The best aspect of this course was that need-to-know content was readily available to students in the form of detailed PowerPoint’s and Podcasts. Students appreciated that Professor Holland led such engaging lectures and found that his enthusiasm for the subject made all the difference. The majority of students felt that the worst aspect of the course was the seemingly necessary memorization factor that was especially crucial to do well on the exams. Also, students expressed the chal enge of getting through the lectures because the class was so lengthy. Prospective students should know that because the course covers a substantial amount of information, a great deal of time is required to retain it. Additional y, students should be mindful that grades are based solely on exams.

Students felt that the best aspect of this class was the ready availability of the recorded lectures and notes online. They appreciated being able to go back and listen to a lecture again, and felt that the professor was very knowledgeable and interested in the subject. However, students did not like the fact that the only grades in the course came from exams based on memorization skil s. Other students felt that the lecture could have used more discussions and multimedia to make classes more engaging. Suggestions for improvement include adding additional opportunities for grading, such as homework assignments or papers. Students also felt that more visual aspects in the lectures would make the slides easier to read and understand. Prospective students should be prepared to read and memorize extensive amounts of information for this class.

Students praised this course for offering students an insight into the origin of humanity and for supporting students by offering lecture slides and other course material online. Students found the course required a fair amount of memorization and could be a bit boring and tedious. Students’ requests for improvement centered on finding ways to make the course livelier either by incorporating in class discussion, videos or other tools. Prospective students should know that students found the course required significant memorization and their grade was based on their performance on a handful of exams.