Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.
(The following questions were asked after the last lecture, but prior to the final exam.)
Discuss the most interesting aspect of this course, and explain why this was personally interesting for you. (Graded for completion.)
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"how stars are form. to me i thought it was interesting because it should use that mostly everthing is made out of the same types of gasses."
"learning more about the universe"
"I really enjoyed this whole course! The online reading was an easy way to do homework that required me to research at home. I really enjoyed that approach."
"I thot the Morning/evening star things was pretty cool. Mostly becus I liked figuring it out."
"Astronomy is something you don't regularly study, but it may be one of the most important. . . very interesting as a whole."
"Everything we went over was very interesting but dificcult to understand"
"i liked getting to learn about stars and they lifetimes because i have always loved stars"
"How stars are born becuase they are interesting."
"Everything we learned about was interesting, but my favorite was the H-R diagram and the lifetime of the different sizes of stars. It was easy to comprehend, therefore making it fun."
"meeting new people"
"What was most interesting to me about the course was to learn that all of the stuff that makes up our bodies was in the solar system in the first few minutes of the 'big bang' and we are here because of that!! Crazy!"
"moon phases"
"I enjoyed learning about how far we've come in exploring the possibility of other life in our galaxy... I want to explore this further..."
"I like learning WHY we don't know if there is life on other plantes."
"I've always wondered, but never had an educated way of discussing it.
concepts about the nature of laws of the universe"
"Everything after the first midterm ;)"
"going over the big band and origin of life...i have my set views and basis, and i enjoy listening to other views of how life began."
"Half credit on multiple choice quizzes and tests. Without it, I'd probably have an F in the class."
"Look-back time. I think it's amazing that we can see the past."
"star wheel"
"Black Holes, because they are so mysterious and defy laws of gravity."
"By far black holes, I have been interested in them since I was a kid."
"Galaxies."
"haha i really had no idea that stars were different colors.. i thought that was really interesting and im glad i know it now!"
"How life started cuz it's interesting to me"
"i thought the stars were the most interesting because i never knew there were types of stars that lived for different amout of years"
"I liked discussing the phases of the moon and the path of the sun."
"The future of our solar system, because its a theory where we could be heading."
"I thought all the hypothetical questions were really thought provoking, they prepared me for the next section of the class and were pretty funny at the same time"
"probably the black holes because the only thing i ever heard about them was that they were caused by a star dying but i wanted to know more."
"terrestrial planets like mars and venus. I dont know why but it was interesting"
"The whole course was very interesting to me. However, probably the most interesting aspect for me was that of evolution because I was not taught this in junior high or high school. During these years, I attended a Christian school and was taught from the Creation aspect. I am glad to know about both because 'knowledge is power.'"
"I really enjoyed moon phases."
"the most interesting thig was the universal message sent into space. if they really sent one back then its even crazier."
"blackholes, can we travel thru them"
"i enjoyed learning about the rise and set times of the stars and planets and all about the moon, because it is something i notice everynight."
"I thought moon phases was the most interesting part of the course because the moon is something you see everyday and you can apply the knowledge you learned into your everyday life."
"How life formed because that is where I came from."
"black holes, they're so cool with how they bend space-time"
"The creation of the universe to now."
"the universe is expanding and the 'unknown' is pretty damn trippy."
"I really like the moon phases, they are something i can actually see and follow!"
"THE BIG BANG because i had no idea what was up prior to this class"
"Everything was interesting! I really enjoyed learning about distances and ages of stars. Our in-class activities were really awesome."
"black holes"
"Big Bang theory. I always assumed it was a massive super-nova."
"The most interesting thing about this course was everything, I mean your teaching ethics were pretty gangster. Other than that learning about the universe itself and how large and powerful it actually is quite frightening."
"the most interesting aspect was determining which phase the moon would be in at a certain time because its crazy how the schedule of the phases are so perfect"
"the most interesting aspect of this course for me was learning about our neighboring planets and what they were like. it always good to know your neighbors."
"I liked to study the other planets and their properties."
"The Star wheel because I have never heard of it until this class"
"The death of stars because they exploded and I thought that was cool."
"I enjoyed learning about the expansion of the universe."
"The supernova cuz its cool"
"The most interesting aspect of this class for me was discussing the Big Bang. I think one of the most interesting questions is where did we come from and how did it all begin."
"The most interesting pare was earning about the stars because I didnt know how complex they really are."
"black holes becasuse they scare me"
"black holes"
"The most interesting aspect was the concept of 'looking back in time' because it is very mysterious."
"For some reason, the length of time low-mass stars stay on the main-sequence was particularly interesting to me. I just can't believe there are stars out there that were born WAY before me, and will die WAY after... like billions of years. It's nuts!"
"I liked learning about the stars."
"i liked the moon phases because that actually teaches you things even if your career is astronomy related"
"I really enjoyed learning about the moon and its phases. I always tell people that I am with what phase we are in when I see the moon."
"I though the most interesting was the layout of the class. I really liked the flash cards."
"the part about life on other planets was real coooooooool"
"moon phases because it was easy to remember"
"I liked learning about rising and setting moon times. Not sure when I'll use it, but it was interesting"
"i actually really liked learning about the planets more than anything."
"Most interesting aspect is to actually learn and realize how ALL OF THIS, came to be. Knowing the truth and process of how everything happens and will continue to happen forever. I think that understanding the history and the mechanics of our ever changing universe is pretty cool. After taking this course, I know have a whole new perspective on life. I now have an atronomical perspective, and a weird social life perspective of my little tiny human life."
"The most interesting part of this class was learning about the amazing and odd universe we live in."
"the most interesting aspect of the course was pretty much everything and its hard to pick which aspect was the most interesting. i guess black holes were a very interesting subject to learn about."
"how we can tell the brightness and distance of the star"
"i enjoyed learning about the stars"
"the big bang stuff. i never knew anything about it and was always curious
Big Bang / Origin of the universe. Hadn't been exposed to much of the details of theory before."
"everything was great! i think all aspects of the course were equally interesting."
"galaxies, very in depth and crazy to think of"
"Black holes and galaxies, were way more in depth than i though"
"The most interesting aspect of this course for me were the more recent things we learned, which was the study of Earth and the other planets in our solar system. Even as a kid, I was always highly interested in comparative planetology and studying the details of the other planets and their moons. This may have stemmed from my fascination with extraterrestrial life, which was another aspect of this course that I highly enjoyed and wished we would have gone more in depth with."
"I enjoyed learning about different planets and their snizz"
"The most interesting part of this course was learning about life outside of earth. This subjuect intriques me and has always been something I wonder about."
"Black holes are badass!"
"i liked learning about planets that may have life"
"It was interesting to learn about star magnitudes."
"the stars, and the milky way"
"i think the big bang was really interesting to me. its when the universe was start thats cool"
"stars and learning about black holes, its just something very interesting to me"
"The last topic about the big bang was most interesting to me."
"black holes, I didnt understand at first how they worked or why time slowed down. but now I have a better understanding"
Discuss the most confusing aspect of this course, and explain why this was personally confusing for you. (Graded for completion.)
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"the moon phases. i just could never get the right moon phase at a certain point and time of a day"
"universe"
"The most confusion aspect was the section on solar properties. It was more to remember than the other sections."
"Direction of mantle flow and plate direction hurts my brain. cant figure it out."
"Pass"
"Moon Faces, different Laws."
"the astronomers were the hardest to learn because there were 7 of them and we had to memorize what they did."
"I am not sure."
"I never quite understood the moon phases completely and that is frustrating that I can't wrap my head around it."
"all the theories"
"The most confusing part of the course was all the black hole stuff and universe expansion."
"the latest stuff we learned"
"The moon phases have given me the most trouble ... but I think I finally understand- I hope I have time to memorize them."
"It used to be the moon phases, but now I think I understand it. =)"
"remembering the astronomers laws"
"The moon phases oddly enough. This was just one of the things I had trouble dialing down."
"how lightspeed is related to time."
"The really negative part of this class was there was alot of material to cover every week. Hardly any time to be lost. When I was there where some times I would get over it but sometimes I would struggle in some materials that I needed to know inorder to move on."
"Parsecs of planets. I get the whole magnitude thing, just not the parsecs."
"The different light spectrums. I kept mixing them up."
"everything but the star wheel but eventually i understood"
"The moon phases, I think many people would agree."
"The starwheels, I missed a class and have never understood them since.
Galaxies."
"goodness pat. there are just too many things"
"The Big Bang cuz too much info"
"the telescope chapter. i didnt understand it at all."
"The most confusing part of this course was was learning about telescopes for me."
"Moon phases, it was too confusing."
"Definitely the telescopes, it got really confusing with all the radius and diameters and what did what"
"The moon phases ... idk why theyre just confusing and difficult for me
telescopes or jovian planets. I was absent both days that we studied each of those subjects"
"The most confusing aspect for me was figuring out the star distances because I could not picture it in my head. However, with a diagram to work from, I eventually grasped this concept."
"The transformation of planets and stars into other things because I feel like there was so much to remember and understand all at the same time.
most confusing would be the aspect of knowing that our star will burn out.
stars"
"the most confusing aspect to me is planets. i find it hard to keep them all in order."
"learning about the sun, it's layers, miso soup?"
"Finding the planets on the diagram and knowing the times of the moon.
well...umm....maybe....deciding on the focusing length of the telescope based on the length of the telescope. it's just so hard to get just right."
"Black holes"
"I think that universal expansion is confusing as well.. I mean do we have a center or no? and how big is the universe? so many questions.."
"The Scientific parts! I like the interesting things but once things become too detailed about the how or why i get lost."
"the lights, like infared, ultraviolet etc"
"I don't know why, but personally, I got pretty confused with the different types of novae and supernovae explosion stuff."
"moon phases"
"Star lifespans. Why do stars with more fuel burn out faster than those with less?"
"The most confusing thing about this course was learning how to use the star wheel. Need to spend more time lacing the students up with game.
is deciding if a star formation can be possible just because i get mixed up i dont know why"
"I think understanding all of the concepts about stars, the formation and Destruction of them."
"Moon phases are confusing because my book has a typo and I was wrong in the beginning and now I have a hard time distinguishing what is right."
"Everything after the first Midterm. I don't know why but the information wasn't clicking"
"A lot of it was but the moon phases was the hardest for me."
"The different ypes of stars"
"The beginning of the galaxy, because theirs a lot of info there."
"The moon phases and nuclear fusion. Black holes were a difficult concept for me to grasp."
"The moon times."
"stars are confusing"
"wien laws"
"Nothing stood out as most confusing."
"The most confusing aspect of this course were the spectrums. Emission, Absorption, and continuous. I just don't really understand the difference between each one. Not so much continuous, but more emission and absorption."
"The most confusing part of this class was involving calculating the distances to stars and other galaxies."
"alot.... :("
"I was confused with the temp/distance/luminosity/comparison of stars."
"The lecture. I wish there was more explanation."
"a lot was confusing"
"star lifespans because there are so many factors"
"The life cycle of stars... I get it, but you keep saying they were all born at the same time"
"light and emission spectrums are the most confusing for me
confusing aspect I would say would have to be understanding the main sequences."
"The most confusing aspect of the course was trying to understand everything without getting it all mixed up."
"everything in the class was confusing but the moon phases and the star wheel are examples of subjects in the class that were confusing for me."
"moonn phases"
"how the universe is formed"
"stars, there was a lot of stuff to remember and a lot of things were backwards"
"Probably identifying possible star cluster diagrams but only because I missed that lecture and I only kind of understood the book explanation."
"The most confusing aspect for me was anything concerning the star wheel, because i only somewhat know how to use that thing."
"a lot of astronomy"
"A lot of it, just because its hard"
"The most confusing aspect of this course would have to be the life of stars, because there was so much detail to learn about how stars are created, how they live on the main sequence, and how they die. Also, a lot of chemistry was involved dealing with the composition of stars and the nuclear fusions that happen in their cores, and it was hard to keep everything straight. The life of stars took the most work for me to understand out of anything else we learned this semester, and at this point, I'm kind of tired of our Sun."
"I thought learning about supernovas was complex"
"The most confusing part of the course was the star wheel because I never got one."
"Why didn't I get any phone numbers from girls?"
"light rays where confusing because thet used a lot of crazy lingo"
"The life and death of a star were the most difficult concepts to understand."
"the short answer on the tests were tough"
"stars are a little confusing."
"moon phases and stuff about the sun"
"Probably the moon phases."
"the toughest part for me was understanding what the differences between the terrain of different planets. mostly because I missed that day of class..."
Tell a student who is about to take this course next semester what he/she needs to know or to do in order to succeed in this course. (Graded for completion.)
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"take notes and and ask question if you are lost on a certain subject and do the practice quizs"
"keep an open mind"
"Just stay on top of the homework and reading and you'll be ok."
"do the quizes from previous semesters and show up to class."
"Do the online THINGYS!! and just go to class"
"Read the text, study pass quiz, do flashcard question answers by yourself. PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS"
"GO TO CLASS!!!! the in class assignments and the online reading assignments really help learn the material and get a good grade.
just go to class and focus and put in hard work."
"You need to have dedication and good study habits to do well in this class. Also you should know how to use your resources (old tests and quizzes)."
"actually show up to class"
"Come to class! Read the chapters! Do the practice quizzes!"
"print and review the flashcard questions"
"STUDY your old quizzes/ tests... And read the summary of each chapter, it highlights the important info if you missed it in the chapter."
"If you didn't get much out of the reading for whatever reason, go to the back of each chapter and read the book's summary, it highlights the important aspects of the chapter. Very helpful right before a test. =)
pay attention during lecture"
"Do all the online reading assignments and extra credit surveys, the extra points will help out a little. Also save all your previous quizzes, they will help you study for the mid terms."
"go to class, due you online reading assignments, SAVE ALL YOUR OLD QUIZES."
"READ!!!!!! This course anyone can pass by showing up. If you read you learn way more offered to you!!!"
"Know what you are doing on the in-class activities."
"On-line reading assignments Attendance Pick up in-class activities "
"Hold on to quizzes and midterms"
"study for quizzes"
"Go over the flashcard questions before every quiz and test."
"Read the chapters every single time."
"Do you."
"you MUST study your quizzes for your midterms! and look at past exams"
"Read book and study"
"read the book"
"They need read the chapters in the book before being discussed in class, they need to study for the quizzes by looking over the past quizzes and need to do the online assignments because they really help (="
"Attend every class."
"If logical thinking is not your forte, then your going to have to study and memorize more then normal"
"Study, do all the online assignments, and GO TO CLASS!!"
"Use you're brain. Try to think about the content and make it make sense in your mind. Otherwise you will try to memorize information to regergitate out on test day and it wont work. P-dawg makes you have to think"
"Printing off my own copy of the power points and in-class activities was extremely helpful for me to study from. The practice quizzes were also extremely helpful. It is important to stay dilligent in studying. There are a lot of concepts to grasp in this class. If you do not understand something seek help right away. Waiting will only make matters worse. Be sure to start the class strong. This will enable you to end the class strong as well."
"Read the book and make sure to ask questions about everything that you may be confused about."
"stay on top of readings."
"study, read ur book, go to class"
"take good notes and go in if you need help and do all the online reading assignments."
"Go to class! it's long but only once a week."
"They need to read the chapter before the lecture to get a better understanding and do all the online reading assignments to build up points."
"Um...probably focus in the class."
"Do the online reading assignments"
"Do every single online reading assignment and in class activities. show up for every quiz even though you didn't study but study anyways. I mean P-Dawg hooks it up with a way so everyone can get a good grade, just don't be lazy!!"
"call him P-Dog, your you'll be the odd man out."
"Pay attention in class and you'll be smoooth sailin. I swear 'sall you gotta do"
"Attend class and rack up points with in-class activites and reading assignments."
"use all the resources pdog gives you"
"Go to all the lectures."
"Study the online quizes and read the book."
"go to every single class and listen"
"Read the book and also make sure that you ask questions about the things that you don't understand, don' t be afraid to ask for help."
"Make sure to do the online reading assignments, easy points, stay the WHOLE class period, also easy points. Also, study with the old tests and quizzes and you will be money."
"I'm not really sure because I didn't do too well"
"Just make sure you do all the assingments and dont worry about missing one or two classes :)"
"Do the online reading assignments"
"Study your shit son!!"
"Read your book, Dr. Len's blog and do the practice quizzes. I think it is possible for anyone to do well in this class if you show up and participate."
"Just do all the work and study what you say to study for the midterms."
"Participate in the in class activities, show up, and dont forget to do the online homework"
"use what pdog gives you"
"GO TO CLASS!"
"Go to class and do the in-class activities, do the online reading assignments, and STUDY HARD for all the quizzes. Missing class will hurt your grade the most."
"Get all of your work done and go to class."
"ONLINE READINGS AND INCLASS ACTIVITY YO"
"Keep up with the reading and take advantage of the online help."
"Just go to class."
"buy the book!"
"study for the tests and make sure you know the material for the short answer section"
"Study old quizzes, set an reminder for Online reading assignments. You don't Wanna miss them."
"read the book more and ask questions in class when you are confused"
"You need to read the book, and listen in class. Take notes, and have fun learning it."
"Go to every class and listen!"
"typical but still very true/necessary to succeed in a class... listen very well to the lectures/read the text book, take very good(detailed) notes, and ask questions when you don't understand the material."
"GO TO ALL THE QUIZES!"
"show up, do in class work and online reading and extra credit and try your hardest and you will do fine"
"do the online hw and any extra credit and try to make it to atleast 80% of class and you will pass"
"Do your homework, read your textbook and participate in class to your fullest. Astronomy is awesome and P-Dog does a good job of teaching you if you let him."
"Do your best to make it to every class! Everything's interesting, and the class is relatively easy if you do so."
"focus on studying book"
"Study the book intensely"
"Go to class. If you go to class, participate, and take good lecture notes, you probably won't have to crack open your book ever. All the information you need to know is presented in class, and by missing class, you miss out on a lot of information that you'll need to know for quizzes and midterms."
"Make sure you do your reading assignments and go to class"
"Do the online reading assignments and in class activitiez"
"Study. The class is easy if you keep up with the work"
"get as many points as possible"
"Don't stress out, just study what P-dog tells you to and you will be just fine!"
"to go to class and stay the whole time every night"
"show up to class everyday and do homework and you will do just fine"
"read over what you learn in class in the book and DO THE ONLINE HOMEWORK IT WILL SAVE YOUR ASS!!!"
"Study flash card questions and in class activies"
"Same old stuff come to class every day do the reading assignments and stay till the end of class and youll get an A!!!"
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