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Denise Egéa-Kuehne

SAMPLES OF STUDENT COMMENTS
I EDUCATIONAL THEORY I FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION I RESEARCH I TEACHING, SCHOOLING & SOCIETY I WGS I

Courses in the Department of Educational Theory, Policy and Practice and in Evening School are evaluated with a scantron sheet only; students may add comments, but do not all do it. Courses in Women's and Gender Studies are evaluated with scantron sheets and open-ended questions.

Educational Theory
I could not have achieved the level of thinking I have achieved in this class without the specific instructor. The intersubjectivity in this course is important enough to advertise it strenuously in the various schools of the university. / Excellent course – Excellent classroom environment very receptive to students' ideas: encouraging self-education and reflection. / This is one of the best courses I've ever taken. Dr. Egéa-Kuehne is an excellent teacher in many ways. She knows her subject matter very well. She was very supportive and encouraging of student' ideas and reflections about the readings. The entire course was an excellent example of teaching using methods that deconstruct the traditional ways of instruction. / I was particularly impressed with her respect for students' individual slants on Derrida, and her encouragement of our pursuit of our individual ways of "knowing" Derrida. / She really is the antithesis of intimidating, without sacrificing her own expertise and professionalism. It was a real pleasure. / Overall the contents of the course made us think, analyze, philosophize, etc. things we don't generally do as much or not at all in other courses. / I personally learned a lot, not only about Derrida, but about other philosophers. I felt that we can look at life and everything that surrounds us with different eyes. / Professor's enthusiasm and knowledge of content – excellent; Very prepared; Graceful presence in class makes open dialogue, presentations, etc. very easy (not easy, but comfortable) considering the content and my lack of background. / Denise is an excellent professor in a way that encourages dialogue. There was a sense of trust in the class which allowed for a diversity of thoughts and reflections on a rich set of not-so-easy work by Derrida. I feel that I have a good sense of deconstruction and have gotten very interested in Derrida's work. / Denise is fabulous! What a blessing to get/keep her here as a "real" tenure-tracked professor! This class was rigorous, exhausting, confusing—which is to say, such a challenge and an experience of growth! I cannot really make a critical comment regarding the course, or suggestions for improvement. / Thanks Denise! I feel I have learned so much, and have been so personally encouraged in the worth, value of my own thoughts and ideas! / This class has been like mining. Lots of hard work to find that which we want to treasure. Derrida is not easy to read but he is that way. I now understand better, because he is opening up or revealing aspects of reality we are not used to seeing, doing, thinking. / I enjoyed the papers and the discussions and appreciated the guidance—revealing patterns and providing historical notes—provided by David and Denise. I'm grateful and would recommend the course highly. / Wonderful! The class provided an excellent consideration of Derrida and several of his major works. I think the works selected were very appropriate—a nice introduction for those of us in the class who were beginners in the study of Derridean philosophy. * Denise, I found your presentations and the comments you contributed to the class discussions so helpful—always insightful—but also bringing clarity and meaning to a very difficult topic. * Thanks so much—you did a beautiful job. I was most impressed, however, with your caring manner, that's the secret! I wish we could do the semester again. That's the Supreme Compliment! / Professors Egéa-Kuehne and Willis are the kind of instructors who will certainly attract graduate students to LSU. The university should do what it can to keep these two individuals happy. / The class was great! Learned a lot. I leave the class with an avenue to continue to follow Derrida through his versions text. Thank you both very much for this wonderful opportunity to be introduced to Derrida. / When I first registered for this class, I wondered how the instructors were going to approach the combination of literary and curriculum theory. During the first class meeting, they explained and encouraged to apply the theory to our own professional situation. Thus, I think all the students quickly realized the relevance of the theory to their jobs or courses of study. All the students were very interested and worked very hard to understand and apply the information in the texts. Drs. Willis and Egéa-Kuehne encouraged students to come to class prepared to discuss the material. I very much enjoyed the discussions in class—they seemed to be on a completely different level than those in other courses I've had. Most of this, I think, can be attributed to the atmosphere created by the professors; both students and professors seemed relaxed and comfortable during discussions. I very much enjoyed participating in this course and would highly recommend Dr. Willis and Dr. Egéa-Kuehne to other students. / What a wonderful learning experience! I have thoroughly enjoyed this EDCI-French class—with two outstanding C and I professors [EDCI professors attending this course regularly] plus one outstanding philosophy professor [a professor from the Department of Philosophy attending the course on a regular basis]—plus a strong group of graduate students from various fields. The most challenging, motivating, intellectually stimulating course I've had. / The content is incredibly deep, thick, difficult—which triggered discussion, thought. You two are a dynamic team. You have worked out an effective collaborative approach that enhances course instruction. Again, a wonderful experience! How fortunate I have been to participate in a group so intent on exploring Derrida, learning and pushing the boundaries. Thank you for the many hours you have given to this class... I have indeed benefited. / Wonderful, provocative course—Extremely generative. / A moving course. Critically affected my views about education. / Phenomenal class! The opportunities afforded for intellectual exploration by the meeting of this class have been enriching, rewarding, and generative. / Challenging—Generative—Wonderful. / One of the most seminal classes I've ever had at LSU. / Of any course I've had on this campus I must say that the Friday seminars are tops in my mind for challenging students to think and question in new ways and to move beyond taken-for-granted assumptions. / Denise has carried on this tradition with the Michel Serres class in true seminar form. The conversation is always rich and stimulating; the work, rigorous and challenging; and yet it is a very safe space in which to explore and to question ways of thinking and constructing who we are as scholars, as well as human beings. / I frequently recommend these Friday seminar courses to people outside the department because I think they're among the best classes we offer. Thanks for keeping EDCI on the cutting edge! / Dr. Egéa-Kuehne struck the perfect balance of challenging us and showing care. She definitely practices what she preaches. / This was a very intellectually stimulating seminar. / Dr. Egéa-Kuehne of all the teachers I've had is by far in the top percent. Her passion coupled with compassion gives witness to me of the kind of teacher I wish to be. / Excellent course, stimulated analysis and desire to question education. Great instructor! / As always the curriculum theory seminars are generative and address salient issues of the day. / Excellent class. / An excellent class. The interaction and dialogue between instructor and students and among students are so stimulating that they have the great power of transformation and creation. The instructor encourages students to exchange and discuss and brings a dynamic into the classroom which promotes actual learning. / Faculty guides learning without taking over. Pushes you with the text. Her choice of reading assignments guides us through themes pertinent to education. / This course was my favorite since I've been a grad student here. I love the idea of a real seminar and students' presentations each week. I appreciate the serious treatment of texts and I feel very lucky to have studied with Dr. Denise especially since she's translating Derrida's work. Great class! Thanks. / This class was by far the most challenging and most closely related to all areas of life that I have taken. I have little clue to what my final grade will be. We still have a major paper to be graded. However, I don't care if I make an "F." The content, discussion of this class have aided (maximized) my cognitive development. I actually learned how to think. / I also want to mention how much I am enjoying the readings. I am nearly finished with the Noddings book and found much to love and connect with! I go back and forth between the Apple book and the Freire book as I can't seem to put either down. Thank you for offering these wonderful books! / I look forward to our class on Thursday - Thank you. / Thanks for everything this class rocks. / I like the style of the class; I like how you value all of our opinions and you are caring. / It is difficult to balance being student directed as well as to cover content, however, Denise did a remarkable job balancing these two foci. / Class discussions were extremely engaging. The feedback to written work was generative and engaging. / Awesome course that led to new ways of thinking. / Dr. Denise is a fantastic and motivating professor. She encouraged and challenged me. I appreciate the close relationship she developed among the class members. Thank you!

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Foreign Language Education
I really enjoyed this class and learned so much about teaching, gathered lots of material about teaching./ I learned more in this EDCI class than all my other EDCI classes combined. Thank you Dr. Denise. / As always, Dr. Egéa-Kuehne is a very knowledgeable and supportive instructor. Her level of understanding of the subject matter is profound and her encouragement of my development as a scholar is unending. I doubt I would have persevered as relentlessly as I have in graduate school without her. / The class was an excellent tool to make a peer analysis of my cognition process and standing. Thank you. / I have learned so much in this class. Thanks for your patience and understanding. I hope to have another class again soon. / The instruction and instructor were excellent, very knowledgeable and helpful. The professor was one of the warmest, most personable professors I've ever had. / The class more than satisfied the course requirements, but went beyond and gave me new ideas of assessment and helped me reflect on my own teaching! / The class was very practical and the work done here will be very useful in the future. Thanks./ The course was excellent! It served as an introduction to or a refresher of the latest in content/context/whole language teaching. This forced us to use these guidelines while preparing our projects. / This class has been a new concept or experience in the "how to" present to my students the units in the curriculum.. / I think that now I have to have very clear what I want to teach, and following that moment to think how everything (activities for setting characters or assessment) will contribute to attain that goal. / I have enjoyed the class, even though I think we have worked hard, this hard work has brought a lot of fun. / This course has helped me tremendously. I can only give the credit to Dr. Egéa-Kuehne who is an excellent instructor and who encourages each of her students to stretch themselves as much as possible in order to present the best work they can. / I am truly happy that I enrolled in this course because it will help me with my teaching in the future. / I really enjoyed taking this course. The knowledge i have gained and the contacts I have made will certainly help me become a better teacher. Thank you for being so warm and enthusiastic. / I really enjoyed this course. Dr. Kuehne was wonderful, sweet, polite, helpful, enthusiastic. It's too bad that it was such a short course. I feel I could have been more productive had the session lasted a few more weeks. / I very much enjoyed the structure of the course and its objectives. I feel that it will be extremely helpful in later teaching circumstances. / I did enjoy your course and I feel that all projects produced will be invaluable to both teachers and students. / This class has provided new ideas for me for the teaching of Latin. The other people in the class in French and Spanish were very helpful and it is always nice to try to put Latin on the same level as other modern foreign languages. Thanks!. / Denise, I was very happy to have the opportunity to apply what we learned about planning a curriculum based on a theme, whole language theory, with the actual creation of a new text/whole language activities curriculum. Whole language theory has finally become practical for me in the foreign language classroom. / I just loved it! Lots of work but so much things learned. The material we got, the questions and issues we discussed, the new ideas... I can't wait to use them in a classroom. This was just great! Thank you! / Dr. Kuehne visited her students once a week in the schools, discussing progress and downfalls, and reflecting on the lesson plans. / To begin with, I would like to say that I enjoyed this class very much. Having only two students in the class made it easy to follow the course more closely more than usual. / In my opinion, Dr. Kuehne is one of a kind, very responsible, capable, and (most of all) highly interested in our progress throughout the semester. / Among the things that I enjoyed in this course were the several extra-class activities in which Dr. Kuehne involved us. For instance, we attended a meeting at University High School where we heard an informative lecture on "classroom management" by Dr. Fabre. We also attended the Annual Spring Conference and were able to observe in two schools and teach in one. / I believe I benefited a lot from this course because we had an excellent instructor who also gave us the opportunity to experience the extra-classroom activities that she planned. I truly enjoyed this course! / The activities and the unit that we prepared in the class were helpful in teaching. I think that I learned a lot in this class. This class has been hard work. / I enjoyed this class very much. The instruction was excellent and only having three students made it very special. Dr. Egéa-Kuehne expects a lot from her students but she is very understanding, and willing to help one on one. She is also very available. Going to the immersion programs was a wonderful experience. Every foreign language teacher should see them. back up

Research
She made herself available at all times for questions and encouragement./ I felt that the assignments were very helpful in completing the proposal./ Although the workload was heavy, I realized by the end of the class that it was probably necessary to prepare us for next semester, and I respect and admire Dr. Egéa-Kuehne very much./ Dr. Egéa-Kuehne is very receptive to our needs, very patient with our processes, sensitive, and considerate—a wonderful academic experience has been provided by her./ I would have liked to have spent more time with you. Your input when I see you is always pertinent and gives the right direction./ I like your teaching style. Sometimes the class was a bit difficult, but that's research./ I like how helpful Dr. EK was outside of class. She was very willing to listen./ Dr. Egéa-Kuehne, I am greatly satisfied with your efforts to prepare Holmes graduate students for next semester's research project. Your knowledge of studies and methods is extensive and current, and you share that knowledge with care and passion. My one regret is that the Holmes program lasts only fifteen months. Thank you for your guidance./ I personally felt that her door was always open to any questions or concerns I may have had. She really helped me rise to another level of education and thinking. She really pushes for high quality work./ Dr. Kuehne went past her job description to help us with class material and research project. Dr. Kuehne was very well prepared to help us with our research and made the process as comfortable as possible. She arranged a number of out of class experiences relevant to our program. That has affected my professional growth as well as personal. She has been very flexible with our schedule and been a pleasure to work with in the Holmes program./ Dr. Kuehne was always prepared for class. She gave clear instructions on all assignments. She is a very thorough instructor—discussing progress and downfalls. She has been instrumental in helping me with the research. Her step-by-step "program" helped me organize my thoughts./ Denise was terrific in sharing her personal time off from work to help us with anything we needed. / I appreciate this class so much. Thanks for your feedback. I got further than I imagined I would at the beginning of the semester. / Dr. Kuehne went past her job description to help us with class material and research project. Dr. Kuehne was very well prepared to help us with our research and made the process as comfortable as possible. She arranged a number of out of class experiences relevant to our program. That has affected my professional growth as well as personal. She has been very flexible with our schedules and been a pleasure to work with the Holmes program. / Dr. Kuehne was always prepared for class. She gave clear instructions on all assignments. She is a very thorough instructor. She has been instrumental in helping with the research. Her step-by-step "program" helped me organize my thoughts. / The course objectives were very clearly defined. She is always very well prepared. The course syllabus is very thorough. / Dr. Kuehne is very enthusiastic and always very concerned with our progress. She is very helpful when needed and accessible.
Incredible. The best! We wouldn't have graduated without her expertise, care and love./ Dr. Kuehne was one of the best teachers I've ever had. She is an expert with research and was a terrific coach throughout our course. Also, she went way beyond her job description to guide us through the research project on her own time. She's the best!/ Professor Kuehne's course was very refreshing and informative. We learned a very large amount about research in a very short time. She was extremely available to her students, giving up much of her free time, and allowing us to utilise her many resources. / This course did allow me to gain valuable insight into the world of education and into the research field. / Thanks to the competence of Dr. Egéa-Kuehne and her constant will and desire to provide her students with helpful remark and guidance, I have been able to overcome some difficulties inherent in my lack of experience in the field and to achieve positive results in this very demanding program. / There is not enough time for our practicum in the schools and to have the course. However, Denise was terrific in sharing her personal time off from work to help us with anything we needed. back up

Teaching, Schooling and Society
I appreciate Dr. Egéa-Kuehne's encouragement to learn. She always asked us to think about more than just what we were given. I have learned so much in this class./ I really enjoyed taking this class. I feel challenged and better prepared to teach. I think that she really cares about the subject she's teaching, and is very passionate... it definitely carries over to her students./ The instructor was really nice and she tried the hardest to make things fair. She sent us cards and e-mails just to let us know she was thinking about us! Super nice teacher!/ I loved her! She genuinely cared about our class. She is a fabulous teacher!/ Great instructor and a wonderful class! She taught me many valuable lessons to take with me in my profession!/ I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for a great semester and a great class. I have never taken a class where I have actually learned so much more than in this class. You taught us in a way where we had to teach ourselves. I couldn't get by with just reading the book. You challenged the class to actually use our brains and that is rare among other teachers I've had in the past. I'm thankful to have the chance to have taken your class and I wish you the best in the future. Thanks again! back up

Women's and Gender Studies
Would you recommend the instructor?
Yes, Prof. Egea-Kuehne was a very interesting, compassionate & accessible instructor / Yes, her understanding and support / Yes she is great, and she actually cares about us / Yes—Extremely nice and knowledgeable / Yes—she takes the time to talk to you/advise you on a personal level / Yes, because of her commitment to students' developing their own thought / Definitely. Dr. Denise is very caring, involved & understanding. She wants to get to know her students & encourages them to "think outside the box" / Yes. The instructor is dedicated to spending her time with each student on an individual basis / Yes, she is nice and goes out of her way to help, very understanding./ Yes, because she brought a lot to the table and taught me a lot / Yes—eye-opening readings / Yes—the professor expects so much of you and pushes you to do and think as you haven't been taught to do and think before / Absolutely. Dr. Denise is extraordinarily enthusiastic & caring for her students. The course content encourages independent thought / Yes, I would recommend this course to a friend if they wanted a challenging and enlightening experience./ The instructor and material should be required for every student. She is a wonderful teacher and is open to other ideas and opinions./ Great class! You made it interesting & fun in allowing us to participate! Thank you!/ It felt like you were working with us and letting us lead discussions which made it more interesting./ The instructor gave very insightful input as well as allowed class discussion that helped shape the scope of the class./ A truly beautiful person, and she's very understanding. We need more of her./ A one of a kind who communicates perfectly./ Dr. Egéa-Kuehne made me want to do well in this class. With her personality and attitude. She is very understanding and excited about everything we did.

Course strengths?
It was completely one's interpretation & not right or wrong / Always open minded & never negativity / The instructor was very easy to talk to and readily available / Openness to new ideas / Really great readings that the instructor was enthusiastic about. She really cared about what she was teaching / The openness of new and different ideas—the encouraging nature of Dr. Denise / My classmates made the experience much better by being helpful and involved / The close reading of Derrida's texts and the instructor's knowledge of the texts and the author / The instructor is knowledgeable of Derrida and helped to explain his works, she has a passion for his work./ Challeging./ Opens your eyes to different issues that you rarely look at independently./ Reaching out to all minorities and educating us on our differences and similarities./ The cohesiveness of the class and the way the class was run./ The HW [written responses to readings] each week helped improve my writing skills./ Consistency with syllabus and book./ She writes good notes on your paper./ Her ability to communicate with her students and her understanding nature./ She had real life experiences that I enjoyed hearing about; it makes the class seem more applicable to the real world./ The instructor will help and go out of her way so much./ She is the best teacher I have had at LSU./ The instructor was very open to ideas./ Her allowing the creativity of the students./ Respect for all people.

Added free comments
Dr. Egéa-Kuehne is a treat to LSU. A professor that genuinely cares and respects her students. Each topic was presented clearly and conversation/discussion in the class was encouraged./ I think Dr. Egéa-Kuehne is an awesome person and I am really glad I took this class with her as my teacher./ I Love this class! I don’t want it to end. I enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere; it was so laid back and open that it was almost like a stress reliever :) I’ve learned so much more than I ever expected to learn. Thank you for doing such a wonderful job teaching and making this class so much fun. I’ve recommended it to all my friends. I hope that you know this class will be forever with me throughout everything I do in my life. Thank you again./ I like this class a lot it was a real eye-opener. Also, the teacher is very caring and encouraging. You can tell she is really passionate about her job. I would definitely recommend this to a friend. I enjoyed meeting on Wed. because this class brought so much diversity./ I enjoyed this class very much & looked forward to it every week. I can’t even express in words how much I learned. I never knew how women were treated before. I’m amazed. Thank you for a great semester!

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