PSYC 2005

Smyth is really nice, although his lectures are a bit dull and slow (I watched them at 2x speed). There are daily quizzes (19% of final grade), three exams (19% each), and a cumulative final exam (24%). You get credit for answering quiz questions even if your answer is wrong, and because there are so many quizzes each individual quiz counts for so little and they aren’t a big deal. The exams aren’t too bad if you study, and Smyth provides optional homework to help with studying (DO THE OPTIONAL HW, IT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE MATH). There are also a lot of extra credit opportunities (ex. surveys, daily extra credit quizzes). This class wasn’t my favorite, but it was informative and helpful for the psych major and it could have been worse.

I didn't really enjoy this class since it was very stat heavy (which I have no background in). Other than that, it was somewhat interesting since it breaks down psych studies and helps you understand them a lot better. It was very reading heavy though and for me difficult. In terms of Professor Smyth, I thought he was a really great person and very knowledgeable. His lectures are more supplements to the readings to really emphasize what he wants you to take away. He does talk a bit slow though so I would watch them x1.5-2. Highly recommend doing his extra credit work and optional homeworks, it really pays off. I didn't do too well on his exams since there weren't that many questions, so points mattered, but was able to get an overall A- from his daily quizzes and extra credit points. I really liked Smyth since he would mention racial inequality a lot, and was very welcoming to all genders -- something we don't see very often even now. He is also very lenient with some of his deadlines, and would give points back/ curve often! I personally wouldn't recommend the class, but am looking forward to taking future classes with him!

Smyth's course may be more difficult than the other professors' courses, but you actually learn something in the process. With reading quizzes (or clicker questions) every class period that accumulates to about 20% of your overall grade, you are forced to comprehend the reading material and then use it to pass the quizzes. The professor is extremely nice and generous, but his lectures are also pretty boring and dry. So, the bottom line is that if you are a hopeful PSYC major, this professor will better prepare you for the more advanced statistical courses like Psych 3006 that you will have to take. He might be boring and slow, but he knows how to prepare you for success in the PSYC field.

This course is unfortunately not the quality I'd expect of UVA. The material is poorly taught, even though Professor Smyth is a nice man, the terminology is not taught well, so you will often be confused about what exactly he is talking about or asking you to calculate. The number of quizzes is a little ridiculous, and they'll often only have 3 questions, so if you miss one, you will receive a 66.67% on that quiz. Those add up to an unpleasant grade. If not necessary, I don't recommend this course.
Questions will be drawn seemingly randomly from direct wording in reading, additional videos, and lectures, requiring precise recollection of wording from the many hours of possibilities.
Statistics does not need to be difficult, but this course managed to make it so.

(Taken Fall 2023)
Professor Smyth is a sweet guy, but his class is the third circle of hell. Tests are completely randomly nitpicked from readings- specific wordings and all. It's impossible to prepare for them in any meaningful way. Yeah, he's nice, but his in-class lectures are slow and boring, and he confuses himself too. He's allergic to answering questions in a coherent and understandable way. He'll drop your lowest test score for your iClicker score, which is nice of him, because you'll REALLY need it.
I took AP Stats in high school, and honestly, most of the material covered in this class was the exact same. That being said, I got a 5 on the AP Stats exam and did much worse in this class- solely because of Smyth. He's very available to his students but so senile it doesn't even matter. Severe warnings in this class- only take if you have to, for a psych major or minor. Don't bother otherwise. Save yourself.

**took fall 2023 idk why it didn't have that option

Smyth is boring. really boring. but clearly cares a lot about statistics and is willing to help you a lot. He curves the grades a lot (like 4-7 out of a 41 point exam) but tbh his exams are easy to do bad on because he assigns random amounts of points to things. Some multiple choice questions will be .25 points and others 2 unfortunately.

DO THE READINGS. The daily clicker questions go either to a up-to-3% boost on your grade bucket or a bucket that can replace a midterm grade if your clicker percentage is higher

3 midterms, have to take cumulative final

This class is boring but not hard, you just have to focus more on theory and definitions than the math itself

#tCFF23

If you do not need to take this class, do not take it. I did horribly in this class and not because I didn't try. The exams are super random. He insists that the math is important but barely asks any questions about it. I walked into each exam confident and left super confused. I saw students cry during each exam. On the other hand, professor Smyth is a super nice guy that does want to see his students succeed. You can use clicker points as an exam grade, he curves the exams and gives extra credit opportunities. His lectures are super boring though. I genuinely struggled to pay attention and you can tell that it is the case for a huge portion of the other students in the class. The content is not interesting and the reading is easy to understand but super boring to read. My advice is, do not take this class. If you have to, good luck and don't spend as much time reviewing math like I did.

Professor Smyth is a great guy and it is clear that he really cares about his students. His lectures overall are okay, though it can be dry at times. He likes students to note take with paper and pen, but if you prefer laptop note taking, he asks that you sit in the front 4-5 rows. The lectures move very slow, and he spends a lot of time on the same topic, but if you are able to pay attention, the lectures are a great addition to the readings. The readings are mostly simple to understand, and are definitely something you should read because you will be asked questions on the exam based on the textbook (and videos). The breakdown of the grade is three midterms (worth 24% each) and and a final (worth 28%). This sounds unforgiving, but he gives a opportunities for up to a 3% boost in your grade and to replace one of your midterms with an iClicker grade.

The lectures were awful to sit through. For reference, I did not do well and I did not come from a stat background. Smyth is a great guy out of class and very understanding, but this class is so difficult for no reason. The optional homeworks are necessary to even understand what he's saying in his lecture and his clicker questions are so difficult. He adds around 2 points at the end of the semester to your final grade if you answer his extra credit clicker questions in class and is nice about giving partial credit on exams if you explain to him how you got your answer.

overall, this class was not enjoyable in my opinion, but if you come from a stat background or enjoy research and math, there is great potential you could excel in this class.

advice:
- do the optional homeworks along with Smyth's lectures so you make sure you understand
- ask Smyth questions directly
- attend class for the clicker questions - they are a decent part of your grade

I did not enjoy this class. The class is mostly based on 3 midterms and the cumulative final. The lowest of the midterms will be replaced with your clicker score if it is higher. In class, you have to use an iClicker or the iClicker app, which you have to pay for, to answer credit questions based on the readings for that day. There are also extra credit clicker questions in class that will be added to the overall grade. For the for-credit clicker questions, you get half credit just for answering, and full credit for the right answer. In each class, you were expected to read multiple chapters from two textbooks along with extra readings occasionally. In class, he lectures but mostly just about specific studies, you have to teach yourself how to actually do the statistics and learn the terminology from the textbook outside of class. There were three TAs and they all have open office hours for extra help. #tCFS24