Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik

Student Comments

Course C&J 340 (Spring 2008) ITV (instructional television) Organizational Communication	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ The instructor made the distance classes a part of the classroom. Most instructors do not do this. She was a good teacher for TV. § Pamela is the best! I wish she could teach all the ITV courses. § I felt that my instructor held many strengths. She was able to accommodate my specific needs, the teaching technologies, and the learning atmosphere. Made it an honor to be a part of her class. I truly enjoy the way she made our campus in Farmington feel very much a part of the main campus. § Our options in the Cluster Assignments, participation, and the instructor’s presenting styles were strengths. § The major strength of the instructor was her understanding of her students and very great sense of humor. She kept the class very interested on topics using humor. § Excellent choice of textbook, which is highly unusual. The examples from instructor research, lectures, and background illustrated points well. Flexibility was great. Weakness—just need more classes for off-site campuses. § This instructor was and is absolutely amazing. She presented the information in a clear, helpful, purposeful way that encouraged my learning. I’d take a class from her every semester if I could. Excellent presentations, great sense of humor, truly made learning fun. Will you teach more ITV courses? You are a fantastic learning facilitator. Thank you for the great class! I’m, going to miss the fun and challenge.		§ At my current job, I have had to deal with workplace bullying. I never knew such events took place. § The information, such as how to interact with employers is very beneficial. § The instructor acknowledged the branch campuses and included us in everything. § The principles of communication have changed some of the behaviors I have had in the workplace, and I have become more aware of communication skills in my personal life as well as professionally. § The material has definitely helped me in the real world and made me stronger.	§ I think the instructor should keep up the good work. § It was dynamic! Can’t think of any changes I’d want to see!!!	§ Grading was very much fair. Her tests definitely made you think outside the box. § They were fair because we chose our assignments. § The selection of earning points was great (cluster assignment choices). Learning styles were considered as well as stress levels. Opportunities to add extra credit points was very considerate. § Very fair. Makes the process of grading and exams interesting and challenging. Opportunities for learning given through the chosen assignments.

Course C&J 544 (Spring 2008) Seminar Orgn Communication	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ Excellent communication style. Very supportive of differing opinions. Conscious effort to include all in discussions. § Organizational book was “long reading.” Pam presented material in a positive manner, very conducive for learning. § She was very confident in her knowledge of the material. § Pam creates a very comfortable environment while at the same time creating one in which I learned a lot. She took charge but also sat back and let us hash out our ideas and discussions. § Pam is approachable, funny, and extremely knowledgeable. She’s responsible and patient with all her students. § Very relational and creates a comfortable environment. Very knowledgeable. § Clear instructions for assignments, very helpful with both major and minor assignments. Great feedback. Made a clear effort to make each person in the class feel valued and comfortable voicing opinion.		§ Very enlightening—very helpful in providing solid foundations for the field. § Discussions, learned a lot. § Her style of teaching—very causal, yet goal-driven. § Group discussion and the reading. § Project activities and presentations. § Class discussion focused on readings. Discussion questions coming from classmates, not instructor. Felt like we were active participants in creating course as it progressed.	§ Change book, using articles only. § Different text book. § A few less reports for students; maybe 2 instead of 3. § Change discussion leading presentations from grad students so they are less re-doing chapter or reading in their outlines. Have them focus more on discussion or activities. § I do not like the Handbook readings, except Chapter 8. The rest were difficult to get through. Include more studies to read instead. § (Note: Used “The new handbook of organizational communication”)	§ Great feedback on work completed; very organized. § Very fair and constructive. § Very fair. § Fair.

Course C&J 333 (Fall 2007) Organizational Communication	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ I liked the organization around teams. § Pam is excellent! § Interesting and fun learning style. § She has experience and ability. § Pam is a great teacher who makes the course interesting and fun. § She creates a great atmosphere and is friendly and helpful. § I like the way she structures the class and relates it directly to real-world applications. § Easy going, easy to understand, great lectures. § The instructor did way too much work group. § I really thought she did an excellent job! § Very knowledgeable in her field and a good instructor. § The instructor was prompt and made the learning atmosphere fun. § Pamela was excellent. I will recommend this course to all my younger friends simply to improve their listening, communication skills for their benefit in future jobs. § The best professors I’ve ever had at UNM!		§ The work was in-class, which was less stressful. § All of the information was beneficial. § Writing workbook. § The workbook. § The group work in combination with individual assignments. The structure of the course was great! § The writing section really opened my eyes to grammatical errors I have unknowingly made for a long time. § The writing workbook I think was most beneficial. I learned A LOT! I like the group work and activities. § Nothing—I’m not sure what was useful because it was all done as a group. § The grammatical section was where I learned to most. § The speaking section. § I thought the class groups and discussions were helpful. § I really liked the structure of the teams. It helped me excel and understand concepts better.	§ Forms in pdf format on WebCT, not Word. § Great class. § More time on concepts of workbook. § Not nearly as much group work.	§ Very fair. § Dislike team points. Liked working in teams but dislike splitting up points. § Works very well. § I like how she does the RATS and the group RATS. § Groups give grades for individuals, which is extremely unfair. What if members do not get along? They will give a bad grade even if not earned or deserved. § Fair.

Course C&J 501 (Fall 2007) Foundation of Communication Research Methods	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ Pam is an awesome instructor. She is enthusiastic about her career and its shines through the environment she creates. § Always enthusiastic and blunt about course content. Loved the teams and cooperation available. § Friendly. Approachable. § I love Pam. § Pam’s the greatest!! § She’s very approachable and personable, this is useful for teaching. It helped students feel free to ask questions and learn more. § Pam is very knowledgeable about qualitative and quantitative. Also, she is doing cutting-edge research in communication studies, which gives her the experience necessary. § Funny, personable, knowledgeable. § She is really constructive. § Course was excellent. You presented the material in a very comprehendible manner, especially the quantitative section. § Great knowledge of subject and relates well to students.		§ The team format—how each member’s strengths informed one another and contributed to a positive learning environment. § Giving real-world examples that are relevant to material from professional experience and research. § Great text; good variety of assignments. § The activities helped clarify text. I like groups. § I thought it was great how we did activities and lectures. Moreover, that there was individual and team work. Pam is able to incorporate all the learning styles into her class, which is great. § Learning about research methods; I had no previous knowledge. § I learned many important concepts, ideas. § Working in teams substantially helped with learning the concepts. I learned the most discussing concepts/methods with my classmates. § RATS and the team structure.	§ Do statistical test the day we have practice. § Don’t put assignments in the syllabus that will later be canceled. Drop APA assignment. § More team tests. § RAT “scratch-off” makes me nervous; especially when I accidentally scratch the wrong one. § The annotated bibliography felt like busy work to me. At the very least, I would recommend shortening the required number from 10 to 6.	§ Very fair and appropriate. § The in-class article critique said “briefly explain …” but the answer key was exhaustive (in order to get full credit). § Awesome. § Very fair and clear grading. § Taking the RAT and then discussing/lecturing was very helpful. Most instructors do not do that, and I believe it is most helpful. Thank you!

Course C&J 542 (Spring 2007) Positive Organizational Communication	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ Her attitude makes the class. Pam is a wonderful instructor, and I recommend her highly. § Very positive class. § Great sense of humor! Lots of energy! § Interesting readings. § Experience, knowledge, enthusiasm for the subject. § Pam, you are an excellent professor! You have a lot of knowledge, and you put a lot into the class. I truly enjoyed your instruction and you're teaching style.		§ Positivity. § I think the book is okay, but the outside reading was better. § Theories and ideas for workplace implementation. § Excellent class! Excellent instructor!	§ Keep individual articles to four -- it's manageable.	§

Course C&J 340 (Spring 2007) Communication in Organizations	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ Her knowledge in the field of organizational communication is phenomenal. No weaknesses. § She explained the topics very well. I always knew what was expected of me. I can't really think of any weaknesses. § Strengths: great communicator, honest. § She was attentive and understanding. Weaknesses, none. § Strengths: she made herself available to students outside of class and office hour time. She has patience and understanding beyond that of most instructors (when explaining topics). Weaknesses: none.		§ All aspects were beneficial to me. § How this class applies to real life. § Presenting my research. § Working with others. § The final evaluation of an organizational topic being presented to the class.	§ A better textbook § Get a better textbook! § Better book § A better book. § Better textbook; it's awful. § Give her and office! It would give us a place to go in meet with her outside of class. § (used Cheney, et al.’s Organizational Communication in an Age of Globalization)	§ They were fair. § Fair. § Great job! She is very fair. I wrote a paper that needed work on grammar/style. She sat with me and gave me honest feedback in a kind manner. § Fair, tests were hard -- though were doable if the material was read.

Course C&J 443 (Fall 2006) The Dark Side of Organizational Communication	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ Pam is very passionate and informative about her work. This made the class interesting. I like that she knew about so many different topics. Maybe more listening to students talk would help the class out. § Strengths: polite, speaks her mind, and tells it like it is. Very constructive feedback during class discussions. § Opens the class for discussion, which was very beneficial in providing an educational atmosphere. Pam was a wonderful professor who had great understanding of the material we covered. As a result I would recommend the course to other students. Great job. § Strengths: pulls in real situations in corporations and workforce world relevant to students future experience of work. Weaknesses: change up and do other type discussions. § Pam's easy-going personality provides an atmosphere very conducive to learning. She's easy to relate to and possessed a plethora of knowledge regarding this course. Overall, Pam is a great instructor. § Pam is a wonderful teacher. She makes the class interesting and his great at relating to her students. § The instructor made the classroom very comfortable, which allowed students to freely give their opinions and suggestions. § Pam is by far one of the best instructors I have had a UNM. She is very organized and has an excellent background in organizational communication. I have learned so much from this class. Many concepts that I have learned in this class will be applicable in my future. § She is able to relate and discuss anything with us and is very open to our thoughts/suggestions. § Awesome communicator, clear expectations. § Pam is a great instructor, stimulating thought process and discussions. Could job! § Strengths: extremely knowledgeable and willing to help.		§ I liked that we did not have tests; it made me stress out less. § How to reduce anxiety in the work place and the laws that involve bullying in the work place. § Reading the articles and discussing them in class. § Watching latest videos on organizations that brought revelation to the dark side of subject at hand. § To see how these ideas and theories can be seen in real life. Class discussions helped to bring interaction to the class. § The freedom to explore topics that were interesting to me. § The class helped to open my eyes to unfair, unethical workplace conditions and situations. § Discussions, videos, presentations. § Open discussion. § This class really opened my eyes.	§ Nothing/keep as is. § Bring more hands-on proof of organizational occurrences; i.e., objects expressing dark side to pass around in class. § I did not like that the class grades on the projects counted so much for our final great. I think the majority of the grade should have been by the instructor. § I did not like using WebCT. It is just a personal preference to manually turn in assignments.	§ Fair! § Excellent grading/very fair. § Good and fair. § She is fair and offers good feedback. § I LOVED the grading procedures. I learned more here than in any other class. It was enjoyable coming to class. § No exams which was great! But, the presentation grade should have been mostly done by Pam because I don't think the classmates really understand how much work and nervousness goes into them. Unfair grading by classmates. § Grading was very fair and consistent. § Fair and just.

Course C&J 501 (Fall 2006) Foundations of Communication Research Methods	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ Very available and gave great feedback. Awesome instructor. § Very knowledgeable and willing to spend extra time helping with assignments. § I found your humor wonderful. Your commitment to our success was great. I like that you gave us exercises and demonstrations to help apply the concepts. Could have used even more. § It succeeded in giving an overall view of the subject. § Humorous, down-to-earth. Remembers her experiences when she was his student. § Supportive, encouraging, available to assist and explain. § Pam took a course that I would consider to be dry and boring. Throughout the semester, she made it a pure joy to become the class. § Organized, knowledgeable, clear, just great overall. § She's approachable, accessible, and concerned with student success. Also, easy-to-understand with good attitude. § This course is very organized! It is excellent to break down the assignments into pieces, since it is easier to learn. § Great sense of humor. Flexible. Adapted course and deadlines to student needs. Enthusiastic about the subject.		§ Assignments and in-class activities. § It was just what I needed to start my graduate work. It's all good. § The assignments were practical. § Basic techniques in research methods and literature reviews. § Working through assignments helped in understanding. § Lectures and assignments are very instrumental in grasping the material. § I really liked the PowerPoint Dr. Sandvik made available. Her use of WebCT was great. § Qualitative coding assignments, forming research questions, and quantitative assignments. § The assignments and the book. I like the way the instructor demonstrated how to do coding step-by-step. Since I did not know anything about it before, it was excellent to do it like that. § Applied learning activities -- assignments really brought content to life.	§ A bit more applications/practice. More exercises, like what tests to use when, and a practice run on the article critique. § More and better feedback on assignments. § More group projects and discussion. § Perhaps more interactions and class, but this may be hard to do given the material. § More examples of article critiques (quantitative and qualitative) before having to write one. § More difficult -- go deeper for some concepts. § More statistical information.	§ Lovely. § GREAT. I was impressed with Dr. Sandvik's efficiency. § Fine except a bit hard on late assignments. § Fair. § Very fair and appropriate. § I don't like WebCT. Grading was fair.

Course C&J 544 (Spring 2006) Seminar, Organizational Communication	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ Pam knows her stuff and isn't uptight about structure. She allows learning to happen. § Enjoyed. Strengths: new to the department; weakness: new to the department. § Major strengths: recent graduate, continuing doing research in her field, strong previous work experience to relate to class subject		§ From a logistic standpoint, I appreciated having the CD with all the readings. Nice take away. § Organizational communication survey readings and discussion. § I'd never had communication theory before, and I believe I received a very strong foundation and introduction.	§ More discussion.	§ Very fair, wide span.

Course C&J 446 (Spring 2006) Organizational Analysis and Training	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ Personable, friendly, casual, talked to us not down to us. § Instructor is very experienced in her field of work. § Always very helpful and willing to give any extra information needed. § Great at applying content to "real world" experience. § The class was informative and interesting.		§ The assignments. § Researching topics related to projects. § The assignments helped me to understand the concepts.	§ To review the outline of proposal, assessment, and training assignments. § Class would be better if it was 2 - 3 times a week instead of 1 because of the content learned. § Maybe drafts to allow more feedback on assignments. § The course description was misleading. It was only when we went over the syllabus that I knew what was expected.	§ Fair. § Although there were no exams, length of the assignments seemed a little excessive (page length).

Course C&J 333 (Fall 2005) Professional Communication	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ Dr. Pam has a challenging yet student-friendly course structure. § This was one of my favorite classes in the 3 ½ years I’ve been at UNM. This teacher was so fair and I loved that I always knew my grade in the class. Awesome assignments; I really learned a lot. § Strengths: She had a lot of work experience and was able to use that to explain concepts clearer. Good class, enjoyed it and learned a lot. § Excellent instructor. § The instructor provided knowledge of the subject that was greatly useful for the students. § Very fun! Adapted to needs of class J. § Great job! Very clear/concise. Evaluations were not always clear beforehand (i.e., how-to speech, cover letter) § I really appreciate the enthusiasm that Pam brought to our class. She created an environment that was warm and friendly. Students were comfortable asking questions. I really enjoyed coming to class. I also enjoyed the team dynamic utilized in this class. It was helpful. I really hope to have Pam again. § Her strength is structuring the class so that expectations, grading, etc., were clear. § Strengths: Extremely personable and approachable. She was also willing to teach in a way that was a welcoming break from most other university classes. § Strengths: Instructor made the classroom environment fun and interesting.		§ Listening, writing, speaking skills were improved. § Presentation section and English refresher. § Teams were great. § The entire course was beneficial. § This class surprised me! Each class build upon the last one, making the class more and more relevant as the semester continued. In the end, this class, which at first I found boring, taught some of the most important lessons that I will continue to use in my future career. § Open-minded instructor.	§ More time on presentation styles. § Excellent course. Needs no improvement. § None	§ Straightforward, fair, and thorough. § Terrific. I wish more teachers conducted their classes like this one. I think the retention rate would be higher. § Fair § Standard

Course C&J 542 (Fall 2005) Emotions and Organizational Communication	Strengths/weaknesses of instructor	Most beneficial aspect(s) of the course	Suggestions for improvement	Comments regarding grading
§ Strengths: knowledge of the subject. § Strengths: preparedness, disciplinary and subject knowledge, classroom leadership, course design, communication with students, extraordinary efforts to prepare reading selections and materials for students, use of technology. Weaknesses: none observed. Pam is a wonderful, enthusiastic member of the department. § Very friendly and fun to talk to. She really brings in her years of work experience to articulate ideas and concepts--good examples. Gives students many opportunities to speak. § I found the materials used in the course very interesting. Various reading included helped me learn about the subject. § Strengths: Pam has a great deal of knowledge about the subject and always has interesting commentary. Weakness: Discussion format each week was a little tedious; mix it up with more activities. § Runs a very good class discussion.		§ The weekly reports were interesting and informative and exposed me to a greater body of emotion literature; WebCT is a very useful and helpful tool. § Readings, discussion, research. § The discussion and the fact that we could ask anything--this was great. Use of WebCT was easy and helpful. § Writing the research reports and then giving a sort presentation. More interactive--helps the learning process. § I like the wealth of articles I’ve acquired that relate to organizational communication.	§ Vary the assignments a little. While the weekly reports were interesting/informative, they did get a bit tedious halfway through the semester. I would have enjoyed a bit more variation in the regular class schedule. § Try to narrow down the readings a bit--maybe have 2 or 3 core readings and then the reports. Try also not to have repot selection take place until the 2^nd or 3^rd week--the first day was too stressful--then people dropped. § I would recommend using a larger variety of teaching techniques. § I would consider reducing the # of reports and focus more time on core readings; 15 minutes for core reading-discussion is too short! § Maybe shorten the final paper just a little. If I had had more classes this semester it would have been difficult to complete.	§ I liked using WebCT to submit all the assignments, to communicate, and to receive grades. § Fair, appropriate. § Nice and fair. Always gave good, thoughtful comments. Thank you. § Fair and good feedback on rationale. § All grading was done in a fair and constructive manner.