1. Remove the (un)popularity contest aspect from the questions and focus on the success, or lack thereof, of the teaching-learning interaction.

2. Remove the informationally vague questions of the form:  "on a scale of 1 to 5 ... ".

3. Design questions requiring a written response, relativized to the context of the course, and focused on the success, or lack thereof, of specific important aspects of the course structure and methodology.

4. Include a thread of student self-assessment running through the chosen questions, in order to help the students do a little self-reflection as opposed to merely complaining, while transferring the responsibility for all problems to the course and instructor. 

Select a Question:  1. , 2. , 3. , 4.  or 5.

1. Describe how the Mastery TASK System has either helped or hindered your math learning.

I failed to reach Mastery score one time this semester, but I was able to retake the test [an Encore version] and I scored 100%. Being able to retake that one test raised my overall performance % by 5%. 

I liked the Mastery TASK System. It helped with the tasks. If I didn't reach the required mastery level, I looked at what I missed and could study that part more than I did before. 

It helps my math learning because it forces you to try harder. I know I had to pass these tasks with a decent grade, therefore I'll study harder to make sure I pass it the first time around. 

I think the TASK System is great for learning. With the small Tasks, studying is more focused, and more is retained. I feel like I have retained more in this class because it is impossible to cram at the last minute like in classes with large Exams. The Task System also relieves a lot of stress because even if I totally mess it up, I can do it over and still get a good grade. Since I am more relaxed while taking the tasks, I get better grades on them overall than in other classes. 

It improved my math learning because I wasn't required to learn something by a specific date. My point is that I was able to learn the material after the first task. And that is the point isn't it? The important thing is that I finally learned it and the Mastery Task system gave me the flexibility to do that. 

I think the Mastery Task System has helped my math learning immensely. If I messed up on a test one week because I didn't know how to do a problem, I was forced to go back over and learn what I missed. To this day, I still remember what we covered a long time ago, and this course really doesn't require that [directly]. I hope to see this in many other classes of mine because I feel it's very helpful in the learning process.

I believe that the Mastery Task System has helped my math learning. I am amazed at how well that I have done because I have never taken a calculus class before. 

I believe the Mastery TASK System has helped my math learning. Because we are only quizzed on one subject a week, I can learn the one subject better than if I had more to study. Also if I have a bad day or trouble understanding something I get a second chance. I really like having a second try if I mess up the first.

The Mastery TASK System has helped my math learning because it allows students the chance to learn from their mistakes by retaking a test over again. 

In high school I had a full year of Calculus which went into a great deal of detail, thus I was well prepared for this class. The new material presented was a bit confusing. I found it easier to memorize methods than to understand it. I like the fact that if I did poorly I could try again, it relieved stress and allowed me to perform better. 

I believe The Mastery TASK System has definitely helped me handle calculus. I was a little bit worried about calculus, considering my schedule (organic, anatomy), but the way the class is set up, calculus hasn't been bad. I feel like I've learned quite a bit, without the stress I would feel in a "normal" class. In other classes, I have a tendency to be more concerned with my grade than with what I learn--which defeats the purpose of education. In this class, the stress of doing well the first time was relieved by the fact that I could take an encore.

By having a task/quiz every week, I was able to learn piece by piece and was not forced to cram an enormous amount of material to prepare for several exams throughout the semester.

If you don't get the required points, you get a second chance--and if you don't get it then--it is averaged. It allows you to go over them again--(repetitious)--helps you learn--practice. 

The Task System is really great. It has helped by the weekly repetition of the tasks. Each task builds on the last one, therefore the learning of ideas depends on the tasks from the past. 

The Mastery TASK System has helped my math learning because it encouraged me to do well because I didn't want to have to take it again. So I learned it the first time and except for a few stupid mistakes (not reading carefully or multiplying right) I did pretty well.

I liked it because we had the chance to retake the tests that we did badly on. I liked how there was a minimum mastery level so we couldn't dip too low and blow it off. 

The task system has really helped my grade by 6.11 % points. 

Has helped a lot. Without the encore system, I won't have a second shot at a quiz (or Task) that I didn't do as well as I should have. 

I think that it has helped my learning in that Encores require the students to learn the material well enough to achieve the mastery level required.

Select a Question:  1. , 2. , 3. , 4.  or 5.

2. Describe how the Mastery TASK System has either helped or hindered your math confidence. 

I have great confidence in my math skills because of the course format. We have practice problems every Tues. and Fri. and also every Tues. there is a test. With having a test every week, I had to study every week and the more I studied the more I learned. With all the practice and knowing I had a chance to do better, if I needed to, I had great confidence in my math skills. 

I am confident now with all of the calculus that we covered. Through the computer classwork and the encores I feel confident.

It helps my math confidence because I study harder for these tasks. I can't just pass these tasks.--I actually have to do well in order to pass. 

My confidence has improved dramatically in this class. It is great to see whether you know an idea before the class goes on. In other classes, they go on, and I am left on my own to see if I understood or not. Since I feel better about my background, it is a lot easier to focus on new concepts. 

I boosted my confidence because I wasn't worried about flunking a task because I was able to take it over. That gave me less test anxiety and thus I was able to perform better in this system than I have in any other math course. 

Occasionally my grades were below the minimum mastery level and it got me discouraged at first. After my first Encore though, I felt extremely confident that I knew the material. Ever since then any recall of the previous Performance or Encore has been excellent.

The Mastery TASK System has helped my confidence because at first I thought that I would do very poorly in the class since I had not taken a Calculus class before. 

The Mastery TASK System has boosted my math confidence because I can see problems I have and can correct with an encore. 

I feel confident with math under the Mastery TASK System. I know that if I do not do well on a test, I will have the chance to retake it. 

Prior to this class I expected an easy A with my firm background, my confidence has been built by this class to the point that I am arrogant. 

Definitely helped--felt free to ask questions. 

By knowing that I could take an encore, much of the pressure was gone. If I happened to have a bad day or make a simple mistake, I could make up for it. And without the pressure I did well and I only took one encore and that one was by choice. 

It helps--because I CAN understand it and it helps my confidence in KNOWING that I can do it. 

It has helped because I know I am able to study the ideas used on the Tasks again and again. If I do bad on a task--I can try to learn those ideas a second or 3rd time, where as if I had a test every few weeks and I didn't understand an idea, I would never learn it because class would move on and my grade would not depend on the learning of the idea. 

The Mastery TASK System has helped my math confidence because I felt that if I didn't do as well as I wanted I could take the encore and bring up my grade. I felt this was good because it encouraged me to do beter the next time.

It has helped me. It feels wonderful to be getting an "A" in this class, especially knowing that I could have had a "B" without encores.

I have been able to stay more confident throughout this course because of my understanding of the information. By the task system you can truly work to achieve the grade you wish to receive. 

After doing the encore, I can nail down the concept for real. 

The weekly scores can either help or hinder you depending on your scores. A student with good scores will increase, where a student with poor scores will be very down on themselves. 

I am no more or less confident in math. 

Select a Question:  1. , 2. , 3. , 4.  or 5.

3. Describe how the interactive computer text has either helped or hindered your math learning. 

It shows, step by step, how to solve each problem. If I didn't know how to do a problem, all I had to do was work it out on the computer or I could check my answers on the computer. 

I liked the computer text. If I didn't know how to do something, I could go to the computer to help me out. It went step by step on how to do something. 

It helps because after you work the problems yourself you have answers to the problems and the steps on how to get to the answer. Also this doesn't have to be done in class. If you cannot master the information in class, you can use the computers in your free time without having to track down the teacher. 

The computer text hasn't helped me much in the class. The computer is great for doing problems, and checking my work. The program is weak in how it explains how to do the work I think the class discussions fill in the gaps that the program has, but in a perfect program, class discussions could be backed up by better text. 

It helped because I was able to see the examples performed by the computer and learn the basic concept then transfer that to my own work. 

The computer assignments showed me a new way of learning. I can learn by doing. It's very helpful. 

The interactive text helped my math learning in that it gave examples of problems that I could go back and review because most of the steps were shown. 

Interactive compute text was sometimes a problem for me. I like to have a textbook in my room so that if I have trouble I can study it. This wasn't always possible with the computer.

I liked the interactive computer text becasue it showed step-by-step processes better than a book can. 

I found the computers confusing and when possible, I performed operations by hand. 

Computer work enhanced the course--for one reason, it broke up the monotony of being in the same classroom. For another reason, it showed some of us "computer illiterates" some basic skills. Also, I saw how computers can solve these complicated problems but--if something goes wrong (i.e. system crashes) computers are useless--you need to do it yourself. 

I liked not working problems from a textbook. The computer forced you to look for patterns which is a different, yet very useful way of learning. 

The computer helps by showing the steps necessary to figure out the problems. 

The computer is O.K. It is a good checking of answer device--but it does not make a good substitute for a teacher teaching the class.

It helped my learning because it showed me how to do the stuff one on one. And if I needed help I could go back during the week and look at it again. Except when I couldn't get the computer to do what I wanted. 

The computer work helped me to understand. It had to be done, so it made me understand the material.

The computer forces you to learn on your own which is good. However, if a problem should arise it is harder to get help. 

This is very innovative and has taken away the fear of calculus (as it is always thought of). 

This type of system has helped my learning by using the computer. The computer does the work, but we have to learn how. It helps the student to look at how it does it, and not just regurgitate a formula.

I am computer literate, but I didn't like the computer text. At first it was more confusing than helpful. I still think copying off of a computer screen is less effective as a teaching tool than teaching it in class and doing written exercises. 

Select a Question:  1. , 2. , 3. , 4.  or 5.

4. Describe how the choice of course content has either helped or hindered your math learning. 

I was able to understand all of the course material, and I was taught the real-life applications of the material. 

The choice of course content helped me to learn about how long it takes drugs to absorb in the stomach. We discussed a little about why we would want different curves and why we would want certain drugs to absorb at certain rates. 

It helped learning because we did such a variety of things. Doing computer classwork first, then taking the task helps make sure you fully understand the information. 

I think the content of this math class has helped my learning because of the applications involved. I actually enjoy doing work when an answer seems to solve a problem like in this class. Since I enjoyed doing the work, I have learned more than in any of my previous classes. 

It has helped because the content is more pharmacy based applications. 

I took pre-calc in High School and haven't seen most of the things covered in this class. My math learning has increased as a result of this class. 

I beleive that the course content has helped my math learning, in that it was related to future real life situations in Pharmacy. 

The choice of content has helped my math learning. Most of the topics covered provided a review from high school calculus, but kinetics was something new. I learned about subjects I hadn't covered before that I will use later in my profession.

The choice of course content has improved and broadened my view of math. I know so much more now. 

Neither helped nor hindered. Very little of this material was new. I feel that some CCWs show how this applies to real life. 

The course content was good--math problems were even applied to drug dissolution. I liked using the math to get an answer to a "real" problem--not just plugging in random numbers for an arbitrary answer.

The course content was appropriate and I feel I learned an mastered basic skills required to pass the course. 

The content has helped me to understand derivatives, graphs, etc., which I believe will help in future classes like Physics. 

? 

The first half of the semester was review for me but the second half challenged me and made me want to learn. 

I think what we covered was relevant and sufficient. 

From my knowledge the course material is good for a calculus course. 

It is geared toward pharmacy course work, so we don't have to study hard core mechanics or engineering models. Examples of the Makoid-Banakar functions are useful.

This course gave a good overview of the basics of calculus and applied them to pharmaceutical situations. I learned a lot in this class. 

Select a Question:  1. , 2. , 3. , 4.  or 5.

5. What other recommendations can you make for improving this course?  Please explain your suggestions.

The computer class work was fine, but I also think that making students do a few problems [during the lab, and in addition to the weekly TASK], for a grade, without the answers would be effective also. This would ensure that the students were understanding the material and not just copying off of the computer.

I like the course the way it is. 

I think the course is good, but sometimes the answers to the computer classwork skips steps and then I don't understand how to figure the problem out. Otherwise, everything is fine. 

Make the text in Maple easier to understand. If this is done, the discussions and the text could back each other up so we know for sure what we're doing. 

Having the class on some other afternoon than Friday maybe earlier in the day. Ending at 5:45 PM on Fridays is just too late. 

None. It's perfect the way it is. 

I have no further recommendations. 

Perhaps cover more how to do some TASKs in class because sometimes I was lost on how to do things. 

Class earlier in day--> 4:30--6:00 class on Friday is very inconvenient. 

Maybe a little less computer work. 

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Don't depend so much on the computer to teach the ideas needed to be learned. 

Making a special time (quiz hour) for people that have to take encores so that you don't have to stay after class. 

I really can think of no suggestions--I enjoyed this class very much ! 

It is well thought out, as is. Maybe some extra  T. Assistant help in the beginning of the computer sessions would ease in the introductory hands on portion of the course.

Why should encores completely replace the old grade? Maybe an average of these two scores is more fair [as opposed to averaging only when the score goes down].

Eliminate the computer classwork because no one takes it seriously. Do more explanations in the classroom in lieu of computer work. 

 Select a Question: 1. , 2. , 3. , 4.  or 5.