Quarter Taken:
Fall 2017
Submitted Feb. 14, 2018
Grade Received:
A
This cluster was amazing! It is basically a well-rounded, in-depth course on the brain. I loved that you examined theories of the brain in multiple aspects of academics--through a historical lens, a scientific lens, an argumentative lens, a literary lens (I hate literature but this section was my favorite), and current issues lens. It is great because there were 5 or 6 professors, and each professor's teaching time lasted 2-4 classes (1 to 2 weeks) so if you didn't like the topic or lecturer, you only had to put up with it for a short period of time. This class was definitely a lot of work but it was well worth it and I wouldn't change anything about the class. You get out of it what you put into it: if you do all the readings and are engaged in lectures, you will come out of the class with a breadth of fascinating knowledge. Additionally, the TA's (called TF's because they're actually more qualified than TA's) are extremely helpful. Labs are every other week and they're not a big deal at all. The weeks during discussion that you don't have a lab, the TF's go over confusing concepts from the previous week. They really are amazing. Also, the professors provide you with enough information to do decently on the midterm and final. They have "Friday study questions" posted every Friday, which are basically what the free response questions on the midterm/final are, so make sure you do those! I learned that lesson too late. Also, you have your own inquiry specialist which is someone who is there for your class to help out with papers. We had a mini paper (2-3 pages) and a final paper (5-6 pages) and I would definitely recommend going to the inquiry specialist for editing because she knows exactly what the TF's are looking for! If you sign up for this class, you won't regret it. Just make sure you put the time and effort in that it deserves.