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?