BNAL 306 Anonymous Mid-Semester Survey

Transcribed feedbacks

Below are responses transcribed from the anonymous survey conducted in class on Monday, March 14th, 2016. I did not make any changes to the responses except correcting some typos or so.

Based on the feedback, I will make certain changes that are summarized at the end of this document.

What is working? / What is not working? Improvement Suggestions
  • I like your attendance policy, also like the projects we do.
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  • I dislike no homework grade.
  • More in-class graded assignments.

  • The lectures are well structured and informative.
  • I love that everything gets put on Blackboard after class.
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  • Too many group projects and always the same group too.
  • Instead of doing multiple group projects, they could be projects for everyone individually.

  • The opportunity to work with a good & reinforce lessons.
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  • The problems with answers on Blackboard have little context, it gives you the answers but not in-detail on how to get them.
  • Just do a problem straight through, no interruptions. When explaining, you answer a problem and jump around a lot and it may last days. Just go through and do a problem all the way through.

  • Recorded classes help for extra review and take home tests, :-)
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  • Maybe doing more problems in class together for practice but time is short so that is a bit tough.
  • Cannot think of any at the moment.

  • New topics explained well, always answer questions.
  • Go above and beyond to help students. Very helpful.
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  • Not sure on what lectured material is covered on the test (rambling vs. need-to-know).

  • Videos are good.
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  • Speaking so fast sometimes.
  • More examples & whole examples process will be great.

  • Microphone is working much better. Please keep it turned up.
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  • Love when you use practical examples. Sometimes it helps using multiple examples for a single topic.

  • What works is when you do the problems. It is easier to understand when you go through the problems step by step physically rather than listening to them.
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  • What is not working is when you sort of just TALK about what to do and not showing a thorough example.
  • Improvement suggestions are more examples.

  • It is good for you to explain problems with examples.
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  • None.

  • Visual presentations, review of previous class.
  • Microphone for volume increase.
  • Schedule is on time.
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  • Sometimes recordings have issues.
  • Everything is fine to me.

  • Study guides
  • Knowing what information we need for tests.
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  • Trying to retain all of the theory we are discussing. It seems like we are rushing through it at times.
  • Give more time for people to ask any questions we may have.

  • Online review videos
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  • N/A.
  • More board problems.

  • Basic knowledge, good organization.
  • Good class. I like it.
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  • Everything is fine.
  • Just one suggestion: The requirement for sending homework email is complex. Maybe it can be easier.

  • The procedures you write on the slides during the lecture were great and useful.
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  • Some explanations might be confusing, especially those related to new definitions. I think I need time to understand these concepts.
  • No suggestions. You are great.

  • Lecture, flexibility in being able to see us.
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  • Amount of work, work does help but there is too much of it – Quality work, but big quantity.
  • Better study guide & perhaps less quantity of work.

  • I think the lectures that are put online are good, because it permits to catch up if you don’t understand everything in class.
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  • Study guide, it is hard to know what is coming on the test.
  • Do more exercises and examples in class.

  • Showing Minitab problems.
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  • I think more definitions and examples of different problems will be helpful, very helpful.
  • Less talking, more showing, :-)

  • The recorded sessions are excellent because if there was something I miss I just watch the video.
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  • The project is a little too much at times. Hard to meet with others.
  • Easier study guides.

  • The recorded sessions.
  • The weighted tests.
  • Take-home section.
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  • Wording of tests
  • Amount of work
  • More examples.

  • Class is great! Maybe more in class examples so we can practice some.
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  • Some of the videos on Blackboard of the recorded lectures have not worked. Also I am unable to open documents that are .mpg on my personal computer.
  • Improvement suggestions: N/A.

  • I like that every topic, the lesson, and practice/example problems are posted on Blackboard.
  • Personally made cheat sheets for tests.
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  • Lack of steps to take to get proper information from Minitab.
  • Improvement suggestions: Test review.

  • I think when you repeat the subject from the past class. It is good to catch up.
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  • Since it is hard class, it would have been nice if we have test review questions.

  • The methods you use for each class work well.
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  • Every teaching method works, however students must read prior to class in order to truly understand the lectures.
  • More PowerPoints and test reviews available online, :-)

  • Being able to catch up and understand what we are learning in class with the materials / documents provided on Blackboard.
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  • Being able to follow along in class/understand the topics. I am having a hard time remembering in class and taking notes on the examples we go over. It seems like an overload of information I cannot understand is being talked at me instead of me absorbing it.
  • Slowing down and providing more written notes we can take.

  • The example problems worked in class helped a lot, it is easier to understand with visual aids.
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  • The pace we are learning at is too quick so it only allows for a shaky understanding of topics.
  • Use more example problems.

  • I love that you do everything you can to give us extra resources to succeed. Recording your class sessions is highly beneficial. Another huge benefit involves your attitude. My teacher for my last BNAL class did not engage with us at all. Your engagement really helps!
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  • I do not have too much that I think does not work.
  • No suggestions.

  • Recording the class and uploading to Blackboard is very useful. The cheat sheet is very helpful for the exam.
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  • Some examples can be more specific, because sometimes I do not follow the pace of the class.

  • The video lectures are very helpful to refer to after every class.
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  • The lack of examples during each lecture does not work.
  • Do more examples in class.

  • If you could do problems with us in class instead of making us do them on our own, that will be great.
  • Maybe like 5 questions per class session will be good.

  • Lectures are very good. I find the constant use of questions during class to help me stay focused.
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  • A better review would be helpful.
  • Assigning more questions that we go over in class would be good.

  • I think that the lectures are good and work well because of the in-class examples.
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  • The only thing that was not working was the class capture videos on Blackboard.
  • More examples with answers on Blackboard.

  • Good explanations, makes material understandable.
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  • Speaker system is hit and miss, response to answers seem too judgmental.
  • Better microphone/placement.

  • Videos on Blackboard help reviewing.
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  • Projects are tricky.
  • More textbook problems will help me.

  • Microphone works now, :-)
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  • Microphone was not working.
  • Needs more points for project!

  • Overall, everything is working.
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  • N/A. I think the discussions are informative.
  • Maybe more time to go over the study guide before tests.

  • The notes, the way the test are formatted, and lectures.
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  • I do not know if there are extra credit assignments, but that would really help.
  • Tutoring sessions, extra credit, more class examples.

  • Examples work.

  • What is working well in my opinion are the class lectures. They are clear and concise, and I feel that I am learning a lot during lectures. The example problems in the text are an excellent supplement to lecture and having examples to analyze and practice with is very helpful.
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  • What is not working as well are elements of the class such as the slides and the lack of homework. I would improve the PowerPoint slides because they are not organized as well and they are pretty ???with lots of parts missing. I also like homework and wish there was more, but I am sure 99% of the class disagrees!

  • Online sessions!
  • Project meetings during class time.
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  • More in class examples.
  • Improvement: Step by step (slower). Maybe offer tutoring sessions, more extra credit.

  • Example problems help, would like to do more.
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  • I feel like you ask us questions before we have learned the materials. The group projects are miserable. Too fast-paced.
  • Suggestions: Test review, detailed PPTs, homework.

  • The posted videos of what is done in class, and all the practice problems.
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  • Figuring out what to study and what to focus on when studying for exams. Having no practice guide or no study guide for M/C questions.
  • Have a study guide with sample problems that we can expect similar ones on test.

  • Group projects are good.
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  • The take-home tests are confusing and you should have cancelled class on that snow day.
  • Extra credit opportunities.

  • The Minitab files you give to go along with the class.
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  • Not enough examples and confusing take-home test.
  • Just do more examples in class.

  • Seeing how problems are being understood.
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  • Keeping on track with pace of class, such as switch from notes to Minitab.
  • Smooth transitions on how Minitab is applied.

Summary of the Survey and Proposed Changes

Student comments show that the class overall is going well. The recorded video sessions are helpful, though a few recordings are not working due to technical issues.

The issues that require improvement include:

  • Make sure the video recording works. Sorry that a few recording do not have sound correctly taped. It might be a microphone issue. But so far it seems working fine. Hope the issues do not come back.
  • More in-class examples and practice questions. We will certainly do more. There will be more in-class examples and students will have in-class exercise time, during which they can either complete the questions themselves or discuss with classmates.
  • Provide the full procedure of a solution to problems. I will do more “showing” than “talking.” I will write down all the necessary steps for solving a problem. If possible, I will make screen shots for Minitab, Excel, or any software package used.
  • Group projects are not liked and do not think they are helpful to learning. Sorry this is the “necessary evil” of the course. As I have explained in class, this is an essential skill students need to master. I will provide more guidance and allow more time in class for the work though.