Summary of Midterm Student Feedback
MATH
124 and 125
Spring
2002
This report presents 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 April and May, 2002. The feedback was gathered in MATH 124 and 125, in a total of 11 sections.
Midterm Feedback Session Process: In each feedback session, students first met in small groups to discuss and record responses to the questions on the feedback worksheet (see attached). Students then discussed their responses to Questions A and B (“What’s helping you learn?”; “What’s not helping you learn?” and “What suggestions do you have?”) with the facilitator in the large group. Notes were taken on the overhead during the large group discussion. Question C was not discussed in the large group.
Write-up Process: The feedback from each section was first compiled, categorized, and written up in an individual report for the instructor. Each report was then presented to the instructor and strategies for responding to the feedback were discussed.
Summary Report: For the summary report, all feedback from each class (the four sections of MATH 124 and the seven sections of MATH 125) was compiled, categorized and summarized. The final summary report for each class lists the main themes that emerged from the data. The number of groups commenting on each topic is included, and representative comments from the group worksheets are provided. Reference to individual instructors is omitted.
Feedback gathered during Week 5 in 4 sections taught by 3 instructors
Total number of students participating in feedback process = 208
Total number of groups = 50
A. What is helping you learn?
Examples and explanations
(22 groups, 4 sections)
“The problems worked out on
the overhead are good, and s/he goes through them slowly (which is helpful).”
“Class (lectures) – s/he
gives lots of example problems so that we can apply them to homework.”
“Overall the explanations
and ‘translations’ make the material much easier to understand and comprehend.”
“Examples of problems in
lecture. Having students work on them
first before discussing answers.”
Size (11 groups, 4
sections)
“Small class size is
wonderful, it allows much better student/teacher interaction and actually
allows the student to be involved in class.”
“Lecture class isn’t so big,
more questions answered.”
“Student questions help
direct the learning to the trouble spots.”
Organization/presentation
(4 groups, 3 sections)
“The use of two overheads
gives enough time to write all examples.”
“Much better paced than 120
class. Actually have time to learn
material.”
Math Study Center and office
hours (19 groups, 4 sections)
“Having the Math Study
Center as a resource.”
“Availability and
helpfulness of TA and instructor through office hours, MSC, and email.”
“TA office hours.”
Website (8 groups, 3 sections)
“Archived tests and quizzes
online, which allows extra practice.”
“Practice tests being
posted. Gives a good idea of what to
expect.”
“The class webpage because
it supplies us with information such as homework assignments. The general math website is also nice
because it outlines the entire quarter.”
Textbook (2 groups, 1 section)
“Book is good. Helps explain/clarify what we’ve learned in
more depth.”
Homework (10 groups, 4
sections)
“Homework and weekly
activities help us understand the concepts learned in lecture.”
“Having homework that is due
every week so we’re forced to review every week.”
“Homework -- straightforward, related to the quiz.”
Homework/quiz system (8
groups, 1 section)
“Good that no homework is
due – and homework is incorporated on the quiz.”
“Homework quizzes makes me
more apt to ask questions on tough problems.”
“The homework process and
homework quizzes – creative way to get students to do the homework.”
Quizzes (5 groups, 3 sections)
“Weekly quizzes.”
“Having a quiz every week is
good because it forces us to keep up.
and the quiz is based off the homework.”
Supplementary problems (2
groups, 2 sections)
“Supplementary problems on
web.”
“Homework volume seems fair
and helpful. Supplements help convey
class concepts well.”
TAs enthusiastic, willing to
help, available (11 groups, 4 sections)
“TA’s willingness to help
and knowing their stuff.”
“Quiz and study section –
good extra help from TA.”
“The review before quizzes
that the TA goes through.”
Going over homework, Q & A
(7 groups, 3 sections)
“Section: giving time to ask
questions.”
“Sections – gives us a
chance to go over the homework and ask questions.”
“TA section where main
points of lecture are covered and questions about homework are answered.”
Length/structure (6 groups, 2
sections)
“Extended class on Tuesdays
(1 hr. 30 min.) – chance to ask TAs questions.”
“The longer class period for
doing worksheets. This allows students
to not rush and get help in their weaker areas.”
“The hour and a half for the
midterm.”
Good practice, help
understanding (13 groups, 4 sections)
“The worksheets are more
applied problems. You have to
understand concepts to successfully complete them.”
“The worksheets are a good
way to practice.”
“The activity worksheets in
section and example problems. The real
life application helps people to remember the concept.”
Working in groups (8 groups, 3
sections)
“Worksheets: group work allows for the generation of
ideas without being given an immediate answer.”
“Worksheets – allows us to
learn from our classmates, helps teach each other.”
“The group worksheets in
quiz section allow discussion and individual help from the TA.”
Energy/enthusiasm (9 groups, 2
sections)
“Enthusiasm is very
contagious! J”
“The professor’s energetic
attitude allows us to learn better.”
“The enthusiasm and passion
of the professor and TA.”
Cares (5 groups, 2 sections)
“Professor makes an effort to
learn everyone’s names and to make sure everyone is keeping up in class.”
“Student profiles were
great. It helped to make the student –
prof relationship not so impersonal.
MORE TEACHERS SHOULD FOLLOW THIS METHOD.”
“The teacher is not
intimidating so it’s easy to ask questions.”
B. What is not helping you learn?
What suggestions?
Presentation/organization (12
groups, 4 sections)
“More concise explanations –
more to the point.”
“Professor’s lectures aren’t
outlined. S/he should state which
sections in the book s/he is explaining so the students can go directly to the
book for more help.”
“Unorganized, explain how to
use equations more specifically in examples.”
“Sometimes s/he has a
tendency to rush to get to a certain point and so glosses over some
explanations.”
Interaction (10 groups, 2
sections)
“More class interaction –
like ask the class questions instead of just lecturing.”
“Lecture is not interactive
at all.”
More examples and examples of
harder application problems (9 groups, 2 sections)
“The examples you provide
are too simple. You do three or four
examples each class, all of which could be found in the book. Do the application problems!”
“Not teaching us application
concepts. It’s difficult to recognize
when to use certain applications on the homework and the tests.”
“Show more homework problems
in class rather than spending an entire period embellishing on one problems.”
Scheduling and location (9
groups, 2 sections)
“The one hour 20 minute
section on Tuesday – makes scheduling difficult and we don’t gain anything from
the extra thirty minutes.”
“We don’t like the fact that
Tuesdays and Thursdays have different locations.”
“Need large desks in
classrooms (for section) to do tests/quizzes on. No more small blue desks or tiny rooms.”
TAs (7 groups, 4 sections)
“Some TAs are not clarifying
questions for students. Partly because
they do not attend the lecture.”
“TAs should be more trained
in breaking problems down to our level.”
Content/use of time (6 groups,
4 sections)
“I would like to do more
work in Thursday’s quiz section.”
“Go over more HW and
supplementary problems instead of worksheet.”
“TA’s section: we hate going
to section. We work with the same
groups every week. Some groups have one
person that does all the work. Also, we
have to stay until everyone is done with the quiz … which is pointless. Quiz section should be devoted to answering
questions.”
“Quiz section is sometimes a
waste of time.”
Inconsistency (3 groups, 2
sections)
“Ensure that grading remains
consistent between all TAs and other evaluators.”
“When TAs show a different
way to do problems, it becomes confusing.”
“My TA does things
differently than others which is annoying.
He makes us turn in homework and then we go over it. We should go over it while it’s in front of
us.”
Test ß à lecture/homework link (8
groups, 4 sections)
“Professor doesn’t ask
questions on the tests that are like the book questions, which are where our
homework comes from.”
“The quizzes should be based
on the concepts and work and homework that we’ve done that week.”
“Final is collective. Fairness?”
Quizzes (4 groups, 3 sections)
“Quizzes.”
“Go over quizzes on regular
basis.”
Grading (4 groups, 3 sections)
“Graders picky about
answers.”
“The graders need to be on
track and look closer at each problem that they’re grading.”
Review (4 groups, 2 sections)
“A more complete review sheet for the test would be
helpful, instead of just a topic list.”
“The practice midterm should
reflect the actual midterm in terms of difficulty and material.”
Not relevant (8 groups, 3
sections)
“Worksheets are irrelevant –
they are hard and different than homework – but working is groups is good.”
“Worksheet are not
helpful. For example, the Newton’s
method, we don’t really use it.”
“It would help if the Prof
talked about the worksheets we do in section the day before and the day
after. Give us an intro to them and
review the next lecture.”
Too long (4 groups, 1 section)
“If the activity worksheet
was just a little shorter. It is
difficult to get through all the problems in the time given unless it is
printed out the night before and begun then.
The problems themselves are great, they teach well, but the length could
be abridged.”
“Worksheets/activities too
long or complicated to complete in time allotted. Most people do the work the night before if they actually want to
finish.”
Depends on group (2 groups, 2
sections)
“Group worksheets – better
if it was done individually.”
“The activities (Tuesdays)
need to be structured differently. As
it stands now there is not enough cooperative effort overall and the point of
individual assignments can be lost on students. Last week’s activity is a prime example.”
Supplementary problems not
relevant and too time-consuming (10 groups, 4 sections)
“Supplementary problems
don’t relate to chapter.”
“The homework is too
time-consuming and the supplemental problems take more time than they are
useful.”
“Everything is fine except
supplementary problems for homework.
Textbook problems work fine by themselves.”
Solutions (4 groups, 3
sections)
“More answers for supp.
problems.”
“Sup à need answers and quizzes.”
Website (8 groups, 3 sections)
“We would like to be able to
go to one website for the homework problems and due dates.”
“It would be nice if the
professor’s website (the one the homework is correct on) would be the same as
what’s on the department website.”
“Past exams do not have
solutions to them. Would help to be
able to check our answers.”
Math Study Center (2 groups, 2
sections)
“MSC has like two or three
tutors throughout the night and it takes all night to answer two questions.”
“Math Study Center can be
too crowded.”
In Section C on the worksheet groups tend to write general comments or comments that reiterate feedback written in Sections A and B. Those comments related to calculus changes are included below.
Quiz sections/TAs
“The long period on Tuesday
is really inconvenient and makes it hard to sign up for other classes.”
“Tuesday section (and
Thursday section for that matter) should not be required to be so
long. If we need the added time to
learn material, then the extra time is great.
But if we are just sitting there, coming up with problems to fill the
hour or hour and a half, then it is a waste of time.”
“Longer period (Tuesday quiz
section ) is really helpful. We can go
over lectures and do problems.”
“Hour and a half section
messes up the schedule. Pretty good class.”
Supplementary problems
“Find a textbook that
doesn’t require supplementary problems to explain all the concepts.”
“Please do examples like the
supplement problems!!!”
Resources
“Figuring out what HW is due
at what time is really important. I am
still in the process of trying to figure out when HW is due.”
Feedback gathered during Week 6 in 7 sections taught by 5 instructors
Total number of students participating in feedback process = 343
Total number of groups = 86
A. What is helping you learn?
LECTURE (7 sections)
Examples – lots,
step-by-step, shows process (59 groups, 7 sections)
“Seeing a lot of examples,
done by instructors in lecture and sections.”
“Examples in lecture
– they show you the process and give us formulas.”
“Professor uses lots of
examples in lecture. This helps us deal
with all types of problems that arise when doing homework.”
“Professor’s lectures -- lots of examples and background (what’s
going on in the big picture [brackets]).”
“Provides examples and goes
through it step-by-step.”
“Examples in lecture that
pertain to homework, but not from the homework.”
“In depth, step by step
examples help you understand.”
“Going over problems on the
overhead; very logical step-by-step problem solving skills presented.”
“Organized, sequential of
examples and topics covered. Techniques
and tricks to solve problems.”
Explanations – clear,
detailed (23 groups, 7 sections)
“Clear about explaining
things.”
“Explanations are concise,
and have good amount of time for review session.”
“Good organization from
teacher, explanation..”
“Alternate methods of
problem solving given in lecture.”
“Providing an order of
operations for approaching different kinds of problems.”
“Reviews during lecture
(beginning).”
“Daily review and review
guide for midterm were helpful.”
“Review and repetition from
previous lecture / quiz section.”
Presentation/organization –
notes, pace (17 groups, 4 sections)
“Thorough and helpful notes;
consistent with book.”
“Different color pens to
differ things in problems”
“The notes written on the
overhead really help our understanding of the material.”
“Using both overheads and
leaving examples up long enough to copy it down.”
“S/he doesn’t rush through
examples.”
Connection to
quizzes/tests/homework – review, common mistakes (9 groups, 2 sections)
“Timely lectures, follows
homework nicely.”
“It is also helpful when
s/he provides material that is to be covered in quizzes or midterms.”
“The review and common
mistakes are very helpful to go over every day. Also, the problems from old finals are extremely helpful.”
WORKSHEETS (7 sections)
Helpful (14 groups, 5
sections)
“Reinforcement of the
worksheets.”
“Worksheets in quiz
sections.”
“Worksheets are helpful this
quarter.”
Relevant (12 groups, 6
sections)
“Relevant worksheets – the
information/concepts are immediately applicable.”
“Worksheets are better than
they were in 124.”
“Worksheets are more
relevant and consistent with lectures.”
“The worksheets seem to
better fit what we’re learning in lecture.”
“Worksheets are good this
quarter. Relevant this quarter.”
Clear, step-by-step (4
groups, 5 sections)
“Worksheets are
helpful. Step-by-step process makes it
easier to ‘understand’ the material.”
“Worksheets (since they walk
us through the steps).”
Working in groups (4
groups, 4 sections)
“Being able to talk to
others, work in groups.”
“Groupwork – allows us to
discuss/collaborate ideas on how to solve problems.”
QUIZ SECTION AND TAs (7
sections)
TA – approachable,
knowledgeable (10 groups, 6 sections)
“Good TA – approachable.”
“TA’s understanding of
material.”
“The TA is very knowledgeable
and helpful.”
Going over homework
questions, review before quiz (9 groups, 4 sections)
“Going over homework in quiz
section before you turn it in.”
“Quiz section – being able
to ask questions before quiz, quizzes test knowledge, worksheets.”
“Quiz section – able to
assess exactly what you’ve learned.”
“Reviewing before the
quizzes (TAs).”
Structure – length, size (4
groups, 2 sections)
“Long quiz sections and step
by step worksheets.”
“Smaller sections with the
TA are helpful because we can ask questions.”
“Extended exam times are
very useful and helpful.”
RESOURCES (7 sections)
Math Study Center and
office hours (14 groups, 7 sections)
“Math Study Center –
TAs give one on one help, other students help.”
“Math Study Center, outside
resources.”
“Math Study Center – I do
all my homework there.”
“Many office hours
available.”
Textbook (9 groups, 4
sections)
“Reading book before
attending lectures.”
“The book -- they have descriptions and proofs.”
“The solutions manual.”
“The book; explanations and
examples given.”
Handouts, emails and
website (8 groups, 3 sections)
“The volumes worksheet you
gave us to review for the midterm. More
handouts like that (problems with step by step solutions) would be nice.”
“Handouts provided by Prof.
and TA.”
“Email.”
“Old midterms/finals online à practice for tests.”
“Having the even answers for
homework online and having notesheet for exams.”
HOMEWORK and TESTS (7
sections)
Amount, good practice (18
groups, 7 sections)
“Homework problems.”
“Homework à Good for outside-of-class practice.”
“Large number of practice
problems.”
“Amount of homework and
kinds of problems are helpful. No more
supp packet.”
“The more acceptable amount
of homework helps. HW is more varied,
covers a little bit of everything.”
“Expectations are
clear. Workload is more realistic (no
supplementary problems).”
Relationship between
homework and quizzes/tests (14 groups, 5 sections)
“Homework – prepares well
for test.”
“Homework offers good
practice for exams.”
“For the most part, quizzes and
homework do correspond well. Worksheets
also cover relevant material.”
“We like how quiz questions
and exams questions come off of either HW, worksheets, or class examples. If you do those you’ll do well on tests.”
“Quizzes every week à keeps us from falling behind.”
“Quizzes are good because it
goes over material / homework for the week.”
Page of notes for tests (5
groups, 4 sections)
“The idea of taking one
sheet of notes for the exams.”
“Page of notes!!!”
“Thanks for letting us use
notes on the test.”
Review sheets, clear
expectations (5 groups, 5 sections)
“Review sheets for exams.”
“The review sessions (before
midterms).”
“Clear expectations of what
we need to know.”
INSTRUCTOR CHARACTERISTICS
(6 sections)
Enthusiasm/attitude, humor
(9 groups, 6 sections)
“S/he is enthusiastic and
energetic.”
“Positive attitude and
jovial-ness.”
“Daily jokes – adds humor to
class, loosens everyone up.”
Approachable (8 groups,4
sections)
“Receptive to questions.”
“Approachable.”
“Knows students by name.”
B. What is not helping? What
suggestions?
LECTURE (7 sections)
Examples – do more
difficult examples (26 groups, 6 sections)
“Examples aren’t from a wide
range. They are all similar so when we
do homework there are examples we haven’t seen.”
“Examples given in class are
too easy. Only does basics. Need more harder ones.”
“Some examples are too
simple, and similar problems are repeated, a bigger variety would be helpful.”
“The examples tend to
reflect the easier problems and not the harder problems we are tested on.”
“Using harder problems as
examples in class when teaching. The
problems s/he poses during class aren’t very helpful when trying to solve
harder problems. In the future, post problems
that the book might not cover that is difficult.”
“Examples in class
difficulty level is too low. Make
in-class problems harder. Need variety
of examples using the concept learned.”
“More difficult examples
during lectures -- ‘like’ homework.
First easy question and jump into difficult question. Ones that we can’t figure out no our own.”
Pace – goes through
material quickly (16 groups, 6 sections)
“Speed of examples –
it’s too quick to write and listen.
(Slow down.)”
“Sometimes instructor goes
too fast without explaining thoroughly.
Separate material into two days.”
“Professor sometimes rushes
through concepts without checking for understanding.”
“It’s difficult sometimes to
ask questions because professor moves too quickly.”
“Class moves very fast –
easy to fall behind.”
Organization/presentation
(13 groups, 4 sections)
“Professor should be more
organized and concentrated on what s/he is writing (erases, makes mistakes).”
“More enthusiasm from
professor.”
“The room structure – a lot
of times we can’t see what s/he’s writing on the overhead. They need to move the screen higher up.”
Skipping steps, unfinished
examples (8 groups, 2 sections)
“Speeding through material
while skipping steps.”
“Instructor shouldn’t skip
steps in explanation. Needs to explain
examples better.”
“Not fully completing
examples in class -- don’t suppose we
know how to finish. Some steps still
escape us.”
“Sometimes s/he skips steps
in examples and assumes that we can follow along, when we might not totally
comprehend what he did.”
Explanations -- sometimes unclear (9 groups, 3 sections)
“Doesn’t explain why or
how.”
“More explanation of
questions asked.”
TESTS AND QUIZZES (7
sections)
Relationship:
tests and homework/lecture – midterm harder than homework/lecture examples (17
groups, 6 sections)
“Problems on test should be
reflective of homework.”
“The content on quizzes does
not coincide with homework.”
“Some of the HW problems do
not relate to what we are quizzed on.”
“Quizzes are not reflective
of tests (they are easier). Make them
equal difficulty.”
Quizzes/midterm long, not enough
time (10 groups, 6 sections)
“Not enough time to complete
midterm – or – we should have taken it in the longer quiz section.”
“The midterm was too long
and too hard for the 50 minutes we had to take it in.”
“Very tough, long quizzes.”
“The quizzes are too
long. It is hard to do each problem
completely when there is a time limit.”
Grading – only one midterm (3
groups, 2 sections)
“A lot covered on midterm,
too much of our grade weighed on one test.”
“Please have two midterms –
breaks up material more and can go more in-depth on concepts.”
HOMEWORK (5 sections)
Grading – weight, only
three graded (12 groups, 5 sections)
“TA’s grading – too
harsh, too picky , no helpful comments.
(Train TAs, clearly stated grading requirements.)”
“Homework worth too much of
grade – shouldn’t be worth that much.”
“Grading of HW is not
helpful and not encouraging – i.e. 0/6 even if HW is all done. Should be graded on completeness.”
“The way homework is graded
is detrimental in that you are doing the HW to learn, and thus are likely to
make mistakes. HW should be graded on
completeness.”
Feedback/solutions – more
odd problems to check work (8 groups, 4 sections)
“More odd problems to check
work. Answers on line (want answers to
know if we are solving problems correctly).”
“Having all the homework
problems even does not help us learn.
When we are first learning, it is beneficial to check answers instead of
blindly going forward.”
Type of problems (6 groups,
4 sections)
“The homework is a lot of number crunching, not theory
application. We should have the
supplementary problems included in HW.”
“Not enough basic homework
problems assigned to get us comfortable with the material.”
QUIZ SECTION AND TAs (6
sections)
TAs – explanations unclear,
hard to understand (13 groups, 3 sections)
“The TA is not very
instructive. ”
“TA isn’t very good –
confusing, doesn’t explain well.”
“Our TA has an incredibly
thick accent and is very hard to understand.
This makes it difficult to get our questions answered.”
“Cannot comprehend TA. TA cannot comprehend us.”
Use of time – more time to
ask questions (10 groups, 3 sections)
“Tuesday quiz section – no
help on homework, maybe make Tuesdays devoted to homework help.”
“Need more time in quiz
section to go over homework questions for certain questions that students
struggle with.”
“Not enough opportunity to
ask about homework questions.”
“Better use of Tu
section. Worksheet doesn’t take whole
time, maybe a review of the past week or some sort of review.”
“90-minute quiz sections –
maybe better usage would improve the quality of sections.”
TA ß à professor communication (6
groups, 4 sections)
“Our TA does not follow
teaching style of professor.”
“More interaction between
the TA and professor, correlation of info.”
“Professor and TA use
different methods in solving problems, gets confusing.”
WORKSHEETS (6 sections)
Not relevant (7 groups, 5
sections)
“About half the worksheets
don’t seem to be relevant to what’s happening in class. Make worksheets more relevant to class
topics (like this week’s worksheet – 5/7/02)”
“The worksheets seem
pointless. We never see the problems
again. The time would be much better
spent reviewing lectures and asking questions.”
“Worksheets – too long,
doesn’t apply.”
Use of time (5 groups, 3
sections)
“Tuesday quiz section more
focused on homework vs. worksheet.”
“Rather go over HW instead
of worksheets.”
“Quiz section worksheets;
time should be spent on homework questions.”
General comments (4 groups,
3 sections)
“TA section / worksheets….
Tuesdays don’t help. TAs don’t seem to
help.”
“Doing worksheets in
section.”
Grading/feedback (3 groups,
3 sections)
“How worksheets are required
as points.”
“Discuss solutions to
worksheets after completion.”
RESOURCES (4 sections)
Math Study Center (3
groups, 2 sections)
“MSC, tutors aren’t there
long enough for help because too many people.”
“Procedures followed in Math
Study Center regarding the number of questions that may be asked.”
“Sometimes not enough TAs at
Study Center. You have to wait a long
time to get a question answered!”
Textbook (2 groups, 1
section)
“The textbook itself.”
“Book – bizarre, complicated
questions.”
In Section C on the worksheet, groups tend to write general comments or comments that reiterate feedback written in Sections A and B. There were a total of 48 group comments in this section. Those comments related to calculus changes are included below.
Homework
“We are really happy about
no supplementary.”
“Thank you for getting rid
of supplementary problems!!”
“Glad that they’ve done away
with supplementary problems.”
“Wonderful decision to get rid of supplementary
problems.”
Class Structure
“Have another lecture class
rather than two quiz sections. Maybe do
two sections a week instead of three sections a week (of text chapters) – could
also increase the frequency of homework to compensate.”
“We like having the 120
minute period for tests.”
“Our group feels that the
extra time given does not positively impact our learning. Also, it is difficult to understand TAs
which poses problems during section lectures.”
D. Homework:
On
the back of the worksheet for 125, groups were asked to respond to two
questions about homework.
Responses to Part A: Are there enough drill problems for you to
learn the basic skills?
Yes (73 groups)
Yes
– plenty, good range of difficulty, and enough examples in class (60 groups)
“Yes. There are enough, which is a lot, but that
is the practice that we really need.”
“Yes. It is helpful to be able to practice each
skill before having to apply them to a difficult problem.”
“Yes. Better than last quarter – plenty.”
“Yes. There is a good range of difficulty.”
“Yes. seems like there are enough, but if you feel
like you don’t know it well enough, there are more you can do.”
“Yes. After doing homework, we know the basic
concepts.”
“Yes. The amount of work assigned is just the
right amount without making the concepts confusing.”
“Yes. Homework is sufficient and long enough. Takes a lot of time.”
“Yes. There are a variety of the types of problems
to use different skills.”
“Yes. The lectures give us plenty of simple
questions that help us learn the basics.”
Yes
– sometimes more than enough (6 groups)
“Yes. Sometimes too many, but we like NO
supplementary problems.”
“Yes. Too many, only need like one or two examples
of each type of problem.”
“Yes. If you attempt all of the homework. There aren’t enough in-class problems.”
Yes,
but … – need to check answers, need more examples in class (7 groups)
“Yes. Give less even problems so we can check
answers.”
“Yes. The first part of each lesson is very
helpful. It is often inconvenient when
we can’t check answers to even problems.”
Yes and no (4 groups)
“Yes and no. But they aren’t hard enough. Maybe
incorporate some of the more difficult problems.”
No (9 groups)
No
– not enough (9 groups)
“No. Homework would be better with more drill
problems, less story problems.”
“No. The problems provided in the HW only assist
the student in strengthening the understanding of a concept, not grasping
it. You need to put more basic
problems.”
“No. We need to do more drill problems on the
integration, and not so many higher thinking problems.”
“No. Need more easy problems and less hard.”
“No. More problems from the start of the exercise
section instead of doing a few and jumping into the hard ones.”
Responses to Part B: Are there
enough challenging problems for you to develop your problem solving skills?
Yes (69 groups)
Yes
– plenty, good range of difficulty (44 groups)
“Yes. A few challenging problems in each homework
is good practice.”
“Yes. Some of the questions are pretty hard and
force us to think conceptually.”
“Yes. The last problems of each section are quite
challenging and promotes thorough understanding of material.”
“Yes. They are very hard!”
“Yes. The end book problems are difficult.”
“Yes. The problems include a variety of questions
from simple to difficult and application, problem-solving.”
“Yes. The homework is fair. It has easy problems and challenging
problems.”
Yes,
but – need solutions or discussion in lecture, need more difficult examples in
class (15 groups)
“Yes. But not helpful if there aren’t any
solutions so we aren’t sure whether we did them right.”
“Yes. It would be nice to have the professor help
us get them started and let us work through them then.”
“Yes. Would appreciate more application examples
in class.”
“Yes. Too many, challenging problems are not
covered. Not really sure if you are
doing it right.”
Yes
– maybe too many, often they’re too challenging (10 groups)
“Yes. Sometimes the problems involve methods that
we haven’t learned yet and it is rather difficult and frustrating to try and
apply concepts we have not learned.”
“Yes. And sometimes, they are too challenging.”
“Yes. There may be too many problems on the
homework.”
“Yes. There are more than enough. Need more moderate problems between easy and
hard.”
Yes
– glad there are no supplementary problems (3 groups)
“Yes. Usually feel prepared for the quiz. Improvement: no more supplementary problems
is a plus!!”
“I think we’re better off
without supplementary problems. Too
complicated and wasted our time because we never used those questions in any of
our tests. Maybe make a dozen optional
questions on the webpage, with increasing difficulty.”
Yes and no (1 group)
“Yes (2 people). No (3 people).”
No (10 groups)
No
– not enough (6 groups)
“No. We encounter harder problems on the homework,
and we are not proficient enough with the concepts to know more than the basic
skills.”
“No. Not enough problems combining all different
skills together.”
No
– need more challenging problems in
lecture (4 groups)
“No. It’s not the quantity but quality. There are more easy problems and not enough
‘skill building’ problems in the general homework, leading up to the last few
problems. The examples in class are
very basic and do not really help to build ability. This also detracts from motivation to come to class.”
“Homework is challenging but
lecture explanations are too simple à they do not provide hints
for tough homework problems.”
E. Additional questions:
At the instructor’s request in one section, I asked
the students to comment more on the worksheets. First, I took a poll to get a sense of how
many of the students find the worksheets to be helpful – the results were that
about half of the students said worksheets are helpful, and half said that they
are not helpful. So, I asked students who
find the worksheets helpful to explain why. These students said they’re helpful for a number of reasons:
they’re relevant and like the homework, they “walk through” problems
step-by-step, and students get to work on worksheets in groups, which helps them
see how other students solve problems.
Then I asked students who find the worksheets not helpful to
explain why. Again there was a variety
of reasons: the worksheets are not relevant, they’re too complicated, they
can’t cover all the topics, and they’re simple, like the lecture. Some students mentioned that they find the
worksheets helpful, but that there is too much time spent on them – they’d like
more time to ask questions about their homework.