PUBPOL-879
TEAM-BASED LEARN/NAT SEC PROF
Term
Overview
Feedback is mixed. The clearest upside is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.
DepartmentPPS
Terms offeredFall
Typical enrollment15–21
Semesters of data3
4.8
Hrs / week
29
Responses
56
Enrollment
52%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
3.7
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
3.7
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.3
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
2.9
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysishigh
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 100 comments across 3 sections
Feedback is mixed. The clearest upside is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.
Watch out for
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
1) I developed an incredible knowledge of Latin America 2) I learned immensely about political action officers and their role in diplomacy 3) I learned how the State Department influences national security policy.
Fall 2023 · Hall, Laura
This curse forced me to dig into issues deeper and explore the evolution of scenarios. Also, analyzing who the players were that need to be involved or could facilitate a solution within a scenario.
Fall 2023 · Hall, Laura
I found the primary benefit of this course to be the practical experience of working in small teams on policy issues. The instructor's insights, personal experiences, and the guest lecturers also provided value, and I appreciate that they represented a broad range of experiences and viewpoints. Three things I took away from this course: 1. Doing collaborative assignments almost exclusively electronically is much more difficult than collaborating in person. 2. How to think about the crafting and implementation of policy from multiple government agencies' perspectives. The challenges and importance of interagency collaboration. 3. There are fundamental differences between the DOD and DOS approach to national security policy.
Fall 2023 · Hall, Laura
It was surprisingly beneficial to work through the assignments as a group. It was very difficult, but I gained some insight working with people that had different ideas and methodologies.
Fall 2023 · Hall, Laura
In this course, I was just surviving. I learned there is an invisible layer of government that doesn't get the accolades it deserves.
Fall 2023 · Hall, Laura
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Hall, Laura 4.5Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.5Difficulty2.0Would retake88%Based on 14 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 3.6 | 2.7 | — | 15 |
| Fall 2024 | Hall, Laura 4.5Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.5Difficulty2.0Would retake88%Based on 14 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 3.4 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 20 |
| Fall 2023 | Hall, Laura 4.5Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.5Difficulty2.0Would retake88%Based on 14 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.0 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 21 |