Took 161 with her last quarter. As a psychobio major, this class was nothing compared to the science classes we have to take in the pre-recs. Her lectures are structured well, even though she does just read off the slides. The material is interesting though, and she does try to make it as enjoyable as possible. I got a A mostly just studying her slides and relistening to lectures. There really isn't any need to read the assigned readings unless you're interested in the stuff in more detail. I skimmed them, but she goes over them in lecture in the amount of detail necessary. For the short answers, just memorize the summary lecture slides word for word. The MC was pretty easy, just be careful as always. Also, she seemed like a really cool person. One time her mic wouldn't work so she just canceled class haha. She's also really pretty. I was already sold just looking at her but the material was interesting too. Man I wish I could take more classes with her...why can't science professors be this good looking

* This is for Psych 164 (Puberty and Sleep)

Dr. Galvan's class was so enjoyable. I had relatively little interest in the subject matter, but by the end...loved it. Her class is presented in a clear, concise manner. There are 3 midterms (each about 30% of your grade and NOT cummulative) and 10% for participation. I found that the best way to tackle this class was to rewrite my lecture notes, go to office hours and frankly, I didn't read the assigned readings (she covers what you need to know on her slides in lecture).

She's very approachable and does really want to help you and answer questions. She also grades VERY fairly. If you put in the work, stay up on the slides, and ask good questions, you'll be just fine. And probably end up having a great time in class!

I would absolutely take 161 with Dr. Galvan again! Not only was the class straightforward, but also interesting and engaging. There are 3 multiple choice exams, not cumulative, and NO FINAL. An i>clicker was used for in-class participation, but the questions were fairly easy if you were paying attention in class. Honestly, the best part is that Dr. Galvan condensed all the readings into a course reader, which was significantly cheaper than a textbook! She is a great lecturer, and I always walked out of class glad that I had gone.

This class was very easy and I learned a lot. The averages were pretty high and I usually studied the day before or the day of for each exam and the final. Although the material is easy if you pay attention, you still learn a lot and the class can be rewarding.

She is also very attractive, which makes going to class pleasurable!

Straightforward and simple class. Both tests were 50% of the grade, so don't slack off and screw up.

This class was a complete scam. 60-70% solid A's my butt. I bet only like 30% of people got an A this quarter. Her midterm was so poorly worded! She tried to make up for this by making the final a piece of cake, but it didn't make up for the midterm that we essentially tanked. It just does not make any sense that the midterm and final are both weighted equally (50%). This grading scheme does not reward improvement from the midterm, because if you get like a B on the midterm, you're already at a 90.0 in the class, which you would then have to get 100% on the final to get an A-. I have taken numerous south campus classes that have rewarded significant improvement from midterm to final. If you're thinking about taking this class for an easy A, don't. Yes, I'm salty.

DO NOT TRUST the grade distribution on bruinwalk, that's NOT an EASY A. I went to every lecture and put effort into studying the two exams. The questions were not purposely testing on the general concepts, but JUST MINOR DETAILS in the lecture slides. The professor is nice and engaging, but she's not a good at setting questions. The grade is only based on the two exams, 50% each. Missing a few questions already pulled you from the A range.

Like the recent reviews stated on here, Galvan would ask the most nit-picky question that does not test for understanding, and if you saw key words, that's probably wrong because she doesn't go for the main concept, but rather poorly worded answer choices that are just kind of right nuance restated in the strangest possible way. There is no room for mistake in a 50% midterm and 50% final grade scheme, and it's ridiculous that the midterm was weighed more for each question than the final, since that's usually people's first gauge at her question style. Her lectures are fairly light, but again, it's just frustrating that her tests are so poorly constructed. Even if you go to her OH to ask about the questions, she wouldn't even know what you're asking, and may say something wrong to justify the answer key. She'd also throw in questions that were definitely not remotely close to the focus of the class, such as: "All of the following are similarities of puberty and metamorphosis except... hypothalamus control, sex hormone control, behavior and mood changes, and body structure change," and if you like insects undergoing puberty then by all means take this class, but I still question how they go through mood changes.

Like all the other reviews say below: DO NOT TRUST THE GRADING DISTRIBUTION. I am rather conflicted as I write this review, and trying to not weigh in too much of my biases to this review.

PROFESSOR: As a whole, Galvan is actually really funny and very passionate about her topic that she teaches about. She is engaging and adds funny stories and pictures of herself as an adolescent / her children, and it just makes the class enjoyable. She does though, speak very quickly at times. I recorded lectures and would have to listen to them in 0.5x speed (instead of others usually replaying lectures at 2x speed) She also is not very clear at some moments, as she will start a sentence saying one thing, but end the sentence with statements that conflict the first half of the sentence. (i.e. she started a sentence saying puberty starts earlier, but then ended up saying that puberty does not start earlier? I'm sure that's what she said because I recorded the lecture and listened to that part 5 times because I was really confused...)

CONTENT: the content is more so neuroscience. This is a very science based class that is not represented in the course title. If you don't understand brain regions, then this class will be confusing to you / you'll just need to put a bigger effort in studying. The class is cool though because she teaches you a lot about adolescence and I felt like it was relatable because she taught us why adolescence might not be that bad of a stage in life and taught us what happens in the brain that leads to adolescents acting like adolescents do. (It really made sense as to why I was the way I was in middle school and high school)

EXAMS: 2 exams, each 50% worth your grade. This was weird though, because the midterm had less questions (45 questions) than the final, meaning each question on the midterm was worth more than the final (60 questions). The first midterm was super hard, and I think a lot of people didn't do well in it, which is why the second exam (final) was a lot easier.

OVERALL, I felt like this class was very interesting, but do not let the grading distribution trick you. I think most of the class was unhappy with the professor, because they say that 80% of the people got As in previous quarters. But if you just view this as a class with a more normal distribution of grades, you'll enjoy it.

Class changed. Don't trust distribution. GPA fell below 3.90