Student comments from EPID600 Fall 2016
(in order by date submitted -
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(About student comments)
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1:
“The material is challenging and different from any other material
I have had to learn. However, it is an important aspect of
understanding the spread of infectious microorganisms and I
appreciate what I have learned.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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2:
“The course subject matter and lectures have been informative.
Additionally, the online format has been accommodating and
Vic and Laura/Liz are always helpful.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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3:
“I think that it would be good to encourage people to read before
the live session. I often feel lost when I am participating
in the live sessions but after I read and re-play the sessions
I am able to follow along and under stand more.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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4:
“It's a challenging course, but I appreciate that I'm learning
a lot and there are structures in place to help me succeed
(groups for case studies, weekly live meetings, TA available
by email)”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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6:
“The online format is hard but the TA's availability has made
the distance not seem as bad.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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7:
“There are ample opportunities to learn in multiple ways, and
I appreciate this fact.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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8:
“Definitely an intense course with ongoing need for regular
attention. I am grateful that the concepts presented here are
complementing my other learnings in my doctorate program.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
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12:
“It is slightly challenging working with groups virtually especially
since we all have different schedules. I'm not sure how to
improve this process. Also the quizzes are timed and makes
it slightly stressful to complete it in 20 minutes especially
when having to complete computations.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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16:
“At first I was a little skeptical about how the groups were
set up. I took other courses online where the group work was
more intensive, so I was a little worried that my group members
wouldn't buy into it. However, as time went on, this didn't
seem to be the case--my group members are fairly invested in
discussing the case studies, which I find very helpful and
mutually beneficial.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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18:
“This course is incredibly difficult and I often feel like the
material doesn't adequately prepare me for the quizzes.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
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19:
“It's my favorite course this semester despite my dislike for
online classes. It is well-organized and really engaging material.
/”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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20:
“This class is teaching a lot, but I do have to say that it's
quite a bit more difficult than I had expected. The case studies
take up a lot of time, but overall, I really like the structure
of the course.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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21:
“The case studies and quizzes followed by the overview in the
optional lecture are really great for driving home concepts.
The TAs and Vic do a great job highlighting key concepts and
I really appreciate their use of diagrams to explain key concepts
of epidemiology. / Jill Hobson”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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22:
“Epi is not my strong suit, but the course is set up so that
I would be able to do okay if I put in time and effort. Unfortunately
I do not think that I have necessarily been doing that, due
to a crazy semester schedule and job hunting. It is nothing
against this class, just the way life works, but I think that
Vic and the TAs do a great job. This is one of the most organized
online classes I have taken.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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23:
“I sometimes feel that the quiz questions are less about understanding
concepts, and more about trivial facts or "tripping you up"
by wording. Also, the class is requiring quite a bit more study
time than I was expecting (more than 12 hours/wk) and often
feels "self-taught" more than I would like. Some of these concepts
are difficult to grasp, and there aren't many options to get
real answers to questions since the TAs aren't allowed to straight-out
answer your questions about the case studies.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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24:
“The course itself is great and well organized for the complexity
of the matter it communicates. Please do not underestimate
the amount of time you need to invest. That being said, I would
have wished for the benefits that a physical learning group
can deliver, like sitting together in the library, on campus,
or in empty lecture rooms to utilize the whiteboard. That would
greatly improve efficient collaboration on case study questions.
However, it is clear that given the personal and professional
constraints, the format of this course provides the best flexibility
to full-time working professionals like me.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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25:
“The course material and presentation could be made more straightforward
- sometimes big concepts or big caveats are not obvious during
the lectures.”
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(TAeval1,
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)
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27:
“I really do love learning about all the different concepts
and nuances of epidemiology. It gets kind of tedious trying
to keep all the new ideas straight and trying to learn the
new "language" of epidemiology, but overall, I really am enjoying
learning from ALL the teaching staff. They are doing an excellent
job. One thing that I do really struggle with is the "order"
of it, I guess. I kind of wish the live session was just a
bit later in the week. It's a hard turnaround to go from closing
one unit on Sunday and then being expected to have read and
watched the lecture for the next unit the very next evening.
Might be something to consider for future iterations of the
course. I think it might make more sense to have Monday to
review materials, Tuesday for the live session, Wednesday to
go through case studies with groups, Thursday/Friday to study
for and take the quiz, and then until Sunday to finish anything
else, for example. Also, I would have preferred to take an
in-person course, because it's really difficult for me to stay
disciplined, but I wanted to keep the same teaching staff,
which is why I chose against it. Again, just personal preference”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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28:
“I enjoy the subject and diversity of topics the course provides.
I find the quizzes pretty stressful, though. I hope to be a
better epidemiologist by the end of the course.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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29:
“I enjoy the class very much. Vic and the TAs make me feel that
I am not taking an online class because they are so easily
accessible and helpful.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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31:
“I wish that we had more (optional) live sessions. It would
also be helpful if we simply participated as a class in case
studies or had access to other groups' discussions. In my experience,
my group does not participate very actively which makes it
difficult to work cases effectively. A friend in the class,
however, has a very active group as well as a TA that volunteers
much help. Given that the case studies are so critical to the
learning process and we have limited outlets for learning in
this online format, it seems that this is likely creating a
large diversity in education amongst students. Some of us have
limited interactions from these case studies, which gives us
(and myself) more difficulty in learning the lessons.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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32:
“Because it is the first course of the program it is a bit difficult
to combine it with work, but with time it will become an easy
task.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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34:
“sometimes it is hard to determine exactly what we are supposed
to learn. I know there are objectives but sometimes the material
doesn't quite give me enough information to achieve the learning
objective.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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35:
“The case studies are unlike what I have encountered in my previous
classes, first takes some time to become used to it, but I
find myself starting to enjoy the learning process.”
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(TAeval1,
Internet course,
)
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(An additional 9 comments were received but the students did not
authorize their dissemination.)
2016d,
compiled 10/14/2016 |