If you haven’t yet taken this History of Life class survey (distributed in class Dec 11), or if you misplaced your copy, please print this out and return it to class Dec 13th. If you can’t (or couldn’t) bring it on the 13^th, please bring it to the final exam. (In theory, you could also just save it as a text or Word file, fill it out on the computer [using “v” to mark the scales (e.g., from 1 to 5)], and email it to rmr16@cornell.edu.) Thank you!

Here is the survey:

I would like to ask for a little of your time to help improve this course for future students. While you will receive a general survey from Ithaca College on Thursday the 13th, I have some more specific questions on which I would be grateful for your feedback. This survey is anonymous. Thank you very much for your time and thoughts!

Please indicate your year: __freshman __ sophomore __ junior ___ senior

On the scales, please circle a number or put a hash mark along the scale (or a “v” if you type it).

Example: 1--------------------2-----------v----------3---------------------4-------------------5

Please compare this class in the following ways to “typical” classes you have taken at Ithaca College:

Relative to typical classes you have taken, this class has been:

1--------------------2---------------------3---------------------4-------------------5

much more work

somewhat more work

about the same amount of work

somewhat less work

much less work

1--------------------2---------------------3---------------------4-------------------5

much more difficult to do well in

somewhat more difficult to succeed in

about the same amount of difficulty for succeeding

somewhat easier to do well in

much easier to do well in

1--------------------2---------------------3---------------------4-------------------5

conceptually much more difficult for me to understand

conceptually somewhat more difficult for me to understand

about the same degree of conceptual difficulty

conceptually somewhat easier for me to understand

conceptually much easier for me to understand

Media Projects

Did the “media projects” increase your awareness of different forms of literature in the field of science (for example, original scientific research, commentary for other scientists, reports for the general public)?

1---------------------------------2-------------------------------------3

much

somewhat

no

Did the media projects increase your awareness of the potential differences between the original scientific report and the kinds of news that are written about it, for example that you might see in a magazine or newspaper?

1---------------------------------2-------------------------------------3

much

somewhat

no

Did the media project help increase your awareness of the amount of news materials in general that are available on the Internet?

1---------------------------------2-------------------------------------3

much

somewhat

no

Did the media project increase your ability to analyze why certain scientific research is considered important and worthy of being reported to the media?

1---------------------------------2-------------------------------------3

much

somewhat

no

Did you find that reading literature of your choice for the Media Project was an interesting and educational experience?

1---------------------------------2-------------------------------------3

much

somewhat

no

Overall, do you think the media project was educationally a useful and interesting enough exercise to recommend that future classes do this project?

1--------------------2---------------------3---------------------4-------------------5

yes, definitely

probably, with minor revisions

perhaps, with a number of revisions

probably not, or would need a major overhaul

no, definitely not

Do you have any suggestions for improving the Media Project or other comments about it?

Peer-reviewed Research Projects

Receiving reviews:

Some people received reviews that varied significantly in detail, quality, and even opinions, and this might have seemed surprising, though it is typical of “real-life.” Some reviews may have seemed helpful, others not.

Do you feel that receiving reviews from peers rather than from the instructor helped you see your work with new eyes?

1---------------------------------2-------------------------------------3

much

somewhat

no

Do you feel that knowing that other students would (anonymously) look at and rate your paper prompted you to work harder to write a better paper? (or less hard)?

1--------------------2---------------------3---------------------4-------------------5

much harder

a little harder

the same as always

not as hard

much less hard

Giving reviews:

Do you feel that reviewing papers written by others helped you to think more critically about how others see your work, and thus will potentially improve your own work?

1---------------------------------2-------------------------------------3

very true

a little true

not true

Did you feel the quality your peers’ papers you reviewed were:

1--------------------2---------------------3---------------------4-------------------5

much higher than you expected

higher than you expected

about the same as you expected

lower than you expected

much lower than you expected

Other issues:

Did you find that doing a report on a topic of your choice for the Research Project was an interesting and educational experience?

1---------------------------------2-------------------------------------3

much

somewhat

no

Did you find having access to reading over 80 papers from your student peers to be interesting and educational?

1---------------------------------2-------------------------------------3

much

somewhat

no

About how many (if any) papers did you read other than the three you reviewed, simply out of interest?

Overall, do you think the peer-reviewed research project was educationally a useful and interesting enough exercise to recommend that future classes do this project?

1--------------------2---------------------3---------------------4-------------------5

yes, definitely

probably, with minor revisions

perhaps, with a number of revisions

probably not, or would need a major overhaul

no, definitely not

Do you have any suggestions for improving the Research Project or other comments about it?

Documentary-based lessons

In the second half of the semester many of the lessons were based around discussion and analysis of popular documentaries on prehistoric vertebrates (mostly dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles). What was your opinion of this with respect to educational effectiveness (relative to other “video-less” lessons in this class)?

1--------------------2---------------------3---------------------4-------------------5

much more effective than standard lessons

somewhat effective than standard lessons

about the same as standard lessons

somewhat less effective than standard lessons

much less effective than standard lessons

Do you have any comments about the videos?

Do you have any comments about the structure of lessons in general (with or without videos)?

Exams

Do you prefer exams with open-ended problems with written solutions (like the first 6 problems on the mid-term, and the take-home question), or exams with multiple choice and true-false questions (like questions 8 to 25 on the mid-term)?

1--------------------2---------------------3---------------------4-------------------5

much prefer written problems

prefer written problems a little more

about the same

prefer multiple choice and T/F a little more

much prefer multiple choice and T/F

Did you answer the previous question (about preference for type of exam questions) based on the educational experience, based on where you feel your talents lie, based on the work involved, or based on intrinsic difficulties of scoring well with those kinds of questions.

Summary

Overall, which aspect(s) of the course do you think will benefit you most educationally (if any)? [could be content, could be a way of thinking about things, could be awareness of something like Internet-based literature, could be experience or method such as peer-review, etc]

What, if anything, do you feel you are more likely to read or otherwise learn about in the future because of taking this class?

Which aspects of this course would you add to or expand?

Which aspects of this course would you contract or delete?

Which aspects of this course would you improve?

Theoretically speaking (that is, if theses courses existed), would you consider taking any of the following courses in the future? (Whatever you may have thought of The History of Life, assume for the sake of these questions that these courses would be of high quality)

Science of Earth Systems: How the Earth works, and history of the Earth

(offered as the same sort of class to satisfy science requirements as The History of Life)

___ Would have considered it, but I’d have no opportunity with my future schedule and class requirements

___ Would not be interested

___ Might be interested

___ Would definitely be interested

Global change: Significant changes to Earth and life in the 21^st century

(offered as the same sort of class to satisfy science requirements as The History of Life)

___ Would have considered it, but I’d have no opportunity with my future schedule and class requirements

___ Would not be interested

___ Might be interested

___ Would definitely be interested

Paleobiology: Theoretical issues in paleontology

(offered as a class in the Biology Department)

___ Would have considered it, but I’d have no opportunity with my future schedule and class requirements

___ Would not be interested

___ Might be interested

___ Would definitely be interested

Thank you again for your input!