Tevi ([info]tevs) wrote in [info]oberlin,
@ 2006-10-24 01:29:00
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Entry tags:course selection recommendations

Some specific questions about Psych and Math tracks; vague questions about profs in other department
Psst.

Has anyone taken any classes with Carton (particularly his economics courses), Pape (economics), Diane Miller (visiting psych), Brown-Orso (art, particularly her VisPro: Digital Video course) Harwood (particularly, Western architecture)

Now, for profs who you can tell me to check RateMyProfs (but I already did) - how are nearly everyone in the psych department (specifically, I've heard conflicting things about Darling and Mayer)? Is Dawson really worth his reputation? Are White and/or Dhingra good professors, or should I wait for a better prof to come if I'm considering intro sociology? What about the other two eco profs teaching Econ 101, Kasper and Zinser?

And for math - at this point in time, I'm not sure of whether I want to major in math, but I'm enjoying Calc II enough (...don't hurt me!) that I feel like continuing - what's the best course to continue with? The math department seems to recommend 220 (Discrete), but 231 (Multivariable) just fits so much more nicely into my schedule...

Same question for psych, actually. What's a good way to continue psych after 100, tentatively for a major?

(Thanks!)


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[info]educatedmonkey
2006-10-24 05:34 am UTC (link)
I took multivariable calc before discrete and it worked out fine. Just take both before taking Linear

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[info]house_liberi
2006-10-24 05:35 am UTC (link)
Multivariable right after Calc II is what I did, and it basically felt like a continuation. If you want a break from Calc, take Discrete. But, taking both at the same time isn't the best idea...

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[info]erichowens
2006-10-24 06:55 am UTC (link)
Calc III is more analytic geometry and thinking about functions in R^3. It introduces a lot of topics that will pop up again and again when you work in that domain (PDE's, Physics, Multivariable Analysis). If you're ready to jump into that, go for it. Otherwise, Discrete is a pretty good introduction to the other side of math then the rote/analytic methods of Calc you've seen up to now. Simple proofs, number theory, set theory, algorithms, graph theory. Both are of course necessary if you want to be a math major, but I'd say go with whatever seems sexiest now. Note though: I believe Discrete is a pretty basic prereq to Abstract (Modern) Algebra or Real Analysis, and will help you get into those courses sooner.

Of course, I don't go to Oberlin, only joined this group a year ago when I thought about transferring there, so take my math major comments with a grain of salt. All the best.

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[info]danibannani
2006-10-24 07:56 am UTC (link)
Dawson put me ont he path I'm on and I'm really happy. He trusted me, worked with me and made me a better person. But I tried, too. Went to his office hours and stuff. He gives you what you give him, it's all give and take. If you try, he will help you do anything you want, if you never go see him or hang out in his office, then he will just give you attention in class.

That said, without Public Policy, i wouldn't be getting my degree in public policy and having a blast in graduate school really learning to change the world.

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[info]khiaroscuro
2006-10-24 11:53 am UTC (link)
Rian Brown-Orso is pretty good. Sometimes she get can really overextended and be almost impossible to contact when necessary. However, she is probably the coolext, hippest lady ever. She is awesome to talk to when you can get an appointment with her. She gets mad excited about student work. I had her for Intro to Dig. VIdeo and Senior Studio and she helped me out a lot by just being genuinely interested in what I was trying to discover with my thesis.

She's also incredibly cute and funny. She's like your weird aunt.

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[info]tevs
2006-10-24 05:26 pm UTC (link)
Can you tell me more about her Intro DV course? (I.e., syllabus, grading, format, outside work?)

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[info]imtiredofthis
2006-10-25 06:29 pm UTC (link)
I'm taking her intro DV class right now, and I love it. The workload is somewhat significant (two video projects plus two small group assignments the first couple weeks of class), and yeah, you do most of the actual work outside of class, but it's not outrageous. I am out-of-my-mind busy this semester, and I still find it to be more than manageable. I can't say much about her grading system because I haven't seen an actual grade on my work yet. And I agree, Rian's totally awesome.

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(Anonymous)
2006-10-24 12:22 pm UTC (link)
I'm going to do the anonymous thing, on the outside chance I were to hurt someone's feelings.

If you want to go into psych, I'd stay away from classes taught by Karen Sutton and Nancy Darling. They're not bad people, just bad teachers. And really, trust me--there's always the one kid who goes "But personality psych sounds so interesting! I don't care who teaches it!" Yeah. That kid always regrets it later.

Steve Mayer is an incredibly smart man, but his classes can be kind of hard to follow.

And now, for the top: Cindy Frantz is amazing, and I'd recommend anything she teaches. Also, if you plan on majoring, ONLY take research methods with her. Seriously. It's so, so much better. Also, Al Porterfield teaches incredibly interesting classes, but he's probably the toughest grader in the department. In abnormal psych, you will probably work your ass off, learn a ton, but not get the kind of grade you normally get for that amount of work. But it's worth it.

All that said, I'd start with something like personality psych or developmental right out of psych 100. Save abnormal until your junior or senior year. Definitely take RM (both classes) with Cindy. Also, I'd totally recommend the intro neuro lab of fill part of your lab requirement--even if you suck at neuro, like I did, it's an easy, fun, and really interesting class.

And that reminds me--neuro is the death class of te major. Really hard, even if you're into that kind of thing. Just warning.

I think that's all I can muster up for now. Hope it helped.

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[info]blackbirdsings5
2006-10-24 01:30 pm UTC (link)
double co-op knock to Cindy Frantz - she's amazing, and I highly recommend her social psych class.

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[info]msgootch
2006-10-24 03:19 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I completely agree about Cindy Frantz. Definitely ONLY take research methods with her. I'm in her social psych class right now and it's amazing.

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re: Nancy Darling
(Anonymous)
2006-10-25 01:32 pm UTC (link)
I have to completely disagree about Nancy Darling. I'm currently in her adolescent psychology class and it is far and away the best course I'm in this semester and one of the most fascinating classes I've taken at Oberlin. I find her to be an excellent lecturer; her classes are always well-structured, the lecture progresses logically and compliments the reading well, and she often includes a hands-on activity that really brings home the implications of the material.

She also has been quick to respond to my e-mails, good with comments on the first paper we had, and generally very kind and interested in students too.

I had also heard the negative reports about her (which worried me), but in my case, they have turned out to be patently false.

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(Anonymous)
2006-10-25 07:23 pm UTC (link)
Actually Karen was one of the better psych profs I had. She sticks to the task at hand and puts people in their place--you know the ones who always ask stupid questions.

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[info]ldswimmer1
2006-10-24 12:39 pm UTC (link)
KASPER :o)

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[info]songofamazon
2006-10-24 01:45 pm UTC (link)
I started my oberlin math career with Discrete and linear. Granted, it was hard, but it definately worked well. I feel like discrete is a good thing to have for all of its proof stuff before you plunge into higher math.

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[info]bardilicious
2006-10-24 02:23 pm UTC (link)
I took Social Psychology with Clovis White and it was definitely one of the only classes I've regretted taking at Oberlin.
He teaches straight out of the text, you spend a lot of time watching movies, and his digressions are...less than tasteful at times.
If you're interested in sociology, take something with Vujacic. He's amazing, and most of the reason why I'm minoring in sociology.

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(Anonymous)
2006-10-24 02:52 pm UTC (link)
i'm the child maltreatment seminar with diane miller, and she's alright, pretty much what you might expect from a first time teacher (tends to let class discussion get way off topic, doesn't always use time most effectively and often runs out of time before discussing the readings, etc). however, if you're thinking about taking psych of gender with her, her degrees are in women's studies and psychology so she knows her stuff, more than anyone else in the dept would in that area, and i would say she's better than both darling and sutton.

karen sutton is my advisor and she's a wonderful lady, but i would never ever take a class with her. i don't know nancy darling, but everyone who takes research methods with her regrets it. take as many classes as you can with cindy frantz.

dawson lives up to every bit of his reputation.

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econ-carton
(Anonymous)
2006-10-24 03:02 pm UTC (link)
I am in econ101 with Carton. It's terrible and he is terrible. He's extremely boring and told us he was "making up the class as we go along." Everything is straight from the book and poorly taught from the book at that.

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[info]gryphia
2006-10-24 04:05 pm UTC (link)
You need Descrete at some point if you're majoring. Not only is it a good class, but it's a requirement for the major.

I took Multivariable and Linear Algebra before Descrete, and so far that's worked out just fine for me. Whatever works out best for you, go for it.

A note on the professors for those two classes. 220 is being taught by Mr. Henle. He's amazing. A wonderful guy, a very good teacher (well, I know one or two people who don't think so), and he's supposed to be a great discrete teacher (it's one of his better subjects, apparently). 231 is being taught by Mr. Walsh. He's perhaps the best lecturer in the department. He's fun, dynamic, interesting, and also a really good teacher. You can't really go wrong, no matter which course you take, because they're both good courses, and can be taken in whatever sequence you want, and they both have good professors teaching them.

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[info]tevs
2006-10-24 05:20 pm UTC (link)
231 is also being taught by colley, and to my knowledge, she uses her own vector calc text for the course

i get the general impression of walsh > colley, but how's colley?

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(Anonymous)
2006-10-24 05:55 pm UTC (link)
Walsh >>>>>>> Colley.

Also, I took discrete with Elizabeth Wilmer and absolutely loved it. Not to take anything away from Henley - he is wonderful, too. But if it doesn't work into your schedule this semester, I wouldn't worry that much about it.

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[info]haleth_the_elf
2006-10-24 11:04 pm UTC (link)
231 with Colley strikes me as a bad idea. Yes, she wrote the book. Take the class with someone else so you can get a second perspective on the material...

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[info]gryphia
2006-10-25 03:14 am UTC (link)
I haven't had Colley as a teacher, so take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt.

What I've heard is that she's not bad. Except for multivariable. Because she uses a book that she wrote, if you don't get the material, you don't have any other way of learning it. That is, usually the teacher teaches the material in a way that is different from the presentation in the textbook, so you have two chances of picking up what's going on. In this case, you don't. If you don't get how she's presenting the material, then that's a damn shame, because that's how the textbook is presenting the material. So while it can work for you, if it doesn't, you're really SOL.

And, as someone above me said, Walsh >>> Colley, at least that's the word on the street. I wouldn't miss out on Walsh, if it's a choice of teachers in the same course. Even if the time slot is a little bit worse for you, it's probably worth it.

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(Anonymous)
2006-10-27 07:57 pm UTC (link)
Colley is Terrible.

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[info]newpartner
2006-10-24 05:17 pm UTC (link)
Dawson is wonderful. He's had a tremendous impact on the way I view the world and my relationship to it. He's always treated me with equanimity and honesty. Many of the good fortune I've received in my life is either directly related or one degree of seperation removed from him. He's been just as good to me since I've graduated as he was when I was a student. I could go on and on.....


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[info]dj_polysemy
2006-10-24 09:59 pm UTC (link)
i'm a senior psych major, and although cindy frantz is amazing, as are a couple of the other profs in the department, the major is not that great. i don't wish that i'd majored in something else because it's what i'm most interested in studying, but the department is filled with crappy professors who don't really seem that engaged with students or how to be even mildly interesting, classes that will make you fall asleep, and the seminars tend to vary wildly (at least this semester). the requirements are fairly simple, and if you're interested in it, you can have a good time, but i'm just throwing that out there.

i think social psych with cindy frantz is a great place to go after 100. if you're interested in cog psych, joy hanna is very excited about what she teaches. mayer is much better in upper level labs than he is in social psych. also, neuro 204 (a major requirement, that or 201) kicked my ass, but i loved it, and the labs were ridiculously easy and fun.

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(Anonymous)
2006-10-25 02:31 am UTC (link)
I agree. I"m a junior psych major and while the major itself isn't what it could be, I've taken courses with Frantz, Porterfield, Hanna, Friedman, Darling, etc. and have found that most of the courses aren't so exciting and that a few are pretty great (Social and Abnormal Psych) and that most of the professors in the department are pretty nice and want to challenge you and help you academically.

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[info]spudmoose
2006-10-27 08:05 pm UTC (link)
For your Math classes, if you can't decide by genre, choose by professor.

Henle and Young are the best, in my opinion. Many people think Young is not a very effective teacher, or that his classes are just too hard, but he's absolutely wonderful if you study enough.
Walsh is also absolutely terrific.
Schirokauer I found to be slightly above mediocre, but I only had one class with him (number theory).
Colley didn't work for me at all.

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