[BIOL 0190]
Ecology

Rate This Class

Professor: Sheldon / Backus

Value of Course / Overall Score

Not Much (20.8%
Average (54.2%)
Valuable (25%)

Material

Friendly (50%)
Average (45.8%)
Competitive (4.2%)

Class Atmosphere

Boring (20.8%)
Average (75%)
Fascinating (4.2%)

Prep Time Needed

1-2hr (8.3%)
3-5hr (37.5%)
6-8hr (37.5%)
9-11hr (16.7%)
12+ hr (0%)

Grade Weighting

Harder (73.9%)
Average (8.7%)
Easier (17.4%)

Adequate Assistance

Yes (73.9%)
No (26.1%)

Would Recommend Class

Yes (21.7%)
No (78.3%)

Evaluation Comments for Sheldon / Backus

  1. No Comment
  2. The concepts presented in this class really interest me, but Professor Sheldon's lecture were almost impossible to understand. She's obviously very smart, but simply doesn't think on the same plane as others. As others have mentioned, tests are completely unpredictable. Matt Landis, on the other hand, is incredible.
  3. Sheldon's questions are impossible to understand. This course should count as a foreign language requirement.
  4. If you have to take this class, take it. If not, I would strongly suggest not. I took it as an elective because I thought it would be fun and interesting, but it ended up being absolutely worthless. For the extent to which it will gnaw at your GPA, you really don't learn anything worthwhile.
  5. Professor Sheldon is weird. She calls her husband a "mate" and her lecture is very difficult to understand. Sometimes, you have to ask twice to get her attention and the exams are very hard. The textbook is never or not even looked. The lecture does not correlate with the textboook section. Even if you try reading it, you will fall asleep because it gets boring. Also do not take the morning class if possible, because you will miss classes and she will take notice of it.
  6. take it with lloyd
  7. This is a challenging course because Sheldon expects much more than just simple regurgitation.
  8. Sheldon is not very good at teaching concepts. She makes even the most simple concept become overly complicated. She doesn't explain anything very well. Professor Landis is great, and I wish that he taught the lecture section so that I could understand the material better.
  9. Utter Disaster. Don't take this class. Prof is boring, obnoxious, and is incapable of forming complete sentences.
  10. sheldon is the worst thing that has happened to Midd. Fear her lectures like some deadly disease. However, her labs are interesting (very hard) and some of the material is great (Dawkins.) Just take it with someone else
  11. Sheldon's questions are so confusing. She has a really complicated way of asking them and you have to think exactly like her in order to do really well on the tests. She calls her questions "critical thinking" but they're so unclear that it's hard to know what kind of thinking she expects. I think she's really intelligent, she just has no idea how to get the concepts across to the class. Landis is awesome for lab, though. Labs are really hard but he's such a nice guy that they end up being pretty fun.
  12. Sheldon's lectures are scattered, hard to understand, and are what the exams are based on. I would not recommend the class to anyone. Sheldon means well, but after never having taken ecology before I was completely lost due to the class' lack of organization and terrible grading.
  13. Sheldon is all over the place. her lectures dont really make sense and her tests/grading are ridiculous and weird. I had landis for lab and he is really nice and helpful, but sheldon just makes the course confusing and unncessarily difficult. Definetely take this course with Lloyd if you have to take it, other wise avoid it. The labs are time consuming, but the reading is optional so the work comes in spurts. The books dont really help anyway. Sheldon is a lot of fun and very knowledgeable, but somehow her lectures just aren't effective.
  14. Sheldon is sometimes hard to follow and very eccentric, but the material is very interesting. Excellent class for those interested in a basic science!
  15. The class material was similar to what I learned in Environmental Science AP, but the exam questions were not at all. Many of them require little knowledge of the material learned in class, but test your ability to use common sense (sounds easy, but it isn't). If we had been tested on our straight material, I would be getting a higher grade.
  16. Sheldon is extremely confusing in class lecture and is not very approachable. Her grading is extremely subjective, and she never explains why an answer is wrong on the test. I would stong suggest taking it with another professor.
  17. Interesting class... Sheldon seems like a nutcase at first (which she is) but then she really grows on you. She is very very very intelligent and certainly things about things in a "different way" at times, but has a lot to offer and is very open to helping you if you ask for help.
  18. You won't get a good grade unless you think the same way the professor does. Good luck!
  19. I recommend not to take this class. Her test is hard and she makes you think sometimes outside the box, which can be difficult. I personally didn't enjoy this class and I found the textbook reading not HELPFUL at all. She based the test on lecture, which means you have to be awakeful at all cost in 8am in the morning. IF you can't, then I think you should bring a coffee!
  20. I had professor Sheldon for lecture and Landis for lab. The lectures were alright, a lot of interesting stuff was presented, but more as digressions than part of the planned lectures. I felt like the class deteriorated b the end of the year especially when our final exam was not even proof read. the class bonded in our dislike and frustration in the class, especially since the exams were really difficult and impossible to study for. Matt Landis, the lab professor was great though, very friendly and available.
  21. This class is really interesting. You learn why things happen in nature like they do, and how to find out why. The labs are interesting, though often we don't need all the time and end up staying right 'til the end anyway.
  22. All of the reading was optional, which was nice. Tests were based only on lecture. The tests were fairly challenging, but I thought they were fair. Sheldon really likes you to have to think and asks the questions in ways that you haven't really thought of before. I really liked her. This class is pretty challenging for a 100 level. I had Vicki for lab, and she was great as well. She didn't lecture about what had already been covered.
  23. Sheldon is a very interesting person, but her lectures were often worthless to my understanding of ecology. The tests were ridiculously unfair. She has a policy of testing people on things they don't know. No matter how much I studied it didn't matter at all when I got to to the test. Backus is also kind of rude in terms of her lab evaluations. I did alright on my labs but some kids who were bio major seemed to be getting D's and her comments on the labs were harsh. This student also suggested: They should change the format of the tests and Backus should lighten up on the labs.
  24. Vicki Backus is the lab professor and I actually liked her a lot. The reading is optional and I didn't have to put much time in outside the class unless a lab was due. The students also suggested: I would absolutely not take another class with Prof. Sheldon.

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