Feedback at UKMO

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

I've just finished teaching a four-day version of the course at the UK Met Office in Exeter. I think it went reasonably well, even if we did version control last instead of first :-). Here's the feedback the students gave me:

Good

• Most of what the instructor told us was probably true!
• Liked the emphasis on the human aspects of software development
• Liked the emphasis on evidence-based software engineering
• Lots of details on how to do testing
• Liked it when the instructor went off on tangents
• Liked having pointers to more material
• Instructor enthusiastic
• Lots of stuff on course web site
• Enjoyed learning a new language
• Finally had someone explain why to make code readable
• Nice mix of concepts and details
• Modular course design allowed me to catch up when I got lost

Bad

• No overall roadmap or guide
• Some (many?) parts too fast
• Didn't have access to the code the instructor was writing "live"
• Instructor went off on too many tangents
• The links the instructor mentioned aren't collected anywhere
• There weren't any tea breaks on the first two days (tiring)
• Need citations for claims that "studies show"
• Some people left behind in some parts
• Squeezing it into a week made some parts indigestible
• Had to learn a new language
• Don't know where to go next with Python
• The first two days felt rushed
• Some of the examples could have been better fits for this audience