BL A260
Human Physiology, Prof. Stark
Fall 2010
Assessment Report
Material from the assessment form that was administered is
in plain text.
Student
replies and material added during analysis is in italics.
This is the course assessment, not the teacher evaluation;
those are administered by the department, are on-line, and are anonymous.
Please reply to this e-mail by typing your replies in the appropriate places.
In the event that you have comments you insist on having anonymous, write or
print your comments and put them in my box.
My
interpretation of the history of assessment
"Assessment" in Missouri spread after the mid
1980's "Value Added" program of Northeast Missouri State. It was
originally intended "to reliably evaluate the quality of educational training."
In April, 1998, SLU's Biology Department adopted a policy of having graduating
majors take the Graduate Record Exam, interpreting "assessment" as
"program assessment." On September 21, 2000, "each faculty
member" was charged to "develop an outcome assessment tool." At
this time, the interpretation was one of "student outcomes
assessment." In December 2002, "course assessment" replaced
"student outcomes assessment;" faculty were directed to collect
information used to change or improve the course in keeping with SLU's web
blurb on assessment [http://www.slu.edu/opdr/SLU_Assessment.html]
("Assessment results are utilized to improve courses and
curriculum"). There is a link to the assessment reports I have prepared
since assessment was mandated at SLU:
http://starklab.slu.edu/CV/Assessment.htm
In addition to being useful to me for teaching this course
in the future, BME (the Department of Biomedical Engineering) makes use of this
information for its accreditation.
Here are the stated objectives of the course:
BL A260 Human Physiology was created in 2004 by chairs of
Biology and Biomedical Engineering (BME). It is the third and final biology
requirement (after BIOL 104 & 106) for BME students. BME majors
successfully completing Human Physiology will know systems physiology
(homeostasis, circulation, respiration, digestion, nervous system, etc.)
comprehensively at a level that does not have those prerequisites (biological
chemistry and cell biology) needed for biology students.
"The course fulfilled these objectives."
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.23
"I learned a lot in this course."
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.38
Comments:
Material was
covered very effectively throughout the semester.
Knew a good
amount of material before class.
There was a
lot of information presented in the course at a very good pace. I learned
a lot, and all of the information seemed relevant and applicable to BME.
Probably one
of the most interesting biology courses I have ever taken.
I would have
said strongly agree, but there is a lot of material that I fear can be
forgotten once the final is over (if the information isn't used much in future
work).
"This Human Physiology course is a good requirement for
BME students."
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.31
Comments:
I learned a
lot pertaining to my career goals as a BME, for
example, how
all of the systems interact with each other.
Not only was
material from the textbook presented, but there were also outside articles
presented. All of this information seemed relevant to BME.
"BIOL 104 was a useful course for BME students."
(If not, what should be done?)
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.75
Comments:
I learn
better in a smaller class. I believe there should be
a separate
freshman biology section for BME students, like this
physiology
course.
BIOL 104
went through a lot of information that was important to learn. However,
it would have been nice to have a class like physiology which was composed of
just BME students so that topics most relevant to BME could be emphasized.
It was good
in giving a good overall background in biology but it may be more productive in
the future to have a BME specific introduction course.
"BIOL 106 was a useful course for BME students."
(If not, what should be done?)
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=2,2,2,2,2,2,2,1,1,3,3,3
Comments:
The coverage
on plants, communities, and evolution are all completely irrelevant to BME
majors.
I learn
better in a smaller class. I believe there should be
a separate
freshman biology section for BME students, like this
physiology
course.
it was
just really hard to take withall of the other challenging classes
BIOL 106
went though important information, but not all of the course content seemed
applicable to BME.
Did not give
any relevance to our field and for most was just a pre-med or graduate school
requirement. Again a course that could go into more depth about the human
body and the role BMe's play in the treatment of it.
.
"The selection of topics for emphasis was
reasonable."
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.38
Comments:
All of the
appropriate topics were emphasized.
"The level of the textbook was appropriate."
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.54
Comments:
Diagrams and captions helped me to
further my understanding
of the given topic.
Textbook was
at a good level and had good diagrams.
but no need
for textbook...besides looking at pictures
"The level of the lecture coverage was
appropriate."
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.38
Comments:
we
covered a lot of material but it was all very relevant
Covered lots
of information in lecture at the appropriate pace.
While I
believe all of the information covered was
important,
there was a lot of memorizing to do for the final.
"Having outlines on the web was useful."
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.27
Comments:
This was
incredibly helpful because I could read the outline
as the
teacher was talking instead of trying to write down every word
he said: a
much more effective way of learning.
it really
helped with studying try to suggest future students to get the online version
of the textbook to correspond with the notes
Outlines
from website were extremely helpful. I really liked how they were all
posted at the beginning of the semester so that you could access any of the
lectures at any time and prepare for class. The links to outside websites
on the outline were also useful.
Sometimes
the outlines did not match the lecture and were often a little disorganized in
terms of the coherency of the information on the outline when compared to what
the prof was saying in class.
Sometimes
things are worded in a confusing way, but overall the notes are useful.
"Having applicable test questions from the last three
years on each outline helped for learning and for studying for tests."
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.23
Comments:
The test
questions were very useful and helped a lot with studying.
this
was my favorite part of the course i actually enjoyed doing them
It is often
difficult to study for a test if you don't
understand
the format. The test questions gave me a good understanding
of what to
expect on test day.
"Having figures and condensed portions of the outline
on PowerPoint presentations was appreciated."
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.17
Comments:
PowerPoint slides
were easy to view, and the figures presented were always helpful.
this
really helped me learn but maybe try to put the transparencies as a hyperlink
or make it accessible after class
Figures are
a great way to visualize what you are learning.
"Having lecture sound recordings on-line as PodCasts
was appreciated."
1. strongly agree 2. agree 3. disagree 4. strongly disagree
Average=1.38
Comments:
Probably the
most helpful part of the lectures since it was impossible to write everything
down while the lecture was going on.
I wish that
I had discovered the value of the podcasts
earlier in
the semester. Listening to them for the third exam really
helped me to
absorb the information when I heard it for a second time.
You can also
pause or rewind in case you didn't hear it clearly the
first time.
The PodCasts
were extremely helpful. The PodCasts always helped when I was reviewing
my notes from class and realized that I had missed something in my
notes. It was so easy to open the PodCast and listen to the lecture to
study.
These were
useful for classes that I had to miss because of traveling!
i
would agree for some students but i preferred to just listen to the original
lecture on that day
Especially
for those days when I am absent. However, in my mind, an uploaded PowerPoint
would be a good addition.
Make a statement about the relevance of SLU's 5 dimensions
to this course and its assessment
(http://www.slu.edu/opdr/Five_Dimensions.html)
Related
to "Scholarship and Knowledge"
this
course helps me understand the body so i can find cures in the future to
benefit mankind and cure the sick
Only
Scholarship and knowledge is relevant to this course.
Scholarship and knowledge, intellectual inquiry, and
spirituality and values are all relevant in this course. The first allows
the student to master his/her field. The second is achieved by giving the
student tools to ask more profound questions (although, there is not much room
for enhancing communication skills in a lecture course). The third is
relevant to the course when it comes to ethical issues.
N/A
The
first two dimensions were fulfilled by this course
Are there any topics you would like to be added to the
syllabus in future years?
I felt that
the topics covered a sufficient amount of information.
There were
not any syllabus additions or deletions I would make, everything seemed to be
placed just right
Not that
I can think of.
I think the
class covered a wide variety of topics, there are a few topics that we could
have gone more in depth into but I think that because of time, the topics
selected were appropriate for the class
No
More brain
No.
All of the topics covered were excellent.
the
vision lecture was my favorite
I
think we cover an appropriate amount of information and adding any other topic
would prevent the depth of coverge we
Maybe it was
because I couldn't locate it correctly, but it would be helpful to have the
powerpoint slides (not just the outlines) online because having those
pictures/graphs that are shown in class are not easily obtainable online (or at
all?)
Are there any topics you think should be reduced or
eliminated?
No.
Nope!
Hormones
could be reduced. Too many to really retain.
break up the
endocrine lecture because its so much information and probably the hardest
material to understand
No
Nope, great
course with a great instructor. I was able to read the teaching philosophy of
this professor on his personal website and was thoroughly impressed with the
approach and teaching style of the professor. Overall very satisfied with the
course.
No, I think
all the topics we covered were important.
I didn't
like the order in which the information was presented. It
seemed to
jump around quite a bit. I would recommend going in the
order of the
book.
Information
There were
29 students. 17 were sophomores, there were 8 juniors, 1 freshman, 2 senior,
and one with no degree or level.
One was
listedas, as deciding, one was
called no degree, two were electrical engineering. The rest were BME
In keeping
with previous years, the course was curved generously (at 3.06 this year). For
each test and for the course grade, the lowest grade was C-. The best exam
scores were usually near 100%. The generosity of the curve is witnessed since
the lowest exam scores were around 20%. It is not my intention, while teaching
a service biology course for BME students, to grade in a way that has a negative
impact on BME retention. Importantly, the fact that some students have low
scores indicates that mastery of this course material is challenging. That many
students do well consistently indicates that this challenging material is
presented so that it can be learned.
Plan for next year:
(1) It is clear
that only fine tuning will be necessary and these comments are useful.
(2) Students
should be given a lesson up-front on how to find the text¹s figures on line.
(3) I should
scan and link the dozen or so transparencies from the introductory biology book
that I show.
(4) The
endocrine lecture should be broken into endocrine, signally transduction, and
possibly one other topic.
(5) The
comments on the 5 dimensions suggest that these students consider the 5
dimensions to be irrelevant for science courses.
(6) A low
score concerned the usefulness of Bio 104, although BME students want their own
section, the Biology Department simply does not have the resources for that.
(7) The
lowest score concerned the usefulness of Bio 106. I will initiate discussion of
dropping this requirement.
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or
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Physiology Syllabus (Information Page)
this page was last revised 1/20/10