Don't take this class. He's gonna kill your GPA.
You have to attend lecture or else you will fail. No lectures posted online. Only have a couple of assignments and you have to do really good on all of them. Montello prides himself on not using technology so take that as you will.
DON'T miss lecture: everything discussed is on his tests (even the random tangents he frequently goes on), but the book is helpful as a supplement. Definitely memorize the countries early, otherwise study hard for the midterms b/c they're pretty tricky. Overall I wouldn't take again; I found his teaching style extremely convoluted & hard to follow.
Although Prof. Montello has a sense of humor & is also very knowledgeable, he doesn't care about your success in his class! I have received A's on all my assignments in this course & have never missed a class. Nobody gets an A on his exams! They have the most obscure wording & study guides are misleading & outdated. Unreceptive to student concerns.
This teacher is funny, and nice but gets genuienly angry when anyone asks a question or tries to specify a paticular topic. If you ever want help with a topic... DONT. I DO NOT reccommened this class if you just want an "easy A" and you are in other hard classes because it is soooo much information.
To whom it may concern, Professor Montello is a good lecturer. The ratings were so because people don't work hard enough to deserve the credit in class. The course is info-heavy but also common sense - which means if you focus in class, complete your course assignments, study for tests (as what students are supposed to do), you can get an easy A.
Interesting concepts, with the right teacher this would prob be a great class. Alas... His system is very rigid; very few opportunity for grades, no materials online, let alone words on his lecture slides?? Notes were just based on what you could get from his tangents. Final exam includes a country test which has nothing to do with the course. Mid
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! Montello is extremely arrogant and gets angry when his students ask basic questions. You have to memorize the locations of all of the countries in the world. He is a boring lecturer and DOES NOT explain things well.
His lectures are just soooo boring. Lots of reading but I didnt do any of it. 3 big exams and 5 section assignments.
I'm not sure why everyone's hating on this class. GEOG5 is incredibly basic and easy. These ratings had me thinking the tests would be horrible. Literally just pay attention during lecture. He follows the outlines almost to a T-but does add in some important stuff. Fell asleep for a bit in every other class pre-midterm one and still aced it so
He assigned his own textbook, so you can be pretty sure they correspond well to lectures. Interesting class, funny dude. My only gripe is the 3 hour class time, but I knew what I was signing on for.
rude and extremely difficult to ask for help.
I was skeptical about this class going in but I really enjoyed every lecture. He is very funny and makes the lectures interesting with his enthusiasm and charisma. Go to class and take notes and tests are straightforward. Highly recommend
It is my second time to take this course with Prof. Montello !! This course is really challenging for non- native speakers, but professor is really approachable outside class. Often go to his office hours to talk with him. He talks a lot of tangents in class, which may be tested lol. It is not that hard if you take good notes and attend lecture!
Professor Montello is knowledgeable and overall great guy. Shares a lot of good stories and even has recipes on his slides that give you a really good vibe. Not an easy class since you cant skip lecture and assume youll do good on the tests. Very manageable if you ask for help. Id recommend this class if you enjoy taking tests and like history.
funny teacher and easy class but not very interesting. it was more about memorizing geography terms rather than learning interesting things
please avoid this professor if u wanna pass the class.. his lecture is confusing and unorganized.
I personally think Professor Montello is funny,interesting; his lectures are clear, coherent, and the material is pretty easy to understand. Geo5 class first midterm is doable, but you need to study. Montello gave us a dense study guide, but it was helpful. I've only used the textbook to help study before tests. Overall, a solid professor for Geo5.
Took him once for 150, shame on him. Took him twice for 117, shame on me. There are so many amazing Geog professors, pick literally anyone else and youll be happier. Hes an arrogant guy, doesnt post lecture slides, tests are based solely off lectures (his tangent laden ramblings), etc. Hes knowledgeable for sure but trust- avoid at all costs
Montello can be very cocky, but he is funny and cares about his students. Going to lecture was very helpful. The class itself was not hard, just a lot of information. The first midterm was much easier than the second, so make sure to study for the second one a lot. Learning all the countries was not hard at all, so don't be discouraged.
Montello is the kind of professor who can go on a lot of tangents without hurting the course. He is proud of his knowledge but doesn't belittle students. If you are not a lecture person you will have trouble with this class, but he is extremely accessible outside of class, goes over commonly missed questions, and provides (dense) study guides.
This class was the worst. You have to memorize all the countries and if you dont go to class youll do terrible. The test material was all stuff he said in two seconds during lecture. The lectures are extremely boring and the material lacks the ability to make it up. Attendance is not mandatory but mandatory if you want to pass
This class wasn't that bad if you go to lecture or know someone who goes and takes good notes. He gives you an outline of the notes so it's easy to follow along. That being said, this class is very boring but had the potential to be very interesting. You can get up to 3% extra credit for participating in experiments. Don't bother with the book.
DO NOT TAKE THIS!!! I'm a bio major, was in bio and psych and this was my hardest class. unpredictable, lectures are so heavy and he tests you on stuff he talked around for 10 seconds in class. cool subject, but soo hard. hopefully i can pull an A-