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Survey Results



Course Survey Results


Baybars   Karacaovali
  TA: ${survey.ta} :
  ECON321, Spring 2017

Campus: University of Hawaii at Manoa Course: ECON 321 - Introduction to Statistics
Department:   Economics Crn (Section):   80562 (002)    
TA: Anton Nikolaev


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) 
3.1 138 0.82   2(1%) 27(20%) 69(50%) 37(27%) 1(1%) 2(1%)
2.   Course - please note that by answering this question you could potentially jeopardize your anonymity

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Elective (1)  Required (2) 
1.64 135 0.48   48(36%) 87(64%)
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) 
4.71 138 0.58   1(1%) 0(0%) 3(2%) 30(22%) 104(75%)
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) 
4.64 138 0.62   1(1%) 0(0%) 4(3%) 38(28%) 95(69%)
5.   The instructor communicated effectively.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5) 
4.6 137 0.61   0(0%) 1(1%) 6(4%) 40(29%) 90(66%)
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) 
4.35 136 0.83   1(1%) 3(2%) 16(12%) 44(32%) 72(53%)
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) 
4.04 137 1.06   4(3%) 7(5%) 29(21%) 36(26%) 61(45%)

8.   Which aspects of the course were most valuable?
Learning the meaning of p-values and z- scores are. When I took a different statistics course, we didn't really go over what the numbers meant and only did things by Excel.
the handouts that matched the lecture slides
Good understanding, clear notes, made it easy to understand. He really wanted us to succeed. Notes for tests
Everything.
The Professor really cared about the students and wanted them to succeed. Hw, extra credit etc.
Definitely the discussion on probability and the information that can be gained from a simple graph
p values confidence interval In public health, we calculate prevalence and incidence rate in epidemiology and we use some of these concepts! Useful stuff!!!
He shared PPT that he wrote down to students.
The video examples of economics and reviewing discussions before exams
Practice exams
The practice problem sets and the practice exams.
The online problem sets, practice problem sets, and samples of previous exams.
Everything
probably since it was the topic that we covered the most
Prof. is extremely understanding and accommodating. He completely understands what it is like to be a student. His work is reasonable, his exams are the right difficulty, and his lectures are awesome.
The everyday application of economics and the basics of it
I found the formula sheets valuable because it tested my ability to understand instead of memorize.
He explained all the concepts really well with lots of examples. His notes/powerpoint were very engaging and were available online.
He was there to go over any questions you had, and he would willing to put in extra time to help us out. He provided many examples and problems to go over so you don't need the book.
Learning the concepts of statistics
I liked the real life applications of the sample problems and the videos
Understanding how these statistic tests were relevant and could be used in the real world.
Material is relevant to everyday life, and the course explained the concepts well.
Slides written on go up on laulima
Real life statistics for future jobs
I think everything is valuable for my future career
That the course is not cumulative. I can use what I learned into the field of scientific research one day.
The course provided me with a solid foundation of statistics. I enjoyed that the problems provided were relatable to real world scenarios.
Lots of excercises
Learning the basic ideas regarding stats was helpful, to know what your statistical analysis actually means
The amount of resources provided to the class, and the amount that the professor cared about the class actually understanding
The iclicker questions helped a lot.
The handouts and practice exams were very helpful
Connecting abstract materials to real-life examples made it easier for me to wrap my mind around the material.
Even though this course is not centered around my major it directly help me as it gave me more practice using excel and understanding the statistsics used in my other classes
Step-by-step explanation of concepts, calculations, iClicker questions, etc
everything
Confidence intervals.
The amount of lecture notes/examples that he provided for us really helped a lot.
Working through example problems in class to ensure that students understand the processes was extremely helpful. This includes iClicker questions and examples from the problem sets. The videos were also helpful to illustrate real- life applications of the concepts in this course.
The availability of the lecture slides with his notes on them online.
i think the course overall is valuable for future studies. However, it is quite hard to understand some of the concept such as chapter 10. For me, I studied hard for exam 3 however, i find that my test score was really low. I don't know how to study for statistics. It can be frustrating sometimes.
Lots of online practice problems Lots of extra credit opportunities
hand outs
The instructor took a lot of examples in order to make students understand many complex notions and fomulare
The abundance of opportunities given in class to get a good grade.
I think learning the basics of statistics and how to use excel were most valuable.
The in class lectures were great at breaking down the various problems and learning them step by step.
Lectures, working through multiple examples
Knowing there is a way to determine probability for any situation.
He gave examples that can be applied in real life which made me become more interested in this subject than I was before.
calculating and thinking statistically
Equations regarding difficult problems were depicted and explained very well.
He wanted us to succeed and this allowed for me to do well in the class
He has a lot of resources for different kind of learners. Most prepared professor I've had when it comes to resources.
Probability, Sampling, and Hypothesis Testing
I felt that the professor really prepared us well for every exam and gave me a much deeper understanding of statistics. I also appreciated his fairness.
good
Everything that was taught was very valuable. I appreciated the time and efforts that were made between Baybars and his TA to make sure that we understood the content. Statistics isn't my strongest nor most favorite subject to learn, but I thoroughly enjoyed many of the sections due to the examples provided and the different perspectives shown for all students to hopefully understand.
population calculation
Lectures, problem sets
Taking notes in class and practicing problems
Sample distribution
Everything was valuable to learn. Statistical Analysis is important in the business world and I plan to use it when I'm doing my research for work.
The study guides for the midterms that were posted on Laulima.
Lectures and handouts were incredibly helpful and easy to understand.
The real world applications of statistics
The online resources that were posted on Laulima to help prepare for tests and quizzes.
The teacher! he is so understanding and such a clear teacher, i've never had a teacher keep me awake for an entire 75 minute lecture every time to be honest.
I found the slide lectures to be very informative, appreciated that the teacher would then place slides on laulima so we could review later.
Teacher explaining lessons/PowerPoints
More than how to do certain calculations, I feel as though learning how to read the results of studies was most valuable to me, especially since I'm a biology major.
The idea of statistics in general was the most valuable
Very useful
the lectures, notes, handouts, problem sets, and exams are valuable
The organization of the class and the extra credit opportunities.
How economics is an very important subject and skill to understand.
The problem sets
I really enjoy how the professor uses the smart board to go over the material. I believe it is a very good way to explain the information. I also think it is very helpful how he provides the lecture notes to the class so we can use them to review the material. I also think the problem sets are a good way to make people study the material. I know they have helped me practice the material in this course.
lectures
I like the probability sections. I think that's valuable, but honestly all the sections are valuable.
The Video examples.
The numerous resources available (sample midterms, practice problems, problem sets, formula sheets, lecture slides, etc.)
Understanding standard deviation is a big part of statistics. Through using it, you can find many different common statistics.
The content of this course were concepts that we could use in everyday life. That doesn't mean I would necessarily use z- scores and 2-tailed experiments in everything that I do but I think the course as a whole was very valuable. I enjoyed this course and Karakaovali made it easy to follow and easy to understand.
Learning probibility because I feel I will use it most in life
N/a
The problem sets
The last section of hypothesis testing was extremely helpful, especially for bio labs.
The professor goes over the materials at a fair speed, making sure that everyone gets materials they are being taught. There are lots of opportunities to practice what we just learned (lots of problem sets), and i think it does a very good job in aiding students review the materials
he explain the math step by step
I enjoyed learning about the various statistical tools.
The teacher obviously enjoys statistics.
The most valuable thing I learned was of all the different stats equations.
His class setting was well thought out, lectures were topic focused and thorough
The iclicker questions were helpful
I was worried the course would be really hard but the professor made it simpler to understand.
Instructor made sure students understood both the concepts and their practical use.
Professor Karacaovali did an outstanding job in keeping me entertained in his course. I would recommend him to anyone. Wish I would have taken his course my first semester, my focus and ambition would have been much higher. Really valuable structor who knows the material inside and out.
Applying null hypotheses and the extra credit assignments helped me at work when creating spreadsheets.


9.   Which aspects of the course were least valuable?
Learning about mean, median, and mode for the first week or so. But I can understand that some students might not have used that stuff in a while.
all was valuable
Nothing.
n/a
Calculating many of the different variables that are used in marketing; I myself am not in a major with those sort of skills being required later.
Not least valuable, but rather ones I did not find interesting (Hypotheses testing)
Nothing.
Giving the students the ability to sign in for attendance. This allowed students to come in after class was over and get full attendance points. Not necessary when the students are already allowed 4 absences.
n/a
None
The computer assignments were pointless, not even covered in class.
20 questions was actually kind of too little on the exam. I feel like making just a few mistakes is a huge blow to the grade.
The explanation of problems after homework was due.
At times he was a bit slow and monotone, however it was easy to follow. The tests were short which in theory is nice, but it made it hard to score as well and you wanted to
So many exams, but it reality they are really helpful. I sometimes think he would make to many topics.
N/A
N/a
Nothing, the course was fine.
Big class setting
no part of the course was invaluable
None
N/A
N/A
Computer assignments
Not necessarily "least valuable," just interpreting the question to actually find out what it was asking was difficult for me. I would know how to compute certain things, but having different symbols mean the same thing got me confused
I'm not sure, I really liked this course overall
none
The problem sets being due at 8 was least helpful, it would've been better if they were due at the beginning of class
None.
none
Lack of feedback on computer assignments
I don't think there were a least valuable chapter
All the equations.....
None. I personally thought all aspects of the course were valuable.
None
computer assignments takes too much time to finish
N/A
N/A.
I don't feel anything in the course was more valuable than another.
Its all valuable it was just sooo boring. No offense, but my physics textbook is more interesting that this stuff. To each there own I guess? But seriously, it was between this or Calculus 4 and I wish I had taken Calc 4. Not because you guys are bad teachers...it was just really boring stuff.
N/A
mean median and mode
Going over easy problems over and over again because some students weren't listening.
there was not any
Need a bigger classroom. Had to sit in a bad spot because it fills up too easily.
Graphical Descriptions of Data
Statistics can be a boring subject at times so it was hard to stay committed to the course.
good
N/A. Even on exams we weren't made to feel like we didn't study hard enough. Exams were pretty straightforward and as long as we made sure to come to class and give effort into listening to the lecture, we would do fine.
none
Nothing
n/a
Hypothesis Testing
N/A
Some questions on the problem set seemed to have the wrong answers for all the choices so it was hard to select the correct answer.
NA
None
I would say that the lecture slides were the least valuable in that it would be better to have the filled out lecture worksheet rather than the lecture slides posted. It would be easier to follow if you missed a class and couldn't get the exact notes taken during class time.
There was at least one time that the professor assigned a homework problem he did not expect us to be able to do.
I honestly hate stats but he made it very durable
Sometimes slides were a bit dry.
Multiple exams
I don't want to say that learning how to do calculations isn't valuable at all, but I will say that it isn't too relevant to the career I was planning on pursuing.
don't know
Content of material
The content of the class was not very interesting.
N/A
The Computer Assignments were great extra credit assignments, however did not further my understanding of the material.
I believe the lecture print outs for the each class are unnecessary. The professor does not make them mandatory though so that's nice.
The repetition of content.
None that I can think of.
specifics of t values.
I think towards the end, we were going into concepts like the z-scores and 2- tailed experiments. Although they were valuable to know, I highly doubt that I will use this process to analyze information in the future.
None
N/a
The fill in the blank sheets were helpful but it made it less of a priority because there wasn't much I needed to do
the beginning chapters of the course were mainly review and nothing more than that
Not available
The computer assignments were least valuable to me.
Nothing really.
The least valuable thing is when would I actually use the equations in real life?
The entire day for review was unnecessary
Sometimes went over basic concepts too long when we could have moved on.
None.

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) 
4.46 138 0.73   1(1%) 1(1%) 10(7%) 48(35%) 78(57%)
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) 
4.46 138 0.73   0(0%) 0(0%) 19(14%) 37(27%) 82(59%)
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) 
4.65 136 0.63   1(1%) 0(0%) 5(4%) 33(24%) 97(71%)
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) 
4.64 136 0.57   0(0%) 1(1%) 3(2%) 40(29%) 92(68%)
14.   The TA gives clear and understandable explanations.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5)  N/A () 
4.14 138 0.95   1(1%) 3(2%) 26(19%) 26(19%) 50(36%) 32(23%)
15.   The TA is friendly and accessible.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5)  N/A () 
4.28 137 0.82   1(1%) 1(1%) 19(14%) 42(31%) 57(42%) 17(12%)
16.   The TA grades paper (exams, homework) fairly.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5)  N/A () 
4.43 137 0.72   0(0%) 1(1%) 13(9%) 40(29%) 68(50%) 15(11%)
17.   The TA was easy to talk with and available for consultation.

Mean N-Size Std Dev   Strongly Disagree (1)  Disagree (2)  Neutral (3)  Agree (4)  Strongly Agree (5)  N/A () 
4.24 138 0.83   0(0%) 1(1%) 26(19%) 33(24%) 56(41%) 22(16%)
18.   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) 
4.48 139 0.71   0(0%) 1(1%) 14(10%) 41(29%) 83(60%)

19.   Other comments:
Feel like I was set up for success in this class. I really enjoyed it. I like that if you do well on tests attendance is not required, that gave me motivation to do well on the tests.
It was hard to apply the concepts onto the exam, alot of it was confusing.
Thank you Baybars for a good semester.
none
Prof. Karacaovali and Anton are both awesome instructors. Really awesome class overall.
None.
Great Job! Thanks
I really enjoyed this class!
The instructor was very thorough and explained concepts well by giving good examples. He was also very organized and the notes helped me understand the concepts better. The course was very fair in terms of grading, and the practice exams and problem sets were so valuable for understanding the concepts in more detail. Overall it was a solid course from a great instructor.
The lecturer is very dry during lecture and it makes it hard to pay attention.
I enjoyed the class!
Excellent course
Very nice guy and great instructor. I'm a life science major, and this class is a requirement for dental school. Wish we had more professors as nice and helpful as him in the science department. Will recommend to all my premed and predental peers!
Great job, Professor Karacaovali! Keep up the good work.
Thank you
Thank you!!
I would definitely recommend Karacaovali to anyone who needs to take ECON 321.
The instructor is very fair upfront about his expectations and grading. I would recommend his class to anyone interested in gaining an understanding of statistics.
na
I most challenging part of this class was paying attention. How do you make statistics interesting?
Wonderful teacher
Thank you.
Overall, this is an excellent class because the professor it good at providing us with resources and examples to prepare for the exams. I also appreciate the use of statistics more after taking this class.
not yet. it is good
Thank you for making ECON 321 less painful and more amusing than I hoped for it to be! Truly appreciative for professors like you, Baybars. Thank you.
It was a great class. Very organized and I enjoyed it a lot.
I noticed that when it got to chapters 6 and above, the course became a lot more confusing with all of the variables and equations and different symbols. It would be great if you could have a review of these variables or a worksheet explaining what each variable refers to and an example of how they would be used, if at all possible.
One of the times I went into talk with the TA about an exam I was told that he was pretty sure one of the last questions hadn't been solved without guessing for last few years. Even the Ta wasn't sure how to solve it.
met with TA once, wish he talked more but he was very nice and prompt.
Overall, I've enjoyed this class and professor.
The professor is doing an excellent job as a teacher.
Subject is a little hard, I wish there was additional information that could be provided to explain more about the lecture
I never met with the TA, but he seemed open and willing to meet and help students if they wanted to meet with him.
May we have more attempts for the problem sets?
Great course.
Very thorough and clear explanations. Very prepared and gave students numerous opportunities to practice.
Wish I would have had more time to make this class a priority.
This was a great class, keep up the good work!
The professor is awesome. I would recommend him to other students who are thinking of taking ECON 321.
I enjoyed taking this course.
Prof. K is a great teacher. He tries to make math as fun as possible with real world examples and short videos linking subjects to real world examples. I honestly hate math classes so I just hate any math class in general. But he obviously takes greats efforts to be a diligent, engaging, and available teacher and I respect that. He is an asset to your school. Anton the TA seemed nice and available to help but I personally never took advantage of his office hours.
Thank you!!