Professor

Brian Wood

AD
2.9
Overall Ratings
Based on 24 Users
Easiness 2.9 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Workload 3.7 / 5 How light the workload is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Clarity 2.9 / 5 How clear the professor is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Helpfulness 2.7 / 5 How helpful the professor is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

Reviews (24)

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June 7, 2022
Quarter: Spring 2022
Grade: N/A

Although the class itself isn’t horrible, the grading scheme is. The midterm is worth 40% of your grade as well as the final. I only took this class for my major and I would not take it again. The tests were very specific to the textbook and overall was too hard for what it should be. The professor was not bad but should take into consideration changing the grading scheme or even offering extra credit.

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Dec. 29, 2023
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: C

Avoid this class if u can. There’s such few assignments that if u miss like 2 points it drops ur grade a lot since everything is graded out of 7 points. No extra credit assignments offered and midterm wasn’t bad but u had to know the lecture slides good to do well. I didn’t like how u don’t even get to see ur midterm exam after it’s graded but whatever. He started passing around an attendance sheet week 3 I’m not sure if he’s gonna continue that but attendance counts for 5% of ur grade. Overall, the professor as a person is great and was openly available after class but the assignment scale grading was absolute garbage.

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ANTHRO 1
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
June 29, 2021
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: P

This class was way too hard for a GE. The midterm killed any chance at getting an A. Though it was open note, the questions were super specific and they were super nit-picky about the free-response ones. Like you had no idea what they actually expected you to write. The class was not engaging and it felt like being forced to watch a very boring YouTube video.

The professor and my TA definitely were knowledgeable on the subject. Perhaps my final assessment is that this would be a good class for someone genuinely interested in the subject, otherwise, you are bored and frustrated out of your mind. I cannot imagine taking this in person and having to memorize dates, primate teeth, digestive tracks, what kind of tools neanderthals used, and so forth. But if you're into that, this is the class for you.

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Dec. 28, 2023
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A-

I would not take this class again. The content was interesting but there are such few assignments (no extra credit) that if you get a B or lower on midterm 1 your fate is sealed. I barely skimped out an A- barely! This class ended up being more stressful than my other classes and I am a STEM major. He needs to learn to either put more assignments or curve, not an easy A class if you have more than 3 classes to take a quarter. TONS of reading

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Aug. 9, 2022
Quarter: Spring 2022
Grade: B-

Like everyone has said, the overarching issue were the exams. Not only were they 80% of your grade, all the exams were super specific on content and it was just difficult overall to memorize everything all at once within a period of 10 weeks. There was also zero guidance on how to study for the exams. While the TA’s did have some worksheets available, most of it was really broad compared to the specificity on the tests. Additionally, Professor Wood read off his sixty plus slides for the majority of the lectures and made it really hard to stay alert during class.

However, Professor Wood was accommodating when people had COVID and was responsive when I emailed him about what I was dealing with. And without the TA’s, the course would have definitely been harder. I needed this course for my major but I highly recommend taking it online as I have heard that exams were open note, which would make your life 10x less stressful with all the information given. Overall, this class would have been better without his strict grading scheme. Content was interesting-ish LOL but wouldn’t recommend this as a GE.

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Dec. 28, 2023
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: C

So i actually had him for human behavioral ecology but nonetheless, i do not recommend taking any of his classes. He gives out so few assignments so that your grade is heavily based on what you get on midterm or final and he doesn’t even let you see what questions you got wrong to try and get a better score. He’s also a very lazy grader and it took him until week 9 to publish the midterm that we took week 3. He’s ok lecturer but he doesn’t bruincast and said attendance wasn’t mandatory but then started counting in the middle of the quarter?????? Finally, his exams aren’t that bad upfront but the mean for both of them was a 70% with no curve .

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June 21, 2022
Quarter: Spring 2022
Grade: A

The professor isn't terrible, but the strictness surrounding exams and grades was insane. Professor Wood made it virtually impossible to take exams online, even when COVID-19 was running rampant through the student body. I attempted to take the final exam online because I had come down with COVID-19 the day before, and I received no reply from the professor. There were no make-up exams, and there were no online exams unless approved by the professor (and like I said, it was virtually impossible to get approved). I, along with many others, ended up having to take the final exam while positive for COVID-19. The entire lecture hall was coughing and sniffing, and though I do not fault anyone for coming in to take the exam seeing as we had no other choice, it was a horrible health hazard.

As for the grading scheme, the midterm average was 70%, and because one student scored 100%, there was no curve. I do not know the average for the final exam, but I have heard that my classmates generally do not feel good about their grades. This grading scheme is far too harsh for a class many take as a GE.

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June 21, 2022
Quarter: Spring 2022
Grade: D

This class is pretty easy, content is pretty much what you would expect taking an anthro evolution class. Except the grading is completely unfair. 40% midterm and 40% final would’ve been alright if there were two midterms to adjust an average score. I studied hours for this class because there’s no study guide, well they only provided one for the final which was literally pictures and just a chart (not helpful at all). Prof curved the grade based on highest overall grade but there’s always someone who aces the class so there’s essentially no curve. It’s just upsetting having aced stem courses but yet failed a GE. Make it make sense, change the grading scale or provide weekly quizzes or something for your next class won’t suffer. He’s a cool guy, but wasn’t understanding at all for everyone who emailed him about curving the grade for a good portion to not fail.

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ANTHRO 1
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
June 21, 2020
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A

I really enjoyed this class. At first, his prerecorded lectures were surpassing class time and it was taking me forever to go through them, but it was worth it in the end. We had these weekly quizzes that you can do until you get a 100% (through Inquizitive), we had weekly discussions that were really helpful, and we had awesome TA's. The class's grade divisions was very helpful and in the end the final became optional (over an 84 was an A). The midterm, though, had to work on it a lot and got a fair grade. Even though there's a lot of talk about different types of primates and comparing them to humans, I learned a lot and was a cool subject I was never introduced to before! Enroll in this class!!

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 1
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
June 11, 2020
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A

This review is for Spring 2020, the first COVID-19 remote learning quarter. The textbook should be free and provided through Norton. Think of it as similar to LaunchPad, but a bit better. At the end of the chapters, you'll also be assigned to Inquizitives which is basically interactive quizzes that you need to take about the chapter you just read. Good thing is that you can keep on answering questions until you get 100%. Don't sweat about this. The midterm was a bit tough and some parts were ambiguous, but they were open note and open book. They were a combo of MC and short answers. Discussions are mostly just the TA talking about the week's content and filling out some short worksheet. We were tossed into some break out rooms, but no big deal. If you have taken the LS series, there will be some themes that are extremely similar to LS7B (Hardy-Weinberg, genetics, etc) and ecology as well. I didn't bother taking the optional final because for Professor Wood, the breakdown was an 84%+ was an A and had scored a 99 on the midterm.

Please keep in mind that this review is in the context of the circumstances of this quarter! Overall, a great class and I learned to appreciate and love primates.

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 1
Quarter: Spring 2022
Grade: N/A
June 7, 2022

Although the class itself isn’t horrible, the grading scheme is. The midterm is worth 40% of your grade as well as the final. I only took this class for my major and I would not take it again. The tests were very specific to the textbook and overall was too hard for what it should be. The professor was not bad but should take into consideration changing the grading scheme or even offering extra credit.

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 124P
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: C
Dec. 29, 2023

Avoid this class if u can. There’s such few assignments that if u miss like 2 points it drops ur grade a lot since everything is graded out of 7 points. No extra credit assignments offered and midterm wasn’t bad but u had to know the lecture slides good to do well. I didn’t like how u don’t even get to see ur midterm exam after it’s graded but whatever. He started passing around an attendance sheet week 3 I’m not sure if he’s gonna continue that but attendance counts for 5% of ur grade. Overall, the professor as a person is great and was openly available after class but the assignment scale grading was absolute garbage.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 1
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2021
Grade: P
June 29, 2021

This class was way too hard for a GE. The midterm killed any chance at getting an A. Though it was open note, the questions were super specific and they were super nit-picky about the free-response ones. Like you had no idea what they actually expected you to write. The class was not engaging and it felt like being forced to watch a very boring YouTube video.

The professor and my TA definitely were knowledgeable on the subject. Perhaps my final assessment is that this would be a good class for someone genuinely interested in the subject, otherwise, you are bored and frustrated out of your mind. I cannot imagine taking this in person and having to memorize dates, primate teeth, digestive tracks, what kind of tools neanderthals used, and so forth. But if you're into that, this is the class for you.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 124P
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A-
Dec. 28, 2023

I would not take this class again. The content was interesting but there are such few assignments (no extra credit) that if you get a B or lower on midterm 1 your fate is sealed. I barely skimped out an A- barely! This class ended up being more stressful than my other classes and I am a STEM major. He needs to learn to either put more assignments or curve, not an easy A class if you have more than 3 classes to take a quarter. TONS of reading

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 1
Quarter: Spring 2022
Grade: B-
Aug. 9, 2022

Like everyone has said, the overarching issue were the exams. Not only were they 80% of your grade, all the exams were super specific on content and it was just difficult overall to memorize everything all at once within a period of 10 weeks. There was also zero guidance on how to study for the exams. While the TA’s did have some worksheets available, most of it was really broad compared to the specificity on the tests. Additionally, Professor Wood read off his sixty plus slides for the majority of the lectures and made it really hard to stay alert during class.

However, Professor Wood was accommodating when people had COVID and was responsive when I emailed him about what I was dealing with. And without the TA’s, the course would have definitely been harder. I needed this course for my major but I highly recommend taking it online as I have heard that exams were open note, which would make your life 10x less stressful with all the information given. Overall, this class would have been better without his strict grading scheme. Content was interesting-ish LOL but wouldn’t recommend this as a GE.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 124P
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: C
Dec. 28, 2023

So i actually had him for human behavioral ecology but nonetheless, i do not recommend taking any of his classes. He gives out so few assignments so that your grade is heavily based on what you get on midterm or final and he doesn’t even let you see what questions you got wrong to try and get a better score. He’s also a very lazy grader and it took him until week 9 to publish the midterm that we took week 3. He’s ok lecturer but he doesn’t bruincast and said attendance wasn’t mandatory but then started counting in the middle of the quarter?????? Finally, his exams aren’t that bad upfront but the mean for both of them was a 70% with no curve .

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 1
Quarter: Spring 2022
Grade: A
June 21, 2022

The professor isn't terrible, but the strictness surrounding exams and grades was insane. Professor Wood made it virtually impossible to take exams online, even when COVID-19 was running rampant through the student body. I attempted to take the final exam online because I had come down with COVID-19 the day before, and I received no reply from the professor. There were no make-up exams, and there were no online exams unless approved by the professor (and like I said, it was virtually impossible to get approved). I, along with many others, ended up having to take the final exam while positive for COVID-19. The entire lecture hall was coughing and sniffing, and though I do not fault anyone for coming in to take the exam seeing as we had no other choice, it was a horrible health hazard.

As for the grading scheme, the midterm average was 70%, and because one student scored 100%, there was no curve. I do not know the average for the final exam, but I have heard that my classmates generally do not feel good about their grades. This grading scheme is far too harsh for a class many take as a GE.

Helpful?

2 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 1
Quarter: Spring 2022
Grade: D
June 21, 2022

This class is pretty easy, content is pretty much what you would expect taking an anthro evolution class. Except the grading is completely unfair. 40% midterm and 40% final would’ve been alright if there were two midterms to adjust an average score. I studied hours for this class because there’s no study guide, well they only provided one for the final which was literally pictures and just a chart (not helpful at all). Prof curved the grade based on highest overall grade but there’s always someone who aces the class so there’s essentially no curve. It’s just upsetting having aced stem courses but yet failed a GE. Make it make sense, change the grading scale or provide weekly quizzes or something for your next class won’t suffer. He’s a cool guy, but wasn’t understanding at all for everyone who emailed him about curving the grade for a good portion to not fail.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 1
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A
June 21, 2020

I really enjoyed this class. At first, his prerecorded lectures were surpassing class time and it was taking me forever to go through them, but it was worth it in the end. We had these weekly quizzes that you can do until you get a 100% (through Inquizitive), we had weekly discussions that were really helpful, and we had awesome TA's. The class's grade divisions was very helpful and in the end the final became optional (over an 84 was an A). The midterm, though, had to work on it a lot and got a fair grade. Even though there's a lot of talk about different types of primates and comparing them to humans, I learned a lot and was a cool subject I was never introduced to before! Enroll in this class!!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ANTHRO 1
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A
June 11, 2020

This review is for Spring 2020, the first COVID-19 remote learning quarter. The textbook should be free and provided through Norton. Think of it as similar to LaunchPad, but a bit better. At the end of the chapters, you'll also be assigned to Inquizitives which is basically interactive quizzes that you need to take about the chapter you just read. Good thing is that you can keep on answering questions until you get 100%. Don't sweat about this. The midterm was a bit tough and some parts were ambiguous, but they were open note and open book. They were a combo of MC and short answers. Discussions are mostly just the TA talking about the week's content and filling out some short worksheet. We were tossed into some break out rooms, but no big deal. If you have taken the LS series, there will be some themes that are extremely similar to LS7B (Hardy-Weinberg, genetics, etc) and ecology as well. I didn't bother taking the optional final because for Professor Wood, the breakdown was an 84%+ was an A and had scored a 99 on the midterm.

Please keep in mind that this review is in the context of the circumstances of this quarter! Overall, a great class and I learned to appreciate and love primates.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
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