Teaching Evaluation Excerpts
How to Stop Worrying ..., Autumn 2022
“This is definitively the best course I’ve taken at UChicago. Though I don’t know how much I’ll continue to do anything else related to mycology (or even history of science), the tools I’ve gained have already proven themselves useful in other courses and I anticipate using these skills throughout my academic and professional life.”
“Brad was incredible for this course: he was funny, which kept us engaged, he was brilliant, which helped us learn, and he was chill, which made field trips and class always pleasant. Everything on the syllabus built off of each other, and I learned so much.”
“Lectures and discussions consistently felt useful and directed. The integration of nontraditional classroom activities (mushroom foraging, field trip, restaurant trip, visit to Special Collections, movie screening, etc.) all had a clear purpose and demonstrated the variety of techniques used in research.”
“Discussions and assignments were always helpful, but the field trips were especially amazing!! Brad’s whiteboard tendencies were also helpful in breaking down information.”
Gaming History, Spring 2022
"Both Brad and [co-instructor] Katherine had prepared interesting discussion points for all of the readings. Their points built upon prior material without forcing a particular perspective. I really like when Brad laughs at his own jokes."
"Brad is an insightful, entertaining, and engaging instructor. He is exceedingly good at expanding upon and reinforcing student discussions. Brad has a palpable and indisputable interest in all aspects of this course, which really exacerbated my interest and I'm sure the interest of others."
"Brad is great."
"Both Katherine and Brad were great professors and the way they handled class discussions really helped a lot with my enjoyment and engagement in a field that is very unfamiliar to me."
Knowing Animals, Winter 2022
"He let us lay out where we wanted to take conversations and he would guide the way with thought–provoking questions... He also made an effort to take these teachings outside of the classroom... Aside from all of this, he was kind and understanding. He made an effort to see where students were coming from, he was transparent, communicative, and always there to help and support us. It is teachers like this that make my education at UChicago worth while."
"Brad is an easy–going professor. He definitely tried to promote a friendly environment with silly icebreakers. In other contexts I probably would have found that patronizing, but, in the context of our small class, I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know my classmates. I found that Brad was incredibly knowledgable with respect to a real ranges of disciplines related to animal studies. I appreciated having him as a resource when questions arose."
"Brad's approach to teaching emphasizes fostering discussion over lecturing. He is effective in guiding the discussion without making it feel forced. Brad also is quite good at encouraging students to delve deeper into their analysis without being intimidating. I appreciate his effort to incorporate diverse perspectives for a given topic."
History of Science Junior Tutorial, 2020-2021
"Brad was incredible. He was very accessible outside of class. He answered emails and responded to last minute questions about assignments. His feedback was detailed but also big picture. He knows so much about history of science and clearly cares a lot about teaching."
"Brad is one of the best TF’s I’ve had. Such a fun and charismatic guy, and is so knowledgable. He always provided super thoughtful and quick responses to my many queries and made this course much more manageable. Thank you!!"
"The best TF I’ve had in the department thus far. Super approachable and gives very useful feedback. Knows his stuff and knows how to be helpful to us as undergraduate researchers"
"Brad is dynamic, engaging, and so knowledgeable about not only History and Science, but conducting research more generally. I got something out of every section meeting and office hour."