Hornbuckle
405/505 Mid-term Evaluations
Spring 2015
405
x Paige Adams
x Brianna Burgert
Matthew Lewis
x Matthew Miksch
x Theodore Marth
x Tayler Schillerberg
x Alan Shriver
x Nathan Smith
x Samuel Tran Lam
x Katie Voitik
x Lauren Walker
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x505
Hamze Dokoohaki
Kara Lind
Guillermo Marcillo
Matthew Roby
Taleena Sines
Kaitlin Togliatti
Victoria Walker
a. Assignments: difficulty, appropriateness, whether or not they are clearly defined
I feel the assignments are a little difficult but not unmanageable. Homework is such a large percentage of our
grade so I feel it is fitting that homework requires a lot of time and thought to complete.
I feel like the assignments are very long. I find myself not being able to complete other work that I have to do
during the week because the problem sets take up most of my free time. The problems do relate well to what
we are studying and are clear most of the time. The Matlab ones can get a little confusing as to what we are
supposed to do, but usually I figure it out.
Assignments are of appropriate difficulty and relevant to class material. Sometimes it is questionable what
assumptions, if any, should be made which can be difficult to figure out unless explicitly stated. Also, I think we
shouldn't be penalized if a wrong answer in 1 part (especially a math error) carries through if it is used in
subsequent questions. We should be graded more on if we understand the concept and if we would have done
the question right if all we did incorrectly was 1 part of the question since homeworks are used to test our
understanding.
The assigned problems are all very challenging, but cover the various aspects talked about in class.
Occasionally, wording of a specific problem can make it unclear what exactly is being asked.
I find that the homeworks are fairly challenging, which is a good thing up to a point, but I think some of the time
the Matlab problems end up taking more time to complete than what seems reasonable to me (I have spent up
to 6 or 7 hours on a single Matlab problem, maybe this is just because I tend to work at a slower pace than
most people). I appreciate having existing programs that can work as a framework for the rest of the coding this saves me quite a bit of time. Most of the time I am able to figure out easily what he is asking for in a given
problem, despite some initial confusion I have with problem descriptions some of the time.
They're long, and sometimes frustrating, but not unduly so.
I think that the assignments are very appropriate for what we are learning in the class. The homework can be a
little time consuming and difficult, but it is getting the point across that this is important to learn.
I feel that the assignments are very long and can be difficult at times. However the material that the
assignments use is able to be understood more clearly, making the assignments appropriate.
The assignments tend to be very difficult and time consuming, considering the level of expectation of prior
knowledge and conceptual understanding. However, the application of class material to the homework is
appropriate. They can be confusing to understand sometimes in how the problems are defined.
The assignments are very time consuming. They tend to take several hours to complete due to the length,
however I believe that by spending effort on them, you can expect success in the course.
It would however be nice to not have so many. Perhaps one of this length or slightly longer every other week.
The weekly problem sets follow the material well. They vary in difficulty but none have been overly difficult.
They are related to the material enough to practice what we’ve learned in class. It would be nice to have them
assigned and due on Thursday rather than Tuesday so there would be more time for office hours earlier in the
week and all the week’s material would have already been covered by Thursday when it is assigned.
I thought that the assignments were clearly defined and appropriate. Some of the assignments close to the
midterm were fairly difficult, so it would have been nice if they were slightly shorter.
I would like to mention that as a graduate student I would prefer to spend more time on my project instead of
working on homework assignment. I mean I would more benefit from project than homework. So I wanted to
suggest reducing the homework assignments for graduate students and asking them more sophisticated project
in return.
Assignments were difficult and long. It would be more helpful if the assignments were graded more leniently
and more emphasis was put on review of the assignment solutions in class.
The assignments are pretty difficult. This is definitely my most difficult and time consuming course this
semester--this is not entirely a negative comment. I don’t like the problems from the textbook: They are often
vague and open to some interpretation. I think I would prefer if all the problems were written by Dr. Hornbuckle.
I really enjoy reading the scientific journals and the questions that accompany them. In general, I think they are
appropriate for the course.
Assignments are clearly defined and appropriate. The assignments are relevant to concepts we cover in the
book and in lecture. The assignments are quite difficult and very time-consuming. To do well on the
homework, I spend a lot of time on it. I spend a disproportionately large amount of my time working on 505
than for any other class.
The homework in the class is difficult, and it should be, as the contents in the class are indeed difficult. The only
way of understanding concepts built upon a strong quantitative basis is simply by challenging oneself in the
process of understanding a problem, expressing the essence of it in terms of equations, and getting hand from
mathematical tools to solve the unknowns. So far, I have not had problems finding the tools needed to solve the
problems, and I could say that the contents of the homework are just in par with the ideas we have discussed in
class. Likewise, I have not had big major difficulties in understanding what are we asked in a particular problem,
with the exception being the “snake” problem, e.g. problem 4 (8.3 in C&N ). I did not get what the whole
purpose of that question was, but after reading through the solution I have noted how important such problem
was for understanding soil temperature variation with distance underground. Curiously enough, the same idea
was tested back in the most challenging problem at the end of the midterm exam, where I got my lowest score.
The assignments tend to be very difficult and time consuming, considering the level of expectation of prior
knowledge and conceptual understanding. However, the application of class material to the homework is
appropriate. They can be confusing to understand sometimes in how the problems are defined.
(b) Lectures: pace, content, presentation (is writing legible, etc.)
The lectures are perfect. The pace is good for the amount of information we learn. The content is well organized
and easier to understand in lecture. I like the dice feature of class. It forces students to be engaged and really gain
a better understanding of the material.
The lectures can be very interesting, but the amount of writing during the length of the class has actually hurt my
writing hand a few times. However, the writing is very legible and the content of this class is fun.
Lectures are great, I love the dice usage so that all are equally tested on knowledge rather than those who raise
their hands all the time
Presentation style and content are very high quality. Sometimes the rate of information covered can make it difficult
to keep up with the topics and make connections. The organization of the lectures leaves a little to be desired in the
way of topic sequence; the course covered wind speed, then diffusivity models, then the ideal gas law, etc., then to
the general variation of wind speed with height. Examining the topics, the connections can be seen, but the
scattering of the topics (wind speed in this case) can make going back over the notes to try and solve
problems/make connections quite difficult.
I think that the lecture style is one of my favorite things about the class. I rarely feel I am being too rushed to write
down or understand material and everything is neatly written and explained clearly and slowly. Any questions
brought up during class are always answered with clarity and completeness. Each lecture is clearly focused on a
central topic or set of topics that have a sense of order to them that makes sense to me.
The dual black-board setup is not ideal. It makes it so that people in the front have to physically move to look
between the two sets of notes. Also, the length of class time is extremely long. When other classes have the 1.5
hours slot they tend to include a 5 min break halfway through.
I think that the lectures can sometimes run a little quick and certain things that may be confusing get passed over
quickly. The writing on some of the symbols gets hard to distinguish at times. The content of the lectures are good,
it pertains to what people are researching and will be helpful.
I feel that the lecture pace is very very fast and hardly enough time is given for writing ones notes. I have mixed
feelings on the use of the dice to call on people. One I like it that it keeps everyone on their toes and paying
attention, however if the individual is struggling to answer the question either more hints need to be given or asking
of another individual.
Fast paced, though not overwhelming, writing is legible and the organization makes sense.
I enjoy how Dr. Hornbuckle uses the dice to call on students. This makes it fair and prevents students from slacking
during the lecture. His notes and pace are fine for me.
Lectures are very fast-paced, sometimes just a bit faster than I can write and process the information. (I will get
busy trying to copy everything down, but can’t start thinking about it until my hand stops moving). Using all four
chalkboards is very effective. Writing is legible, aside from the occasional confusion of the Greek letters. I’m not
sure any other form of presentation would be appropriate (PowerPoint, for example)
The lectures have been very informative, but some class times have been filled with all writing notes. It would be
nice to have more in class activities like the water infiltration experiment.
Everything is fine, even though I was more interested to go deep in some topic instead of covering the whole book.
Lectures are extremely helpful. The pace is perfect and taking notes is very easy with all the notes written on the
multiple boards and also on paper handouts. I wish the content of the homework was discussed more in class.
Sometimes by the end of the lectures, I’m extremely tired of frantically scribbling down information. I like the
completeness of the lecture content. Presentation is generally good, as well. Occasionally I can’t read a word or
something on the board; when this happens, I just look over at my neighbor and copy from their notes. I have heard
people complain about how math and “hard science” intensive the class is… But I enjoy it. I would prefer to have
the more difficult “real world” science being used in the classroom. Using “real” models and charts/tables is the only
way to prepare us for “real life.” I hate when things are over simplified for classrooms. It doesn’t prepare you for
anything.
The lectures are well paced, legible and relevant. The dice keeps me alert and attentive. I like that we review
important concepts at the beginning of each lecture before progressing into new material. I like the IEM figures we
talk about.
I noted the effort and experience of the instructor behind each lecture. The organization of the class, from beginning
to end, is correct and shows a clear connection between the basic ideas presented first and more evolved concepts
at the end. The only observation I have is that sometimes there has been much time spent in deriving some
equations that do not particularly enrich our learning from a topic; for example, the general theory of thermal time,
or the derivation of the specific forms for diffusivity conductances.
Fast paced, though not overwhelming, writing is legible and the organization makes sense.
(c) Mid-term exam: difficulty, length, appropriateness of topics.
I felt the midterm was rather difficult. I felt it was very long and I had to rush to finish even though we got more time
to complete the exam (this added time threw me off). I feel maybe questions could have been worded slightly
differently and that we should be given an equation sheet instead of making our own. I don't learn well by making
sheets like that. I was unable to fully prepare in a way that best suits my needs because I was spending so much
time writing down all sorts of formulas that I may not have even needed.
The exam was very fair. I finished it in a good amount of time, and I didn’t feel like any of the questions were overly
difficult. The topics all related to the material we have studied and I liked that they were conceptual.
I think more questions to cover more concepts should have been used instead of the long weird ones like 5 and
more definitions and conceptual short-answer problems.
The mid-term exam topics were well chosen. The length of the exam was trying on endurance, but not excruciating.
The difficulty came from trouble making connections with the topics in lecture. All topics on the mid-term were
covered in lecture, and the links were made apparent when the instructor covered the mid-term and explained the
problems.
I am still very frustrated and disappointed with my midterm exam grade at this point, partly because I felt I gave it
my best effort and studied the material very thoroughly and yet I still did not do well. I think the biggest issue was
that it was too long - I kept looking ahead and realizing how much more there was to do and feeling rushed and
overwhelmed did not help me one bit with any of the exam problems. I think the exam would have been OK
otherwise if it were shortened by a couple problems from 9 to 7 total. The difficulty of the problems varied quite a
bit, which could either be good or bad depending on how you look at it. It was definitely good to have a few
conceptual questions that were easy to answer as long as you had been in class and paid attention to lectures.
I don't think the last question was necessary. One could understand the concept of changing soil temperature with
depth and then get lost in the question details/background.
I think the length of the midterm exam was long. At the beginning of the exam you said to watch our time and that
we only had 90 minutes. I took this to be exact and when 90 minutes was up turned in the exam, even though you
didn’t say we had to. Next time if you are going to be okay with people staying longer if you could just mention to
the class that it is alright, that would be nice. I felt rushed to finish the exam in the time frame.
I felt that the midterm was very long, however I appreciate the fact that you let us take longer than the allotted
time. However I felt that the last question was very difficult.
I found the mid-term exam difficult to approach initially and it was not what I expected. Overall, the problems were
appropriate for what was covered minus the question regarding boreholes. The length of the exam was a little too
long considering the time given and the difficulty of the questions.
It was too long but overall I feel like we could as students address all of the topics on the exam.
The exam was quite lengthy, but I did not feel like any question was too difficult to at least answer partially. The final
question about boreholes and diffusivity was somewhat abstract and introduced a lot of information (climate proxy,
layered diffusivity, etc) to be processed for part of a single problem, especially the last problem.
I thought the exam was slightly difficult for a 1 ½ hour exam. The topics were pretty appropriate, but the last
question specifically was a bit of a stretch based on what we went over. It was also a little long.
The exam was fine, that would be great if we can take the final in the morning.
The mid-term exam was a little lengthy but the material seemed mostly relevant. I wish the problems were more
similar to the homework problems.
I didn’t think the midterm was too difficult. I know myself and many others were very anxious for it. I know a lot of
anxiety was caused by just not being sure what to expect. Several professors I’ve had in the past, during the inclass review, will fairly explicitly outline the topics they want to cover with the exam. One thing, is I wish I would
have known the “time limit” on the exam was not going to be strictly enforced. Also, it should be known that I’m a
slow test taker. It is not uncommon for me to be one of the last people done with the exam. You wouldn’t guess it,
based on how long other tasks take me to complete.
The difficulty of the midterm was appropriate, except for problem 5. The prompt for question 5 was very long and
had to be re-read many times before I understood the question and figures. The midterm was too long. It was
unclear for me when we were supposed to stop working on the midterm and turn it in. Some people (myself
included) were allowed to go over the allotted time; this was probably unfair to those who turned it in earlier thinking
they were out of time. There was a point during the exam when I thought I only had 30 minutes left; I still had two
questions unanswered. Since the instructor didn’t write the time remaining on the board, I wasn’t sure how much
time I had left and therefore, I didn’t know how I should strategize a way to complete the remaining parts of the
test.
The exam’s most difficult section for me was the last problem; the one dealing with soil diurnal temperature. Soil
temperature was a recurrent topic in the general structure of the exam, and although I studied my notes and
equations very well, maybe I did not understand the topic as I though I did. Being a not so efficient exam performer
myself, I think that the last problem was not really difficult. Should I have read the problem more carefully, I would
have noticed that the questions in the last problem were just about applying the class contents to an actual
research question. On the other hand, the exam looked long, but as a current PhD student, I have been taking
graduate courses for a while and I am used to those 2-hour and above type of exams. I am always among the last
people to leave a room, but that is ok, as for non-native English speakers, it takes more time to process and idea
and finally put it into paper.
To improve my skills as an exam taker in the future, I will ask for the instructor’s help when something needs
clarification. In addition, I will ask for guidance when something in the homework looks obscure or unclear. I don’t
want something left unclear in the homework reappears in the exam and hinders my score again.
I found the mid-term exam difficult to approach initially and it was not what I expected. Overall, the problems were
appropriate for what was covered minus the question regarding boreholes. The length of the exam was a little too
long considering the time given and the difficulty of the questions.
(d) Professor: availability, is he approachable, authoritative on subject material.
Dr. Hornbuckle is fantastic. I really like his teaching style. He is definitely approachable and always eager to help.
Dr. Hornbuckle is always willing to help with the problem sets and he is very approachable. His door is usually open
most of the time. I feel like he understands the material very well and is extremely enthusiastic about the class.
Professor knows the subject matter well and is very open about when he is available. Grading on homework as
mentioned before is negative, but otherwise a fair professor.
Availability is acceptable and the professor is always approchable and very knowledgeable. Dr. Hornbuckle appears
determined to make logical, simple, and intuitive links of all the topics covered which is invaluable.
Generally I find Dr. Hornbuckle very helpful and easy to approach. He is definitely one of my favorite meteorology
professors because of his willingness to listen and explain things so well in a way that is not confusing or
ambiguous and has a teaching style that really works for me. I like how he is able to work with us with such
patience and understanding while also remaining professional at all times. When I come to his office asking for
help on something I never walk away feeling confused or that discussing something with him was a waste of
time. He is also in his office fairly often, so it usually isn't difficult to find him unlike some professors who seem to
be missing from their office almost all the time.
The office hours are very narrow, but he's pretty much always there anyway.
The professor is always available when you need him and he is approachable. He seems to know a lot about the
subject and is good about teaching it to his students.
I feel that Dr. Hornbuckle is very approachable and knows the material really well.
Approachable, knowledgeable of subject matter, cares about student success and readily available for assistance.
Yes, no problems here.
Dr. Hornbuckle makes a great effort to let us know when he is available and also to be available. I think he
anticipates when people will need help and plans around that. He knows the class well. He is approachable in the
sense that no one should be worried to ask a dumb question – but if you do – he will just make you work a little
more for the answer than ridicule you.
He’s been available whenever I’ve needed help and has been fairly approachable. Is very knowledgeable on most
subjects.
He is approachable and available all the time.
Dr. Hornbuckle is very good. He is very helpful and always makes himself available for questions. Content is very
easy to understand with Hornbuckle teaching it.
Availability is fine, I’m not one to go in for office hours anyway. I always think: “/this/ semester, I’m going to make
more of an effort to create relationships with my professors by going to more office hours or review sessions or
asking questions during/after class.” It never happens though. Maybe I just feel like professors are busy with other
tasks and not need 200 random students coming in to distract them at all hours of the day. If everyone came in to
talk to them, they would probably not get anything done. But, Dr. Hornbuckle seems approachable and
knowledgeable. I like that he has an engineering background before getting into agronomy. I think it’s important to
have professors with diverse backgrounds.
The professor is available, approachable and authoritative on the subject material. Every time I ask a question in
office hours I learn a lot. Office hours are Socratic. This helps me realize that oftentimes I can arrive at an answer
to a question I have if I have help and direction from the instructor.
Dr.Hornbuckle has done a very good job in teaching the course and welcoming students to learn more about the
subject. He knows the subject but I have I wish he had gone a little deeper when we discussed soil water for
example and would recommend redesigning the lecture notes a little bit, paying more attention to crop specific
relevant cases. He acknowledges the backgrounds and skills of everyone in the class and is respectful at valuing
opinions and comments.
Approachable, knowledgeable of subject matter, cares about student success and readily available for assistance.
(e) Webpage: organization, information, functionality of links
The webpage is nice. It is organized well and easy to use.
The webpage is organized well, and has the links for assignments easily visible. I don’t think I’ve come across a
broken link before. The problem sets are easy to find, and the syllabus is nice to follow for the semesters.
Some links for article link to abstracts and I've had to search for the article elsewhere. I wonder if utilizing
blackboard more would allow more functionality for communication and grade-keeping, showing averages, etc
The course webpage is perfectly acceptable.
Everything seems to be in working order on the webpage and links work 99% of the time. Everything is organized
and in order in a way that makes sense. The only real issue I have encountered is that a few article links take you
to pages that require a subscription or some form of paid access and I have to search for the articles elsewhere to
get to them.
It works as it should (most of the time). Sometimes it just needs refreshing.
The webpage works well. I like having everything for the class in one place.
I have had some issues with the webpage for one there appears to be "multiple" pages (one that is accessible
through blackboard and one that is not). These pages often are not updated at the same time which causes some
difficulty when trying to access the information posted there. I would like it better if the blackboard page link was
the same link that is accessible outside of blackboard. If the page was just posted outside of blackboard I would be
content with that and just having grades on blackboard.
Webpage links are always functional, organization is clear and understandable, and the topics seem appropriate for
the course description.
I don’t mind the syllabus method he uses. It is nice to have everything in one place.
I’ve had other professors maintain an HTML syllabus page, and this is just as effective as blackboard or email. I
would love to see this page available as just a plain link rather than access through Blackboard, but that potentially
presents a security issue. I’d much rather bookmark the syllabus page than log into blackboard, click on the class,
click on course content, click on syllabus, and then finally get to what I am looking for.
It would be nice to have helpful links all in one place, but otherwise I have no complaints.
I don’t see the necessity of having a webpage while everything can be done using black board.
Website is fine. Could be organized better and not in a single syllabus page.
I love that we don’t use blackboard: That website is so inefficient for coursework. An improvement to the class web
page might be re-ordering the information. It would be handy to have the course work go from most recent at the
top to oldest at the bottom. An alternative format to execute this idea could be more like a blog post style page. I do
like that the course outline is essentially an interactive syllabus. It would be convenient to reorder the page so that
the university-required content could be hidden or accessed via a link. I don’t think it’s entirely necessary to have to
look at all that disability accommodation, plagiarism policy, et cetera past the first week or so of classes. It’s
standard university policy.
Webpage is fine—everything works and is well-organized.
All the materials needed to do well in the course are at hand in the course webpage. It came in handy when I
organized my own notes and prepared the summary sheet for the exam. I wonder if Dr.Hornbuckle has considered
uploading the lecture notes before the class.
Webpage links are always functional, organization is clear and understandable, and the topics seem appropriate for
the course description.
(f) Project: has it been clearly defined, appropriateness
The project is somewhat clearly defined. The professor is very open in discussing how appropriate our topic is
to the class and our own research.
Standard 500-level project combining our research and class concepts... Not much to say about it.
The project has been clearly defined and I think it is appropriate for the class to have a project component.
Balancing the project with the other homework has been difficult so far, but hopefully time management will be
better now for me.
Overall yes I think so. I tend to like when graduate level courses use a project option as often ones research
can be used.
It’s fine.
Project has been clearly defined and is appropriate for the course. This project will help advance my thesis
work.
I am a PhD student, so a graduate class at this point in my career makes sense insofar as I attempt to answer a
research question. The guidelines for the final project are clear and defined, and the instructor has been very
helpful in giving me direction about what and how to do things.
(g) MATLAB: introduction, usefulness, support from instructor
I feel matlab is easy to use but most information I have figured out myself, asked others, or googled. It would be
nice to have one or two lectures going over basic matlab functions though such as arrays. This would help me
better understand the information.
I really enjoy MATLAB. I think it’s very user-friendly and I’ve never had too much difficulty doing the MATLAB
problems on the problem sets. If I do need help, Dr. Hornbuckle is willing to help me with my code and figure out
where I went wrong.
The usefulness is OK, I feel like I get more understanding from doing problems than MATLAB plotting.
If a student were to not have any familiarity with MATLAB prior to ENVSCI 405/505, then it is easy to imagine a
significant amount of trouble. The resources provided by the instructor are adequate, but not extraordinary.
MATLAB's implementation in the course is useful in honing coding skills, but is not necessary to display the
concepts of the course.
I found the program extremely frustrating to work with at first, but It gets a little better as you start to get used to
using it. As I already mentioned, it helps to have example or template programs to get started - otherwise it can be
hard to figure out where to start on a given set of coding needed for an assignment. I think that the program is fairly
useful for anything that requires graphic representations of data for sure - I found the 3D soil temperature plots to
be very interesting, and I actually spent a little time playing around with the parameters to see how the profile would
change.
We haven't done anything outside of prior knowledge of the language.
I think that having MATLAB on the homework is very beneficial and it is being taught in a way that is good for
beginners. The professor is very helpful when asked to help with the MATLAB problems and that makes them very
doable in the time we have for them.
Dr. Hornbuckle introduced MATLAB fairly well and provides plenty of sample codes that can be looked at and
reapplied to various problems. If an error arrises he is quick to answer and willing to assist in the programing.
Introduction to MATLAB was very helpful, as I had not used it before. It is useful in the sense that we are seeing
how the lecture topics are modeled, however, it seems that is does not help much with learning the course material
and I end up with programming errors that affect my grade negatively when I do in fact know the material. The
plotting problems on the assignments are too difficult.
This class has been a good refresher for me to use MATLAB again. Overall, I think the MATLAB has been fine
however I sometimes think the problems in the homework with MATLAB are not as instructive as the book problems
at the concepts for the class.
This was easy to jump into, the professor is flexible about how we accomplish our code, and he doesn’t require
anything that is too difficult to accomplish in a few hours or so. Dr. Hornbuckle is great with the program and offers
support when it is sought.
Dr. Hornbuckle is great at being organized in the ways he presents information. He is thorough and rarely leaves
out details.
MATLAB has been fairly useful. I’ve had some issues where the script gives different results each time you run it,
but I’ve managed to fix them eventually. It has also been fairly easy to learn.
I see the MATLAB as a useful tool for getting some projects done in this course. I knew MATLBA before, so I have
no idea how well is the support.
Matlab practice is useful but it would be better if we reviewed Matlab content in class as well.
The MATlab problems are pretty straightforward and generally not problematic. It’s surprising that the problems are
such a large portion of the grade. On the other hand, they are pretty time consuming.
Matlab has been a useful tool. I appreciate the scripts you provide to help us get started on the problem sets.
The instructor was clear enough in the first day of class about those who prefer using another programming tool to
write codes for homework. I even considered using R, which is the tool I am more familiar with, but instead
preferred to give MATLAB a chance. I am happy for the things I have learned and the programming practice I have
done so far.
Introduction to MATLAB was very helpful, as I had not used it before. It is useful in the sense that we are seeing
how the lecture topics are modeled, however, it seems that is does not help much with learning the course material
and I end up with programming errors that affect my grade negatively when I do in fact know the material. The
plotting problems on the assignments are too difficult.
(h) What do I do particularly well?
) Dr. Hornbuckle is really good at ensuring people are engaged in class and he makes the subject interesting. He is
very good about helping about homework and any questions we may have.
Dr. Hornbuckle is very passionate about this topic and class, and he always is willing to help students succeed. I
feel like he is very easy to talk to and he helps a lot with the problem sets and MATLAB problems when I’m stuck
without giving the answer away.
Engage students (with dice and such), structure lectures, example problems
Making lectures fun. I regularly laugh multiple times during lecture which is a sign that the concepts aren't dry, and
helps keep my focus. Additionally, explaining ideas and concepts in an intuitive way is another strong point.
Does Well: I basically already said this, but I think the strongest point for Dr. Hornbuckle is his teaching style and
ability to explain topics and answer questions extremely effectively and clearly. I would probably try to teach in a
very similar manner myself if I were to become a professor one day.
Done well: homework help, making the class interesting, encouraging student participation in class
The professor gets the students involved in the class which is different from other classes I have been in. I think that
you do a nice job of including fun little activities that help reinforce the lecture being taught.
Dr. Hornbuckle is very interested in the course that he is teaching, and this shows in the enthusiasm that he has
while teaching. The use of experiments and real world applications helps students to understand the material and
see how it can be applied to various problems.
I find the short intro before each new chapter particularly useful as well as the organization of how each lecture
proceeds. I also greatly appreciate the handouts that are printed out for us. The readings on the homework are also
very interesting.
I would say you make lecture entertaining or at least relevant to the class.
Dr. Hornbuckle is great at being organized in the ways he presents information. He is thorough and rarely leaves
out details.
Explaining concepts, in-class activities.
The fact that you try conceptualizing the processes and describing the science behind the processes is the best
thing he does in class.
In particular, I feel comfortable with the energy balances and calculations of heat transfer. Also I understand the
basic theory that governs mass and energy transfer with the environment in a general sense, and can describe
physical processes in words.
Your organization is great. The flow of the class is good so far.
You are an effective educator. Lectures are intense and very informative. Lecture time is spent wisely. Office
hours are helpful. The dice is a good tool; it keeps me alert and attentive.
I like the systematic way by which Dr. Hornbuckle explains biophysical processes. I enjoyed for example, the
lecture in which he explained how sensible heat flux varies over the course of the day and the connection between
this fact and vertical variation of air temperature.
I find the short intro before each new chapter particularly useful as well as the organization of how each lecture
proceeds. I also greatly appreciate the handouts that are printed out for us. The readings on the homework are also
very interesting.
(i) In what area or areas do I need to improve?
I feel giving a formula sheet would be helpful for the midterm. I also don't like night exams. I would rather have
the exam be during class and not get the exam back the next day.
The only issues I am having right now are the length of the problem sets and that the amount of writing in the
class is a lot. However, if it ever becomes that much of a problem, I can just copy the notes from online later.
Homework grading and test construction
During office hours, often questions asked about homework problems end up being an explanation of concepts,
not guidance around points of contention. While this can be helpful, topics may be fully understood, but
applying them could be troubling. It is easy to see this as a way of forcing students to think originally in applying
concepts, but can also cause problems in developing the ability to use theory in problem solving.
Needs Work: Really there isn't a whole lot I can think of on this subject. The main thing that comes to mind is
writing exams and homeworks so they are doable in a reasonable amount of time. I still can't believe how
much time I have spent outside of class just getting the homework done - probably an average of 2 to 3+ times
the amount of class hours we have each week. I understand that a good homework set should take a fair
amount of time to complete, but at some point I would say it just gets to be a little too much to do for one
assignment. Even though I try to spread out the work over a few days, it can get kind of stressful for me with all
the other work I have to do for other classes on top of this.
Done well: homework help, making the class interesting, encouraging student participation in class
I think that sometimes you focus too much on getting one person to answer the question correctly and it slows
down the pace of the class. I realize that you just want people to be able to think and take their time, but
sometimes people just really do not know the answer.
One area I would suggest improvement is the die rolling student answering. It is difficult to answer questions
while one is still trying to frantically write down the notes on the board.
I think we are expected to have a greater grasp on MATLAB than I think should be necessary to have success
in this course and I think some of the problems involving plotting detract from learning the material for those
with little MATLAB experience.
I can’t think of anything in particular. I have been impressed with you as a professor so far.
Dr. Hornbuckle could stand to occasionally realize when the class needs a pause in the lecture material. He
writes quickly and asking questions while students are still writing makes it difficult to answer.
As I said before, it would be nice to have the lectures split up a bit. Also,
I guess you need to incorporate more material from other source into the course.
I could improve my knowledge of mass transfer. The calculations/theory involving vapor transfer is still
complicated to me. Sometimes I feel like I am answering a question correctly but then it turns out that it is the
opposite direction. I guess that means I just need to practice my theory applications.
I don’t have any complaints, other than sometimes the homework assignments are pretty intense. I really enjoy
the lectures.
Sometimes the prompts in the problem sets are very long and complex. If the prompts could be simplified, it
would help us students. I understand that the course material is quite complex and that the instructor needs to
provide detail to avoid ambiguity and confusion, but simplified prompts could help us students quickly grasp
what the question is asking.
I would like to analyze the possibility of reviewing old exams as a way for preparing better for the next exam. I
looking forward to seeing the topics on plants and their communities, and would like to see examples from a
more ecological and agronomical perspective.
I think we are expected to have a greater grasp on MATLAB than I think should be necessary to have success
in this course and I think some of the problems involving plotting detract from learning the material for those
with little MATLAB experience.