MATH 101 WeBWork Satisfaction Survey
N = 366,
31% of enrolled
(1188 enrolled)
1) When do you normally start your WeBWork assignment?
%
22%
39%
25%
13%
counts
78
144
92
48
The day before it is due.
A couple of days before it is due.
Three or four days before it is due.
As soon as or soon after it is posted.
2) How convenient is it for you to get online and submit your homework?
%
54%
38%
7%
0.6%
counts
199
139
24
2
Very convenient.
Somewhat convenient.
Not so convenient.
Not convenient at all.
3) On average, what percentage of a typical WebWork assignment do you attempt
regularly? Your answer should include problems you do some work on and for which you may
or may not obtain a correct answer.
%
85%
9%
3%
2.5%
Counts
311
33
11
9
80% to 100%
60% to 80%
50% to 60%
less than 50%
4) Grade distribution
average 37.6/50 or 75%, SD 8/50. This is higher than the class average (69%), so the group of students who
answered the survey is not a true representative of the student population in the course.
Bin
Frequency
10
1
15
3
20
7
25
23
30
29
35
40
45
50
DNW
blank
66
77
95
46
4
15
Frequency
Midterm scores
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Bin
5) How do you usually work on a WeBWorK assignment?
%
90%
6%
5%
counts
328
22
19
Do most or all of the solving while at a computer.
Print out the problems, solve them, then enter into the system.
Other
6) Every week you are given a list of suggested homework problems from the textbook. On
average, what portion of these suggested problems do you attempt?
%
22%
11%
23%
37%
7%
Counts
82
41
83
137
25
most of them
about half
only a few
none of them
Other
7) Between the weekly list of suggested homework problems from the textbook and the
Webwork assignment, which set of problems do you usually do first?
counts
I do most of the questions in my WebWork assignment first/only Webwork
I do most of the suggested problems first.
I alternate between problems from the textbook and questions on WebWork.
Other
%
304
24
13
3
83%
6.6%
3.6%
0.8%
8) Which of the following statements best describes your approach to answering questions on
WeBWork?
%
13%
55%
28%
2.7%
counts
49
I answer most of the questions correctly at my first or second attempt.
203 I often rework the same problem a few times on my own until I get the correct answer.
I prefer to consult resources (notes, etc.) or ask for help if I can't find the correct answer
102 right away.
10
I often give up if I can't find the correct answer after a few attempts.
9) Whom do you ask for help with WeBWork problems? Check all that apply.
%
78%
6%
2%
8%
6%
4%
25%
17%
counts
285
21
7
29
23
14
92
61
Other students in the course or other friends
WeBWork's email system ("Email your instructors" button)
Separate emails to my instructor/TA
TAs at the drop-in Learning Centre
Instructor/TA at office hours
Private tutor
I normally don't ask for help.
Other (33 mentioned Walfram Alpha)
10) Do you find the "Email your instructor" option useful?
%
4%
11%
6%
77%
Counts
16
42
23
283
Very useful
Somewhat useful
Not useful at all
Never used it
11) Why?
237 students gave a reason.
-61 had no need to ask for help yet
-53 didn’t know how the option of asking for help through the "Email your instructor" option or thought it was
just was technical issues
-31 get help from other sources
-22 think it would take too long to get an answer
-18 prefer to figure out things in their own
-16 prefer face-to-face interaction to email when it comes to get help on math problems
-36 gave some other reasons (e.g. “never thought about using it”)
12) On average, how would you rate the mathematical difficulty of WeBWork problems
relative to other problems in the course?
%
0.5%
5%
32.5%
41%
20%
0.3%
counts
2
18
119
150
74
1
Much easier
A little easier
About the same
A little harder
Much harder
Not comparable
13) On average, how often was the syntax required to submit an answer to WebWork an
obstacle in completing your assignment?
%
12%
26.5%
23%
31%
7%
counts
43
97
85
112
26
Never
Only once or twice this term
About once every few assignments
Most weeks syntax is an issue in a few problems
Most weeks syntax is an issue in most problems
14) WebWork requires at least four significant figures to recognize a numerical answer as
correct. How often has this been an obstacle in submitting your answer?
%
14%
35%
28%
22%
counts
52
128
104
80
Very often
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
15) Please rate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statements.
WeBWork problems are related to problems on
tests and/or class examples.
#
%
Strongly
Agree
110
30
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
195
53
34
9
19
5
Strongly
Disagree
6
1.6
WeBWork problems are good practice for
solving problems on tests.
#
%
128
35
180
49
40
11
14
4
2
0.5
The immediate responses I get from WeBWork
help me learn the course material.
#
%
95
26
139
38
79
22
35
9.5
16
4.4
I often get frustrated with WeBWork problems
due to their mathematical difficulty.
#
%
54
15
122
33
106
29
73
20
9
2.5
I often get frustrated by the particular syntax
required to submit answers to WeBWork.
#
%
71
19
108
29.5
93
25
61
17
29
8
16) If you were to take a similar course again, which homework option would you prefer?
Assume each suggested option is worth the same percentage of your final course grade.
%
counts
19%
70
A combination of WeBWork and short hand-in written assignments that are
returned a week later.
10%
36
Only written hand-in assignments, that are returned a week later (possibly
only part of them graded).
29%
107
Only WeBWork assignments.
32%
117
A combination of WeBWork assignments and short in-class quizzes (in
addition to regular midterm exams).
9%
32
No homework assignments, just a list of suggested homework and in-class
quizzes (in addition to regular midterm exams).
17) In the future would you be willing to pay $25 to use a commercial product that allows you
to submit your homework online similarly to WebWork but which provides solutions (not just
answers) to the problems after the due date and may have additional features?
%
24
45
24.5
6.5
counts
87
165
90
24
Yes
No
Not sure
Other
Of the people who chose Other,
5 said they would not want to pay,
4 said it would depend on the features pf the product
3 said they would be willing to pay if it were less than $25
2 said the paid product should be optional.
2 more students selected Not Sure but indicated in a written comment that they would not want to pay
14) Please add any comments about WeBWork that you feel are not captured by the questions
above.
89 students entered a written comment.
23 gave a positive comment about WebWork
8 said WebWork questions are unnecessary difficult (difficulty often is linked to long mathematical
expressions with ugly numbers)
6 commented on a possible bug in the system
6 complained that WebWork assignments take too long to complete (some because of the time it takes
to enter long expressions)
6 commented on syntax being a problem
5 said the homework system should continue to be free
4 would like to have hints to solve a problem
Comments:
While I may not be fond of Webwork, I am certainly not willing to pay $25 for a commercial alternative. If not having
solutions is the issue, the professors could post general solutions (because webwork usually varies between users just in
terms of a few variables) to the questions on their websites. I think webwork would be more relevant if the questions did not
require so much more work to do relative to the textbook questions.
What I like about Webwork is that it saves me from having to buy the new (7th ed.) textbook, while still allowing me to
complete the marked homework. So really it's saving me like $250 since I can still use my 6th ed. package, which is great.
However it's crazy annoying sometimes because it is a computer program. Type one number wrong, or accidentally type
your answer with the wrong sign, get zero. Admittedly, I make a lot of stupid mistakes, and so often end up resorting to
computer software to check my answers, which is more efficient than trying to find hte one number I wrote wrong
somewhere, and less frustrating.
Webworks tends to consume my whole weekend because of its difficulty, which takes my time away from other courses.
Less problems of the same difficulty or less difficult problems would solve this. I found the midterm much easier than the
webworks.
Webworks is fine. Some bad, some good, can't really give any improvements.
webworks is a great resource. I like it because its simple. It would be nice if a little more help was provided (hints/written out
solutions) but carful not to make it too complicated.
WeBWork would be more effective if some of the examples done in class were of the same difficulty. This would've helped
me get a better mark on my midterm as well.
Webwork sometimes deny a solution even the solution is correct. e.g. 1/24*(arctan x) was correct but (arctan x)/24 was
incorrect. So, there is doubt on webwork's reliability when it returns an "incorrect" message.
webwork is very usful in general, just sometimes because of the sigificant digit system they would not take the answer
Webwork is the best! In terms of giving instant feedback after submitting answers and the unlimited attempts takes away the
pressure of simply getting the right answer the first time but to keep trying until you get the right answer before asking help
from others. Also, webwork is really good at recognizing different forms of the right answer.
WebWork is not helpful in preparing for the midterm exam. In order to do well on the midterm exam, questions from the
suggested problems list must be completed. Completing WebWork and suggested problems every week takes too much
time, therefore I use Wolfram Alpha to find the answers to the WebWork so that I have time to do the suggested problems.
Therefore the WebWork is of no benefit to my learning.
Webwork is good but the syntax is annoying as well as having to type out huge answers which are easy to make small
mistakes in even if we obtain the correct answer or if you are really close to an answer but used the wrong volume formula
or something the answer is still 100% wrong and we begin to wonder why and start to doubt everything we've learned and
start questioning everything when we shouldn't be. We need a solution manuel.
Webwork is amazing, I used it in both 100 and 101 and it helps me IMMENSELY. It pretty much has a question for every
concept and when I am able to do it right, I know I am on the right track and really understand the material. The suggested
problems aren't as good for this year. Last year had a lot more good suggested problems so I decided to do those ones
using a 6th edition book.
Webwork is a good idea, however, it promotes "cheating" as you must have internet access which creates the incentive to
look up solutions or aids. Entering long answers are quite irritating
WebWork assignments should never be homework. It takes hours to do what would normally take 45 minutes because of
the syntax and awkward way in which the questions must be answered
Web work is nice because it forces you to learn the material at hand. The questions are challenging but not to the point of
being frustratingly impossible and help reinforce what was taught in class. I can work at my own pace without conflict with
other courses that require work to be handed in in class while consulting others online or in a study group. It would be nice
if webwork was a little bit more lenient on the type of answers it accepted but overall, I feel that the program has helped me
immensely over the term.
we can get the feedback immediately
Very cool system, I like it.
usually seems very diverse difficulty of questions. either very difficult or fairly easy
TOO MUCH SYNTAX....GOD DAYUM.
To be honest, the textbook was too expensive and I opted out of it. Something that I am concerned about is the use of
Wolfram Mathematica/Alpha on the WeBWork assignments. Talking to many students, I found that some get their answers
from Wolfram when they're stuck, and some are reluctant to even attempt the problem at all! I feel that the homework should
be graded based on the process and the result. This is why I would much prefer a set of weekly hand-in problems where it
is necessary to show your work leading up to the answer. This way, even if students have copied, they've at least written
down the process!
This system is a total joke. Its absolute garbage. Most students spend hours on these 15 or so questions every week. They
take up an entire weekend, and students don't get to spend time on other courses. This system is simply pathetic. Some of
the questions have multiple parts where you submit it at once and they tell you "At least one of the problems is incorrect",
and hence why a student could spend and hour or two on this ONE question. What kind of system does this kind of garbage.
Maybe you guys should take a look at the online assignments developed by Pearson called Mastering Physics, Mastering
Engineering, Mastering Chemistry. I can tell you that not a single student can LEARN math using this garbage program.
THIS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN MY TUITION. I PAY A LOT, A HELL OF A LOT, i don't know all the politics involved, but
I shouldn't have to pay more for this service, and it is too useful to go unused.
this is great.
This doesn't really have anything to do with webwork, but instead of current additional (non-webwork) homework practices.
I think the quizzes were created for the sole purpose of having students come to class at least once a week. This is
well-intentioned, of course, but I found that I don't learn much from lectures. I instead watch videos on YouTube on the same
subject, to which I find much better, as they provide many examples, cover all of the different problem types, and are
generally much more clear than a lecture. (most YouTube instructors use Stewart's book). It might be beneficial to have a
screencast-lecture archive for students, like me, who prefer to learn this way.
There's some syntax problem but it isn't that bad. I think it is better than an actual hand-in problem as you have unlimited
tries and you get immediate response. If it is a hand-in problem, you dont rellay know if you got the question right or not.
Another problem with webwork is possibly the syncronization with the course. Sometimes it is ahead of the what you;ve
covered in ecture and that makes it difficult to complete the problem.
The weekly webwork assignments are good but sometimes there are too many questions. I understand that doing a lot of
questions helps with learning, but due to the difficulty of webwork, sometimes it takes a long time to complete the
assignments while we have other assignments as well.
The syntax is primarily the biggest problem, and requiring 4 sig figs.
The questions provide useful practice, but sometimes fewer problems would be sufficient for each assignment
The problems on WebWork are sometimes quite difficult, but this is good practise to make sure we know the material or
know what we need work on. The way answers need to be entered in is slightly frustrating, but knowing that the final answer
can just be entered to 4 decimal places helps a lot.
The lack of solutions, particularly for the difficult questions is a disadvantage. Also, due to syntax errors, we can never be
certain whether we did the question wrong or if there was a small error. Perhaps small hints like mastering engineering if a
small error came up.
The lack of solutions leaves me feeling I could have learned more if I were assigned questions from the textbook. Otherwise,
an extremely impressive and organized system.
The homework assigned (webwork and suggested problems) are far too much work to attempt with a full course load and a
part time job. The degree of difficulty of the webwork is unecessary, the same concepts could be taught in a much simpler
and concise way. I would strongly recommend not pursuing the idea of 25$ calculus homework. You can only push us so
far.
Sometimes the range of randomly generated numbers makes some ridiculously ugly answers that are difficult to enter,
therefore making many of my mistakes a simple mistyped error.
Sometimes out of work
Some webwork problems require a calculator as syntax is ugly if you dont use a calculator. I think that is a very ill
representation of the course as we are NOT allowed to use a calculator of any sort EVER. Problems should be created to be
possible without a calculator. I understand webwork will calculate for you but it is such a pain to type in the whole answer
using all the special symbols. That's what makes it's level of difficulty higher when compared to inclass/midterm/quiz
problems.
Some of the questions in WeBWork take too long to compute.
some of the questions are ridiculous. I remember last week I had something like ∫sec^27(13x)*tan^15(13x)
Solutions may be helpful, but not at an additional fee as mentioned above. Some problems take a while to complete.
software and interface seems too out of date.
Please make it due at 11 pm again or at least 8pm. Thank you.
please don't charge extra for these online problems; it would not be convenient anymore, as we already have to purchase
the textbook which is quite expensive
Perhaps the solution manual should be allowed for students to purchase optionally.
Perhaps more problems some more similar to each other just for more practice instead of few covering one new aspect at a
time. More questions, believe it or not!!
Overall I like WeBWork but I find that there are two problems with it: 1) there are just too many questions per assignment 2)
the session 'times out' really quickly which can be annoying - obviously we need some time to work on the question
Okay
Mainly the difficulty level, some questions I have NEVER seen show up on quizzes/in class examples, and have no idea
how to approach them.
Last WebWork assignment (Assignment 5), I typed in an answer for a question using negative exponents, and the program
said that the answer was wrong. I then looked over all my work for 15 minutes, but could not find anything wrong. I then
submitted the answer using fractions instead of negative exponents, and then the program said it was correct, but the box
next to the answer said that my answer was the same answer I had previously submitted (the negative exponents answer).
I just wanted to bring that to your attention to fix.Thank you.
Last term I found it very helpful to be using the book every week to do problems that would be marked. However, webwork
is useful in that it immediately gives you feedback.
It's great.
It's an excellent study and review tool. I usually do Webwork problems on saturdays, suggested homework problems on
sundays, so that I'll be ready for my quizzes on mondays.
It's a great tool and definitely makes the course understandable.
It would be nice if it webwork had a hints option. Even if the solutions were provided, and webwork was just a participation
mark, having the ability to be guided through would help in my learning. It helps me to be assisted through a few problems
where i can learn the method at my own pace
It would be more convenient if the webwork questions were similar to the midterms and quizzes in-terms of the calculating
simplicity, in other words they should not require a calculator as the course does not allow them on tests.
It would be helpful if you get the questions wrong that it would give you hints or tips as to what you might be doing wrong. For
example, the mastering physics system will guide you through the problems if you asked for help.
It would be helpful if it provided sets of practice problems as well (not part of the assignment)
it wants too precise answers and it does show guidance to solve the questions
It should be like mastering physics or engineering, where if you don't get the answer, there are tips and an option to see
solution. Often I get frustrated if I can't do a question, submit what I have, and never look at the solution
It is frustrating that when an answer is not exact it is incorrect
It doesnt allow us to check intermediate calculations or assumptions which leads to a lot of time being wasted in trying to get
those right. Other than that its good to find out right away if the approach we are taking to a question is correct.
In the trig substitution assignment, webwork wasn't accepting answers even if they were correct.I realize webwork rejects
answers from sites such as wolfram alfa. I am not a big fan of getting answers from wolfram alfa but this was not the case,
webwork was having difficulties that day and even though I thought i got the question wrong, it was correct when i pressed
resubmit a few more than couple of times! This course has been very frustrating also in terms of the teaching style as I
mentioned above. The instructor for my section refuses to answer questions even though redundant simply by saying
'check the webpage' or 'I already said that'. No question is redundant or stupid, I feel every question should be regarded with
respect based on a judgement too. I feel the use of clickers is the worst possible idea for this course because we don't really
have the time to work out questions. They also cause a lot of wasted time, because of the vast amount of clickers asking
'press a if you understand, press b is you have any questions' I feel the classroom experience should be more interactive
and I don't feel that interaction in this class. Again, why should I be paying hundreds for a calculus textbook? I reiterate,
someone needs to stand up and speak.
I WOULD PAY THE $25 NOW FOR #17 I find there's too many webwork questions; I like them and find them useful but
when we're stuck on a question (which happens every 5-6 questions), we spend a lot of time on that question and it
demoralizes us... Maybe shortening the questions would help.
I think Webwork works well because it does not provide the steps to the solutions, which makes the students really think,
and understand the fundamental principles of the specific math topics.
I think WeBWork is great except for the occasional syntax issue. I just wish that there are online tutors to help answer my
questions so that I do not have to email the professor and wait for her response.
I think webwork is an excellent tool to help us learn. I enjoy the difficulty and I enjoy the fact that we can attempt the
questions as many times as we need to without being deducted marks.
I think that for most of the harder webwork questions, it should provide a solution and not just an answer after the due date.
This makes it worthwhile to revisit problems that one did not solve initially. If only answers are shown but not the steps of
how to approach the answer, it doesn't help to understand how to solve the problem.
I think it's convenient because internet access is good everywhere.
I think it is much better to hand in a homework qritten by hand because you need to understand the answer to write it down.
But for webwork, we will probably just search for the answer online.
I like WeBWork questions. I hope that these questions will be more similar to the questions on exam.
I like how things are done with the WebWork system. It is a very useful practice tool for me and it is even a good substitute
for a textbook sometimes.
I having nothing more to add.
I have found the math 101 webwork more relevant than last term's math 184 webwork which is really good. Last term it didn't
seem to be explicitly linked to the material the teacher did in class, but this term is it which is great! However, I found the
midterm harder than the webwork questions, which surprised me because last term it was easier than the webwork.
I find the system to be glitchy. Multiple times, I have gotten an answer that I am fairly certain is correct, but webwork marks
it wrong. I then skip ahead and come back and enter the exact same answer as before and webwork marks it correct.
i find that the only factor that brings my grades down is homework for marks, considering i have 6 courses + 1 external lab
course, i have no time to complete all the homework required of me. i stopped doing homework as if it were for marks and i
study casually, but dillegently. i suggest that homework for marks should be abolished (if it was made to help us study) we
are in university now and we should be responsible enough to study at our own pace to keep up with the course.
I feel like the 6:00pm deadline is too early, because I often think better during the night and get stuck on problems until the
last day
I don't like that. waste a lot of time on submitting the answers. we still need to do paper work.Not environment friendly at all.
The solution is not clear! kind of waste time + source(electricity)!!!
i don't like how we have to put +C on the integration problems
I believe my low grade on the midterm was affected by the time change for webworks. The first week, and the very last
week, I did webworks and faired well, where as on weekends where I have no time I don't get to attempt the webworks and
ultimately don't return to it. I prefer this to handing in work, as it gives me the option to get the right answer and work on it as
I want. I rarely to never bother with handing in math homework. Keep webworks, and if possible keep it free.
Have not received the midterm results back yet. Probably got about 40/50.
Have a good reading break to the TAs :)
Has a bug where two equivalent answers are considered different answers, not often though.
for question 16, I prefer hand written only because it is easier to carry around and for example ask the prof a question when
it is on paper as I do not carry around my laptop daily. however, I do like how webwork tells you when you have the correct
answer because there is that sense of accomplishment and you know you get the mark for it being right. for question 17, I
think it would be a useful tool but I am hesitant to pay as textbooks are already a large sum.
for number16 I prefer a combination of written hand-in assignments and in-class quizzes.
For me, WebWork has marked correct answers wrong a couple of times. Then, when I later come back to the question or
refresh the browser page, I enter the same input like last time and it marks it correct.
Entering the equation or answers sometimes take more time than solving problem
During term 1 for Math 100, the webwork problems seemed to be much more on par with the difficulty of the questions
expected in-class and on exams. This term in Math 101, I find that the Webwork questions are disproportionately harder
than what is taught in-class or was found on the first midterm. It would be nice if the questions were a little bit more
balanced.
definitely do not want to pay more money to use other programs when webwork is absolutely sufficient.
Compared to other online sites for other courses (eg. masteringPhysics), WebWork's syntax is harder to type and check.
WebWork automatically logs you out after a certain time period. There were many occasions where after solving the
problem I would enter it, but would be logged out and forced to reenter my answer - which are quite annoying to enter.
Because the problems are so difficult, it can take over 6 hours a week to complete each WebWork assignment, and usually
I get around 50%.
An immediate response that is simply "Correct" or "Incorrect" doesn't help -- at all.