Rutgers University Student Instructional Rating Survey
Spring 2013 (Online Survey) 

 01:640:250:11   40359       Devlin Patrick  
         ENROLL=   33       RESP=  24 (72%)     STRONGLY                    STRONGLY  # OF     MEAN    MEAN  MEAN   MEAN       
                                                DISAGREE        NEUTRAL       AGREE     NO      OF      OF    OF     OF      
PART A: UNIVERSITY-WIDE QUESTIONS:                   1      2      3      4     5   RESPONSES SECTION COURSE DEPT   LEVEL   

  1. The instructor was prepared for class and     
     presented the material in an organized manner   0      1      1      1    21       0      4.75    4.35  4.30   4.26
  2. The instructor responded effectively to       
     student comments and questions                  1      0      0      0    23       0      4.83    4.20  4.20   4.17
  3. The instructor generated interest in the      
     course material                                 0      1      0      1    22       0      4.83    4.04  4.04   3.95
  4. The instructor had a positive attitude toward 
     assisting all students in understanding       
     course material                                 1      0      0      0    23       0      4.83    4.39  4.32   4.27
  5. The instructor assigned grades fairly           0      1      1      0    21       1      4.78    4.25  4.16   4.15
  6. The instructional methods encouraged student  
     learning                                        1      0      0      1    22       0      4.79    3.97  3.97   3.90
  7. I learned a great deal in this course           0      1      0      2    21       0      4.79    4.02  4.00   4.05
  8. I had a strong prior interest in the subject  
     matter and wanted to take this course           0      4      9      0    11       0      3.75    3.71  3.48   3.81
                                                   POOR                     EXCELLENT
  9. I rate the teaching effectiveness of the      
     instructor as                                   0      1      0      4    19       0      4.71    3.96  4.00   3.95
 10. I rate the overall quality of the course as     0      1      0      3    20       0      4.75    3.97  3.89   3.94

What do you like best about this course?:

Pat Devlin is an excellent instructor for this course, he taught more material than necessary in less time leaving lots of time for review and greater learning.

Teacher was excellent

I like how professor is easy to approach to ask for help. He makes sure his students really understand the material before continuing.

Pat was always very upbeat and excited about the material, which lead to me getting excited about the material.

The order and way in which the material was presented: the order in the textbook is kind of confusing.

The professor for this course was one of the best I've ever had. I'm generally bad at math and thought I'd be struggling in this course. However the energy and communicativeness of the professor really made this class a breeze. I'm sure the material would've been dry and hard to learn if not for the professor's techniques and teaching style.

Linear Algebra

Teaching and grading

The enthusiasm of the professor!

I liked the weekly quizzes as it kept me studying. The instructor was very interactive in class and encouraged me to do better in this course.

The instructor was very helpful and gave ample opportunity to raise your grade and come in to office hours to better understand the material (although I never really took advantage of this)

Everything

I like the way the professor was always wiling to help the students. He was extremley patient and understanding and taught effectively.

instructor was very enthusiastic and thorough in explaining the material

The teacher taught the course showing his own interest in the material which made the course very enjoyable and easy to take a lot from.

The fact that Pat was so willing to help us succeed and explained all concepts in the clearest way possible.

I like the way that the material was explained in simpler terms then technical.

Definitely enjoyed the way the material was taught.

If you were teaching this course, what would you do differently?:

I don't know how I could improve how this course was taught. More clarity, perhaps, would have been good, but the informal and innovative teaching method was very effective and might be worth the lesser organization of it.

Not assign so much homework.

The only criticism I have is that grades were a little too generous. I felt like I did not have to study as hard since good grades were fairly easy obtain.

Absolutely nothing.

I wouldn't change much except only maybe spending more time going through exam, quiz and homework examples step by step. However there usually isn't time for this after we cover the theorems and formula's from the relevant chapter. Also people in the class were varied in skill with linear algebra and they didn't need examples done step by step. Other than that the course was perfect I learned a lot.

nothing

Get a better room

You did jump around a little bit when lecturing. I think that providing a clear outline of what the lecture will cover would be beneficial for notes.

Slightly clearer syllabus, otherwise nothing

Nothing

Maybe use more examples since a lot of the teaching was through theories/definitions. Of course that is to be accepted considering it is linear algebra. However, more examples would help.

less "turning the crank" homework problems

Nothing

Nothing. This class was perfect.

I would not do anything differently

In what ways, if any, has this course or the instructor encouraged your intellectual growth and progress?:

I learned a lot about applications of linear algebra in areas where linear algebra isn't usually applied at an undergraduate level by going to office hours. I plan to take more linear algebra courses if possible.

n/a

Pat is a very personable guy who could easily related to most of the students in the class, was always interested in your major and other things besides just linear algebra which I have found to be rare among college teachers. His interest in my life got me excited not only about his class but all of my classes in general.

He's enthusiastic and is a great instructor. He will go out of his way to make sure you understand the course material and presents it in a way that makes sense. I loved the fact that he would follow all definitions/theorems by examples: that made them more than just words, and in turn, the words made sense.

By being extremely engaging and clear the professor made every concept very easy to learn. The small class allowed for some interaction but the professor's attitude was very conducive to my learning as well. The professor could answer and work through any questions you had on the spot. The weekly quizzes were challenging yet fair and if you saw the professor after the quiz he'd really help you learn the topic.

made me more interested in math and especially in applied math

Learn more applications to the subject

I learned, like, so much linear algebra.

This course encouraged me to pursue a math minor.

Took an interest in students goals and interests on extra course material.

It made me realize that linear algebra is in everything

It showed me the importance of matrices!

learned to appreciate linear algebra, even outside of required material in class

The applications of linear algebra are more clear to me now and I believe I can apply it towards my future career and projects.

I am going to be a teacher in the fall for college freshman, and through his teaching methods, Pat has allowed me to gain a sense of what type of teacher I want to be like.

This instructor has encoraged me too see how math, linear algebra applies to the real world.

I definitely have gained a lot from this course and how it was taught.

Other comments or suggestions::

Great professor.

Not a huge fan of calling on people who aren't raising there hands, I get nervous speaking in front of people especially when I'm not ready for it.

Great class, awesome instructor. I wish more classes were like this [where instructors openly *care* about their students].

This class was very good and I highly recommend this professor. It was just very well rounded and if you really want to apply linear algebra to any outside topic this professor is extremely enthusiastic about that. The professor also couldn't be a nicer more patient guy I don't think anyone had any problems with him he really does the best he can and devotes lots of his time to help you do well in this course. I'm glad I took this class with this professor and I look forward to possibly taking more courses with him.

Keep it up !

More buffalo and over 9000 quiz questions

Great semester! would definitely recommend this instructor to others!

One of my favorite Instructors in my time at Rutgers, top 3 for sure.

He is a great professor, who really wants his students to pass and do well.

Awesome professor! Thanks for all the help :)

Terrific teacher. Should become a proffessor

GREAT teacher! Probably one of the best I've ever had at Rutgers.

I really apprieciate the explanations given for the material of the course. I am not a concepts person but this course has shown me that concepts make computation easier.

He was a great instructor who genuinely cared for his students and ensured everyone truly understood the material.