Survey research and design in psychology/Admin/Evaluation/2011

2011

Open text comments for Unit Satisfaction Survey, Survey Research and Design in Psychology, 2011

Best aspects?	Needs improving?
I am sure James did his best to teach me what I should know at the end of this unit, but I am not sure that I learned everything I was supposed to. I love that James put the tutorials onto YouTube. I would not have been able to do my report without those tutorials.	I had problems with why we do things the way we were meant to. I could follow the steps to get the answer but then could not work out why or what that meant. I don't think that was the material or the teacher. I kept waiting for the penny to drop and I don't think it ever quite hit the floor. Not looking forward to the exam.
The Drop-in tutorials were helpful, and the website was well organised
James is passionate about the topic and tries hard to make a dry subject engaging. He is also very approachable. Enjoyed the assessment items.	Tutorial times were not the best
The amount of online resources such as wikiversity etc were really helpful but incomplete, teaching staff were accessible the extra tutes and the drop in tutes were helpful	The assessment spread was really bad. Going into the final exam the only marks available were from the quizzes, I understand the lab report marks couldn't be available but perhaps if there was a mid-term exam. The quizzes were so frustrating with marks being cut into thirds or more. The lectures were boring and there was too much time spent rehashing the previous lecture. Also because of lost time often slides were skipped over- either work the summarising of the precious lecture into the time allotted or edit/delete unnecessary slides. I stopped going to tutes because they were slow paced and weren't organised well. I did well on my previous 2 stat units but after the first couple of weeks of this one I knew that I would be struggling with the way in which the material would be delivered. The lecturer rambles and speaks in a monotone voice. But my biggest problem was the assessment structure and the mark allocation in the quizzes
The drop-in tutes were very helpful, providing a forum for discussing individual issues and getting some guidance. James also made it clear to students that there was no such thing as a stupid question - very encouraging and reassuring. The supporting material on wikiversity and UC space was also very helpful, particularly the sample lab report write-ups and HD lab report example. The screenshots of the tutorials were also helpful.	Some of the lectures, particularly early on, seemed poorly organised. Large amounts of key material was skipped as the lecturer ran out of time. This was not a pacing issue. The amount of material in the slides made the chances of covering it within the lecture time very low. It would've been more helpful if the more important material was prioritised. Instead, in one of the early lectures for example, more time was spent explaining concepts relevant to the lab report (a key assessment item for sure but these points would have been more understandable and useful later on in that process) than in explaining concepts tested in the first quiz. While the screenshots were great, some step by step guides to tutorials (similar to the tutor's for tute 2) would also be helpful.
Lectures focused on highlighting important elements of the readings, and clairified important aspects to apply to the lab report. Marking criteria was in alignment with what was expected to prepare and present the lab report.The availability of lectures online was helpful and convenient.Quizes provided a good way of learning and keeping up with the content each week.	N/A
James our lecturer was very helpful and patient when dealing with student questions. I appreciated the weekly drop in tutorials, along with the extended ones before the lab report was due. I was happy with the mode of delivery and assessment task. I appreciated James's comment that there is 'no such thing as a dumb question' - a view that is lacking in other disciplines (Education units).	I was upset at myself for forgetting to do one of the quizzes and losing 2% of my total mark. Although there were reminders put up on Moodle that the current quiz was about to shut, I still managed to forget. Maybe a safety net of one quiz doesn't count where the marks for your best quizzes are calculated would take the pressure off a little bit.
The lecturer was very approachable, and helpful with assessment. The skills I have learned are useful. The lecturer worked hard to make the unit easy to understand and entertaining.	The textbook was too complicated and detailed for the amount of information we needed to know.
Lectures were well run, Tutorials did help	Didnt like the 3 weeks for each quiz, seemed a random amount of time and never could easily know when i had to do one by. Maybe every 2 weeks, or during the tutorial. Also the fact that 82% of the assessment was at the end seemed to cause a lot of stress in not just myself but others within the unit, maybe a mid semester exam may have broken up the marks just that bit to create less stress
The online resources on Moodle were excellent. Easy to access and understand and very well-organised. Lectures were very informative and everything was explained in a clear way which made a big difference to me personally as stats is my weakest subject Lab Report assessment was really interesting Lecturer (James) was extremely accessable and replied to student queries really quickly	The tutorials could have been a little more helpful. I found the teaching style in my tute too rushed and things were not explained as clearly as they could have been so I didnt get much from them that furthered my understanding of the program we were using
great moodle site - plenty of information available, podcasts were extremely helpful for the lab report, help available for the lab report was fantastic! exam tested material taught, lab reports tested knowledge base, and assessment timing worked really well. having quizes open for longer was helpful.	Howell text book was not very helpful.
James Neil is a very, very good member of staff, and a terrific teacher. This is a very difficult unit, however due to Neil's tireless efforts, I was able to make sense of it all. His responses to email questions are fast, clear and effective, the information he makes available for students is, easy to understand, and very comprehensive. His lecture notes provide excellent examples of difficult concepts, and make everything so much easier. Neil goes to great lengths to provide good information on any concepts not covered in the textbook. He also provides some excellent 1-on-1 time with students, which I found to be useful indeed. The unit is near perfectly organized, with the structure and methods in classes being exactly what students need in a unit such as this. I am very happy with this unit.	James Neil, while very good with online information and lecture notes, does seem to lack some confidence when actually giving the lectures. Though I will make it clear that this was NOT a big issue, and the lectures were still very much an enriching process. Also, perhaps better textbooks are needed, as these ones seems to lack a number of key concepts that we studied this semester.
The unit had excellent delivery and organisation, with a very high level of student support, especially regarding lab report tutorials/parties. Thanks for putting in so much effort.
lecturer and tutors were very willing to help.	I personally hated wikiversity and sometimes found it overwhelming when trying to navigate it.
James is very organised and puts alot of effort into wikiversity which helped me alot while completing the lab report. Thank you James! Lab report marks were given back very quickly and before the exam which was very good.
	For the amount of work needed for the lab report I think the word limit should be greater. As there is just too much to put in to be able to get good marks and not enough words.
Stats in general is a good subject. It was a lot better with (name removed)	When is the university going to get rid of James. I understand that he attempts to present stuff in a way that is interesting but it comes across absolutley vile. Demonstrations about condoms and vagina's are just creepy especially when you consider the instant liking he takes to some students and not to others which boarders on unprofessional. His tutor also had a catch phrase of 'oh thats too hard to explain, we will just skip that'. James put a fair bit of effort into the stats party which was good but I have had him previously and to be honest I felt too uncomfortable to ask for help due to his unprofessional nature with some students. All in all it is another big fail to James. Evey since enrolling in psych I have heard the myth about James 3rd year stats class and how it fails compared to years 1 & 2. Seriously give James a rest and bring back Janie or Navjot. James is nothing but an urban legend that haunts stats and most of the female students
The lab report was immensly difficult assignment and one that I personally put a lot of time and effort in to. To recieve a Distinction made my effort seem worthwhile and helped me to know that if I persevere I can accomplish even the most daunting of tasks. The amount of information available for the unit was very helpful and the open tutes nearing the end of the semester for lab report help were a fantastic idea!	Its such a hard topic, especially for people who are not naturally gifted at maths or science that it would be hard to improve or make it enjoyable. Its just one of those subjects you have to muddle through, work hard and do your best.
Interesting material. Good use of Web 2.0. Tute quiz format was good.	Its such a hard topic, especially for people who are not naturally gifted at maths or science that it would be hard to improve or make it enjoyable. Its just one of those subjects you have to muddle through, work hard and do your best.
Interesting material. Good use of Web 2.0. Tute quiz format was good.	Too much focus on Lab Report.
The content was difficult but the lecturer put a huge amount of work into helping everyone to understand the content.	I think the unit is good as is. Maybe improvement on computers a lot of broken ones in the pyschology rooms during peak of assessment
the lectures and drop in tutorials were fantastic. James was very approachable and keen to make sure his students understood what was required in terms of assessment criteria. Made stats interesting!	some sort of assessment item mid term to give an indication of how we are going would work well. The text book (Howell) wasn't helpful... maybe consider Andy Field's text- that really helped me understand some of the more complex components.