STUDENTS' COMMENTS ON MODULES (UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT FEEDBACK)



Faculty:  ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES Academic Year:  2002/2003


Semester:  1

Module:FILM AND HISTORY - HY2243

Q1.  Do you have any additional comments on this module in terms of its strengths, weakness or possible improvements?
1.it allows a freedom of thinking, objectives stated are being met out, and it helps create consistent learning in students with no exams, it increases spontaneousity too.
2.provide clearer channel to clarify things such as qns and issues to the lecturers.
3.perhaps the Essay ought to be worth 50% of CA. the 100% CA idea is great!
4.Exciting module that has totally revolutionised my opinion of films. More marks could be allocated to projects though.
5.The idea pf film and history is hugely interesting. Much more could be done to reinforce the focus that the module is concentrating on. It could be reinforced in the lectures rather than only the first and being published in the course web. Although the class is big, efforts to make some kind of comments to students during projects would be very much appreciated. The rather sloppy administration, especially in handling out essays and submitting papers to turnitin.com could be improved.
6.nIL
7.Very interesting module. however the weightage placed on a single term paper (40%) is a bit too much. there is a lack of comments on each assignment, thus the student may find difficulty in inmproving his/her approach to the assignments. It would be good to place a few copies of the A-grade papers on the web so that the rest of the students can learn. Dun have to identify the student who wrote the essay so that the student wun feel pai-seh abt it.
8.The use of the IVLE discussion forum in lieu of actual physical tutorials turned out to be much more fruitful than otherwise expected; perhaps the ability to formulate and think through arguments before posting allowed for more considered discussion. The only thing that held it back was, sadly, the students - many of them were apathetic to contributing, instead taking the opportunity to put in a minimum of effort for the module. Very sad indeed. Perhaps participation grade percentage should be raised to counter this, and also reflect quality of posts (to prevent quantity posting just for scoring purposes).
9.NA
10.very interesting module. made me view films in a different light now. but felt that 6 mini essays (one every alternate week) was rather taxing, especially since each essay constituted a minor percentage.
11.the films evoke us to think more rather than simply watching the film(more analytical skills required when viewing films)
12.Very interesting. The discussion forum provides interactive learning. The watching of films enhances the learning process.
13.interesting module. open my eyes to many insights.
14.wonderful module. i have developed a keener sense of appreciation of for films. kudos to the lecturers!
15.no
16.This is one of the most interesting modules I have read in NUS. It combines a highly interesting field of study - history - with films. The films chosen are interesting, some being truly eye-openers. The lectures are interesting, as are the topics given for assignments. The module has given me a brand new outlook on the subject covered, and I have had great fun doing this module.
17.it's great that there aren't any tutorials or final exams! perhaps the fortnightly projects could be handed in on mondays (day of lecture) instead of fridays, to be fair & give us exactly 1 wk after the viewing of the 2nd movie.
18.No comments.
19.generally an interesting and thought provoking module which enhances and boardens our mind... some stduents from other backgrounds often have little experience with writing history esays and what's more with a subject like this one...sometimes despite of feedback on our work, we can't seem to grasp what is meant by a better grade essay...perhaps more timne can be used to explain that to us...
20.Although students may find it difficult to dive straight into projects just at the beginning of the term, the amount and quality of work eventually levels itself out later, so it does not become too much of a problem later.
21.less essays
22.more unified way of grading
23.the module, especially the term paper, requires too much intensive readings for a GEM module yet there is insufficient materials available for a reasonable amount of research. this will inevitably lower the grades of students as lack of research information means a lower mark.
24.the time allocated per week is not simply enough! maybe on top of the allocated hours for the viewing of the film, we should have a separate 2 hour lecture or tutorial at least once every fortnight! i suspect that the sheer amt of students taking this module is because of the very minimal hours they need to put in and cuz there's no exam!
25.no
26.A module that provides an excellent insight into critically analyzing history by use of film
27.too heavy for those matriculated after 2001.
28.The aims and objectives of the module might be hard to grasp sometimes.
29.a bit too abstract
30.The forum site / portion of the module seems a little imbalanced. We realise that discussion is always beneficial however the lack of opinion by the teaching staff in the individual forum (understandably a large and arduous task) seems minimal. Furthermore the rate of interaction amongst a bunch of strangers on line isnt always conducive. However that surprises me because the very subject matter is unique and distinct enough to motivate discussion!
31.I have thoroughly enjoyed myself in the course of this module. Though the open endedness of the assignments may leave some worried, i find that there is no better way to grade subjective modules such as these. NEVER, NEVER consider including a final exam type of assessment for this module, EVER!
32.By insisting on a historical approach towards film analysis and trying to leave out the artistic and literary aspects, it fails to give us a concrete idea of how to make use of films to understand the past.A distinct demarcation of history and literature/art does not do justice to film analysis because both areas of study are important in complementing each other when it comes to using such sources for historical analysis.
33.Interesting module
34.It is a bit too time consuming. And it is very difficult to get ur ideas across within 500 words esp. since the questions require an informative answer. I would like to request one project every 3 weeks instead of every 2 weeks. Also to increase the word limit of these projects to about 700 words.
35.fun
36.Ivle discussionns are insufficient to assist students in projects. Tutorials would have been more useful. Moreover, certain discussion groups tend to have better members and hence benefit from better discussions.
37.nil
38.interesting, with a different way of learning history through films.
39.Students that do not have a background on US history is put at a disadvantage. When it comes to writing essays and analytical papers, there's always a confusion between what should be discussed - the historical nuances is most of the time linked with the storylines.
40.i found it rather hard to improve with in the projects as there were hardly any comments given at the end of the essay.
41.very good module for those interested in film and history and is relevant to non-history students as well. Definitely teaches students to be more critical when viewing films and to look beyond just the entertainment factor in them
42.its strength- allow me to widen my knowledge on films and my perspective about them, deepen my understanding about film, polish my skills on writing essays
43.A ery innovative way to study history.
44.It is an enjoyable class
45.very interesting and refreshing course
46.no
47.Instead of haVING 6 mini assigs of only 6.3++% weightage, it wld b better to have a lesser assignments of higher weightage.
48.The module was very interesting.
49.-
50.None
51.nil.
52.Marked assignments were mostly not commended so students did not know where exactly the problem is. Even if we went online to read the overall feedback, there were a lot of times when we did not know where we went wrong. Thus we continue to do badly for the next assignment. Please at least give some comments.
53.It is a very enjoyable module that keep me hooked for every lecture as well as a better understanding of the portrayal of the past on films.
54.the tutors are highly amusing and intelligent. VERY GOOD CHOICE Of historical films, aroused a high level of participation from the tudents by utilising IVLE discussion forums. NO WEAKNESS yet to be found One point to note : was dissapointed that Once Upon a time in China was played in Mandarin and not the original language it was filmed(CAntonese). In order to fully enjoy the original flavour of the film, we shld watch it in the lang it was filmed in. Imagine Lagaan had a dub over, and watching it on English !! Totally lost its flavour and all the slang..:) merci. and yes, autralia rulez.
55.I do agree that I've learnt much from this module (mostly through the discussions with my peers); however, the overall course has fallen short of expectations owing, I feel, to the classic case of trying to cram too much into too little a time. While the mode of continual assessment cannot be faulted, the way in which it was carried out strikes me as arbitrary ( then again, how thorough can one be for a course with so large a class, which brings to mind another issue.)
56.-lectures are conducted too late, tend to get drowsy in the evening -additional videos to be put in media resource department in case the lecturere borrows it out and students need to watch during their spare time -more remarks on individual projects -the selected films are quite interesting
57.not enough content, lacks depth
58.lack of interaction with the lecturers
59.its great, makes me think ALOT but maybe more movies??
60.interesting module but seems to be difficult to score.
61.less mini projects please. it takes so much time for so less marks.
62.More feedback on the grades would be helpful. Maybe can put personal comments on individual assignment
63.The constant workload (7 papers!) could be a little draining, but is a fair substitute for an examination. One thing that I found frustrating was that with so many students in the class, the grading of assignments was somewhat cursory; specific comments and feedback were rarely if ever attached, so it was sometimes difficult to figure out what was required to do better on future papers.
64.The module is great for critical evaluations on historical perceptions and implication created by films. A great module to take if one wants to evaluate using historical methods. However, i feel only having the lectures as the mode of interfacing with the lecturers and co-ordinators of this course has made any attempts otherwise to be virtual, and in a sense a very anti-social trait in this course. It should maybe have in-class/in-lecture discussions so that the social environment of the course could be enhanced.
65.The module seems very easy and relax but in fact, it is very difficult to score or even meet the criteria. Perhaps I am not a HY major (though not an excuse) I cant seem to write a good HY project paper, no matter how I change and adapt my style and points. It never seem to be good enough. It is very demoralising because I aint slacking but am trying hard. The point is, this is not my major, and I ought to be focusing more on my major instead but this HY takes up alot of time, especially if i am not good with writing HY papers. The lecturers might want to conside giving more guidance than just 'things to look out for'. This is to cater for the non-HY, cfm/ue/gem students. Comparing to the other film module i am taking, this module has too little help/guidance and makes me wonder if what I am writing and the way i am thinking, is rite or wrong. (of cos, HY is a subjective topic, but we definitely cant apply science way of thinking here and hence, that's my pt) You cant assume that everyone knows stuff on HY. after all this is a cfm/ue, we are just trying out, learning something new, but i dun feel i have come away from this module learning things, rather being made to feel dumb.
66.This module is surprisingly difficult for non-arts students
67.I think this module was very good at teaching students how to do independent thinking instead of regurgitating the readings. This is the only module I've taken so far that has taught me to do this, so... good job!
68.Well, the schedule could be set a little bit early as in not from 4 pm until 8 pm.
69.it is a intersting module..probably we can have tutorials so as to clear any doubts that we may have on the movies.
70.Concepts rather hard to grasp. Explanation of concept could be better. Deadline for main essay should be one week after the last lecture of the module.
71.no comments
72.this module should be continued. it is a really interesting module and helps us to see history even in films... making history come alive.
73.Sometimes, i had no idea what the assignments asked of us.
74.some of the films are very boring.
75.The most interesting , gripping and fun module in NUS.
76.Please do not prepare fixed and specific answers. Be more open minded and receptive of answer from many aspect. This is the way to approach history.
77.Need to conduct actual tutorials
78.Very interesting films and history has never been so fun!
79.Good use of the IVLE forums as a form of discussion interface for the student. Hope to see more participation of the forums from the tutors and the lecturers.
80.Very interesting module. Much different from engineering modules.
81. i think the idea of the forum to help in our essay is something new to engineering students like me. i think it is a good system, and the engine department should consider using such a system.
82.-nil-