Reviews for GEOL104

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Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting an A- Buss003 01/06/2024	Attendance is taken through a question of the day and he excuses 5 giving you 5 absences all semester. The two midterms and finals were timed online test that were open note and you could take anytime in a span of three days. Holtz is very passionate about what he teaches and he clearly cares about people learning the subject. He isn't all serious he jokes around a decent amount which is nice and he just overall seems like a cool dude. If you need a natural science take this class.
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting a B+ gc123 12/26/2023	This class was more challenging than I anticipated. There are four exams, clicker questions/qotd each class, a weekly homework assignment, and a smithsonian scavenger hunt project. The homework answers are often online, but there is a lack of information regarding the exams, so I recommend taking good notes. I did not and the second exam killed my grade. I had no reason to interact with Holtz across the semester, but from what I did see, he is very kind and approachable. It is clear he is passionate about dinosaurs and would be willing to answer any questions and likely assist a student if they needed it.
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/21/2023	Holtz was a fantastic professor, and he made the class really fun! He's super passionate, and his lectures will keep you engaged. Super approachable and very helpful during office hours. If you show up to office hours he'll show you some of his fossil collection. If you loved Jurassic Park or have an interest in dinosaurs, I highly recommend this class. WARNING: His class relies on A LOT of memorization. His exams are open-note, but the 2nd midterm and final were tough. If you're terrible with memorization, then this class may not be the best choice for you. I was ok with memorization and barely reached an A- He records his lectures, but you can't miss more than five classes due to short answer assignments. Homeworks and Midterms have extra credit and you get to go on a self-guided trip to the Smithsonian for an assignment (alone or in a group). I wouldn't say this was an easy A, but if you love dinosaurs, it'll be worthwhile.
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting an A brenna44 12/11/2023	I had holtz for geology last year too and he was amazing. Great lecturer and really cares about the topic and teaching it
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/10/2023	As everyone says, Prof. Holtz is extremely passionate about what he teaches, sometimes to a fault. Try not to schedule classes right after this one because he does have a tendency to talk over the 50min allotted period, and he does, sometimes, post a panopto recording to finish off that day's lecture. When he does post recordings, they can go well over the 50min mark, which he explains with "I go much slower in the records than I do in class, and I try to answer any questions that students may have while watching the lecture." (to me it wasn't that bad, but if you're short on time or have other hw to do, it can be a bit of a pain.) Attendance is somewhat mandatory: he asks QoTDs and you have to answer them on ELMS within a certain timeframe for them to be counted. He does drop five of these grades, so you can be absent for five classes and not have it count against you. The lectures are fairly dense, and if you have no background in science whatsoever it can be quite difficult. The hws are fairly easy (an ELMS "quiz" due every Friday night, and he offers extra credit questions). The midterms greatly increased in difficulty (imo) and you only have an hour to do them (again, he offers extra credit on these). There's a major project due around 3/4s of the way through the semester where you have to go to the Smithsonian and answer a packet and turn it in (he gives you a few weeks to do this and tells you when the best time (as in where we are in the content) to go). Some lectures can be less interesting than others, but he tries to keep it all interesting (expect a LOT of memes). Overall, I definitely recommend Prof. Holtz to any student who has to take this course. It wasn't an easy gen ed, so don't think you can take it and expect an easy A. At the very beginning of the course he compares his class to Orgo Chem, so expect it to be challenging.
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Anonymous 11/08/2022	If you are looking for an easy gen ed, this is not the class for you. If you are truly passionate about dinosaurs you may get a lot out of this class, but if you are not it will most likely not be interesting for you. If you don't have a geology experience, this class will hard, as he goes through the background topics very quickly. He is a passionate professor and knows his stuff, but he does not recognize that many of his students may not have a science background (because, again, this is a gen ed) and he is not accommodating of that gap. He threatened to make the midterm harder as retribution when he did not feel the class was taking the course seriously. Overall, he expects way too much for a 100 level gen ed, and he is perfectly fine with being vindictive if he feels the class is not reaching his lofty expectations.
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/11/2015	Great professor! He's funny and likes to tell corny jokes. You can tell he's super passionate about this topic. He gets so excited like a little boy talking about the subject. There is a lot of memorization that goes into this class. Don't take it unless you can memorize facts and names very well. Holtz even said up front that this class relies on memorization A LOT. If you put in the work and effort, you can get an A. The quizzes are easy, and his midterms usually use some of the questions from the quizzes. Class is great! I took it in Freshmen Connection and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting a B Anonymous 09/26/2014	worst class ever. Clicker quizzes every day so you can never skip, so boring. Had 4 online tests so you didn't have to pay attention because you could look up the answers but the final is in class so unless you CRAM for the final you are not bound to do well. Wouldn't recommend
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting an A asharm93 01/13/2013	This class can be easy if you just keep up. Otherwise you are gonna be lost with scientific words you don't know. The class structure is based around 4 online tests, clicker quizzes, and like 2 other assignments. His entire note guide (which is extremely detailed) is online and all the tests which are online (minus the final) can be done using these notes. I can't find an excuse as to why you would get a low grade besides you being extremely lazy or just legit stupid. He is corny, but he is amazingly smart and wants you to understand. I liked the class and wouldn't mind taking the second part of it sometime.
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting a B sukeung 12/08/2010	He's a really good teacher but you have to study so much for the tests. The first test was easy..but the second killed me. You can't forget to take the quizs because they add up in the end.
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting an A toiletpaper55 12/29/2008	This class is harder than it sounds. It ended up being a lot more work than i wanted it to be. the book is pointless so dont buy it. the online notes are nice but they dont cover everything so you have to go to class which sucks since its at 10am. The exams arent too bad but the class is a lot of work
Thomas Holtz GEOL104 Expecting an A+ albender 12/12/2008	Dr Holtz is a fantastic professor. He tells the corniest jokes, which make his lectures very enjoyable, and he is great at explaining the concepts in the course. He's also great at waking up the class when the content gets a bit boring. There are extra credit questions on virtually every assignment/quiz/exam, so as long as you pay attention in the lectures you're sure to get a good grade.