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