Comments from Classes Taught:

these are from the end of semester reviews of the course.
NOTE: certain comments not listed here,
if not relevant to future students but more directed to me (i.e. create a non-majors course, etc.)
E-mailed 11/05:
... but I like your "style" better. You write more things down on the board, explain things in adequate detail, go at a speed where I can write things down, have a really animated personality, and you really know your stuff!
E-mailed 5/05:
To JAVA CSCC153 Team,

It has been a long semester and I just have to write to congratulate you guys’ improvement in teaching CS153. This class has been much easier to me compared to last semester. The lectures are more interesting, labs make more sense, and the absorption of course materials certainly is easier. Keep up the good work!

*Special thanks to Liz, Batsukh, and Zhang Bin.

Sincerely, ----

E-mailed 5/05:
Just wanted to thank you for a fun and productive class. Overall, I was very pleased with your teaching style and enjoyed coming to class.
Hopefully I will have you again as my teacher (that would be cool).
Dont forget the answer to all the worlds questions is 47!!!

(CS153) Java - Fall 2004 Section 1 (3-4pm) (Lewis/Loftus Java Software Solutions)

The class was easy for me because I have taken 2 yrs of C++, but I thought it was good for those who did not have any programming experience. I can see how those people could learn programming from scratch in this course.
Course was going too fast. It could have been explained better. At the end, there was no help for homework. Homeworks were a little hard. I think the lack of help with homework is an issue concerning the TAs working the labs? We are looking in to this
CS was my first major (while still in high school). I enjoyed your course and it helped me to decide to add CS as a second major. Good job. The advanced part of the discussion board allowed me to not ask as many disruptive questions in class.
GFE study group was very good. Should be part of all future classes
I really thought the examples in class helped a lot. Just like when you brought in the toy cars for understanding objects. Recitations were helpful too.
I thought that lectures were not helpful at all to my understanding of the course material. Basically I learned everything from reading and looking at the book, not in the lectures.
The tests do a very good job fooling you if you don't read carefully... (I had a lot of programming experience) didn't attend lectures more than 1x a week after first few... Recitation and homework covered material well enough.
Programming isn't my thing, and I don't think I'll use it outside basic Matlab, but the course was good in my opinion and I did learn a lot even tough I struggled.
Programming was real hard for me to get the hang of it at first, but it did get easier. The only problem that I had was with Assignment 8. It covered too much stuff to try and work with. The stuff on sorting was way confusing to get a grasp of.
This was my favorite course. I can't wait to continue learning about programming. The recitation was extremely helpful and the homework was great. I would have liked more homework assignments.
The new book [lewis and loftus] I felt was easier to comprehend than last terms and the lectures were really consistent with the book's information. I feel a more "hands-on" approach to the class would be beneficial, but the GFE's sound like a good step to resolve this or perhaps longer recitations.
Only class I had looked forward to going to, on any given day. I had a rough time at beginning of course, without basics I had trouble understanding lectures. however, once I figured them out, it was a piece ' cake.
The course was good, but sometimes it seemed like material was not covered appropriately. For me, at least, it would have been nice if you had asked what people did/didn't understand, as opposed to assuming. There were several times I felt that the easy concepts received more attention than the difficult ones. That was frustrating. Also, alternative methods for thinking through programming processes would have been nice.
The text was somewhat helpful but didn't really follow with the course. The GFE were definitely helpful. I think that more time could have been spent learning to create, organize, and work between classes because I had trouble with that at the beginning, but once I got that the course was easy. Also information was difficult to find on the website (poorly organized). Class was well taught and teacher was enthusiastic.
I loved the teacher, she made the course fun and interesting even while covering material I already knew really well. She was full of energy and attempted to increase class participation, despite the blank stares she often got in response. Her non-code examples (the phone book, animal figurines) were hilarious as well. I, personally, would make the course have a more challenging optional portion for advanced students.
Homeworks were very good on covering material, except for the jump from homework 2 to 3. Instructor was very helpful in and out of class, and was readily available by e-mail which was awesome.
The grading of the homework was confusing and inconsistent. The "results" did not explain very well where points were missed. The course seemed to pick up speed after the first exam, sometimes too fast.
ME: we're revolutionalizing homework grading next semester..
Clearly knowledgeable, she offered a fresh, inspiring invitation to programming,

(CS153) Java - Fall 2004 Section 2 (noon) (Lewis/Loftus Java Software Solutions)

I learned well when I talked to you one on one, but the lectures were difficult to pay attention.
The book is difficult to understand. It would be better to offer several smaller assignments instead of the large assignments you are currently using. It tends to be overwhelming. Please be more clear on your homework assignments. Please offer more guidance on HW. Finally consider doing a final project instead of a final.
This course was very intellectually challenging, especially because I have never programmed before. I felt the course was a little too fast-paced for me.
The book was understandable. GFE were helpful and the study groups were great. Recitation were very helpful. Homework were advanced for beginners. Examples were helpful. I have not had any prior programming experience.
She had no idea where the class was at with the material. Class was way too fast to learn anything. If I pass, it will be a miricle b/c I couldn't learn ANYTHING in this class. The format of this class really needs to be rethought.
The only complaint I have is with the homeworks. Generally they were clear, but at times it was almost impossible to see what the program was supposed to do. It was a matter of ignoring the instructions and going from the driver, input and output. Other than that it was a very educational and enjoyable class.
I thought that the homeworks were not on the same intellectual level as the lectures were. They seemed to be much harder than the tests, and material combined. All of the little things and requirements are zingers, I learned lots in this class, but HW didn't help me at all.
Homework and recitation grades are such a little part of the overall grade. There is no real motivation for participating. Some on the assignments such as the array one, were unfair, we had hardly learned the subject and were forced to know it in order to complete the homework! I like this book WAY better than last year!!
You are very funny when you drink coffee!
Not enought individualized attention in recitations and labs. Most of the time during recits or in the lab outside of class I found myself just sitting forever waiting for someone to help me.
Liz was very good at explaining the concepts in the class, and I liked all of the examples in class as well. Also the in class reviews for the exams were very helpful. I also really like the book. It was easy to read and I was able to reference it for help on my homework. Aside from not liking the amount of time I had to spend on the homeworks, this class was pretty good.
While I took this course, I noticed a lot of repeat/delete students which suggests that it is a dangerous CS dept policy to be assuming that people have prior knowledge of programming. I would like this class to be taught as a true intro class, not an assumption based class.
It is taught for people who have never programmed before. The people with prior programming experience have stated boredom for the first half of the semester!
Very fun when you have coffee.
The guys who kept interrupting with irrelevant comments were VERY distracting and annoying. I think they just wanted to show off how smart they are. I think you should have dealt with them more severely.
Perhaps put more examples in lecture or on web that have more in common with homework assignments.
The book sucked. I couldn't make the GFE group. Last assignment too hard and GTA's not much help with it (clarity-wise). Recits should go over lecture stuff as well and a better study guide would be helpful.
This class was tough but very knowledgeable.
It was really nice you had example code online. I liked the energy you brought to class. The recitations should be worth a little bit more.
Sometimes you take too long to explain something really simple. A lot of time I feel that lecture is a waste of my time simply because we don't go deeper into topics but only look at the surface for a long time. You were still entertaining thought. Thanks.
Course was very challenging
Liz made a tough programming class enjoyable. The teacher makes or breaks the class, Liz definitely MADE it. Great teaching.

(CS150) Interactive Programming - Fall 2004 Section 1 (Decker/Hirshfield programming.java)

  • Liz, Thanks for being so enthusiastic about the class. You really helped me to gain interest in this subject. I was very timid about taking a comptuer science class, but I am now very proud of what I have done. Thanks.
  • I enjoyed this course. The course was a bit difficult, but Liz did a great job. She made the material as clear and easy-to-understand as possible. Liz teaches with great energy and enthusiasm, and she really went out of her way to help out students.
  • Liz Boese is willing to assist students with their questions, even if they are not very important questions such as how to set options in Eclipse. Emailing her is a good way to get questions answered outside of class.
  • You probably shouldn't assume that people know how to do things on computer, like un-zip files, some of us don't know a whole lot about comps. You are a very good teacher. Thanx for telling me not to take CS153!
  • The books, especially the lab book was a waste of money. I find myself learning better through your assignments and especially the project. I believe I will still program even though I am a non-major.
  • The enthusiasm of the class would not have been the same without the oftentimes random and humorous stylings of Ms. Boese.
  • The class was fast for me. I was more concerned with getting a good grade than I was about learning the information so I didn't gain full understanding all the time. This was my first exposure to Java so I was confused a lot. The project was stressful and fun. I learn best by doing projects. I learn very little from class and from the book so the project was helpful. Also talk louder, write on a board that everyone can see.
  • Good class! Thought the lab could have been a little better. They were too long for one hour. Just playing with premade applets and looking at the code seemed to be most effective of learning how things work. Learning how to use debug in Eclipse would have been good.
  • A few of the assignments could have been better explained. The project was great, overall a great class.
  • The only thing I think you could improve on is going into more detail about the different topics because when you would go over stuff in class, it was pretty much the same as the stuff on the slides.
  • Course was very challenging. Liz was a good teacher. It would be good for all code shown in class to be posted on WebCT. Most of the later stuff was posted but not the earlier stuff. I love extra credit!!
  • Overall this was a good class. I learned a bunch of things about Java programming. The assignments, labs and TA were all excellent outside of class resources and I used them often.
  • I enjoyed the class, the book I did not. I was used to those big thick technical manuals or the really simplified language books.
  • Thank you for making us do the project. It is a great overal review. Keep all the TA's for the class, excellent help. Thank you for making a hard class fun and easier.
  • I think that you are a very good teacher, you explain very well. The only thing to work on is just with the discussion board. Make sure every question gets some sort of response.
  • This was a fun class. I really enjoyed the project. Very interesting. Ms. Boese was very enthusiastic and fun to have as a teacher.
  • The grading was a little misleading how assignments are worth 10 points each then counted to 15 points total. That's my only complaint is the the grading system. It should just be total points earned. Other than that the class was the best programming class I had yet.
  • It would be helpful to incorporate more 'hands-on' programming rather than lecture, it's hard to learn from only lecture. At times the instructor lacked professionalism to try to make the class fun, this created a good mood but was not condusive to learning. The class is geared for non-majors, yet at times the instructor over-taught (GridBagLayout) and it was confusing.
  • Hate the book! I spent most of my time on the Sun website (if course, I should expect to spend a good amount of time there, if I continue), but it would have been better if we had a decent book to reference. I absolutely loved working on the project and felt I learned more while working on that, than any other time during the semester.
  • She knew the subject well and was enthusiastic about the course. She may have been a bit roudy/rude at times.
  • Very good energy and attitude when teaching. I would recommend to other students.
  • I really did like your style of teaching and I learned a lot. Going into this course I had no real experience at all. You might want to explain programming better in the beginning.
  • The instructor was extremely helpful more than any instructor that I have had. She has spent enormous time producing examples and in showing/illustrating how Java worked by runing code; generating code in class. Excellent instructor.

    (CS150) Java - Spring 2004 Section 1 (Decker/Hirshfield programming.java)

    (CS153) Java - Spring 2004 Section 2 (Cohoon/Davidson Java Program Design)

    (CS153) Java - Spring 2004 Section 1 (Cohoon/Davidson Java Program Design)

    (CS153) Java - Fall 2003 Section 1 (Cohoon/Davidson Java Program Design)

    (CS180 now CS150) Intro to Java (for non-majors) - Fall 2003

    (CS115) Intro to Computer Science (for non-majors) - Fall 2003

    (CS153) Java - Spring 2003 Section 2 (Lewis and Loftus Java Software Solutions)

    Section 1
    Fall 2002 (about 200 students)
    + "The class was one of the best in my college career. The enthusiasm and creativity used helps the students enjoy class and want to come to class. When it was possible to use props such as a toy jeep it really helped students get involved and it was therefore difficult for students to fall asleep."
    - "The assignments were often confusing for some people, just by how they were worded."
    + "I found Liz to be very personable and knowledgeable about the subject. She was an overall good instructor."
    - "As a non-major, I found this class favored CS majors in that not much emphasis was placed on how to transition from concepts in class to Java code."
    + "Have to say that this class was challenging but enjoyable. If I had taken this class with any other teacher it would not have been as fun or useful. Thanks for a great semester and stay away from the toothpaste."
    +- "Homework assignments were too elaborate, too much work. Spent 10-15 hrs wk on assignment. Test questions were written poorly, too confusing on grammar. Classwork was fun and exciting but too simple compared to homework assignments."
    + "I thought it was a good class."
    + "Liz was effective at making JAVA a more digestable subject. She used lots of pictures and drawings to help the class understand concepts, and this was very helpful."
    +- "Sometimes I felt a little rushed during lectures. Would like to use more actual code during class. Very positive and made the class enjoyable."
    +- "Excelent 'Enthusiasm'. Class was interesting. Hot fusia should be allowed in Java."
    - "I feel Liz understands java a lot, but sometimes I feel she has a hard time communicating the material to students in a way we can understand."
    + "This course is generally difficult for all, but your methods kept my interest."
    + "This is my first programming class and I learned a lot with the teaching methods."
    + "Great enthusiasm! I loved the way she presented the material - it made it fun to learn."
    - "Assignments much harder and more time consuming but worth less [than tests].
    + "She was very conductive to wanting to come to learn because she was funny."
    + "Liz was definitely a good teacher who made the Java class a lot more fun with her jokes. =)"
    + "Thanks for the good year and your enthusiasm. Have fun next year!"
    - "This class is hard and required for math."
    Section 2
    Fall 2002 (about 100 students)
    + "I liked the use of slides and your enthusiasm about your, "dorky" (no offense) examples. The examples were creative."
    +- "I feel like I learned better when we were not doing slides. The examples that were written in class were very helpful. Also helpful if you SLOWED down a little. I felt like some pertinent information was flown over initially even though I got it eventually."
    "Make in class example more difficult."
    + "The text book was very well written. It included examples and stated clearly the commands."
    "Class very challenging."
    + "Good examples"
    +- "Instructor was good, but needs development of own curiculum instead of using those provided by the author of the text. Assignments should be more directly linked to the lecture."
    + "Liz you do an outstanding job of getting the information across to us. Great examples in class. Keep up the good work."
    + "Good examples and excellent knowledge."
    + "The teacher made the class enjoyable and constructive."
    + "Even though the material is difficult overall I think you taught it very well... Thank you!"
    - "I think the grading system in this class sucks. How can you give people zero's on assignments just because they have the wrong !*%# name on the file? ..."
    + "Liz was a great teacher not only because she was well-read and capable, as well as having past job experience in the field, but she added a non-traditional spark to the atmosphere of lecture. That alone let the students establish a personal and colorful image of her as a person - not just a stark professional machine with no personality. Zil, Rock On."
    +- "The subject was taught well. However, the tests were lousey. I found them to be counter-intuitive and completely confusing. Clearly, the author(s) of the tests in CS153 were not the individuals teaching the material. I understand that this is a "weed-out" class, but PLEASE... this material for a class of this size, should represent the "average" to "above average" student. Not "The cream of the crop." Homework assignments would have been more helpful and a lot less confusing if they weren't "fill-ins" and students would have been able to write smaller/simpler applications that would have reinforced the material being taught."
    +- "Good attitude and enthusiasm, good clean non-monotonal voice good examples and use of projector and of code and compiler during lectures. Exams tricky (especially #2) but not a test of knowledge - counting iterations made up the bulk of the exam which I thought was (relatively) only a minor part of the material and understanding it. The context of loop use seemed more relevant/practical. Assignments seemed to focus more on getting code (other's code) to work and less concerned with writing the code from scratch. Otherwise, the assignments helped with understanding OOP better.
    +- "Good instructor. Textbook is laughable. Assignments inordinately more difficult than lectures and textbook imply (but not bad). This course is about learning Java pretty much on your own (except for recitation which is marginally useful) Instructor needs to explain code more thoroughly otherwise, good job, (explain step-by-step rather than asking "What's wrong with this code?")
    +- "Having professional as well as educational experience in the subject provides the knowledge to handle questions or situations that come up beyond the text book. Enthusiasm about the subject made class sessions more interesting and enjoyable. The huge class size was a bit detrimental, but that's just the way it is. Overall did a fine job teaching this course."
    +- "I thought you did a great job teaching the material but not soon enough. A lot of the assignments were given before we had the tools to do them."
    "I think that the questions at the end of the chapter should be assigned as regular homework to help in better understanding the course material."
    +- "Liz: You were a great teacher. Your class examples were extremely helpful and the fact that you posted them made it easier to follow along in class." Structure: More time would be useful on tests 2 and 3 (especially 3). Even if you knew the material, there wasn't enough time to complete all of the tasks. A little time is needed to process the questions."
    - "Had I not had prior programming this course would have killed."
    +- "Class room was cold. I like the class the way it is."
    + "Liz was an enthusiastic teacher that was not hard to listen to."
    + "Involving the class with programs/questions!! Very energetic and enthusiastic. Funny."
    - "I hate writing code to "mix" with yours. I would rather write all my own code, all my own classes."
    + "Liz Boese is perfect for Java 100, no teaching weaknesses. Can't think of any thing she needs to improve on. If she wants to have more fun in class, she can learn student names by calling on them to answer questions. It will only take one month at most to learn all names." [Liz's note: I had 350 students!!!]
    "Color slides? :-) well structured."
    - "This class is too hard for beginners like myself. This is a class that needs to be taught in smaller groups with access to computers during class and or tests."
    + "I feel this course was a good introduction to Java and the teacher's free spirit and upbeat personality kept me awake and paying attention during every class period. I had fun in this class while I was learning."
    - "There desperately needed to be more help available for this class. I often waited an hour for a 1 minute question in the computer lab. The GTA's need to have official office hours!!! This is a hard class and there needs to be adequate help available. I understand the reasoning behind the test dates, but test 3 covered way too much material - consider breaking it into 2 tests." [Liz's note: 60 hours a week available in the lab, 20 hours of recitations where GTA's were available, plus 10 hours+ office hours !! Advice: Don't procrastinate - start early! ]
    +- "The programs I felt did not force you to think, be creative, or even have a broad grasp of the topics. They should be more general and focus less on giving you code to modify and use example code. The teacher's in class examples were helpful."
    + "I thought you examples were great! They really helped us relate to the subject i.e. animal pig..."
    + "It was easier to pay attention thatn with more boring teachers."
    +- "I thought the teacher was very good, and funny =) but could have explained concepts a little more in depth."
    +- "The only suggestion I have is to cover more of what we are supposed to do on assignments. For people without programming knowledge, there really is a lot covered on assignments not in book or lecture. Everything else is great, you always give good examples in class."
    - "The homeworks were too lengthy the same difficulty could be achieved in shorter assignments."
    - "I believe this course should get more credits. Also the homework should count more towards the grades. This course should at least 200 level. This course does not belong in 100 level."

    (CS115) Intro to Computer Science (for non-majors)

    Fall 2002 (50 students)
    + "Good enthusiasm for the course, liked candy incentive."
    + "Good job, I learned a lot more about computers in a fun environment. Thanks!"
    - "I thought the JavaScript test was really hard. I think more time could've been spent on it."
    + "The teacher was very enthusiastic and fun."
    + "I learned a lot from this class and felt that the instructor and T.A. were very helpful."
    +- "There were sometimes where many of us were confused, and on some review sheets were things we never discussed.. Otherwise Boese knows what she's talking about and is really into this stuff. She's got energy, so she's an interesting one, if not a little bit of an oddball."
    +- "Most everything was very well explained and taught. I only had trouble with JavaScript. I could of used a bit more explanation and definately reasons to why things were how they were in Java.
    + "WebCT was fun and it was a pretty good class overall."
    + "Overall I thought this was a good course. I would've liked to have known better off exactly what we would be graded on. I really enjoyed the web-sites and being to do what we wanted with it. I learned a lot and unlike other classes, I think it's long-term not just short-term-never use it again."
    +- "Sometimes lectures seemed to serve no purpose, partially a waste of time. The instructor however was very educated in the subject and seemed enthusiastic majority of the time."
    + "Your positive attitude made things easier to learn. Jokes and other Geek stuff made class fun. Would have liked to hear more stories with personal experiences you have had with subjects."