Reviews for HESP305

Information Review
Tammatha O'Brien
HESP305

Expecting an A
Anonymous
03/26/2024
Overall, there is no denying that Dr. O'Brien is very intelligent and is a good presenter on information. She allows you to bring notecards to the weekly quizzes which work well to prepare for the exam (we got a full sheet of paper). This class is a lot of work and fast pace. However, Dr. O'Brien is probably one of the least understanding and unempethetic professors I have had. She has a blatant disregard towards any of her students needs. I dealt with medical problems and even with doctors notes struggled to gain any sort of accommodation, or even any sort of empathy. When I asked for an extension on an assignment because of an unexpected death and funeral, I was basically just informed that I should have done it already because the assignment was open, even though I let her know about the extension multiple days before the due date. Additionally, not to discredit Dr. O'Brien's research and education, but I would have really enjoyed to take this course with someone in the HESP department, such as an SLP or maybe an ENT.
Tammatha O'Brien
HESP305

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/13/2023
honestly one of the best professors ive had. she is a very analytical person that is a "get in and out" type of professor but she has set up this class for you to do well. it is anatomy so it can be difficult but every quiz you can have a note card, some are dropped, muscle quizzes are completely open note and for the exams you're allowed a sheet of paper with notes. her teaching style may seem a little chaotic but i ended up with an a in an anatomy class so like something worked. she may seem blunt when answering questions but there isnt really any ill intent. like i said, shes a very analytical person. overall i liked her a lot.
Tammatha O'Brien
HESP305

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/12/2023
She’s a nice lady and is super educated about the topics, but the exams are super specific and hard to get all points. Work a lot outside of class for notes and everything and you’ll be okay
Tammatha O'Brien
HESP305

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/23/2022
I found the class takes a lot of time and dedication, but is very doable. The weekly quizzes are five questions, and you get to bring a handwritten notecard. At the start of the year, there are weekly group assignments that help you prepare for exams. Then, at the end of the year, there are group presentations, which are straight forward if you follow the guidelines, and there is the chance to give feedback to the groups in class for points. I felt the exams (there is 3 and a final) were very tight on time, but they were strictly on the content covered in the class. For the exams (including the final), you get to bring a handwritten piece of paper, which can take a long time to make, but I found the time I spent on the sheets was worth it and important to succeed in the class. Overall, I thought the class was very satisfying, as I learned a lot and was able to do well.
Tammatha O'Brien
HESP305

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
01/10/2022
I found this class to be extremely stressful. Quizzes were weekly and only 5 questions (10 points total) so if you missed one question it did drop your grade some. Most of the content on the small quizzes consisted of 50 slides at least, which was very hard to put into a 3x5 notecard, even when I was paying attention. Like another comment stated, it felt like so much of the information I would never think to use again as it seemed more medical than anything. At times it felt more like Biology class than what my major is. Her teaching style was very difficult to follow as she read directly from the slides and only stated a few examples here and there. For her exams, there were extremely specific and in depth. Most of the exams I got an average of an B/C due to short answers on exams. I also found that the short answers that if you didn’t write what was in the notes you got points off, but if we did write directly from the notes you got points off because it was said to be plagiarizing. The thing that allowed me to get an A- was mainly due to doing well on the weekly quizzes and doing well on the final exam, though it was cumulative but I got lucky with my one piece of paper. Overall, the teaching style was just not fit for me and was overall just a lot of information that seemed to be too much. (This was also in-person)
Tammatha O'Brien
HESP305

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/25/2021
She was very nice and responsive as well as accomodating throughout the semester. However, I felt the depth of information she gave was too much for an undergraduate class. At times it felt like I was in medical school and I found some of the info to be too in depth or not relevant/repeated. She reads directly from slides, so I didn’t even bother taking notes and did fine. The tests are pretty challenging, and we had a 3rd test 10ish days before our final which felt like too much. The information on tests and quizzes was weirdly specific and would focus on one small topic in depth, but if you make a sheet or note card you will be good. For essay questions, she said not to use word for word from slides, but takes off points if you put it in your own words. Overall my hardest HESP class yet but very rewarding.
Tammatha O'Brien
HESP305

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/21/2021
Dr. O'Brien is a fast talker, and might catch you off guard with her banter at times. Nevertheless, she provides you will all of the information needed to succeed in this course. For weekly quizzes, she will allot you a filled out 3x5 note card, and for exams you are allowed a hand written front and back piece of notebook paper. The only thing I did not like is that the exam questions were more in depth than the weekly quizzes. Otherwise, the grade is there for the taking as long as you put in the work.
Tammatha O'Brien
HESP305

Expecting a B
Anonymous
01/19/2021
The lecture videos were very fast paced and a lot of information gets covered in each so I had to watch them more than once which took up a lot of extra time. All of the info for the quizzes comes straight from the textbook so unfortunately it was a necessary purchase. A lot of study time was required to do well on the exams even though they are open note because of the time limit. If you're a HESP major, you have to take this class so just get through it.
Tammatha O'Brien
HESP305

Anonymous
11/29/2019
Wonderful lecturer - very intelligent and has interesting things to add about the lecture. She is super nice about grading and permitted students to turn in homework a little after it was due. I wish there was a better way to take notes in this class. She asks you to print out each lecture's PPTs, which feels expensive and wasteful, and typing on the PDF is simply less effective for note taking. I wrote the slide page number in the margins of my notebooks and took notes per slide, but that was cumbersome. Perhaps 2 PPTs, 1 super in depth and 1 more basic, would be good. However, this does stop you from needing to buy the textbook! I wish she had said in the syllabus or at the first lecture that we didn't NEED it so I could have saved money but it's really nice that she does that. I liked the group project (group of 4-5, short presentation) and the muscle quizzes (8 of them, do them on your own time, 5 attempts per) but did not love the Tuesday quizzes. They were sometimes a little too hard or very specific even though she lets you have a 3x5 card for each quiz. You're allowed an 8.5x11 in sheet of paper (front and back, handwritten) for each exam. Exams vary - you need to have the big picture of concepts. Know vocab, even the stuff she didn't really emphasize in class.