Galen T. PickettAssoc. ProfessorPhysics and AstronomyPH3-103
California State University Long Beach 1250 Bellflower Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90840-3901 (562) 985-4934 vc (562) 985-7924 fax
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Analysis of written comments:
At the time of the evaluations, there were 109 students enrolled in
the class, and 66 filled out evaluation forms. Of those that filled
out forms, 41 had an extra written comment to make about the course.
Course Pacing/Online Content Many
students had comments linking the online material I've made available to
the class to the overall pacing of the class. I've been experimenting
with WebAssign freeware for this course, and I've continued to make my
lecture notes available for free download. There are still rumblings
that the course is paced too fast, and frankly it probably is. There's
a lot of material to talk about in this one semester course, and only 2
hours of lecture/week to get to it. I think I've found a pace that
is acceptable to most (but not all) students, at the cost of dropping only
one or two subjects that I've been able to talk about previously.
Policies: One way
I try to accomodate students to the pace of the course is to maintain
policies for late homework. The homework in the course is a set of
experiments, many of which can be adapted to an elementary school setting.
My feeling has always been that doing the assignment is much more important
that doing it on time. Further, as these are experiments that I want
students to be able to *reproduce* if they want to, I make it worth their
while to do the experiment *correctly* by allowing students (up to a final
deadline) to turn in their corrected, graded assignments for full credit
if they manage to address my criticism.
Written Comments from evaluations:
1. I thought this was an excellent class.
Having the notes available online allowed
me to focus on the lecture rather than furiously copying notes the whole
time. I also felt that the grading was
fair, with satisfactory expectations.
2. Thank you for making the course clear and
manageable. It is refreshing to have a professor who really takes
students' opinions into consideration. Have a great summer!
3. Overall, this course was difficult.
I think you did a great job presenting the
material -- but there just wasn't enough time. You had to go through
everything so fast which made it difficult to understand. The problem
isn't you, its that classtime is so limited. The only thing that
I can suggest is perhaps you can sell a packet of your classnotes at the
bookstore. Not mandatory to purchase, but have it available for students
to buy at the bookstore, and also keep them available online, too.
4. You are such a nice teacher -- thanks
for all the extra credit opportunities, and
best of luck to you in the future. :)
5. I feel that you are a very good instructor
as well as fair. Maybe all assignmnets
should be due the day of the final or mention the due date plenty of times
because I did not realize they were due today.
6. This class is very interesting and you
have given me many simple ideas for experiments for my future students.
The last exam essay question was difficult. In classpractice or even
an assignment would be a great help. Thanks, :)
7. The lectures were effective for learning,
especially the demos! Maybe think about
a mid-term deadline for the take-home experiments. I know a few people
who were scrambling at the last minute to do *all* of the THExp's.
Good job, Prof. Pickett.
8. Your method of teaching is excellent.
One suggestion that I might make is to review the questions in the book
(chapters) after finish discussing that chapter in class. That way,
students can be reinforced right away and apply their knowledge that they
just learned to different problems.
9. I benefited greatly from the
online chapter questions and lecture notes you post.
Also, have the use of notes and books really
assisted me during the exams. I also really appreciated your willingness
to answer questions after class and via email.
10. Good class!
11. I personally think that you are a wonderful
teacher, it is just that the material is hard to learn. Good
job and thank you!
12. Mr. Pickett, I really enjoyed your class although I'm not too
much of a science fan. But, you did a great job at presenting the
information very clearly. I really liked your
homework policy. I just wish I would have taken advantage
of it. I hope you have a great summer and thank you.
13. The notes are sometimes hard to read.
14. Perhaps it would help to suggest doing THExp with classmates,
assigning partners, because I had a hard time figuring a few of htem alone
-- it would have been helpful to compare data before I turned them in!
15. The labs should come either at the same
time or after the material is covered in lecture. It is too confusing
to figure out what it is that you are doing, and why. Internet
notes are good, as is allowing time to return
THExp. Need clearer book!
16. Mr. Pickett is a good and effective instructor. The
idea of putting the lecture in the internet was great. I never
missed anything in the class. My suggestion is to give a quiz after
every chapter so the students will be able to understand each material.
Because the material is too much, and sometimes overwhelms the students.
17. I really like how the professor made his
notes available on the internet. However, I would prefer the note
maybe to be printed out and sell for a low price at the bookstore because
sometimes I forgot to print them. I
also like how I was able to redo the labs correctly when I did it wrong.
18. Grant this man tenure! He is helpful and very approachable.
I walk away from a science class and have actually learned.
19. I believe that some of the material presented was too technical
for non-science majors.
20. Couldn't see the slides most of the time
and I was 3 rows from the front.
21. The exam coversheets were a great help,
but then our tests are based on how well we can utilize the information
*you* gave us, instead of studying for ourselves.
22. A very nice guy. :)
23. I want to thank you for all the extra
credit assignmnet opportunities. Science is not my number
one subject of choice, and my grade would not be the same w/o all the extra
credit points. You are a very understanding professor, and kind to
your students. I also appreciate you allowing me to make up an exam
when I didn't make it to class. Thanks for being so understanding.
24. I enjoyed this class a lot. I thought all was fair w/
everything. I have told people to take this class next year because
it is well worth it and the info is presented in an understanding way.
25. You are an awsome physical science teacher. This class
is very tough but you make it exciting, funny, interesting, and give students
a chance to do well even if they were to not succeed on the first exam.
Thank you for a great semester. Good luck in the future.
26. Instructor spent too much time on basics of concepts.
Could have and perhaps should have focussed more on the more difficult
concepts of each chapter.
27. The notes posted on the website were helpful.
I like the open-book exams.
28. I really think it is a good idea to let
our test be open notes. Professor Pickett is being very realistic
in letting us use our resources because realistically in life and the futurewe
will look at our notes and resources for guidance, not just simply have
everything memorized. I think the labs should concur with
the lecture material so the students may be on the same page and can see
first hand what is being taught.
29. He is an excellent professor. He is very intelligent and
has a wealth of information to share. He is also approachable and
willing to help at all times. If I had to make a suggestion, I would
reccommend more tests that didn't cover so many chapters at one time.
It is too much info to study for at one time.
30. Overall this was a great class! Challenging, but good.
Your website really helped. It was very convenient
having the notes posted. Also, thankyou for replying to the
e-mails so efficiently. You are one of the best professors I've had
so far. :) A suggestion ... maybe you could go over the mathematical
concepts more. Like the essay question on Exam #2. I felt that
was the hardest, calculating newtons, joules, etc. That would help!
Thanks for being great!
31. This class was organized very well, Prof. Pickett was so helpful
and willing to answer all of my questions to help my understanding of the
subject.
32. -Some sample questions to help out wiht the test -Shorten the
length of the test because the time is not enough to think especially the
multiple choice questions -Test questions should be a little simpler since
we have to do the lab and take home experiment.
32. The online notes and quizzes were very
helpful. Allowing open books/notes helpful
as well.
33. I like the fact that all of the lecture
notes are accessible through the internet. I
also appreciate that there is no strict rules on turning assignments in
late. The cover sheet on the exams are also helpful when taking the
exam. Overall I enjoy your class, but maybe you could be a
bit more interesting. Thanks.
34. I learned a lot in this class and I like
how you give extra-credit. I think you give many opportunities
to pass the class with a C or better. I don't have any suggestions,
but good job!
35. Professor Pickett is extremely brilliant. He is a great
professor, but this class was extremely difficult, especially for a 100-intriductory
course.
36. You are a superb teacher! Thankyou for explaining everything
throughly and making yourself available for contact. The course objectives/
proceedures were reasonable to me. The material itself was somewhat
challenging, but (for someone who is horrible in math and science!) its
SUPPOSED to be ... we're in COLLEGE! Thank you so much!
37. I like the way the class is. I think you need to spend
just a little bit more time on explaining the difference between the 2nd
and 3rd law, because I was confused for a long time until after exam II.
38. I love the extra credit opportunities.
I also liked how the tests were open book/ notes. Physics
is a hard subject but you made it very bearable. Great job.
39. Professor Pickett, You did a great job with this course.
Although I think the time period of the class was a factor of my attention
span, overall your explainations of the material was through and your assignments
help reinforce the topic or course objectives.
40. I thought your class was very interesting. I really enjoyed
the class and thought that Dr. Pickett had an excellent dedication to his
students and his teaching. I thought the class had a great layout
of material and Dr. Pickett explained the material well.
41. Mr. Pickett's class was a great experience. He is a wonderful
and helpful teacher. I admire how dedicated he is toward his work
and his students.
last updated: June. 16, 2005
