Summary of Midterm Student Feedback
MATH
124 and 125
Winter
2004
This report presents a summary of the student perceptions gathered in the midterm feedback sessions facilitated for the Department of Mathematics by staff from the Center for Instructional Development and Research in February 2004. The feedback was gathered in MATH 124 and 125, in a total of 18 sections.
Midterm Feedback Session Process
Each feedback session was first introduced by the instructor, who explained to the students the two purposes for gathering feedback: (1) for the instructor to find out immediately student perceptions of their learning in the course, and (2) for the department to use in assessing the changes being made in the first two quarters of the calculus sequence. After the introduction, the instructor left the room, and the facilitator explained the process to the students and described how their feedback would be communicated first to the instructor and then to the department. Then students met in small groups to discuss and record responses to the questions on the feedback worksheet (see attached). After the students had worked in their small groups for approximately seven minutes, the facilitator led a full class discussion of responses to Questions A and B on the worksheet (“What’s helping you learn?” and “What’s not helping you learn? What suggestions do you have?”). Notes were taken on the overhead during the large group discussion. Question C was not discussed in the large group.
Instructor Feedback Report
The feedback from each section was compiled, categorized, and written up in an individual report for the instructor. The facilitator then met with the instructor as soon as possible after the feedback session to discuss the student feedback and possible strategies for responding to the feedback.
Summary Report
For this summary report, all feedback from each class – from the 9 sections of MATH 124 and the 8 sections of MATH 125 – was compiled, categorized and summarized. The report lists the main themes that emerged from the student feedback data. The number of groups commenting on each topic is included, and representative comments from the group worksheets are provided. Any reference to individual instructors, teaching assistants and sections is omitted.
Note: In MATH 125, feedback was also gathered in the one evening section. (Feedback was not gathered in the one honors section.) Because evening sections differ from the other sections in class size and structure, the feedback from this section is not included with the other MATH 125 data. Instead a summary of comments related to the calculus changes is included as a separate section at the end of the other MATH 125 data.
Feedback gathered during Week 5 in
9 sections taught by 5 instructors
Total number of students
participating in feedback process = 456
Total number of groups = 144
A. What is helping you learn? (320 group comments)
LECTURE (87
group comments)
Examples – many, varied, related to homework
(46 groups, 9 sections)
“Seeing problems
worked out in class.”
“The examples
the professor does on the board are very helpful, providing a step-by-step
example of what we are expected to know.”
“The professor
uses lots of examples that usually help with homework and further understanding
of the concepts.”
“Examples which
make sense and relate to homework, exams.”
Explanations – clear, emphasizes main points,
step-by-step (18 groups, 7 sections)
“Re-emphasizes
main points in lecture.”
“Clear, concise
explanations.”
“Step-by-step
explanation.”
“Takes time to
explain the details of a given concept.
Good pace in lecture.”
Presentation/organization – good lecture
notes, daily reviews (14 groups, 7 sections)
“Lectures:
organized notetaking, clear/basic explanation of concepts.”
“Writing on the
overhead with many examples.”
“Structure in
teaching. (You don’t jump around with
lots of ideas.)”
“Review of the
previous lecture’s material.”
Class size (5 groups, 2 sections)
“The smaller
class size.”
“The smaller
class sizes makes the professor and TAs more accessible and approachable.”
Other (4 groups, 3 sections)
RESOURCES (78
group comments)
Math Study Center – also IC and CLUE, can get
help on homework (35 groups, 9 sections)
“Math Study
Center!”
“Math Study
Center. The tutors are very good at
explaining.”
“Study Center
–helps with harder homework problems.”
“Instructional
Center, MSC, other students.”
“Math Study
Center / CLUE à working with students
J really good and with experienced
people.”
Website – HW answers, old tests/quizzes,
worksheets and handouts (32 groups, 8 sections)
“Having the
answers to the math homework really helps students understand. It gives direction.”
“Having answers
for homework, it allow you to check your answers.”
“Practice tests/old
tests are helpful in studying. Gives us
a better idea of what to expect on tests.”
“Website –
excellent resources: worksheets, solutions, exams (past).”
“The aids and
keys found online help a lot in understanding the material.”
Textbook
(11 groups, 8 sections)
“Clarity of the
text.”
“The textbook is
a valuable resources. It helps through
its examples and instruction.”
“Reading book
while we do homework.”
QUIZ SECTION AND
TAs (61 group comments)
Size / Q & A – smaller class size, able
to ask questions (18 groups, 6 sections)
“Smaller quiz
sections allow students to ask more questions.”
“Size of quiz
section, allows more one-on-one help.”
“TA sessions:
answering homework problems.”
“Quiz sections;
able to ask questions.”
TAs – helpful, experienced (15 groups, 6
sections)
“TAs are doing a
good job.”
“TAs. They are smart and helpful.”
“TA help a lot
when in quiz section.”
“The TA is very
patient and answers/explains our questions.
Knows what s/he is doing.”
Examples and explanations – going over homework problems,
review (15 groups, 6 sections)
“TA’s examples
are helpful – works through more difficult problems so we can all follow.”
“Going over the
homework in quiz section is also key in the understanding of material in this
class. This helps us do the homework
correctly.”
“Going over the
homework with TAs.”
“Going to TA
sections – they go over homework problems.”
Longer section – extra time for tests,
worksheets, questions (5 groups, 2 sections)
“Long class
periods for worksheets and midterms.”
“The length of
the TA sections help (Tuesday = 90 minutes) because it gives students more time
to finish tests and worksheets and get questions answered.”
Other (8 groups, 7 sections)
WORKSHEETS (42
group comments)
Working in groups – interaction, can discuss
and share information (19 groups, 8 sections)
“The worksheets
we complete in groups in section allow us to interact with other students and
answer our questions that way.”
“Worksheets in
section – working with others motivates you to work harder, helps you
understand material better.”
“Worksheets,
give a group of students the ability to share info on what they do or do not
understand.”
Content
– prepares us for week’s material, highlights main points, can apply to
concepts (13 groups, 9 sections)
“The worksheet
in the 80-minute quiz section helps prepare for the next material.”
“The worksheets
we do on Tuesdays help to highlight main points.”
“The worksheets
and homework are helping us learn in this class. They give us a chance to utilize skills
learned during lecture.”
Other (10 groups, 7 sections)
INSTRUCTOR (26
group comments)
Willing to help, positive attitude – open to
questions (13 groups, 7 sections)
“Professor
answers really well. Very nice about
answering questions. Answers are complete.”
“When the
professor asks if everyone understands, and professor’s willing to stay after
class to help explain.”
“Teacher has
upbeat attitude.”
“Positive
attitude towards our learning helps us pay attention, explains methods really
well.”
Enthusiastic, engaging (11 groups, 5
sections)
“Sense of humor
keeps students engaged.”
“Animated
lectures: professor is very enthusiastic and energetic in lecture.”
“The professor
is very enthusiastic about the material s/he presents.”
“Makes math fun,
keeps the ball rolling.”
Other (2 groups, 2 sections)
HOMEWORK (19
group comments)
General comments (12 groups, 6 sections)
“Homework
assignments prepare us for tests.”
“The amount of
homework assigned.”
“Homework
because we learn as we do it.”
“Homework,
having the answers online to check.”
Content – good application (7 groups, 4
sections)
“Homework. It’s good because it’s application of the
principles and most importantly practice.”
“Homework –
different types of problems.”
“Homework, use
what was taught in class, see how concepts are useful.”
OTHER (7 group
comments)
B. What is not helping you learn? What suggestions? (268 group comments)
LECTURE (76
group comments)
Examples and explanations – more examples
like HW, clearer explanations (23 groups, 8 sections)
“Sometime examples are too simple and it’s hard to apply
them to harder problems.”
“Hard to apply lectures to homework – more examples with actual numbers instead of only variables would
be very helpful.”
“Lectures could be more helpful. More examples.”
“Lecture – sometimes not too clear while explaining.”
Pace – moves too fast through examples (18
groups, 6 sections)
“Often the professor writes too fast, and goes through the
examples too fast.”
“Lectures are too fast!”
“You assume in lecture we know more than we actually
do. For example: sometimes if you skip a
step in an examples, not all of us understand what you did.”
“Pace of the material is a little fast. Lots of new concepts to keep up with.”
Presentation/organization – hard to see overheads,
topics jump (18 groups, 5 sections)
“Classroom set up, it is often difficult to see what
professor is writing on the overhead.”
“Sometimes the concepts move from back to forth – more straightforward information.”
Other (17 groups, 7 sections)
QUIZ SECTION AND
TAs (54 group comments)
TA – unclear explanations, not prepared,
works quickly (21 groups, 7 sections)
“Make sure the TAs speak clearly and loudly enough so that
we can understand them.”
“The TA should be more prepared to answer question.”
“TA works way too quickly; skips steps.”
“It doesn’t feel like some TAs are up-to-date with what
we’re learning in lecture.”
“The TA doesn’t go in-depth or is hard to understand.”
“Inconsistencies in TA skill (i.e. some are really good,
some really aren’t).”
Structure – not
enough time for questions, take HW questions day before HW is due (19 groups, 7
sections)
“There is not time for questions in quiz sections because
Tuesday is worksheets and Thursday is quiz day. ”
“Turning in homework before the TA has time to go over
questions.”
“Doing homework in sections is pointless. Students are responsible for this before
class. Go over homework questions before
the day they are due.”
“It’s not very helpful to turn the HW on Thursday because
we spend Tuesday doing the worksheet all of class time. We should have time on Tuesday for HW
questions.”
“It would be helpful if the TAs went over more homework
problems.”
Other (14 groups, 8 sections)
HOMEWORK (40
group comments)
Structure – turning HW in before we can ask
questions, have HW due Thursday (11 groups, 5 sections)
“Somehow have it
available to discuss our homework before we turn it in. (Go over on Tuesdays, then turn it in on
Thursdays.)”
“Turning in the
homework before there is any real chance in class to ask questions.”
“Switching the quiz section criteria, where we should
review the homework on Tuesday’s section and turn in the homework on Thursday.”
Grading and feedback – more feedback, need to
get it back before tests (11 groups, 6 sections)
“HW grading, should grade for completeness and not just one
problem.”
“They should grade and hand the homework back so that we
can see what we are doing right or wrong.”
“To get our homework back before taking the test.”
Content – some problems too hard (9 groups, 5
sections)
“Homework problems are overly complicated.”
“Homework not from the book – the section of the HW that is
not from the book – not explained.”
“Homework problems are too hard compared with examples in
class.”
Amount – too much, time-consuming (9 groups,
6 sections)
“At times, there are too many homework problems.”
“Too much homework – time consuming, too repetitive.”
“Homework is too time-consuming. Some problems seem like busy work.”
RESOURCES (26
group comments)
Textbook – not clear (10 groups, 4 sections)
“Stewart book – needs to provide more direction.”
“The book is often unclear and overall not very
helpful. Gives confusing examples.”
“Textbook – better examples, easier words.”
Math Study Center – sometimes crowded (6
groups, 4 sections)
“It would help us to learn if TAs were more readily
available in the Study Center.”
“Math Study Center is sometimes over-crowded and students
have to wait a long time for help.”
Website – more materials, solutions (6
groups, 4 sections)
“If the answers online for the homework and worksheets
showed all the work, it would be very helpful.
We need help with the showing of it helps us understand the problems
more.”
“Old quizzes with solutions would be helpful.”
“Instead of past midterms by other professors, have one
practice package written by our professor specifically for the midterm.”
Office hours – more hours (4 groups, 3
sections)
“More available hours for professor.”
WORKSHEETS (25
group comments)
Timing – ahead of lecture on same material (7
groups, 4 sections)
“Sometimes the worksheets include concepts that haven’t yet
been introduced in class. It would be
helpful if we made sure we had had at least a brief intro to the concepts.”
“Sometimes the problems in the worksheets are the stuff we
haven’t learn yet.”
“The worksheets during section. The material covers stuff we have not gone
over during lecture.”
Content – not related to HW and tests (6
groups, 4 sections)
“The worksheets are too conceptual and hard to relate to
what we have to do.”
“Worksheets. Don’t
get the point.”
“Worksheets don’t really correspond with homework.”
Process – depends on group participation (4
groups, 4 sections)
“One problem is that in sections we do groupwork when doing
the worksheets, and often times these groups lack communication and it’s almost
as if you are working on your own.”
“Groupwork.
(Worksheet helps, but there is separation during groupwork.)”
Other (8 groups, 4 sections)
TESTS AND
GRADING (22 group comments)
Content – clearer expectations, review sessions
(13 groups, 6 sections)
“Some exam questions were presented differently, or
seemingly coming out of nowhere. Not a
sufficient review.”
“Ambiguity in showing work on quizzes/tests.”
“The midterm was more difficult than the quizzes, making it
hard to properly prepare. Also,
professor didn’t explain what specifically would be on the test.”
“Maybe have review sessions before midterms.”
Grading (4 groups, 3 sections)
“Minor grading issues, but resolved quickly.”
Other (5 groups, 3 sections)
LINKS AMONG COURSE
COMPONENTS (14 group comments)
Lecture/homework – ahead, behind (14 groups,
4 sections)
“Have the lecture coincide with the homework. We are always too far ahead in the lecture to
help us with the homework.”
“Homework and the lectures should correspond. Do them at the same.”
“Lecture is behind the homework/worksheet assignments.”
“Problems from homework that are not covered from
class/lecture.”
OTHER (11 group
comments)
C. Other comments
In Section C on the worksheet,
groups tend to write general comments about the class or comments that
reiterate feedback already written in Sections A and B. In this section, there were a total of 49
group comments, 5 of which were related to calculus changes.
Quiz section
“The worksheet
section does not need to be 80 minutes long.
A 50 minute block would be sufficient, and would not prevent (me) from
having a class in the time block following the session.”
“Maybe homework
should be due on Thursday so we have a chance to ask TA questions on Tuesdays.”
Overall
“Overall, we
like the class.”
“All the other
students are learning the same material at the same time, which is nice to get
help from others.”
Tests and grading
“The midterm was
held during a normal-length (50-minute) period rather than the long period (80
minutes). Some people could have used
the extra time.”
D. Integrated Math Question
In all sections
of 124, students were asked to indicate on the back of the group worksheet
whether or not they had the Integrated Math Curriculum in high school.
a) Question:
Did you have the Integrated Math
(I, II, and III) curriculum in high school?
Results:
156 students, out of a total of 451 responding, indicated that they had
the Integrated Math Curriculum in high school.
b) In
addition, individual students were asked to respond to a second question:
On a scale of 0
to 5 (5 being “very prepared”), indicate how prepared you felt for the
trigonometry section at the beginning of Math 124.
Results:
|
|
|
How students who DID NOT have Integrated Math rated their
preparation |
How students who DID have Integrated Math rated their
preparation |
|
|
N |
295 |
156 |
|
|
Mean |
3.7 |
3.9 |
|
|
Median |
4 |
4 |
Feedback gathered during Week 6 in
8 sections taught by 5 instructors
Total number of students
participating in feedback process = 452
Total number of groups = 108
Feedback also gathered in 1
evening section (26 students, 7 groups)
A. What is helping you learn? (302 group comments)
LECTURE (102
group comments)
Examples – many, varied examples,
step-by-step, applicable to HW (51 groups, 8 sections)
“Examples
provided by prof, prof shows all steps, explains.”
“Providing
examples for many types of problems.”
“Progressing
from simple to more complex examples in class.”
“Lots of
examples shown in lecture that are similar to ones seen on homework and in
tests.”
“The professor
uses specific examples that are pertinent to the homework and even from the
homework (troublesome examples).”
“Going over
homework problems piece by piece and finishing the problem.”
Presentation – visuals/demos, notes, pace (22
groups, 7 sections)
“Demos and
visual examples – cutting up apples and onions.”
“Overheads work
well. Professor goes between the two
well. The classroom is good too. It allows everyone to see what it happening.”
“Organized notes
during lecture.”
“The tempo and
manner of explaining material is excellent.”
Explanations – thorough, clear (14 groups, 5
sections)
“Good
explanation and articulation of concepts.
Step-by-step proofs of concepts, linear teaching in conjunction of the
book/homework. Speech is easy to
understand.”
“Good at giving
a well-rounded explanation of new topics.”
“The way
professor explains why something works, by showing examples. And also uses counter-examples to prove in
which cases a certain formula would not work.
Shows how the formula is derived.”
Interaction – answering questions (9 groups,
5 sections)
“Instructor
takes questions easily and effectively.”
“Professor makes
sure most of the class understands a topic before moving on.”
“Always open for
questions, and makes learning interactive.”
Other (6 groups, sections)
QUIZ SECTION AND
TAs (68 group comments)
Structure – Q & A, Going over homework
problems (29 groups, 8 sections)
“Going through
homework problems in section thoroughly.”
“Section –
smaller group setting, more time to answer questions.”
“Quiz section
and being able to ask the TA questions is also very helpful.”
“Quiz sections,
TA explaining harder concepts and going over homework.”
“Having two quiz
sections a week because we get two chances to ask questions rather than one.”
TAs – helpful, explain well (14 groups, 5
sections)
“Quiz sections à TAs are
helpful.”
“TAs are smart
and helpful. Good at teaching, answering
homework questions.”
“TA explains
confusing concepts well.”
Quizzes – some students like having no
quizzes, others appreciate having quizzes (13 groups, 6 sections)
“Diagnostic
quizzes during TA sections.”
“It is much less
stressful with no quizzes.”
“Quizzes to help
keep us on track.”
“Quizzes help
some, they test how much we know and aren’t weighted as heavily.”
Structure – small, longer (6 groups, 5
sections)
“Quiz sections
(esp. because of the small size; more personal).”
“80 minutes.”
Other (6 groups, 4 sections)
RESOURCES (61
group comments)
Math Study Center
(& CLUE/IC) – one-to-one help, work
w/ other students (36 groups, 7 sections)
“Math Study
Center.”
“Math Study
Center – they help us work through problems.”
“Math Study
Center – students help each other out.”
“Instructional
Center/MSC/CLUE. (Since they tutor on
homework.)”
Textbook – clear, examples step-by-step (13
groups, 5 sections)
“Solution manual
– because it tells you how to do it step-by-step.”
“Reading the
textbook and following its examples.”
“The text is
very clear.”
Website – practice exams, lecture slides (9
groups, 4 sections)
“Having access
to practice midterms and practice quizzes.”
“Class notes
online, so you don’t have to take notes in class and can focus on lecture.”
Office hours and email (3 groups, 3 sections)
“Office hours.”
“Emailing TAs
and teachers is helpful.”
WORKSHEETS (25
group comments)
Content – help for understanding concepts,
relevant (10 groups, 5 sections)
“Worksheet;
introducing material.”
“Worksheets are
much better written than last quarter.
They pertain to lecture/homework/tests – last quarter they seemed
irrelevant.”
“Worksheets –
give a preview of what is expected.”
“Worksheets –
they explain the concepts and walk you through the process.”
Process – working in groups (7 groups, 6 sections)
“Worksheets and
groupwork in the sections are very beneficial.
They enable peers to teach and learn from each other.”
“Working in
groups in section, helps us talk through the problems.”
“Worksheets – we
like the group situation.”
Other (8 groups, 5 sections)
HOMEWORK (19
group comments)
Content – practice, prepares us for
quiz/test, good variety (12 groups, 7 sections)
“Homework is
relevant to what we need to know for midterms/quizzes.”
“Homework – good
representation.”
“Homework gives
us practice to prepare for quizzes and exams.”
“Working on
homework reinforces concepts learned in lecture leading to a better
understanding of the materials.”
General comments (6 groups, 4 sections)
“HW problems in
book are helpful.”
“The homework.”
“Homework, reading
the book.”
Other (1 group, 1 section)
COURSE STRUCTURE
AND SIZE (11 group comments)
Structure – all 125’s the same, lecture/quiz
section (6 groups, 4 sections)
“Homework/worksheets
are common throughout 125 classes and gives more opportunity to work with
others outside of our section/prof.”
“Good class
structure, 3 lectures and 2 TA sections.”
“Organization of
the course and the pace at which it is presented.”
Size – smaller lecture (5 groups, 2 sections)
“Not too big of
a lecture.”
“Smaller class size.”
TESTS AND
PREPARATION (8 group comments)
Review sessions (6 groups, 5 sections)
“Having sample
problems on exam similar to review session.”
“Review
sessions, before tests with TAs.”
Notesheet for exams (2 groups, 2 sections)
“Sheet of notes
on tests is helpful, we didn’t have those last quarter (124).”
INSTRUCTOR (5
group comments)
Willing to help, friendly (5 groups, 3
sections)
“Professor is
open to students – help them at a more personal level – one-on-one.”
“Great
professor. Very amiable and friendly.”
OTHER (3 group
comments)
B. What is not helping you learn? What suggestions? (274 group comments)
LECTURE (101
group comments)
Organization/presentation – pace, notes, hard
to see/hear (38 groups, 8 sections)
“When the
professor works quickly on the overhead projector, it is hard to understand the
thought process.”
“The lecture
pace doesn’t allow for understanding.
The examples are mostly ‘raced’ through.
We end up blindly copying down the info.”
“Poor
visibility. (Hard to see the board from
back of the room.)”
“Professor’s
handwriting is difficult to read.”
“Typed notes
make it difficult to understand.”
“Professor needs
to speak louder and more clearly.”
Examples – more examples, similar to
homework, step-by-step, thorough (28 groups, 7 sections)
“We find that
there aren’t many challenging problems as examples in class. Then when we attempt our homework, we get
stuck.”
“There needs to
be more challenging examples. The book
and lecture examples are rather straightforward, while a good amount of the
homework seems to be much more complicated.
Maybe online examples.”
“Using the exact
same examples from the book. It’s
redundant, we can read the book.”
“When they show
examples, do the whole problem. Don’t
expect us to get it after just showing the first step.”
Explanations – unclear (13 groups, 4
sections)
“Sometimes
unclear with explanations – too much info at one time.”
“Professor
teaches assuming we understand everything and it would help if instead
professor taught assuming we don’t understand it and explain it as s/he goes.”
“Some
explanations are not very clear.
(Sometimes we have to guess what the prof is trying to say.)”
Interaction and engagement – unenthusiastic,
no chance to ask questions (9 groups, 5 sections)
“Boring atmosphere
sometimes…”
“Class size, too
many people make it harder to interact with the instructor.”
“Hard to ask
questions while professor is lecturing.”
Link to homework – lectures behind (8 groups,
3 sections)
“Late lectures
on material. Lecture Friday and Monday
on problem set that is due on Tuesday with no time to ask Q’s between.”
“Lectures don’t
keep up with homework. Homework is due
right after the lecture on how to do it.”
“Lectures don’t
follow the homework.”
Other (5 groups, 4 sections)
QUIZ SECTION AND
TAs (75 group comments)
Structure – do
worksheets Tuesday, hand in HW Thursday, Thursday section too long, more time
for Q & A (36 groups, 8 sections)
“Last quarter
(Math 124), we did worksheets on Tuesdays and turned in homework on Tuesdays,
so Thursdays were for homework questions
It was much better because most people don’t start the homework till
Wed. or Thurs.”
“The quiz
section for the TA to explain the HW questions should be longer, while the
Thursday section for worksheet is too long.”
“In quiz
sections, more time to go over questions on the homework problems.”
“Our TA has us
turn in homework before asking questions.
Not helpful.”
“Lack of time in
homework quiz section to ask enough questions.”
“Go over
homework problems (the ones we are struggling with) on Thursday’s quiz
section.”
TA – hard to understand/ask Qs, not helpful,
different methods (23 groups, 8 sections)
“Hard to
understand/get help from TA – we know s/he doesn’t speak English well, and that
s/he knows math, but it makes it hard to ask questions. ”
“TAs have
trouble speaking English. ”
“TA (Section CA)
does not reflect interest/effort to provide help for students; makes it
difficult for students approach the TA or ask for help.”
“TAs have their
own ways to doing math problems.”
“TA in quiz
section goes over problems too fast and expect students to know concepts that
they don’t understand and end up getting lost.”
Quizzes – too frequent vs. not enough (9
groups, 7 sections)
“Quizzes good
but too often – more section time to talk about homework.”
“We need quizzes! It lessens the load since we study by smaller
parts.”
Other (7 groups, 6 sections)
WORKSHEETS (41
group comments)
Content – not relevant, too easy, timing (18
groups, 7 sections)
“Worksheets
aren’t that pertinent to the material in assignments/on tests.”
“The worksheets
don’t help much; they’re very different from the homework.”
“Worksheets –
too late in the week, by the time we get to them we’ve already done the stuff
in the homework and it’s too easy.”
“The in-class
worksheets seem to be ‘busywork’. They
don’t prepare us for quizzes.
Suggestion: time spent going over more difficult HW problems would be
helpful.”
“The extended
sections are superfluous for the difficulty level of the worksheets.”
Structure – not good use of time, rather go
over homework questions (13 groups, 7 sections)
“Worksheets too
long.”
“Worksheets are
sometimes a waste of time.”
“Spend more time
on going over examples and homework problems rather than doing the worksheets.”
“Worksheets in section
do not help learning and time could be better spent reviewing lecture
material.”
“Worksheets are
a waste of time. Start working on
homework in class instead.”
General comments (10 groups, 4 sections)
“Worksheets.”
“Worksheets on
Thursdays not very helpful.”
“Worksheets –
they don’t help us learn very much.”
HOMEWORK (32
group comments)
Non-book
problems – too difficult, different from
problems on tests (14 groups, 6 sections)
“The non-book
homework problems are too difficult.”
“Homework problems
– some are too hard and irrelevant.”
“Irrelevant
homework problems (the ridiculously hard ones that aren’t like test problems)
because they take our focus off what is needed to be learned and are
discouraging.”
Amount – too much, busy-work (9 groups, 5
sections)
“Homework – too
time-consuming, a lot of complex computations.”
“Overly long HW
assignments.”
“Sometimes the
book problems, etc. get a little tedious (not a question of understanding
concepts, but rather, turns into busy work…)”
Grading –
consistency, how much HW is worth, getting HW back sooner (6 groups, 5
sections)
“The homework is
worth a very small part of the grade, yet there is a lot to do… make HW
worth more or nothing.”
“Consistency in
homework grading.”
“We should get
our homework back more quickly.”
Other (3 groups, 3 sections)
RESOURCES (12
group comments)
Math Study Center – not enough TAs (5 groups,
3 sections)
“Math Study
Center too crowded.”
“MSC … go there
a lot. But all the tutors explain things
differently and there are a lot of people there.”
Textbook – unclear explanations (4 groups, 3
sections)
“Book does not
help to clarify problems; vague explanations.”
“Textbook – it
has very poor explanations.”
Website – answers to practice midterms (3
groups, 3 sections)
“It would be
helpful to have an answer key online for all the quizzes and past midterms to
study from.”
OTHER (13 group
comments)
C. Other comments
In Section C on the worksheet,
groups tend to write general comments about the class or comments that
reiterate feedback already written in Sections A and B. In this section, there were a total of 56
group comments, 11 of which were related to calculus changes. Representative comments are included below.
Quiz section
“More time for
questions on HW @ either on quizzes day or worksheets day.”
“TA teaching
schedules should be uniform.”
“Would be nice
to make Thursdays ‘work on assignment problems’ not ‘work on worksheet’
day. It’s great having example midterms
online. Lecture style is good.”
“Worksheet
should be moved to Tuesday with quiz Thursday to allow for a better coverage of
material.”
“Flip flop
Tuesday/Thursday, homework due Thursday would be very helpful.”
Overall fine
“Overall is
great. Having small quiz sections really
works. Math is fun! MSC is great!”
______________________________________________________________
Feedback gathered during Week 6 in
1 evening section
Total number of students
participating in feedback process = 26
Total number of groups = 7
Below is a summary of the evening section feedback related
to the calculus changes. Note that the
worksheets that students in this section worked differ from the worksheets for
the other sections of 125; however, comments are included because they relate
to the process.
WHAT’S HELPING?
Worksheets
(5 group comments)
“Worksheets
(working in groups to help each other and practice as opposed to just
lecture and sitting.) ‘Doing’ is the
best way to learn the math.”
“Worksheets, in
groups, allows us to bounce ideas off each other.”
“We can get
involved. Worksheet, participation
(boardwork).”
WHAT’S NOT
HELPING? SUGGESTIONS?
Worksheets
(3 group comments)
“Not enough time
for worksheets.”
“When we don’t
have time to do worksheets.”