Skip to main content

Survey Results



Course Survey Results


Baybars   Karacaovali   ECON321, Fall 2014

Campus: University of Hawaii at Manoa Course: ECON 321 - Introduction to Statistics
Department:   Economics Crn (Section):   70759 (001)    


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

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Freshman (1)  Sophomore (2)  Junior (3)  Senior (4)  Grad (5)  Other (6) 
3.34 96 0.72   0(0%) 8(8%) 51(53%) 35(36%) 0(0%) 2(2%)
2.   Course - please note that by answering this question you could potentially jeopardize your anonymity

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Elective (1)  Required (2) 
1.78 96 0.42   21(22%) 75(78%)
3.   The instructor demonstrated knowledge of course content.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.78 98 0.42   0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 22(22%) 76(78%)
4.   The instructor fulfilled the goals of the course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.64 98 0.66   0(0%) 2(2%) 4(4%) 21(21%) 71(72%)
5.   The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.53 96 0.71   0(0%) 3(3%) 3(3%) 30(31%) 60(63%)
6.   I gained a good understanding of concepts/principles in this field.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.31 97 0.93   2(2%) 2(2%) 13(13%) 27(28%) 53(55%)
7.   I deepened my interest in the subject matter of this course.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
3.99 98 1.09   2(2%) 8(8%) 22(22%) 23(23%) 43(44%)

8.   Which aspects of the course were most valuable?
Dr. Karacaovali does a great job of teaching students how to apply the correct formulas and tests to the understanding statistical analysis and probability. While at the same time, however, he explains the relevance of the formulas and why certain tests are being used. The grading of the course is also very fair and he really strives for students to well and to understand the material. There are rarely any "trick questions" and he is always open to answering questions even during late hours of the night.
I learned more about how to apply Stat in real life
He's passion for the students success.
The new way of survey calculation which I never knew
Seeing the practical everyday use for statistics. His modern approach to teaching, knowing that the emphasis on memorization of formulas isn't necessary but how to apply them and understanding why and how to use them effectively is the important aspect of his teachings.
n/a
Probability and Sampling
the handouts were very good, and the online practice tests and Iclicker questions.
The handouts provided were extremely valuable. I have trouble with the executive functions of my brain, so being able to simply fill in key words and examples as opposed to writing everything down without being able to truly listen and understand it was extremely helpful. Also, Baybars Karacaovali demonstrated exceptional care for student success. He provided every means possible for a student to understand the material. He lead examples in class, made powerpoints available online, provided practice problems, offered to meet outside of class, and more. I had been working with stats in my other classes for years, but never understood what I was doing until he explained it in such a way that made sense. His progression from topic to topic was in a very good order and done very well. Also, the videos he showed really did raise my interest in statistics.
In the Beginning, I learned quite a bit and enjoyed it. But it started getting confusing after the first exam. He is very helpful and willing to meet outside of class to help.
It was a general intro to statistics. Basic understanding of stats to help with research in academia.
Topics 4 - 11. Probability Discrete and Continuous Probability Distributions Sampling Sampling Distributions Confidence Intervals Hypothesis Testing I and II Topics 1 - 3 were helpful for review to begin the course.
The online tests and the problem sets.
He was always helpful
He provided very organized slides to us online as well as problem sets and their solutions, which was very helpful.
I feel like the lecture slides were very well written and organized and helped me understand the concepts.
the online practice tests
I appreciated the comprehensive study guide that was compiled, including important concepts and example exam questions.
the math equations and applying them to the problems.
The handouts that went along with the powerpoints were very useful.
He had his information available all the time through laulima and he was also willing to meet during his hours.
Learning to read information and create euatuons based on that information to gain even more information and reasons why
Allowed students to get extra points throughout the semester to boost the overall percentage grade. Also dropped two lower scores on the tests that were given.
The useful outlines Professor Baybars made, life-savers to say the least.
Statistics is a vital part of the economics program, many of the concepts we learned throughout this course can be applied to other economics classes as well.
material!! And he gives us many chance to get good grade.
practice exams really helped me to understand the materials
having the quizzes as an extracredit to help boost our grade along with the computer assignments.
The test review
The most valuable aspects of this course are that there were plenty of real-life examples and problems to relate the course material to.
The handouts provided by the professor were very helpful as well as the practice problems and practice tests on laulima.
I found that finding probability can be useful as well as calculating my grades by using formulas learned in class. For example, we learned how to calculate problems if you receive a certain score worth a specific percent of your grade.
The online tests and handouts were a great way to understand the material and to be prepared for the exams.
I liked how he posted all of the documents on laulima. It was very helpful.
when i have something that i could not understand, i emailed him and he responded me really quickly and explained clearly.
Everything
I really enjoyed the practical examples given in the course. I thought the handouts and formulas given helped us learn the topic better.
quiz and computer assignment
The problem sets and the fill in the blank notes
Exams, attendance (to gain clear understanding of concepts) + iclicker questions
The use of iclickers was a valuable aspect in the class. It's a good way to learn and get feedback. Also, the handouts (notes) were great. I don't think I would do well in the class without it. The computer assignments are great as well because it teaches us how to apply the concepts we learn to Microsoft Excel. This is really important because in real life, we probably wouldn't do all the calculations by hand. It'd take forever. Also, I think having the lecture slides (with the notes from class included) posted on Laulima was really helpful. Whenever I missed something, I could easily access what I missed online.
I think there were a lot of aspects about the course that we could apply for use in daily life.
As a biology major, statistics is an important skill for the field. So all topics were valuable toward my education.
I liked having the fill in the blank notes for class as well as the practice problems before the tests.
All of the material in this course was important, it built the foundation for other concepts throughout the course.
The use of Laulima to provide valuable handouts, access to notes from class, plenty of practice problems to help solidify concepts learned in class, to make very helpful announcements throughout the course that always kept everything very clear.
Professor Karacaovali clearly designed his own course and was able to extract the most relevant principles of statistics to teach to his class. His lectures were systematic and progressively got more challenging rather than dumping a heavy load of material onto his students. He was also very fair and gave plenty of opportunities for students to raise their grades. He is also one of the few professors who are sensitive or wary of the student's diverse backgrounds. He accommodates everyone's needs.
being a econ major, ability to relate numbers was the greatest kill acquired in this class
The formulas that were given during the exams.
Towards the end of the course I learned many new things I have never seen before .
Learning how to find the standard deviation of a mean and the variance. You need these in order to determine almost any statistical probability.
For me personally, I liked the rate at which he taught each subject/material, even though at times it may feel slow, it allows you to completely understand the material rather than breezing through it and getting lost. Also It was great that the professor did multiple different type of example questions!
Formulas were given
The aspects of learning how to read and create data into statistics and learning knowledge based off the findings.
Professor provided all the lectures notes on Laulima.
I enjoyed the videos which gave students an idea of how to apply the concepts learned in class.
the lectures and power point slides.
The topic of statistics in general are valuable.
It related a lot to my Genetics course which I found helpful
All of the help and resources provided by the Professor
The extra credit helped a lot. Without it I would fail.
Learning important statistical problem solving methods
Everything-statistics is useful for both my intended field and also for just living in society and reading the news! Dr. Karacaovali explained concepts that I have already used to analyze articles I read. If I had to choose though, I'd say the YouTube videos for additional background on concepts and the real world examples he brought up were very good at tying the concepts together with practical applications.
The fundamentals of math learned, such as standard deviations, which can be applied to other courses.
the beginning when we learned simple probability and things we can actually use in life
The professor wanted us to do nothing but succeed and I truly appreciate that because that is not very common nowadays with professors. By doing this it shows that he truly cares about his students, wants the best for us, and probably has been in our shoes before. BEST PROFESSOR!
The instructor makes a big effort to explain every detail of a concept in depth and in a logical manner.
Being able to use all of the tests we learned about in a real world aspect. i'm a science major so I liked that!
Baybars was a great teacher considering the class does not require math background. But for me I think you do need math background. Baybars did provide a lot of information and tried his hardest to make this subject easy to comprehend.
The extra credit and the online homework helped a lot because it let me practice the topics that were taught in class.
I think the way the course is organized is really helpful because it is easy to follow. I like how lecture handouts are provided online so it makes it easier to keep up with the professor and the material. The handouts allows us to really pay attention and it makes it easier to follow along. I also like how the iClickers are used in order to get students more involved with the lesson.
The course was geared more towards understanding the concepts behind the material being studied rather more than anything
He gave us a lot of examples on how to apply what he was teaching.
The online tests, practice problems, computer assignments, lecture slides, and handouts were all essential and helpful materials provided by the instructor which greatly improved my understanding within ECON 321 and ability to do well in that class.


9.   Which aspects of the course were least valuable?
N/A
N/a
None
n/a
None
there wasnt anything that were unvaluable
N/A
Basic knowledge of economics. Because I don't have any and so, it is difficult to learn.
There were multiple major types within the course. It would be great if we were able to be an only "econ" majors, so that we could be exposed to statistics related to economics, even though the econ department offers an economic specifically for statistics.
n/a
The class time spent reviewing problem set questions. Do not see value in making such sessions required attendance.
I wanted him to go through more examples similar to exam questions
I feel the class was overall good.
the computer based homework assignments
I think that the iClicker is not necessary in this course. If students want to learn, it is their responsibility to do so.
None. I felt everything was necessary and valuable.
None, it was clear and really manageable.
The iclicker mandatory attendence
N/A
None
The least valuable aspect is that there is a lot of information given and those information usually gets mixed together, becoming complex.
I felt that the course was too easy and as a result, it decreased my incentive to try as hard.
I do not think that calculating z scores are prevalent in real life, however for certain occupations may be useful.
I think a few of the homework problems didn't help much, but others did.
Probability
I feel that the online tests were better to be required, even if for extra credit. It really forces you to be proactive with studying if you fall behind. So this is more of a positive comment.
none
Attendance not mandatory
The least valuable aspect of the course was having review sections where we just went over problems in the Problem Set. I didn't think this was very beneficial because the answers/solutions are already posted online. So, I didn't really see the point in going over them in class, unless they were really perplexing problems.
None
Sometimes the way the concepts were explained was with mostly mathematical formulas and equations. It would be easier for me to understand if a more verbal and non-math explanation was used as well. For example, "this equation means...."
The initially mandatory attendance.
I can't think of any.
The beginning of the course was really easy
Although the videos were interesting, I found them pointless
At times the repetitive math can get tiresome and drained some time as the professor showed the individual calculation for each.
n/a
None
I did not enjoy as much the complicated explanations given for certain topics.
Computer assignments
I don't want to be rude but, he is very monotone which may make students sleepy.
Perhaps unless you are interested in this field of study or work then it is a good introduction for you, but if not it does not really help you a lot
It is hard to stay focused in class
n/a
N/A
First section of class (up to the first exam) moves pretty slowly.
all the z score stuff because I just don't know when I am ever going to use that in real life
Online practice tests are due way before the exam to get extra credit. Some student don't take the practice test till right before the exam and i believe that those student still have a right for extra credit as well. People learn in all different manners and not everyone has time to do the practice test way before the exam.
I feel all of it was valuable
I could understand the material the class notes but for some reason I could not understand the test or some of the problems on practice problems especially word problems. I would try to refer back to class notes and power point, got complete lost and did not ever come up with the right answer. I would try and google more information but that did not work all the time. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how is the material related to the practice problems. My point is that if i could not refer to the class notes for help then maybe the class notes need to be re-did.
The reviews that were done in class felt more like it was there to fill up time rather than a review. Also sometimes certain topics were spent too much time on.
I do not think there was anything I found least valuable.
N/A. Everything was of great use.

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

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.48 98 0.78   0(0%) 2(2%) 11(11%) 23(23%) 62(63%)
11.   The instructor is willing to meet and help students outside class.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.74 97 0.51   0(0%) 0(0%) 3(3%) 19(20%) 75(77%)
12.   The instructor was well organized and prepared for each session.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.75 96 0.48   0(0%) 0(0%) 2(2%) 20(21%) 74(77%)
13.   Global appraisal: Considering everything how would you rate this INSTRUCTOR?

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Very Poor (1)  Poor (2)  Average (3)  Good (4)  Excellent (5) 
4.64 97 0.56   0(0%) 1(1%) 1(1%) 30(31%) 65(67%)
14.   The instructor was fair in grading and criteria of grades.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.78 97 0.48   0(0%) 0(0%) 3(3%) 15(15%) 79(81%)

15.   Other comments:
Although I am a biology major, I thoroughly enjoyed this course. Dr. Karacaovali, keep up the great work!
He is a great professor, and if I could I would take more classes from him.
Thank you Baybars. I think the one comment I would like to make is how you give your lectures and explain concepts. I think the powerpoint slides are very effective, but as a student, I think you could explain more naturally and in you own words. I feel the slides should be a guide, but ultimately, you should be conveying the information. The examples we did in class were very helpful, and I really appreciated using the iClickers whenever possible. For future classes, I really don't think you need to make attendance not mandatory; you are a good Professor, and by making attendance not mandatory, you're just giving us another reason or excuse not to come and just get the information online. I understand why you did it, and I know it was only to help our grades, but you are a good teacher and don't need to do that for future classes. Overall, good class, just work on how you convey concepts and making it more graspable to the class. Thank you.
The professor sometimes doesn't take attendance which made me feel unfair to evaluate students
I hope more instructors can learn from his approach to teaching. He understands the importance of testing us on our understanding of the subject. He gives all the formulas you need so that you don't have to memorize them. In the age of the Internet, in a real world situation, it's incredibly easy to find the formula you're looking for. But knowing which formula to use is what matters. Understanding when and why we use the formula is what he teaches us. He also found ways to relate the material in concepts that were easy to understand. He took his syllabus outside of the generic examples of a textbook. I appreciate his ability to teach. He did such a great job, that I truly wished UH offered a major in Stats.
Baybars is an extremely fair teacher that adjusts to his students needs. He genuinely cares and makes himself available so that students can succeed. He makes class as interesting as he can for a topic that can be so mundane. I appreciate all the effort that Baybars puts into his lectures.
Baybars tries very hard to help out the class whenever we need help. He cares about everyone and wants us all to do well.
I donʻt think that you should listen to students about how to run YOUR class. If they donʻt want to show up for class thats fine, they donʻt have to show up. I donʻt think you should have excused the 10% participation just because people complained about it...I also like how you gave alot of practice problems to help me outside the classroom learn. The online extra credit was very helpful, as well as the computer assignments. I also like how you drop a test, everyone has a bad test every once in a while so that was nice of you to drop it. mahalo for a great semester!
I enjoyed and appreciated the fact that he understood and based his class on the fact that his students come from different backgrounds of knowledge. Many professors will assume all students have the same basic understanding of the topic which can be detrimental to someone who doesn't. He reviewed all necessary mathematical processes as well as explained them in a highly level way for those who understand and work at that level (ie. algebra based vs calculus based). He also related the topics covered to a variety of interests and applications knowing that his class was comprised of a wide range of majors.
There are many students who are very knowledgeable in the course and have an easy time with it, but there are also students who have no understanding of what is going on.
Thank you for being such a great professor! I learned a lot in this class. The lecture was at a good pace. The online tests and problem sets helped me gained a better understanding of the concepts. The use of iClicker helped me gauge how much I understood the concept and it was a good incentive to come to class. I appreciate all the extra credit opportunities. Thank you for caring about us as your students and wanting us to succeed in your course. It motivated me to try my best. (: Just a friendly advice - I know that the class is graded on a percentage system from the syllabus, but if it is possible, maybe include the letter grade breakdown also? Aside from that, have a nice winter break!
Cares about the students' progress, and even utilizes feedback to make the class more convenient for students.
He encourages students not to give up and helped them to stay on the track. I highly recommend him.
Thank you!
I'm a little disappointed that two exams were being dropped instead of one. I do not believe that changing the grading policy mid-semester was a good initiative for students to study harder. For students that were already studying and taking this class seriously, I believe that it was not far. If students are delinquent and decide not to take this class seriously, they should fail and you should not cater to their laziness.
less tests
Very good teacher! He helps students in any way he can, it makes this course much more feasible. Definitely would recommend him.
Baybars was extremely fair in his grading policies and gave students numerous opportunities to score well in this course. Perhaps have the future students do a class project to apply statistics to real world situations and have one less exam.
Mr. Karacaovali is always willing to help his students. He is clear and straight forward and is fair in grading.
Awesome professor who made stats easier than it normally is. Would definitely take him again if i ever needed another stats requirement!
I really like that he is able to cater to the majority of students, dropping test grades in order to motivate students to continue to do their best.
Making attendance mandatory is a good idea because I lost all incentive after that was taken away.
Very generous teacher. Has a lot of leniency in test grades and tests are fair for the content learned in class.
The professor did everything to help us understand the exam and pass the class.
Although the course was tough, he in deed tried his best to prepare us the best he could.
Awesome course, didn't do quite as well as I had hoped but appreciated all the help and support given. Hope to take another class with you!
Great teacher, actually cares, would take additional courses from him
I appreciate Baybars' generosity in offering a lot of extra credit opportunities and his open availability to help us outside of class. Unique to Baybars is that he's attentive of how the class is doing throughout the semester. He shows he cares about his students by changing circumstances in the syllabus so that we succeed in his class -- dropping not 1 but 2 of our lowest exam scores, as well as awarding those who regularly come to class without penalizing those that don't. It was a pleasure having you as a professor! Thank you Baybars.
Like many math based courses, it is hard to be excited or enthused during lectures. It was nice to give us break by showing us videos that were interesting and pertained to lecture, Overall, you were a great professor that I would recommend to anyone. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me.
He is a great teacher and really cares about his students. He was very flexible and tried to teach the class the way that the students preferred. Sometimes it seemed like he was going too slow. He was very organized and very helpful.
This is the best teacher I have ever had. From his impeccably perfect grammar on everything and when speaking to the providing of extra pencils during every test, he is all about the success of his students. He really went above and beyond for the class including having class when he clearly wasn't feeling his best.
super considerate, and has an amazing accent.
.
He is a very well instructor , I will definitely be taking more classes from him
I think that if this professor had a T.A. the class would have gone a lot smoother and students would have gotten better grades in the class. The grade average for each test that we took was always low. But the teacher did try very hard to do his job, it's just not a subject that a lot of people like to pay attention to. He did try everything in his power for people to get good grades on the test, the subject is just difficult.
It would be nice if you worked on your penmanship, at times it's hard to distinguish some of your writing on the board. Ex your 4s would look like 6s. But regardless, thanks for not sucking as a professor! Will recommend you to friends who need a statistic class.
Professor Karacaovali demonstrates great knowledge in this subject. He is willing to help students outside his office hours and always assures students he is willing to help anyway possible. He is a great professor who really wants his students to learn and succeed.
It seemed like the professor put a lot of effort into his teaching and made a conscious effort to reach out to the students in need of help. I would like to have seen more hands-on projects rather than the simple computation problems involved in the day-to-day class (I know this may have been difficult due to a lack of TA). I was also a little put off by the cryptic nature of the professor's lectures at times. Even with the handouts, the lectures were a little hard to follow. Perhaps a little more structure would have helped to make this course more accessible. I wanted to learn about how to apply statistics to the real world.
He is a good professor to have teaching this difficult course as he can lessen the staleness of the course with his teaching style and personality
I wish he showed practical ways to use it in real life to create an interest for this subject
n/a
I would recommend Dr. Karakaovali to other students. His demeanor is approachable and knowledgeable. He is incredibly patient. He made a concerted effort to adjust the grading to help those students who were having difficulties. While I never needed to consult with him, he made his office hours abundantly clear, and one of my classmates emailed him a couple of times and told me that he always responded promptly. The handouts he provided were useful for following along, and the posting of the lecture slides afterwards really helped me study for the tests, as did the computer assignments and online quizzes. He was always organized and prepared for that day's lecture.
Very good teacher, really wants students to succeed
I utilized his office hours once and although I could understand his frustrations with me not attending class and most likely asking questions he already reviewed with class, I did not want to push these frustrations further and elected to not ask certain questions I deemed as too stupid.
class was kinda boring
Like I said earlier, BEST CARING PROFESSOR I'VE EVER HAD IN ALL MY YEARS.
Overall Baybars made a tremendous effort to explain statistics in the most in depth and logical manner possible, and I consider his class a well structured, balanced, and organized class. Baybars is a rare and exceptionally good teacher.
I feel I comprehended all the material 100% also considering I was using more advanced statistics this semester in my biology lab class and fully understood how and why I was using specific statistical tests for certain things, but for some reason during tests in this class I could not received the grades I strived for. It seemed I was always rushing on tests and still had around 10 questions left at the "five minute warning" mark, and maybe its just because I'm a slow test taker and maybe not all students had this same issue. I'm not sure if theres anything that can be done but maybe in the future it could help if there was anyway you could show students like a clock projected in front of the class maybe during the test? It might really help to budget time. I know one can always wear a watch but some don't have or may forget to bring on test day because they don't wear regularly! And I know there was a clock in the very back of the classroom, but this did not come to my attention until the very end of last test as i'm sure many other students had no idea it was there. I know its not something you have to do but it would be super nice! Your an amazing teacher thank you for this semester
Baybars is a great teacher statistics is not an easy subject for some, I am the few that needs extra help to understand.
I think this course is one of the best ECON courses I've taken at UH Manoa and I think Professor Karacaovali makes the material easy to understand and follow. I also like how he incorporates videos into some of the lectures because they make it easier to understand the concepts being taught. He communicates well with the class and he is always willing to help students that need it.
He posted all of his lecture slides as well as handouts on Laulima which made it very accesible for students. He also gave us multiple practice quizzes to better prepare the students for his exams.
The instructor appears incredibly humble. Love him! Give this man a raise!
I loved his class but his voice is so smooth so it made me sleepy a bit