SURVEY RESULTS FOR THE MATH LAB FOR THE FALL OF 2006 Return to Table of Contents
MAT 030 MAT 060 MAT 090 MAT 106 MAT 107 Total
Number of Surveys 28 21 32 25 7 113
Schedule Ahead On Behind
29 36 48
26% 32% 42%
Yes No No Response Yes No No Response
Tutor? 17 95 1 15% 84% 1%
Did you attend open lab? 38 73 2 34% 65% 2%
I was able to learn in the Math Lab. 111 1 1 98% 1% 1%
I would prefer a traditional lecture class. 34 75 4 30% 66% 4%
A B C D F No Response Average
Noise Level 83 21 7 1 0 0 3.63
Response Time To Flags 91 20 2 0 1 0 3.79
Courtesy From Staff 103 10 0 0 0 0 3.91
Comfort of the Math Lab 87 20 6 0 0 0 3.72
Individualized Attention 91 13 8 1 0 0 3.72
Supervision During Testing 92 20 0 0 0 0 3.79
Overall Grade 88 23 2 0 0 0 3.76
Math Lab Experience Positive Negative No Response Both + & -
111 1 1 0
98% 1% 1% 0%
The numbers in red indicate an increase from last semester’s results.
The numbers in blue indicate a decrease from last semester’s results.
The numbers in black show no change from last semester’s results.
WHAT PUT YOU BEHIND SCHEDULE
Not making myself stay on task
Sometimes one chapter was harder/took longer than others
Some of the homework
Moving to Trinidad the first day of class
I slacked
The tests
I spent a lot of time trying to understand certain concepts that I’ve always struggled with
Getting motivated was tough, so procrastination would set in and I would get behind
Illness/injury
My understanding of the concepts in the book
Missing classes due to sporting events/games
Myself
The Chapter 3 test in Math 030
Days that I couldn’t take tests in class
Preparing for the tests
Lack of consistency
Not doing any math at home
Missing class/being absent
The unavailability of my tutor
Spending too much time on assignments that were hard or that I didn’t understand
Learning to understand each chapter
Not taking the time to do the homework
Taking a lot of credit hours
I got lazy
I got ahead quickly, then stopped working
Not having enough resources for the work
Not being able to learn things on time
Starting the class late
I put off doing the homework
Personal reasons/problems at home/loss in the family
Graphs and slopes
I didn’t keep up with the work
Word problems
Lack of motivation to get the work done
My son
No time due to my other classes and internship
My work schedule
I should’ve gotten a tutor earlier in the semester
Not knowing equations
I was behind due to a college scheduling mess up
I put myself behind by not getting the work in on time
Chapter 5 in Math 106
Everything just took a lot of time
Having a busy schedule
It was my fault – I got myself behind
Not knowing the information
Getting stuck on certain sections
Myself – I was just lazy
Applied problems are hard for me
Chapter 3 in Math 106 needs to have more time allowed 
Priorities
Chapter 7 in Math 107 was hard and Chapter 9 had a lot of wrong answers in the back of the book
Lack of time and/or confidence
Work at home
Living an hour away from campus
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT
No suggestions – just a great big “Good Job”!
I believe the Math Lab is fine just the way it is right now
Get more comfortable chairs
Not as strict of schedules to allow more time for understanding
Math Lab needs no improvement
We should get lectures outside of class for each chapter
Let us sleep/have all classes later in the day
More in-class testing days
Take tests any time of the day, not just the in-class days
Being consistent
Honestly, I think it’s as good a Math Lab as it can be
I think our textbook is unnecessarily confusing – a lot of time is wasted just trying to figure out what method to use in a certain lesson
Teach harder assignments and allow students more time to do homework assignments instead of trying to catch up with the syllabus
Not having as many students in one time slot
It’s going to be harder to learn new math in higher courses
Show examples of problems for visual learners
It needs to be quiet/ tell people to keep quiet
It seems pretty good to me – I like how it is
It’s perfect to me – no complaints
Extend the days to Monday, Wednesday, Friday to take a test in class
Maybe the teachers could go through the book and pick out the most difficult assignments and have a lecture about that
Add lectures – it might help people stay caught up
Buy easy chairs
Don’t have attendance policy if you are ahead
I think that the Math Lab is fine the way it is – no changes needed
More open labs
Have a lecture review for every test instead of just finals
Overall, the class was good – I would have liked to have music, however
Take tests in class if you are ahead
Post a copy of the syllabus on the blackboard
Allow headphones as long as they are quiet and not bothering anyone 
Have more workers in open lab sometimes
I think that TSJC is doing a fantastic job with the Math Lab.  Hopefully it will help many students in the future who struggle with math like I did.
Provide more hands-on learning techniques
I would like the pace to go a little slower with more review.  It is hard for me to retain a concept when I only use it for one day.
Maybe the class shouldn’t be self-paced
I think that coming to class is important if you need help, however, if you can pass without going there isn’t much point
Math Lab is fine, but it’s easy to fall behind if you’re lazy
Spend ½ hour doing examples on the board and if you don’t need it, you can do your work during the teaching sessions
Have a short lecture on commonly asked problems at the start of each chapter because a lot of students have the same questions
Better seats and an accurate thermostat
Re-decorate
Get a new book or updated version for Math 107 
Group work
Instructors could make sure students are on schedule at all times – if not, they could come to open lab and make up the work
I don’t think it needs improvement.  I failed math miserably all through school.  I have never gotten as many A’s on math before, so you all must be doing something right.  Thanks.
Analysis of the Math Lab Survey for the Fall Semester of 2006
It was a challenging semester in the Math Lab due to the construction noise and temperature extremes that were experienced as a result of the installation of the new boiler system.  At times, it was extremely uncomfortable and difficult to concentrate due to the construction activity, yet the majority of our students continued to attend class and progress on their work with minimal complaints about the conditions they were working in.  Their discomfort was noted in their survey responses, however, as we received lower scores than the previous semester in the categories relating to the noise level and comfort of the Math Lab.  Since these were temporary conditions that were beyond our control, no changes will be made in the Math Lab to address these issues.
The score for individualized attention was also lower than the score given the previous semester, however, this response is typical for the fall semester because we generally have very large classes in the fall.  This makes it difficult for the instructors to spend a lot of time with each student as there are many students that need to be attended to each class period.  Our response time to flags improved, though, which seems to indicate that, although we were not able to spend a lot of time with each student every class period, all students were getting their questions answered in a timely manner.
While the majority of students (58%) managed to either stay on schedule or work ahead of schedule, a large percentage of students (42%) felt that they were behind schedule at some time in the semester.  In an attempt to remedy this, we are going to institute weekly supplemental instruction sessions for each course taught in the Math Lab next semester.  These SI labs will allow interested students to meet as a group once per week with an instructor/tutor to go over that week’s lessons.  It is our hope that these weekly sessions will encourage students to stay on task.  These weekly meeting should also alleviate the concerns of the minority of students that have stated that they miss some of the aspects of a lecture class, i.e. seeing example problems being worked on the board.  These sessions will not be made mandatory, however, bonus points will be given to those students that attend them.
The most encouraging aspect of the Fall 2006 survey is that more students are utilizing the free tutoring services provided by TSJC.  A larger percentage of students than last semester took advantage of both the one-on-one tutoring offered through the Learning Center and the drop-in help available during open lab in the Math Lab.  Moreover, a staggering 98% of students not only felt that they were able to learn in the Math Lab, but also that their experience in the Math Lab was a positive one.  This is very important because a positive experience is one that is more likely to be repeated; hence, these students may be more likely to continue their math and overall academic education at TSJC.