Class record · PHIL · MCAS

PHIL 1119

New Scientific Visions I/Perspectives IV · 2 instructors on record · 16 sections

What the course score is made of

91BC evaluations16 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2022 – Fall 2025

—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of

80thMore challenging than 80% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

95BC — “Intellectually Challenging”16 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of

78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

60BC — “Workload”16 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

Can the study of modern mathematics and the natural sciences prove to be a genuine liberation of the human spirit? This unusual question will form the central theme of this course. The course will explore major developments in the fields of mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, and the earth and space sciences from ancient Greece, through the modern scientific revolutions of the seventeenth century, and into the twentieth century achievements and paradoxes of modern number theory, the discovery of DNA, relativity theories, quantum mechanics, and contemporary cosmologies.

The board

2 instructors · ranked on this class onlyCompare the top 2

Scores are real averages. The order also accounts for how many records back each one — the count is under every score — so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them.

Rank	Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
1	Holly VandewallProfessor of the Practice · Philosophy	9510 records	47th	79th	8011 ratings · all classes
2	Daniel MckaughanAssociate Professor; Convener of the M.A. program · Philosophy	936 records	81st	84th	801 rating · all classes

How this board is orderedPositions account for how many records stand behind each number, so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. Every score shown is the real average — only the ordering is adjusted. The comparison here is the class itself: a thin record is read against how this class was rated overall, not against the university.

Every instructor with an evaluation record for this class is on this board — it is not a top ten, and nothing is hidden behind a “show more”. Overall is the instructor's blended score for THIS class only, and its one contributing source is Boston College's evaluations for the sections in the row's record count — nothing on this board is an average across the other things they teach. Workload and Challenge are RANKS against every class we hold, not scores: BC's questions all sit near the top of the 1-5 scale, so a raw number would put almost every row in the high eighties and tell you nothing. Challenge is BC's “intellectually challenging” item, which students answer positively about courses that stretched them — it is not a measure of difficulty or grading. Neither column is ever marked better or worse. The RateMyProfessors column is an instructor's overall figure across everything they teach; that site has no course dimension, so it is shown for information and kept out of the ranking.

The line

All 13 items · means across 16 records

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

9672nd pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9667th pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

9667th pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

9768th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

9677th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

9575th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

9356th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

9468th pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

9572nd pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

9573rd pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.

6078th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9580th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

9783rd pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

16 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Holly Vandewall	Fall 2025	01	89	81	60
Daniel Mckaughan	Fall 2025	02	97	91	80
Holly Vandewall	Fall 2025	03	91	86	60
Daniel Mckaughan	Fall 2025	04	97	92	60
Holly Vandewall	Fall 2024	01	92	85	60
Holly Vandewall	Fall 2024	02	97	92	40
Holly Vandewall	Fall 2024	03	93	90	60
Holly Vandewall	Fall 2024	04	95	93	—
Daniel Mckaughan	Fall 2023	01	93	91	—
Daniel Mckaughan	Fall 2023	02	96	91	—
Holly Vandewall	Fall 2023	03	95	93	—
Holly Vandewall	Fall 2023	04	96	95	—
Holly Vandewall	Fall 2022	01	100	98	60
Holly Vandewall	Fall 2022	02	98	97	60
Daniel Mckaughan	Fall 2022	03	88	89	60
Daniel Mckaughan	Fall 2022	04	88	88	60

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.