2001-2002 PhysicsLAB Survey

This year's survey questions were grouped into four categories:

PhysicsLAB content
Group work / Classroom Organization
Internet technology / ActiveClassroom
Miscellaneous

This regrouping explains the apparent random "numbering" sequence. Questions #1 - #61 represent questions carried forward from the first three years; Questions #62 - #84 represent questions included in only the past two years; while Questions #102 - #103 were newly instituted last year. On any given graph, a maroon bar represents responses from Year 1 (1997-1998), a green bar represents responses from Year 2 (1998-1999), a blue bar represents responses from Year 3 (1999-2000), a light purple bar represents responses from Year 4 (2000-2001), and a darker purple bar represents responses from this year (2001-2002). Under each graph, cumulative weighted averages have been provided. These averages are scaled between a value of 5 representing "strongly agree" through a value of 1 representing "strongly disagree".

It was instructional to study from the resource lessons. (14)

Year 5: 4.25

Years 1-5: 4.27

Years 1-4: 4.28

Years 1-3: 4.21

Years 1-2: 4.21

The interactive sections presented in many resource lessons of "View Correct Answers" helped me confirm my understanding of the lesson's information. (15)

Year 5: 4.54

Year 2-5: 4.62

Years 2-4: 4.66

Years 2-3: 4.63

It was instructional to use the physlet animations to learn about physics patterns (for example: wave interference, Doppler effect, converging and diverging lenses, mirrors, Young's experiment, magnetism, induction). (16)

Year 5: 4.33

Years 2-5: 4.43

Years 2-4: 4.48

Years 2-3: 4.44

The IBID projection screen was a useful classroom resource and instructional tool. (63)

Year 5: 4.49

Years 3-5: 4.58

Years 3-4: 4.64

Year 3: 4.48

Viewing material on the IBID whiteboard through NetMeeting made taking classnotes easier. (78)

Year 5: 4.52

Years 3-5: 4.56

Years 3-4: 4.59

Year 3: 4.51

It was instructional to complete on-line worksheets on the PhysicsLAB site. (9)

Year 5: 4.33

Years 1-5: 4.30

Years 1-4: 4.28

Years 1-3: 4.24

Years 1-2: 4.17

The Conceptual Physics workbook pages and lab review pages using "View Correct Answers" were helpful in solidifying my understanding of material being taught in class. (22)

Year 5: 4.52

Years 2-5: 4.49

Years 2-4: 4.48

Years 2-3: 4.42

Whenever provided on PhysicsLAB, the detailed solutions to worksheet or textbook problems helped me to better understand the material. (49)

Year 5: 4.38

Years 1-5: 4.38

Years 1-4: 4.38

Years 1-3: 4.38

Years 1-2: 4.38

The PhysicsLAB site provided enough examples for me to get my homework questions answered. (47)

Year 5: 3.77

Years 1-5: 3.61

Years 1-4: 3.55

Years 1-3: 3.46

Years 1-2: 3.44

It was useful to have the PhysicsLAB site for reviewing for upcoming quizzes and tests. (3)

Year 5: 4.21

Years 1-5: 4.28

Years 1-4: 4.31

Years 1-3: 4.26

Years 1-2: 4.23

The PhysicsLAB site provided enough information for me to review adequately for tests and quizzes. (48)

Year 5: 4.10

Years 1-5: 3.99

Years 1-4: 3.96

Years 1-3: 3.86

Years 1-2: 3.86

It was motivational to take graded Intr@net quizzes on the PhysicsLAB site. (7)

Year 5: 4.11

Years 1-5: 4.28

Years 1-4: 4.34

Years 1-3: 4.36

Years 1-2: 4.43

Physics I: It was instructional to see the video segments on wave behaviors when learning ripple tank phenomena on the PhysicsLAB site. (18)

Year 5: 4.29

Years 1-5: 4.40

Years 1-4: 4.45

Years 1-3: 4.46

Years 1-2: 4.51

Physics I and II: It was instructional to complete on-line vocabulary worksheets on the PhysicsLAB site. (10)

Year 5: 3.92

Years 1-5: 4.04

Years 1-4: 4.08

Years 1-3: 4.06

Years 1-2: 4.01

Physics I: It was instructional to view the ray diagram animations when learning lens and mirrors on the PhysicsLAB site. (17)

Year 5: 4.41

Years 1-5: 4.52

Years 1-4: 4.56

Years 1-3: 4.56

Years 1-2: 4.59

In Physics I, approximately 3-4 labs were completed each 9-weeks. This is a satisfactory balance to textbook instruction and web-based activities. (64)

Year 5: 4.18

Years 3-5: 4.23

Years 3-4: 4.27

Year 3: 4.25

Physics II: The CP workbook activities were good collateral material for learning the information covered in the textbook. (67)

Year 5: 4.10

Years 3-5: 4.22

Years 3-4: 4.41

Year 3: 4.11

Physics II: The class time spent on developing Physics Olympics projects was appropriate in length. (71)

Year 5: 3.89

Years 3-5: 4.04

Years 3-4: 4.23

Year 3: 3.89

AP students: It was instructional to see the video segments on SHM when learning the relationships between position, velocity and acceleration on the PhysicsLAB site. (20)

Year 5: 4.03

Years 1-5: 4.34

Years 1-4: 4.50

Years 1-3: 4.51

Years 1-2: 4.51

AP students: The drill pages and practice exams using "View Correct Answers" were useful in preparing for the AP Exam on the PhysicsLAB site. (21)

Year 5: 3.86

Years 1-5: 4.21

Years 1-4: 4.37

Years 1-3: 4.50

Years 1-2: 4.53

AP Physics: It was instructional to have the information for each AP Exam topic's after-school review session presented and organized on a web page for easy access. (5)

Year 5: 3.75

Years 2-5: 4.15

Years 2-4: 4.43

Years 2-3: 4.53

In AP Physics, approximately 6 labs were completed throughout the entire year. This is a satisfactory balance to textbook instruction and web-based activities. (72)

Year 5: 3.55

Years 3-5: 3.70

Years 3-4: 3.87

Year 3: 3.80

AP Physics C: Being permitted access from home to restricted materials through logon screens was beneficial. (73)

Year 5: 3.92

Years 3-5: 4.24

Years 3-4: 4.60

Year 3: 4.43

Group work done on Intr@net quizzes on the PhysicsLAB site helped me to better understand the material. (33)

Year 5: 4.36

Years 1-5: 4.44

Years 1-4: 4.47

Years 1-3: 4.44

Years 1-2: 4.44

I would have preferred that a partner be randomly chosen for me when taking quizzes. (34)

Year 5: 2.08

Years 1-5: 2.12

Years 1-4: 2.13

Years 1-3: 2.18

Years 1-2: 2.18

I would have preferred working independently on quizzes. (35)

Year 5: 2.08

Years 1-5: 1.99

Years 1-4: 1.96

Years 1-3: 2.05

Years 1-2: 2.00

Doing labs in groups helped me to better understand the material. (36)

Year 5: 4.22

Years 1-5: 4.41

Years 1-4: 4.48

Years 1-3: 4.46

Years 1-2: 4.52

I would have preferred that a partner be randomly chosen for me when participating in labs. (37)

Year 5: 1.98

Years 1-5: 2.06

Years 1-4: 2.08

Years 1-3: 2.11

Years 1-2: 2.17

I would have preferred working independently on my own final lab report. (38)

Year 5: 2.12

Years 1-5: 1.97

Years 1-4: 1.91

Years 1-3: 2.00

Years 1-2: 1.97

Group work done on worksheets on the PhysicsLAB site helped me to better understand the material. (39)

Year 5: 4.23

Years 1-5: 4.25

Years 1-4: 4.26

Years 1-3: 4.21

Years 1-2: 4.21

I would have preferred that a partner be randomly chosen for me when completing worksheets.(40)

Year 5: 1.90

Years 1-5: 1.99

Years 1-4: 2.03

Years 1-3: 2.06

Years 1-2: 2.11

I would have preferred working independently on the worksheets. (41)

Year 5: 2.15

Years 1-5: 2.06

Years 1-4: 2.03

Years 1-3: 2.10

Years 1-2: 2.09

Overall, I prefer working independently. (42)

Year 5: 2.25

Years 1-5: 2.09

Years 1-4: 2.03

Years 1-3: 2.11

Years 1-2: 2.08

Overall, I prefer working in groups of two. (43)

Year 5: 3.80

Years 1-5: 3.85

Years 1-4: 3.86

Years 1-3: 3.83

Years 1-2: 3.82

Overall, I prefer working in groups of three. (44)

Year 5: 3.43

Years 1-5: 3.64

Years 1-4: 3.61

Years 1-3: 3.56

Years 1-2: 3.57

I feel like my grade in physics was improved because of the group work. (50)

Year 5: 3.96

Years 1-5: 4.04

Years 1-4: 4.06

Years 1-3: 4.02

Years 1-2: 4.05

I work better in groups because of the instructional classroom structure of PhysicsLAB. (55)

Year 5: 4.01

Years 1-5: 3.99

Years 1-4: 3.97

Years 1-3: 3.85

Years 1-2: 3.86

It was useful to refer to ActiveClassroom's daily agenda pages to keep me informed of assignments in PhysicsLAB. (1)

Year 5: 4.63

Years 1-5: 4.68

Years 1-4: 4.70

Years 1-3: 4.68

Years 1-2: 4.72

It was useful to refer to the ActiveClassroom's calendar feature to keep me informed of assignments in PhysicsLAB. (2)

Year 5: 4.23

Years 1-5: 4.35

Years 1-4: 4.40

Years 1-3: 4.39

Years 1-2: 4.41

It was useful to refer to the ActiveClassroom's outline feature to keep me informed of assignments in PhysicsLAB. (79)

Year 5: 4.31

Years 3-5: 4.38

Years 3-4: 4.45

Year 3: 4.41

Other teachers/classes should use ActiveClassroom to post online assignments.(102)

Averages

Year 5: 4.50

Years 4-5: 4.57

Year 4: 4.67

Being able to view and track my completed web assignments (through the link Web Submissions) was beneficial to keeping up with my assignments. (103)

Averages

Year 5: 4.58

Years 4-5: 4.67

Year 4: 4.79

The ActiveClassroom interface was easy to navigate and find needed content linked from PhysicsLAB. (26)

Year 5: 4.45

Years 1-5: 4.55

Years 1-4: 4.59

Years 1-3: 4.57

Years 1-2: 4.62

It was useful to access the PhysicsLAB site from off-campus when reviewing for upcoming quizzes and tests. (4)

Year 5: 4.50

Years 2-5: 4.46

Years 2-4: 4.44

Years 2-3: 4.28

It was instructional to have Internet access to reference material on the PhysicsLAB site to complete homework assignments. (8)

Year 5: 4.39

Years 1-5: 4.37

Years 1-4: 4.36

Years 1-3: 4.27

Years 1-2: 4.24

Whenever I was absent accessing PhysicsLAB through ActiveClassroom from either off-campus or from in-class the next day helped me know what happened in class and prepared me for upcoming activities. (29)

Year 5: 4.44

Years 2-5: 4.39

Years 2-4: 4.37

Years 2-3: 4.28

When Mrs. Colwell had to be absent, the PhysicsLAB guided the class in moving forward through the material. (28)

Year 5: 4.15

Years 1-5: 4.00

Years 1-4: 3.95

Years 1-3: 3.94

Years 1-2: 3.89

The web-based content presented on the PhysicsLAB website could replace a teacher in the classroom. (30)

Year 5: 2.48

Years 1-5: 2.37

Years 1-4: 2.32

Years 1-3: 2.27

Years 1-2: 2.15

Having now participated in a course pivoted on a web-based delivery interface, I feel more prepared to handle future online courses. (74)

Year 5: 4.37

Years 3-5: 4.44

Years 3-4: 4.50

Year 3: 4.51

There was one person at your lab table that was the "computer operator" and they ran the computer most of the time. (23)

Year 5: 3.19

Years 1-5: 3.24

Years 1-4: 3.26

Years 1-3: 3.36

Years 1-2: 3.45

There were a sufficient number of computers for you to use in the classroom. (24)

Year 5: 4.24

Years 1-5: 4.32

Years 1-4: 4.34

Years 1-3: 4.42

Years 1-2: 4.45

I would recommend that someone take a physics course at Mainland solely based on the knowledge that they would gain on the use of computers. (60)

Year 5: 3.47

Years 1-5: 3.36

Years 1-4: 3.33

Years 1-3: 3.33

Years 1-2: 3.18

The time available to use the PhysicsLAB during class time was sufficient. (25)

Year 5: 4.10

Years 1-5: 4.15

Years 1-4: 4.17

Years 1-3: 4.13

Years 1-2: 4.12

Students without a home computer can still successfully take this course. (32)

Year 5: 3.92

Years 1-5: 4.13

Years 1-4: 4.20

Years 1-3: 4.23

Years 1-2: 4.25

Having the capability to reference a web-based copy of labs, worksheets, and review activities was usually all that I needed this year. (11)

Year 5: 3.67

Years 1-5: 3.43

Years 1-4: 3.34

Years 1-3: 3.37

Years 1-2: 3.19

I would have preferred the opportunity to have paper copy of all labs, worksheets, and review activities. (12)

Year 5: 3.10

Years 1-5: 3.18

Years 1-4: 3.21

Years 1-3: 3.17

Years 1-2: 3.09

I prefer a web-based format over that of paper. (13)

Year 5: 3.75

Years 1-5: 3.73

Years 1-4: 3.73

Years 1-3: 3.72

Years 1-2: 3.75

Maintaining a notebook kept me academically focused: organizing completed assignments, participating with classnotes during lectures and online activities. (75)

Year 5: 3.66

Years 3-5: 3.72

Years 3-4: 3.76

Year 3: 4.07

There was sufficient interaction with the teacher during class. (27)

Year 5: 4.16

Years 1-5: 4.31

Years 1-4: 4.37

Years 1-3: 4.35

Years 1-2: 4.37

I would have preferred completing all of the web-based activities on paper instead. (46)

Year 5: 2.26

Years 1-5: 2.91

Years 1-4: 2.10

Years 1-3: 2.05

Years 1-2: 2.03

The five in-class days spent practicing events (paper tower, soda straw strongarm, foil barge, egg drop/downhill coaster/coathook canon) for the Physics Olympics should continue to be included in the curriculum. (76)

Year 5: 4.34

Years 3-5: 4.49

Years 3-4: 4.61

Year 3: 4.57

Mainland should continue to participate in the Physics Olympics. (77)

Year 5: 4.58

Years 3-5: 4.73

Years 3-4: 4.86

Year 3: 4.78

I feel like my grade in physics was improved because of the large variety of graded activities that were made available through the PhysicsLAB site. (51)