I was honestly pretty nervous about taking this class at first, but Dr. Clerkin ended up making it much more manageable and even engaging . The course structure includes 2 online exams with a full page cheat sheet (front and back), four in-class extra credit opportunities where collaboration is allowed, and four homework assignments completed outside of class. There is a cumulative final however, if you do well on the first two non-cumulative exams, you can skip the the final since she drops the lowest scores of everything. She also drops your lowest score in each category and offers extra credit, which is definitely worth taking advantage of since the exams carry a lot of weight.
One thing to keep in mind is that extra credit assignments aren’t announced ahead of time, so showing up to lecture really matters. The readings can be a bit heavy and not really necessary, but her lecture slides are crucial. She posts them online so no need to worry if you miss class. Using the practice problems she provides also made a big difference in understanding the material.
Overall, she’s genuinely kind and approachable, and I’d definitely recommend taking this class with her.
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5 Reviews
The workload is manageable, and I highly recommend you do the textbook readings, especially if your familiarity with statistics is weak or rusty. Dr. Clerkin is easily the best professor to take this class with. She is generous with grading and she is a very kind and understanding person. Overall, the class is not too difficult, but you still have to study.
This class is a requirement for psyc majors, so you'll have to take it. If you can, take it with professor Clerkin. She makes the class objectives very clear and thoroughly goes over any material she expects you to know on exams. There are 4 homework assignments, 4 exams, and one final, and your lowest test grade (including the final) will be dropped. If you do the homework and attend lectures, you'll do well. The reading is said to be a requirement, but because the professor is so thorough with her lectures, it is very possible to pass with high marks without completing all the readings. The material is also often intuitive, and if it isn't Clerkin reviews it with emphasis. She wants you to pass with high marks, so as long as you're attentive in class and do the homework and practices she provides, you'll do well.
I was dreading taking this class, but Dr. Clerkin made it very easy and somewhat interesting! The class is composed of 4 online tests that are open-book (no final), 4 in-class assignments (you can work with others), and 4 out-of-class homework assignments; however, she drops your lowest grade for each one and provides extra credit opportunities (do them bc the tests are weighted pretty heavily). She doesn't tell you when she'll assign the in-class assignments, so attending lecture is pretty important. The readings are sometimes dense and boring, but I found that downloading/printing the slides and annotating them in lecture made the material easier to retain—utilize the practice problems she provides too. Overall, she's one of the nicest professors I've had at UVA, and I highly recommend taking this class with her!!!
I took this class as a requirement, but ended up enjoying it! The content isn't very difficult, and all the powerpoints from class are posted in advance on Canvas. The readings aren't too tedious, but I didn't find it necessary to do them in order to get an A+. On top of this, the class is comprised of four exams, four homeworks, and four randomly assigned in class assignment. To make things easier, she drops the lowest grade of each of those three categories, so I stopped showing up after the third exam (plus there's no final). Dr. Clerkin also offers three extra credit opportunities, all very easy, so take advantage of that if you need it. If you have a choice, definitely take it with Dr. Clerkin, I highly recommend!