College Algebra 111
No additional comments made.
Finite Math 122
“It surprised me. Well, this class, this professor, this college surprised me. I’ve never been a real fan of math, but this summer I might admit (if you’re lucky…) that I enjoyed this class. Ken made sure to take the class at our individual paces, which was surprising and relaxing, for once. The best thing about Professor Jewell was that he actually cared about “learning” and not just getting through the syllabus. I wish I went to a small school, like Edgewood, where I could receive the personal attention that I received this summer (although it was dramatic since there were only 7, 6, then 5 of us.) I’m glad that I got the opportunity to take a class with a down-to-earth and caring professor at a great campus.” (A)
“Who says that math can’t be fun?!?! It was a great class with a great professor. Course was presented in a way that it could be applied to everyday life. I learned a lot and had a good time in the process J (A)
“terrible book, great teacher. One of my best classes at Edgewood – very interactive.” (B)
“Ken – this was an enjoyable semester. I learned a lot & was able to apply my knowledge from Algebra easily. Thank you for making math fun to learn! J (A)
“Comments:
Ken this was a great class!
Now I understand how to figure out maximum and minimum capacities.
Thank-you.
(1) Book was very hard to understand.
(2) Classroom was freezing.
(3) I did not reference the [web]site very often. Site should be more
frequently used for all students.” (A)
“Mid-term & final had too much weight for amount of info we needed to know.” (B)
“Quit screwing around and teach us already. We’re not paying a ton of money so you can confuse the crap out of us. And try to give us homework and quizes that cover what we do in class.” (BC)
“I really enjoyed this class. It was really helped that you went through several approaches to a problem rather than just one way. I thought your quizzes were fair and you gave more than adequate amounts of time on our homework. I would recommend this course & you to anyone.” (A)
“Instructor was very accepting of late work and was fair with it. Sense of humor made class much more enjoyable to attend. Willingness to help students and work with them when they fell (far) behind was a great help. Thanks Prof.” (C)
“ * I really wish that you would
have allowed more time for us to try & figure out the problems on our own
instead of doing them all for us.
Students may think they understand
when you are demonstrating the problem solving, however when the quizzes/tests
come it’s too late and they realize they have just been following along.
Encourage more group work.” (AB)
“One suggestion I have would be to allow worktime before showing how to do the homework problems. It was a little frustrating to go over the same first problems for the people who didn’t show up everyday. Maybe demonstrate a problem similar to homework, allow time to do an actual problem, then show correct process.” (AB)
“I think you do a great job of explaining things so that everyone can understand them. You have been a wonderful instructor.” (A)
“You are a very entertaining & knowledg-filled teacher who seems to care about students learning!” (A)
“J!!” (AB)
“Ken is a great teacher. He help’s everyone understand the concept first, then goes on. I thought he did an excellent job throughout the entire semester.” (A)
“he’s a great teacher
I just don’t like calc” (A)
“No book needed. I enjoyed class with you.” (A)
“I enjoyed this class and learned a lot about math. Ken made it easy to feel comfortable about our knowledge with the topic, and was very flexible with individual needs of students. I thought we spent too much time on y = mx + b and not enough time on y = abx or y = ax2 + bx + c.” (A)
“I think that the class was a good idea but I wasn’t challenged enough!” (A)
“ * Good class, just not sure if I would re-take it if offered. What I learned last year. Kind of easy!” (AB)
“I didn’t really enjoy the material of the class, however, Prof Jewell did a good job of helping me through it J ” (B)
“J” [Beside Question 11: Instructor responded to student ideas, criticisms, and suggestions] (A)
“Comments: I learned a lot in this course. At least in my own experience Ken was always, very willing to talk to me after class (and help). In fact so far this has been my favorite math experience here at Edgewood. The style the class was taught in worked perfectly for me.
Thanks Ken J” (A)
“I very rarely had a good idea of the objectives of this class.” (AB)
No additional comments made
“*** Yes, I would recommend this
instructor to another student. ***
Ken is an “excellent” teacher. He is very knowledgeable & a
great motivator for learning.” (A)
”Spend less time on linear equations – they were easier & straight forward
Spend a lot more time on quadratics – I felt rushed through my understanding of
quadratics – (the why do we do it the way we do?)
Spend more time with exponentials however the time was almost good to get the
concept. I felt as soon as I understood exponentials, I was bumped right into
quadratics. This made me uncomfortable with exponentials before final test.
Thanks – I learned a lot! & was real nervous about the class at the
beginning of the summer.” (A)
No additional comments made
“Ken is a wonderful teacher who is
very understanding.
He truly want his students to learn the material and enjoys his job!” (BC)
“The instructor knows his stuff
but sometimes teaches over our heads. I have enjoyed having Ken Jewell for math
and when I was working with him individually I felt I learned better. Because
of the differences in learning styles of the students I felt I was never
understanding what was happening in class but I don’t feel if the instructor
taught to me (& all at my level)
the smart ones would be bored.” (B)
”This semester was much better on task than Math 102. however, I still think we
need to be taught more relevant topics – such as teaching students
geometric concepts. (Wow! What a novel idea !!) I don’t think we get as much
out of this class as we could if its focus was different.
But even though this class was much netter than 102, I don’t think the
different learning styles are addressed as a group. If students seek individual help, it is, but
students have to make the effort in order to help.
The end.” (B)
“I feel it was very hard for me to
learn from this professor. He seems to have a high…He didn’t explain things in depth for me. I believe he forgets that he
needs to do every little step for some to learn. I’m sure he would be a great
professor for math majors. I just found this class hard to understand or didn’t
get much out of this class.” (BC)
”I feel that things weren’t explained very clearly as far as due dates of
assignments and what was expected of us. We totally got off course from the
syllabus, and within the last 2-3 weeks of the semester at least ½ of our
assignments were due – which obviously got to be a little much since most of us
do have other classes.
When asking questions about problems or assignments it was like he wanted us to
struggle with it, and never really answered our problems but distinctly went
around it - - eventually to make us more frustrated.” (B/BC)
“No direction or organization to
this course what so ever. I got nothing out of this class.” (C)
”J”
(C)
“Class should end on time, not a
few minutes late everyday.” (A)
”I had a difficult time staying on track without deadlines for homework. I felt
in the long run it affected my knowledge of the subject. “ (AB)
No additional comments made
“Ken,
I want you to know that I do not know how you put up with all the rude people in this class. I think you do a great job. Unfortunately, the only thing that distracted my learning was the other students.” (BC)
“Ken
It
would be help full to demonstrate two or more examples of an idea before you
move on to another idea.
We put off assignments and the
dates on the syllabus were not followed. This is because the majority of
students in class were having a hard time with the subject. It is good to be
flexible. I think it affected the class negatively to see such an ambitious
syllabus. More group work would have been helpful.
You are a fantastic instructor
but please realize how scared and frustrated students get with this
material.” (B)
“Ken is a fun teacher who makes math survivable!” (C)
“This is one of the most unorganized classes I have taken at Edgewood. Instructor was very unclear about what was expected of students. Honestly the only thing I learned was how to go off on a tangent for ¾ of the class period and then test the students on things we never went over in class!” (B)
“Ken is a nice person, however we were never on task and he wasted a lot of time. We didn’t cover much material and when we received we were not prepared for the material on the exams. He was a picky grader and I don’t think he was fair on this b/c we didn’t learn a lot. Some was okay but for the most part I feel this class was a waste of time.” (A)
“I don’t think that Ken was a very fair teacher. I would email him with concerns about missing class and I would not get responses from him. I would get my email back saying deleated w/out being read. I did not think that was fair. I also don’t think that tests/papers were returned back in a fair time.” (B)
“I was disappointed w/ the class.
Too much off-the-subject days which was very frustrating.” (A)
“I would like to participate more.” (A)
“Ken Jewell is a caring professor who is always available for individual help. He genuinely cares that every one of his students learns the material.” (AB)
Finite Math
122
”Thank you! – very nice.
Thanks! Math is not my thing, but you helped a lot.” (B)
College Algebra 111-1
“too challenging” [written beside Question 2: The content and workload of the course were suitably challenging which they’d marked as SD] (CD)
“Instructor was hard to understand for some concepts but was definately available for individual help.” (C)
“Ken is a great teacher! – the best Math experience I have ever had. For once A teacher was able to understand this stuff.” (A)
“There are some people who are extremely smart about math, but in this case should not be teaching it because they can not explain concepts well.” (D)
“I liked the instructor however, I think he needs to give more notes we can study from and not give confusing test questions.”(AB)
‘Comments: Ken Jewell should not be allowed to teach this course again. His teaching methods were terrible. He did not teach methods, he would explain answers to our homework with half the class not understanding what he was talking about. He should teach at a higher level, not a 111 course for people who want to learn math. He did not explain the concepts being used and he would talk about his life stories a lot.” (CD)
College Algebra 111-2
“ Instructor was available for help!!!” (CD)
“I hated the book!” (C)
“Good prof – just not a stellar math student.” (CD)
“Comments:
- Tests & quizzes were very difficult, not on the material learned in class.
- Wording hard to understand” (C )
“- I thought Mr. Jewell was a great teacher. I have a learning disability in math and have had to struggle through the subject my whole life. Ken was understanding and helped explain things well. He also took the time to look through my work to see how I learned. I don’t think I would have passed if it wasn’t for his teaching and patients.
- Text. Scary L” (D)
“- You need to make students hand-in homework other wise we don’t do it.
- The book was ok.” (C/CD)
“Comments
The book was not that helpful, because it didn’t really have the same kind of wording that was used in the quizzes/exams. Need to be around for individual help when I was told a certain time you would be around. I know your busy and things come up, but help is greatly appreciated.” (B)
“I felt that Ken was a poor
instructor because he wouldn’t help the students even though he knew we were
doing poorly and didn’t understand the material. By this I mean that when all
of us failed a quiz or exam, perhaps he should have had us do corrections &
turn those back in to attempt to get more credit.
I knew the material in the book well, but because he manipulates the questions
on his quizzes and exams, it was impossible to solve the problems. I just felt
that Ken did not care whether or not we understood the material. Obviously the
teaching style he used was not effective. He should have changed that
accordingly.
When a student or many students fail a class – that means that the instructor failed also.” (D)
“Ken IS Da MAN!
Calculus God” (AB)
“I would strongly recommend collecting homework or doing class assignments so that it’s not just us watching you do the work on the board.
J” (C)
“Collecting homework would have helped to understand XXXX work. Other than that class was good.” (BC)
“Collecting homework would definately improve student grades.” (B)
“I feel that sometimes the class became distracted – students are as much to blame as instructor.” (A)
“Ken is a very personable prof. However, his teaching style is hard to follow at times. When people are planning on teaching, this class needs to focus more on material that’s relevant to teaching materials & such. Many students in this class do not understand that college is supposed to be challenging & rigorous. The material presented in class & what was expected of us was not out of the ordinary. I still feel that we should focus on other materials than what we’ve learned in class.” (B)
“I believe it would make the course work more meaningful ito bring in textbooks that meet the new standards rather than simply read and reflect upon them.” (A)
“Ken is a really nice person and well intentioned instructor. However, I never knew what I was supposed to know – we’d spend 45 minutes rambling and then “cover the material” in the last 5 minutes 0 and the 10 minutes between class. Many topics/examples never had closure. The 1st exam (in class) should have been tossed out – it was a poorly constructed exam and by “averaging” the in-class & take-home portions, we paid for Ken’s poor exam. Would like more handouts – Linda has a nice book in 102.” (B)
“I had a few cases where I went for extra help outside of class, and he actually walked away from me. I don’t understand how a teacher can teach future teachers and completely ignore them. I learned almost nothing this whole semester. This teacher repeatedly failed me.” (CD)
“Class sort of seemed to be all over the place, it was hard to understand where we were going all the time. The tests also seemed a little irrelevant to what we had done in class. I wish we were tested more on what we have learned. I liked the textbook evals & lesson plans though!” (B)
“I thought the point of the lessons were not always clear, as we didn’t often get there until the very end of class & were then rushed through it.
I think tests should be take-home if they are going to be difficult!” (no grade)
“I would like to jump in and get started right away,
not try to cram everything into the last 10-15 min of classtime. We also held
up the next incoming class and that wasn’t right either. Plus we do have
another class following.
Challenging, Yes! Did I understand, No for the most part.” (C)
“When Ken introduces a concept, he does not finalize his theories. I think he needs to learn to explain himself a little more. He seems to get off of the subject sometimes & he gets off on tangents that don’t make sense.” (B)
“Hopefully this class is being redesigned like 102 was. The writing was relevant and helped me to understand things I can take into the classroom! I think the exams were very difficult and simply did not reflect what I actually learned. I am wondering about the write-ups – we did not do these, maybe these were our papers? Overall the class was interesting but I am still not very comfortable with many of the topics we covered. Class expectations were very unclear – hopefully I would be able to pass the class with a C because of my papers (all A’s) and the fact that I came to class.” (C)
“very challenging” [written next to question 2: The content and workload of the course were suitably challenging. which was rated a SA]
“so much so that I had a hard time understanding” [written after question 8: Instructor evidenced knowledge of the subject matter. which was rated a SA] (C)
“I liked the course and the professor a lot. The course didn’t follow the syllabus, which bothered some, but not me. I was happy to take the necessary time on more complex than to skip over that to stay with the syllabus. I had a lot of fun on the course and would be happy to take another course with Ken.” (A)
“Got lost as to what we are doing in class or our goal.” (AB)
Calculus I 231
“Ken is a very good teacher. He shows a lot of concern and compassion for the students & put our needs first. He is very approachable & friendly and he keeps his class interesting so he keeps our attention. I would definitely recommend him as a teacher.” (B)
“This class was very difficult but I think I learned the material. There should have been a homework grade.” (C)
“Ken is a very good instructor, if I had questions I could turn to him for help.” (C)
“He is THE “MAN” !” (A)
“Ken is a great guy, and very funny.” (B)
Geometry 461
“I think there needs to be either an assignment or a quiz due every week. Also a relatively strict syllabus is necessary to cover everything that is intended to be covered at the beginning of the semester.” (A)
“Geometry was a great course for me. Ken used ways & methods of teaching complex concepts that I could use later in my career of teaching as well as I could understand. I really enjoyed this class.” (no grade listed)
“Ken,
This class was fun – especially for a math class! Just kidding!
I really enjoyed your flexibility and understanding that a lot of people
struggle and your help was appreciated.
I would, if I could, take another class with you, but I am graduating …
Take care.
Oh, as far as class stuff goes, the material covered was well explained and
amazingly really applied to life. It was great that you could tie the
non-understandable into our daily lives. It was much appreciated. J”
(AB)
“The fact that I came into this class very apprehensive about whether I could keep up, and ended up feeling pretty comfortable is testimony to Ken’s pacing the material to make sure we had a chance to absorb the mesons. If he teaches statistics or other higher level math, I would certainly opt for him as my preferred instructor. I highly recommend him to anyone taking math!” (B)
“I thought the instructor did a good job answering questions when people had concerns. He changed two days of regular work to work on methods work – which was much appreciative & helpful. I don’t know how much of the info we learned in class will be relevant to the future of use being teachers – this has nothing to do with the instructor. He did his job.” (B)
“Ken was very flexible w/ the schedule and he listen to the class and took our ideas and concerns into consideration.” (B)
“Somehow teach appling what we know to teaching
students.
Showing what we are learning & how the children will learn & what
questions they might ask so we’ll understand better why it should be learned.
Better feedback please!” (B)
“Ken is a good guy, understanding & flexible with his students, & knowledgeable of the material.” (BC)
“It would be helpful to combine content of 102 & 103 into one class, one semester long. Ken is great at listening to our ideas about content and due dates and is willing to compromise.” (AB/B)
“I think this course was too similar to 102 to be considered another class entirely where it was necessary to take it. Although I didn’t do very well, I think there needs to be a more concrete way or more applicable way to teach the class. Overall, Ken did an excellent job of adhering to our needs & concerns & changing the course accordingly.” (C)
“There were people in the class that were able to distract so much and argue everything so much that hardly anything got done. It makes me angry because it is $1200 and 4 credits. Also, the grade was based on so few things and I have no idea what I am getting. Also, the midterm (3.4 term) was admittitty too hard and too long. No one did well – that’s a sign!
Please, make sure you get done what you intended and make ans A something attainable.” (B)
“This class needs more structure – would help to get write-ups back before test. Also, jamming in material 2 days before the final is not appreciated! L” (B)
“I like how at the end of the
semester Ken helped us to understand concepts of elementary education. This
really needs to be taught in Ed 428!!!
Go over concepts more at the beginning of the semester so students understand
what the semester will entail. Also, explain how what we are learning is truly
relevant in the elementary schools today!! Once we knew this the class
understood more and really wanted to learn!”(A/AB/B)
“Often times mistakes were made on assignments that weren’t known until after the midterm – making the midterm far more difficult than it should’ve been – worst grade I’ve EVER received. We weren’t given any opportunities to make up for this either, which I didn’t think was fair. The course had admirable goals but got a little repetitive at times & off course often.” (AB)
“I think I could have learned much
more if the people in the back row weren’t able to disrupt the class as much.
Class was interesting. Ken was a good instructor – asked questions that required
us to think.” (A)
College Algebra 111
”Ken obviously has strong knowledge of the subject however his teaching method
needs improving. He strays too much and does not get to the point.” (C)
“I need more formula baced learning. Guess and check method drives me crazy!” (BC)
“The class is quite passive, but it’s not Jewell’s fault.” (AB)
“He is a very good teacher.” (BC)
No additional comments made.
“Too much time was wasted which
made it frustrating to be here.” (AB)
College Algebra 111-001
No additional comments made.
“[Instructor facilitated students’ thinking for themselves: SA] Too much!” (B)
Statistics 121
“I really felt that the 1st
2 weeks of this class were very very slow and a few people were constantly
being helped with basic math issues – while this helped those individuals it
harmed the rest of us who stayed in the class because so much time was wasted
in the start of the course with basic math the more complex stuff at the end
was rushed through.
enjoyed the class – impressive that you kept our attention for 3 hrs – 1st
math class I had a good time in and have walked away actually knowing I grasped
the material thank you J”
(B)
“Suggestions: - read exams before
you give them to class. – come to class w/ example problems from relevant
chapters – limit digressions.
Comments: I felt it was unfair that those who kept asking questions of you in
the middle of the 2nd exam got “hints” to solve the problems. One
hint was given tot the entire class but other hints were given individually.
Coupled with the fact that 3 of 6 questions were not from the chapters
which were supposed to cover on the exam. I feel the test should be thrown out;
the fact there was added difficulty stressed at least this student from
figuring out those questions actually from the chapter.” (B)
”Actually using examples from the book would have been more helpful. We could
then reference these examples with complete information.
Also, staying on task when working through examples would have maintained
students’ interest longer.
Come to class prepared with book and examples rather than making up examples in
the heat of the moment.
Thanks for being receptive to feedback + suggestions.” (A)
” I really enjoyed working in Ken’s class. It was definitely interesting. The
only complaint is really more student based than instructor based. Early in the
summer, we went WAY too slow for an individual who was clearly in over
their head. That meant going too fast in the summer when the class got
challenging.
There is a second complaint. Ken should spend more time preparing exams. I
realize this was a summer course and we all have other things we would like to
do, but the exams should have been more thought out with data that was
consistent and accurate. The problems should have tested material that we had covered rather than
material from the wrong chapter!” (A)
”Some suggestions: Examples on a more consistent basis would be helpful; Weekly
take-home quizzes might help students evaluate short-term progress and see
progression of course.
Thanks – I learned a lot!” (A)
”The faculty should find an alternative text for this course.” (A)
“U R so lenient!! J” (A)
“- Instructor make class enjoyable ® 3 hours was very long! I enjoyed your enthusiasm. Instructor was also very energetic about course material.” (C)
“cheating should not be exceptable!” (C)
“I think you need to spend 100% of class on problems, tell us when quizzes & tests are (no democracy) & stick to that plan. It will save a lot of class time.” (A)
Arithmetic
Structures 102
“Ken is a wonderful instructor. He was always available for help, and truly cared if you understood the concepts he was teaching.” (B)
”I did learn a lot in
this class, especially how to break down problems in manageable chunks.
I would’ve liked more feedback on write-ups – I never knew what I did wrong –
just how many points were taken off.” (AB)
“Ken is a great prof. He helps when asked. He doesn’t make anyone feel dumb if they don’t understand. He is very patient. I really like him as a teacher. He knows that most of us have math anxiety and tries to help us get over this. Thanks Ken !
It was to bad that their were some students who make rude comments.” (B)
“Great professor, helped to make everyone comfortable. I feel bad that some students had to make rude comments because they either did not understand the information or were just in bad moods. It really bugged me, I’m sure it annoyed the professor.” (B)
“It would be helpful if students could get more feedback & comments on work handed in. It would also be helpful if the “side stories were kept to a minimum so that we wouldn’t end up staying late every day to cram things in quickly that we need to know for the test since we get no review.” (B)
“The only problem was that the instructor had a very hard time staying on task. The midterm ended up being two weeks before the final because the instructor spent too much time talking about things other than math.” (AB)
“I felt sometimes like the class could have been done and over with in 20 minutes. The instructor talked “off the subject” quite a lot and then would explain things –quickly in the last 15 minutes, ask if we had questions or understood, then said “it’s okay – just smile and nod! Of course we would then see it on a test. That happened regularly and got very frustrating.” (AB)
“The way the course was set up I did not care for. There was little to no work at the beginning of the semester than bam it all fell in our lap twords the end. To much at one time. Is it possible to spread the homework out more evenly?” (C)
“The exams should weigh more on the group portion.” (A)
“My major concern is that we seem to cover more info in the last 10 minutes of class than we do in the 1st 40 minutes. Also – it seems that the 1st 6 or 7 weeks of class we didn’t do a lot, however, at the end of the semester (when we are already bombarded w/ work for other classes) we get a lot work.” (B)
Geometric Structures 103
“I did learn a lot in the class,
especially how to break down problems in manageable chunks.
I would’ve liked more feedback on write-ups – I never knew what I did wrong –
just how many points were taken off.” (AB)
“Class went well, and Ken was knowledgeable about the topic being taught.” (BC)
“Midterm should not be so late in
the semester.
We had few – no writeups in the beginning of the semester & when the
semester got very busy we were doing more than one writeup at a time. Grade
your own writeups! – You’re the one in class with us & you can’t tell me
your job is so overwhelming & stressful every class is ended at least 7
minutes longer than it should – many of us have class or work right after class
should be over. We don’t understand the material at that point.
Many of the class members voiced questions about the relevance of this class to
Elem. Teachers. Take this into consideration maybe we need help seeing it or
maybe the topics should be altered I want to know about math in class rooms
today
Very nice & knowledgable instructor.” (B)
“good course” (BC)
“MATH 103 really didn’t fit into 101,102 I think a more handons class would have been much more useful” (BC/C)
“This class is not structured to meet the needs of students who do not learn in one style – their own. If clarification is needed, it is explained in the same way. Testing on material we have never seen before is not a fair measure of our learning. Many times new material was introduced in the last few minutes of class, not discussed again, & then is on the exam. Testing on new stuff & material that is discussed quickly is not a fair measure of my learning – especially for those of us who do not take a test well.” (B)
“It would have been helpful to have a layout of the different problems we would cover ahead of time J” (B)
“This course was one of the worst
ones I have ever taken. The material was too difficult, not related to anything,
and is stuff I will never use! Very difficult concepts were hastily
thrown at the class, and after 1 or 2 50 minute classes, we were expected to
know this new , difficult material. In addition, most of the class was
conducted as so: new material very quickly introduced , then group tried
to figure out impossible problem, then in the last 5 minutes usually,
the teacher very quickly gave us the answers. The next class we
“learned” something else. Also, we had group exams which is totally ridiculous
because as we all know there are some who do the work and others who do not.
This is absolutely UNFAIR!
In addition, concessions for those with different learning styles and
difficulties are not made.” (AB)
“As always Ken was interesting and enlightening to learn from. He is very helpful when students are working through the more difficult concepts in this field. Ken always takes multiple approaches in explaining these concepts and this greatly aids in the learning process. I would certainly recommend this class and Ken to other students. As to the schedule and pace of the class, everything was run extraordinarily well.” (A)
“Good Work!” (A)
“No trig pleeeese!” (AB)
“Be less repetitive.
Let us out on time.” (B)
“The course is fun” (AB)
“No comment!!!!” (B)
“I might have found the course more interesting w/o the book – this text book sucked!!” (C)
“You are an excellent instructor.” (AB)
“It would be nice to get assignments back in a timely manner.” (AB)
“The format of this course is great. It is good to finally have a math class outside the boundaries of your standard textbook problems.” (AB)
Problem Solving 101
“Ken Jewell’s packet problems were
very time consuming. Too much outside research on the problems including metric
conversions, formulas, and general research without the help of a textbook to
guide us. I found the textbook to be pretty worthless overall. Ken should not
expect so much outside work for a Math 101 class. Should have had more group
interaction when it came to solving problems.” (A)
``I believe Ken does an excellent job at explaining math concepts and is
realistic yet challenging. Ken’s personality fits Edgewood very well, since
this was my last course here I feel fortunate to have finished with a fine
instructor.” (B)
“Mr. Jewell is one of the best instructors I have ever had for math. This course is very frustrating especially for people who struggle w/ math and w/ word problems. For him to be able to teach this type of material to the average or above average person is a wonder in itself, but for him to teach a below average math mind, like myself, these concepts is definitely a talent. Excellent teacher, challenging course.” (B)
“ I have not had positive experiences with math classes, in the
past, but I can honestly say that Prof. Jewell’s class was interesting and
thought provoking. The packet problems were challenging, and sometimes
frustrating, but they stimulated my interest in problem solving, and I an
actually looking forward to taking more math classes!
Prof. Jewell is professional, but
approachable, and his presentation of the material is organized, insightful and
fun.
Thank you for a quality
experience.” (AB)
· “I sometimes felt as if the material was covered too quickly and I didn’t fully or adequately assimilate the information. Ken is, however, a delightful and enthusiastic instructor.
· Quiz preparation could have been more insightful. More specificity on quiz content.
· All in all, it was a wonderful awakening to discover I could do math and eventually understand and, at times, comprehend.
· I’d definitely recommend Ken as a math instructor to any math phobies.
· Would have been nice if math resource center would have been available.
· Still need a math atmosphere that alleviates the feeling of ineptitude when asked to participate in class discussion. Felt intimidated on occasion.” (AB)
“The time it took to get problems back was too long. It would have been helpful to have a faster turn around in order to have more time to work on problems.
Also the quizzes – in order to prepare, It would have been helpful to know which materials to prepare
As a math phobic student, I often felt intimidated & did not ask questions because of the 1st class period. Some of the students were put on the spot & this was difficult for me to overcome. I did learn an amazing amount about problem solving!” (AB)
“For the quizs I would of liked to know what they were to be on. It would of helped to be able to study one thing instead of two to four things. Ken was always willing to help even though it was sometimes frustrating. Also the placement test could of never prepared me for this course.” (BC)
“I thought the packet problems were a very good idea – they were very challenging & forced me to think in ways I never have before.
Also, Ken was a very approachable instructor who didn’t make me feel intimidated by the material covered in the course. His teaching style of math was probably the best I have encountered in my educational history of studying math.” (BC)
“- Before taking this class I had
severe math anxiety, but this class, along with Ken’s teaching, really helped
me overcome that fear. By the end, I honestly felt I could do this
stuff.
- Also Ken is a very good teacher, concerned not only in mathematics, but his
students and getting them interested. It was really nice having him as a
professor!!” (AB/B)
“The instructor was fine, however the pace was unreal. The amount of work load covered in these 6 weeks is unbelievable, and I feel, unrealistic. 9 chapters of algebra in 6 wks is just impossible to keep up with. I put much effort into this class, attended every session- (but 1) and diligently attempted all the work (with 2 notebooks filled with math) and still was not able to grasp the material. This class should be labeled accelerated so students understand the pace of the course. I needed to see step by step – in order to lean, that would’ve helped.” (D)
“Since it’s a summer course it’s
more difficult to effectively present all the material w/o overwhelming a
proportion of students. However, I thought the instructor was fair in his
grading and testing procedures by taking that into consideration.
Good Job” (A/AB)
“The instructor made an otherwise uninteresting subject seem interesting. If it weren’t for the great instructor, I would’ve hated algebra. Give him an A+” (AB)
“I actually enjoyed this course!
This was my third try at a math course. I dropped the previous two because I
had difficulty following the instructor.
Thank You!” (AB)
“ * I think that you do A very fine job with explaining key pts.” (B)
“Ken Jewell was very flexible in the deadlines and course work. He was overly accepting of questions about material that was not understood. Overall, I’ve taken Alg II 3 times and this was the first time I got an A and understood the material. He is the best prof I’ve had at Edgewood yet. He’s really concerned if the learning happens.” (A)
“The course went too slow at the begining & too fast at the end. The instructor was very good. I think we just got behind.” (A)
“ – Ken did the impossible by teaching me how to do, and understand algebra. He is an asset to this school.” (B)
“I thought this class went to fast for the information that I needed to learn. Even though it is a summer course, I believe it could be extended to suit better understanding.” (BC)
“I feel like the instructor should look closely at the class reflection papers! GET some extra ideas! J” (B/BC)
“The overall class was fun and enjoyable. I learned about how to solve problems in a different way.” (AB)
“Sometimes we would spend a lot of time talking
about things that seemed to have no relevancy
Let class out on time!!
Basically, a good class and a good professor” (A)
“Would have liked to develope lessons and teach 1 or 2 with partner or alone.” (A/AB)
“ – quizzes and test were sometimes hard to finish
in class period
- one area (finding/conceptualizing volume) could be better explained” (AB/B)
“Ken Jewell is an excellent professor, but is a little scatter-brained. Though this makes class very interesting, there was a definite delay in assignments/quizzes returned. It would also be appreciated if more work & examples were done by students in class.” (A)
“I think the homework should have been handed in to insure students do it. Also, either longer time or shorter exams/quizzes.” (B)
“Ken shows interest in our class and is helpful when we asked for it. He is open to suggestion and is also there when we need or want to get guidance.” (BC)
“Challenging! Ken spent time answering questions for students, concerned for their learning.” (BC)
“Please keep the students do the homework to make sure that they practice enough. Collect the HW!” (AB)
“Rock ON Ken !” (A)
Arithmetic Structures 102
“Good: questions encouraged
Bad: course materials – concepts unrelated to elem. Math” (B)
”He could have explain things more clearly ~ and he could have taken longer to
go over packet problems. The group exams were pointless because we didn’t get
enough time to do them. 40 min +” (B)
”This course contained material that is not necessary for a successful
teaching career. In addition, there was too
much material that “needed” to be covered., for learning or trying to
learn and actually comprehend something new (that was so foreign) each 40-45
minute period was detrimental to learning. Group exams should be abolished, as
they can hurt a participating member’s grade. This course should be drastically
changed or taken out of the curriculum all together.” (AB)
”I guess I would prefer Ken to grade our assignments instead of the outsider.
This would give the instructor a feel of how we’re doing in the course.” (B)
”Good: A wide range of problems; interesting concepts.
Bad: Write-ups were all clumped together.” (B)
”I thought the group work was exceptionally helpful as far as understanding the
concepts.” (B)
”Instructor should grade write-ups and other things.” (AB)
”I think the instructor should have graded our write-ups.” (B)
”Group work, write-ups helpful. Child interview not very helpful, although
interesting. Liked your concern over whether people understood material - - you
cared & it showed!” (A)
“I feel I do not learn well by
doing the write-ups. I can figure out how tto write them up after we discuss
the problem in class although I feel I still don’t really understand how &
why. In general, I found you to be an excellent instructor. Understanding, that
math isn’t easy for everyone.” (B)
”This course really teaches you to think and explore thinking in many different
ways. We were not pushed too hard, but definitely challenged enough. Excellent
professor who really cared if we were learning the ionformation being taught.
Only complaint – the grader he used for our write-ups was extremely
tough! “ (B)
”I enjoyed this class.
I found out I knew more math than I thought.
I do have a suggestion. On the few occasions that class was cancelled we did
not find out until we read the note on the door. It was my only class on one
day. Had I known, I wouldn’t have come in. I would have been very happy to
participate in a phone tree or something similar so that we all knew about the
cancellation.” (A)
”I really liked the days we worked in groups, because we had more ideas to work
with and more of a chance to answer the question correctly. I wish we would
have got the packet of problems at the same time. It seemed unorganized.”(AB)
” I got a lot more out of this class than Math 101. I could see how the
things we were doing would help me as a teacher. It was very helpful to me to
have to work at explaining how I got the solution to a problem. Group
work was ok, but most beneficial was in-class discussion. I really liked that
we figured out how to do the problem before the write-up. It was also nice not to have as many
write-ups at the end of the semester.” (A)
“Everything was fine.” (A)
”Exams could be different … professor more organized
Ken is a good professor. He tried to keep students interested & provide
excitement to keep their attention.” (B)
“I really liked the projects and thought they were very helpful.” (A)
“I really liked the class. Only
downfall was I have no idea how to do the work.” (CD)
“This course is already greatly improved.” (AB)
”I would like the teacher to interact more with students.” (A)
”Ken, u did a gr-8 job explaining material. Going at either a faster pace or a
slow pace was both comprehendable. Good timing between sections.” (BC)
“The way the teacher teach is
fine. So just keep giving us a lot of examples of problems.” (A)
”The pace of the course was very good. It did not go too fast. I would have
liked more quizzes because they let me know if I am actually understanding the
material.” (B)
“I believed everything was ok.”
(A)
”Ken is an excellent instructor, his teaching is clear and precise with a good
sense of humor added in. Take care.” (BC)
“Note: It would be better if you
could bring up more questions./problems in the class even though nobody asks
you.
It has been my concern that most of my friends who found difficulties in doing
problems rather “shy” to ask the problems in the class & later was not
prepared for the quizzes & exams.
Thanx, I really enjoyed being in your class.” (A)
”-We did ch 1 in a month & chap 4 in 1 ½ weeks.
- it would be nice if it was more evened out.
-grading was very fair & explained well
-Twards the end of the semester prof was available less when students needed
more help.
-
wonderful at explaining key concepts, especially one on one.”
(BC)
“Well taught! J Answered ?’s well. Good description & prepariong for tests was good.” (AB)
“Project for calc 3 was very time consuming. I hope you will pick more easy one for in the future.“ (AB)
“I really felt if I had individual attention all the time. Ken cared whether or not we learned. He really let us learn at our own pace. I really enjoyed having Ken as an instructor.” (B)
“Everything was great about this class. I started to enjoy math again after Calc II was over!” (AB)
“I really enjoyed the class. Projects were fine as far as the amount of time expected to work on. The book was good since it followed the same concepts as previous calculus class. I would recommend taking this class.” (BC)
College Algebra 213
“I thought the class moved at a very good rate and I really enjoyed Ken’s methods. I thoroughly enjoyed the class and would recommend it to anyone.” (A)
“Ken was the best math teacher!
Remember having in a good time. He made the class and learning so much fun
& possible. I’d recommend him over any math teacher I know and don’t know.
Thanxs Ken!” (B)
“Ken is a good person and it reflects in his approach to teaching. I’ve enjoyed the two classes I’ve taken with him. I will continue to recommend him to fellow students.” (AB)
“Mr. Jewell was really good at making sure we understood a concept, before he moved on to the next one. I felt comfortable w/ the level of difficulty.” (B)
“Ken was always willing to spend
extra time on concepts that were difficult to understand, and he adjusted the
syllabus and work load to correspond with it.” (AB)
”I give Ken Jewell the highest marks as an instructor. He cares about students
and about their learning of the subject. Ken is fair and sincere &
helpful. I will recommend his class to other “math phobics”.” (B)
“took a long time to go over each chapter – which make it very boring – not a lot of new material. Hoped to of covered more.” (A)
“Ken is a very good instructor who made the course fun and more interesting. He explains well and encouraged us to ask questions.” (B)
“I was very impressed with
the teaching ability of the instructor. He was able to communicate complex
material very well, and was able to explain it in a number of different ways so
that everyone understood, I was impressed with his concern that everyone
understand the material, however occasionally a little too much time was spent
on explaining the material to one student, when the rest of the class
understood it, perhaps at that point an outside meeting needs to be scheduled.
That would make the best use of everyone’s time, AND we may have been able to
get further in the course. This is a delicate & difficult thing to master
though.
Overall, the instructor was
excellent.” (AB)
“This class is my first class that took in summer at Edgewood. I was not sure how it would go but Ken made everything much easier than book. He is a great teacher with kind heart. He was always there when I needed his help so I can say that he really love teaching & his goal was for us to learn statistics, not like other teachers to just cover the chapters. He was very clear about exams & quizzes, like what to study for or what are import. Points are. I remember asking him the same questions over & over but he was very nice to answer my question. I never seen him upset or mad about anything. His teaching style is great. I really wish I could take more classes from him. Before I took Ken’s class I always hated math because of not getting the help that I wanted it, but Ken made very positive experience for me. After Tracy Thompson (chem.), Becky Summer (phar) I think Ken is the third teacher in Edgewood College that I would like to invite to my graduation. Thanks, Ken, you are a wounder person & great teacher with big Y who likes to help students like me.” (A)
“I have absolutely no complaints
as to the instructor in this class. Ken was always knowledgeable and
enthusiastic about his field. I do however have serious complaints as to the
admissions/prerequisites that enable many individuals who have a hard time
passing H.S. algebra into this course. I do not expect every student to be a
math “whiz”, however it was clear from the outset that several individuals
lacked both the prior math background and (more importantly) the drive to
successfully participate in the classroom. Many of the worst “violators”
continually asked questions that would certainly have been answered with a
careful reading of the text. Not only does this impede the pace of the course
to such an extent as to prevent us from covering all of the material, but it
causes frustration and resentment in all parties involved.
I have no idea what admissions was thinking when allowing these individuals
into a college environment. I came to Edgewood not to compromise on my
education, but rather to get the best education possible with which to compete
in the graduate level and eventually in the professional work environment. I am
quite willing to take my grievances to as high of an authority necessary if I
am ever subject to this horrible example of education again.
Once again, the instructor did the best he could under the circumstances, I
only hope for Edgewood’s sake that the appropriate policys/procedures are
changed or implemented to prevent this abuse in the future and preserve your
(until now) good name. George Clarke“(A)
”Instructor was good at explaining material to various levels of comprehension.
However, we would get off track at times.” (B)
”Especially good
Ken’s concern for students; Ken’s ability to connect with students; Ken’s
refusal to go on till all understood; Ken’s encouragement of questions; Ken’s
humor
Needs improvement
Typing accuracy (did lead to error on my part); punctuality; more examples done
in class” (AB)
”Very patient with our questions. Wants us to understand but at times it was
not clear what he was presenting -
Tried to make this seem fun & easy to understand
Appreciate his enthusiasm – but I could not arrange time to meet with him –
this would have helped.” (BC)
“This class was the best math class I’ve ever had. I understood everything. Ken is a great instructor.” (AB)
“Ken did an excellent job! I received a CD in 101 & hated the course; Ken turned that thought process around.” (B)
“None - Maybe different grading scale – for write-ups.” (A)
“* I don’t like the student
graders.
* Write-ups were helpful, child interview was interesting.” (B)
“Good: Write-ups
Poor: Instructor’s use of class time, exam length.” (A)
“Improvement – I felt some classes were wasted & could have been spent going over problems.” (A)
“I feel like there was a lot of help in class but I felt very unprepared for the midterm (-as if I had no preparation.)” (B)
“Too much wasted time-“ (B)
Geometric Structure 202
“I think that Ken did an excellent job teaching this course. He is very good at explaining things (improved since a year ago in 201!) I think that his grading procedures should be modified. Points taken off of assignments should be relative to the total amount of information on that assignment. Example – the assignment with 40 definition one fourth of one of the questions was wrong and ½ point out of 15 was taken off.” (AB)
Calculus II 322
“The style of teaching is too relaxed. I think the instructor should put more of an emphasis on homework and explanations in class. It was hard for me to understand some of the concepts because they weren’t clearly explained in class.” (BC)
“homework should be collected so that students are willing to practice.” (B)
“How the teacher grades is good. Please try to explain more clear about the materials.” (A)
“I like the teacher, especially outside of his class (very helpful) Thanks Ken!” (A)
“Thanks for all the outside help & the book.” (B)
“Comments:
I really liked this class, but I felt as if I really wasn’t learning. Maybe if we had more hand-in stuff, like assignments or more quizzes I would have been more motivated to learn. I think I did just enough to get by. More class work, to show progress is needed. Otherwise this class is very good, I really enjoy leaning in this environment.” (BC)
“No more homework.” (A)
“I think it would help to have some assignments due for a grade so we could check our progress before quizzes and exams. Sometimes just asking questions about homework problems isn’t enough because they are covered so fast. Otherwise it is a good class, but I do think some graded homework would help students to learn more, as well as bringing up some grades.” (AB)
“I think that the transition between tests & quizzes was hard. The quiz was on basic & the tests seemed a little over whelming. (BC)
“Graded homework assignments were helpful in understanding the material. However, Ken’s office hours did not fit my schedule & although his syllabus said that other times would be available by appointment, he never seemed to have time to meet. Also I wish he had been more prepared for class. I often felt that he just randomly picked homework problems, especially when the problems he sometimes picked were unrelated & often too time consuming for the material we were covering.” (AB)
“Text books are too expensive in general. I spent $500 on books this semester.” (A)
“- you need more office time or be there when you post hours” (C)
Arithmetic Structures 201
“This course helped me a lot, especially in how well
to explain myself. I would have liked a text, as I did use outside resources to
understand some concepts. Too rushed the second half of semester, I felt.
I really enjoyed Ken Jewell’s style and his approachability. He is an asset to
the Edgewood faculty staff!” (AB)
“When we worked on problems in class, most of the time we got in small groups and discussed them. I found that very helpful. It made me understand that people solve problems differently.” (AB)
“-Class size was great – only 7!
- the structure & style of teaching was very effective.
- In the future – work with kids to see how things work” (A)
“I really enjoyed this class – I don’t believe I’ve ever been able to say that! I also have never had a math teacher who has cared whether or not I actually learned math! I would suggest him as a teacher for anyone needing to take math 201 or 202.” (AB)
“Easy to communicate w/ instructor
small class size very appropriate for class set-up” (B)
“The instructor & the teaching methodology were the best part of the course. Everything was explained well!” (A)
“Ken Jewell is one of the best professors I have ever had. I only wish I had him for 101.” (AB)
“I enjoyed the instructor but not so much the class. However the exercises such as the write-ups, child interview, and PPST practice computer program helped me a great deal with my future major. Some of the exercises we did, I didn’t really see why we did it.” (B)
“[The instructor encouraged
students to ask questions:] Always !!
[Reaching methodology was appropriate for the type and size of the class;]
Great!!
I thought the class was great. We had a lot of fun and you are a wonderful
instructor. It was my pleasure to be here!!!!!” (A)
“It’s better if professor has more office hours.” (BC)
“This class is very good and easy.” (A)
“I thought that the test questions were off the wall. They were extremely tricky. And unsure how they relate to the material learned previous the test.” (B/BC/C)
“I really liked Ken as an instructor but the only problems I had with the course was the questions on the test were too hard and some of them didn’t seem to fit with the material we learned.” (AB)
“ Calculus was just hard for me to
understand. I never had pre-calc or calculus in high school, so I didn’t know
what to expect. I tested out of math, and thought I would give it a try.” (CD)
”This course is good, but sometimes I found it boring. I want the class more
challenging. And change the textbook because it is not interesting to read and
not easy to understand.” (A)
“especially good: -cared if we understood – The class was conducted well – I’m just not good at math” (D)
“I felt class was good – hard for me but well taught. Meeting outside class helped a lot!!” (C/CD)
“Don’t just explain the question from the exercises.” (B)
“I felt this was a very good class. The style was different at first but I think it helped us learn better. The instructor helped a lot with questions.” (BC)
“- class size – too big – good job Ken! – needs more room for grades (better grades)” (AB)
“I’m not typically satisfied with the instructor’s method of teaching. He never clearly explained the material, we always discuss the homework in class.” (A)
“please, do not explain the homework and if possible submit the homework” (BC)
“I think that the method of teaching should be improved. Instructor is going too fast making it difficult for students to catch on” (D)
“The portfolios should have been returned to us sooner than they were.” (AB)
“All very well.” (AB)
“The text is very easy to understand and follow even if you need to miss a class.” (AB)
“I liked everything about it [the text] except it
didn’t really have any examples or an answer key.
Teacher was very helpful & easy to understand.” (A)
“The instructor was excellent, but I think the book
needs some major improvements. They have no examples to look at, except for
what you figured out.” (C)
“I thought the textbook was bad. There were no examples to learn from and no answers in the back.” (BC)
“I remember opening the textbook the very first day of class & reading the preface – in the preface there was the quote by George Cobb – “Judge a statistics book by its exercises, and you cannot go far wrong.” Well, I think that after judging this book’s exercises, I would DEFINITELY not recommend this book for future stats classes. If we didn’t have such good discussions (i.e., if Ken didn’t explain things as he did) I think that the class average would have been a C-/D+. The books need sample problems!
-Ken: an excellent prof - held my interest: great @
explaining the concepts.
Thanks, “ (A/AB)
“Ken Jewell was very available to answer questions.
I had great difficulty with the textbook. Perhaps in the future if the textbook
is used, it would be helpful to pass out problems, examples of solving them,
and the correct answers, I believe it would help Ken and the students!” (AB/B)
”Ken is talented at explaining concepts. The pace of the course could have been
better planned. [The textbook is] Good in that it breaks down concepts into
small parts very well. But the book lacks examples of properly solved
problems. In studying, often there were no examples to refer back to. If your
class notes were not perfect, you are stuck.” Course rating: 3.783672 ¬ no
rounding (AB)
”This course has been very difficult for me, but your teaching and willingness
to help outside of class has been excellent. There were some topics that were
covered way too quickly though, but I know time is limited in a summer course.
I found the book to be okay and fairly helpful, but then again I have nothing
else to compare it to, but I’ve actually ended up doing better than I thought I
would in this course - - thanx for your help.” (B)
“I think the instructor should provide different kind of questions about the course except the textbook & note because the textbook doesn’t give very good concept about it.” (A)
“Because of my level of understanding, it would have been good to have more remedial explanations for a variety of concepts. I sometimes thought that he was assuming I had an understanding of something that I did not have. I appreciated tremendously the opportunity to call him repeatedly at his home. He was very kind regarding that.” (C)
“Areas for improvement: Text, computer use – I expected a more comprehensive text with more examples and to learn something about stats software.” (A)
“Independent work” (B)
“I liked this class very much. It was very challenging.” (AB)
“I could never meet w/ the teacher because of my own schedule. He did have plenty of times, but none that met my needs. I’m sure he was busy as well and couldn’t help this.
I personally felt I will never use a lot of this math again.” (C)
“He encouraged class to not fall behind.”(C)
“Ken was a great instructor. He made students feel very comfortable.” (C)
“Working in groups worked well.” (B)
“Group work helped me understand and get more help when professor wasn’t available. I would recommend this class to other people.” (A)
“Learning about bases was good for my major.” (B)
“Ken Jewell did an excellent job with this course. I would recommend it.” (A)
“I thought the class was great. It went above and beyond my expectations. I had a lot of fun and can’t wait for 202 next semester.” (AB/B)
“1. More hands on materials
2. Some of the material was too much out of it! (I’m not sure of it’s
importance)
3. A lot of the material covered is appropriate & I’ve seen in schools.” (A)
“I feel this course is one that for the most part challenges student’s abilities in math. Therefore the problems, assignments & evaluations were appropriate.” (AB)
“This class always proved to be challenging. And I though the material was very appropriate. At times, however, I thought the grading was very strict (he was picky at times).” (AB)
“There should be a better outline for where this class is going & the purpose. A few bugs need to be worked out but overall it was well done.
The small group format works well for this type of class.” (AB)
“This course was difficult for me because of the format. Because I struggle w/ geometry, I think I may have done better w/ a more “normal-type” of class - - with a textbook, problems to do on a daily or weekly basis, etc. That is not to say I didn’t learn from this class, but I feel like I would’ve learned more concretely w/ a different set-up.” (B)
“Evaluations and test are given without enough tome to complete.
Therefore they become exercises in time management and optimizing credit
instead of problem solving. They do not show if students know material and are
unfair.” (B)
”I thought the first test this semester exceeded the time limit &
expectations of what could be done in one hour.” (C)
“Good: Answering questions in
class, explaining things thoroughly.
Bad: Trying to get in a lot of material in 2 weeks, I can’t keep up!”
(C)
“Maybe go through fewer problems
& just go slower w/ that problem (go more in depth)” (BC)
“The course was very challenging but also very frustrating when one did not understand the material sufficiently. (It was hard to catch up once losing ground.” (AB)
“- The way the teacher taught and concern for student.” (B)
“The tests were extremely long and difficult for the amount of time given.” (AB)
“The text was difficult, but I feel I learned a lot.” (B)
“Would like to have graded assignments back in a timely manner.” (B)
“Work that was completed by students needs top be returned in a more timely manner.” (B)
“less group work – group exam count for less” (AB)
“I think the exams should be totally based on group work. I think students should pick their own groups b/c they’d feel more comfortable then.” (BC)
“I felt this course was to difficult. You couldn’t determine you grade no matter if you thought you were doing well or not.” (AB)
“On syllabus try to write down dates that assignments will be due. Work on handing papers back earlier.
I liked the aspect of you not depending only on answers, rather on how we explained things instead.” (BC)
“Overall, this was a good class, but the format needs to be revised a little. He did a good job teaching, but evaluations were a little inappropriate. (See “Call for Change”)” (BC)
“improve the write-up procedure” (B)
“More teacher help, in class time. More teacher input.” (B)
“Ken is a GREAT professor. He is a great asset to Edgewood’s math program.” (B)
“The way teacher explained homework is good but I didn’t understand if he did the hand waving though.” (AB)
“I thought that quizzes and exams were much more difficult than usual homework problems.” (D)
“The text did too much “hand-waving” & didn’t always explain things clearly. It was hard to get used to the style of the book & Ken’s teaching style. Ken’s a good teacher!” (AB)
“Need more times of class to explain the questions. Sometimes questions don’t answered clearly.” (A)
“Problems were often reviewed very swiftly by the instructor, to quickly to always understand.” (AB)
“I think the text was very poor for a first semester calculus class. There are very few examples that relate to the application problems. Steps for basic rules were missed in some of the examples.” (C)
“I liked that we could ask questions in class about
the problems, but maybe offer an answer key w/all of the answers. Sometimes I just needed to know that I got the right
answer.” (A)
“More
practice problems in class” (D)
“Don’t have
the tests be ¼ of the grade.” (B)
“I thought
the in class questions & problems were good. I just think this dept should
find someone to tutor it. I need a set time to come in; office hours weren’t
that convient.” (B)
“More
explanations are needed when we ask questions about assignments otherwise don’t
assign the questions if not prepared to answer.” (A)
Calculus III 323
“Ken is a
great instructor, he really cares about his students. The only suggestion I
could make is that he had more office hours. I did not like the book at all,
the examples that it had skipped several crucial steps that I thought were necessary.”
(BC)
“I felt
that Ken’s teaching improved greatly from last semester. He is fairly organized and he is always
concerned with what the student has learned. He does, however, need a better
variety of office hours, (ex: not all on Mon, Wed, Fri) The text was pretty
good in that it covered a great variety of topics, but it often went very fast
& skimmed over some topics that the student was expected to discover
through other resources.” (B)
“I thought
the book was rather challenging, because it wasn’t the same material as the
calc I and II book. I thought this book could have had more examples. The book
did make me learn more on my own which was good. Sometimes books have too many
examples and people just copy them down. I don’t think people learn as much as
if they have to explore more on their own. I still thought the book could have
been a little better, but it was challenging.” (BC)
Statistics
221
”Liked
* casual, * prof has good personality, * textbook was excellent, * met often (2x
per week), * small class size, * used notes for exams
Disliked
* didn’t return phone calls; my pet peve. * class went too slow @ first; then
we flew over the last 3 chapters which were harder. * didn’t really have a
syllabus that we followed. We covered more material than the syllabus listed.
You could never work ahead because the assignments constantly changed. * too
much material on final, * never seemed prepared” (AB)
Elementary
Mathematics I 201
”Ken is a good teacher but appears to be disorganized and doesn’t care about
getting things back on time. He always had an excuse about not being able to
hand back corrected papers. He used his children as an excuse many times as to
why he wasn’t prepared for class – which I find to be totally unprofessional.
This excuse wouldn’t be appropriate for us.” (AB)
Calculus II
322
”The teaching was little slower than expected, but it taught us a good
explanation.” (AB)
”Ken is probably my favorite teacher at E.C. this semester, he had a lot of
distractions that weren’t his fault. These took a bit from his teaching
ability, but I felt that really wanted us to learn and would do all he could to
get us to do so.” (C)
”You did an excellent job teaching and explaining things. The quizzes and tests
were extremely hard, but there weren’t too many things on them that weren’t
“fair game”. Sometimes, questions on tests were things we never discussed,
which was frustrating. I learned a lot from the mistakes I had made on the
tests, as you answered all questions clearly. You really know your stuff, even
if you do have to look up some equations in the book!” (AB)
”Because calculus 2 is a very hard course, I suggest that you should add 1 more
hour each week for homework discussion. So that we won’t waste class time for
homework discussion and getting late for the next subject.” (B)
”I felt that Ken Jewell is an excellent person of outstanding quality. However,
he has some problems that seriously need to be eliminated. First of all, he
does not test on the material we learned in class. The exam questions are
similar but about a level or 2 more difficult than what we discussed in class
or we assigned as homework problems. If he would have assigned more difficult
problems showed up how to attempt a similar problem in class, we would have had
fewer problems. Ken also was not available for help enough. He only had about
an hour or two free a week that I could make for help. The times I came in for
help, he was either helping other students or talking on the phone with his
wife. I feel that Ken can be a great teacher but he needs improvement. Perhaps
it was because his wife had a baby early in the semester, but I felt he could
have presented the material more clearly & we could’ve learned more.” (BC)
Linear
Algebra 410
”I really didn’t like the book. It didn’t give clear explainations of the
material. Other than that the course was fine.” (B)
”Instructor did very well, but the text
book we used was terrible. Other than that overall the class was good” (C)
”A change of textbook is necessary.” (AB)
”The textbook was weak, but that’s not a good excuse for uncertainties in the
material. An instructor needs to analyze the textbook to find any errors that
may cause difficulties in comprehension” (AB)
“ a good instructor enjoy very much” (B)
”-I liked small class sized & plenty of opportunity for questions.
-Need to go slower or give more explanations.” (B)
”I really liked this class. I learned much more here, than I ever did in high
school.
I would very much like to take another course.” (AB)
”Needs to slow down when explaining new stuff. Sometimes you go to fast.” (AB)
Finite Math 235-2
”Too much class time was spent for quizzing & test taking (approx 1/3)
there was a need for more instruction during class time. Class structure was
such that end of class was when new concepts were presented – not enough time.
Thus too much personal time wasted learning wrong way. Had to contact
instructor each week in order to complete assignment
Instruction was very responsive in providing personal help. This was good!” (B)
”It was pretty much a review course for me, so I enjoyed it.” (AB)
”Everything is perfect.” (AB)
”Great Job Ken, you really cared about our learning progress. However, I
do prefer more formal language in class, to the level that will not bored us.
Others in the class think the language is ok. Thanks for leading us this
semester.” (A)
Calculus III 323
“Great Job Ken, you really cared about our
learning progress. However, I do prefer more formal language in class, to the
level that will not bore us. Others in class think the language is ok. Thanks
for leading us this semester.” (A)
”Everything is perfect.” (AB)
Real Analysis 420
”This was a good course. Ken Jewell is an excellent teacher. I am upset because
I heard he may not be returning next year. I understand there are a limited
number of positions available, but it would be sad to see a teacher like Ken
go. Ken is a definite asset to the Math Department. He is very knowledgeable and
knows how to relay this knowledge to students. Also, he is always willing to
help students out of class and he is flexible to meet the needs of his
students. Edgewood College would be making a big mistake if they let a
professor like Ken go.” (AB)
“Ken is a great instructor and would take him again plus advise other people to do the same. Ken really wants you to do well in his class.” (C)
“This class needed more hours for lecture – there wasn’t enough time in class to go threw the chapters and to answer all the questions –” (C)
“Rating summer classes it is hard to be truly objective b’cuz they are so much more intense than the regular semester. It would have been better to spend more time per chapter, but the time didn’t allow it. Ken covered them considering. J” (B)
“Ken was wonderful. Ken was
prepared for class and would clarify any questions we had. I can really learn
from Ken’s style of teaching.
I had problems with the class – I have never liked or understood math. This
course covered a lot of material in 8 weeks. I felt I was finally understanding
one topic and we would move to the next topic. I was always behind in my
homework (my fault I know)
Overall the class was good. I do not feel I will ever use this material again.
But I have learned how to read questions in test, and, I hope this will help me
in the future” (C)
“Ken is an excellent instructor. He is very good at teaching people math who have some trouble with it. He is personal and friendly and takes time for answers. I have supposed (ACT, SAT) problems in math. In high school I was not able to pass math courses w/out a tutor. I credit Ken with teaching a math class I not only did well in but didn’t need a tutor for since I could go in for help before class for help. His tests were fair and so were his quizzes.” (B)
“The instructor was very patient and enthusiastic. At times he did not speak “math” he tried to describe things w/o using terminology to make the concepts simplier, but actually it made it more confusion. Did very well at teaching how to think rather than spit out facts” (A)
“My primary concern was text was inappropriate for independent study required for a summer course. A consistency for this course seemed to be a discrepancy between the instructor and text. (C)
“The text is pretty good, but doesn’t explain concepts very well – instructor cleared the vagueness up, but generally at a point that made what one read & what one heard in lecture confused & muddled. * Trick multiple choice questions are NOT a good way to test a student for their knowledge or understanding of a course. The problems are difficult enough without throwing obscurities at us!” (B)
“Book – does not explain well – nor give good examples” (BC)
“I like your style of
grading. You give people a fair chance!
Course is more difficult because it is problem solving versus busy work
Get a new text book” (AB)
“At the beginning of the semester I thought this
class was going to be impossible. Once Ken figured out exactly how everyone
learned it was 100% better. He had to get a feel for us.
The teacher, I would say, really made the difference in this class.” (AB)
“I think we went to fast, I would rather learn something than cover more material.” (C)
“ I thought Ken was very helpful & fair. He was an enthusiastic instructor who cared more about us learning the material than just rushing & giving grades” (B)
“I think that Ken was a great teacher. He was always around to answer questions. I never had a teacher who was so willing to help me before. I think that Ken would be a valuable asset to the Edgewood students. I hope that Edgewood should keep Ken on.” (AB)
“The book is too big for the # of weeks needed to cover the material. My group was worthless for problem set help. – discontinue this activity. We need more class time for explanation of some material, probability, convert base.” (B)
“Ken: You were more than fair in your grading on quizzes, tests and problem sets. I think you are a very excellent teacher. You were always availible before class to go over things with us. You made the class fun and you were on a one to one level with most of the students. You got along with us as friends and not as an instructor – I think that makes students work harder. I’ve really enjoyed having you for a teacher and I would lake any other class you taught. You made my 2nd semester at Edgewood fun. Thanks!” (AB)
“I had calc in high school & I found this class extremely hard & difficult! Some of the stuff I learned I will never teach to my students because it is too advanced for them.” (AB/B)
“Overall I really enjoyed this course and liked the problem sets because they challenged me. My one big complaint I had was that we could have gotten further in the book it we wouldn’t have to go over the same material again and again simply because people didn’t go to class. Mondays were exactly the same material that we covered on Friday but the people who skipped on Friday missed out. (oh well)(their problem) Even today even reviewing for test we went over the same problems as Wednesday – for those who missed. This means there is not time for ner problems.” (A)
“I learned a lot this semester,
but am not sure of the relevance it will have when I start teaching.
Ken is a good teacher, but sometimes tends to make things seem more complicated
than they really are. He really tries hard to help everyone understand the
concepts.” (A)
“Very helpful teaching strategies for me!” (C/CD)
“Ken, is an excellent teacher,
I’ve never known someone who cares so much that students try to grasp the
concepts. He is patient, understanding, extremely knowledable in math (Math
Genius), he is also very motivated in teaching the math concepts to use on a
daily basis. In a class that seemed difficult to me he was always optimistic
with me in dealing with my troubles.
I’m a senior at Edgewood and I believe that Edgewood College (Math
Faculty) should try their best to keep Ken as a future teacher at Edgewood
College. He loves teaching and it really shows. I’m glad I had him as a math
instructor and wish him the best in the future.” (C)
“Dr. Jewell is one of the finest instructors that I have had at this college. The material covered – I wonder if it will ever be valuble as an elementary teacher.” (AB)
“The professor is excelent, hard but helpful. The text book is somewhat confusing at times. (B/BC)
“Instructor really cared about the students, made the learning experience fun.” (A/AB)
Finite Mathematics 235-001
“I am not sure why this course is included in the CIS major. Some of the concepts just don’t apply to business application programs.” (no grade listed)
“Course was required and easy.” (A)
“Material toward end of course was
covered quickly due to time constraints. Fell off schedule a bit & had to
catch up. Otherwise, thought instructor did a good job making material clear
and was very willing to answer questions in & outside of class.
Found the material useful. Textbook does nice job of applying principles to
real life.” (A)
“I really enjoyed the class. Very good instructor, I would definitely recommend you as a teacher. Course doesn’t need improvement.” (BC)
“Great job Ken! I really learned a lot and enjoyed the course. I don’t think that anyone could meet with a class only once a week and still cover and explain as much as we did this semester. You were always open for questions which was appreciated. Thanks for everything!” (A)
Foundations of Geometry 481
“Class size of 2 was a real treat, but let’s recruit more math people. Edgewood has a lot to offer in this dept. Great people, like Ken, should make the dept attractive to prospective students.” (A)
“Ken Jewell is a good teacher and
is needed in Edgewood College’s math department.” (AB)
“Ken was very knowledgeable about the subject – he really made sure that you knew the material in order to do well in the course.” (A/AB)
“Instructor needs to be better prepared for class. Many times he would change his mind on how to do the formulas.” (B)
“- This class is graded and taught in a very different manner than the other stat’s course currently being taught here.” (C)
“He is very inflexible. He wouldn’t allow me to take the final early. I had a surgery scheduled the 17th (Dec) & then leaving for the holidays 2 days later. I couldn’t change surgery date & had redo my whole holiday schedule. I am not happy.” (A)
“Many times he was unprepared & seemed as though he was just looking at the lesson for the very first time. Basically teaching on the run. However, he was very approachable & easy to get help from if it was needed.” (B)
“More examples are needed. Textbook is great.” (BC)
“I think there are things where
the instructor needed improvement. I think he could have been much more
prepared. I wish he could also have introduced dif. ways of presenting material
instead of regurgitating same material inbook.
Also introducing an entirely new concept (that is on the quiz) 5 min B4 a quiz
was not fair.
His grading was not fair. I heard of him giving pts to other people where other
people got docked for the same type of material.” (B)
“Should have had more times out of class for us to come and talk to him.” (AB)
“(1) good
- understanding
- clear
- have help from instructor in class and after class
- class size small
- Happy class! J
(2) need improvement
-
Maybe, have study group.
Personal comments.
-
Maybe says “um” too much.” (AB)
“Ken did an excellent job! Only thing I thought needed or could use change would be policy on students taking quizzes after the class already took them. Lotsa students TOOK advantage of Ken’s kindness & took quizzes later than the rest of us & probably got better grades because of it!” (BC)
“Ken is a great instructor, he made class enjoyable & taught very well.” (A/AB)
“Ken was an excellent teacher – he took the time to teach the material appropriately. Although some concepts were difficult, the only complaint would be that the quizzes & exams were not representative of the homework we were assigned.” (B)
“It was a good class – hard.” (B/BC)
“I don’t like filling out these evaluations. I think they’re bogus.” (A)
“Ken is an exceptional asset to the math dept., losing him would be foolish.” (B)
“Instructor was very helpful to the students. Good instructor that cared about the students.” (B)
“Ken would be a good permanent addition to the math dept. at Edgewood College.” (BC)
“Let him stay!!! ¬ (Ken Jewell)” (A)