2017S Instructor Report for PHYS 1502 02 – Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences II (Michael Hutson)
2017S Instructor Report for PHYS 1502 02 – Introductory Physics for the
Life Sciences II (Michael Hutson)
Vanderbilt University Course and Teaching Evaluations – 2017S
Project Audience 75
Responses Received 42
Response Ratio 56.00%
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Project Audience – Total number of students enrolled
Responses Received – Number of evaluations submitted by students
Response Ratio – Percent of enrolled students who submitted evaluations
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Questions about the Instructor (Michael Hutson):
Question
This Class
Section
Department
(PHYS)
School (A&S)
Mean
Standard
Deviation
Mean
Standard
Deviation
Mean
Standard
Deviation
The instructor helped me understand the core ideas and
issues in this subject.
4.36 0.79 4.22 1.07 4.43 0.87
The instructor explained what was expected of me in the
assignments and assessments for this course.
4.49 0.75 4.36 0.98 4.37 0.93
The instructor encouraged critical, original, or creative
thinking.
4.41 0.87 4.19 1.04 4.39 0.91
The instructor demonstrated interest in students’ learning. 4.64 0.73 4.33 0.97 4.51 0.83
The instructor used class time productively. 4.33 0.90 4.20 1.10 4.35 0.95
The instructor created a welcoming and inclusive classroom
environment.
4.60 0.63 4.39 0.87 4.52 0.81
Overall, the instructor (Michael Hutson) was: 4.19 0.94 4.10 1.13 4.28 0.96
Questions about this Course (PHYS 1502 02):
Question
This Class
Section
Department
(PHYS)
School (A&S)
Mean
Standard
Deviation
Mean
Standard
Deviation
Mean
Standard
Deviation
This course helped me appreciate the significance of the
subject matter.
3.95 0.99 4.02 1.07 4.29 0.94
The components of the course, such as class activities,
assessments, and assignments, were consistent with the
course goals.
4.19 0.83 4.23 0.91 4.38 0.85
The feedback I received during the course was helpful. 4.00 0.77 3.93 1.10 4.17 1.01
I felt comfortable asking questions in this course. 4.00 0.99 4.21 1.05 4.37 0.93
This course helped me consider connections between
course material and other areas of my personal, academic,
or professional life.
4.00 0.99 3.92 1.09 4.25 0.98
Overall, the course (PHYS 1502 02) was: 3.48 1.11 3.63 1.11 3.96 1.00
Compared to other classes, the amount I learned in this
course was:
3.81 0.99 3.32 1.05 3.64 1.03
Compared to requirements in other classes, the workload
assigned in this class was:
3.95 0.76 3.06 1.03 3.24 0.98
1. The instructor helped me understand the core
ideas and issues in this subject.
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 4.36
Mode 5
Standard Deviation 0.79
2. The instructor explained what was expected of
me in the assignments and assessments for this
course.
Statistics Value
Response Count 41
Mean 4.49
Mode 5
Standard Deviation 0.75
3. The instructor encouraged critical, original, or
creative thinking.
Statistics Value
Response Count 41
Mean 4.41
Mode 5
Standard Deviation 0.87
4. The instructor demonstrated interest in students’
learning.
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 4.64
Mode 5
Standard Deviation 0.73
5. The instructor used class time productively.
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 4.33
Mode 5
Standard Deviation 0.90
6. The instructor created a welcoming and inclusive
classroom environment.
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 4.60
Mode 5
Standard Deviation 0.63
Please respond to the following questions about the instructor (Michael Hutson).
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 4.19
Mode 5
Standard Deviation 0.94
1. This course helped me appreciate the
significance of the subject matter.
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 3.95
Mode 4
Standard Deviation 0.99
2. The components of the course, such as class
activities, assessments, and assignments, were
consistent with the course goals.
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 4.19
Mode 4
Standard Deviation 0.83
3. The feedback I received during the course was
helpful.
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 4.00
Mode 4
Standard Deviation 0.77
4. I felt comfortable asking questions in this course.
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 4.00
Mode 4
Standard Deviation 0.99
Overall, the instructor (Michael Hutson) was:
Questions About This Course (PHYS 1502 02):
5. This course helped me consider connections
between course material and other areas of my
personal, academic, or professional life.
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 4.00
Mode 5
Standard Deviation 0.99
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 3.48
Mode 4
Standard Deviation 1.11
1. Compared to other classes, the amount I learned
in this course was:
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 3.81
Mode 4
Standard Deviation 0.99
2. Compared to requirements in other classes, the
workload assigned in this class was:
Statistics Value
Response Count 42
Mean 3.95
Mode 4
Standard Deviation 0.76
Overall the course was:
Questions About This Course (PHYS 1502 02):
What elements of the course (PHYS 1502 02) most contributed to your learning?
Comments
Dr. Hutson is the BEST! always so willing to help and quite funny
Sapling
Sapling
I learned the most from lectures and reviewing clicker questions on ILT.
the clicker questions and the practice tests
Sapling HW’s were great ways to get practice.
The class lectures really helped clarify a lot of things for me.
I think the clicker questions and reverse classroom style is generally very beneficial. The homework also was helpful to
me.
Although clicker questions helped us test our thinking and understanding of a concept, I really did enjoy when we would
have lectures (e.g. when we sketched out what constitutes constructive vs. destructive interference). The help desk and
Professor office hours were also invaluable resources.
We worked through many problems in class, which helped solidify the concepts.
Prof. Hutson was used class time with extraordinary efficiency. He spent enough time lecturing so that we could gauge
what we needed to know, but also spent enough time allowing students to converse so that we could figure out
problems. Prof. Hutson was great at office hours as well and I think that he catered to every student he could. I also
appreciated that he got to know everyone’s name in the classroom. In such a big class, it often seems intimidating to
ask questions but Hutson was able to break down that barrier by connecting personally with most people in the class.
His clicker questions were also extremely helpful as practice for exams and I appreciate that he was very good at
posting them with very complete answers.
Clicker Questions
Professor Hutson’s engagement with students. In a large lecture class, he made a great effort to know the student’s
names and answered questions effectively and in a non-condescending manner. I really enjoyed him as a professor.
demonstrations in class and sometimes clicker questions.
The flipped classroom approach was difficult to get used to at first, but doing problems in class really helped for
understanding how to do the problems on the exams!
I liked taking the practice tests and the warm up questions.
Everything on the ILT site was fantastic, and the old exams were very helpful to study from. Being able to preview clicker
questions before class helped focus my reading, and the warm questions were good as well. Also, the combination of
short lectures and clicker questions in class was very helpful. I was skeptical of the flipped classroom approach to
physics after last semester, but Professor Hutson made it work very well and I certainly felt the benefit over a traditional
lecture.
Clicker questions and lectures
the sapling and clicker questions
The homework was very helpful, the demonstrations were always well explained and relevant, and the clicker questions
and in-class response kept me engaged.
Whenever Dr. Hutson would just lecture, I thought that was SO helpful. Frankly, most junior premed students do not do
the reading for science classes, so even though he expected us to come in with enough knowledge to start answering
clicker questions right away, most of us didn’t have that background. He is so good at explaining physics concepts, and
whenever he would take a minute to just talk about the material without having to locate it in a specific clicker question, I
learned more than I did through anything else in the course. I appreciated how easy it was to ask questions during
class! Dr. Hutson was very good about pausing for a few seconds to allow people to formulate their thoughts before
moving on.
The online clickers that were posted after class were useful for studying for the test. The few times that Dr. Hutson did a
lecture styled explanation was also very helpful though not frequent.
The questions on ILT were very helpful. I really appreciated how Dr. Hutson walked through students answers in class,
explaining the nuances in thinking that could change an incorrect answer into a correct one. Many students in the class
Comments
were thinking along similar lines, and while we may not feel comfortable exposing our questions to the entire class, I
was always willing to take a risk on my ILT answers.
Professor Hutson teaches at an honest pace, which I respect. Additionally, the math and concept-goals were clearly
defined. There was significant amount of practice given for his student which include: online clicker questions, sapling,
lecture notes, and past exams. I enjoyed all the concepts learned, and appreciated whenever professor Hutson took his
time to work out practice problems with his students during class time. I enjoyed the no-take home exams because I
thought they were very fair. Great job shout out to professor Hutson!
Clicker questions in class.
NOT Sapling. Clicker questions in class, going through old exams, taking this year’s exams.
Dr. Hutson, is very intersted in what the students want to talk about about and need help with. On top of that, he explains
concepts very well and he helps students think through problems very well. I never thought I would enjoy physics, but
this semester changed that for me.
The Sapling homework contributed to my learning the most.
I think the use of clicker questions helped me learn effectively.
While class time was certainly important, I also really benefited from Dr. Hutson making himself so available at the help
desk and in office hours. A lot of the time, I hear the material in class but don’t start to understand it for myself until I start
doing practice problems. Having Dr. Hutson around while I go through that process greatly contributed to my learning.
I really liked that most of the class was spent going through clicker questions instead of more traditional lecturing. I
also thought the warm-up questions helped me to stay on track with the reading, and helped me understand the
important aspects of the material. I also thought the demos we did in class were really helpful. Overall, I felt that there
was a very collaborative and inclusive environment in class, and that really helped me and encouraged me to learn.
The clicker questions were extremely helpful.
Problem based teaching in class was extremely helpful. Lectures were engaging and Dr. Hutson did a great job.
I believe the Sapling was a great part of my learning in this course as well as the in depth reading questions.
the questions done i class helped the most
Having to study for tests definitely contributed most to my learning because it made me fully learn the material.
Professor Hutson’s was a great lecturer, and was always eager to help clarify any confusion. The clicker questions
during class, having access to them after the lecture, and using past exams to study were very helpful. I also liked going
over student responses to the warmup questions because it helped me see when my own understanding of the
concepts was incorrect.
What improvements to the course (PHYS 1502 02) would you recommend?
Comments
more in class small group discussion time
Don’t go back to take-home exams
None
I would recommend changing textbooks. The current Life Sciences textbook is very difficult to read and understand.
include more of the quantitative parts of the material instead of just the qualitative concepts during class
When the material is this extreme and complex, reverse class-room teaching is not going to work. All semester I have
tried to understand and comprehend the material but it does not work. I have no physics background and I feel like I am
being punished as a result. I do not believe the curriculum and set up of physics at Vanderbilt is being considered for all
types of Vanderbilt students, but only those that come in with the advantage of knowing the material to some extent.
Some concepts are nearly impossible to understand just from reading the textbook so a lecture on them would be nice
While I think clicker questions, etc. are very important, there were times when I wished a further explanation of the
material (more lecture style) was given before jumping in to clicker questions. I also thought the book was generally
difficult to understand…I’m not sure if this could be improved by using a different text or if all physics books are just hard
to grasp. Has having a “discussion” portion, where a smaller group of students meets with a TA once a week, ever been
discussed for physics? Even if it was optional, I think this could be really beneficial, especially for students like me that
learn better in a smaller, more intimate setting.
Comments
Perhaps relate the questions done in class more closely to those on the test.
I don’t think there is much else Prof. Hutson could do.
Less time spent talking to neighbors about questions – waste of time
I wish Professor Hutson spent more time explaining concepts thoroughly.
Please give us more time to answer clicker questions.
I have no recommendations.
An entirely flipped classroom does not work for this course. It is too difficult to understand reading equations from a
physics textbook without explanations. If there is flipped classroom there has to be a short lecture before class or
perhaps a real lecture or mini lecutre during lecture and recitation sections.
The daily reading questions felt like busy-work, especially because they were on a different website. I would
recommend either integrating all platforms of getting rid of this feature of the class– often I would simply forget to do it
rather than not do the reading.
I think there is too much emphasis on clicker questions.
It would have been helpful if we had access to some sort of comprehensive document with all the topics we were
responsible for. Between the class slides and pre-test study guides, I was able to make sure I didn’t miss anything, but
a more detailed document would have been great.
Make the saplings more similar to test/clicker questions
going over concepts more in class, not just problems
The homework was often due within 12 hours of the lecture where the last of the subject matter on the homework was
taught (often without office hours in between). This could create a time crunch and a bit of unnecessary stress.
Dr. Hutson really wanted us to be engaged and active participants in class, but structuring the class period so that it’s
90% clicker questions and partner discussion and 10% lecture/instructor-led discussion of concepts was incredibly
ineffective, in my opinion. I think that a better approach would be to spend 15-20 minutes lecturing on the material first
(without assuming the students have done the reading…sorry, it just doesn’t happen), and then progress toward
answering clicker questions or working problems together for the rest of the period. I felt like I had to spend as much
time watching Khan Academy videos as I did sitting in class, just to learn basic physics concepts. I think whenever a
new equation is introduced, we should talk about it as a group, define all the variables, and list a few situations in which
we could use it. There are some equations on the equation sheet I just can’t place! I also found Sapling homework to
be unexpectedly difficult because we spent most of class doing anecdotal clicker questions that were usually not
analogous to homework problems.
I liked the flipped classroom idea, but feel like a normal lecture may have been beneficial at times with the more difficult
topics.
I feel like the class should be more lecture based. It’s hard to gain anything out of the clicker questions when you have
no idea what’s going on in the lecture itself even though you did the reading. I learned so much and struggled much
less during the lens unit because some time was taken to really outline the general concepts. It would also be useful if
the sapling was reset/duplicated before the test so we could redo the problems.
My overall concern for the course is that I still am unsure what truly differs engineering physics from physics for the life
sciences. I absolutely loved the Optics unit, and I can only wonder what my outlook on the course would have been had
I seen such relevant applications for other units. It is hard to motivate myself to learn about circuits or magnetism when
I can’t see true applications for these in a clinical setting.
Update the study guides before each examination so that students clearly know what is to be expected on each exam.
Maybe assign practice problems from text book as an optional studying material for students – so choose what
questions would be most beneficial to test ourselves.
When we did clickers questions and the highest response was only in the 40/50s that’s a sign that there is still half of
the class not understanding this concept and I don’t think we should just move on and assume that that question was
fine- anything less than a majority of the votes means we need to devote class time to actually do/talk through this
problem. Most of the time this was done, but I remember instances when only 50% answered correctly and we just
assumed that was fine and moved on.
Sapling was a waste of time overall- it was too hard to study from, frustrating, and contributed to my bad first exam
grade (I tried to study from it). The second two exams I studied from only lecture notes/questions and old exams, and I
got two As. Very frustrating.
Maybe constant reminders of warm ups, but that may be excessive. I sometimes found it hard to remember to do
Comments
sapling, read, practice problems, and do galileo.
I would recommend that the Sapling homework is due later in the week. Whenever we had more time for the
homework, I was able to spend more time on the problems rather than trying to rush through them.
I would recommend a little bit more lecturing during lectures rather than all clicker questions.
While clicker questions are certainly an effective way to practice physics concepts, I often felt lost without some form of a
traditional lecture first. I think future students would appreciate a lecture, even a “mini-lecture” before we start going
through clicker questions during class time. I understand that reading is expected before each class, but it’s simply not
the same as having Dr. Hutson use the blackboard and show us the concepts.
Sometimes it was helpful to discuss my answers for clicker questions with my neighbors, but other times this was not
very helpful. I liked to sit alone in class so I could focus better, and sometimes I did not have anyone near me to discuss
my answers with. I liked when we were given time to think through the clicker questions on our own, and then had a
class-wide discussion about the answers.
I wish we went over less demonstrations and more on concepts and applying the concepts to the types of questions
that we should know for exams.
None
I would recommend working through a few longer, Sapling-like problems in class. I believe homework would have
taken much less time to do and I would have had a better understanding if we would have worked through more
problems applying concepts from the lectures and readings.
The Sapling homework did not help me because it felt like more of a hindrance. I didn’t feel like it was helpful. Instead, I
felt like it was an assignment that I had to get done as opposed to something that helped me learn the material.
Do you have any other comments?
Comments
nah
Professor Hutson has been one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. I have never been good at Physics but Professor
Hutson did an amazing job at explaining difficult concepts. He was always willing to answer questions and go above
and beyond. I really appreciated ILT, as I could test myself again on the questions and get detailed explanations (that I
may have missed writing down fully in class). I also really appreciated how he posted 2 old exams (plus their answer
keys) for us to study off of. Overall, I felt like I had plenty of resources to study for the exams and never felt lost (which I
have felt in previous physics classes). Professor Hutson truly cared about his students and wanted us to succeed!
Furthermore, Dr. Hutson did not make an effort to reach out to students as myself. Despite complaints and meetings,
nothing was done to help further my understanding and ability to reach the other students in the course. I do not believe
this course is sufficient in providing the necessary physics understanding that I will need going forward.
Professor Hutson was a really great professor and helped to clarify a lot of question I had with his explanations instead
of confusing the class further like I have experienced with other physics professors
Professor Hutson was a wonderful professor! Not only was he knowledgeable, but he truly seemed to care about his
students. You could tell that he really strove to impart understanding in all of his students and would take time to make
sure things were clear before moving on.
I understand how difficult it is to produce tests that allow for an accurate gauge of student understanding, but I thought
that the tests in this course were a little too lengthy. I was disappointed to learn there was not a take home portion of the
exam because timing is a big issue for me when it comes to testing, and I thought that would help a lot. I’m not sure
what the best way to solve this problem would be.
Dr. Hutson is one of the most approachable science professors I’ve had at Vanderbilt. He holds office hours twice a
week, and is extremely mindful of students’ time when there are several students who are present at office hours at the
same time.
Dr. Hutson was a great professor and was very open to questions from the class. He was very accessible and helpful in
office hours.
N/A
Great course!
I am not very good at physics but Hutson made it not painful which is great.
I think Dr. Hutson did a wonderful job of making physics relevant for life science majors.
Exams were always returned in a timely manner, which I thought was great.
Not the best class I’ve taken. I still do not understand a lot of the material due to the structure of this course.
Overall, I thought Dr. Hutson was a wonderful professor in a topic that I was originally lukewarm about. While I got
frustrated at times at the amount of work required for a topic that I see having little impact on my future career, Dr.
Hutson was great at explaining concepts and was always receptive to student concerns.
N/A
Dr. Hutson was a great professor. I understand physics conceptually much better than before, and really feel like I
learned how to think about these problems. He did a great job engaging us in class time and was always helpful
outside of class. Honestly one of my best science lecture teachers.
Hutson was a great teacher and I felt like he cared about the students and their learning.
The policy that allows students to replace their lowest test grade with the final is great. I wish more science classes
would adopt this policy.