fall 2015
1. This was my favorite class I have ever taken at BC.
2. Professor Gilmore was great at stimulating class discussion. He made all students feel like their opinions were valid.
3. It made me extremely interested in continuing to study issues of constitutional law and made me enthusiastic to go to class.
Full Evaluation Report
POLI104 Fundamental Concepts of Politics I – Fall 2015
1. Very interesting topics, instructor is very understanding and stimulates interest.
2. The Professor was very helpful in the essay writing process and kept classes engaging and interesting.
3. He was a great professor and doesn't need to change anything.
Full Evaluation Report
PO655 The Question of Justice - Spring 2015
1. I think Mr. Gilmore got better at teaching and at relating to our class as the course went on. He’s clearly smart and passionate about the material, especially the Hobbes section, and he made himself very available to us outside of the class.
2. Interesting subject matter, clear explanations by professor
Full Evaluation Report
Note: for procedural reasons the instructor is listed as the course supervisor, Professor Christopher Kelly, rather than myself who taught the course.
PO655 The Question of Justice - Spring 2013
1. Mr. Gilmore covered all the material necessary and his idea to introduce student presentation of the material was a good way to keep the students active during the Seminar. Mr. Gilmore was always available outside of class which made it possible to approach him with any doubts or questions and therefore have a better understanding of the course and develop better essays.
2. As with other discussion based courses, I feel that the time used in class to discuss the readings and concepts of the week greatly improved my understanding and comprehension of the course material. There was much constructive back and forth discussion in class periods and students' viewpoints were challenged, enhanced, and strengthened.
3. The readings were very interesting and I liked the paper topics.
Full Evaluation Report
Note: for procedural reasons the instructor is listed as the course supervisor, Professor Christopher Kelly, rather than myself who taught the course.
PO022 How to Take Over the World - Fall 2012
1. The discussion questions in this course allowed students to think critically about the material and share ideas with the other students.
2. Question sheets were helpful
3. I definitely learned a lot from Grayson and my classmates. I liked how we broke into groups and discussed questions, and then came back together to discuss as a class. Grayson was always very helpful for all the assignments and answered our questions very clearly.
4. Mr. Gilmore encouraged members of the discussion group to really exchange ideas with one another and explore concepts together in groups. This created a dynamic among the students in the discussion group rather than one between the student and the TA, therefore an effective discussion group.
5. This was a good discussion group. However, discussion leader seemed a bit inexperienced but he certainly made significant improvement as the course progressed.
6. Literally this discussion session was the ****. Lively, concientious discussion was undertaken immediately concerning society and the subject matters at hand. Grayson consistently found extremely interesting and stimulating questions for each small group to ponder. These questions opened our eyes to many aspects of our society and helped to spark ideas for our essays, subtly moving in an interesting direction.
7. Mr. Gilmore wants students to succeed and clearly challenges students to think deeper, even though some may not respond well to his constructive criticism.
8. Yea, it was a helpful discussion group.
9. Yes, Professor Grayson did a good job of combining topics.
10. I haven't heard great things about the other TA's and Grayson was a nice guy and a fair grader so I would recommend him.
11. Thanks for a great semester, Grayson!
12. TA'd in a unique way that seemed to work well for all parties involved.
13. Thank you for a great semester!
14. Literally Grayson's my boy like get this man PAID nasty course absolutely nasty.
Full Evaluation Reports: Section 1, Section 2