Thanks to everyone for completing the survey. I want to share the results and make some observations.
QUESTIONS 1-9, RATE THE HELPFULNESS OF VARIOUS ACTIVITIES.
Data. I converted the ratings into a numerical scale from 4 = Extremely Helpful to 0 = Not At All Helpful. I calculated the average “helpfulness rating” for each question – the results are presented below, with the questions listed in order according to their rating.
| Question | HELPFULNESS RATING 0-4 (Extremely Helpful = 4, Not at all = 0, Don’t Know = not counted) |
| Lecture | 3.8 |
| Professor answering questions in class | 3.8 |
| Email contact with Professor | 3.7 |
| WeBWorK assignments | 3.6 |
| Group Work in class | 3.4 |
| Office Hours | 3.1 |
| Working with peers (friends, classmates, other students) outside of class. | 3.1 |
| OpenLab Assignments | 2.8 |
| Tutoring at CityTech | 2.7 |
Observations. First, it’s interesting to see that the top two items are about me talking to you in the room. I am curious to see if this shifts over the rest of the semester as a) the course becomes more challenging, and b) you have more opportunity to work with one another. We’ll see! The relatively low helpfulness rating for OpenLab assignments is not too surprising, as these are designed to supplement and contextualize the course content rather than contribute to it directly – however, I will put some thought into changes that might be made here (you will find, for example, that a number of the future OpenLab assignments will directly support completion of your class project). I will also put some thought towards the timing of office hours, as I know the current schedule conflicts with other courses.
QUESTION 10, WHAT COULD BE DONE TO IMPROVE YOUR EXPERIENCE OF THE COURSE.
This question was short answer, but most of the responses fell into just a few different categories, summarized here.
| Top Categories | Number of responses |
| I’m happy with the class as it is | 7 |
| More advanced examples in class | 2 |
| More group work/more problem solving in class | 2 |
| Other | 3 |
Observations. The biggest news here is that most of you are pretty satisfied with the class so far. That’s great! But don’t get complacent, and don’t hesitate to give feedback or ask for help as the semester continues, especially as we begin to explore proofs in earnest. I’ll take the comments regarding examples and group work on board as I’m planning future classes.
I plan to revisit this survey later in the semester, and I look forward to seeing how the responses compare. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in a comment here or send me an email.
Best regards,
Prof. Reitz
