Reviews 1 — Teaching Portfolio, Nolan Bensen

"Extremely knowledgeable about pretty much all parts of Chinese history, very impressive to be completely honest. Keeps the class interactive and talks to each of us and asks all of us questions. Can answer any question you have about the subject."

— A student in Chinese Civilization at College of Staten Island, Spring 2026
"After taking this class, I don't have the misconception about history anymore. I used to think, history class is all about memorising the timeline and difficult names, and other incidents. But now I have a better understanding of history."

— A student in World History to 1500 at City College of NY, Fall 2025
"Makes the subject interesting to learn about and relatively easy to follow along with the timeline. Awesome professor."

— A student in Chinese Civilization at College of Staten Island, Spring 2026
1. [I learned that h]istory is not all about memorising, it's about understanding. 2. I learned about Marko Polo, Ibn Batuta, Timur, Ashoka, and Chandragupta Maurya. 3. I learned the reason why Shia and Sunni Muslim[s] split."

— A student in World History to 1500 at CCNY, Fall 2025
"Three of the most important things I learned in this course were how to cite sources with Chicago-Turabian, how to find reliable history sources in physical books and websites, and how to locate good sources."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Spring 2025
"Professor Bensens class was very easily broken down and easy to understand. With such complex content I think he did a great job making sure everyone in the class understood what was going on."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2024
"I wouldn't make any improvements."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2024, on future improvements to the course. (I improved it anyway.)
"No suggestion needed. He is doing great work."

— Another student in the same section of World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2024
"I'm glad it gave me my first experience accessing the vast wealth of knowledge in the library."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2024
"I liked that we were able to explore topics or parts of topics that we may not have necessarily reviewed in class during the lecture for projects or presentations. These presentation[s] helped explore deeper into what interested us and allowed us to learn about it more."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2024
"Knows the subject very well, responds to emails on time, is willing to help when you don't understand the subject. He is very knowledgeable on the topic and the resources available to us online are also very helpful. He is also flexible and understanding of the personal circumstances of students. [K]nows well about his course, hes able to get the class to engage and talk with each other."

— The impressions of 3 different students in Asian Civilization at College of Staten Island, Fall 2025
"I appreciate his ability to fully explain the topic and history. He seems very knowledgeable and enthusiastic while challenging the class with open-ended questions. [I appeciated] how passionate the professor was. I appreciated the level or work the professor put into the slides that made it engaging."

— 3 students’ impressions across 2 sections of World History to 1500, Spring 2025
"I appreciated Professor Bensen's way of covering each event and pushing students to dig deeper into the subject of history. He brought friendliness while covering every one of the periods and places covered in the course."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Spring 2026
"I learned the course of world history, I did not really know the timeline of developments in world history in a proper way before this. I learned much about China I did not know before along with other civilizations in India and and Persia. I also learned how to present rapidly on a subject and properly cite sources in the Chicago style."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Spring 2026
"I appreciated that the professor did not get frustrated with explaining things that people did not know. He also gave very good details and encouraged you to always read about something or look more into something just to have the knowledge of it."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Spring 2026
"I really like the content of the class and the professor teaches it very well. This is the best history class I took at CCNY because the professor teaches the content well."

— A student in World History to 1500, Spring 2026
"• Provides helpful feedback • Respectful and honest • Highly knowledgeable in course subject • Chill"

‍ ‍— A student in Chinese Civilization at CSI, Spring 2026
"[I learned about the] interconnectedness of history [and] drawing relations between events."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2025
"His course was a bit hard, but besides that, I [appreciate] that he gave us many resources for the topic we always talk about in class. Professor Bensen was very open in making my peers and I know that he was always available to help us. The professor is really knowledgeable about course material and shows an interest in students wanting to do better in the course."

— 3 different students in the same section of World History to 1500 at CCNY, Spring 2023, my very 1st semester of teaching outside Columbia and at CUNY
"[I learned h]ow to summarize things within a page; [about] Spain originally being Muslim; [about r]ulers using Gods/gods as a tool to justify their position; [about h]ow the Silk Road was used as a way to share beliefs and customs; [and about] Mesoamerica, Vinland, and more of the religions of many nations."

— Multiple students in that same section of World History to 1500 at CCNY, my only section that 1st semester of teaching for CUNY
"[I appreciated] how passionate professor was about the subject; [that i]t was easy to digest and the topics were interesting; [and t]alks with Nolan."

— Multiple students in World History to 1500 at CCNY, Fall 2024
"[I appeciated] how passionate the professor was [and ...] the level o[f] work the professor put into the slides that made it engaging."

— A student in World History to 1500 at CCNY, Spring 2025
"I appreciate his ability to fully explain the topic and history. He seems very knowledgeable and enthusiastic while challenging the class with open-ended questions."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2025
"I got better at presenting. I learned more about history and learned how to find books in the [City College] library. [I learned about] empires, structure of the world and how people lived before us."

— 2 students in World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2025
"[I appreciated h]ow knowledgeable professor [B]ens[e]n is and how clearly intrigued he is in his field. {I] appreciated how he put effort into each of the lessons and answering any questions we had. [I liked t]he progress which [the] course ran through. Well paced and learned."

— 3 students in World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2025
"[I liked the professor's or course's f]lexibility and [it was] not stressful[. A]lso professor was patient with students and smart to let us discuss topics with open questions."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2025
"[I learned about t]he history of the Taino people in the Caribbean before Spain's reconquista, [h]ow diseases are spread and can stay in your genes, and the politics that governed the world in the ancient times they were almost all based on religion, that was interesting to learn in depth about[, also t]he ideas of the calculus before widely accepted inventors[, t]he butterfly effect as it relates to ancient events[, and t]he major inventions and their areas of origin."

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Fall 2025

“If I'm being entirely honest, even though it was a pet peeve throughout the semester, as I'm dealing with finals week I find it very difficult not to thank Dr. Bensen for specifically structuring the course in such a way as to lessen the workload each of us as students had to deal with. The simplistic assignments, open-book quizzes, and overall lack of workload made it very easy for me to divide my time between this course and others.”

— A student in World History to 1500, CCNY, Spring 2026

"Extremely knowledgeable about pretty much all parts of Chinese history, very impressive to be completely honest. Keeps the class interactive and talks to each of us and asks all of us questions. Can answer any question you have about the subject."

"After taking this class, I don't have the misconception about history anymore. I used to think, history class is all about memorising the timeline and difficult names, and other incidents. But now I have a better understanding of history."

"Makes the subject interesting to learn about and relatively easy to follow along with the timeline. Awesome professor."

1. [I learned that h]istory is not all about memorising, it's about understanding. 2. I learned about Marko Polo, Ibn Batuta, Timur, Ashoka, and Chandragupta Maurya. 3. I learned the reason why Shia and Sunni Muslim[s] split."

"Three of the most important things I learned in this course were how to cite sources with Chicago-Turabian, how to find reliable history sources in physical books and websites, and how to locate good sources."

"Professor Bensens class was very easily broken down and easy to understand. With such complex content I think he did a great job making sure everyone in the class understood what was going on."

"I wouldn't make any improvements."

"No suggestion needed. He is doing great work."

"I'm glad it gave me my first experience accessing the vast wealth of knowledge in the library."

"I liked that we were able to explore topics or parts of topics that we may not have necessarily reviewed in class during the lecture for projects or presentations. These presentation[s] helped explore deeper into what interested us and allowed us to learn about it more."

"I appreciated Professor Bensen's way of covering each event and pushing students to dig deeper into the subject of history. He brought friendliness while covering every one of the periods and places covered in the course."

"I appreciated that the professor did not get frustrated with explaining things that people did not know. He also gave very good details and encouraged you to always read about something or look more into something just to have the knowledge of it."

"I really like the content of the class and the professor teaches it very well. This is the best history class I took at CCNY because the professor teaches the content well."

"• Provides helpful feedback • Respectful and honest • Highly knowledgeable in course subject • Chill"

"[I learned about the] interconnectedness of history [and] drawing relations between events."

"[I appreciated] how passionate professor was about the subject; [that i]t was easy to digest and the topics were interesting; [and t]alks with Nolan."

"[I appeciated] how passionate the professor was [and ...] the level o[f] work the professor put into the slides that made it engaging."

"I appreciate his ability to fully explain the topic and history. He seems very knowledgeable and enthusiastic while challenging the class with open-ended questions."

"I got better at presenting. I learned more about history and learned how to find books in the [City College] library. [I learned about] empires, structure of the world and how people lived before us."

"[I appreciated h]ow knowledgeable professor [B]ens[e]n is and how clearly intrigued he is in his field. {I] appreciated how he put effort into each of the lessons and answering any questions we had. [I liked t]he progress which [the] course ran through. Well paced and learned."

"[I liked the professor's or course's f]lexibility and [it was] not stressful[. A]lso professor was patient with students and smart to let us discuss topics with open questions."

Nolan Ezekiel Bensen