The SPOT (Spring, 2025)

I wasn't going to write a post about these student comments--after all, spring courses are pretty small and it's a unique experience taking a course over six weeks. But then I thought that that is the best reason to post these comments. Never taken a spring course? It's a completely different thing, as we'll see. Anyway, there aren't many comments because the classes are so much smaller. (When is that new Spider-verse movie coming? I need new pictures of The Spot.)

⚠️ Warning! As noted in my previous posts, content warning applies.

Course Design

the design of the concepts was quite confusing

Everything was super clear

Most well designed class I have taken at U of A.

Love your notes and teaching style, I wish I could take every class with you

Not enough time for review for final taught testable material till the last minute

(The last post is e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y common in spring term. No, there is not enough time. That's not a criticism of my course design, but of spring term itself. It goes by VERY quickly, and you need to make use of every minute. So, why don't I just redesign my course? I have. The content is different, the exams are shorter, and there are fewer assignments. But I can only do so much to compensate for the course being compressed into 6 weeks. It's a 3-credit PSYCH 258 course. I'm not allowed to make it significantly different from a 3-credit PSYCH 258 course offered in Fall or Winter terms.)

Course Resources

I mostly like the top hat textbook, but there were some annoying issues with it, particularly the top hat app.

the labs were certainly helpful in granting an extra understanding of the course concepts

I liked the labs and epolls

I was a little disappointed that we did not cover the language unit

the class got a 65 percent overall which is very low.

(The language chapter/lecture had to go. It doesn't serve anyone well to rush and cram more content in (see above comment). I recommend you read the language chapter on your own. It's pretty interesting! Yes, the mean was low. But my grade cutoffs are low, too. The median grade in the course ended up being a B, which is right where it should be for a 200-level course. And 16% of students got an A-level final grade.)

Graded Work/Instructional Approach

Very approachable and friendly :)

(So, sort of like a capybara? :)

The lab components and ePolls really helped show how I'm able to apply my learning. I get terrible test anxiety and perform poorly on every test I take, so having the chance to display my understanding in other ways is a HUGE win for me

Dr. Loepelmann was really engaging and funny, super kind, and went at a pace fast enough to keep you awake but slow enough to understand.

Perfect amount of workload for a course. Not too much, not too little.

Professor Loepelmann does a phenomenal job of introducing challenging concepts to the class. He provides really supportive and insightful examples for every concept and term, making the ideas easier to grasp. He very clearly cares about the success of every one of his students!

Dr. Loepelmann puts an immense amount of effort into creating interesting and engaging lectures.

Dr. Loepelmann's instructing style was my favourite component of the course. I greatly enjoyed how much he favoured class participation and included us in many of the studies, which helped me recall them much better. His delivery of the course content was so enthusiastic it reached a level of entertainment that I have never felt in a course before; it helped me digest and recall the material much more easily because it nearly felt like I spent an hour watching a psychology movie.

(First, thanks for your kind words. Second, compare all of these above comments to the ones for (basically) the same course when I taught it in Fall and Winter terms. Yes, I have selected the comments, so you're not getting the raw data, but I am trying to select representative comments that capture the essence of the feedback I get. As a scientist, I'd luuuuurve to know what accounts for this difference. It's not just a one-off; Spring is always viewed more favourably. Why?
  A) Students are different. You choose when to take your classes. Maybe students who take Spring term courses are different because...they don't have to work a fulltime job from May to August? Or in Spring you take fewer courses, so you can focus on them more, compared to Fall/Winter? I dunno.
  B) The course is different. Well, yes: there is less work, but that work is crammed into much less time. Why would that lead to a more positive experience?
  C) The prof is different. Nope. It's still just me. I even tell exactly the same jokes! 🙄)

Why aren't you studying?

The SPOT (Winter, 2025): Part III

This is the final set of feedback comments from Winter, 2025. If you're a regular reader of my blog (weird, but okay) you'll notice a particular pattern of comments in different courses. At least, I notice a pattern. But the comments below, from students in my 4th year Advanced Perception course, are quite different from those in my 2nd- and 3rd-year courses. The courses themselves are quite different from each other, so maybe that's part of it. But then, too, there are some of the same concerns.

⚠️ Warning! As noted in my previous posts, content warning applies.

Course Design

I found the fill in the blank notes actually were very interactive and helped me memorize a lot of the stuff easier because it forced me to be actively paying attention in the lectures which can be kinda hard for me in longer Tuesday Thursday classes so I appreciated that structure although it was a bit embarrassing to ask for blanks when I did zone out haha but I also enjoyed how the readings tied into the lectures as well it was very informative

The course design was good in terms of lectures and assessments, but I felt that missing lectures was too punishing because the lecture notes sharing forum doesn't seem to drive note-sharing very well.

I like the fill in the blanks because it encourages attendance

Sometimes the fill in the blanks can be easy to miss when also trying to type down some additional info said during lecture.

I just felt intimidated asking people for blanks I missed but that is just me being shy. It made a few people approach me for blanks so I guess they felt comfortable enough to approach other students, and I think the FITB notes made that more of an incentive to interact with others.

I believe that there should be lecture notes with answers to blanks posted after the class is finished.

(I'm not on the Discord. I don't know how to increase people's engagement to create a community of learning. Anyone have any ideas? As for the fill-in words, over the summer I spent a LOT of time taking out a LOT of the blanks in my notes. I hope it will lead to a better experience and I'm sure no one will complain about the blanks any more ever. Also, I tried posting all the fill-in words, but that lead to a steep drop-off in attendance--and marks. I don't think that does anyone any favours. Sometimes there has to be (desirable) difficulty.)

Course Resources

Practice exam/questions would be a great help to prepare for exam especially since it’s all written.

(This is why I have structured the quizzes to match the exam questions. You get practice--and feedback--every week!)

I liked that the weekly quizzes were basically practice questions for the midterms and final and it was all relating to the structure and content that would be tested on.

(Oh, right. Okay, so I'm glad that some people are noticing this.)

I found the article chosen very long. The lecture notes themselves are long and can be dense, so including long articles is a lot of material to study and memorize, especially if some students are taking a full or close to a full course load.

The papers that complimented the lectures were great at presenting the class ideas in a different way

(The articles I have chosen are a) not that long--although some are close to 40 pages, half are less than 20 pages, b) not dense, technical research papers, but textbook chapters or readings from Scientific American, c) few in number; I've seen 400-level courses with literally twice as many readings. What I have selected is on the lower end for a course in advanced perception. I want to challenge you!)

Graded Work

The midterms weren't multiple choice which I guess you can always guess on those so I think having essay-style questions made you show what you know so it helped me apply what I know and show I actually understood the content so although it was very intimidating, it did help me actually engage with the content more knowing I had to prove I understood everything

Although the fully written exam style was extremely daunting at first, I actually found the exam (midterm, haven't done final) quite fair since he gave multiple concepts for us to answer, allowing choice to describe the concepts you were most confident in. I do however wish these exams were conducted on a computer as the hand cramps were intense following that exam haha.

Exams should include multiple choice questions. Every student excels in different areas and has certain strengths/weaknesses when it comes to styles of exam questions. Including both essay and short answer questions is very nerve wracking, and the hard marking style makes it more difficult to excel. Maybe having short answer and multiple choice questions, or an essay and multiple choice questions would be more fair to ensure all styles of questions can be included.

I like the essay format of lectures, I think it's a good way of encouraging the application of knowledge and not just regurgitation.

(I, too, wish the exams could be on computer. Some of y'all have atrocious handwriting lol. If you are not great at, say, writing essay exams, should I then just avoid them? Or should I definitely use them, so that you can practice building on some of your skills that need further development? 🤔)

Weekly quizzes in the short-answer format are so helpful!! But I think the window for completion should be longer, since I struggled to find time to complete the quizzes on Thursdays specifically. My Thursdays are busy, so being allowed to complete these quizzes sometime during a span of at least a few days would be a lot less stress for those with busy Thursdays (or other days).

(Hmm, okay. That's a good point. I will consider this for the next time I teach this course, in Winter, 2027. Thanks for the suggestion!)

Instructional Approach

I've been bothered by some casual ableist comments or jokes during lectures. Particularly jokes about "crazy people". I understand that this is widely normalized in our culture, but it'd mean a lot if we could avoid comments like these.

(I think I know this exact reference. I've taken it verbatim from V.S. Ramachandran's work on synesthesia. At one point in history, synesthetes were considered "crazy", and that's the exact word Rama uses--several times (e.g., here). Otherwise, I do not minimize mental illness or psychological disorders; I'm sorry that was the impression you got.)

I also really appreciate his in-class midterm review, much appreciated as many profs now have exam viewings outside of class time that students are often unable to attend. I also was quite impressed with his (and the TA's) extensive feedback on every weekly quiz, blog post, exam, etc. His efforts didn't go unnoticed :)

Dr. Loepelmann was always available for individual feedback or help with course concepts. Great in-class discussions and awesome follow-up posts on eClass including links to recent research relevant to what we talked about!

I took this class because I loved Loepelmann's 367 class. He's one of my favourite professors at the university. He's kind, funny, and really passionate about the material. I know the 'fill-in-the-blank' model for notes is a bit controversial but I like it a lot. It encourages not just showing up to classes and also being engaged in them.

Dr. Loepelmann was great at answering questions in class and afterwards, often pausing lecture to do so, and going above and beyond to contribute additional info found after class via email which further shows his commitment and passion for his students and overall teaching. I also thought his interactive examples/demonstrations (skittles, epolls, virtual illusions, etc) super thoughtful and showed his drastic effort! Thanks Dr. Loepelmann :)

The lectures had a clear structure and breakdown, the assignments and exams were challenging but fair.

Not much to say that hasn't been said before, Professor Loepelmann is a gem and a personal favourite lecturer in my time at university.

(Aw, thanks for the kind words! 🥹)

Why aren't you studying?

The SPOT (Winter, 2025) Part II

You’ve waiting long enough. Here finally is is feedback I received in my PSYCH 367: Perception course in Winter term. Responses have been not been edited for clarity, spelling, or grammar at all.

⚠️ Warning! As noted in my previous post, content warning applies.

Course Design

The minor detail and the ambigious information required to know for the exams is quite frustrating, as the small innocuous details can be tested for and are not specified for the learning outcomes.

(Remember, I said perception can be confusing and complex. I’ve tried my best to highlight things that are confusing so that you can focus on them. Yes, there are detail-based questions, but also many general questions, too.)

It is clear that Dr. L put a lot of time and thought into designing this course to meet the needs of his students.

Although this may not have been noticeable to some, but I really appreciated having the calendar with all of the exams and assignments listed! I can see the deadlines in the "upcoming events" section of my eclass and it has helped me stay on top of things.

The layout with fill in the blank slides makes it a lot easier for me to keep up with and follow the notes!

labs are fun and helps me understand the content

I really liked that the labs were helpful in applying course content and that they were free!!

definitely not easy exams, but i like how you challenge your students.

(Thanks for your feedback!)

Course Resources

A note about the textbook: I found the textbook to be quite material dense. I know it is a good idea to be able to spend time reading it and absorbing all the knowledge, but most university students I know (including myself) don't usually have the time to spend hours reading multiple chapters to get a few important facts. The textbook is also quite expensive, when bought directly from the publisher (or other bookstores).Instead of assigning most of the textbook, perhaps key points and experiments could be illustrated with small assigned readings, such as the papers/studies themselves! This would vastly reduce the economic barrier for students, and provide experience with reading comprehension for academic publications, which is probably more valuable than textbook reading anyway.

I hate classes that require textbook readings to supplement learning. sometimes i don’t have time to read a 45 page chapter. textbook is good, but should be a resource not a requirement

(Thanks for your considered feedback. I did try assigning a few primary research papers in this course, and it did NOT go over well. If you think the textbook is difficult to read, articles are orders of magnitude more complex. I believe there is value in developing the skill to maintain your attention in reading long-form, complex material. I know it’s not what many students are used to--that’s why I do it.)

The textbook is okay to read through, but I just wish there was more accessibility such as more rentals at the library to borrow out at any given time since it's still expensive and I couldn't find many cheap alternatives online or anything.

(I’m sorry if you missed this, but I put three copies of the print textbook on reserve in Course Materials.)

Never uploading a complete version of the notes makes it difficult for those who do not wish to interact with other students in the course or simply are unable to.

(There is a social aspect to learning that is often overlooked. When I was an undergrad, I made a point of getting to know at least one other person in each of my classes--and I am painfully shy and extremely introverted. Plus, there was the Discord server that was used by your classmates to share notes with each other. Anyway, you could stop by my office and I could help you with whatever you missed.)

Sometimes unclear what all is going to be on exams, Stating " exams are 60-40 lecture to textbook" is a little vague

(Thanks for this feedback. I now break down for you how many questions come from each chapter and related lectures.

The resources used in this class were very useful in aiding my learning and understanding of concepts in this class. The textbook was the number one resource that helped in aiding in my learning of hte concepts that I was unable to understand in the notes.

(I'm glad to hear it helped!)

Course Delivery

I would have preferred more smaller assignments spread throughout the course, or maybe more interactive labs that have more ways to show learning.

(I can’t really make the labs any smaller than they are. And I don’t want to assign more labs, as they would then have to be assigned during weeks when you have an exam.)

Dr. L's organization of this course it outstanding. I was never overwhelmed by organizing the content, and could instead focus my time on learning the material presented.

Maybe weekly quizzes(or for every chapter) so we can test our knowledge a bit better in preparation for the exams,

practice assignment would be helpful

(I’m hesitant to create more assessments, as this requires time to prepare for. And I think that would lead to more complaints than complements--even if it would facilitate learning. Anyway, there still are the practice chapter questions on Canvas.)

It would be helpful if you could add the illustrations from the lectures into the lecture notes. There were a few there but a lot were missing, it would just make it easier to follow along.

(Sorry if you missed it, but they are all posted on Canvas. I’ve been doing that for 15 years.)

I laugh at all your jokes, they make the class even better, please keep them coming!!

(You must’ve been laughing really quietly, because all I ever heard was crickets!)

Class Climate

good jokes and quips

Lectures were engaging and useful. I genuinely wanted to come to class and learn our next topics. As a small request, having more opportunities to ask questions (and have them answered) during the flow of class would be really awesome. Questions from students were periodically ignored, and I guess this is likely because of the amount of content we needed to get through each class. I do feel, however, that being heard and answered can be really important for learning, and general morale.

(I never ignore someone who has their hand up. However, I may have a hard time noticing you. Either wave your hand around (motion attracts attention dontcha know) or say “I have a question!” (my hearing is okay).)

Dr. L is one of the strongest professors I've had in my five years at the U of A.

(Bro, I can’t even bench 100. But, looking at me, I can see how you’d make that mistake.)

Overall, super enjoyable content and course. I would definitely recommend this to other students, despite not having a psychology background, I was able to follow along everything fairly easily!

Professor Loepelmann is an incredible teacher and was able to teach this course in a way that was engaging, interesting, informative, but also felt very easygoing and comfortable. It was a wonderful course because of Professor Loepelmann.

Dr loepelmann is super entertaining and present the content in an engaging way. He is truly a performer and incorporates comedy into his lectures which really helps make the content stick and makes lectures feel less like a chore.

he is funny, kind, and always willing to help his students

(Thanks for the kind words.)

Why aren't you studying?