Quarter Taken:
Winter 2018
Submitted March 24, 2018
Grade Received:
A+
This class is one of the first upper div electives I took for my major, and I can honestly say that it was very fun! I will admit, sometimes Bruce's lectures can be somewhat dry, but he always inserts clever (but subtle) puns, comics, and humor in them, so if you pay attention you should be able to catch them. He's a very sweet old man from Australia, and he definitely knows his stuff about paleontology. His voice is very calming and his accent does have a tendency to lull you to sleep though, so most of my peers were not that awake in class. I know that lots of people don't go to class, but I do recommend going, even if it's just sitting through lecture. He goes over many things you won't be able to understand just by looking at the slides/pictures, and it's helpful to learn about the specimens you're going to see in lab that week.
The class is divided into as follows: 20% midterm, 30% lab work, 20% lab final, 30% final. Labs consist of answering questions about specimens seen in the lab and some take-home labs that require you to design fossils such as trilobites, brachiopods, etc. For my class, the averages for the midterm and final were quite low (around the low 60s) so don't expect a cakewalk for the exams. They are very in-depth and detailed, and you need a good understanding of the geological time scale, specimens, and paleontology to do well. However, Bruce is generous on the scaling for the grades, and so if you have a high 80s average, you should be able to pull off an A- depending on other people's performances in class. I myself am a fan of rocks and paleontology so I was able to pull a nice percentage in the class, but if you're not a fan, it might be more difficult for you. If he's still around, I recommend Kevin Coffey as a TA! He's super informative in lab sessions and he is happy to answer any and all questions that you have about the class. This class also doesn't have a textbook, so I thought that was nice my wallet as well.