ASTR 3470

This class was awesome. Not only was Prof. Kelsey excellent, engaging, and interesting, but there was minimal work, no tests, you don't need to do the readings, and the class is largely discussion based. If Kelsey ever teaches this class again (although she probably won't), I can't recommend it enough. You'll learn a lot of really interesting things that will make you think - my personal favorite units were those on UFOs, creationism, astrology, and asteroids. The only homework is a 500 word blog each week and 3 comments on others' blogs, but this doesn't take more than an hour or so max. This is one of those classes that everyone should take before graduating, it is a perfect 3rd or 4th year class. I got an A+ in the class, and only did about half of the 'assigned' readings (there is a lot of it, but very little of it has to be done, as there are no quizzes or exams).

If you don't like group-work, stay away. In this class, you'll learn about aliens, astrology, the importance of scientific literacy, philosophical perspectives on knowledge, and more. Kelsey is an amazing professor, and the melting pot of different backgrounds was great. There were econ majors, engineers, people in the class for an easy A (which it is, if you do the work), astro majors, etc. Kelsey will learn your name and value what you have to say. The blog posts were somewhat annoying, but I think she is changing that next year. This class is really about learning and having fun doing science. That's why there are no exams. Still, I feel like she covers a lot of conceptual material and it's definitely a worthwhile class.

I absolutely loved this class! Kelsey is such a cool, down to earth professor who really cares about her students learning. The material is interesting as you talk about controversies with astrology, global warming, UFOs, the role of media, science budgets, and more cool stuff. Even though I am not a science major, the class is one of the most influential classes I have taken at UVA. The class is pretty much all easy group work (which can all be done over Google Docs) and a weekly blog post. She assigns some reading every few weeks, but you can get away with just skimming a few pages so you can discuss it with a partner. Aside from that, there's really not that much work. This class is every college kid's dream....easy (with no tests/exams) and interesting. Whether or not you need a sci/math credit, take this class!

Kelsey is a great professor. She tweaked this course from its usual exam-based method into one that only took into account groupwork, blogs, and various projects. This made the class very easy because there was no studying necessary nor was the reading. I started off slow because I did not participate as much as I could have on projects, but that started to change once I made a better effort, and then ended up with an A. Overall the class is very chill and easy, take it if you want this type of class.

I have absolutely loved this class! Kelsey is one of the absolute best professors at UVA, I would take any class she taught. The majority of the class was non-science majors, so if you're not super into hard core science this is a great class for you. Also, there were no tests, everything was based off of group work assignments. While the groups could be tedious, it was an effective way of teaching the course. I love this class, it was less focused on astronomy and honestly felt more like a psych class. Definitely would recommend to anyone.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this class and science is far from being one of my favorite subjects. It was probably one of my favorite classes at UVA. Kelsey is a great teacher.

Kelsey is a great Professor. As a science lover and one who will major in a science, it is wonderful and refreshing to have a science teacher who not only knows his/her stuff, but also has people skills, does not act like he/she is afraid of the students, can actually communicate and actually cares about the students and desires to get to know them. Kelsey is the best of both worlds. Great for anyone who wants to think rationally (people who are afraid of math/sci should not be afraid of this course.)