Course Questionnaire

Social Security Law 2008
- Course Questionnaire

Due: By the end of your exam period

Before your experience in this novel course has faded from short term memory I would appreciate your taking a few minutes to respond to the following questions about it.

Consistent with the ground rules for such questionnaires at most institutions I have set this form up so that it does not ask your name or require that you be logged in. That permits you to submit it anonymously. It also means that when you submit the confirming message of receipt may contain the alert "Your SID was not entered with the quiz." So long as it also says "Your answers were received and recorded." everything has worked as it should. The database has your response but not your ID. Even if you have logged in and, as a consequence, you don't get the "Your SID was not entered ..." message, rest assured that the your ID will be stripped off and not retained.

The form does ask for your school so that I can look for local patterns and also share the results from each participating institution with its administration.

Finally, do understand that the submissions will gather dust in the course database, unexamined by me, until after all course grades have been turned in.

Your institution:

I. Overall Questions

a. Amount of Work

Making appropriate adjustment for the novel nature of its several components and comparing this course to other specialized law school courses with comparable credit, how would you rate the total amount of time and effort required in this course?

b. Level of Mastery

Comparing this course to other specialized law school courses with comparable credit, how would you rate your own success in mastering the material covered during the term?

c. Feedback and Exchange

Comparing this course to others with comparable enrollment (90, plus or minus) taught conventionally, how would you rate the quantity and quality of teacher feedback and the amount of discussion with both teacher and other students?

d. Technical Features

Did technical problems get in the way? Were they temporary or did they persist? Are there technical additions or changes you believe would improve the course?

If you had problems please describe them and their impact on your work in the course in the Comment Box 1 below.

e. Getting Used to the Course Environment

Were there particular features of the course environment or procedures that in retrospect you wish had been more clearly explained at the outset?

If so please note in Comment Box 1 below and any suggestions you have about how to be clearer next time around.

f. The Overall Structure and Approach

Would you take another course offered in a similar on-line format or have you discovered reasons why this approach doesn't work for you?
Is there specific advice you would give someone else taking this course another year about how to approach it?

Comment Box 1: Responses to I-d, I-e, and I-f

Place responses to d, e, and f here, as well as any other comments about the overall structure and approach of the course and your response to it -- anything that might help me in improving the course for a future year and furnishing guidance to students taking it or thinking about taking it. (Questions focusing specifically on the course content, presentations, on-line discussions, and mastery exercises follow.)

II. Course Content and Materials

a. Topics covered in the course

What topics, if any, covered lightly this year or not at all would you recommend be deepened or added in a future version?
What topics, if any, would you recommend be trimmed back or eliminated?
Do you have any advice about the course's general approach to the field or specific suggestions on improving the sequence of topics?

Please respond in Comment Box 2 below.

b. Course materials

Do you have any suggestions about the amount, content, or format of the assigned readings?

Please respond in Comment Box 2 below.

Comment Box 2: Responses to II-a and II-b

III. The Presentations and Interactive Problems

I am eager to receive any and all comments you have on the presentations and problems, ranging from their tempo (Did I speak too quickly, too slowly, too monotonously?) to the synchronization of the text and spoken content, to the adequacy of the popup window feedback on problems. Before turning to the open-ended comment form, however, on these matters, I'd like you to respond to two discrete questions.

What became your standard approach to the background presentations? (If you select "other" please explain below.)

Did you block and copy the presentation outlines or linked text into your notes? (If you select "other" please explain below.)

Comment Box 3: Comments on presentations and interactive problems

IV. The Course Discussion Area, Mastery Exercises, and Other

I've only got a single space left for you to comment on our use of the on-line discussion area, the mastery exercises (including their number and the quality and nature of the feedback), and anything else you would like to share, including comparison with other on-line courses you have taken or advice about the course the prior specific questions have not called for.

Comment Box 4: Comments on use of course discussion area,
the mastery exercises, and other course features not already touched upon

Many, many thanks for joining me in this adventure and for your assistance in helping me understand which elements of the experience worked for you and which did not.