Averages across all teaching

Elementary Logic

What have been the positive features of this module up to this point?

Engaging

It’s an engaging topic!

informative, makes me understand the lectures more

Interacting with the class, going through various questions on the whiteboard as per student request

Very good to go through examples of what we discuss in lectures as a group

Friendly approachable staff Interesting module Plenty of practice to become great at logic

Questions are always answered regardless of how little.

It's really fun

Hugo explains difficult concepts really clearly

Hugo is excellent: Friendly, engaging, explains patiently and simply, makes Logic a whole lot more approachable and tolerable (I initially thought I’d HATE it). My favorite seminar leader. Probably wouldn’t attend half the seminars I do if he weren’t here.

Getting feedback on my attempts at doing logic. It's been really helpful to use the seminar to clarify what I struggled to understand in the exercises.

Truth tables

LOGIC IS SO FUN 🤩🤩🤩

Proving stuff is fun:). Also I feel comfortable asking questions during the seminar which is great

Hugo goes over more examples than our lectures do, it clarifies the rules of logic for me and prepares me for the homework. We also go over specific cases which might not come up usually, which is helpful.

Interesting content and clear explainations

The seminar leader knows the content very well and can properly answer a variety of questions.

Clarification of the lecture material by participating in exercises in the seminar, which is really helpful. Having "homework" each week is really helpful in participating and making sure to do the exercises in book of problems

Were there any negative features of this module up to this point? What aspects of the module might be improved?

No at all!

The content in week 4 was rushed a bit

no

N/A

Lectures are confusing and sometimes hard to follow. However, seminars are easy to follow and informative.

Sometimes I struggle because the seminar is so fast paced, and i feel sometimes we skip over the basics.

I think a mindmap of what "logic" actually is would have been useful. And instructions on how to study for it

Perhaps to have a more comfortable environment (but this could be down to the fact that there are many students in the class)

Honestly, no? I think that Elementary Logic - or quite a few aspects of it, at least, especially for students who are new to it - is rather difficult (unintuitive, convoluted) but, like said above, Hugo is very engaging and terrific at simply explaining concepts that initially seem baffling.

Natural deduction was a really challenging topic and I feel that it was not really clearly explained in the lecture, then the seminar helped explain a bit but it still wasn’t clear and me and others just find that topic completely inaccessible, even referring back to the book/lecture/slides

I think more time should be spent on proofs and the different rules. It didn't feel exactly clear what to do for them, and the readings set felt too advanced. However, the cheat sheets were somewhat helpful.

Nope

The first two seminars I felt slightly out of the loop having never done Philosophy before. People in my seminar group would use terminology I wasn’t familiar with and it would be helpful if Hugo had’ve clarified things for people like me who are new to this.

Still a bit confused on one subject area - but that may be my own knowledge gap

Moves too fast and follows the only pace of the best performing students. Cold calling makes it difficult to listen and the class anxiety inducing.

Nope! Thank you for your help so far!

Any other comments

Super fun!

Genuinely most engaging seminar leader I have, very clear and a good natural teacher!

N/A

No. I do find it helpful when you contextualise the logic we are doing, though. Otherwise, it feels like we're just focusing on principles of logic rather than why or what we are doing it for.

we love logic and the seminar too! They are really helpful

I really enjoy the seminars overall, thank you!

Thank you for your help so far!

Philosophy of Language

What have been the positive features of this module up to this point?

I like how you have us bring our own questions because it encourages us to think about the topic more and we get to listen to other people's questions/opinions

The discussions we are able to have with various contributions, helping to clarify topics and add unique insights.

The module explores a range of different philosophers' arguments which stimulates interesting conversations in seminars and urges me to assess the module material in a very holistic way.

Chance to clear up ideas

- very discussion based, so no repetition of previous information, and no extensive overlap with the lecture - informal and open conversations, every question is welcome and answered thoroughly - inclusive - “everyone brings a question” builds an inquisitive relationship with the readings

Seminars have helped to clarify muddy ideas / concepts that have been brushed over in lectures

Hugo has been really helpful in explaining difficult topics and is responsive to questions. The learning environment is very comfortable and I come away from the seminars with a better understanding of the topics/reading.

Hugo is very good at distilling complex ideas which makes the papers and ideas themselves less daunting and more interesting to read for myself

Very clear demonstrative explanation of complicated topics.

Hugo is very interactive with the class and you are compelled to take interest in the discussion because it feels like a normal discussion everyone feels comfortable to take part and we have some very good discussions

Struggling to understand the lecture/lecture notes, But then going into the seminar and clearing any doubts I have has helped me gain confidence

Hugo genuinely loves teaching us it seems so it really makes learning the content much more enjoyable

Very clear explanation on complex theory

Course content - but also the seminars and seminar leader has particularly made this class enjoyable for me. I found Hugo to be very balanced in his approach.

The class is interesting and makes for good discussions of the topics. It branches interest into further knowledge of the discipline.

Readings make me enjoy and engage with the topic more than other modules do.

Were there any negative features of this module up to this point? What aspects of the module might be improved?

Some of the material is very confusing so it's hard to get through everything in the seminar time

The module in general is very tricky (for me personally) so potentially a few of the more difficult to grasp topics could be explored in simpler terms initially and then expanded on, rather than delving into the intracacies; especially as the philosophical knowledge/experience is varied, and some people use rather complex phrasing.

I think there could be use in providing more background information on certain aspects of the module, for example it requires a bit of background knowledge on logic which I have not studied prior. I think this would give me a better understanding of the module as a whole.

The seminar sessions can be longer to allow for more clarifications of ideas (though I know it depends on the timetable), and if there can be alternative consultation slots (though I know this depends on the schedule of the instructor)

- would like to have heads up regarding what readings are atteignable for our level - extremely fast paced for very dense materials that should maybe be studied for longer in more depth

Pressure to immediately engage in class-wide discussion

Whilst the essay writing segment during week 4 was helpful, it taking up half of the seminar time on a week where the topic was relatively difficult was slightly frustrating.

sometimes the seminar leader does not have immediate answers to questions, although this is understandable it leads to questions being forgotten due to not being answered at the time.

no

No, I think overall all very positive

No,

No - not necessarily.

The module topics should be a little more clear on the problem they are attempting to tackle. What questions are each of the weekly topics trying to answer and why that is important might help give a little direction as to why and in what way it matters that these topics be handled with. The seminars are interesting and immersive in the content, but could do with a little more practical application when relevant to the topic at hand. Although it is difficult as there are many degrees taking this class, but a little of connections to real world applications and connections would help visualize problems in the topics and help us understand the content in different ways.

I wish the lectures didn't start at 9 a.m.

Any other comments

Hugo is extremely respectful and clear in explanations, it makes the seminars fun to attend

encouragement to speak with 1/2 partner(s) first might make discussion more lively / fruitful

Thank you Prof. Textor and Hugo for the first half of Semester 1 so far!

:)

Advanced Topics in Philosophy of Mind

What have been the positive features of this module up to this point?

The office hours - very helpful and informative. attending every week has boosted my confidence

Good class discussions and the seminar leader is able to answer all relevant questions

The content has been interesting however challenging yet, Hugo has a great way of explaining all the advanced stuff.

I find it helpful to have questions sent by my seminar leader regarding the readings as they allow me to guide myself whilst reading. The questions also allow me to test my understanding of the reading.

interesting reading

Hugo is always very encouraging of open discussions, and has a good rapport with the students in my seminar. Most students are confident in contributing to these discussions regardless of their confidence in understanding at the start. Hugo always answers questions making sure that we can fully clarify understanding.

The different views discussed on topics. It’s also nice that our seminar lead is enthusiastic about the topics we discuss.

The seminars are really useful for understanding the readings.

Interesting seminars

Enjoyable

Were there any negative features of this module up to this point? What aspects of the module might be improved?

the lectures. more slides explaining the concepts will make it easy to follow through

Ensure work is done before class so people can discuss

Essay options I'm not a great fan of, it seems the one I'm doing Bill has already fully answered making it hard to gage my own opinion on it

Not something that's easy to resolve, but the timing of the first lecture makes it a bit difficult for people to get to, as well as the location being Strand. But in the lecture recording, the sound is usually a bit quiet.

no

No.

I think that the readings are a bit too complex to understand for students not doing a philosophy based degree and who haven't experienced this level of philosophy before.

Readings can be difficult

The lectures at 9am are hard to get to

Introduction to Philosophy: Logic

What have been the positive features of this module up to this point?

The tutor displayed commendable effort in actively involving the students and addressing their inquiries. It is worth noting that he maintained a friendly demeanor, treated students with respect, and made genuine attempts to involve as many students as possible.

Hugo honestly explains everything in an incredibly straightforward way that makes my life so much easier. And he's so flexible and patient and good at teaching

The topic was new and interesting

The way that information is presented is fairly digestible

I think logic is very mentally demanding which is great, as it promotes active thinking and develops our understanding of arguments

The seminar leader is able to effectively and clearly explain difficult concepts using simple and concise language.

Hugo has explained any questions thoroughly, helping to build my understanding of logic.

Clear explanations

The seminars have been really great to actually understand how to solve the exercises

The quality of the teaching, the content and the structure of formative assessments.

The module does a great job of slowly building and introducing logic, it feels very natural without feeling sluggish or too rapid.

The learning atmosphere feels really good and I feel that it helps straighten out things I was confused with in the lecture.

Hugo Heagren teaches logic extremely well: he takes time to answer all questions, and he clearly likes the subject.

Thanks to this seminar, I was able to better understand the lectures, thank you!

Really interesting and made me want to take a logic module in second year!

Well taught and well explained

always available to answer questions, and making sure what is explained is clear to everyone

The consistency of lectures and seminars, I.e how it was taught. The lecturer’s/seminar leader’s friendliness with the class.

A clear step by step approach that makes it easy to keep track of what we are learning.

It’s been interesting to learn a new language altogether, that is also counterintuitive to traditional forms of languages, but also seeing how they interact and synergise to help make clearer arguments or evaluate them

Teachers are active and professional

The module encourages critical thinking rather than passive learning.

My seminar leader has been very good at being clear and clarifying things that I didn't fully understand in the lecture. It was especially helpful going through examples in the seminars.

Our seminar leader explained things very well to us because lectures sometimes were confusing.

the seminar leader encouraged us to ask questions without judgment

I think the seminars were very effective at smoothing out any misunderstandings of the content.

Interesting, debate, engaging

The examples explained board have helped me understand logic a lot better

Learning a new language and developing new thinking skills to approach logic problems in a different method, learning about truth tables and proofs was interesting.

The seminar leader is very responsive to student questions

Good explanations and clear responses to questions

Lecturer is very engaging. Maintains good class engagement and is generally fun to learn from

- Stimulates intellectual curiosity - Good thinking practice

The module is a good way to rethink thinking (AKC!) and atleast reconsider the manner in which one communicates or engages in discourse.

This module has been extremely interesting. I have learnt a lot from it. It's been intellectually stimulating. I have really enjoyed studying Logic. I am now considering studying Logic in the future as a result of this module. I wasn't expecting to enjoy Logic so much! These seminars have been well-taught. Hugo has been very good at explaining very complicated topics in an comprehensible manner.

The teacher is conscientious and responsible, and carefully corrects my assignments.

Very interesting, seminar leader shows impeccable reasoning and understanding of the subject

It helped me thinking and reasoning more deeply about language and sparked in me an interest in Logic.

it was nice to have logic classes in philosophy

The content has been explained well to me. I like the weekly online exercises and think they have helped a lot and have provided good explanations for incorrect answers. I also appreciate the past papers and online materials which not many other modules have.

Hugo is excellent, and clearly always tries his hardest, to make sure that students understand the material, and that they feel more informed after having their questions answered.

hugo is very good at explaining the concepts in an easy to grasp way and always has time to listen in office hours. he also continually highlights that it is a safe space to say if you don’t understand without being made to feel stupid.

Questions are answered in detail and without judgement. Also really like solving questions visually, on the board - everything gets broken down really well

Communication an ability to ban a deeper understanding

I’d say that the overall knowledge portion of the module is quite interesting and maintains a constant level of overall difficulty which maintains engagement.

Hugo has gone through each topic very carefully and is able to answer questions to good affect.

Very engaging and well-explained especially during difficult topics.

Very good academical and teaching skills.

I have been able to learn something new and feel mostly comfortable with the topics covered even though I did not have any prior knowledge of the topics. The seminars are helpful to consolidate my learning.

I've found the seminars really useful in terms of consolidating the lecture material and clarifying any questions.

Very meaningful seminars, well explained and helpful and incredibly well prepared

The class discussions have been engaging, and the teacher is very interested in what he's doing.

Were there any negative features of this module up to this point? What aspects of the module might be improved?

The tutor often conveyed a sense of hesitation which left students feeling uncertain about his confidence in providing in-depth responses to questions. His explanations tended to be swift, with transitions between topics occuring hastily, which hindered the students' ability to follow each step of a problem. While it was evident that he grasped the subject matter, his teaching approach did not effectively facilitate student comprehension.

I have a hard time understanding the lectures sometimes but Hugo is great at explaining!

The final two Logic Topics were very difficult to understand during the lectures, thus many I know couldn't complete or submit the exercises.

No negative features

The class is held too early in the day for my liking and sometimes the classroom is maybe too big for everyone to be able to see the board.

N/A

It’s perfect

The connection to using logic in scenarios like developing an argument isn’t that strong.

I wish we had more discussions with the people around us so we could connect with people in the seminar and find it easier to make friends in the course.

Might need to spend longer on natural deduction, especially the rules and the specifics of them

none

More simplified explanations/resources for logic. Genuinely struggled with this topic and was unprepared to deal with it. Managed to overcome it but wish I was aware of it sooner and had a more “baby-steps” approach to the content.

A clear cheat-sheet provided with the simple breakdown of all the rules.

My only issue is that 1hr seems to be too short. especially for the technical classes like Semantics and Natural Deductions, there is only time to go through basic problems. E.g., the lecture does not cover everything and it would be nice if this can be carried on in the seminar (ND: Negation and biconditional rules were barely gone over)

Reflection of weekly exercise and guidance, but it’s hard to achieve because of the limited time

I haven't encountered any negative features.

Sometimes confusing lectures

some concepts were explained a bit too briefly

Lack of ability to attend any office hours as they clash with other tutorials, though presumably out of tutorial leaders control

Confusing, we are a lot of people in the seminar

Sometimes I find the lectures a little confusing as the multitude of examples and the pace of the lecture

There’s a lot of reliance of halbachs manual, and there’s not much resources that follow gentzen notation. There should be more resources provided, especially for natural deduction. Carrs natural deduction pack is helpful, if there could be more it would be great.

It’s still the start of the module so I didn’t see any flaws

especially with details not presented in the readings like motivation for studying and why we build up to what we are working towards

None

N/a

Gentzen natural deduction is difficult, and we should do Fitch instead. There should be an extra week dedicated to Nat. Ded.

No.

Material in week 4 “natural deduction” significantly more difficult than the rest of the course, potentially focus more on this part of the course.

Maybe more lessons focused on difficult topics like Natural deduction.

This isn’t related to seminars but at times the lecture is really hard to comprehend when the content itself is not that difficult. I think some of the content, and especially the examples provided during the lecture, could be communicated in a more concise manner.

The negative features revolve around the difficultly to intuit the material, not anything that Hugo has done.

giving too much time to unrelated questions (ones that aren’t related at all to what we are doing) instead of directing them to office hours resulting in less time to go over logic.

Not anything specific that I can think of related to the module (I just don’t like logic)

N/a

Nothing really, sometimes the course load/course progression i.e how fast the module goes from topic to topic can be slightly overwhelming. However, this is the nature of uni in general and has very little to do with the seminar instructor who is very clear in his delivery and tries his best to ensure overall student understanding.

Spending more time on the more difficult topic

None. Perfect

I felt like there were some topics that were rushed and I found it difficult to catch up sometimes.

I think the natural deducation week should be two weeks just because it's a hard topic so I think two weeks would mean that it isn't rushed as much.

slight miscommunication between seminar leader and lecturer. Not really the fault of Hugo though.

The module in general has been very hard for me personally, but the teacher has made it a bit easier for me in understanding the topic.

Any other comments

Loved Hugo, he was great and engaging!

Seminar leader is great, clearly explains everything and is always open for questions

The seminar leader is friendly and responsive to inquiry.

Well done

None

no

N/A

no

Nil. Thanks sm Hugo. Best seminar teacher in my time here at King’s (By FAR!!!) :)))))

Epic seminar leader

N/A

Time management of the seminar and finishing content, sometimes as a class we get carried away with other questions that aren’t as relevant to the content we’re covering

No

Office hours clash with my other classes

Nope

Hugo is a great teacher but is overly charitable to students who ask obvious, unneeded question. The class would be more effectively led if the advice given to some students was "This has already been covered, refer to the lecture slides or come to office hours if you still have an issue"

No

Often times people are talking and coughing in the lecture hall and it’s really hard to understand what’s being said but I think this isn’t an issue native to the module itself.

n/a

Hugo runs the seminar very well and teaches the content clearly and has helped me understand it

The seminars have generally been really useful and a good environment.

Nope - recommend Mr Heagren for anyone and everyone interested in logic!

Methodology

What have been the positive features of this module up to this point?

Tutor is very knowledgeable and able to explain the content of the course

Hugo has promoted stimulating Philosophical discussions within the Methodology seminars, enhancing my interest in the subject and pushing me to learn more and be more engaged with the topics

Hugo always explains everything very well and goes through his thought process, which I find very useful. Hugo doesn’t view himself above the students which I appreciate very much and he’s makes things very clear.

There is a clear structure to the seminars, but there is still flexibility to ask questions and discuss topics

Hugo helps link the information of methodology with other areas of philosophy which I found great as it helped my knowledge for not just this module but for the other modules I’m doing. It’s also very clear that he’s an expert on the subject as he not only answers the questions very well and clearly but also stimulates discussion on quiz questions that are ambiguous.

Very interesting to think about and discuss - challenging but in a good way.

Your knowledge of the topic and the ability to answer questions about not always relating topics is impressive.

Explains every question with clarity and receptive to questions that may stray outside the scope but is still relevant to what is required of the module content,

Seminar leader is great and chill. Explanations of concepts go deepr than the lectures, gives other interesting/convenient options to tackle certain problems not mentioned in lecture slides which I like. Going over the exercises is a nice structure and usefull for exam preperations, tho kinda boring.

well structured, effective class, clear explanation

Seminar leading is very well prepared and answers questions effectively. Is good at balancing exam content with interesting non exam content.

Seminars have been informative, really helped me understand each weeks content more. Also Hugo is friendly and a very good communicator.

Clearly explained process in terms of how we arrive at a specific question and clears up any confusion about that that process.

Seminars have been informative and lectures engaging

The seminar leader maintained control over class discussion in a way that allowed for sufficient coverage of the set exercises each week and encouraged productive discussion about confusing or debated concepts and issues. He provided clarity on important subject matter covered in lectures using helpful examples and consistently encouraged students to question widely accepted philosophical views and voice their own opinions.

Hugo is clearly very knowledgeable on this subject and has always been able to incite interest by introducing philosophical ideas that haven’t been covered in lectures. He also has a knack for clarifying concepts that are harder to grasp. He’s been extremely helpful.

Structured seminar that always feels purposeful. Seminar leader is a natural teacher.

Its very interesting yet is also clear about examinability

Were there any negative features of this module up to this point? What aspects of the module might be improved?

A bit more explanations on the logic notations, if were required to know them for this module

He could give some more background information on the logic symbols and terminology that he uses in class as I have never done logic before (leading me to feel a bit lost when he does mention them).

My 'neurals' during the stimulation question are results of the topic and structure of the course. In comperison to discussion heavy subject it is more important to form a set of language. I prefer controvertial debates, but you do as much of them as possible.

good enough for me

no

Not really. Maybe pick on people to answer questions sometimes - we all chose to be there so I think you’re well within your rights to pick people rather than a few of us answering everything!

Any other comments

Number 1 seminar leader in all of Kings college.

Thank you very much for teaching us!

Keep up the good work and have a good reading week !

Neuroscience and the Mind

What have been the positive features of this module up to this point?

Good weekly structure, well-organised!

Interesting to think deeper about topics I've never considered.

The contrast it has compared to the biological sciences gives me a different view point in understanding

The readings have been very interesting - seminars are informative and increase my understanding of the difficult concepts - Hugo explains and summarises things clearly in a way that’s easy to understand

The seminar leader did a really great job and make me understand the topic a bit more than just by reading it myself.

Were there any negative features of this module up to this point? What aspects of the module might be improved?

Could be more discussion in seminars.

Any other comments

I think Hugo goes through the discussion points as if we’ve completely understood the content but most of the time a few us don’t have a complete grasp on it- when we ask he explains them well but I think it would be helpful if he gave a brief overview of the reading and philosophical theories before we discussed.

Great job, I really like the flow of the content and reading the articles, kinda of opens my mind to what other people might think