Thomas is super sweet and obviously cares about what she teaches. Uses iClicker, so you have to attend lectures. Weekly labs were tedious, but doable. I didn't buy the textbook, just mooched off of my friends. It would have made things easier, but I got along fine without it. Show up, pay a bit of attention, and it's an easy B and very realistic A.
How to get an A: go to all the lectures, pay attention to what she emphasizes, actually try on the homework and do some of the extra credit. Her tests have a good amount of questions concerning Californian geography (such as major faults and mountain ranges). Her lecture slides are posted online, but you need to go to class.
Dr. Thomas is a blessing to undergrads at UCSB. She expertly teaches the course, explains it according to your level of understanding, and gives you endless opportunities to save your grade. Dr. Thomas is literally the best, but study for her exams because she makes you work (a bit) for the grade of your dreams.
Sabina was fantastic! She is super passionate about Geology and very knowledgeable about the subject. Her tests are fair and lectures are interesting. If you're just looking to satisfy a GE, this class might not be for you because of the 2 hour labs every week and one all day field trip in the Mts. (more time consuming) but she was an amazing prof
Professor T brings enthusiasm and a fair amount of humor to the class. You can tell she really wants you to understand the material. The downside to her teaching style is that her lectures can go into hyperdrive without her noticing the change of pace; and can be a bit impersonal, almost as if she wants you to be enthusiastic but doesn't know why.
She genuinely cares about geology, so that's a huge plus. I haven't taken the midterm yet, but studying the subject isn't hard at all. It's quite cool. Especially looking forward to the field trips.
Thomas is a passionate professor, you can tell. Her lectures are kind of hard to understand because she has an accent. I recommend sitting in the front. It is easy to get distracted in this class. I don't recommend taking your notes on your laptop for that reason. Labs are interesting but long. If you read and go to class you will do well.
One of the easier sciences for a GE. Still requires you to study and there are weekly quizzes on gauchospace. Labs can be boring and there is a required field trip on a Saturday or Sunday some point in the quarter. She is a good teacher though and the midterm and final were not too hard if you studied.
I could never keep up with her slides because she goes through them so fast and is so soft spoken :( Very hard class but the field trip was fun! She's a nice professor and offered a lot of extra credit
Great teacher but she gives out so much homework for the online class. It is manageable, but it is all busy work. HW and Assignments basically have you copying information from the book. It's pointless. One assignment practically asks you to read a 30 pg essay and then rewrite it in your own words in 3 pages.
The class is fairly easy as long as you pay attention in class and read the book enough to understand the study guides. There are short weekly quizzes, weekly labs, and a multiple choice midterm and final (not that much work!). She offered a LOT of extra cred opportunities too. Very nice professor too, she cares about her students and the subject.
Very soft spoken so puts you to sleep. A lot of information for midterm. Her slides are brief so must pay attention in class. Her i-clicker poll is open for like 10 seconds so always be alert. I wouldn't recommend her.
All around fantastic teacher. Online quizzes once a week to boost grades plus simple homework assignments. She is very flexible with office hours and is always generous with her time. Study guides before all tests and outside of class review sessions. One of the best classes I have taken. You would have to try not to get an A in this class.
One of my favorite professors! Dr T is a kind of professor that is there to answer every question, available whenever she's free, and so funny and quirky. I would definitely take her again. if you do the assignments that she asks you to do, then you don't have a problem to take at least a B+ in her class.
Really helpful and caring professor.
In this awful online class now. Too much work for 4 units. At least 2 quizzes AND 3 homework assignments per week.Also a paper,group project,midterm,and final. Schedule forces you to work on weekends.The quiz and homework questions are unclear and often not addressed in lecture.Teacher doesn't accommodate students' schedules even though it's online
EASY class. Just take good notes. She is bit boring sometimes, but she is very cute and spunky!
This class is good for anyone even mildly interested in geology. Prof. Thomas is very soft-spoken and sometimes hard to understand so sit in front. Hard to take notes at the speed she moves trough lectures. So I recommend just listening attentively during lecture since the slides are posted online. Overall pretty easy class and VERY fairly graded.
iclicker everyday, soft voice even with microphone, recommend sit in front of class. jams the internet so you have to pay attention, which the slides are very important anyway. feel like able to get B without the book and have to read to get A. labs are irrelevant to tests.
She is an extremely accommodating teacher who aims to have all of her students pass the class. Just go to her office hours and she will clarify any question you have! She talks fast during lecture, just download the PDF notes, skim them before class, and just annotate them with an app as she talks.
Nobody will ever love this class and its content as much as Dr. Thomas loves it. She genuinely wants the best for each student in her courses, so I strongly recommend to take a class with Dr. Thomas for a GE class or just for anyone interested. She did replace the final grade with midterm AND gave out a lot of extra credit opportunities.
Adorable professor! A lot of material and weekly homework. I am not a science person, so this was hard for me. But as far as Math/Science GE's go, this was easy. Do the work and study, very doable. Lots of extra credit. VERY fair. Offered to replace midterm with final grade, which helps if you didn't do well on midterm.
She is helpful, and a very approachable professor. The only downside has to be her lectures. She speaks very quietly and too fast sometimes to keep up with handwritten notes. I struggled to find a way to take effective notes during lecture. Book will explain everything though. Her power points are very detailed as well.
Great professor. She made it crystal clear what information we ought to know. She was always very enthusiastic about the subject which made lectures very enjoyable. She is extremely friendly and personable. I would recommend taking one of her classes.