EVSC 1450

Great course!! I suck at science and hate it but this course was SUPER interesting. Tests can be difficult and detail oriented so you have to study A LOT but its not hard to do well. I got an 84 on one of the tests and still ended with an A because of all the other assignments. Attendance is mandatory bc of learning catalytics but she posts slides and I was able to learn a lot of stuff before the tests and do well.

Thought it would be an easy A but a lot of my friends ended up getting A-/B. Overall though an easy course with hardly any homework. You basically just have to go to lecture (for learning catalytics questions) and study for the tests and you'll be fine. There's also a blog post which is like 10% of the grade but takes 10 minutes

BEST CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN. I may be biased because I came in interested in studying envi sci, but Professor Lawrence was the factor that really cemented that interest so that I declared the major. If you like envi sci, definitely take this course BUT I also would highly recommend that anyone, regardless of interest or ability in science, to take this course because of the practical applications of the knowledge. Especially for first years exploring their interests and learning more about life through fulfilling gen ed requirements, this is a great course that is not too hard and teaches useful knowledge for all people to use in life. Being able to understand basic climate science and environmental issues is crucial in this day and age. Learning catalytics mean that at least some attendance is required but I genuinely enjoyed coming to class every single day because Professor Lawrence's personality. She so intelligent and decorated as an environmental scientist but she is very humble and only brings up her experiences in relation to class material, such as her time studying in Borneo or working for the State department. I only learned that she was a Fulbright scholar who went to Harvard and is part of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and more after I looked her up out of curiosity. Her vast experience means that she is very knowledgeable but she also is good at teaching climate science in basic terms so it's easy for the inexperienced undergraduate to understand. She is very kind and sweet and jokes during her lectures. The exams were a little hard at times, but they were very doable and there was barely any homework at all. I loved this class and it is my go to recommendation for others based on how useful and enjoyable it is for anyone to take.

I'm taking this class online during Covid, and it's the most organized and well-structured class I have this semester. She reliably pre-records and uploads lectures for you to watch on your own time each week, and the length is typically shorter than what it would be for the in-person class. There is a small in-person discussion about lecture concepts that takes 25 min, but it's just laidback participation. The textbook is super easy to read. There's weekly quizzes, but they're short and straightforward, and they're also low-pressure because you only need to answer 66% of the questions correctly to get a 100%. Tests are all open-book & open-note (YMMV, that's probably just for the online version of the class). Non-cumulative final. The professor is super knowledgeable and has found a good balance between getting into the actual science behind climate change vs. not going too far into complicated physics/chemistry that would be beyond an intro EVSC course. I'm able to stay focused for the entirety of the lectures, and feel like I'm able to get a good handle on the material despite the online format. I'm a bio major just taking this class for fun, and I'd definitely recommend it.

As a foreign affairs major, I took this class to fulfill the science pre req, and I am so glad I did. I would knock out all of the work for this class in two days, never look at the material until two days before the exams, and still did well. The lectures were very direct, which you have to watch in order to get participation points. Three exams that were pretty straightforward, and as a person who struggles with science, they were pretty easy. She gives out practice exams before, which are extremely helpful. Quizzes every week, but they are graded for completion (100% if you get over 66% on all of them at the end of the semester). One blog post on an article of your choosing. You have to read a chapter from the textbook every week, but it is not hard or long at all. Not only was the class pretty easy, but the information itself was also surprisingly interesting to me. Climate change and its effects is something everyone should learn about, and I am confident I am leaving this class knowing a lot more than I did before. Overall, if you're looking to fulfill that pre req and you do not like science (like me), I highly recommend this course. #tCF2020

Professor Lawrence is really sweet and definitely knows her stuff. I thought everything in the class was useful information about climate change and interesting.
The work in this class is reading the textbook, weekly quizzes, a discussion section (once a week with camera on), three exams (no cumulative final), watching videos on collab with participation questions, and writing a blog post as well as reading/commenting on others.

Quizzes: 14% (if you average 66% over the whole semester -- getting 3/5 and 4/5 scores on the quizzes -- you will get all 14%)
Discussion sections (including watching posted lectures and answering the participation questions): 20% (just show up, nothing scary)
Exam 1: 17%
Exam 2: 17%
Exam 3: 17% (taken during finals week but not cumulative)
Blog writing: 10% (split up into 2 points for choosing topic, 2 points for choosing sources, 25 points for final submission - usually there is a first draft of the blog but that was cancelled for election week)
Blog reading: 3% (completion just read 12 blogs that are under 250 words each)
Commenting on blogs: 2% (write a thoughtful comment on someone's blog)

The blogs part are not scary for this class! Really not hard and you could knock out writing your blog in a couple hours one afternoon if you so choose. The exams are fair usually being 70%-80% multiple choice and the rest free response. The first two tests involve some minimal math, but it really is not hard. The textbook is interested and the professor is nice, take this class if it works for your schedule!!

seemed to be have been easier online during COVID but in person the tests could be somewhat difficult. not a bad class but not a great class because of the assignments. I loved the topics which were all so interesting and crucial, grew my love for EVSC. but assignments could have been better #tCF2020

I would highly recommend this class! I took this class online during covid, but the workload was fairly light. The class never really felt particularly stressful, and Professor Lawrence is really nice. The work consists of reading the textbook, watching lecture videos, attending a once-weekly discussion section, writing a blog post, and studying for the 3 exams over the semester. The exams were fairly easy, but the questions were somewhat specific/detail-oriented, however they were open-book so it wasn't that bad. The final isn't cumulative, which was very nice, as we only had to study the last few chapters of the textbook again. Overall, great class.

Professor Lawrence is a great lecturer who is super passionate about the subject, and it shows in each of her lectures. While I came into this class obviously knowing that climate change was real and more had to be done to subvert it, I didn't know anything about the actual data or full-on impact, which I gained in full from this class. She definitely engrains the importance of the issue with everyone in class, and her lectures are pretty easy to follow without getting boring (her or the TA's will help if you have any trouble understanding). The lectures also pretty much go over exactly what's in the book, so you can just skim the book before class then get a full understanding in lecture. She uses Learning Catalytics questions in class that are graded for completion, so you'll get a 100% on that portion of the grade if you just attend the lectures.
Additionally, there are twice-weekly quizzes or ask a question assignments that are heavily curved (if you answer over 50% of the quiz questions right, you'll get a 100 on them) plus an end-of-semester blog assignment that wasn't difficult.
The only thing I had trouble with was the exams. There are four of them that make up 56% of the grade in total, but I felt like a lot of the questions were worded confusingly and/or covered information I didn't think was super important, thus leading to a worse grade in them. The first and fourth exams were completely open-note and open-book, but the second and third just allowed a sheet of notes (which helped with some questions, but not others). That led it to not be quite the GPA boost that I expected.
Overall, take this class if you want to learn more about why climate change is so important. If you simply need to knock out a science credit, this is a great class for you!

With so many outstanding reviews for this class I thought it would be so much better and easier than it was!! Professor Lawrence felt a little all over the place to me. Her lectures often made the information more confusing and she would sometimes contradict herself. But the exams were the worst part! The content wasn't that difficult at all but for the questions she would pull out random facts from the textbook or things we didn't discuss!! They didn't feel very fair and a lot of people were disappointed with their grades. If you're interested in climate change, this course does cover it in depth, but it wasn't the most interesting course in my opinion.