crashwhite ap More. Better. Faster.
Teacher/Course/Text Evaluation Results
It's important for me to get feedback from students about the courses I teach and the way that I teach them. Despite the fact that I've been teaching for over 20 years, I always learn new things from the evaluations submitted. Often, suggestions from students are used to inform adjustments to the way the course is taught and managed.
In January, 2012, I asked students to complete an online evaluation form for the course. In this form, they indicated how strongly they agreed or disagreed with twenty-three statements, and had the opportunity to submit written comments on four additional questions. Evaluations were performed in-class and submitted anonymously via a web-based evaluation form, in exchange for several extra credit points.
Many thanks to my students for their honest feedback on these forms.
The results of the "multiple-choice" responses are summarized here:
| STATEMENT: | AVERAGE RESPONSE (n=32) 5-Strongly Agree 4-Agree 3-Neutral 2-Disagree 1-Strongly Disagree |
| 4. I enjoy taking this class. | 4.35 |
| 5. I learn a lot in this class. | 4.61 |
| 6. The information in this class will be useful in the future. | 4.00 |
| 7. This class is difficult for me. | 4.00 |
| 8. This class has a lot of homework. | 3.61 |
| 9. I complete homework assignments regularly. | 3.52 |
| 10. The textbook in this class is useful to me. | 3.39 |
| 11. The teacher in this class is useful to me. | 4.63 |
| 12. The teacher demonstrates enthusiasm for the subject. | 4.90 |
| 13. The teacher is respectful of students. | 4.29 |
| 14. The teacher wants me to succeed. | 4.55 |
| 15. The teacher presents course material in a clear manner. | 4.39 |
| 16. The teacher presents using variety of techniques. | 4.13 |
| 17. The teacher checks for understanding. | 4.10 |
| 18. The teacher is available outside of class. | 4.23 |
| 19. Class time is used effectively. | 4.13 |
| 20. Course objectives are clearly stated. | 4.23 |
| 21. Grading criteria are clearly communicated. | 4.35 |
| 22. Assignments are meaningful and reflect the course objectives. | 4.16 |
| 23. The labs are meaningful and reflect the course objectives | 4.13 |
| 24. The PowerPoint-based presentations in class improve the quality of the teacher's lectures. | 4.29 |
| 25. The PowerPoint-based presentation in class are effective in helping me understand the material. | 4.26 |
| 26. I prefer that the teacher lecture without the PowerPoint slides. | 1.61 |
Results from the "free response" questions are given here. Not all written comments have been listed, but the comments that are given are representative of what was received.
| 22. List a few of your favorite things about this class. |
I like the laid-back feel of the class, especially because the class can be intense at times. Your often humorous demonstrations and stories make the class fun and personal, and the speed tests and "pop quizzes" based on things like The Matrix add to that sentiment. I also love the labs--they're all fun, and the write-ups are much more realistic, meaning that they aren't so drawn-out and boring, to be frank.
I enjoy the in class lectures a fair amount.I really enjoyed the extra credit problems at the end of the quarters (they are fun problems). I enjoy the demonstrations in class and also think the homework is very reasonable and helps to solidify concepts. Practice tests are also really helpful. I LOVE THE CHALLENGE!!!! my favorite part of the class (for real) is that we are given extra credit for lots of stupid little things, so i always feel encouraged to do a little extra on the labs wherever i can. even even though the labs are fricken ridiculous, i love that we actually hafta think about stuff. I love the enthusiasm you have for the class. I also enjoy speed tests and the quirky stories you say every once and a while. The class truly is one of my favorites in all categories. My favorite thing about the class is how challenging it is for me. My favorite assignment this year was the extra credit, simply because we could work in groups and the questions were challenging enough to be interesting yet achievable (although #5 was really, really, really hard). The speed tests are really fun, and I think they're perfectly placed before breaks. I appreciate the restaurant review sessions and the practice tests - I believe they have significantly helped improve my understanding of the material and my test scores. Having the answers to the homework also helps, because it saves a lot of time while still allowing me to get the benefit of doing the problems or, at the very least, seeing the problems be done. My favorite parts of the class have been the labs, speed tests, and restaurant review sessions. I also like the convenience of having the Powerpoint lectures put online so I can review them later.Before the year officially started, I liked the video lectures, but I haven't seen any show up lately. Speed tests are fun. I also like working in groups. I think that the little tangents we go off on are very interesting and often informative. The review sessions are nice too. I also like how you are available on Facebook or email or Skype. I think that the lectures and the fact that you have the powerpoint presentations up online are a huge benefit. Also that you take the time to make the practices tests is really helpful. I enjoy the demonstrations in class because they are funny and helpful. Chipotle study sessions are awesome. I'm not a fan of staying the whole time, but it's nice to drop by, get something to eat, and ask a question or two. I also really enjoy the GoToMeeting video chats that we have, even if we don't talk solely about physics. Labs are pretty cool too and other in class demonstrations. I really like the demonstrations and I like that it is usually easy to pay attention during the lectures because you talk about things in a way that makes them interesting. The Chipotle review sessions are fun. I also love the videos.Oh and I really like how you are constantly calling on people during the lectures because it helps me stay focused. It seems like an obvious way to make sure we pay attention but it's surprising how many teachers never do this. I think the favorite things in this class so far are days doing the labs and the lab topics. The labs really allow us to think more in depth about the concepts we are learning about in class and experiment with materials like Logger Pro. I also like the impromptu teacher demonstrations that work and really help me visualize the concept being taught. I also like the daily learn ap physics problems. I also like that lab days are on long period days and that we have more time to complete the work. I really enjoy the portions of the class that force me to sit down and figure out problems I have no idea how to do, but have a sufficient enough foundation to make some sort of progress on. Don't get me wrong, it can be incredibly difficult. But difficult programs on the homework and even the lab really let me explore the subject, something I very much enjoy doing. Using real world videos and examples to calculate and observe hypothetical physics concepts. This includes labs as well as fun youtube videos. Chipotle nights are insanely fun. So far, I would say that the force and rotational motion chapters have been the most fun for me. I love the critical thinking aspect of physics in general. It is a very intuitive subject. |
| 23. List a few of your least favorite things about this class. |
I really like this class, so I hope none of these are too mean.... I do think we sometimes use time inefficiently, which detracts from understanding. Often, I'll see homework problems that I have no idea how to do (key example being the knight crossing the drawbridge), and because they don't appear on the test or AP exam, they really don't matter. I think that, because we tend to focus on procedures for individual problems rather than the broader applications of each equation, we get "stuck" on problems we haven't seen before. I also feel like many of the homeworks are wastes of time, as the often overly-complicated problems won't appear on our tests or the AP exam.
I think that sometimes the labs are too long and don't directly focus on the relevant subject material. Sometimes that homeworks are a tad too long. Additionally I think that the long lab (while the theoretical development was useful) was not the most efficient way to cover that material. good lord there is so much homework! but when i do it, it is actually helpful...so.... The tests are often the most disliked things in the class for me. The difficulty of some of the problems on some tests often throw me off despite the amount of preparation I have already put into getting ready for each exam. Although I understand that some of the most difficult problems simulate exact problems on the AP, I would like to have either seen these problems in class before taking an exam or getting a heads up before the exam. The tests can be extremely disheartening, and I think it would be helpful to make the practice tests a little more indicative of the problems on the test (I think the most helpful practice test was the one before the chapter 10/11 test because it gave a good indication of what was on the test itself). I also feel like we need to vary the in class time a little bit more - I often feel as though I start to get lost in the powerpoint around 70% of the way through the class. It would be really helpful to have more videos and practical demonstrations. My least favorite parts of the class have been the parts of textbook that were confusing,long homework assignments, and tests. I don't think any of the above are really exclusive to AP Physics class and are probably the result of the subject as opposed to the class itself. I dislike most of the labs, lab reports, long homeworks/homework problems that seem irrelevant to test material. Walking up here is a pain. I also feel that sometimes the labs are not totally in line with what we are learning at the time, so they sometimes re confusing. I also think that they don't really help me learn some of the concepts very well. Another thing that I dislike is that oftentimes I find the homework hard and end up looking at the answers, but not understanding how it got there. I think it would be helpful if maybe you included what pages in the book talk about those kinds of problems so that learning them would be easier. It's weird on Wednesdays having physics in the morning then in the afternoon. I would prefer to have the class in one sitting, but I guess this is more of a scheduling issue... I wish we could do more labs that are very interesting, as some of them are just mundane or have no use outside of a very narrow lab setting to demonstrate the concept. Sometimes I'm a little lost on the labs, but that might just be me. I also find this class to be extremely difficult, like one of the hardest I've ever taken, and it frustrates me but I don't think that's anyone's fault but my own :) Overall I don't have much to say in this area because I think the class is really good and I love it despite how hard it is. Long lectures without many demonstrations, hard to ask questions because I feel stupid when everyone else doesn't ask a question in class The lab procedures seem unnecessarily tedious to me. I feel like I understand the concept of the labs pretty easily but have to spend hours writing everything out. I wish that could be less time consuming. But I don't have any other major complaints about the class. Some days I wish people would stay more focused on the subject material and not get sidetrack, but other days I appreciate the relaxed, occasionally humorous atmosphere. I wouldn't want to take away from that. the Mechanical Universe videos, speed tests, not having time to go over homework everyday I do not enjoy the amount of nightly homework. I only have one least favorite thing, which is the lost time walking up to the class. Other than that, I enjoy basically everything about the class. It goes without saying that it is very frustrating when you reach a difficult problem on the test and that sinking feeling kind of sucks. It's always a challenge and that is something I really take from this class, immersing myself in a subject that intrigues me intellectually, but is frustrating to learn. It has its ups and downs, but in the end, it's a damn good time. Homework sucks. It takes up too much time and usually I just end up copying down stuff from the solutions guide. Whenever we go over homework in class, I usually slip into a gentle daydream... I did not like doing the big rolling objects lab because i felt that a huge majority of it was just doing time-consuming busy work that did not necessarily aid my understanding of the topic. |
| 24. Suggest some improvements to make the class better. |
I cannot think of any improvements to the course. Overall it is one of my favorite at Poly so far because it balances fun with education extremely well.
See, that's the thing. Yes, some of the labs could be more enjoyable, and possibly a little more freedom to craft our own protocol would be entertaining, but it's AP designated. Making the tests easier would help vaporize that sinking feeling, but it takes away the challenge. I would really just recommend more time for exploring the subject because even me, a student presumably going to pursue a major in Public Policy, can enjoy this thought-provoking subject. More time to really foster this curiosity would make the course all the more stimulating! something that could possible be changed are the instructional days. Be it a lack of time due to the long walk up or another reason, if possible I think it would be helpful if every class day there was a set series of HW problems that exemplified important physics concepts that we would go over. I know that we usually try to go over HW everyday, but sometimes it feels like we do not have enough time. Sometimes we spend a lot of time going over homework problems and other times we save homeworks to go over them later. If there was some chunk of time during the week dedicated to going over homework assignments, that might keep people more aware and on top of doing homework, and it would be a good opportunity to review while things are still fresh in our minds. I think we also need some sort of big, flashing sign to remind us to turn in our homework because I always forget. Perhaps take a bit more time to go over questions on homework For improvements, I think that we possibly should have days for just review of previous topics since I think that I might have forgotten some topics from the beginning of the year. Perhaps tweak the homework schedule to make it so that some days don't have students saddled with 7 long problems in addition to much of the other schoolwork from other classes If you were strict about not accepting late homework, that might help some of us get it in on time :)I realize that this is my responsibility though Making homework optional (or having a deal where as long as you can get above a certain percentage test average you don't have to do homework). Or not having to go to lectures when as long as you do the homework. The homework and the lectures to both take a lot of time and sometimes it's kind of redundant; I'd rather do one or the other. Not putting people on the spot to answer questions when it bothers them :P. Let classes in the future know about GoToMeetings at the beginning of the year. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I prefer these to actually going to Chipotle. I would say that these video chats are more helpful, but they don't serve me burrito bowls... The parts I dislike are mostly inherent or necessary based on the material, schedule, AP test ect. and cannot really be changed. Overall I think you are running the class very well under the restrictions on it. Not have class in trailers. More firing of potato guns. Read above comment as it lists some suggestions. Another thing I find would be an improvement is encouraging more group studying or group work. I think many people are scared of group work because of the very strict "plagiarism" talk we got at the beginning of the year. I find that studying with others or asking them for help is very beneficial. I think you should use the book less for homework and use more old AP questions for homework. That way we are more familiar with those types of problems for the tests as well as the AP. Like I said before, I feel that some of the homework you assign is not helpful for what we cover in class and usually leads to more questions not a better understanding of the subject. Note that these are distinctly different than hard problems. For example, if we see a formula we only use once on a homework problem, I think it is unnecessary. I really liked the original video lectures we had for our summer assignments. Those were very helpful in understanding the material. I think more of them would be better. Also, some of the powerpoint lectures have questions without answers or in one case, an AP question's answers were covered up. Since I use them a lot for review, having all the answers would be helpful. I feel like it is really hard to take notes for this class, because I keep thinking that it's unnecessary because I can always get the slides online, but a lot of the time, stuff that was written on the board isn't on the slides. I think it would be helpful if you posted the ppt slides on the website at the beginning of the unit so that students can print it out and take notes on the slides in class. The extra credit is extremely nice, and was a wonderful addition to my grade. I would have rather liked to simply have the tests graded on a curve and forfeited the extra credit or have everyone receive the same amount of extra credit rather than allowing those with lower grades to receive a larger amount of extra credit than those with higher grades. Although I did not notice, I have heard a general amount of complaint from people with initially higher grades being surpassed by people with initially lower grades due to the extra credit. A few things come to mind, like how you call on students and single them out, but when i think about it, if i didnt have that constant fear, i would almsot never pay attention. it does feel cruel, but ultimately it is hilarious and it DOES make me pay attention and try much harder to understand each concept in real time. one problem i have been having has been thaqt you are passing over calculus concepts that i havent learned because i am not in BC calc, but that is fair and i dont want you to take time away from the rest of the class to teach me concepts like that. I think the homework schedule could be more clear, particularly when we get a little behind. Additionally, I often forget to turn in homework because we're not asked to. This is my responsibility, but I think if you asked at the end of each class it would be nice.Also, I think we should spend less time deriving equations in each class--that's what the book is for in my opinion. I think we should focus more on how to apply equations so that we can do problems we haven't seen before. That would be a better use of time, in my opinion, than drawn-out mathematical derivations. |
| 25. Other comments? |
I very much enjoy the lecturing style.
Overall the class has been exactly what I have been looking for when I signed up for the course: a fun, exciting, yet practical approach to studying the science of mechanics. This class, although stressful, definitely is making me learn more than I thought it would. Sometimes I feel like you use too much time off topic. While it isn't preventing us from making it to our next class on time,it would be nice to get out early. Also, I don't understand the extended block before school. Shouldn't we be able to arrive 5 minutes late to all our classes if your going to add time in the morning? It doesn't make sense to me that we have to show up on time and come in earlier in the morning. That's an extra 15 minutes a week we have this class that wasn't intended. I say cut the first 5 minutes of each regular class. Meow. For what it's worth, I think you're very respectful to your students. One of my favorite courses. I really don't want to switch teachers...I think in the future, if possible, measures should be taken so that students don't have to adjust to a new teacher halfway through the year because they have already learned the first semester teacher's teaching and testing style. I like the subject material; I don't think it will be directly applicable to my future life (I'm going to do my best to stay away from calculus-related things) but that doesn't mean it's useless. I think the principles of how the world works--and the logic and thinking that goes into understanding them--are useful life skills to know. That's my motivation to learn this stuff. I think labs like the huge 15 page lab were really helpful in understanding the material before the test. Also the fact that we have practice tests are a huge help! Keep it up Mr. White. This course is the most difficult thing I've ever had to endure. But that doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed every minute of it. And that, well..., that's a pretty big accomplishment. Online study sessions are fun. I don't necessarily benefit from the too much because I end up browsing the internet and having fun with friends but I like to know that they are available to me. I have a lot of fun in AP Physics and am very glad I took the class! Mr. White is really funny. |