Physics Lab Survey Examiner; Wilfrid Laurier University Department of Physics and Computer Science

Today's Date is 2024-04-25 17:37:17

This is the survey for PC300 from 2014 F term.

Q 1	The lecture quizzes were
at a reasonable level of difficulty	a good test of important concepts	both of the above	neither of the above
0	4	5	0	0
0%	44%	56%	0%	0%

Q 2	The pre-lab requirements were
good preparation for the labs	a reasonable requirement for the marks assigned	both of the above	neither of the above
5	0	4	0	0
56%	0%	44%	0%	0%

Q 3	Did preparing for the lab ahead of time help you in the lab?
Yes, it saved time in the lab.	Yes, it helped me understand what to do in the lab.	both of the above	neither of the above
2	3	3	1	0
22%	33%	33%	11%	0%

Q 4	Including reading documents or watching videos about how long did you spend each week preparing for the lab?
Less than 15 minutes	Between 15 minutes and 1/2 hour	Between 1/2 hour and 1 hour	More than 1 hour	It varied greatly, from a few minutes to more than 1/2 hour.
2	4	1	1	1
22%	44%	11%	11%	11%

Q 5	Being required to demonstrate things in the lab was
useful to summarize important sections of each lab	a good way to have part of the lab mark assigned	both of the above	neither of the above
2	0	7	0	0
22%	0%	78%	0%	0%

Q 6	The post-lab questions were
well-chosen to test what was learned in the lab	reasonable to be able to answer after doing the lab	both of the above	neither of the above
1	0	7	1	0
11%	0%	78%	11%	0%

Q 7	Keeping a lab notebook was
a good idea because it kept all important information in one place	easy to learn to use productively	both of the above	neither of the above
1	0	7	1	0
11%	0%	78%	11%	0%

Q 8	Using the lab notebook for quizzes was
helpful for the quizzes	good for helping to know what to write in the notebook in the labs	both of the above	neither of the above	The notebook wasn't really needed for the quizzes.
1	1	7	0	0
11%	11%	78%	0%	0%

Q 9	The lab notebook summaries were
a useful exercise	helpful for tests and quizzes	both of the above	neither of the above
2	0	6	1	0
22%	0%	67%	11%	0%

Q 10	Creating building blocks as a post-lab exercise was
more useful than writing a lab summary	helpful for the project	both of the above	neither of the above
2	1	3	3	0
22%	11%	33%	33%	0%

Q 11	Performing simulations as a post-lab exercise was
more useful than writing a lab summary	helpful for the project	both of the above	neither of the above
2	0	1	6	0
22%	0%	11%	67%	0%

Q 12	The emphasis on modularity when designing and building circuits was
very useful	helpful for the project	both of the above	neither of the above
3	1	4	1	0
33%	11%	44%	11%	0%

Q 13	The lab web page was
organized and easy to follow	better than having a printed lab manual	both of the above	neither of the above
2	0	7	0	0
22%	0%	78%	0%	0%

Q 14	I clicked on the optional links.
almost never	rarely	fairly often	almost always
2	2	2	3	0
22%	22%	22%	33%	0%

Q 15	I was helped by the optional links.
almost never	rarely	fairly often	almost always
0	4	3	2	0
0%	44%	33%	22%	0%

Q 16	I watched the videos.
almost never	rarely	fairly often	almost always
0	3	3	3	0
0%	33%	33%	33%	0%

Q 17	I was helped by the videos.
almost never	rarely	fairly often	almost always
1	3	1	4	0
11%	33%	11%	44%	0%

Q 18	The lecture notes posted online were
helpful to follow	more useful than the actual lecture	both of the above	useless	unnecessary
5	0	3	1	0
56%	0%	33%	11%	0%

Q 19	The lectures
provided useful background for the labs	provided sufficient background for the labs	both of the above	neither of the above
3	1	5	0	0
33%	11%	56%	0%	0%

Q 20	In some lectures, I showed videos as part of the lecture. What did you think of that?
The videos were usually a good addition to the lecture.	The videos were usually a waste of time.	The videos were usually good, but could have been watched some other time.	I don't remember any of the videos.
8	0	1	0	0
89%	0%	11%	0%	0%

Q 21	There's no required textbook for this course. How do you feel about that?
I would have liked one would have bought one if it covered most of the topics in the course.	I might have bought one if it covered some of the topics I didn't understand well.	I might have bought one if it seemed to be a good reference book.	I wouldn't have bought one this year because the lecture material was sufficient.	I never buy textbooks unless they're needed for assignments, etc.
0	2	1	5	1
0%	22%	11%	56%	11%

Q 22	What do you think about the split between theory and practice in this course?
The course has too much theory.	The amount of theory is OK, but it's not clear how this will fit with other courses now or in the future.	The course is too much practice and not enough theory.	The amount of practical material is OK, but it's not clear how this will fit with other courses now or in the future.	The mix of theory and practice seems about right.
0	0	0	1	8
0%	0%	0%	11%	89%

Q 23	I feel comfortable figuring out how to use an unfamiliar device from the data sheet.
disagree strongly	disagree	neither agree nor disagree	agree	agree strongly
0	1	1	5	2
0%	11%	11%	56%	22%

Q 24	I feel comfortable building circuitry to produce a desired range of output voltages from a sensor.
disagree strongly	disagree	neither agree nor disagree	agree	agree strongly
0	0	2	4	3
0%	0%	22%	44%	33%

Q 25	I feel comfortable building circuitry to control a DC motor or relay from any type of input.
disagree strongly	disagree	neither agree nor disagree	agree	agree strongly
0	0	1	4	4
0%	0%	11%	44%	44%

Q 26	I feel comfortable using operational amplifiers in various configurations as needed.
disagree strongly	disagree	neither agree nor disagree	agree	agree strongly
0	0	1	4	4
0%	0%	11%	44%	44%

Q 27	I feel comfortable combining sensors, actuators, and other components as needed to produce more complex circuits.
disagree strongly	disagree	neither agree nor disagree	agree	agree strongly
0	0	2	4	3
0%	0%	22%	44%	33%

Q 28	I thought that the lab project was
at a reasonable level of difficulty	a good way to bring together important concepts	both of the above	neither of the above
1	2	6	0	0
11%	22%	67%	0%	0%

Q 29	Lecture quizzes
nothing	5 or 10%	15 or 20%	25 or 30%	more than 30%
0	5	3	1	0
0%	56%	33%	11%	0%

Q 30	Pre-lab online quizzes
nothing	5 or 10%	15 or 20%	25 or 30%	more than 30%
0	4	4	0	0
0%	50%	50%	0%	0%

Q 31	Pre-lab requirements (other than online quizzes)
nothing	5 or 10%	15 or 20%	25 or 30%	more than 30%
6	3	0	0	0
67%	33%	0%	0%	0%

Q 32	Lab demonstrations
nothing	5 or 10%	15 or 20%	25 or 30%	more than 30%
0	5	4	0	0
0%	56%	44%	0%	0%

Q 33	Lab notebooks and postlabs
nothing	5 or 10%	15 or 20%	25 or 30%	more than 30%
0	3	4	2	0
0%	33%	44%	22%	0%

Q 34	Lab project
nothing	5 or 10%	15 or 20%	25 or 30%	more than 30%
0	1	0	2	6
0%	11%	0%	22%	67%

Q 35	A written final exam (which doesn't exist now)
nothing	5 or 10%	15 or 20%	25 or 30%	more than 30%
9	0	0	0	0
100%	0%	0%	0%	0%

Q 36	Many of the labs had parts that were geared to the project, such as using op amps with a 7.2V supply. Was that worthwhile?
Yes, I referred to a lot of those things for the project.	A bit; one or two of them were useful for the project.	Not really; the project was pretty much a new thing.	I never noticed that anything from the labs was geared to the project.
4	4	0	0	0
50%	50%	0%	0%	0%

Q 37	The possibility of demonstrating sub-tasks for the project early
helped me break down the project into modules	made it easier to schedule my work.	Both of the above	Neither of the above
0	1	5	3	0
0%	11%	56%	33%	0%

Q 38	Having crossover between different courses (eg. combined PC300/PC319 project; A/D and D/A lab in PC364 and PC300)
reduced the workload for the term.	made the connections between the courses more obvious.	Both of the above	Neither of the above
2	0	3	2	0
29%	0%	43%	29%	0%

Q 39	Did the similarity in format and expectations to the PC/CP200 labs help you in these labs?
Yes, quite a bit.	Yes, but only a little.	No, but neither one seemed very hard.	No, this was like a completely different endeavour.	I didn't take PC/CP200.
7	0	0	1	1
78%	0%	0%	11%	11%

Q 40	In order to improve teaching beyond my own courses, I'd like to be able to share the results of these evaluations with other instructors, students, etc. May I have your permission to do that?
Yes, I'd be glad if any improvement could come from this.	Yes, this is anonymous enough that I don't mind how the results are used.	No, this isn't anonymous enough for me to be comfortable with the results being shared.	No, even though this is anonymous I don't want the results to be shared.
8	1	0	0	0
89%	11%	0%	0%	0%

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