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Survey Results



Course Survey Results


Nodar   Sitchinava   ICS311, Fall 2015

Campus: University of Hawaii at Manoa Course: ICS 311 - Algorithms
Department:   Information& Computer Sciences Crn (Section):   71515 (001)    


1.   Class Level (pick one) - please note that by answering this question you could potentially jeopardize your anonymity

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Freshman (1)  Sophomore (2)  Junior (3)  Senior (4)  Grad (5)  Other (6) 
3.48 21 0.75   0(0%) 3(14%) 5(24%) 13(62%) 0(0%) 0(0%)
2.   Course - please note that by answering this question you could potentially jeopardize your anonymity

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Elective (1)  Required (2) 
2.0 21 0.0   0(0%) 21(100%)
3.   The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.82 22 0.39   0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 4(18%) 18(82%)
4.   The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.55 22 0.6   0(0%) 0(0%) 1(5%) 8(36%) 13(59%)
5.   The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.27 22 0.83   0(0%) 1(5%) 2(9%) 9(41%) 10(45%)
6.   The instructor was consistently well-prepared and organized for class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.59 22 0.5   0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 9(41%) 13(59%)
7.   The instructor was accessible to students.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.41 22 0.59   0(0%) 0(0%) 1(5%) 11(50%) 10(45%)
8.   I gained a good understanding of concepts/principles in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.55 22 0.67   0(0%) 0(0%) 2(9%) 6(27%) 14(64%)
9.   I deepened my interest in the subject matter of this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.09 22 0.81   0(0%) 0(0%) 6(27%) 8(36%) 8(36%)
10.   I felt that this course challenged me intellectually.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.91 22 0.29   0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 2(9%) 20(91%)
11.   I have become more competent in this subject area during this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.55 22 0.6   0(0%) 0(0%) 1(5%) 8(36%) 13(59%)

12.   Which aspects of the course were most valuable?
I like the fact that we had to actually learn everything. In order to do the problems, we had to struggle with it and actually learn it in order to not fail.
When the teacher/TA help/teach the students Some homework questions are good The screencasts and notes are OK In class work can be valuable if someone on he team can understand it (otherwise you sit around unable to progress)
Everything that was taught in this course to me were valuable.
Class exercises.
Quizzes and exams
Pushing us to really learn the concepts by unorthodox ways. You can really learn how to think and problem solve in this class.
I felt like learning how to do proofs and learning the runtime of algorithms were the most valuable.
The problems that we will see in jobs interviews
classwork and self study.
Everything.
The in-class group work was a good way to grasp the material. It was good that we changed groups every week because some groups were definitely better to work with than others.
The professor and TA being available to assist on the homework as homework is extremely challenging. Also the in class activities were helpful sometimes as it helpful on some of the homework problem sets.
Teaching the methods behind analyzing algorithms and ways to solve known problems using algorithms was the most valuable, because it has practical applications.
all
Algorithm analysis
Classwork fair curves to exams
Having to do hands on work in class, so we were able to ask the instructor questions if we ran into problems.
group work
I think that a lot of the class exercises and assignments were challenging in a way to make the students think outside of the box. It was actually a struggle to do some of these problems due to the difficulty of them, which will make it easier for us if we do see similar problems when working in our future jobs/careers.


13.   Which aspects of the course were least valuable?
Everything was pretty valuable.
The quizzes in concert with the (almost) self-taught nature of the course makes it feel like you are being ambushed every day. Although the quizzes are good at testing whether the student grasped the concepts in the chapter, the punishment for making mistakes feels too high (I have graded many, many quizzes with scores below 5), especially since it is the first in class exposure to that material. I think a quiz at the end of class rather than the beginning might help students acclimate to the content better. Homework questions that are straight from the book lack the structure to help students achieve insight into the problem. They also disincentivize learning and promote googling as these questions can be found on the Internet; questions freshly designed to highlight some specific knowledge are often very effective at promoting self learning and sparking insight.
Nothing.
None.
Group-work with groups that were unwilling to work
The lectures are mostly self taught and does not really make sure you understand anything.
This course still has confusing materials to me and I feel like concepts I never understood too much about were the least valuable.
Proofs
Quizzes during class but it is good that we are prepared for class.
Nothing.
The homework was really difficult and graded harshly. The homework should be worth less of the grade since we can't use the internet for help on difficult concepts. Not everyone can make it to office hours and sometimes there are too many people at office hours to get meaningful help. Some people learn by reading through many explanations online and if less weight was put on homework and more on the quizzes and exams, then you can still ensure that people are getting points for their actual understanding of the material.
The in class quizzes at the beginning of every class mainly because there was a number of times throughout the semester that I was unsure of some concepts before the first class where the concepts were covered so when the quiz was given I wasn't able to answer the questions pertaining to that concept.
While still useful, the MIT lectures were often more difficult to understand than the video lectures and the class notes while not covering too much new information than what was already available in the notes and videos.
none
Homework was too hard.
Extremely hard homework, graded very harshly
ungraded group work
A lot of the material were honestly very vague and even though Professor Sitchinava tried to explain it in lecture, sometimes the explanations left us more confused (it might be due to the nature of the material).

14.   The instructor gives clear explanations.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.14 22 0.71   0(0%) 0(0%) 4(18%) 11(50%) 7(32%)
15.   The instructor seems to enjoy teaching.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.27 22 0.7   0(0%) 0(0%) 3(14%) 10(45%) 9(41%)
16.   The instructor seems knowledgeable in many areas.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.73 22 0.55   0(0%) 0(0%) 1(5%) 4(18%) 17(77%)
17.   The instructor was able to explain concepts clearly and effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.18 22 0.59   0(0%) 0(0%) 2(9%) 14(64%) 6(27%)
18.   The instructor was effective in meeting the objectives of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.41 22 0.59   0(0%) 0(0%) 1(5%) 11(50%) 10(45%)
19.   The instructor was enthusiastic about the course material.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.68 22 0.48   0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 7(32%) 15(68%)
20.   The instructor acknowledges all questions insofar as possible.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.73 22 0.46   0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 6(27%) 16(73%)
21.   The instructor is willing to meet and help students outside class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.5 22 0.8   0(0%) 1(5%) 1(5%) 6(27%) 14(64%)
22.   The instructor makes me feel free to ask questions.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.5 22 0.67   0(0%) 0(0%) 2(9%) 7(32%) 13(59%)
23.   The teaching-learning strategies used in the course encouraged active class participation.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.64 22 0.73   0(0%) 1(5%) 0(0%) 5(23%) 16(73%)
24.   The instructor was professional.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.82 22 0.39   0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 4(18%) 18(82%)
25.   The instructor seems well prepared for each class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.68 22 0.57   0(0%) 0(0%) 1(5%) 5(23%) 16(73%)
26.   The instructor presented the course materials in a clear and organized way.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.33 21 0.8   0(0%) 0(0%) 4(19%) 6(29%) 11(52%)
27.   In general, the course was well organized.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.41 22 0.8   0(0%) 1(5%) 1(5%) 8(36%) 12(55%)
28.   The instructor sets high standards for students.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.86 22 0.35   0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 3(14%) 19(86%)
29.   The instructor makes the course difficult enough to be stimulating.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.55 22 0.74   0(0%) 1(5%) 0(0%) 7(32%) 14(64%)

30.   My overall evaluation of this instructor is....
Very intelligent professor who really knows his stuff. I feel that there is a very slight language barrier but it wasn't that bad.
Very knowledgable High expectations Very fair and willing to listen Puts in a lot of effort to help explain things to students Overall: very good
He's a good teacher when you need his help because he'll try his best to answer any question you have.
Very knowledgeable.
One of the better professors of ICS dept.
Toughest professor I ever had. Really pushes you to solve problems.
He is excellent as a teacher in general in my opinion. He seems very nice to everyone and he has a sense of humor when he was able to joke with the students. It is the class itself that seems difficult. If there was a clear way to begin the class for students, it would be easier for them to learn and be able to understand harder concepts. Nodari Sitchinava himself is useful if you are willing to ask him questions but I feel like his office hours were inconvenient sometimes.
Give him a raise
He is very knowledgeable and is focused on making sure that we learn.
Great teacher. Hard content.
He's a good teacher. The class was difficult, but he forces students to understand and learn the material, rather than allowing students to get by without doing the work.
He is one of the only professor's I have had who intellectually challenged me on every topic that was covered in class. Even though there are a number of classes that I've had that try to make sure you understand the concepts you are learning, on exams and quizzes it doesn't always test for that understanding. Unlike other exams, his exams are about 70% understanding and %30 memorization so if you do not fully understand the material you will not do well in this class. Fortunately, Sitchinava is very approachable and will always ask if anyone has any questions.
Overall a good professor considering how difficult the subject matter is, notorious for being one of the most difficult course in ICS, and definitely the most difficult 300-level course.
good teacher for difficult material, just the HW grading wasn't consistent.
Professor Sitchinava was very knowledgeable about the topics covered throughout the course. Course was extremely challenging.
great professor
motivated to have us learn the material and was genuinely interested in all of the students understanding the material
his name is Nodari.
He's a very talented and intelligent person who's willing to help students whenever they need help. He tries very best to explain the material in a way that students understand them, but sometimes it is very confusing. This is not his fault because the material is definitely difficult. Some people will get it and some won't, that's just how it works.

31.   The TA gives clear and understandable explanations.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5)  N/A () 
3.14 22 1.13   3(14%) 2(9%) 7(32%) 9(41%) 1(5%) 0(0%)
32.   The TA was easy to talk with and available for consultation.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5)  N/A () 
4.14 22 0.83   0(0%) 2(9%) 0(0%) 13(59%) 7(32%) 0(0%)
33.   Assignments make students think.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.77 22 0.53   0(0%) 0(0%) 1(5%) 3(14%) 18(82%)
34.   Assignments are relevant to what is presented in class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.36 22 0.66   0(0%) 0(0%) 2(9%) 10(45%) 10(45%)
35.   The instructional materials (e.g., texts, handouts, etc.) were relevant to course objectives.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.5 22 0.51   0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 11(50%) 11(50%)
36.   The course is highly recommended if it were taught by this instructor.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.1 21 0.7   0(0%) 0(0%) 4(19%) 11(52%) 6(29%)
37.   Examinations cover the important aspects of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.45 22 0.6   0(0%) 0(0%) 1(5%) 10(45%) 11(50%)
38.   The examinations are graded very carefully and fairly.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.18 22 0.8   0(0%) 1(5%) 2(9%) 11(50%) 8(36%)
39.   The exams gave students an opportunity to demonstrate what they had learned.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.45 22 0.6   0(0%) 0(0%) 1(5%) 10(45%) 11(50%)
40.   Exams and assignments were returned promptly so that learning was reinforced.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
3.86 21 0.91   1(5%) 1(5%) 1(5%) 15(71%) 3(14%)
41.   Grades are assigned fairly and impartially.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.18 22 0.73   0(0%) 0(0%) 4(18%) 10(45%) 8(36%)
42.   My grades accurately represent my performance in the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
3.82 22 0.85   0(0%) 2(9%) 4(18%) 12(55%) 4(18%)

43.   What changes would you make in the lectures?
None, I think the lectures are done very well and I learn something every time I go to class and am stimulated throughout the whole class. Class goes by very quickly this way as well.
More in class lectures and teaching
Well the lectures were videos of another instructor that we needed to watch prior to class and it was kind of based on what we do in class and towards our homework, but there were some material in this course that I think could of been brought to our attention a lot differently. But I do like the group in class exercises!
Longer office hour at a better time period.
Assign some time to review what was in the lectures to check for full understanding.
I believe that in the beginning of the class, there should be some way that students can get back into the material. I feel like a lot of the material was more in depth explanations to what we learned in 241 but learning 241 before wouldn't have helped too much as the class itself felt like a whole new level of concepts. The class itself expected a lot out of the students and if students had no time to meet the TA or the professor for office hours, it would be difficult for the student.
it was perfect
I think that most people in the class had a very hard time with proofs. I think the lectures should focus on helping us improve this skill. A lot of the time proofs and other problems are in the classwork but we run out of time and the instructor can't go over them. The solutions are post but they hard to understand. If the quizzes were back online, we would have more class time for the classwork. Also, the quizzes felt unfair sometimes because sometimes you are unlucky and forget apart of the study material.
I would prefer that the lectures actually be lectures. We were forced to read outside of class then be examined during class. The content is hard so having a review during class would have been preferred.
None. The group work helped everyone to learn more than they probably would have by sitting in on a lecture.
I would prefer if the in class quizzes were at the end of every class primarily because then I would have had that class period to practice using the in class activities to get a better understanding of the concepts covered. Also, homework was due every Friday at 10:00PM. I would have appreciated if it was due at 11:59PM every Friday as it would give me a few more hours to stress about the homework.
Greedy algorithms was a very easy segment of the course compared to its counterpart of Dynamic Programming. If there was some way to cover greedy algorithms first before going into dynamic programming, it might make the transition easier instead of starting off the second part of the course with the most difficult part of the semester. Having feedback on what made us lose points for homework was very helpful for the first 5 homework assignments. Simple, short notes on why points were marked off, or at the very least what segments of the homework were the sources of lost points, would have been helpful for the rest of the assignments, too, so we know what to change next time instead of going blindly on what was expected.
none. Maybe at the end of each class highlight key ideas that you should know.
More lecture.
a little more lecturing
Watching lectures before class made learning the material more understandable during class
grade the group work.
I'm honestly not a whole fan of the reverse classroom thing because I like to learn in class, then go home, look over the notes, and try to learn and understand on my own. I do like that we do exercises in class though, as they are very beneficial to helping us if we end up facing similar problems in assignments or exams. The only thing I would change is to watch the time. There were many instances where we went overtime and Professor Sitchinava couldn't have time to explain the solutions, so he would post them and we would have to look at it when we get home. This doesn't really give us chances to ask questions during class if we have them, and if we try to ask them in the next lecture, we'll just end up using that class time. Asking thru e-mail is ok, but if everyone has the same question, then the professor would be better off explaining it in the next class, which again uses up class time.


44.   My overall evaluation of this course is...
ICS 311 is the hardest course I have ever taken but it is very rewarding when you actually understand everything. This course is very needed because it explains a lot of many things and helps me to understand things that I did not understand before.
Very hard but covers an important topic Interesting course, if you can stop worrying about failing the class for a second to really focus on the topic Needs better structure to help students learn
That it's a time consuming class and is a type of course to take with maybe one other course and not pile it on with other ICS courses, unless you get can handle it.
Good.
Good, group-work could possibly be modified from the way it is now though.
Its hard but makes you learn.
The course itself was challenging and took a lot of time. I would recommend that students should look over previous semester notes and maybe understand the first lesson before deciding if they should take the class. If there is trouble learning the material I suggest that they ask a lot of questions and get help from others taking the class. Group discussions helped me a lot to understand material and so did the TA.
great
It was a good course.
It's a hard course.
Good course. It was really difficult, but I learned a lot.
That is was definitely the most challenging course I have had during my time as a Computer Science major. Professor Sitchinava is most definitely a challenging professor, but if I had to retake this class I would sill take this class with him teaching. I would say I learned a lot more than I expected to and will likely remember a lot of the concepts that were covered and for that I am thankful.
Overall a very difficult course. However the material was taught well, even though there were a few pacing issues near the middle of the course, after the first midterm.
valuable course
Good/challenging course.
extremely difficult but doable by curves
Difficult course, but well organized
very fun and good learning environment.
I think that it was harder than I expected. I was hoping to take it with Professor Kazuo Sugihara since I have previously taken his ICS 141 and ICS 241 and surprising enjoyed them (everyone believes I'm insane by saying this). I'm not sure what difference that would've made, but Professor Nodari Sitchinava is just as intelligent. As I said earlier, I'm not a whole fan of the reverse classroom style and would really loved to see him teach the material. He explains things very well, so I really would've looked forward to his teaching style as well.


45.   Other comments:
There are many things to cover in this course. I feel that algorithms is so important that we should probably split the course up into two different courses so that we can deeply understand everything.
No.
It would be great if ICS311 can split into 2 courses, Algorithm I and Algorithm II, then the schedule will not be this tight and students can have enough practice on every single topic.
Make sure that there is a lot of free time to take this class and don't take too much workload at once. This class takes away a lot of time and work. It takes a lot of effort to understand the concepts and study for exams.
great
I felt the homeworks were very difficult but also that if I went to office hours to ask about them I would just be receiving the answers from someone else.
The quizzes should be open note. If we are allowed one sheet for exams then we should be allowed open note for quizzes.
I don't know exactly how I feel about spending all of my Friday nights doing ICS 311 homework. I got used to it, but I miss not having to stress out on Friday nights. But then again, I don't know if I would want it due on any other day because once Saturday came, I usually didn't have to stress out.
N/A
na
ease up on the homework grade
Prof. Nodari is very patient and challenges students to think.