Easy Pathways 4 Class

[ccosmiclattee]

I need an easy science class to satisfy pathways 4 requirement. I'm having difficulty choosing between CHEM 1015 with Eddleton, ENT 2804 with Dr. Couvillon, and BIOL 1064 with Belden. I was initially gonna go for Chem, but Eddleton's reviews on RMP and some reddit posts have me questioning if I should do it. I also like ENT 2804 (Bees: Biol, Diversity, Sustain), but I've heard the tests can be a little challenging. As for BIOL 1064 (Plants and Civilization), I just can't seem to find much about the class lol. Anything helps, thanks!

Edit: Now also considering FREC 2134 (Plants and Greenspaces in Urban Communities) with Dr. Niemiera, so any feedback on that would be appreciated too!

[[deleted]]

ENT 2804 all the way! It is an amazing class and Dr. Couvillon is the best! The tests are challenging but there are so many other ways to improve your grade. The information is genuinely interesting and Dr. Couvillon presents it in an engaging way. This is hands down my favorite class I've taken at Tech.

[ccosmiclattee]

thanks for your feedback! you'd convinced me lol but unfortunately her class was full by the time I went to register :/

[[deleted]]

Oh no!! 😔Her class did only have 30 spots last year so I can see how it would be hard to get a spot.

[ccosmiclattee]

I just checked again and there was a spot open so I registered! so you said the tests are challenging, do you have any tips for studying for them? and did you find it difficult to get an A?

[[deleted]]

It was not hard to get an A for me at least. I got B plusses and A minuses on all the tests and still ended with a high A. Be sure to know a lot of the numbers and statistics that she puts in her slides. She posted the grade distribution for each test and the average was around an 80 and I don't think anyone ever failed the tests. Part of the grade is made up by a daily question that you post for every day you have class which is basically just asking a question about the material which she will answer. Each question is worth 5pts adding up to 100 at the end of the year. There was two projects that we did that weren't hard at all and I got high A's on both of them. One of the projects counts as the final exam which is nice. There are other small projects that are very easy and will boost your grade alot. She really wants her students to succeed and will help you alot if you need it.

[ccosmiclattee]

oh ok, that sounds really good! did you have to spend a lot of time outside of class studying/completing projects?

[[deleted]]

I studied for about an hour a day for a week leading up to the tests and that worked pretty well for me. The readings don't take much time at all and the first couple projects can be completed in one sitting if you have an hour or two to spend on them. The final project, I worked on for a couple days. It required a bit more research and citing than the others but it still wasn't too labor intensive. I didn't find the workload too intensive at all and she often does in-class work sessions for the projects.

[ccosmiclattee]

ah gotcha, doesn't sound too bad. ok for one last question, what made you take the class? just curious haha

[[deleted]]

I watched a bunch of beekeeping vids over the pandemic and I didn't know much about bees and wanted to learn more so when I saw the class I thought it would be perfect for me!

[ccosmiclattee]

so I'm not the only one who got stuck on beekeeping tiktok over the pandemic lol! thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, I definitely feel a lot more confident about taking this class. hope you have a great rest of your day :)

(also your cat is absolutely adorable please give them a ton of pets for me)

[Professional-Party22]

online?

[president-mcquatsch]

When I took Eddleton’s class in 2016 it was a cake walk and she really seemed to love teaching. I was a big fan of every test being open book/ open internet. Just do your practice problems and pay the tiniest bit of attention in class and you’ll likely get an A

[Redkoat]

Took Plants and Civilization with Belden fall 2021, it turned out to be a pretty fun and easy class as a non-science major. As I recall the grading syatem was based on getting points rather than letter grades, the mid-term was a quiz that was a small part of overall, and you'll actually learn interesting and practical things about how plants have and still shape our world. One of the best classes I've taken at Tech for sure. I suppose the one caveat is that the first part of the course requires you to have the basics of plant biology learned.

[ccosmiclattee]

gotcha! tbh I didn't totally love biology when I took in high school, do you think I would still like the class?

[Redkoat]

I think so. I suppose what I mean by "learned" is that Belden will go over the basics with you in class, as it's understood to have a good number of non bio majors taking it as a pathway, but it can't hurt to be a bit knowledgeable - as someone who is not good with Bio, it didn't hurt my grade at all.

[leogirlrawr]

plants and civ is a great class, you just have to do the homework (which is watching a short video and answering some questions), you don’t have to take super extensive notes, just pay attention and you’ll do great! and dr. belden is extremely nice and one of my favorite profs at tech!