Historical instructor

REBECCA SHIELDS

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.43/5 from 72 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

LING101 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Dr. Shields is passionate about linguistics and her poisitive attitude made every lecture enjoyable. You don't have to prep over summer but make sure you get comfortable with IPA, 10 minutes a day even during the semester does wonders! Discussion activities are guaranteed credit but phenomenal exam prep
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LING101 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
She was a really wonderful lecturer who made slides super easy to take notes off of and prepared us super well for the exams. All the midterms were very fair, and as long as you paid attention in lecture and actually did the worksheets in discussion, this class was very easy.
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LING101 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Becky is very passionate and explains things very well, but it's either extremely interesting or kind of boring based on if you like the subject. Even still, she does a good job at keeping people somewhat engaged. Speaking another language beforehand made this class much easier. Her Canvas is well-organized, and she has an effective teaching style.
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LING101 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 1/5
I found her lectures rather slow and boring, but I'm willing to blame the material rather than Shields herself. Tests were easy if you read the study guide/attended discussions. You can tell she has a lot of passion for her subject and cares deeply about her students. If I actually liked linguistics I'm sure I would've loved this class :,)
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LING101 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Professor Shields is an awesome professor who clearly loves what she teaches. Lectures tended to be slow-paced at times, but she thoroughly explains every topic. She even makes study guides and practice worksheets to help prepare for the exams, which was super helpful. Discussion was fun and you basically just do worksheets/puzzles with a group!
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with REBECCA SHIELDS

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

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Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026LINGUIS 340Semantics
Spring 2026LINGUIS 482Junior Honors Tutorial
Fall 2025ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2025LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2025LINGUIS 571Structure of a Language
Spring 2025LINGUIS 699Independent Reading
Fall 2024ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2024LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2024LINGUIS 699Independent Reading
Spring 2024LINGUIS 340Semantics
Spring 2024LINGUIS 699Independent Reading
Fall 2023ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2023LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2023LINGUIS 699Independent Reading
Spring 2023ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2023LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2023LINGUIS 699Independent Reading
Fall 2022LINGUIS 330Syntax
Fall 2022LINGUIS 699Independent Reading
Spring 2022LINGUIS 340Semantics
Spring 2022LINGUIS 482Junior Honors Tutorial
Fall 2021ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2021LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2020ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2020LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2020ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2020LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2019ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2019LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2019ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2019LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2018ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2018LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2018ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2018LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2017ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2017LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2017ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2017LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2016ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2016LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2016ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2016LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2015ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2015LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2015LINGUIS 330Syntax
Spring 2015ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2015LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2015LINGUIS 340Semantics
Fall 2014ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2014LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2014ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2014LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2014LINGUIS 340Semantics
Fall 2013ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2013LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2013ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2013LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2012ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2012LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2012ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2012LINGUIS 101Human Language
Spring 2012LINGUIS 482Junior Honors Tutorial
Fall 2011ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2011LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2011LINGUIS 481Junior Honors Tutorial
Spring 2011ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Spring 2011LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2010ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2010LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2010LINGUIS 330Syntax
Fall 2010LINGUIS 481Junior Honors Tutorial
Spring 2010LINGUIS 340Semantics
Spring 2010LINGUIS 482Junior Honors Tutorial
Fall 2009ANTHRO/LINGUIS 301Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical
Fall 2009LINGUIS 101Human Language
Fall 2009LINGUIS 330Syntax
Fall 2009LINGUIS 481Junior Honors Tutorial

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance 
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