Course Evaluation for Biostats VHM 801 at AVC - Fall Semester 2018

The purpose of this questionnaire is to summarize the student's experience of the course, as an aid for me (Henrik, the instructor) in the planning of the course in the future. Your answers will be entirely anonymous, unless you choose to identify yourself. Completed forms may be put in my mailbox (Health Management, 3rd floor North) or given to me directly anytime before or after the exam, as you prefer. Upon receipt of answers from at least 6 students, I'll post a summary of the responses on the web page.

General questions

Utility of different course parts

(scale for utility/usefulness/benefit: 1=little, 2=some, 3=considerable, 4=high; for the relative utility, give a percentage for the utility of each part of the course, so that the percentages add up to 100%, e.g. 20% for each part)

Course part	Worst thing(s) about	Best thing(s) about	Utility	Relative
			(1-4)	utility (%)
Lectures	.	.	.	.
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Lab sessions	.	.	.	.
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Textbook	.	.	.	.
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Web page	.	.	.	.
(incl. solutions)
Home assignments	.	.	.	.
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Overall	.	.	.	100%
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Comments:

Course benefits

If your last assessment was 1 (little), please state previous course(s):

Course workload and difficulty

	Assessment (1-4)
Course workload (compared to other 3 credit courses)	.
Course difficulty (compared to other 3 credit courses)	.

In addition: indicate which 2 of the statistical methods you found most difficult:
descriptive statistics, probability, statistical distributions and random variables, normal distribution, binomial distribution, one-sample analysis of continuous data, one-sample analysis of discrete data, two-sample analysis of continuous data, two-way tables, one-way ANOVA, two-way ANOVA, linear regression/correlation, non-parametric methods in general, sample size calculations.

Comments:

Statistical software

	small, would not use	some, would maybe use	considerable, would most likely use	high, would most certainly use
Familiarity with Minitab	.	.	.	.

Comments about Minitab:

Specific questions

• The distribution between lecture and lab time reflects the instructor's view that things are best learnt by doing them (under guidance). One drawback of only two scheduled lecture hours is that some material is reviewed quickly, other material is deferred to the labs, and some (optional) material is not reviewed at all. Do you think the length and coverage of material in the lectures was appropriate?

  
  

  
  

• One relatively new part of the course is the review of "Summary Worksheets" from the Stevens (S) book, for most of the course topics. This year they were mostly used in the lab sessions, but occasionally reviewed in the lectures instead. First, do you think these reviews were beneficial and should be kept in future runs of the course? Second (if yes), do you think these reviews are most efficiently done in lecture time (thereby taking away time for new material), or in lab sessions (thereby taking away time from your work with problems), or should they even be moved to the optional lab review sessions?

  
  

  
  

• The lab sessions are intended to give students (first) experience with the statistical methods introduced and the statistical software by solving a range of introductory/simple exercises. The initial part of the lab session included brief summaries from the lecture, often some additional lecturing, and software demonstrations. Do you think this part of the lab sessions worked well? (If your answers are different for the different parts, please separate them.) Any suggestions on how to make this initial review part more effective would be welcomed as well.

  
  

  
  

• Continuing on the lab sessions, do you think the second part with individual work on problems was effective in understanding concepts and getting software experience? Additionally, do you think this part of the labs would benefit from more structure (and hence less freedom for students to use the time as they wanted)? Some possibilities for added structure in lab sessions could be compulsory group work with small group presentations, or a summary review of selected problem(s) (beyond the summary worksheets); if you have opinions about any of these ideas or other suggestions, please indicate. When thinking about this question, be aware that a change of structure in lab sessions does not mean that less material will need to be covered.

  
  

  
  

• The course material was expanded moderately in a couple of ways during the last years, including more comprehensive media links as well as summary notes for almost all lectures. The course also, as in previous years, included Minitab project files for all teaching sessions. I would be interested to get a sense of how useful these materials were for the class. Please indicate on a 4-point scale (1=never used; 2=used little but didn't find too useful; 3=used some and found quite useful; 4=used a lot and found very useful) your evaluation of each of these specific parts of the course material:
  1. media links (separate page at course website)
  2. summary notes (one additional page of each lecture handout),
  3. Minitab project files (separate page at course website).

  
  

• After having tried the system with a choice between multiple textbooks for a few years, it is relevant to consider whether this system should be continued or replaced by an alternative. Please indicate which of the following options you think would be preferable for the course next year:
  • The 8th edition of IPS (allowing for 6th and 7th editions as well),
  • The 3rd edition of PSLS,
  • The S book, with necessary supplements,
  • Keep the current system allowing for choice between textbooks,
  • Other suggestions -- give details:
    

  Additional comments to motivate your choice, or on the use and choice of textbooks in general, are welcomed as well, including which textbook you actually used.

  
  

  
  

• One issue that generated a fair bit of discussion (and confusion) during the course was the access to Minitab software (beyond the computer lab). I would be interested in knowing how/where you used Minitab in the later part of the course (after initial uncertainties were resolved). Please select any of the following options that applied to your situation (for the entire course, and the out-of-class course work, e.g. home assignments):
  • I used Minitab in the AVC computer lab (218S),
  • I used Minitab on the computer at my desk/carrel within AVC/UPEI,
  • I used a trial version of Minitab on my personal computer,
  • I used Minitab on my personal computer after it had been made available through ITSS,
  • I used another version of Minitab (i.e., not Minitab 18),
  • I used another statistical software than Minitab.

  Additional comments about access to Minitab would be welcomed as well.

  
  

Any other comments:

Many thanks for your help!
- Henrik