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Student Feedback

Here's some student feedback taken from the course's student evaluation forms. Students' evaluations were anonymous.

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• PHYS 201 - Introduction to Physics
  Ohio University - Summer 2006 and Summer 2007.
  
  
  • Summer 2006:
  • "Good enthusiasm and upbeat. Getting the general concepts was very clear. Sometimes it was too fast, although I understand the time constraint."
  • "Dr. Dias is always available after class to answer questions. He's very knowledgeable about course materials. Demos are awesome! I  suggest you use less the green writing on the overhead-it's hard to read at the back of the room".
  • "Physics has many interesting aspects but some I have a hard time wrapping my mind around. Lectures were very helpful to understand the context and problems of the chapters."
  • "I like the demonstrations. I feel they help me see what's going on and I often remember those concepts better. In-class problems do not correlate with the difficulty of the homework.".
  • "Dr. Dias definitively knows his Physics, but one should also understand that this is a beginner Physics level. I understand that it is an accelerated class but OK, should consider when a lot of students in the class are having a difficult time he should try and change the approach or slow down in the speed of the material".
  • Summer 2007:
  • "In-class demos helped to have visual proof. Those are the things I remember/learned the best. I liked when you used the board instead of the projector."
  • "Demos were very entertaining and helped get a better understanding of the subject. In-class problems were very helpful when studying for what's on exam or CAPA homework. I suggest you use terms easier to understand in a 5-week course that trying to know the little details."
  • "It is helpful for me to see problems worked through before I try them myself as well as guided practice in class."
  • "I really liked the layout of the lectures. I liked that prof. Dias would explain the concept and then show an example of it. Many teachers don't always follow up with an example. For a visual learner as myself, I need the example to understand the concept. Board work: sometimes a little too fast. I think Dr. Dias just gets excited about the problem and starts solving it faster that we can follow. Handwriting is clear. In-class demos: I have more trouble with the concept so those are a good way to demonstrate them so visual learners like myself can understand."
  • "Lectures were clear and well organized. Because of this, I was well prepared for the tests. I loved the demonstrations, especially the beach ball and Bernoulli's principle. Feynman would definitively approve! I really enjoyed this class and I didn't think I'd like Physics. Thank you."
  
  My Answer: Thank you for the comments. I'm glad the in-class demos helped illustrating the concepts (I'm still a long way from filling Feynman's shoes, but thanks for the reference!). I understand summer courses can be a bit overwhelming: there is a whole quarter's worth of material to cover in 5 weeks so it can be fast-paced at times. Some of the problems we do in class are indeed not as difficult as those in the homework assignments: that's because sometimes the goal there is to illustrate the concepts I've just taught with a simpler example so that we can build from there. Thank you for the other suggestions as well.
  
  

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