Summary of Midterm Student Feedback
MATH
124 and 125
Winter
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 February 2002. The feedback was gathered in MATH 124 and 125, in a total of 15 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 eight 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 Weeks 5 and 6 in 8 sections taught by 5 instructors
Total number of students participating in feedback process = 404
Total number of groups = 110
A. What is helping you learn?
LECTURE (8
sections)
Example problems (63
groups, 8 sections)
“Working
examples in lecture. Very helpful.”
“S/he is very
descriptive and goes over examples well.
S/he reviews examples when they are unclear.”
“Works through
useful examples – examples similar to quiz and exam à explains how to solve problem (steps).”
“In-depth
examples and repetitions. Specific
example: when we were learning the
rules for derivatives, s/he emphasized many different strategies.”
“Providing
examples in class that pertain to homework.
(Actual HW problems.)”
“Her/His
examples in class. S/he goes over them
very thoroughly.”
“Doing examples
– easy to difficult.”
Explanations (24
groups in 7 sections)
“Takes time to
explain things in class, and in a way that we understand.”
“S/he explains
materials/concepts thoroughly and make sure we understand the material before
we move on.”
“Professor teaches
well. S/he explains step-to-step from
beginning to end on how a theorem is derived, citing simple examples then more
complicated ones.”
Organization/presentation
(15 groups in 4 sections)
“Organized and
concise in notes. Clear on topics. Emphasizes important stuff.”
“Lectures are
really clear, easy to understand.
Material presented well.”
QUIZ SECTIONS (8
sections)
TAs (12 groups, 2
sections)
“Explanations in
quiz sections that briefly review lecture sessions.”
“Quiz sections
are good because TAs provide different perspectives.”
“TA; explains
material well in section days.”
Q & A/
Structure (9 groups, 2 sections)
“Worksheet quiz
section, because we have someone available to help us one-on-one with a fair
amount to time to understand the answer.”
“Quiz section à
one-on-one time with a TA. 1.5
hours is enough time to ask questions.”
“Longer Tuesday:
(10:30-11:50) quiz section.”
Examples (7 groups,
2 sections)
“TA sections –
TA gives more examples, more review.”
“When TAs go
over tough homework problems.”
WORKSHEETS (8
sections)
General comments
(12 groups, 6 sections)
“Good worksheets
– help learn.”
“Doing the
worksheets in the quiz section.”
Help understand
concepts (10 groups, 6 sections)
“Worksheets are
helpful. They are well-written and
provide a good lead in to the chapter.”
“The worksheets
help prepare us for tests and quizzes.”
“Lectures and quiz
section ties together well -- worksheet reflects on what we’ve learned in
class.”
Going over
worksheets (4 groups, 3 sections)
“Worksheets in
quiz section. The process of doing the
problems with immediate feedback.”
“The worksheets
and group discussions within worksheet time help to gain more understanding.”
“Working with TA
on worksheets and homework problems in section.”
RESOURCES (6 sections)
Math Study Center
(17 groups, 5 sections)
“The Math Study
Center. It’s always available for
help.”
“Other
resources, including Math Study Center, Instructional Center, peers, and MSEP
study tutors (Loew Hall).”
Website (7 groups,
3 sections)
“On-line quizzes
and old tests help us prepare for upcoming quizzes and midterms.”
“Online quizzes
– with solutions.”
Emails from
professor (5 groups, 2 sections)
“S/he has good
email communications. Keeps us up to
date.”
Book (5 groups, 4
sections)
“Reading the
book helps understanding of lecture material.”
ASSIGNMENTS AND TESTS (8 sections)
Homework (32
groups, 8 sections)
“Homework helps
us review and the class teachings relate to homework problems, quizzes and what
may be on exams.”
“Homework forces
us to keep up with the class. It is a
good overview of what we are expected to learn and what will be on the tests
and quizzes.”
“Homework
assignments are a good length. They’re
not over-excessive.”
“Homework
assignments à working
problems out and is good practice and preparation for quiz and tests.”
“Supplementary
problems. While very lengthy and time
consuming, they help understanding.”
“Emphasis on
story problems – easier to understand what it is we’re doing.”
Quizzes/tests (14
groups, 5 sections)
“Test and exams
are formed from types of problems we’ve seen before.”
“The quizzes are
based on what’s covered in class, making them worthwhile.”
“Having a quiz
every week helps cement concepts and prepare for tests.”
“Quizzes are
relevant to material that will be on tests.”
PROFESSOR CHARACTERISTICS (5 sections)
Approachable, available for help, takes Qs in
lecture, checks for understanding (17 groups, 7 sections)
“Professor seems
very open and like s/he really wants us to succeed which just generally
helps. In class s/he’ll continue to
explain a problem or concept over and over again if the class needs help.”
“Very patient
and open to questions. Make sure we
understand the materials covered in class.”
“S/he is
approachable to students with questions.”
Enthusiastic (16
groups, 5 sections)
“Personal,
trying to get to know us. Wants us to
learn. (Wants all of us to come to
class.) Very motivational.”
“Interested/enthusiastic
in teaching.”
“Enjoy her/his
enthusiasm over the course and her/his energy in math.”
INTERACTION (8 sections)
Class size (15 groups, 6 sections)
“Smaller
environment – vs. pre-cal with 100’s of people.”
“Class size is
good. It allows for questions.”
“Small lecture
classes provides easier learning environment.”
Q & A (7
groups, 2 sections)
“The chance to
ask questions in lecture and quiz sections.”
B. What is not helping you learn?
What suggestions?
LECTURE (6 sections)
More examples (47 groups, 6 sections)
“Too few
applications and examples of formulas.
Need more mathematical problems.”
“Showing the
easiest examples is not helpful.
Showing harder examples might help.”
“Do more good
examples from the book (hard ones). The
ones that are more related to our HW problems, supplement problems.”
“Take a few
minutes out of class to go over some problems in class (mostly supplementary
problems). Maybe in TA section will be
a good alternative.”
“Lecture does
not spend enough time addressing assigned problems. Perhaps, there is not enough time and professor has to pick and
choose. But sometimes, we have no way
of knowing how to do a problems with our immediate resources.”
“More examples
with less theorems. Theorems are good
to know, but should not take up majority of the class time.”
“Too much
in-depth on proving theorems that we do not need to learn how to prove à could supplement with more examples and
using theorems instead.”
“Teacher never completes
problem, will stop midway and later on you only know how to do that much of the
problem.”
“Time to finish
examples in class would be helpful.
Sometimes examples aren’t finished and finishing at home is not always
plausible.”
Pace (32 groups, 5 sections)
“Lecture moves
too fast and not enough class problem-solving.”
“Too fast-paced
when explaining examples. Find
ourselves copying problems down and struggling to decipher it later.”
“Professor moves
too quickly in lecture, it can be hard to follow.”
“Sometimes s/he
writes so fast you don’t know what s/he is doing.”
“Hard time to
comprehend lecture material and write notes à could slow down
a bit.”
ASSIGNMENTS AND TESTS (8 sections)
Quizzes and tests
(26 groups, 6 sections)
“The quizzes are
hard and more difficult than is expected.”
“A lot of times
the problems on the quizzes, the worksheets, and the homework differ quite a
bit during the week which makes it a little confusing.”
“Tests/quizzes
are much harder than homework and what is covered in class.”
“Homework is not
consistent to the midterm.”
Solutions (19
groups, 7 sections)
“Even homework
problems – either don’t assign or provide solutions or answers. There’s no way to know if you’ve done the
problem correctly or not – you could be making a mistake and not know and make
same mistake on quiz or test.”
“Problem
explanations are lacking on some complicated problems. It would be nice if we could have at least a
solution outline for help us solve the questions.”
“Exam problems
in website with solutions.”
Homework –
supplemental problems (16 groups, 6 sections)
“The
supplementary problems are extremely hard.
It’s impossible to work out the problem by ourselves without any help
from MSC, TAs, etc.”
“Supplementary
problems are many times not relative to lecture. If they are the most important, they should be able to be ‘found
in the book’.”
“Supplement
problems – do not seem pertinent to what we are learning for the week.”
“The
supplementary problems are too hard compared to the rest of the book problems. Detailed answers should be given if given at
all.”
Homework – amount
and grading (12 groups, 5 sections)
“Homework
quantity, weight of the homework in comparison to the quizzes.”
“The homework is
too much. It takes more time than it is
worth in points.”
“The homework
doesn’t really provide any feedback as far as telling us what we did right or
wrong.”
“Homeworks –
they grade only 2 problems, and the students spend a lot of time doing it, and
if they get those problems wrong, they get like 3/10 or 5/10.”
Homework/quizzes/lecture
– structure (10 groups, 5 sections)
“Turning in
homework on Thursday so we could use it to study for the quiz.”
“Material on
quizzes hasn’t been adequately covered yet – gone over one day before and not
yet digested.”
“HW – we turn it
in three days before taking the quiz relating to that material. It’s be great to turn in the homework and
take the quiz on the same day.”
QUIZ SECTIONS (7 sections)
TAs (16 groups, 3
sections)
“TA – doesn’t
help section understand material well.”
“Communication
between students and some TAs is very difficult due to language barrier.”
Question and answer
(12 groups, 7 sections)
“There should be
more time for homework questions in quiz section. Cut out busywork problems so we can have more time to ask TAs
questions.”
“Answer any
homework questions before quiz – needed.”
“Suggestion: time in sections for questions and homework
review.”
Example/homework
problems (9 groups, 3 sections)
“Our TA does not
give enough examples.”
“It would be helpful
to have more examples of homework problems on Tuesday in quiz sections.”
Structure/timing (4
groups, 2 sections)
“80-minute quiz
section doesn’t help, a 50-minute section would be fine.”
WORKSHEETS (8 sections)
General comments (9
groups, 5 sections)
“Quiz sections
with worksheets do not help.”
“Worksheets
don’t help – they are just time-consuming.”
Not relevant (9
groups, 7 sections)
“Worksheet
doesn’t have any obvious relevance to quiz or homework. Maybe spend time going over homework
problems or related/relevant problems.”
“Worksheets are
not as helpful and does not seem similar to homework problems and do not
prepare us for quiz.”
“Suggestion: have worksheets
and TA lectures correspond more to info on quiz and what is being covered in
class.”
Use of time (9
groups, 5 sections)
“Worksheets are
really repetitive – not much help. Time
would be more useful going over tough HW problems and reviewing concepts.”
“Worksheets are too long because they take away from homework problem
time.”
“More time for
quiz and worksheets or make the worksheets shorter. And if it’s a long worksheet, no time to finish, thus no full
credit and no answers to see if you are getting the concepts.”
Don’t go over, need
more context (5 groups, 4 sections)
“The worksheets are
good -- helpful to go through the concepts – but it would be nice to have the
answers so we can study them later.”
“J
Would like to go over worksheets in next quiz section to learn material
better. Want to have chance to take it
home if needed.”
Grading/structure
(4 groups, 3 sections)
“Worksheets help
some, but since they are graded, we feel forced to simply complete them rather
than understand them.”
“Turning in the worksheets at the end of class because you have to try
to rush to get it done.”
RESOURCES (5 sections)
Website (4 groups,
3 sections)
“Syllabus
on-line is different than syllabus for class.”
“SYLLABUS!! (Problems on webpage need to match
syllabus.)”
Book (2 groups, 2
sections)
“Tell us what to
ignore in each chapter à what isn’t on
tests, homeworks, quizzes.”
Feedback
gathered during Weeks 6 & 7 in 7 sections taught by 6 instructors
Total
number of students participating in feedback process = 384
Total
number of groups = 87
A. What is helping you learn?
LECTURE (7 sections)
Example problems (61 groups, 8
sections)
“Working out problems in
class.”
“Shows good examples in
class (pertaining to homework).”
“Attending the lectures is
helping to learn in this class. The
examples are good reference points when studying. The examples on the board are helpful because we can see why each
example works like it does. We also
think he could expand more on some topics.”
“[Professor’s] examples are
well-presented and explained. Adds to
book explanations.”
“Examples given that are
similar to problems on homework and exams.”
Class size/interaction (12
groups, 6 sections)
“Class size is good – not
overwhelming, sections are small enough.”
“The smaller, 80-person
classes allow for more thorough clarification of students’ problems with the
material.”
“Small sized classes because
we can ask questions and can comment.”
“Relatively small lectures
and sections – there is a closer relationship with professors and TAs.”
Explanations (10 groups, 5
sections)
“Lecture – teacher
introduces topics and explains clearly.”
“The depth of explanations
during lecture. Verbalizes process of
problem solving.”
“Starts with basics and
builds, starting simpler and working up helps us to learn better.”
Presentation/organization/pace
(10 groups, 4 sections)
“All of the detailed
examples done with colored chalk in lecture. (Colors help separate things.)”
“Incorporating overhead and
blackboard usage during lecture.
Drawing graphs/visual on board/overhead.”
QUIZ SECTION (7 sections)
Going over homework problems / Q & A (24 groups, 7 sections)
“Have time during quiz
section to go over homework problems.”
“Examples and TA help on difficult
homework problems – in-depth explanations are good!”
“In quiz section we go over
lots of examples and problems to help us understand the material better.”
“The quiz sections are
useful as we can get help on certain specific questions.”
Structure (length/size) (12 groups, 6 sections)
“Having the longer class
time on Tuesday to go over homework and worksheets.”
“The hour and a half quiz
sections, since we have extra time to ask questions.”
“80-minutes quiz section
because it gives us time for midterms.”
“Small TA sections help
because there is more individual attention.”
“Learning environment is TA
sections are good.”
TAs (8 groups, 5 sections)
“The TA of our quiz section
-- TA goes through every step and asks for understanding.”
“The TAs. They have time to go over specific examples
and better help individuals.”
RESOURCES AND MATERIALS (7 sections)
Math Study Center / office hours (18 groups, 6 sections)
“Study Center – because you
can ask specific questions and get specific help.”
“Math Study Center – from
peers and TA.”
“The Math Study Center and
all of his/her office hours.”
“Office hours of professor –
s/he is really helpful on problems in the homework.”
Handouts (11 groups, 1 section)
“Handouts are very
informative and are an easy way to organize thoughts and certain concepts we
need to learn.”
“Handouts. Professor clearly summarizes what we learn
in class with many handouts. à Really helps.”
Solutions (7 groups, 4 sections)
“Homework problems,
especially with answers so we can check our work.”
“On-line resources – i.e.
old tests because it helps us study for our tests.”
“Solution book explains
problems, confirms correct procedure.”
Textbook (4 groups, 3 sections)
“Textbook is good.”
WORKSHEETS (7 sections)
Previews upcoming material/relevant (19 groups, 7 sections)
“Worksheets, because they
prepare us for what we will be learning in the next week.”
“Worksheet sessions help us
better prepare for learning the concepts in the next lecture session.”
“Worksheets more helpful
than 124 – make more sense, have more correlation.”
General comments, groups (14 groups, 6 sections)
“Worksheets help because
it’s a way to teach us without an important grade.”
“Doing worksheets in groups
(helps us learn from each other / feedback).”
“We like how there are
worksheets and they are graded.”
Step-by-step (7 groups, 3 sections)
“Step-by-step worksheets à help us practice.”
“Worksheets – leads you
through problems step-by-step to show you how they are done.”
ASSIGNMENTS AND TESTS (7 sections)
“Homework/worksheets give practice.”
“Odd homework problems have
answers in the back of the book so you can check your answers.”
“Supplementary problems –
more challenging and they force you to combine the concepts we learned.”
Quizzes (9 groups, 4 sections)
“Good formatting on quizzes
in terms of being weekly, focused on topics we just learned, and challenging
yet doable.”
“Quizzes are good examples
of what he expects from us on the exams.”
“It’s good that homework and
quizzes are on Thursday, AND that they are due on the same day.”
Practice for tests (4 groups, 2 sections)
“We like the practice
midterms and finals (duh).”
“Good amount of sample
exams.”
PROFESSOR CHARACTERISTICS (3 sections)
Enthusiasm, humor (4 groups, 2 sections)
“His/her sense of humor
makes class interesting.”
“[Professor] is enthusiastic
and exciting.”
Accessible, available (3 groups, 1 section)
“[Professor] is very
accessible – s/he’s always willing to help outside of class.”
B. What is not helping you learn?
What suggestions?
LECTURE (6 sections)
Presentation/organization (16 groups, 4 sections)
“Sometimes
the professor speaks too quietly – either speak up or use a microphone”
“Colored
chalk needed.”
“Hard to
understand at times.”
Pace (12 groups, 4 sections)
“Lectures –
There’s too much material covered in one lecture. S/he skips over critical steps when doing examples on the board.”
“Professor
sometimes jumps into hard material too quickly.”
“Course
starts easy, then gets really hard, really fast – areas under curve, Reimann
sums easy; work, trig identities hard.”
Examples – unfinished, steps skipped, unclear (11 groups, 5
sections)
“Skipping some steps in the explanations of problems during lecture.”
“Not finishing problems from beginning to end.”
“More example problems done straight through (instead of a lot of side comments which is very confusing).”
Examples – more, more difficult, similar to homework (10 groups, 5
sections)
“The examples the instructor goes over are not as difficult as the homework/quiz/test problems.”
“Should cover more difficult problems that we encounter in the homework.”
“Use examples during lecture that aren’t from the book to get more examples.”
Classroom (10 groups, 4 sections)
“Can’t see the board or hear the teacher if sitting in back.”
“The layout of the classroom makes it very hard to see sometimes, especially from the back.”
“The room. If you get stuck in the back of the lecture room, you can’t see the board. This room is better suited for non-boardwork classes.”
HOMEWORK (7 sections)
Supplementary problems (20 groups, 4 sections)
“Supplementary problems,
because they are really hard and have nothing to do with what we are learning.”
“Supplementary problems
because they’re hard. Some of them have
to do with what we’re learning, but some of them don’t. Sometimes, the TAs don’t really know how to
answer them.”
“The supplementary problems
are irrelevant and excessive.”
“Supplementary problem
because it reflects how stupid we are, discourage us study math.”
Grading/feedback (15 groups, 4 sections)
“Number of homework problems
without feedback – are you doing it right?”
“Homework grading is unfair
and inconsistent.”
“HW grading – you don’t know
why you missed the problem you did.
It’s just marked wrong. Consider
using web assign or Tycho.”
Solutions (12 groups, 4 sections)
“Even problems -- how are we
supposed to learn if we don’t even know what the correct answer is?”
“Answers for worksheets and
supplementary problems / even problems.
Feedback if we’re in the right direction.”
“No solutions for
supplemental homework. They can be
uploaded after homework is due. More
homework problems should be odd so that we can check answers.”
WORKSHEETS (6 sections)
Content/relevance (12 groups, 5 sections)
“Worksheets (unrelated
sometimes to material – at least from our POV).”
“Mixed feelings about
WORKSHEETS. Two of them were good; the
rest were difficult to decipher.”
“Worksheets and
supplementary problems aren’t really related to the topics taught in
class. Worksheets should be more
problem-solving than trying to figure out how it’s even remotely related to the
course material.”
Use of time (7 groups, 5 sections)
“Too much emphasis on
worksheet. Time should be spent in quiz
section clarifying not pushing more work on us.”
“The worksheets aren’t very
helpful in this class because using that time to do examples from HW etc. is
more helpful.”
“Not enough time or help on worksheets during section.”
General comments (6 groups, 4 sections)
“The worksheets are not
helpful. Making them more applicable
and clear or just getting rid of them and doing something else.”
“Worksheets should not be
graded [check] and [check plus]. I
think it discourages and disrupts the learning environment. The worksheets should be either checked off
that it was worked on in class OR turned in with the homework to give ample
time to finish and learn.”
“No time to go over
worksheets.”
QUIZZES AND TESTS (5 sections)
Structure and timing (13 groups, 7 sections)
“The length of the midterm
exam was a little long. Missing
problems because of a lack of time is not helpful. The exams should be slightly shorter.”
“Material on quizzes covers
newly assigned concepts vs. concepts on homework that has been completed.”
“The quizzes just got really
hard, and they are incompletable with the time given.”
Difficulty, not like homework (8 groups, 3 sections)
“Quizzes and exams are much
harder than the homeworks.”
“Give us homework/quizzes
that directly reflect the difficulty level of the tests.”
“The quizzes are not
consistent with what we are learning in lecture.”
QUIZ SECTION (4 sections)
More time for homework questions (7 groups, 4 sections)
“More time to ask questions
about homework problems.”
“Should turn in homework in
quiz section after 10-15 minutes for questions on difficult homework problems
so they can be understood and fixed.”
“Not enough time in quiz sections
devoted to answering homework questions.”
TAs (5 groups, 2 sections)
“TAs not very effective
teachers – unclear examples and incorrect explanations.”
“If TA would go through the
homework before class, so we don’t waste so much time waiting for him to figure
out the problem.”
“TA section: arrives late,
doesn’t come prepared for class, should stick to things learned in lecture,
makes a lot of mistakes, not always in the right zone for math.”
Length (3 groups, 3 sections)
“The first quiz section is
too long because it seems like we waste time.”
“Section with 1.5 hours does
make it hard to schedule.”
RESOURCES (5 sections)
Office hours (5 groups, 4 sections)
“The TA and professor could
hold more office hours than they presently do.”
“Office hours should be in
MSC, not so spread out (for professor and TAs).”
“Later office hours – it’s
hard to get to office hours for some people prior to 3 or 4 p.m.”
Website & solutions (5 groups, 3 sections)
“Practice exams are on the
internet, but no solutions. Solutions
would be helpful.”
“No solutions to practice
exam on web.”
Textbook (4 groups, 3 sections)
“The textbook is a little
dry and hard to understand.”
“The book doesn’t have a lot
of examples that are like the homework problems.”
Math Study Center (2 groups, 1 section)
“MSC wait is too long, not
enough help at peak hours.”