Attachment D -- Part III of the Faculty Handbook
ERAU PRESCOTT DEPARTMENT Chair SEMESTER SUMMARY OF STUDENT OPINION OF INSTRUCTION FORMS
Faculty Member: Dr. Nick Devereux Courses & Sections: PS160_02, PS104_01, PS104_02 Semester & Year: Spring 2009 Number of respondents in all sections: 16 / 10 / 11 Number of students enrolled in sections: 42 / 20 / 18
PS160_02: Students enjoyed this course and it was reflected by their generally positive responses on the opinionnaire. PS104_01: The quantitative scores were very negative for this class. Students were told to, “teach themselves?” While there were a few positive comments, most of them were negative or very negative. PS104_02: The quantitative scores for this class hovered around the department average. What was so different in the previous section compared to this section?
Attachment D -- Part III of the Faculty Handbook
ERAU PRESCOTT DEPARTMENT Chair SEMESTER SUMMARY OF STUDENT OPINION OF INSTRUCTION FORMS
Faculty Member: Dr. Nick Devereux Courses & Sections: PS160_01, PS253_50, PS103_01, PS103_02 Semester & Year: Fall 2009 Number of respondents in all sections: 25 / 8 / 3 / 12 Number of students enrolled in sections: 51 / 17 / 17 / 19
PS160_01: While there some positive scores, and some negative scores, the overall quantitative scores hovered around the department average. There was one comment that was repeated in the written comments: Homework was assigned, but not graded. Students felt that graded homework would force them to learn the material better and perform better on the exams. They felt that doing homework problems on the board instead of grading the homework problems could be counterproductive to learning the material. PS253_01: The quantitative scores were scattered about the department average. Students enjoyed the lectures before the lab, but the felt that the instructor wasn’t well prepared for the lab. There were a couple comments about the TAs grading. PS103_01: There were too few responses to make definitive comments. PS103_02: Scores were scattered about the department average. Students commented that the homework assignments (not grading them) didn’t help them prepare. I think this is similar to comments up above where students feel that graded homework forces them to learn the material.
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Department Chair’s summary of written comments for the term.
While the PS160_02 course in Spring 2009 had generally positive student responses, the PS104_01 course in Spring 2009 had very negative responses. What is peculiar is that PS104_02, in the same semester, had scores and responses that hovered about the department average. What was so different about these courses? Statistically they had the same number (and same fraction) of students responding to the questionnaire. Again, what was so different between these two sections?
While homework may be assigned for the courses Nick taught, many of them were not graded. Is this true for all courses, or just some of courses? Graded homework plays a crucial role in helping students focus on learning physics concepts, and also preparing them for their exams. In the classes where homework was not graded, I question whether or not students are really learning the concepts, versus memorizing equations. In other words, “Are critical thinking skills really being taught when homework is not graded?”
Department Chair’s overall comment on the student opinions.
When I interviewed Nick’s class, he seemed very well prepared for his lecture, which is consistent with most of the comments students made with respect to his courses (not the labs).
Every now and then, there is a comment about being a little rigid, and sometimes condescending. I did not see this in my classroom interview. It may happen on rare occasions, but I question why students have this perception at all.
I think Nick has shown on occasion his ability to do a very good job teaching a course (e.g., Spring 2009 PS160_02). However, he doesn’t seem to sustain this level of teaching performance into other classes.
In general, students acknowledge that Nick demonstrates a comprehensive knowledge of the material he is teaching; however, given the lack of graded homework assignments, I’m concerned that students are not learning at the level we expect them to. For example, are a majority of the students able to meet the “learning outcomes” as stated in the course outlines?
After reading the student comments from 2009, I am recommending that Nick assign “graded” homework assignments for all his courses and make them a part of his course grade.
Comments from Faculty Member.
The difference between the PS 103.01 and PS 103.02 classes was that the former was an 8:00am class and there was a high level of absenteeism.
With regard to the graded homework, based on my past experience, whereas some students make an honest effort to do the homework, the vast majority do not and worse copy the homework solutions from other students or other sources. I do offer extra credit problems which I do grade, and they are included as part of the course grade, but the response rate is low, only a few students actually attempt the extra credit problems. It is their choice, I can not force them to solve problems outside of class.
Date Discussed:
______Faculty Member Signature Department Chair Signature