SUMMARY OF QUESTION 5 FROM THE SUPPLEMENTAL COURSE EVALUATION

Some of the factors that were positive for some students were obstacles to learning for others. For a few students the very wide spread of student backgrounds detracted from the course. Still for several it was the lack of structure. Specifically each of the following was cited by some student as a problem:

Too quick use of new terminology and/or proofs.

Too many problems.

The wide disparity in student backgrounds and knowledge of mathematics ¨ Intimidation by more experienced groups

Lack of clear instructor feedback on student performance (relative to criteria for pass/fail or grade).

Lack of a lecture format or thorough introduction to (new) concepts

Lack of instructor guidance in how to do problem solving

Grouping students by "math background" ¨ Requirement of annotated problem submissions

Lack of structure

Set as opposed to changing groups

The most common criticism offered by students was a lack of structure. It goes without saying that in most, if not all, of these students' previous classes the design of the course was predictable: daily lectures by the instructor, a certain percentage of their grade from homework, a percentage from the midterm and a percentage assigned to the final. The problems on the midterm and final would be just like those demonstrated by the instructor in class, illustrated in the text and practiced by the students on their homework. The organization of this course was radically different and this was unsettling to the students. No percentage was assigned to submitted problems or the final substituted by an ambiguous criteria of sufficient demonstration of effort and growth. Each problem submitted by a student was returned with a personalized written response but no numerical grade. The response did make clear whether the problems was partially right, entirely correct, or totally off track. This was clearly disturbing and probably also indicates a lack of trust in faculty, probably developed over time through previous experience. At UCSC the written syllabus and course introduction, laying the distribution of credit for a course is typically treated as a "contract" and that was lacking in this course.