Signal transduction

1990

Professor's selection and coverage of background ("text book") material.

Grade: B, B, B, fair-good (C-B), B, A, B+ =>3.11

Some Sample Comments: "Good selection." "It is often best to assume ignorance when in doubt. A review is always helpful and summary sheets are useful when trying to draw diverse concepts together." "Did a wonderful job of not assuming too much general knowledge. Reviewing basics is never a waste of time."

Professor's selection and coverage of modern ("research") material.

Grade: B, B, A, good to excellent (B-A), A, A, A =>3.64

Some Sample Comments: "A fair amount of material from the very recent literature was used to illustrate mechanisms, techniques + concepts." "Very recent, very relevant." "Very up to date." "Always bringing in new articles. Aware of other research & research interest."

Professor's use of handouts of lectures and research papers.

Grade: A, A, B, poor to very good (C?), C, B, A =>3.14

Some Sample Comments: "Was a help because they could be used for study & notes could be taken on them." "Info. in handouts good." "There was a lot of content in handouts which was good." "I liked it where references were given in the handouts & lists of references were very useful to me." "The papers were very good." "Most teachers have really boring paper + handouts, but in this class they were very good."

Classroom intellectual atmosphere of exchange of ideas and information.

Grade: A, A, B, Excellent (A), A, B+, A =>3.76

Some Sample Comments: "I like this environment." "We usually had some discussions about some topics that several people joined, both related & non related to the class." "Very enjoyable, stimulating. Style of presentation was very loose (which I have not encountered as an undergraduate), but I liked it. I often felt inspired when I left class." "The students in this class all appeared to have some area of expertise or at least a good foundation of knowledge and provided useful suggestions when problems were encountered." "Great!" "Good - could stop class and talk about subject at hard, very enlightening."

The idea of having student presentations.

Grade: A, A, B, Very Good (B), A, B, B+ =>3.47

Some Sample Comments: "Good practice." "Good to know other people's background." "Allowed me to go into depth into a system and was a good experience for me. It was nice learning what other students interested in and allowed me to make closer contacts with them." "Excellent and interesting."

Some Other Comments: "I have learned a lot in this class. Very good - will tell other students about it. Covers wide area of science. Would take class over again. Dr. Stark is a very good teacher. Wish I had more like him in my undergrad." "The course was better than I expected." "I was impressed by the instructor's overall knowledge, but more so with his ability to isolate the key element when presented with material that was new to him. Often a student would ask a question and I would have no knowledge in that area but Dr. Stark did a fine job in first translating that question into a language we could all understand before he actually took on the question." "A fine course and instructor." "In general, it was an enjoyable and educational experience. Thanks!" "Really found the experience to be very intellectually stimulating. I enjoyed the course very much and would recommend it to others."


1996

Very enthusiastic & willing to help students if needed

Very interested in what he was teaching

Outlines given for lecture series was good

[Office] hours posted & always there if someone signed up

We get new information from this course

Sometimes [communication] very effective

Pretty easily understood and clearly, logically step.

1998

The topics presented were broad and diverse. Dr. Stark was well prepared for each lecture. He presented each topic with enthusiasm and provided pertinent historical background. I thought this was a good introductory signal transduction course.

Having the syllabus on the internet helped organize notes and prepare for the following class

Dr. Stark has a great personality and shows a great interest and enthusiasm in teaching this course. The material wasn't always the most exciting but Dr. Stark's easy-going attitude really helped. Thank you for providing us with copies [of lecture outlines].

The course was quite informative. Thanks!

2002

I enjoyed the instructor's stories that teach us about "real" science.

It is unusual that I just walked into this with an interest in signal transduction hoping to learn a little. I did not expect to have tha way I look at information to completely change. The pedagogy was awesome. Instead of retreating to my old texts, I now find it intensely fascinating to research and read journals (which I had to learn to pass this class). Having to give a presentation was another great learning experience the course offered. Man, what a pain. But I know so much more about what I had to talk about. The lecture approach Dr Stark used tickles one's interest. He just dances around the fire and then, all of a sudden (that is if the information is known) we jump into the fire. The test was challenging. It is very nice not to have an exam where everybody does well. Well, I can keep praising the course, but I'll just sum it up here - I humbly bow to Dr Stark with his groundbreaking approach to teaching signal transduction, just as he said he would bow to our friend, J. Axelrod.