Jacob Pierce

His use of time is terrible compared to other teachers. His lectures usually go past the allotted time for his online classes and most of what he says in the lecture usually don't fit with the work assigned. The pacing is hard to follow as well; rather than going over how to specifically going over how to do an assignment in class (which isn't given out or assigned until the end of class), he teaches vague facts that relate to the assignment which doesn't teach anyone about how it works specifically. This is most evident when he gives assignments that use websites that have simulations, he will say bits about the simulation but won't give the assignment using the simulation until later in the lecture. This not only limits students from having a better understanding of the simulation by applying it to the assignment, it also wastes their time since they will have to remember or relearn parts of it to be able to do the assignment. Though it isn't a problem by itself, he expects all assignments to be done the day they are assigned which makes the previous problems stated earlier more impactful. It's understandable that there isn't a lot of time due to the changes in the learning environment but, it's evident that he doesn't respect the time students have and need seeing as how he uses the time in class. Another reason why the time is mishandled is his use of the "Breakout Room" a feature in the messaging application "Zoom" where groups can be made for students to interact in; he uses this by having all the students discuss answers and questions though there is a fundamental flaw to this: no one has the incentive to participate. In all the breakout rooms, not a single person will talk whether it is because there is confusion or they get the lesson but prefer not to speak. These also last about 10-15 minutes which is too much time for what little is needed to get through in these rooms. His lack of regulation with this issue has been a problem for the whole class that it's surprising that it's still being used despite what little students actually gain from it even if they are speaking or not. The lack of time management in the class has made it a horrendous experience for the time being. Though if it is at least one positive I can give it is that his presentations are publicly available when in his class and go over the material in an understandable way, all the resources that are given in the class are very helpful (despite most having to be self-thought) like the simulations, and the online work in the Google Classroom that is used is well organized. Despite all the flaws, his class has the potential to be overall very good though the negatives are very glaring. Changes that need to be made are better use of the time so that the during class can be more effectively used for working on assignments or asking questions, make the breakout room more effective or get rid of it, and go over the assignments in more detail rather than the material since it will help with understanding since the assignments correlate with the material. I have nothing against Mr. Pierce, he is a good person but these flaws need to be pointed out and I hope his future online classes treat the future students better.

Mr. Pierce was a good teacher. He was helpful and nice and his tests, despite the subject, wasn't that hard and you could easily pass his class.