eCAFE: Course and Faculty Evaluations

Instructor: Lipyeow Lim

Available Survey Results

ICS 321, Spring 2012
ICS 621, Spring 2012
ICS 321, Fall 2011
ICS 699, Fall 2011
ICS 321, Spring 2011
ICS 624, Spring 2011
ICS 421, Spring 2010
ICS 321, Fall 2009

Lipyeow Lim: ICS 321, Spring 2012

Campus:	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Department:	Information& Computer Sciences
Course:	ICS 321 - Data Storage & Retrieval	Crn (Section):	87283 (001)

1. The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 36 0.53 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 10 (28%) 25 (69%)

2. The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.11 36 0.82 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 7 (19%) 15 (42%) 13 (36%)

3. The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.8 35 0.96 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 4 (11%) 8 (23%) 14 (40%) 9 (26%)

4. I gained a good understanding of concepts/principles in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.67 36 1.1 Freq(%) 2 (6%) 3 (8%) 8 (22%) 15 (42%) 8 (22%)

5. I deepened my interest in the subject matter of this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.33 36 1.15 Freq(%) 1 (3%) 8 (22%) 13 (36%) 6 (17%) 8 (22%)

6. Which aspects of the course were most valuable?

The lecture slides being posted online How to use a database and how databases are relevant and important. Also when the use of a database is needed. Not to sure The idea of thinking for yourself about the "best" database design was refreshing especially coming from a rigid environment like computer science. Lipyeow was an awesome professor. He didn't act like there were any stupid questions and he has a good sense of humor. In my opinion, he was the most valuable aspect of the course. The homework assignments helped the most since it gave us an opportunity to apply and practice the concepts we've learned in lecture. I liked how he gave example exercises after he lectured. I felt that that really helped to teach me more by having us apply what we just learned to an example problem. Understanding a new language and how the world uses data storage for almost everything, so a general knowledge allows me to understand what to expect from databases. Actually explaining the material to the students. Being able to use db2 to learn about databases The group project helped to simulate working in teams on a program or application. In-class exercises somewhat helped to apply the material learned in lecture. A good amount of information was given as to how the material applies to the real world outside of class. everything In-class exercises were very helpful. Breaking down database design and making me feel comfortable designing database's. Learning the foundations and different applications of a database. I have gained knowledge on how to distinguish when a DBMS is necessary and when it is not. I think Professor Lim's background knowledge in databases allowed us to learn more about database systems and he would teach us things that were also outside of the just the assigned book. The in-class assignments following nearly every lecture. It help to solidify the day's material, and provide a valuable resource in refreshing before an exam. The daily power points that summarized the material in the book were helpful to sorting out the important points from the guff. the in class assignments provided a source of immediate feedback to inform you as to your weaknesses with the current material. Too often a class proceeds with only lectures, and very few options for feedback, which seems to lead to mistaking the crucial points of lectures, or a lack of detail in an area that was emphasized, but not properly explained. The course offered insight on database design and implementation. The excercizes The project- being able to research and implement many different types of databases and learn how to bench them. The whole course in itself is valuable. Everything learned throughout the class is needed to understand how a basic database system works. The in-class worksheets that was done after the lectures help solidify the concepts and theory explained in the lecture. I gained knowledge about databases. The hands on assignments and the daily worksheets The experience gained in using freely available relational database solutions as part of class work was valuable, as was the information gained about the general shared functionality of most SQL-based databases. Learning how databases work and being introduced to SQL. Also, in terms of the way Prof. Lim conducted the course, I thought the in-class exercises were very helpful. Definitely got me thinking. Also, the project, though a bit difficult if you're unorganized, is at least a good opportunity to conduct some research and learn some new technologies and apply knowledge learned in the course, as well as learn to program as a group. And since it's part of a course, you can't just say "oh, I'll do it later when I'm less busy", like you could to extracurricular/personal programming projects. The in class activities since it helps cements the lecture that was given beforehand The weekly quizzes to be taken at personal leisure at the end of the week. The project was valuable towards our grade but I feel the expectations were not clear. the lectures, and in class assignments

7. Which aspects of the course were least valuable?

all of it was important, he never really did anything that had no purpose. Getting in touch with students, emailing students back, teaching only through a power point slide Not sure. I have disagreements with the teaching style but that's really not something I have any right to question. The textbook could be more helpful and provide more examples. The lectures were not very helpful since the instructor spent very little time explaining the material. Nothing. Although it seemed as if the relational aspects of the course as less valuable, I found that that improved my knowledge of implementing that data. TA being late with grades. making own groups for projects, not as great when you don't know anyone A lot knowledge required for some assignments and projects needed to be acquired beforehand, outside of class. Lectures did not seem quite thorough enough. The TA for this class was not very efficient on grading and giving feedback. Online quizzes were easy to forget due to the way they were presented. none Everything in this course was very useful. None None The final group project. I strongly believe that students should have an option of conducting a project on their own, if they believe that they have the skills to do so. In my experience with partners, I have found that either, I don't know individuals in my class that I would trust with my grade, or I'm forced to choose an individual that I have no knowledge of just to fulfill the group requirement. While I understand that this sentiment is in part, my fault, forcing mandatory group work in a large class feels like more of an imposition, rather than a valuable learning experience. I feel this, because I believe that more work should be done with conducting the project, rather than having to manage the work ethics of other individuals, especially of those who we may or may not trust. If the above is not an option, then I would recommend allowing an option where the professor suggests a project, and individual members can produce parts which come together in the end. That way individuals are clearly responsible for their part, and the "group" requirement is still fulfilled. Some of the concepts could have been studied further (indexes/database optimization). The quizzes. The TA. Failed to grade an assignment before the drop date (Still not graded yet), and does not communicate with the students. The TA. I felt the book was not used as much. Some of the initial theory material on the various types of normal forms was somewhat confusing, though it seemed to be the kind of material that needs to be picked up through practice. The sections which discussed the efficiency of various data storage and retrieval schemes were the most confusing for me, as I never figured out how to apply the information, which I guessed was intended for designing database or indexing schemes. n/a the quizes because they were hard lol Nothing really. none

8. The instructor gives clear explanations.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.83 36 0.74 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 10 (28%) 19 (53%) 6 (17%)

9. The instructor seems to enjoy teaching.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.56 36 0.56 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 14 (39%) 21 (58%)

10. The instructor seems knowledgeable in many areas.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.58 36 0.55 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 13 (36%) 22 (61%)

11. The instructor was effective in meeting the objectives of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.0 36 0.96 Freq(%) 1 (3%) 1 (3%) 7 (19%) 15 (42%) 12 (33%)

12. The instructor was enthusiastic about the course material.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.57 35 0.56 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 13 (37%) 21 (60%)

13. The instructor is willing to meet and help students outside class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.11 35 0.83 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 10 (29%) 11 (31%) 14 (40%)

14. The instructor makes me feel free to ask questions.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.33 36 0.83 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 2 (6%) 2 (6%) 14 (39%) 18 (50%)

15. The instructor seems well prepared for each class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.53 36 0.56 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 15 (42%) 20 (56%)

16. The instructor presented the course materials in a clear and organized way.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.06 36 0.92 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 4 (11%) 2 (6%) 18 (50%) 12 (33%)

17. In general, the course was well organized.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.14 35 0.85 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 2 (6%) 4 (11%) 16 (46%) 13 (37%)

18. My overall evaluation of this instructor is....

He is a very good teacher. His methods of teaching are actually good. He always leaves a good amount of time in the later portion of the class to give us examples because he really wants us to give it a try. He does go around the class a lot when it comes to this and helps a lot of us who are confused. As a teacher he is lenient and very patient, which are two good traits because it doesn't cause us, students, to become too nervous to ask questions. He provides a good environment and knows how we think so works around the students.. Professor Lim is a fair teacher and teaches the course without making it feel too intimidating Email students back more. Positive. Professor Lim is a great professor. He's an excellent professor. He is humorous,, kind, optimistic, helpful, and knowledgable. His expectation seems a bit high for this course. He assigned very few assignments that seem to be graded quite harshly. Too much is weighted on the class project in which even if a lot of effort is put in, if it isn't "great" enough to meet his high-level expectation we may not even get a decent passing grade of 60~70%. He is knows the course material but does not explain the concepts well. The lecture style and format did not help for me to learn the concepts. He is smart and makes learning the subject interesting. He is a great teacher, but I would like a little more explanation for some of our implementations that we were challenged with. I found a lot of my time getting syntax errors instead of runtime errors, and was confused at the main objective of the assignment. Great professor. 10/10. Would take again. Good efficient professor Professor Lim is friendly and seems to enjoy what he does. Students are not afraid to ask him questions or seek advice. He also seems very knowledgeable in regards to both class material and computer science in general. However, he could improve on explaining material and providing enough information and know-how for the students to perform the tasks of the course effectively. good Lipyeow Lim is a friendly and enthusiastic teacher. He is very knowledgeable and passionate about his specialty. Top notch professor, would happily take more classes from him. Great teacher that was willing to help when it was necessary and seemed to know what the students needed (ex. extension in due dates). Great professor, really nice guy. Willing to help you with the knowledge he has. Really knows his stuff!! Lipyeow inspires a certain sense of interest concerning the material that he presents. While the class seems to scratch the surface of databases, it is clear that he attempts to make the basis as understandable and easy as possible to pick up. There is certainly passion behind what he teaches, and it shows in his preparedness for each class, and the preparations that are made with each in-class assignment. However, I feel that Lipyeow is a bit too lenient on individuals who don't plan ahead for assignments. the two extensions concerning the three assignments were authorized because of individuals who failed to plan ahead. I feel that this is an unfair policy for those who do take the time to plan ahead and complete the assignments on time. Especially since one of these assignments was given over spring break, and was given with plenty of notice, those who didn't complete the assignment on time should have been subject to the consequences. Individuals at this level of education need to be responsible for the actions that they take, whether that be neglecting an assignment, procrastinating, or turning in an assignment on time. Failure to uphold deadlines only reinforces this behavior, as was seen in the second iteration of extensions that were provided. The goal here, isn't to punish individuals for the sake of punishing, but to reward individuals who do take the time and effort to plan ahead, and complete assignments in a timely fashion. Professor Lim presented the material in a somewhat easy to understand manner. Some of the more complex topics were a little glossed over and would have benefited from having more time spent on them (most concepts post-Midterm). Good He needs to be more clear on some policies such as assignments. Okay, but not good communication- many confusing discrepancies (10% extra credit was NOT extra credit and was actually part of final grade, first assignment grade NOT based purely off of run time- based off of solution but only told after the turn in date). Very knowledgeable about the subject. Seems patient with class, if the class does not understand material. Tries to explain material in a different way to help students understand. Good, enthusiastic teacher. The professor knows the material and is fairly organized. The instructor was willing to extend major assignment deadlines for the class when it was clear that the class did not understand the material or was having other difficulties. He's a great professor, very knowledgeable and personable! He's pretty cool. one of the more enjoyable teachers in the ics department. very profesional and friendly. Knows the subject he teaches. Would buy him a beer. Great, very helpful and understanding with each student's questions. Passionate about teaching but he needs to find different examples or ways to explain the material. A good teacher

19. Assignments are relevant to what is presented in class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.17 36 0.7 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (17%) 18 (50%) 12 (33%)

20. The instructional materials (e.g., texts, handouts, etc.) were relevant to course objectives.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.22 36 0.72 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 3 (8%) 19 (53%) 13 (36%)

21. Grades are assigned fairly and impartially.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.0 36 0.93 Freq(%) 1 (3%) 0 (0%) 9 (25%) 14 (39%) 12 (33%)

22. My overall evaluation of this course is...

it was a good experience. Teacher helped make it bearable because many of my friends as well as myself didnt really have to much interest in databases The course was really useful. Hard to learn. Less positive than the professor. I wanted more hands on activities. However, I can see how that could be a problem in a lecture environment especially with only one TA. Maybe databases should be split into smaller sections. I don't think my dissatisfaction with the couse should be a reflection on the professor. Difficult topic with difficult but somehow manageable quizzes and assignments but combined with an unrealistic project. The course would be better if the material was presented thoroughly and if we had more homework assignments to practice the concepts learned in lecture. The class project did not have clear objectives and guidelines which made it difficult to complete it to the professor's expectations. It was very interesting to learn about databases and how things work. Good general ICS course for understanding the basics that are needed. TA sucked. Good class for ICS students, and even if you just want to learn about databases. The information presented is relevant and organized in presentation. However, the lectures could have been more thorough, which may help the students actually learn the material faster and with better retention. The homework assignments were also too few and far between. Furthermore, they were not graded very quickly. Nevertheless, the instructor seems intelligent and well-prepared. Overall, the course had useful info, but wasn't as helpful as it should have been in teaching the students that info. good An educational course that grants a good overview to database management and some of the specifics of it. The pacing of the course is pretty good as well. Great class. Glad I took it. Good course for learning the basics, but topics got much harder and some seemed less necessary as the semester passed. Great course, if he teaches another database course I would probably take it from him. A solid course that encourages individuals to pursue their own interests in the field. As well as presenting the diversity and complexity that arises when choosing and implementing a database system. Withholding my own opinions on the extensions given for assignments, this course is definitely something that I would recommend, despite it being required as part of the ICS major. Course was ran rather well and organized. In-class exercises helped develop the topics discussed in class. The lack of feedback on assignments in a timely manner was disappointing. Good. I felt LIMited in my abilities. Okay. The topic is interesting and Lim is very enthusiastic with teaching, but because of confusing grading and not getting the bulk of assignments graded in the first place, the course is very hard to get a good grade in. You end up depending on the curve instead. At some points lectures can be dry, but overall pretty interesting. Good for a required course. The course teaches essential information, but it is difficult to get through the initial material and understand enough of it for quizzes, though it is difficult to say whether this is a function of the instructor or the subject matter. A good course for an intro to data storage and retrieval and related technologies. A bit dry, but very useful information, especially in an information-driven age. very hard to understand, textbook is very dry. subject matter is very hard to get into, class though was overall pleasant It is a good course and having an awareness towards the material in the class is very helpful. A challenging course but definitely doable. I wished the professor or TA communicated with students more effectively outside of class. The course was good, wasn't too hard or too easy. the grading the assignments was very slow and wish it was faster.

23. Other comments:

none Some possible suggestions for future classes: Try spending more time on lectures and make them more thorough, even if this means reducing the time for in-class work. Issue many smaller homework assignments rather than 3 or 4 large ones. This may help in information retention. As for online quizzes, it would help to be reminded of them one or two days before the quizzes are opened rather than an entire half-week before. Thank you! Thanks! There needed to be better communication between professor and TA. I think this course should go into LIMbo. N/A Major assignments are graded late, if at all (as of today). The second assignment was supposed to be graded before the drop deadline, but is still not graded. Also, it needs to be made clear in assignment instructions that missing early submission deadlines counts toward the main assignment grade and is not just "extra credit." Knowing grades within a reasonable period of time is important for students' academic planning. Sweet class! I've enjoyed this class more than other ICS courses taken recently.

Lipyeow Lim: ICS 621, Spring 2012     Back to top

Campus:	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Department:	Information& Computer Sciences
Course:	ICS 621 - Analysis of Algorithms	Crn (Section):	88811 (001)

1. The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 6 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (100%)

2. The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 6 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (33%) 4 (67%)

3. The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 6 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (33%) 4 (67%)

4. I gained a good understanding of concepts/principles in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 6 0.55 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (50%) 3 (50%)

5. I deepened my interest in the subject matter of this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.33 6 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 4 (67%) 2 (33%)

6. Which aspects of the course were most valuable?

Deepened my interest in Algorithm I liked that the students had some say in the material that was covered. Lipyeow did an excellent job of making things easily understandable, even when the material was generally pretty confusing. understanding O() notation, exposure to clever solutions of hard problems I really enjoyed the information on NP-Completeness, but all of it was valuable really. Learning neat algorithms.

7. Which aspects of the course were least valuable?

I felt like a little too much time was spent getting people caught up. It's a graduate course! If they don't have the prerequisites, they should be catching up on their own time. While I did like that students had some control over the topics covered, I felt like the input could've been given in a more structured way. In the past, when I've taken classes where student input determines the topic areas, the professor handed out a list of possible topics (enough to fit into several semesters worth of time), and had the students pick their favorite N, ranked in order of preference. She then chose the topics based on the results, breaking ties with her preferences. This was for an AI class, so it was a little easier to reference things by name and spark interest (not many people would vote for "Fibonacci Heap" because very few who haven't taken an algos class have heard of it), but maybe something like this would work. Give a list of topics, and a short description of what it's about. I wished a little more time would've been spent on the projects. Maybe a day where students give 5-10 minute talks on their projects, which would count towards the "project update" grade? math? Everything before learning the master theorem. Not enough discussion

8. The instructor gives clear explanations.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 6 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (33%) 4 (67%)

9. The instructor seems to enjoy teaching.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.83 6 0.41 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (17%) 5 (83%)

10. The instructor seems knowledgeable in many areas.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 6 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (100%)

11. The instructor was effective in meeting the objectives of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 6 0.55 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (50%) 3 (50%)

12. The instructor was enthusiastic about the course material.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 6 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (33%) 4 (67%)

13. The instructor is willing to meet and help students outside class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 6 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (33%) 4 (67%)

14. The instructor makes me feel free to ask questions.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.83 6 0.41 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (17%) 5 (83%)

15. The instructor seems well prepared for each class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 6 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (33%) 4 (67%)

16. The instructor presented the course materials in a clear and organized way.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 6 0.55 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (50%) 3 (50%)

17. In general, the course was well organized.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 6 0.55 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (50%) 3 (50%)

18. My overall evaluation of this instructor is....

Perfect! Lipyeow is really great! He's a very good, dedicated professor who cares about the success of his students. Easily the best professor I've had at UH. Would recommend his classes to anyone! smart, knowledgeable, well-organized, clear, helpful Although it is difficult to present material to a class with such different experience and prior knowledge, in my opinion it was done well and I learned a lot. I do wish we had gotten the assignments back more quickly, because I tended to forget about them by the time I saw them again and it was harder to learn from my errors. He's a good dude and it's a challenging but fun class. He knows his material and genuinely seems to enjoy teaching it. Great teacher!

19. Assignments are relevant to what is presented in class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.83 6 0.41 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (17%) 5 (83%)

20. The instructional materials (e.g., texts, handouts, etc.) were relevant to course objectives.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 6 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (33%) 4 (67%)

21. Grades are assigned fairly and impartially.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 6 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (33%) 4 (67%)

22. My overall evaluation of this course is...

Perfect! I really enjoyed it! Thanks! an essential part of any ICS education Great course, very informative. Good!

23. Other comments:

Really wish the homework would've been handed back faster. Maybe this class would've been worthy of a TA/grader. glad to finally feel like I understand NPC

Lipyeow Lim: ICS 321, Fall 2011     Back to top

Campus:	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Department:	Information& Computer Sciences
Course:	ICS 321 - Data Storage & Retrieval	Crn (Section):	71944 (001)

1. The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.71 21 0.56 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (5%) 4 (19%) 16 (76%)

2. The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.48 21 0.68 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (10%) 7 (33%) 12 (57%)

3. The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.38 21 0.8 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (5%) 1 (5%) 8 (38%) 11 (52%)

4. I gained a good understanding of concepts/principles in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.29 21 0.85 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (5%) 2 (10%) 8 (38%) 10 (48%)

5. I deepened my interest in the subject matter of this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.29 21 0.85 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (5%) 2 (10%) 8 (38%) 10 (48%)

6. I learned a lot in this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.19 21 0.75 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (5%) 1 (5%) 12 (57%) 7 (33%)

7. I developed skills needed by professionals in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.1 21 0.83 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (29%) 7 (33%) 8 (38%)

8. I have become more competent in this subject area during this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.19 21 0.68 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (14%) 11 (52%) 7 (33%)

9. What did you find most valuable and helpful about the course?

SQL!! The lectures and slides were useful! Learning mysql and how to work with databases. Thinking and working on the large data assignment helped deepen my understanding of the true problems in computer science. The techniques involved in computer science can be derived from truly thinking about this problem. It was about DB's. going over how a DBMS actually works The in class exercises are very helpful. They help make sure that the students not only understand the new material, but can also apply it to solving problems. The quizzes were also very helpful. They ensure that students are keeping up with the material. Pretty much everything. Nearly everything in this course was new material and can be used in real world situations. Learning SQL was probably the most valuable lesson in the course. Making Tables! And also learning how to create efficient database designs that are easy to manipulate and configure. provided somewhat of a basis for database knowledge in-class exercises I found that doing the execises during class were very helpful. Assignments were very useful to understand the lecture topic. It was an interesting Subject.

10. What did you find least valuable and helpful about the course?

I don't think I gained so much from the first assignment. I would have preferred to spend that time on learning SQL and concentrate on design theory. Nothing comes to mind at the moment. maybe decomposition or something. I did not find the notes to be helpful. My suggestion: Video tape the lectures, during class time we ask questions about the video. For me, preparing our own notes is better. It was about math in the beginning. FDs and normal forms There are only a few assignments. I think more smaller assignments would be beneficial for preparing students for the tests. There was very little feedback on assignments. Generally, only a few short comments. I think it would be helpful to review the assignments briefly in class. Nothing. Everything in the course was extremely valuable and helpful. Learning about normal forms was confusing and it was difficult to see the objective with it. Nothing. Current format is good. Perhaps Assignment 1 could be tweaked. monotony of lecture plans exercises assignments I found that the book has very little help cause most of the materials were already covered in the lecture slide. I wanted to do more assignments that have small amount of questions each. I thought maybe we should have started learning SQL earlier in the semester.

11. The instructor gives clear explanations.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.1 21 0.77 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 5 (24%) 9 (43%) 7 (33%)

12. The instructor was effective in meeting the objectives of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.24 21 0.7 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (14%) 10 (48%) 8 (38%)

13. The instructor is willing to meet and help students outside class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.19 21 0.87 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (29%) 5 (24%) 10 (48%)

14. The instructor makes me feel free to ask questions.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.3 20 0.8 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 4 (20%) 6 (30%) 10 (50%)

15. The instructor seems well prepared for each class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 20 0.76 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (15%) 4 (20%) 13 (65%)

16. The instructor presented the course materials in a clear and organized way.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.38 21 0.67 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (10%) 9 (43%) 10 (48%)

17. In general, the course was well organized.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.43 21 0.68 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (10%) 8 (38%) 11 (52%)

18. The instructor sets high standards for students.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.32 19 0.67 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (11%) 9 (47%) 8 (42%)

19. My overall evaluation of this instructor is....

great teacher, not boring Good instructor! He is a lenient and nice teacher good? He cares about the students. He should show it a little more. It might make students work a little harder. He is awesome. pretty good, enthusiastic prof. He is a very good teacher who is enthusiastic about the subject. He creates a very comfortable and friendly environment for the students. I didn't expect to enjoy the class very much, but I felt he made the subject interesting and relevant. a pretty good instructor who really knows his stuff. He is very open to questions and will sometimes take up a lot of time answering them, but at least he answers them in detail. a very good teacher who is willing to answer any questions students have, but when explaining material, often times it is difficult to understand the concepts. Giving examples or explaining it in simpler terms would help a lot. Good. Will take again if teaching another course. Not bad at explaining theoretical concepts, but vague on details of final project I personally think Pro. Lipyeow did a good job on presenting the materials as well as making the topic interesting. At first, I though that the way he teached the class was a little casual but if you take a step back and look at the overall; it is a great way to approach a dry topic, especially there were hardly any pictures in the book. I think the questions on the weekly quizzes could be a little better. Don't make it confusing, lol. I would love to take the 421 from Pro. Lipyeow, if he teachs it sometime in the future. When I asked him a question, he gave me a way to find a solution, not telling me an answer directly. It was very good for me to understand what I don't understand. A good teacher who clearly enjoys and is knowledgable about the subject he's teaching.

20. Assignments are relevant to what is presented in class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.57 21 0.75 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (14%) 3 (14%) 15 (71%)

21. The instructional materials (e.g., texts, handouts, etc.) were relevant to course objectives.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.48 21 0.68 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (10%) 7 (33%) 12 (57%)

22. Grades are assigned fairly and impartially.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.24 21 0.77 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 4 (19%) 8 (38%) 9 (43%)

23. My overall evaluation of this course is...

Very interesting topic, good course. Good course, thought I would learn more though. good. That project is going to kill me. slightly difficult, but straight forward I honestly didn't expect to get much out of this class. I was mostly taking the class for the graduation requirement. However, I ended up enjoying the class and finding a lot of the material quite interesting. Great course of anyone considering working with databases. SQL is a huge language used by many companies and is something a CS student should know at least the basics of. The course has its positives and negatives. It's difficult if you have no knowledge of the material, but the assignments were probably the most helpful in gaining an understanding of the concepts and skills. Databases are cool, but there is too much data in the world. It's freaking me out. not the most interesting topic, could have helped with demonstrations of actual db system implementation in class to generate more interest in practical applications. This course is very good. I learn alot from this class. It was good class to start learning the database. Good.

24. Other comments:

Too bad there's no part in the semester to set up the JDBC or whichever the other one that uses C. No other comments. drop table;

Lipyeow Lim: ICS 699, Fall 2011     Back to top

Campus:	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Department:	Information& Computer Sciences
Course:	ICS 699 - Directed Reading or Research	Crn (Section):	79483 (025)

1. The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 2 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (100%)

2. The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 2 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (100%)

3. The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 2 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (100%)

4. I gained a good understanding of concepts/principles in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 2 0.71 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (50%) 1 (50%)

5. I deepened my interest in the subject matter of this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 2 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (100%)

6. The instructor was effective in meeting the objectives of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 2 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (100%)

7. The instructor is willing to meet and help students outside class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 2 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (100%)

8. The instructor makes me feel free to ask questions.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 2 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (100%)

9. The instructor seems well prepared for each class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 2 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (100%)

10. The instructor presented the course materials in a clear and organized way.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 2 0.71 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (50%) 1 (50%)

11. In general, the course was well organized.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 2 0.71 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (50%) 1 (50%)

12. My overall evaluation of this instructor is....

Lipyeow was a great professor and advisor. As the advisor for my thesis, he helped me greatly in preparing and organizing my thesis, as well as preparing research experiments. He was always readily available to meet with me whenever I had questions. I had lots of difficulty writing my thesis, and he helped me a great deal with this. Whenever I had a draft that I needed critiqued, he was very fast at giving me comments and helping me improve. Without his help, I would not have been able to complete my thesis.

13. Assignments are relevant to what is presented in class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 2 0.71 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (50%) 1 (50%)

14. The instructional materials (e.g., texts, handouts, etc.) were relevant to course objectives.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 2 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (100%)

15. Grades are assigned fairly and impartially.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   5.0 2 0.0 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (100%)

16. My overall evaluation of this course is...

A great course! I finally finished my thesis and completed my masters. I look forward to starting work on my PhD.

17. Other comments:

No survey responses were found.

Lipyeow Lim: ICS 321, Spring 2011     Back to top

Campus:	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Department:	Information& Computer Sciences
Course:	ICS 321 - Data Storage & Retrieval	Crn (Section):	88607 (001)

1. The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.83 35 0.38 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (17%) 29 (83%)

2. The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.69 35 0.47 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 11 (31%) 24 (69%)

3. The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.49 35 0.61 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (6%) 14 (40%) 19 (54%)

4. I gained a good understanding of concepts/principles in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.11 35 0.68 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (17%) 19 (54%) 10 (29%)

5. I felt that this course challenged me intellectually.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.4 35 0.69 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 4 (11%) 13 (37%) 18 (51%)

6. What did you find most valuable and helpful about the course?

the assignments helped, but there were only 2 of them Being able to actually program SQL was very useful and gave me a lot of experience with researching syntax and understanding how databases process queries. I also enjoyed the final project as it really pushed us to thoroughly understand and synthesize all the course material that was covered over the whole semester. The graded assignments and the group project The fact that lecture notes were available online for later viewing and the worksheets we did in class were most valuable and helpful about the course. Assignments and Practice Exercises. the in-class exercises The homework assignments and time spent going over exercises in class. It is good to see how to approach a problem and explain how to come to those solutions. Down to earth prof. Easy to understand, and helpful when approached. The fact that this knowledge will ultimately become a competitive job seeker and a strong employee. The lectures were very good. In class exercises and quizzes helped to get a feel for the material and what we could expect on exams. Learning SQL and how to use databases in applications. In-class exercises and lecture notes being posted online. The teacher was very helpful when students didnt understand something. The teacher encouraged group and class discussion which helped students figure out what questions to ask. Overall, the teachers teaching style was very helpful. in class exercises, slide shows It's fun I think that the exercises we do in class help us, but not too much on the exams. Since, I followed the exercises and did a problem just like it and got it mostly wrong. The slides are useful for studying for the exam. the power point slides and exercises. Office hours are helpful. In-class exercises also helpful. The daily class exercises help immensely when trying to understand the topics. I think SQL is challenging and it really takes a lot of practice to get it and cmake your mind work in a SQL way. I think the assignments are all really good in making us learn the concepts of databases. Project...made me learn concepts and topics that were briefly discussed in class. In-class worksheets and homework problem demonstrations on the board. I found that this course was very easy to understand, and the materials that the instructor provided were helpful and clear. He does take time to interact with students and regularly engages the class in questioning, exercises, and activities that are extremely instructive in the material. Prof. Lipyeow showed genuine passion for this topic, and really tried his best to spread that passion to his students. The overall knowledge of relational databases is helpful in understanding how most database applications run. SQL is used in some form in a variety of different applications, so having the core knowledge of how to design queries is also very helpful to my future career. The concepts were a little abstract, especially after many courses in java where everything is object oriented, but besides that everything eventually made sense. With current trends in web application, the (too) brief overview of XML was also useful. Professor Lim's in class exercises in which he is very interactive with the students to make sure we are doing it correctly. He also does it with us and presents the answers and makes sure all students understands before moving on. the assignments The knowledge of database systems. I found it very interesting and thought this course will help me in the future when I need to apply database system concepts. The in class examples. Lipyeow really knows his stuff. His is very clear and understandable, and he seems to ENJOY the subject, which makes his lectures very good. The in-class exercises at the end of ever lecture

7. What did you find least valuable and helpful about the course?

the project I believe every minute of class time was effectively used. The limited number of assignments was not that helpful. The project. the book Some of the slides seemed to have too much straight information, and not as many examples of how it could be used. It all seems pretty relevant. We didn't really follow the textbook, so students didn't benefit that much from following the readings as much as the lecture material. While I understand that knowing the advantages and drawbacks of different data storage methods is useful in implementing a DBMS, I don't know if I'll ever need to use that knowledge (am I ever going to have to implement a DBMS?) Can't really say. It's not fun I found that the lecture slides weren't too helpful for taking the Quiz as some of the quiz questions asked things that weren't mentioned in the slides. Theory-heaviness of the course gave me very little hands-on experience with databases. I have no idea how to connect databases with other software, beyond a vague understanding of ODBC, JDBC and the like. Almost all my time went to studying for the weekly quizzes (which were on Mondays, ugh), instead of gaining practical experience with data. So much theory; so little use. I really don't care for the quizzes. They are annoying and at weird times. I think maybe small reading assignments would be more adequate. Some people just aren't good test/quiz takers and it hurts our grade in the end. Especially because they are timed. N/A Project I found that the heavy emphasis on group projects was both positive and detrimental at the same time. Although it does provide a real-world scenario type project, it causes a student's grade to be somewhat dependent on other students, which some individuals may find off-putting. However, the instructor does make a marked effort to have students report progress along the way and makes checkpoints for them so that the project is not a labored affair, but structured throughout the semester. There were only two assignments, I think it would help the students a little more to have more assignments. In a sense, a hands on feel for the topic. I personally feel that despite this being a 300 level class, the in-depth analysis of query processing and what not was not all that useful considering the DBMS takes care of all the functions. I realize that as future computer scientists, knowledge of HOW it works is required, but I'm not sure about the depth of knowledge. Maybe save more of those processes for a more advance course in Databases? Similar to how we learn java in ICS111 and ICS211, but learn about how compilers for that language work in ICS312. I think his whole teaching style is effective. The course is well organized. I didn't like the timed quizzes. working with DB2. I thought it was too much trouble to set up and configure. I prefer smaller open-source dbms's. I felt there should have been more minor assignments instead of bigger chunks. But otherwise the course was overall pretty helpful. The textbook.

8. The instructor gives clear explanations.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.2 35 0.76 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 4 (11%) 17 (49%) 13 (37%)

9. The instructor was effective in meeting the objectives of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.31 35 0.68 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (3%) 1 (3%) 19 (54%) 14 (40%)

10. Class assignments provided an effective aid for learning the subject matter.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.17 35 0.95 Freq(%) 1 (3%) 1 (3%) 4 (11%) 14 (40%) 15 (43%)

11. State in two or three sentences how this course could be improved.

get rid of the group project. it was more of a hassle than it was helpful. also do not like having my grade be dependent on other people. grade should be dependent on yourself, not a group. periodic assignments greatly preferred. If anything, I would suggest that more assignments be given throughout the semester to help everyone in general with learning SQL and the relational model. There should also be a slightly more complex way to grade group projects. The current system leaves less incentive and pressure for group members to fulfill their group role. At my previous institution, group project grades were assigned, but group members were also asked to evaluate each other in order for the instructor to gain a better understanding of the amount contributed by each member (and grades possibly adjusted this way). make more assignments mandatory and graded. More practice assignments I felt that the book was too confusing especially with things like normalization. Instead of doing the exercises at the end of class I think going through the exercises during class like a math course would've been better for me. I would often go home to try these exercises and would be stuck because of the difficulty on some of them. Projects should be removed. More individual assignments would have proved useful for learning the concepts. Powerpoints should have answers added to them after they have been lectured on. more hands-on activities with our db2 and other sql programs in-class. kinda like a walk-through a few more examples of exercises as well as going over those more in class. Overall, not too much to improve on. More explanations/examples on using UH Unix and DB2. Using DB2 as an in-class exercise, instead of watching a screencast of it at home. More homework to help even out the grade. This will also encourage students to learn as we go, instead of waiting for an exam. I would like to see more screencasts or materials that include some coding. Lectures were more concepts and less hands on, and being able to see code being run in class or via screencasts on the website would be very helpful when it came time to do the project. Personally, I would have liked it if more time was spent on how to connect databases with applications. I wish that the lecture notes contained more explicit explanations on some material. change the class time so people dont feel sleepy. more inclass exercises. It could have no assignments. It could have more midterms More in-class exercises to help student prepare for the midterm. maybe have days where students to go to a computer lab where everyone has access to a computer and can try sql commands and assignments with the professor there to answer questions Use assignments as means to teach the theoretical aspects of this course. Cut down on the quizzes and give more assignments. I think more assignments like assignment 2 would be really beneficial. I thought assignment 2 was very challenging, more assignments like it would allow students to get more practice and would force students to learn the conepts and logic of SQL better. More assignments that cover class topics Better PowerPoint presentations [with clearer explanations] and fix errors found on PowerPoint presentations I believe that this course could be improved by reducing the emphasis on group projects slightly, as it seems somewhat unrealistic to have 40% of a student's grade based on a single group task. This class could use more assignments. Have more office hours because some material needs to be explained a little more in depth (only because class time is short). I felt the course was well thought out, and really would change anything. Consider un-timed quizzes. Invoke more hands on work with computer use by having students bring laptops. Show live examples using a database when covering confusing topics rather than just using powerpoint slides. Switch to a smaller database like MySQL, Postgres, or Apache Derby. Give more programming assignments. Switch to an online homework grading system like the one associated with the course text. More frequent class meetings and more assignments. More assignments that are smaller, and have less impact on our grades individually. If anything, I could use a little MORE homework. I wish we got to practice using the knowledge we gained in the class a little more. less of the grading percentage to be focused on one item

12. Other comments:

Thank you for a great semester! I found that the lecture notes in the first half of the course were more helpful on the quizzes than the lecture notes in the second half so maybe those slides could be improved. Students group together with friends so that remaining students may have incompatible schedules and have a difficult time meeting for the project. Projects are worth too much and much too abstract so that you have no idea if you will pass or fail the class until the very end of the semester. Good project ideas could come at the second half of the semester but the materials are covered too late to matter much. learned a lot in this class Great class. Confusing at times, but it all makes sense at the right moments. Overall a good class, instructor is very knowledgeable and is enthusiastic about teaching. He's also very reasonable. None. Yay? Lipyeow is really nice and helpful, and he is more caring than most UH profs I've known. Overall, I liked this class. In the beginnning the concepts seemed easy to understand, but; near the middle of the semester it seems like the difficulty grew exponentially. I feel like I don't understand many of the concepts coved toward the end of the semester. I think the tricky concepts should be covered over a longer period of time. But, I am definitely taking away knowledge of databases that I learned in this class. I think the final project is the most valuable because it makes us put all the pieces we learn into a bigger picture. One suggestion I have is more in class demonstrations using db2 and actually typing in queries. When I first had to do this for the assignments it was confusing and stressful. It would be beneficial for students to see it done in class. Thank you for the wonderful semester. I enjoyed this class, and would recommend Prof. Lipyeow to up and coming students. Professor Lim was a concerned and knowledgeable professor. His lectures were at points boring, but I know the material needed to be covered somehow. The way he engaged students in class made the overall class more interesting and showing him as someone who cares about the well being of the students enrolled in the course. His explanations were fairly understandable and relatable, making his assignments hard enough to make us apply what we learned in a chapter without being unreasonable. Given a chance, I would take another course from him. Overall, great professor. GOOD CLASS. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK PROFESSOR. GG. Very interesting course.

Lipyeow Lim: ICS 624, Spring 2011     Back to top

Campus:	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Department:	Information& Computer Sciences
Course:	ICS 624 - Advanced Data Management	Crn (Section):	88614 (001)

1. The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.83 12 0.39 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (17%) 10 (83%)

2. The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 12 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (50%) 6 (50%)

3. The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 12 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (50%) 6 (50%)

4. I gained a good understanding of concepts/principles in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 12 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (50%) 6 (50%)

5. I learned to identify main points and central issues in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 12 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (50%) 6 (50%)

6. I deepened my interest in the subject matter of this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 12 0.49 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 4 (33%) 8 (67%)

7. I felt that this course challenged me intellectually.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.75 12 0.45 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (25%) 9 (75%)

8. The instructor inspired me to be critical of ideas and materials.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.75 12 0.45 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (25%) 9 (75%)

9. What did you find most valuable and helpful about the course?

Even though the class was seminar style with students presenting papers, Lipyeow assigned papers that expanded our existing knowledge of databases. He also provided insights and feedback whenever possible. reading papers was actually helpful better approach than textbook study enjoyed that all material was accessible digitally Project. Learned more from it than the rest of the class combined. Should be stressed more/started earlier. Trying to think of weaknesses in each paper. That was definitely the hardest part for me but required me to really understand what was going on, and I think helped me become a better writer at the same time. The literature readings are good. It's the most intense paper reading class I've had, and it's a good practice. I liked the seminar format, though preparing for class between the Mon and Wed classes was sometimes tough. Learning how to read research papers quickly and thoroughly, writing reviews containing important points, discussion. Projects haven't been turned in yet, we'll see how that works out. This course required a lot of self directed learning based on the readings assigned and the major project. There were really only two major components in the class, the assigned readings, which gave us a broad overview of the subjects, and the project, which was a very self-directed learning experience. Data management is a very broad area of study. This class attempted to cover a huge chunk.

10. What did you find least valuable and helpful about the course?

It was a lot of breadth and exploring cutting edge ideas. I would have liked a little more depth in some areas, but that's just my personal preference. I don't think I got much out of some of the papers, but for the most part, they were excellent -- very interesting and useful. The difficult thing was picking what to do the project on before reading all of the papers. Maybe you could post all of the papers for the semester ahead of time so students can read the abstracts and get a sense of what might be interesting? Some of the students' presentations are not so thorough. Project management - should have enforced sit down dates, not graded/still possible to fail the class if you show up with nothing done multiple times. A lack of direction/ideas on potential projects, in a school that does not focus on databases/database group - harder for students to decide what to do? The class project was both very valuable as research experience and not as helpful as a learning tool. It pushes a student to do research in the class, but was mostly self-directed so it is difficult to gauge the overall learning progress. The readings were very hard to do at the same time as the project.

11. The instructor gives clear explanations.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.58 12 0.51 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 5 (42%) 7 (58%)

12. The amount of material covered in the course is reasonable.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 12 0.52 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (50%) 6 (50%)

13. Reading assignments make students think.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.58 12 0.51 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 5 (42%) 7 (58%)

14. The course was a valuable contribution to my education.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.83 12 0.39 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (17%) 10 (83%)

15. State in two or three sentences how this course could be improved.

Again, I would have liked to spend more time on a few subjects, especially the beginning fundamentals. I also would have liked some "grad-level" assignments relating to dbs to cut my teeth on in addition to the projects, although this would make it less friendly to non-ICS people. More stress/time on the projects. Maybe a couple of smaller assignments Maybe presenters could send their presentations to you a couple of days in advance and you could review it quickly and let them know if they should add anything. Higher percentage of papers with basic database topics could be used The quality control of students' presentations could be improved. The project requirements could be more specific. Newer papers for some of the topics would be helpful. Some papers we read were pretty old and it would have been nice to know how things have changed since then. Project management - should have enforced sit down dates, not graded/still possible to fail the class if you show up with nothing done multiple times. One day could be a topic overview day - a 3-5 minute summary of topics covered over the semester (IR, Big Data, Parallel, Distributed, XML, Exotic Hardware, KWS on RDBMS) to help students get a feel for what will be covered, areas that projects can come from. If the course is run again, a short overview of the better projects from this semester. Have more structure for projects. It is difficult to choose a self directed project without guidance. Set criteria or guidelines for the overall projects may be helpful.

16. Other comments:

Lipyeow's a great professor. I would take future graduate classes with him as the instructor. online participants dont seem to add much to the course they perhaps detract from the rest of the class My favorite paper was on data cubes. My least favorite was the graphs. Afternoon classes are harder to stay awake in when you must drive to school early in the morning. Never liked 3pm classes. Would recommend professor to other students for classes. The variety of projects that are selected by students is interesting, but there is a large variance of difficulty based on these selected projects. Some students may select a relatively easy project while others are presented with a difficult challenge. It may be beneficial to include more guidelines and structure in the projects. Dr. Lim is very kind to students who are not ICS majors and is always willing to help with comprehension questions. I will wouldn't mind taking his other course if the opportunity comes up. I will recommend his classes to others.

Lipyeow Lim: ICS 421, Spring 2010     Back to top

Campus:	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Department:	Information& Computer Sciences
Course:	ICS 421 - Database Systems	Crn (Section):	86321 (001)

1. The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.75 24 0.44 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (25%) 18 (75%)

2. The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.33 24 0.64 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (8%) 12 (50%) 10 (42%)

3. The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.17 24 0.76 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (4%) 2 (8%) 13 (54%) 8 (33%)

4. I gained a good understanding of concepts/principles in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.0 24 0.78 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 2 (8%) 1 (4%) 16 (67%) 5 (21%)

5. I learned to apply principles from this course to new situations.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.08 24 0.88 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 2 (8%) 2 (8%) 12 (50%) 8 (33%)

6. I deepened my interest in the subject matter of this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.92 24 0.72 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 7 (29%) 12 (50%) 5 (21%)

7. I learned a lot in this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.21 24 0.78 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (4%) 2 (8%) 12 (50%) 9 (38%)

8. I generally understood the material presented in this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.88 24 0.61 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 6 (25%) 15 (63%) 3 (13%)

9. I have become more competent in this subject area during this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.0 24 0.83 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (4%) 5 (21%) 11 (46%) 7 (29%)

10. What did you find most valuable and helpful about the course?

The Professor provided code samples and help when needed. The assignments and project and first hand knowledge was great and helpful giving me a good grasp of the material. Viewed a little about how real world situations require Databases. A better development on homework assignment and clearer guideline will help us to learn how to actually apply it. I found the programming assignments to be the most valuable. They provided hands-on experience with databases which helped to deepen our understanding of the topics involved. The in-class exercises were also valuable to clarify concepts taught during the course. I also found the willingness of the instructor to help students outside of class to be very valuable. The most valuable were the challenging but relevant programming assignments. They help provide practical programming exposure and compound the lecture material. The programming assignments gave me practice with practical application of the course material. Experience setting up dbms The programming assignments were a great way to get hands on experience. I find the slides, quizzes and the instructor encouraging questions really helpful. Lipyeow is a great person with great knowledge in his field. He is a fair grader and cares about the performance of most of his students. His ppt presentations were good and highlighted everything we needed to know for the quizzes, which were also administered in a timely format and was relative to the concepts we covered in class. Lectures are generally entertaining and very informative. Again Professor Lipyeow was solid as a professor. The programming assignments were the most helpful since we had to apply what we learned in the class to the program. I helped to understand how things worked as well as see the errors that could occur when implementing certain functions. I feel that Lipyeow had a strong knowledge of course content and could answer any questions we had. The professor's desire to help the student's at all costs was extremely valuable for learning the course material. Great range of interesting topics and details about them at a low level. Quizzes, in class exercises. The worksheets we did in class and the homework assignments. New concepts on database management, design, etc. TheTRue knowledge in general and how it applies to the computer job industry. It covers a lot of theoretical ground in databases and their internal construction. While my career is likely to revolve around a higher-level understanding of the technology (I probably won't be a DBA), the knowledge of the inner workings will be valuable in optimizing schema designs and different settings.

11. What did you find least valuable and helpful about the course?

The lecture material did not always cover what we did in our assignments and tests. The fact that the assignments built on each other. If you where to hit a snag on the assignment you would not be able to complete any of the others. If a copy of the correct and wanted results is given after completion. It would be good. Lectures and homework were not related. Scripts given to us were buggy and caused more problems. Test scripts were not helpful and caused as many problems as the original assignment Different DB and their strength I found all the information presented to be valuable. The programming assignments could have been given a little earlier and broken up into smaller assignments to make it less overwhelming. Quizzes The project is a good way to compare DBMS's but the data required for testing was way too much and took more time to load than setting up the instances, modifying our programs, running the queries combined. There are times that the quizzes or part of the exam seemed not covered enough on the lecture. There were a few things that could be improved upon in this course. The midterm was brutal and the scores showed that most of the class was not ready for it. To be fair, Professor Lipyeow did grade very leniently. I haven't taken the final yet but Professor Lipyeow said that he will try and make it a little easier. If he does that then he already shows that he knows how to adapt to his class. Something needs to be done about the programming assignments. They were too long and Professor assumed that everybody in the class knew how to program. There was no intro on how to program. The Projects and the presentation time table also needs to be improved upon. Maybe some checkpoints throughout the semester would be a good way to see who is struggling. While it was not totally invaluable, the quizes where not that helpful to study for the midterm (possible for the final since I haven't taken it yet) since the style and the question types were very different from what was on the midterm. I think if the quizes included more of the worksheet and or practice questions it would have been better. The fact that there was so much work turned me off a bit. every day was very valuable. Length of assignments. The final project Some of the subject matter seemed very dull. Not sure.

12. The instructor appears to have a thorough knowledge of the subject.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.61 23 0.58 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (4%) 7 (30%) 15 (65%)

13. The instructor was able to explain concepts clearly and effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.0 24 0.78 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (4%) 4 (17%) 13 (54%) 6 (25%)

14. The instructor maintains an atmosphere of good feeling in class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.33 24 0.7 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (4%) 0 (0%) 13 (54%) 10 (42%)

15. The instructor is willing to meet and help students outside class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.71 24 0.55 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (4%) 5 (21%) 18 (75%)

16. The instructor keeps students informed of their progress.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.96 24 0.95 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 3 (13%) 2 (8%) 12 (50%) 7 (29%)

17. Please list your suggestions for improving the course and/or the instructor's teaching style and methods.

More exercises to help learn how to apply the material we learn. More review for exams. More time for program assignments. Maybe break them up into small assignments. If the assignments build on each other a copy of the correct results or what was expected to be given after the assignment was turned in. So everyone is on the same page and if anyone who hit a snag or could not get it up running can see mistakes. Keep class lectures more related to assignments. Provide more in-class exercises, especially on topics that students found difficult such as insertion/deletion operations of B+ trees. To improve the course, I feel he requires a TA. The program assignments require a lot of testing and grading for a single person to handle. A TA would help grade the assignments at a timely matter and provide feedback regarding the student's progress. See question 11 Lighten the load for the programming assignments. Scale back the assignments and don't use the astronomy data for the project or only used some of it. There are lots of programming in this class and I think we need more examples or some kind of good tutorial on the programming that is related to the assignments instead of doing everything on our own. The Quizes could use some work on so that it will reflect what to expect on the midterm and final exam. Also, the to make the assignments and the projects a little bit simpler. Most of the projects got harder (except for the 4th assignment) and could have been designed better to help the assignments come out easier. For instance have more assignments but have less to do in each assignment. Project based classes (as opposed to homework based) I feel usually give a deeper understanding of course matter, but there was just a bit too much work. I would liked to have spent at least a little time in class going over the projects. A lot of the lectures in class seemed like learning principles of databases just to learn them. If I had understood more of the real world application and why's instead of the whats I think it would be a bit more interesting and I would have been a bit more involved in class. Also maybe some in class exercises or group work might have livened class up a bit so it wasn't purely lecture. The powerpoint slides are not always the most effective way to teach the material. Perhaps a mixture of media would be helpful for learning the material more thoroughly. (i.e., more exercises, assignments from the book instead of quizzes, or a mixture of both) Project broken up into smaller chunks, if possible - the assignments are not hard, but more goal posts/deadlines are needed to keep students on track. Exams also tend towards long-ish length, nothing we haven't covered, but there's so much to do it can overwhelm. Get rid of the final project altogether. Make programming assignments slightly easier. Examples of coding the databse would have been helpful. I think that you understood yourself that the homeworks and projects were a bit much, and scaled them back. That was a good step, and I thank you for being flexible. I think that you have a good grip on teaching, and I don't really have any other suggestions for improvement.

18. My overall evaluation of this instructor is....

A good teacher in that he helps students when they need it. Material is what made the class hard though. Great teacher willing to meet and help out any way. Like that there was more hands on and thing to get everyone involved. He was ok. I would not go out of my way to take another of his classes A nice teacher, willing to help students to solve things out. The instructor for this course has a deep knowledge of the topics taught and he is very willing to share his knowledge with the students. He remains aware of the students' understanding by asking questions as he lectures. He did an excellent job teaching the course. I would definitely take more classes from this instructor. He is a good professor who is knowledgeable about the subject matter. He always seems to be available in his office and is always eager to help students who need further assistance in understanding the material. Good. Just needs to make small adjustments. Very goof professor. Very knowledgeable in the subject and always willing to help students outside of class. He is very supportive, helpful and very knowledgeable instructor. He is the best database instructor I've ever had, so I definitely recommend him to all students to take his class. It is very hard to teach this class as the range of experience with this topic is very broad from student to student. But overall a good job by the Lipyeow. It's a good class but there are things that can be worked on so that it runs a little bit smoother. Projects were a little bit difficult to do and sometime hard to understand. The quizes where not that helpful (other than adding points) to study or understand the information. But it was nice to be able to work in groups than it was to work alone. Excellent knowledge of course matter. Explains subject matter well. In class time a bit dry, more student involvement would be good. ... an amazing professor and an amazing person. Awesome guy. I wish he would teach other classes as well. Great inspiration to students and I feel students look up to him for knowledge and direction. Great! 4.5/5 Great teacher. I enjoy taking classes from him. Cool guy! Good instructor. We need more of this kind of concrete courses in ICS.

19. Class assignments provided an effective aid for learning the subject matter.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.0 23 1.0 Freq(%) 1 (4%) 1 (4%) 2 (9%) 12 (52%) 7 (30%)

20. Other comments:

Review of the quiz answers would be helpful to understand why we got it right/wrong. Also, use of more common/standard programs would cause less headaches. Good class. none. Might want to make the textbook recommended instead of required since I have yet to open the book and it is almost the end of the semester and I do not have any plans on opening the book before the semester ends. Will recommend all friends to take from Lipyeow. Yay! The assignments were absolutely interesting and informative, they were just a little bit time-consuming. Let me elaborate: I think that writing JDBC code is an atrocious ordeal. I would say one assignment on it is good, just for the introduction to the technology and the code, but you might consider exploring more developed Java database APIs. Personally, I have been using Hibernate, the object-relational mapping framework. There is more overhead in setup there, but actually developing with it is SOOOO much easier. It really cuts through all of the crap that makes JDBC feel like it's just getting in the way of your program. Then again, maybe the assignments were so excruciating because I was slogging through JDBC code while knowing that there is an easier way.

Lipyeow Lim: ICS 321, Fall 2009     Back to top

Campus:	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Department:	Information& Computer Sciences
Course:	ICS 321 - Data Storage & Retrieval	Crn (Section):	72227 (001)

1. The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.67 18 0.59 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (6%) 4 (22%) 13 (72%)

2. The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.22 18 0.88 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (6%) 2 (11%) 7 (39%) 8 (44%)

3. The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.33 18 0.84 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (6%) 1 (6%) 7 (39%) 9 (50%)

4. I gained a good understanding of concepts/principles in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.06 18 0.94 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (6%) 4 (22%) 6 (33%) 7 (39%)

5. I deepened my interest in the subject matter of this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.94 18 1.06 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 2 (11%) 4 (22%) 5 (28%) 7 (39%)

6. I learned a lot in this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.83 18 1.15 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 3 (17%) 4 (22%) 4 (22%) 7 (39%)

7. I developed skills needed by professionals in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.78 18 1.06 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 3 (17%) 3 (17%) 7 (39%) 5 (28%)

8. I felt that this course challenged me intellectually.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.06 18 1.06 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 2 (11%) 3 (17%) 5 (28%) 8 (44%)

9. I have become more competent in this subject area during this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   3.88 17 0.99 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 2 (12%) 3 (18%) 7 (41%) 5 (29%)

10. What did you find most valuable and helpful about the course?

The slides. And going over questions after a quiz/test. More in-depth information was given mainly because those who got the question wrong, were more inclined to ask further regarding why. Whereas compared to the in-class lecture about the subject/ exercise, people would just accept it because what was stated seemed like it was correct. And for the most part, we didn't have an opinion at the time due to just not knowing. Using the project as a hands on experience with databases provided me with a lot of opportunities to use what we had learned and discussed in class on my project. The instructor was very helpful and knowledgeable. I would have liked to see more information from him (personal experiences/opinions about the subject) during the lecture. I have try to take this class from another instructor before but I ended up dropping the class because I did not gain any knowledge or whatsoever in that class. But this time this class that is taught by a very knowledgeable and helpful instructor I had the motivation to learn and I believe that I have gained knowledge. As of now, I can honestly say that I have a better understanding about this course. We started from the basics of database systems and worked our way up, one step at a time. It may have seemed slow for some, but I find this an exemplary way to execute a class, especially when dealing with a new subject altogether. The project being worth a lot was a good idea. Learning SQL I find the practical knowledge more than the theoretical. For instance writing SQL queries and ER diagrams. Slides/information online, easily available. Good Lecturer, really trying to explain hard concepts. Hardly hear anyone said "the more you understand in class, the less you have to read", that's exactly why we need teachers. Database concepts I found the willingness of the instructor to meet with students outside of class to be the most helpful. The concepts of a DBMS. Various databases and SQL languages Powerpoints were helpful so we can read ahead before the class and prepare questions. The power point presentations and how they where availible on the Internet.

11. What did you find least valuable and helpful about the course?

Example problems without answers or explanations. Slides with questions and now answers. Professor's unwilling to give answers/explanations after the lecture was finished. I missed a class, and was given the impression "tough luck you missed lecture" due to his response, but I guess that is acceptable, however annoying. The lack of homework was hard for me as repetition is good for my learning. It would have be helpful too when working on the project. Quizzes every week helped us drilled our understanding of the subject. I'm not a fan of constant testing, but to each their own. The lack of actually using database programs like DBMS. I feel like we should have worked with it more in class than trying to figure it out on our own. Some of the slides are very dry due to subject matter - not much to be changed there. Needs better scheduling time, free coffee/tea to keep students awake, and the moon while we're at it. i think we need some HW to actually motivate us. Certain sections in the text were not clear about the concepts they were covering which made learning difficult. Actual application of the course material. We did not actually get to use a DBMS until the final project at the end of the semester. The book was pretty dry. None

12. The instructor gives clear explanations.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.22 18 0.73 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (17%) 8 (44%) 7 (39%)

13. The instructor stresses important points in lectures/discussions.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.22 18 0.73 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (17%) 8 (44%) 7 (39%)

14. The instructor appears to have a thorough knowledge of the subject.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.5 18 0.62 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (6%) 7 (39%) 10 (56%)

15. The instructor was effective in meeting the objectives of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.22 18 0.81 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 4 (22%) 6 (33%) 8 (44%)

16. The instructor maintains an atmosphere of good feeling in class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.56 18 0.7 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (11%) 4 (22%) 12 (67%)

17. The instructor is willing to meet and help students outside class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.39 18 0.7 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (11%) 7 (39%) 9 (50%)

18. The instructor makes me feel free to ask questions.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.39 18 0.85 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 1 (6%) 1 (6%) 6 (33%) 10 (56%)

19. The instructor seems well prepared for each class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.41 17 0.71 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (12%) 6 (35%) 9 (53%)

20. The instructor presented the course materials in a clear and organized way.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.17 18 0.79 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 4 (22%) 7 (39%) 7 (39%)

21. In general, the course was well organized.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.24 17 0.75 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (18%) 7 (41%) 7 (41%)

22. The amount of work required is appropriate for the credit received.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.28 18 0.67 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2 (11%) 9 (50%) 7 (39%)

23. My overall evaluation of this instructor is....

Where is Deryke? I've only heard good reviews regarding Deryke. And finally had time to take this course only to find he wasn't teaching it. But as for the current instructor: Also, I have ONE big issue with this guy. He laughs too much. Much of which I thought were at inappropriate times. Nearly anytime someone asks a question or makes a comment he laughs. It is especially annoying when someone is asking for clarification or even if it is just to confirm if their answer or way of thinking is correct. To me, that is insulting, even belittling of the student. And among the reasons why I have not ever spoken up in class. HOWEVER, I am almost certain he laughs because he is nervous. At start of class, he did it a lot. And now towards the end of the class, not so much. He had stated that this is his first time in Hawaii, and previously he was teaching on the mainland. So, I dunno. Maybe it was just a nervous habit, maybe it wasn't. Regardless, it was and still is annoying. Very positive. He was very helpful and friendly. And you could tell that he knew a lot about the subject. Mr. Lim is one of the best instructor I have ever taken especially in ICS department. Although he is new at UH, he is very intellectual and he always do his best to explain the subject matter to his students especially if the particular topic is really hard to grasp. Therefore, I recommend HIM to all ICS majors to take his class. Awesome instructor! Good. He may be new, but he presented the subject very well, it was clearly obvious he knew what he was discussing. I would recommend this class to any persons interested, and even more so with this particular professor. Professor was alright. understanding, but strict when it comes to missing the quizzes. Very good instructor. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Helpful when you ask questions. Good, but would help a lot if we had assignments that applied what we learned in class to create a database. He is a good instructor. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Very good - would take classes from him again. Very good teacher, hardly see someone like that in ICS department, someone who really wants his/her students to understand, to be able to apply the concepts in real life. Very friendly, positive and approachable. A+ Very kind and student-friendly. Very knowledgeable about the course material and answers any questions clearly. I thought this instructor was excellent. He has a good knowledge of the material being taught and is willing to provide students extra help. He welcomed questions and did periodic checks by asking the class about the material to ensure the class was understanding what was being covered. The instructor is very knowledgeable and very open about concerns. Encourages students to ask questions and understands the difficulty students may have. Course material could be explained a bit more clearly to students who are completely new to DBMS. Great Instructor, he would slow down the pace if students don't understand the material. His comments are useful. Great instructor. Very welcoming, makes for a good learning environment. He was cool to talk to and kept a relaxed atmosphere

24. Assignments are relevant to what is presented in class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.06 17 0.83 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 5 (29%) 6 (35%) 6 (35%)

25. The instructional materials (e.g., texts, handouts, etc.) were relevant to course objectives.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.24 17 0.75 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 3 (18%) 7 (41%) 7 (41%)

26. Grades are assigned fairly and impartially.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree   Disagree   Neutral   Agree   Strongly Agree   4.29 17 0.59 Freq(%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (6%) 10 (59%) 6 (35%)

27. My overall evaluation of this course is...

No Comment. Very good. Unlike others I feel that the book was very good at explaining the concepts and the in class lectures were a good addition to the readings in the books. Well done. Extremely satisfied. on a scale from 1-10.. this course gets a 6. DBMS has its complicated moments but when you understand the material it comes together. when you don't.. you are lost Very interesting course. Useful A very good introduction to database systems - instructor is obviously very knowledgeable about subject, would recommend this course/instructor to others. It's a very interesting course, instead of teaching you how to make queries, it teaches you the concept behind db design. Well-organized and require efforts but not over work. It was an incredibly useful course. The subject matter is vital to proficiency in the field. This course was excellent. I was able to learn about various aspects of database design. I was also able to gain some practical experience using database software through the project. This course was interesting overall but often times difficult to follow the material thoroughly. Great course, really detail about database and SQL language. Great way to learn more about databases. It was good and help me learns lot

28. State in two or three sentences how this course could be improved.

GET RID OF THE BOOK REQUIREMENT. That was a hundred something dollars I spent on a book that I opened ONCE. Now, my grades aren't A but from my score, its in the B range. The tests and materials don't need the book, they just require complete memorization of whatever he puts on the slides(which is rather troublesome). Also, if you want students to learn better, get rid of the final project and assign HOMEWORK. Seriously, the ONLY time in this course where I interacted with a DBMS was with the final project and that was only as a necessity to do what I consider the bare minimum(with regards to DBMS interaction) to complete the final project. Why the bare minimum? Because I have haven't used a DBMS before and the lectures didn't help enough to make me comfortable with the DBMS. Assigning homework. Not a lot but maybe one small assignment for every chapter. This would present more opportunities to work with the software hands on before the project assignment. More in the lecture notes besides what was in the book. The lecture notes were often very close to the material in the book (which isn't bad) but I think we could have benefited from more from the instructor during in class lectures. Experiences and opinions are not good ways of describing my intentions but I would have liked to have seen more information about the topic coming from the instructor and not a repetition of what was in the book. (Although expanding on what the book wrote is very good and helpful, please don't think this a request to stop doing that.) Maybe, more database programming demonstration? Perhaps you should allow Professor Lipyeow a TA to assist him, so he may focus more on the subject matter and not on grading tests. Also, I very much appreciate the group project, I would suggest keeping that for future iterations. everything was based on slides. which was good because slides were accessible anytime. but could do more written example of code on the board rather just pointing on the slides. was relieved that there was no homework, but realize that are grade was determine only by quizzes, midterm, final project and final. with less stuff to determine your grade, its very hard to keep your grade steady. for the final project, it should be clear on what exactly you wanted us to do for the overall project. our group did a lot of coding, but couldn't show it all off, and we never submitted it in. so all that work, those really late nights working on it, felt like it was for nothing. honestly, we could had said what we wanted to do for code, explain in some detail, and maybe show off bits and pieces of lines of code. in other words, we could had just faked our way through the presentation and demo. Have mini assignments to apply topics lectured about in class. For the final/semester project: more checkpoints to gauge work being done on how far the project is coming along instead of only one checkpoint midway. There does not need to be required amount of progress per checkpoint, but it would add to a sense of getting things done on time. I think this course is very good, the quizzes are good, really make students think instead of straight memorization. The projects/midterm makes students think. I would like to see more of that on homework. That would definitely make students think about the stuff they learnt more while they are at home. Other than that, I guess the lecture ppt are good in general, it really sum up the main ideas, but at the same time, I wish more details would be included, so it's easier for independent studies. Could have been better if students can practice more in class. Give assignments at least one every two weeks. Assign one big project towards the end of the semester. The project could be a little more directed. It's difficult to think of a decent project idea before knowing much about the material. I think adding a few homework assignments may help students keep up with the material. Assignments could be assigned that deal with the use of a DBMS so that students can learn the concepts and apply syntax simultaneously. Quizzes were not as helpful in learning the course material and could be substituted for assignments. In general, applying the material through programming would be helpful in learning about a DBMS. Maybe need to focus a little bit more portion on SQL Maybe some class time to meet up with group members for projects. Some groups, mine included, had a very hard time meeting up outside of class due to time conflicts. Nothing really there was nothing realy bad but so e time I felt that I was not able tounderstand whatwas going on in class. It may be due to the organization of the power points or theway that they where presented but overall everthing was good.