KNES287 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Ronald Mower KNES287 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/08/2024	Dr. Mower is a cool professor; I always found his lectures enjoyable & interesting. You will have a mini essay & quiz due every week. Also making up your grade is your discussion participation (discussion is mandatory attendance & lecture is not- however I recommend attending lectures as they are useful to understanding the weekly topics for the mini-essay & quiz), in-person timed mid-term, and a final paper. The lowest 3 mini essays & topic quizzes are dropped. [Note: If he cancels a mini-essay for a week cause of a holiday (which was very nice of him to do at the time, then only 2 will be dropped- this was not clearly explained which caused me to do an unexpected essay at the end of the semester right before finals which was very annoying and added unnecessary stress.] All of your assignments are graded by your TA. So how “fair” the grading is depends on who you get as a TA. I felt my mini-essays were at times graded pretty harshly. There is a 400-500 word limit but often there were critiques that I and fellow classmates needed to “go into more detail”, “explain this better”, etc… but ya can’t really do that with such a small limit so I just went over it & often got fewer points taken off for going over the max than not explaining enough. You should be fine as long as you don’t go over 800 (max of 2 pages). The mid-term & final essays I felt were very fairly graded and the topic quizzes were easy as long as ya look at the published lecture slides & pay attention in lecture. The cut-off for an A is high at 94%, I believe a 93.5 got rounded to 94%, but he did give out an extra credit opportunity by attending a symposium/panel of health professionals speaking & answering audience questions in the SPH building which I found to be very enjoyable! Overall, he’s a good professor and I’d have no problem taking him again.
Ronald Mower KNES287 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/23/2024	Dr. Mower is an amazing professor and I always looked forward to attending his lectures even though originally I thought the course would be boring. He always makes sure that the lectures are interesting and that we were engaged in the topics. There is a bit of writing in the course consisting of 400 word mini essays every week as well as a final paper but it’s all graded fairly. I would strongly recommend taking this course if you are considering it.
Brandon Wallace KNES287 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/06/2024	Brandon is awesome and I loved this class with him. He keeps his lectures interesting with both the material he is teaching and his personality. The class is very well organized and the expectations, assignments, due dates, etc are clear from the very beginning. There was one midterm essay and one final essay, both of which you could choose what to write about from a list of prompts. Otherwise, there were readings/reflections, an easy in class writing activity, and an online quiz all due weekly. Turn in your work and participate and you will get an A in this class.
Brandon Wallace KNES287 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/04/2023	Professor Wallace is a great professor and teaches the material really well.
Ronald Mower KNES287 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/31/2023	I thought I wasn't going to like this class but once we got past the first few units it got really interesting. We talked about things in class that we all notice, but we spend more time investing the effects of how sport is influenced by social settings and cultural norms. Both TAs for the class are incredible and are super friendly. Mower himself is really interesting and he did a good job of keeping the class engaged in lecture. A lot of people stopped going to class so he started keeping track of the people who went to class. I don't know if he did anything with it, but it was sad to see people stop going because he really did enjoy the content he was talking about. There were weekly quizzes and 300 word mini essays as well as a midterm and final exam which were 1500 and 2000 words respectively.
Ronald Mower KNES287 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/18/2023	Dr. Mower is an amazing teacher. I go to all his lectures but have many friends who just looked over the slides and were fine. The quizzes aren't bad given they are the open note and all about the slides. He has such a great personality and connects so well with every student. He also relates these topics to us so we can better understand them. Brandon the TA was just as as amazing as Dr. Mower as well. Highly recommend having him as a professor.
David Andrews KNES287 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/23/2023	I loved going to Dr. Andrews's class. He is the most genuine and hilarious professor. He genuinely cares about what he teaches and also cares about the students. He makes his lectures fun and the class itself is really interesting. His TAs are also both really great, I had Lilah but I've heard great things about both her and Brandon. Each week there are topic source notes, which get tedious but I promise they really help in the long run. Basically, you get a question and sources and you have to pick two (1 academic, 1 non-academic) and analyze how they apply to the question plus add in your own personal experience. I loved how I was able to always add in my own experience and it is so highly encouraged. There are also only 2 essays the midterm and the final. For those, you get to pick a question from your topic source notes and then elaborate on it, so basically each week you are getting your feet wet in potential essay topics which I found super helpful. There are also weekly quizzes that are open notes and easy if you go to the lecture. Literally the first day Dr. Andrews will say he doesn't care if you go to a lecture or not, but GO I swear it's genuinely so much fun and interesting. He always adds one or two questions directly from the lecture as a way to reward those who go which makes it easy to score well. They graded the essays very thoroughly which I appreciated because they were the first real college papers I had. Overall, Dr. Andrews class was phenomenal and I definitely plan on taking other classes with him if I can.
David Andrews KNES287 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/22/2022	Prolly one of the most down to Earth professors at the university. If you have the opportunity to get him, take it.
David Andrews KNES287 Anonymous 01/11/2022	Taking this as a winter course. The lectures are interesting but cumbersome and excessive. You won't pass the quizzes without watching the entire lecture. It's clear Dr. Andrews expects KNES students to think and write like sociology students in a graduate mindset. It's best to avoid this professor if you're to knock out this req without much stress. I'm sure the glowing reviews must come from an engaging personality in person, but online this class feels like a drag and we're only halfway through.
Eric Stone KNES287 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/06/2020	If you are thinking about taking KNES287 because you like sports, do not get your hopes up because the course contains very little about sports. Eric Stone did not help make this class any better. First day of class, he said he was a funny guy and would make us laugh a lot... I did not even chuckle once throughout the semester. He was pretty annoying to listen to as a lecturer and he just tried to use big words to seem smart. Podcasts are posted online each week that cover all the information in class with a better lecturer, so there is no real reason to go to lecture, other than there is sometimes pop quizzes. Pretty hard to get an A in the class as the TA's grade pretty tough. Would not suggest this class.
David Andrews KNES287 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/14/2018	Andrew is a fun guy, I'll give him that. However the course material is extremely difficult and way too much work for a 3 credit GenEd class. Also, TA Brandon gives really harsh grades. If you want a B from a class with a lot of fun, go for it
Shaun Edmonds KNES287 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/22/2018	SO INTERESTING!!! This class is so fascinating and challenges the way you think about things. The essays are graded HARD so put the effort in on the rough drafts.
David Andrews KNES287 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/20/2016	Dr. Andrews is super knowledgeable in this subject. His class helped me understand how sports relate to the economy, politics and life. It's really interesting, a lot of athletes take the class to. There are 3 exams and 2 essays, you can turn in essays early for review before your final turn in. Also, Andrews is super understanding, if you have a problem he's easy to talk to in person or by email.
David Andrews KNES287 Expecting an A sahel 11/05/2013	One of my favorite classes! Dr. Andrews is an engaging and awesome professor. He teaches with enthusiasm and makes lectures interesting and fun to attend... Few papers to write, but get TA help and you'll be fine
Michael Friedman KNES287 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/08/2012	Friedman's class is definitely not on my list of favorites, but I did not hate it. I had to take it as a kinesiology major. Initially I wanted to drop the class, but after the first couple of lectures, the material actually got interesting. He posts his notes online with blanks that you are able to fill in by attending lecture. He has about 5 pop quizzes a semester, all of which are very easy if you go to lecture on a regular basis. His tests are difficult, but really challenge you. I have definitely learned a lot in this class, and it has changed my perspective of sport for the better.
David Andrews KNES287 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2011	He was a great professor, he always made the lectures entertaining and still taught you everything you needed to know. The tests were exactly what he put on the slides, just make sure you understand the concepts because a lot of times his questions could be argued two ways and pointing it out could get you points back. He's great at responding to students concerns. Overall an awesome and very fair teacher.
David Andrews KNES287 Anonymous 12/12/2011	I took this class as an elective and a diversity requirement (also fills SB) . As far as an elective goes it is definitely a bit more work than it should be. However Dr. Andrews is very engaging and open to students' concerns. He is a very fair teacher. Come to class as whatever he goes over in class is what is going to be on the test. If you like sports and sociology definitely take this class.
David Andrews KNES287 Amylc 09/04/2009	Fantastic professor. Engaging and incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable in his field. He wants his students to do well and makes himself available and open to them. Thoroughly enjoyed attending his classes.
David Andrews KNES287 Expecting a B bmorefan 12/17/2008	Funny and a genius, knows everything there is to know about class material. Tests are surprisingly hard, considering material is interesting. Final paper not that tough and quizzes less than once a week.
David Andrews KNES287 Expecting a B redfan25 12/04/2008	Great teacher with good personality! Good sense of humor and wants to help the students do well in his class. The hardest part of the class is the first test. Material is not hard- just takes a while to grasp the diction used by the British professor. class becomes easier if your familiar with sociology and well versed in sports events.

Ronald Mower
KNES287

Expecting an A
Anonymous
08/08/2024

Dr. Mower is a cool professor; I always found his lectures enjoyable & interesting. You will have a mini essay & quiz due every week. Also making up your grade is your discussion participation (discussion is mandatory attendance & lecture is not- however I recommend attending lectures as they are useful to understanding the weekly topics for the mini-essay & quiz), in-person timed mid-term, and a final paper. The lowest 3 mini essays & topic quizzes are dropped. [Note: If he cancels a mini-essay for a week cause of a holiday (which was very nice of him to do at the time, then only 2 will be dropped- this was not clearly explained which caused me to do an unexpected essay at the end of the semester right before finals which was very annoying and added unnecessary stress.] All of your assignments are graded by your TA. So how “fair” the grading is depends on who you get as a TA. I felt my mini-essays were at times graded pretty harshly. There is a 400-500 word limit but often there were critiques that I and fellow classmates needed to “go into more detail”, “explain this better”, etc… but ya can’t really do that with such a small limit so I just went over it & often got fewer points taken off for going over the max than not explaining enough. You should be fine as long as you don’t go over 800 (max of 2 pages). The mid-term & final essays I felt were very fairly graded and the topic quizzes were easy as long as ya look at the published lecture slides & pay attention in lecture. The cut-off for an A is high at 94%, I believe a 93.5 got rounded to 94%, but he did give out an extra credit opportunity by attending a symposium/panel of health professionals speaking & answering audience questions in the SPH building which I found to be very enjoyable! Overall, he’s a good professor and I’d have no problem taking him again.

Ronald Mower
KNES287

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/23/2024

Dr. Mower is an amazing professor and I always looked forward to attending his lectures even though originally I thought the course would be boring. He always makes sure that the lectures are interesting and that we were engaged in the topics. There is a bit of writing in the course consisting of 400 word mini essays every week as well as a final paper but it’s all graded fairly. I would strongly recommend taking this course if you are considering it.

Brandon Wallace
KNES287

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/06/2024

Brandon is awesome and I loved this class with him. He keeps his lectures interesting with both the material he is teaching and his personality. The class is very well organized and the expectations, assignments, due dates, etc are clear from the very beginning. There was one midterm essay and one final essay, both of which you could choose what to write about from a list of prompts. Otherwise, there were readings/reflections, an easy in class writing activity, and an online quiz all due weekly. Turn in your work and participate and you will get an A in this class.

Brandon Wallace
KNES287

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/04/2023

Professor Wallace is a great professor and teaches the material really well.

Ronald Mower
KNES287

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/31/2023

I thought I wasn't going to like this class but once we got past the first few units it got really interesting. We talked about things in class that we all notice, but we spend more time investing the effects of how sport is influenced by social settings and cultural norms. Both TAs for the class are incredible and are super friendly. Mower himself is really interesting and he did a good job of keeping the class engaged in lecture. A lot of people stopped going to class so he started keeping track of the people who went to class. I don't know if he did anything with it, but it was sad to see people stop going because he really did enjoy the content he was talking about. There were weekly quizzes and 300 word mini essays as well as a midterm and final exam which were 1500 and 2000 words respectively.

Ronald Mower
KNES287

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/18/2023

Dr. Mower is an amazing teacher. I go to all his lectures but have many friends who just looked over the slides and were fine. The quizzes aren't bad given they are the open note and all about the slides. He has such a great personality and connects so well with every student. He also relates these topics to us so we can better understand them. Brandon the TA was just as as amazing as Dr. Mower as well. Highly recommend having him as a professor.

David Andrews
KNES287

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
01/23/2023

I loved going to Dr. Andrews's class. He is the most genuine and hilarious professor. He genuinely cares about what he teaches and also cares about the students. He makes his lectures fun and the class itself is really interesting. His TAs are also both really great, I had Lilah but I've heard great things about both her and Brandon. Each week there are topic source notes, which get tedious but I promise they really help in the long run. Basically, you get a question and sources and you have to pick two (1 academic, 1 non-academic) and analyze how they apply to the question plus add in your own personal experience. I loved how I was able to always add in my own experience and it is so highly encouraged. There are also only 2 essays the midterm and the final. For those, you get to pick a question from your topic source notes and then elaborate on it, so basically each week you are getting your feet wet in potential essay topics which I found super helpful. There are also weekly quizzes that are open notes and easy if you go to the lecture. Literally the first day Dr. Andrews will say he doesn't care if you go to a lecture or not, but GO I swear it's genuinely so much fun and interesting. He always adds one or two questions directly from the lecture as a way to reward those who go which makes it easy to score well. They graded the essays very thoroughly which I appreciated because they were the first real college papers I had. Overall, Dr. Andrews class was phenomenal and I definitely plan on taking other classes with him if I can.

David Andrews
KNES287

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/22/2022

Prolly one of the most down to Earth professors at the university. If you have the opportunity to get him, take it.

David Andrews
KNES287

Anonymous
01/11/2022

Taking this as a winter course. The lectures are interesting but cumbersome and excessive. You won't pass the quizzes without watching the entire lecture. It's clear Dr. Andrews expects KNES students to think and write like sociology students in a graduate mindset. It's best to avoid this professor if you're to knock out this req without much stress. I'm sure the glowing reviews must come from an engaging personality in person, but online this class feels like a drag and we're only halfway through.

Eric Stone
KNES287

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/06/2020

If you are thinking about taking KNES287 because you like sports, do not get your hopes up because the course contains very little about sports. Eric Stone did not help make this class any better. First day of class, he said he was a funny guy and would make us laugh a lot... I did not even chuckle once throughout the semester. He was pretty annoying to listen to as a lecturer and he just tried to use big words to seem smart. Podcasts are posted online each week that cover all the information in class with a better lecturer, so there is no real reason to go to lecture, other than there is sometimes pop quizzes. Pretty hard to get an A in the class as the TA's grade pretty tough. Would not suggest this class.

David Andrews
KNES287

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/14/2018

Andrew is a fun guy, I'll give him that. However the course material is extremely difficult and way too much work for a 3 credit GenEd class. Also, TA Brandon gives really harsh grades. If you want a B from a class with a lot of fun, go for it

Shaun Edmonds
KNES287

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/22/2018

SO INTERESTING!!! This class is so fascinating and challenges the way you think about things. The essays are graded HARD so put the effort in on the rough drafts.

David Andrews
KNES287

Expecting a B
Anonymous
01/20/2016

Dr. Andrews is super knowledgeable in this subject. His class helped me understand how sports relate to the economy, politics and life. It's really interesting, a lot of athletes take the class to. There are 3 exams and 2 essays, you can turn in essays early for review before your final turn in. Also, Andrews is super understanding, if you have a problem he's easy to talk to in person or by email.

David Andrews
KNES287

Expecting an A
sahel
11/05/2013

One of my favorite classes! Dr. Andrews is an engaging and awesome professor. He teaches with enthusiasm and makes lectures interesting and fun to attend... Few papers to write, but get TA help and you'll be fine

Michael Friedman
KNES287

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/08/2012

Friedman's class is definitely not on my list of favorites, but I did not hate it. I had to take it as a kinesiology major. Initially I wanted to drop the class, but after the first couple of lectures, the material actually got interesting. He posts his notes online with blanks that you are able to fill in by attending lecture. He has about 5 pop quizzes a semester, all of which are very easy if you go to lecture on a regular basis. His tests are difficult, but really challenge you. I have definitely learned a lot in this class, and it has changed my perspective of sport for the better.

David Andrews
KNES287

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/22/2011

He was a great professor, he always made the lectures entertaining and still taught you everything you needed to know. The tests were exactly what he put on the slides, just make sure you understand the concepts because a lot of times his questions could be argued two ways and pointing it out could get you points back. He's great at responding to students concerns. Overall an awesome and very fair teacher.

David Andrews
KNES287

Anonymous
12/12/2011

I took this class as an elective and a diversity requirement (also fills SB) . As far as an elective goes it is definitely a bit more work than it should be. However Dr. Andrews is very engaging and open to students' concerns. He is a very fair teacher. Come to class as whatever he goes over in class is what is going to be on the test. If you like sports and sociology definitely take this class.

David Andrews
KNES287

Amylc
09/04/2009

Fantastic professor. Engaging and incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable in his field. He wants his students to do well and makes himself available and open to them. Thoroughly enjoyed attending his classes.

David Andrews
KNES287

Expecting a B
bmorefan
12/17/2008

Funny and a genius, knows everything there is to know about class material. Tests are surprisingly hard, considering material is interesting. Final paper not that tough and quizzes less than once a week.

David Andrews
KNES287

Expecting a B
redfan25
12/04/2008

Great teacher with good personality! Good sense of humor and wants to help the students do well in his class. The hardest part of the class is the first test. Material is not hard- just takes a while to grasp the diction used by the British professor. class becomes easier if your familiar with sociology and well versed in sports events.

Reviews for KNES287