Grade is based on 3 take home quizzes, midterm which was a 5 page essay outline, and the final which was a 7-10 page essay, and attending discussion section. The lectures were not very engaging, in my opinion, but they were recorded so that was nice. A lot of people in the class felt her grading was quite rigorous, which I agree with, so just be aware of that.

surprisingly enjoyed this class. it was really well paced and organized with take home quizzes every couple weeks and a 5 page draft for the final due around midterm season. this was tremendously helpful because the final is 7-10 pages and with a 5 page draft, it was basically half done. highly recommend taking this class

I got a B- on the midterm paper and an A- on the final paper, but I ended up with a C. Confused? if you plan on taking this class make sure you actually go, or have a friend that goes, cause those weekly quizzes will murder you. The answers are usually not in the ppt, she writes on the chalkboard or says them orally. I liked her though, and the class was interesting, maybe because I'm interested in education.

Professor Brand is sweet and the class is set up well but I didn't find her to be a good lecturer nor were the lectures engaging, just felt like a bunch of info being spit out at you quickly and mixed up. Speaks too fast, jumbles things into each other, suddenly switches points, and just doesn't have clarity when speaking. Since lectures aren't recorded, her lecture stye makes it a little difficult to get important things down for quizzes and the midterm/final. The actual class content isn't hard at all and Brand herself makes it obvious she cares about the course, i just didn't think she was good at giving lectures. If there are other class options, I'd do those before picking this one just because at times it felt disorganized and all over the place. Not a hard class if you put in effort.

Professor Brand nearly lost her home during the Palisades Fire, yet showed her dedication to teaching through all of it. She continued to do lectures on zoom while jumping around rentals. I really appreciate the way she cared for our education. The topic itself was incredibly engaging, and she is a great lecturer. Participation matters, the 3 quizzes are based purely on what she says in class. Shoutout to my TA Caroline, who was straightforward and clear with that Brand expected, ultimately pushing me to succeed in the course. The final builds on the midterm, which means that you are putting a bit more time into the midterm but the final is way less stressful. I loved the way she put her class together and would 100% take it again! These are the type of classes I expected coming to UCLA

Loved this class. You have a midterm paper and a final paper with the same prompt so you develop/add to it throughout the quarter. There is a few quizzes that are online and are just on content from the lecture that is very straightforward if you go to class. TAs and Professor were super helpful and give you lots of help.

Prof. Brand is a fine professor. My issue was how boring it was. There are other elective courses that are more engaging in my opinion. Class itself is well structured. There are 2 take home quizzes, a 5 page paper outline and 7 page paper final based off the outline. I wouldn't recommend if you could get into a different class. Didn't help that my TA left much to be desired.

Professor Brand is very engaging and funny. She reads off her slides for the most part and allows class to ask questions via poll everywhere. Midterm is 5 page double space essay and final is 7 page double space essay that is a continuation of midterm. Chill class. Classes aren’t recorded and her quiz questions ask specific things about stuff that isn’t on slides so you do have to take detailed notes and pay attention, but her class is super straightforward. Take it!