North Carolina State University - ClassEval Report
Emplid: 000961919 Lake Bookman
Term: 2013 Sprg Calculus I MA 141 004 Courses surveyed - MA 141 004
Question
Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the instructor
-------Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the instructor
Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the course
-------Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the instructor
-------Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the instructor
Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the course
-------Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the instructor
Page 1 of 4
Response
The professor was energetic, interested, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable on the subject. He explained topics well and used
many examples to reinforce his ideas.
-------Mr. Bookman is very knowledgable in this course and was always willing to admit any mistakes he made. Was very
generous when collectively the class made mistakes. Should show easier examples when writing notes before moving to
very hard examples.
Tests were slightly harder than notes and homework. Tests need to be better paralleled with rest of course.
-------Weakness: try to have test prepared ahead of time so your focus can be with the class.
-------The instructor was very enthusiastic about teaching the course and I can only think of one major problem. The problem is
that when the instructor attempted to explain concepts, he would do it somewhat abstractly. It may just be my learning
style, but I like to see concrete examples to help solve problems, not a bunch of random letters that are supposed to
represent numbers.
Overall, I feel this course has helped to prepare me for the next calculus class I have to take.
-------Exams were too difficult for the level
North Carolina State University - ClassEval Report
Emplid: 000961919 Lake Bookman
Term: 2013 Sprg Calculus I MA 141 004 Courses surveyed - MA 141 004
-------Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the instructor
-------Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the instructor
Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the course
--------
Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the instructor
Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the course
Other comments
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Page 2 of 4
-------funny way of explaining things yet it seemed to click
-------Instructor explained material quite effectively, using worksheets at certain times. His whimsical behavior (which is
positive) suggests to me that he is really enthusiastic about the subject. He was always open to stay to give further
explanation. I would say a weakness might be his writing too fast because students are often trying to understand and write
at the same time before he moves to the next part. However, I recognize that time doesn't always allow for this.
The course was very informative. The flow of study from concept to concept was smooth, for the most part. Assignments
and quizzes were useful in allowing concepts sink in. The course was challenging but I guess that is how it is supposed to
be. I cannot really find a weakness.
-------It was made pretty clear after having him for a semester that Mr. Bookman is a "rookie" at teaching. His notes were very
scattered and often left me, as well as some of my fellow classmates, very confused. By just briefly explaining what the new
material meant on paper, taking 20 minutes to prove WHY it was true and then throwing difficult problems at us I guess was
his definition of teaching. However, there's a difference between showing your students how to DO Calculus and showing
off how much you KNOW about Calculus. His homework quizes and grades were great. However, his tests borderlined with
extremely difficult and complexly conceptual and cruel and unusual. It's like he structured the test to what he knows rather
than what we knew, which was almost nothing compared to what he knew. However, with all that being said, he's figuring
out who he is a teacher, and I respect that. He was very helpful to me, especially towards the end of the course, and did care
about how we were doing, and made adjustments along the way. He has the most enthusiasm I've ever seen out of Math
teacher, which is pretty rare and admirable. Mr. Bookman, while he didn't do a GREAT job teaching us, is going to one day
a solid teacher and could be one of the best at NC State once it's all said and done.
MA 141 has equipped me with solid understanding of Derivatives and a good enough understanding of Intergrals to move
into MA 241. The only useless thing I found was the Pre-Calc section at the beginning of the semester. Not having
Pre-Calc, I found this especially difficult. But after that, I started to learn more things on my own that seemed useful.
I don't want to sound like I didn't enjoy and get anything out of Mr. Bookman's class. I just think of myself as a ginny pig in
his growth as a teacher. He's a great person and this is the right occupation for him to channel his enthusiasm for Calculus.
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North Carolina State University - ClassEval Report
Emplid: 000961919 Lake Bookman
Term: 2013 Sprg Calculus I MA 141 004 Courses surveyed - MA 141 004
Page 3 of 4
Comment on
strengths and
Kind of runs through material.
weaknesses of
the instructor
Comment on
strengths and
Calculus is not my strong suite, but still a hard class.
weaknesses of
the course
--------------Comment on
Mr. Bookman was not a consistent teacher. His classwork was easy, but his tests were unusually difficult. He did not
strengths and
effectively teach the material. I felt many times that I could have learned the same things he taught me from my textbook.
weaknesses of
That being said, his class was relatively fun and simple, and he was a good guy.
the instructor
Comment on
strengths and
MA141 was a hard class. The tests were a great deal more difficult than the material.
weaknesses of
the course
Comment on
strengths and
The lab wasn't too effective. I learned how to do specific hard problems, but it was more of a homework help than an actual
weaknesses of
teaching aid.
the lab (if
applicable)
--------------Comment on
strengths and
He couldn't explain the material at all!!!! Taught on a level students couldn't comprehend!
weaknesses of
the instructor
Other comments Great one on one not as an instructor would probably be better in a higher level course
--------------Comment on
strengths and
Awesome teacher, no weaknesses to be had.
weaknesses of
the instructor
North Carolina State University - ClassEval Report
Emplid: 000961919 Lake Bookman
Term: 2013 Sprg Calculus I MA 141 004 Courses surveyed - MA 141 004
Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the lab (if
applicable)
-------Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the instructor
-------Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the instructor
Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the course
Comment on
strengths and
weaknesses of
the lab (if
applicable)
Page 4 of 4
It's just a review session, so there's not much to comment on.
-------Mr. Bookman is obviously very enthusiastic about calculus and went into great detail on the foundations behind many of
the rules and theorems utilized. However I found that this information seemed to be very underrepresented on quizzes and
tests. The material on quizzes and tests should better match what is gone over in class.
-------Sometimes he moved really fast and skipped steps which made it hard to keep up and still understand the material at times
but overall I feel like he did a really good job. His enthusiasm of the subject was really nice and could be a bit infectious at
time.
I really liked having homework from the textbook instead of from webassign because I feel like I learned the material
better and I wasn't spending all of my time fighting with a computer program; I could just focus on the material.
It's always good to hear how to solve something from a different prospective and I was able to get that from Ms. Varga.
Overall, I think Mr. Bookman is a great teacher I would take him again for Calc 2 or 3 if I could. Honestly, he was the best
instructor I had all semester and he was the only graduate student, the rest were doctors; this says a lot about Mr. Bookman
Other comments
in a very good way. Also, I came in with apprehension about the course as math has always been hit or miss for me but it
ended up being my favorite class of the semester because I felt like I was learning so much.