Computational Biophysics Workshop - Urbana, Nov. 8-12, 2004
Evaluation of the Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Workshop held at the University of Illinois - Questionnaires 1-5
Lectures and Tutorials Evaluation
At the end of the workshop participants were
asked to evaluate the workshop's lectures and tutorials. Rankings
of the relevance
of the lectures and tutorials were solicited, as were open comments
about each lecture and tutorial. Participation in the evaluation was
voluntary. A total of 17 evaluation forms were collected, of
approximately 21 that were picked up, for a return rate of 80.9%.
Click here for the Lectures & Tutorials Feedback Form.
Summaries for the lectures and tutorials are comprised of three elements, 1) the proportion rating the relevance of the lecture or tutorial as highly relevant (i.e. 'very good' + 'excellent' ratings; see Table 1: Summary of Relevance Statistics below), 2) select comments considered illustrative of respondent opinion, and 3) text summarizing the main points of the total body of comments for a lecture or tutorial. As is frequently the case with surveys, not all respondents answered all questions; the number of responses for the relevance ratings (r=) and comments (c=) are listed next to the name of each lecture and tutorial summary, e.g. (N: r=34, c=8).
Some issues to consider when reading the comments:
- Written comments, particularly when comments are extreme in one direction or the other, tend to stick in one's head more so than statistics that may present a more accurate summary of opinion.
- There aren't enough comments to provide a sample size that can be considered representative of the entire workshop population; e.g. for one tutorial there are three comments. Further, those responding are self-selected, i.e. those who went through with completing the evaluation form may or may not be representative of a 'typical' attendee.
- Attendees appear to have been somewhat heterogeneous in scientific background, training, interests, and to an extent language; so, for any lecture or tutorial there was likely always someone new to the topic who needed more time, help and explanation, and at the same time someone very experienced who wanted more breadth and/or depth on the topic.
Summaries are organized below by day, lecture, and tutorial, and can be located using the navigation table below or by scrolling down the page.
Day 1 Lecture: Introduction to Protein Structure and Dynamics (N: r=21, c=12)
Nearly all respondents, 81.0%, rated the lecture as highly relevant. Sample comments are:
- "The overview of VMD was extremely useful, especially for beginners like me. The 'question-driven' approach was also very helpful since it highlights important applications of VMD. The lecturer was friendly and knowledgeable."
- "The lecture was very precise and to the point. Importance visualization in characterizing the significant features/parts of molecule well-described. It was also discussed how visualization/using VMD can help in understanding functioning the molecule."
Overall, those commenting indicate the lecture
provided a good overview, and
also helped frame how VMD could be used for MD.
Day 1 Tutorial: VMD Tutorial (N: r=21, c=12)
As was the case for the day one lecture, 90.5% found the tutorial content highly relevant. Sample comments are:
- "Tutorial session is very well prepared. It was quite smooth and fairly well explained in simple language in step by step manner. TAs were very encouraging and helpful in explaining the VMD. I learned many ways to spot/analyze the protein molecule."
- "Everything is perfectly laid out and easy to follow; all inclusive."
Comments are positive regarding the overall content and organization of the tutorial. There are some suggestions that certain features of VMD could use more discussion.
Day 2 Lecture: Introduction to Bioinformatics (N: r=17, c=12)
A clear majority, 76.4%, found the lecture content to be highly relevant. Sample comments are:
- "Nice overview of bioinformatics, from sequence alignment to structural alignment. "
- "Very useful to compare proteins."
Overall, the comments are positive, and provided some constructive criticism.
Day 2 Tutorial: Evolution of Protein Structure and Aquaporins Tutorial (N: r=17, c=11)
Almost all those responding, 82.4%, rated the tutorial relevance as very high. Sample comments are:
- "Well put together, very helpful"
- "First part: ran smoothly, especially because of the exceptional quality of handouts and of one of the TAs"
Comments are generally positive regarding the organization and writing of the tutorial; however participants point out redundancies between the two tutorials, and a few comments seeking more information on selected technical details.
Day 3 Lecture: Statistical Mechanics of Proteins (N: r=22, c=11)
A clear majority, 86.4%, rated the relevance of the lecture as very high. Sample comments are:
- "Review of details of the equations was useful."
- "Well discussed. Well explained."
The majority of comments compliment the lecture. A few comments suggest that more detail on nonequilibrium properties and PME be included.
Day 3 Tutorial: NAMD Tutorial (N: r=22, c=11)
The relevance of the lecture was high, with 88.3% rating relevance as very good to excellent. Sample comments are:
- "Once more, the tutorials are VERY good. The TAs are also very good, knowledgeable and interested in helping everybody."
- "Very neat and instructions are clear. TAs very helpful."
As
was the case with the day three lecture, comments are positive about
the
tutorial. Many express a desire for more time to absorb the
material from both the lecture and tutorial.
Day 4 Lecture: Parameters of Classical Force Fields (N: r=20, c=12)
A very high proportion, 80.0%, rate the lecture as highly relevant. Sample comments are:
- "Lecture was quite useful, covered almost all the prospect of force field development. Lecture was very clear."
- "Excellent, very nice work and transition to tutorial."
Overall, comments are complimentary regarding the content of the lecture; some criticism was made of the pacing and examples.
Day 4 Tutorial: Parameterizing a Novel Residue Tutorial (N: r=19, c=9)
With 79.0% rating relevance as very good to excellent, the majority of respondents found this topic of interest. Sample comments are:
- "Tutorial was good today, timed well."
- "Quite helpful in understanding coarse process of force field development."
Across responses, the tutorial is well-regarded.
Day 5 Lecture: Simulating Membrane Channels (N: r=17, c=10)
Of those responding, 94.2% rated the lecture as highly relevant to their interests. Sample comments are:
- "Lecture was very insightful. Interesting emphasis on what kind of information may be obtained by MD/SMD."
- "Lecture created strong link between structure and function. On the whole, it was great."
All comments about the lecture were very positive.
Day 5 Tutorial: Simulating Nanotubes Tutorial (N: r=16, c=7)
A majority, 93.8%, of respondents found this tutorial highly relevant. Sample comments are:
- "This tutorial served as a good illustration of what you can learn from a simplified model. "
- "It was useful to have us think a little about variable change."
Comments also indicate that participants found the tutorial interesting and informative.
The complete set of comments is available. To request the comments, e-mail brandon@ks.uiuc.edu.
Table 1: Summary of Relevance Statistics
| Poor | Fair | Good | Very Good | Excellent | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Day 1 Lecture: Introduction to Protein Structure and Dynamics | 21 |
4.8% | 14.3% | 52.4% | 28.6% | |
| Day 1 Tutorial: VMD Tutorial | 21 | 4.8% | 4.8% | 28.6% | 61.9% | |
| Day 2 Lecture: Introduction to Bioinformatics |
17 | 5.9% | 17.6% | 52.9% | 23.5% | |
| Day 2 Tutorial: Evolution of Protein Structure and
Aquaporins Tutorials |
17 | |
17.6% | 41.2% | 41.2% | |
| Day 3 Lecture: Statistical Mechanics of Proteins |
22 | 13.6% | 27.3% | 59.1% | ||
| Day 3 Tutorial: NAMD Tutorial |
22 | |
9.1% | 18.2% | 72.7% | |
| Day 4 Lecture: Parameters for Classical Force Fields | 20 | 5.0% | 15.0% | 35.0% | 45.0% | |
| Day 4 Tutorial: Parametirizing a Novel Residue
Tutorial |
19 | |
21.1% | 15.8% | 63.2% | |
| Day 5 Lecture: Simulating
Membrane Channels |
17 | |
5.9% | 11.8% | 82.4% | |
| Day 5 Tutorial: Nanotubes Tutorial |
16 | |
6.3% | 31.3% | 62.5% |
