NS 260	Fall '95
CALCULUS I	Ken Hoffman
Format:	Lecture
Approx. Class Size:	12
Surveys Returned:	12
Enrollment (yr):	1st:6; 2nd:2; 3rd:3; 4th:0
Prep.Time/Wk (hrs):	Avg: 13; Range: 6-25

So what did Ken's students think of his calculus class? One student wrote, "A lot of assignments - beware! It's time consuming." Of course, any calculus course should be difficult, but Ken's wasn't just any calculus class. Ken helped design the text book that was used in the course and his teaching style was an experiment, a new approach to calculus. He certaintly cares about his students and the subject he is teaching. As one student noted, "He adjusted his requirements to individual students and was genuinely interested in students." In many cases, he encouraged students to modify their homework assignments to fit their given interests. There is little doubt that the students responded to this positively. One wrote, "There are few flaws in Ken Hoffman's teaching. He works to understand how each student takes up information and explains it in a way that they will understand. He is always willing to help. In fact he will drop what he is doing if students are getting frustrated."

The general excitement of the course was certainly balanced by the class workload. Ken supplied the class with a TA that spent time at night working with the students. Still, the students expressed that a single teaching assistant was not enough and many ended up spending hours waiting to receive help.

This course was amazing because of the instructor and his obvious love for the material. Yet this course requires more time than most students expect to funnel into a single study. Although it is entirely worthwhile, students should come in with the expectation that they will need to give this class the time and effort it deserves and not come in hopes of just sliding by. One student scribbled next to 'always' response to the question of class attendance, "It's very important to - one of those 'you miss school . . . you miss out.'"

NS 285	Fall '95
THE SCIENCE OF AIDS	Michelle Murrain
Format:	Lecture with Lab
Approx. Class Size:	20
Surveys Returned:	8
Enrollment (yr):	1st:5; 2nd:4; 3rd:0; 4th:0
Prep.Time/Wk (hrs):	Avg: 6.5; Range: 1-20

Most of the students in this course praised its content and the teacher's style, but complained that a small group of students hindered constructive discussion.

Michelle was said to have a clear, concise style that was easy to learn from. Her understanding of science allowed her to keep the curriculum up-to-date and relevant and she offered the students a wealth of resources. Many respondents commented on her laid-back, easygoing manner and willingness to modify expectations and deadlines; however, some felt it almost bordered on "apathy." One student said "she was lineant to our presenting style," and if they got away with spelling and sentence structure like that, she surely was. Similarly, she was said to modify the syllabus willingly, though a number of students said the course structure was preset and had no need of modification. One person commented "Wow! Extremely challenging, fascinating, well-taught and informative."

The course materials were almost universally praised as current and useful, though some felt the reading was quite heavy and could have been more focused. Some respondents suggested that the course might have been difficult for those without a background in biology. The class discussions were probably the aspect of the course most consistently derided. Discussions frequently strayed from science into social issues. Worse, a few students dominated discussions with emotional, ignorant attacks. One student said "the class dynamics were awful, with a few students using it as a platform to vent their frustration at the world." Given the subject matter, this may not be surprising, but it proved to be the main complaint most students had with the class.

NS 381	Fall '95
ADVANCED TOPICS IN TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY	Brian Schultz
Format:	Lecture with Lab
Approx. Class Size:	6
Surveys Returned:	4
Enrollment (yr):	1st:1; 2nd:0; 3rd:1; 4th:1
Prep.Time/Wk (hrs):	Avg: 7; Range: 3-20

Extraordinary freedom and self-reliance characterized this six-person DIV III study course. It would be ridiculous to carry on a full critical discussion seeing as how there is an information deficit - only four responses were received. Also, this appeals to such a select group of people that no one would bother taking it other than fourth-year Advanced Ecology students, who would sign up for the damn thing regardless of what it says in this little book. So with the limited insight we have, we'll carry on a brief, vague analysis.

Brian was a lot of fun. He was very approachable, interested in the students, and easy to learn from. All the work in this course was hands-on and highly interactive, such that everyone was encouraged to modify the class to suit their own needs and to apply the information to their individual studies. The field work and material was consistently described as excellent.

The problems mentioned were that Brian was sometimes difficult to communicate with, the prerequisites were not properly stated, the explanation of statistics wasn't thorough and there was not enough writing. That's all we have.