GSVS 2050

Okay, this class definitely gets an unreasonable amount of hate and has a pretty bad rep for being hard, I hope this review will provide some encouragement for anyone thinking of taking the class but who is discouraged by the reviews. First, yes, this is a difficult class. Yes, there is a lot of homework. Yes, Professor Groves has high expectations, but none of it is unreasonable. Every week, you have about 6-7 hours of readings, podcasts, and videos where you essentially learn the content and you have to take a quiz but the thing is, he gives you guiding questions so as long as you know the answer to those questions, you’ll do great on the quizzes. Honestly if you just go off of the questions the homework load is cut down to like 4 hours a week.

Additionally, there are a few assignments throughout the semester. First is the Personal Energy Audit, lots of calculations, but not that difficult. The Civic Engagement assignment, where you basically petition and advocate for a certain sustainable initiative in the community (it changes every semester), and the final paper, which is long but it’s open topic. Put in the effort, and you’ll do well on them, he’s not a tough grade if he sees the effort.

Further, I know the final has a bad rep, it’s definitely not easy, and the average is typically a C+ or B- but all I can say is USE THE STUDY GUIDE RELIGIOUSLY!! It’s 18 pages of question after question but take the time to go through every single one and actually write out answers to every single one, I did that and ended up getting an A, so it’s absolutely doable.

Finally, Groves is a very kind person, go talk to him during office hours. He’s really committed to involving his students in making the world a better place, he can be a little aloof at first, but at his core, I’ve found he cares more about teaching and us learning than following guidelines and focusing on grades and scoring.

Btw the fact that he can run a 75 person class without TAs is amazing too, I mean I think he sees the value of individualized instruction and more time with a real professor rather than some questionable TA, so kudos to him for that, too.

#tCFF23

If you want a course that gives a very in-depth overview of sustainability and sustainable energy systems, this is the course for you. The course is broken down into 8 modules: Foundations, SES and the Environment, SES and the Economy, SES and Society, Electricity Science and Tech, the Electricity Grid, Emerging Energy System Innovations, and Energy End Use Sectors.

In terms of difficulty, the materials in this course are very easy to master, but the volume of work was large. For each class, you were expected to engage with a given set of readings, podcasts, and/or other materials to understand the module. These can take hours to complete, so make sure you keep up with them so that you don't fall behind on all the work. At the end of the week, you are given a quiz (completed on your own time and due before the following class) that tests your knowledge of the homework material. However, these are open-note and you are provided a list of things you are expected to know, which helps a ton.

Participation matters in this class and is a component of your grade, but there are many ways to participate. Each lecture has a Poll Everywhere, so attendance is encouraged. Also, at the end of the week's last lecture, students are provided with the opportunity to speak based on a prompt. For those who did not get a chance to speak, there are discussion boards to post your thoughts.

Throughout the semester, there are different assignments like the personal energy audit and democracy in action assignments that allow you to engage with the course beyond the classroom. There are no midterm exams, but there is a final exam that is cumulative and is very memorization-heavy, so I suggest understanding the material in-depth throughout the semester rather than cramming. Additionally, there is a final paper that is based on a topic of your choice. It is 2500 words length, but Professor Groves was flexible on the deadline, even extending it for us due to exams.

You learn a very diverse array of topics in this class related to sustainability and SES, but this course should not be mistaken as an easy A class. Professor Groves is passionate about sustainability and cares about his students but does not make that passion contagious. The lectures are informative but not very engaging, but outside of that, this course has a lot of potential and can be very enjoyable. #tCFS24

I like Groves. He is a passionate guy despite his monotone voice. I lowkey was bored during his lectures and it was a lot to keep up with. This class is A LOT of work. It isn't hard, it's just time-consuming. Majority of the stuff you have to read/listen to is interesting and he gives you exact questions to answer, but it's still a lot. You really do need to do all the work even though it isn't graded cause you'll be screwed for the final exam if you don't. TAKE ALL THE NOTES. You will regret it if you don't, so that means you're locking into AT LEAST 4.5 hours of work a week. I scored 60% on class participation despite thinking I participated a lot, so that was kind of frustrating. His standards are really difficult to reach/exceed because he is such a detail-oriented professor. Every assignment and test is super particular. The final paper and exam are definitely hard. Only take this class if you are really really interested in the subject matter because otherwise, it will frustrate you a lot. I am glad Groves inspired me to attend a city council meeting and that I have him as a connection, but this class was def rough to get through.

Show up to class and expect a fair amount of homework, but know that's it's interesting and worth putting the time into. Professor Groves tells you exactly what you need to know from each podcast/article/other thing you have to read/listen to, and as long as you find the answers to those questions you will ace the weekly quizzes (open note but timed). The final paper topic was up to the student to choose based on some broad outlines, allowing a lot of flexibility and letting each student find something they're actually interested in to write about. The final is tough, but as long as you put the time into studying exactly what he tells you to you'll be fine. He gave us something like 200 vocab words and 4 pages of topics that could be on the exam - quizlet the vocab (because you won't get a word bank) as well as the topics and memorize it and you'll basically ace it. If memorization isn't your strong suit maybe be a little wary. Overall this class took a fair bit of time that I didn't love investing during my fourth year, but it showed me a passion and got me a job in the solar industry so I think it's definitely worth the time and effort!

I would say overall, if you are interested in sustainability than this course is interesting. In my opinion, Professor Groves assigns a lot of busy work for readings as homework, but if you have a friend in the class to split them up with then you should be fine. The final project is a 2000 word paper on something you find interesting in the energy system, and as a student in the college I thought it actually wasn't that bad of a paper to write. The final exam was ridiculously detailed, and I thought the math section was extremely hard considering there is no equations for homework or demonstrations in class. I will never understand the purpose of making kids memorize that much stuff when they are going to forget it less than 24 hours later. It would definitely be more beneficial to us and the future of the energy transition if we were expected to understand the key items not specific, tedious details. I really enjoyed the content of this class, but did not enjoy Professor Groves very much. I went to office hours once, but left feeling like he thought I had wasted his time. He makes it seem as though he is welcoming and willing to help, but once you reach out I couldn't help but feeling he wasn't. I wish I remembered to leave him a course evaluation so this could improve. Overall, I think its a great topic and a good course, but could be better if taught by someone else.

This class is definitely not an easy A, but it was 100% the most interesting class I took this semester. Your grade consists of weekly reading quizzes (open note), participation (posting on discussion boards/speaking up in class), a mid-semester assignment, and a final and essay at the end of the semester. The reading for the class is extensive but not hard, probably takes about 2-4 hours per week to get through it all. Most of it is podcasts/articles that are actually almost always interesting enough to easily pay attention, and the quiz questions will come straight from guiding questions Prof Groves provides for each assigned material. The mid-semester assignment wasn't too bad, nor was posting on the discussion board every week because it's almost always just asking your opinion on something you talked about in class. The final essay also isn't that hard, especially since you get to pick your topic. The final exam is pretty brutal though. He does give a 20 page doc about everything you should know, but it really doesn't narrow it down much. Be prepared to memorize a TON of random facts and vocab words because he will ask you specifics. Overall was not easy but I learned a TON, so if you're interested in sustainable energy and willing to put in the effort to do the readings and understand the material I'd definitely recommend this class.

This course is a lot of work, but it is definitely worth it if you are interested in renewable energy (which everyone should be because its the FUTURE). Anyways, each class has multiple readings/videos/podcasts that you have to listen to for homework. These can take at minimum 30 minutes to complete (if you really try to just get through the content as fast as you can) and upwards of 4 hours to complete if you actually want to read all of the content. The time commitment isn't too bad, since it's only two classes per week and no discussion. Other than the two homework's a week, there's a quiz every week which is based on the homework (not very difficult), 2 big assignments which are confusing at first but not as bad as they seem once you get started, and a final exam (which was harder than I expected). If you are interested in this course, definitely take it, but you do a lot of work and you learn a lot at the same time. The amount of effort you put in is what you get out. Also professor Groves is a great guy, very nice and helpful in office hours.