Michael Dunham | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Michael Dunham EDSP376 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/04/2024	If you’re considering learning ASL with Michael PLEASE DO IT!! He is such a kind and funny professor and I loved this class immensely. He is willing to help anyone who is struggling or doesn’t understand signs. Of course keep in mind this is a 3xx class with a language that has different rules than English, but as long as you put the effort in you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly. The class is entirely voice-off from the start so you might want to at least review the alphabet beforehand but he goes slow and makes sure people understand him. The immersion is really helpful to pick things up quickly. I also appreciate that we spend time learning about Deaf culture, not just ASL. At the moment the class meets twice a week and there are weekly assignments on canvas. The assignments might look like a lot (they include videos/“snapshots” to watch before class) but it’s usually short and simple. There's also a few assignments where you'll videotape yourself signing sentences using proper ASL structure and grammar. We also took a field trip to tour Gallaudet University in DC. Overall HIGHLY recommended, this was my favorite class this semester. It’s pretty small so you get to know your classmates quickly. As I said Michael is such a great professor and you will love taking this class!
Michael Dunham EDSP376 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/02/2024	Dunham is a super nice, friendly, and understanding professor. The other reviews here are from years ago/covid - when I was reading them they didn't seem accurate. I took his in-person EDSP376 class.... the assignments are all online and super manageable (I probably dedicated 1 hour each week for them). There are no in-person tests/quizzes which is nice. He is deaf, which was initially intimidating but proved really valuable for learning. All of the times I emailed him he was very responsive. I think you get what you put into this class - you have the tools to become a strong novice signer if that is what you please, however you can get by from not being 100%.
Michael Dunham EDSP376 Anonymous 03/10/2021	I took this class during Fall 2020 when it was online due to covid. Michael was always very friendly and considerate of different signing paces and receptive to any feedback. The course material was taught via short pre-recorded lecture videos. These videos are completely in ASL and don't have captions or voiceovers, but most of the time his facial expressions and pictures/animations make the meanings pretty clear. You do have to be pro-active if there's anything you don't understand, and that means either emailing him separately or asking a question during the live class. But, he encourages people to interrupt and ask what signs are, so it's totally okay if you don't understand the video lectures entirely. There were live classes for 1-hour once a week. On Testudo, it shows up as two sessions a week, but before the semester starts, he lets you pick one of three times that meet once a week in smaller groups (not sure if this was just because of the online format or not). These live classes were fully immersive, so everyone was muted and any questions would be asked via chat. He would prepare some sort of activity that involved using signs taught in the previous week's lecture videos in order to practice them and gauge comprehension. There was never too much pressure to know every sign beforehand, because, as I mentioned, it was completely okay to be reminded of the signs or even learn new signs by just asking. Overall, Michael really cares about helping students learn the material, and this is a great class to take with him if you're interested in learning some basic ASL directly from someone in the deaf community.
Michael Dunham EDSP376 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/26/2021	I took EDSP376 online over the winter. The main content of the course is taught through recorded lectures, and there are biweekly synchronous lectures with some basic participation activities. We didn't have any exams but there were a few untimed quizzes and homework assignments, as well as an easy final project. It's intended to be a "full immersion" class so there's no speaking in class or in the recorded lectures. That's not really a problem though, since he's patient and writes what he's signing in the zoom chat, and the videos have pictures to describe whatever he's talking about. It's rarely, if ever, unclear. There was only about an hour or two of recorded lectures a week (not bad for a 3-week class) so it's pretty easy to rewatch them before/during a quiz. Overall, it's an easy class if you put in literally any effort at all and you'll probably have a bit of fun with it too. He was good about responding to emails (despite what the other reviewer says) and other concerns. Easy five stars.
Michael Dunham EDSP376 Anonymous 01/12/2020	Do not take this class if you do not have to and do not trust the data for this professor. The class is extremely unorganized and moves at a way too fast pace. The professor is horrible about responding to emails and is always MIA. If you want to take a class where you get the review packets the night before a test and can never get in contact with the professor then this is the class for you.

Michael Dunham
EDSP376

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/04/2024

If you’re considering learning ASL with Michael PLEASE DO IT!! He is such a kind and funny professor and I loved this class immensely. He is willing to help anyone who is struggling or doesn’t understand signs. Of course keep in mind this is a 3xx class with a language that has different rules than English, but as long as you put the effort in you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly. The class is entirely voice-off from the start so you might want to at least review the alphabet beforehand but he goes slow and makes sure people understand him. The immersion is really helpful to pick things up quickly. I also appreciate that we spend time learning about Deaf culture, not just ASL. At the moment the class meets twice a week and there are weekly assignments on canvas. The assignments might look like a lot (they include videos/“snapshots” to watch before class) but it’s usually short and simple. There's also a few assignments where you'll videotape yourself signing sentences using proper ASL structure and grammar. We also took a field trip to tour Gallaudet University in DC. Overall HIGHLY recommended, this was my favorite class this semester. It’s pretty small so you get to know your classmates quickly. As I said Michael is such a great professor and you will love taking this class!

Michael Dunham
EDSP376

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/02/2024

Dunham is a super nice, friendly, and understanding professor. The other reviews here are from years ago/covid - when I was reading them they didn't seem accurate. I took his in-person EDSP376 class.... the assignments are all online and super manageable (I probably dedicated 1 hour each week for them). There are no in-person tests/quizzes which is nice. He is deaf, which was initially intimidating but proved really valuable for learning. All of the times I emailed him he was very responsive. I think you get what you put into this class - you have the tools to become a strong novice signer if that is what you please, however you can get by from not being 100%.

Michael Dunham
EDSP376

Anonymous
03/10/2021

I took this class during Fall 2020 when it was online due to covid. Michael was always very friendly and considerate of different signing paces and receptive to any feedback. The course material was taught via short pre-recorded lecture videos. These videos are completely in ASL and don't have captions or voiceovers, but most of the time his facial expressions and pictures/animations make the meanings pretty clear. You do have to be pro-active if there's anything you don't understand, and that means either emailing him separately or asking a question during the live class. But, he encourages people to interrupt and ask what signs are, so it's totally okay if you don't understand the video lectures entirely. There were live classes for 1-hour once a week. On Testudo, it shows up as two sessions a week, but before the semester starts, he lets you pick one of three times that meet once a week in smaller groups (not sure if this was just because of the online format or not). These live classes were fully immersive, so everyone was muted and any questions would be asked via chat. He would prepare some sort of activity that involved using signs taught in the previous week's lecture videos in order to practice them and gauge comprehension. There was never too much pressure to know every sign beforehand, because, as I mentioned, it was completely okay to be reminded of the signs or even learn new signs by just asking. Overall, Michael really cares about helping students learn the material, and this is a great class to take with him if you're interested in learning some basic ASL directly from someone in the deaf community.

Michael Dunham
EDSP376

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/26/2021

I took EDSP376 online over the winter. The main content of the course is taught through recorded lectures, and there are biweekly synchronous lectures with some basic participation activities. We didn't have any exams but there were a few untimed quizzes and homework assignments, as well as an easy final project. It's intended to be a "full immersion" class so there's no speaking in class or in the recorded lectures. That's not really a problem though, since he's patient and writes what he's signing in the zoom chat, and the videos have pictures to describe whatever he's talking about. It's rarely, if ever, unclear. There was only about an hour or two of recorded lectures a week (not bad for a 3-week class) so it's pretty easy to rewatch them before/during a quiz. Overall, it's an easy class if you put in literally any effort at all and you'll probably have a bit of fun with it too. He was good about responding to emails (despite what the other reviewer says) and other concerns. Easy five stars.

Michael Dunham
EDSP376

Anonymous
01/12/2020

Do not take this class if you do not have to and do not trust the data for this professor. The class is extremely unorganized and moves at a way too fast pace. The professor is horrible about responding to emails and is always MIA. If you want to take a class where you get the review packets the night before a test and can never get in contact with the professor then this is the class for you.