Replies to Mid-Year Feedback Questionaire 2001/2002 School of Crystallography, Birkbeck College, University of London

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Mid-Year Feedback Questionnaire (emailed out to students 20/3/02)

Individual Student Replies - Round brakets ( ) around name(s) indicate "anonymous" feedback(s).

Nicki Alison Agron-Olshina
(Lars-Erik Briggner)
Josef Bursik
(Christy De Meyer)
Fraser Sinclair Rowan
Zhanhui Yuan

Collated Replies

Average hours per week spent on studying course material

< 3	0
3 to 5	3
5 to 7	1
7 to 9	0
9 to 12	1
> 12	0

Level of the course material

Too low	0
A bit low	1
About right	2
A bit high	2
Too high	0

Quality of the course material

Very poor	0
Poor	0
OK	1
High	4
Very high	0

Pace of the course material

Too slow	0
About right	5
Too fast	0

Easiest topic (release) and hours

1. Internet Skills	< 1
2. Introduction to Powder Diffraction	< 1
2. Introduction to Powder Diffraction	1 to 3
2. Introduction to Powder Diffraction	1 to 3
11. Qualitative Analysis	1 to 3

Hardest topic (release) and hours

7. Symmetry II	5 to 7
7. Symmetry II	9 to 11
9. Symmetry III	< 5
9. Symmetry III	9 to 11
14. Symmetry IV	7 to 9

Course work (assignments)

Very useful	4
Useful	1
Not useful	0

Student-tutor interactions

Very good	0
Good	1
OK	3
Poor	1
Very poor	0

Printing

Yes, in colour	3
Yes, in black & white	1
Sometimes	0
No	1

Screen setup

1024 x 768 pixels (XVGA) with 24 bit / 65k colours

1024 x 768 pixels (XVGA) with 16 bit / 65k colours

800 x 600 pixels (SVGA) with 32 bit / True colour

800 x 600 pixels (SVGA) with 32 bit / True colour

Not sure

Downloading/access problems

Yes	1
No	4

Other comments:

• More real XRD laboratory examples to illustrate some of the concepts would be helpful.

  Perhaps a problem set should accompany each release to help the student integrate the concepts into a framework of practical application. Problems should start off rather simple and progress to the more difficult and challenging.

  Too much time passes between submission of assignments and receiving feedback. I really do miss having real time tutorials to discuss topics but I realise this is not possible in a Web-based course.

• Perhaps a faster respons on the Assignments
• I would say (as a chemist) that the use of mathematics in teaching could be higher. I would like to learn more about it.

  At the same time I would appreciate if as a part of the course would be added a kind of mathematical references (besics of vectors, complex numbers, Fourier anal., a.s.o.).

  I would appreciate, if the thema of the Project would be connected (if it is possible) with problems that students solve in their profession.

• Note to the question what topic is the hardest: I found all the releases on symmetry harder then the other releases so far. But the way they are handled is very good."

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