ASSESSING%20TEACHING%20METHODS%20FOR%20A%20COURSE%20IN%20NUMERICAL%20METHODS

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• Student Satisfaction Results
• Students were given a survey to gauge their
  satisfaction with the course. A Likert scale
  (1Truly Inadequate to 7Truly Outstanding) was
  used, and open ended items asking for feedback
  about the course and materials (e.g., what could
  be improved) were asked.
• The instrument contained 24 selected response
  items that addressed satisfaction with, and
  utility of, resources falling into the following
  categories Reading Assignments, Class
  Presentations, and Problem Sets, with eight
  questions developed for each item.
• The mean ratings of the Likert items on the
  student satisfaction survey did not show notable
  change over administrations but were consistently
  strong, typically averaging between 4.0 and 5.5.
  
• The three open-ended items on the instrument
  asked students 1) In what way can the reading
  assignments be improved for the class? 2) In what
  way can the class presentations be improved for
  the class? 3) In what way can the problem sets be
  improved for the class?
• In general, students tended to be very positive
  in their comments, often replying that they did
  not see a need for improvements or that they
  enjoyed the class.
• Respondents to both the question about improving
  reading assignments as well as the question
  addressing class presentations tended to indicate
  a desire for more examples, including real-world
  applications. When considering comments provided
  about the problem sets, again, many students
  expressed overall satisfaction although there
  were some who expressed a desire for availability
  of all solutions.
• These results indicate that student achievement
  is consistently growing as modules are added to
  the course website.

• Student Performance Results (Continued)
• The results statistically show no significant
  differences (using a Type 1 error rate 0.05)
  among semesters (X² 11.14, p 0.1938) in
  student ability as measured by MPGPA.
• The results of the two-factor ANOVA using
  semester and MPGPA to examine student performance
  indicate that the semester the course was taken
  and MPGPA are significant predictors of student
  performance in all components of the final exam
  (all results were interpreted using an a0.05).
  However, the interaction between semester and
  MPGPA was not statistically significant in the
  upper, lower, or total final exam scores.
• The Tukey tests on the upper Bloom, lower Bloom,
  and total final exam questions indicated that the
  Summer 2007 class significantly outperformed
  students in both the Spring 2005 and Summer 2004
  classes.
• The upper Bloom questions also indicated students
  in the Spring 2007 class outperformed students in
  the Summer 2004 section, significantly. The
  Tukey tests on the lower Bloom questions had
  similar results with students in the Spring 2007
  section outperformed students in the Spring 2005
  section.

• Conclusions
• The results of this study provide strong and
  consistent evidence that the introduction of the
  various technology-based resources into this
  course is providing notable assistance to
  students.
• Student performance over the past five semesters
  examined in the study show increasing gains.
  This coincides with the introduction of more
  modules and resources into the course through the
  website.
• Students consistently mentioned that they used
  the materials in addition to class presentations
  to help them learn the course materials. The
  availability of the materials through the easily
  accessible website permits students and faculty
  access to these class resources at any time and
  in various forms.
• The availability of materials in various modes
  (e.g., notes, simulations, practice assessments,
  videos) provides users with a wide variety of
  teaching tools that address different learning
  styles.