UBC Courses Review-Year 2!

Well, since I've given up blogging here in the last while, logging back in and I've noticed that the most popular post here is.....the UBC Courses Review!  So, I've decided to do another one with the courses I've taken this year! I'll also post some course reviews from friends in different classes, but I can't speak about those personally because I've never taken them.

EOSC 114-The Catastrophic Earth: Natural Disasters
Everyone always asks, "What's a GPA booster course at UBC?" and people, for some odd reason, answer "EOSC 114!". I don't think I'd agree with that statement. Maybe in the past, this course was easier but with all the people taking it lately, it doesn't seem like it's really a booster. You look about different natural disasters-earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, tornadoes, etc. with every unit being taught by a different teacher. Some of the teachers are hilarious, so I give that a thumbs up. There are 3 midterms and a final. The midterms are not all that easy-you really have to know your stuff. Also, every midterm and the final have a group component; after doing the exam on your own, you do the same test again with a group of 4 and that accounts for a certain percentage of the grade for the midterm. It's pretty helpful at increasing your mark. It's definitely an interesting course, but you do have to put in the effort. It's a "booster" if you study!


CENS 202-Great Works of Literature from Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe (Steven Taubeneck)
This is an absolutely great course, at least in my opinion. I took it with Steven Taubeneck, who is an amazing teacher at UBC. He cares a lot about his students, and gives you the option to get your participation marks for the class by coming into tutorials. Careful though-he does call on people in class! The course is super interesting though and he gives a lot of help along the way. 2 or 3 in-class essays, but he gives you the questions ahead of time!, and a final paper on the topic of your choice. No final. Definitely recommend.

ITAL 201- Second Year Italian I (Monica)
Not much to say about this class. It's a continuation of the Italian Year 1 courses and a requirement if you are completing your language requirement in Italian. Most of the course is a review of what you learned in Year 1 Italian because they know that students forget a lot over the summer. I had Monica as a teacher-it was her first time teaching at UBC, so she had her ups and downs. If taking it with Monica, I suggest that you really learn the grammar because she doesn't go over the homework almost ever and just creates oral exercises, so make sure you can do that. Other than that, pretty easy.

PSYC 217-Research Methods (Amori Mikami)
As much of a dork as I may be, this was probably my favourite course in first semester. Amori Mikami is a great teacher and she is sooooo passionate about research methods, which makes the class even better. She will try and learn your name and go to her office hours, they're fun and worthwhile. You have to invest the time into doing your project, and make sure you really analyze your data properly, not just superficially. Great course and since it's a requirement for all Psych majors, go into it with an open mind, it's actually a lot of fun if you have the right professor!

PSYC 302-Infancy (Kiley J. Hamlin)
I personally found this course pretty boring. The material is super dry and Dr. Hamlin isn't always the most engaging, although I know she tries to be. The best part was when she brought a baby into class and we sort of related our learning to the baby. The midterms are kinda tricky, and the material can be all learned from the textbook. I wouldn't recommend this course unless you're interested in developmental psychology.

CENS 201-Contrasts and Conflicts: The cultures of Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe (Kyle Frackman)
Best course, hands down, at UBC for Arts students (or any students). Kyle Frackman is an amazing teacher and this class was definitely one you didn't even want to skip, despite it being at 9:30 in the morning. His focus is on witchcraft in history, which is actually absolutely fascinating. You also talk about contemporary witchcraft. The class has no final, 5 quizzes all take home and submitted on turn it in. I absolutely recommend this class to anyone. Not only is it an amazing GPA booster (I managed a 96%), its the most interesting course.

FMST 210-Family Context of Human Development (Maria Weatherby)
Extremely structured, which is a bonus. She sends out the fill in notes ahead of time and you come to class and fill them out together. The group project is annoying to say the least, especially if you don't take this class with friends, which I strongly suggest. Really easy to do well; her midterms and final are extremely straight forward, just keep up with the textbook. She's really nice to and cares for her students learning.

ITAL 202- Second Year Italian II (Giorgio Jacova)
Last Italian course as part of the language requirement if you're taking Italian to complete it. Definitely the hardest of the bunch. You'll have to take time to practice as there are a lot of tenses by this point. Giorgio is hilarious, and having him in first year as well, as long as you show him you care, he'll give you a good mark. His marking isn't actually reflective of how you did but more how he thinks you're doing in the class. Show up to class, put in the work, he'll definitely reward you.

PSYC 218: Analysis of Behavioural Data (Geoff Hall)
Again, I could be a dork, but this was one of my favourite classes I've taken at UBC. People make stats out to be extremely difficult but it really varies on (1) your effort and (2) your teacher. Read the textbook and do all the practice problems-there's no way to do well at Statistics unless you practice. The assignments aren't very difficult and a great way to boost your mark. If you take Psyc 218, which you have to as a psych major, definitely take it with Dr. Hall. One of the best professors in the psych department; you will learn so much and he is so effective at teaching. Don't let others scare you; it's not a hard course.

PSYC 308: Social Psychology (Don Dutton)
To say I disliked this course is an understatement. Dr. Dutton is not a very effective teacher and loves talking about himself. His course structure is confusing and it's 50% midterm, 50% final, so you gotta ace both to do well in the class. If you are interested in social psych, you can do well by going to class and reading the textbook very thoroughly. The material wasn't that interesting in my opinion but I know some people like it. Definitely try and take it with another professor though.