Reviews for LARC151

Information Review
Sherry Russell
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/20/2023
Very sweet and is very engaged in course content. Sometimes she gets off task in lectures, but it somewhat makes them more interesting. She brings in great guest speakers and I felt I learned a lot of good content. Overall, it is a very niche class so if you have no interest at all in gardening and landscape architecture you might hate it. But, I would highly recommend it if you like landscape architecture content areas. Solid I series.
Sherry Russell
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/17/2023
Good professor. Brings in interesting guest lecturers. Teaching style is a little boring.
Kelly Fleming
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/13/2023
This class is the greatest gen ed ever. I think for most graded assignments basically all you needed to do for an A was submit it. Discussions were required while lectures were optional. Most of the time I spent about an hour a week on this class and its discussion. No real tests or final, just projects throughout the semester.
Kelly Fleming
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/13/2023
Horrible class compounded with a professor who had no idea what she was doing. Basically recycled slides from the previous professor who taught the class in past years, without really seeming to understand what was supposed to be taught. We watched an extreme number of documentaries that were utterly pointless. There were extremely few assignments, which might be a blessing, but the TAs were also really slow on grading them, so I never knew how I was doing in class, and as a result, a lot was riding on our final project. Most assignments were group assignments, luckily my group was pretty good, but I know that that can go bad. Group project for a final?? Hated it.
Sherry Russell
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/08/2023
I took this professor for LARC151 to fulfill a Gen-Ed requirement and I honestly ended up hating it. I don't think it's the subject of the class but more so the teacher. Professor Russel was nice at the beginning of the year and the class was chill which was what I wanted because I had already a big workload from my other classes however, this was very misleading. As the year went on and we started our first final project she became quite rude and condescending. We didn't have to present our final presentation boards but she went through and criticized everyone's project in front of the whole class instead. On top of that, there was another time earlier on when she was reviewing my draft in class (this was a small class) and her exact words to me were "That idea is dumb" as loud as she possibly could as if telling a student that their idea is dumb is any help at all. Overall she wasn't much help when it came to knowing what to do for the finals and recourses were limited because she didn't know how to work Canvas, The links she provided never worked. In class, her lectures were long in boring, as she spent most of the lectures rambling about nonsense making it nearly impossible to stay awake. I found the guest lectures and TA more helpful than literally any of her lectures. If you can save your energy do not take Sherry Russell for this class.
Kelly Fleming
LARC151

Anonymous
12/06/2023
Terrible instructor, she does not know what she's talking about at all and half the time just puts on videos or has other people lecture for her, it's a miracle she's still getting paid. If you're taking LARC151 just to have an easy gen ed, definitely take it, but if you want to actually learn about landscape architecture, do not take this class with this professor.
Kelly Fleming
LARC151

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/04/2023
LARC151 is a breeze - straightforward material, an instructor who's there for you, and helpful TAs. It's the perfect easy win for a gen ed requirement. If you're looking for stress-free learning with solid support, this is the way to go.
Deni Ruggeri
LARC151

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/20/2023
Pretty easy, can skip most lectures, weekly discussion assignments are easy, group project work with the same group for the whole semester which sucks, easy grader. However, most assignments are unclear and even the TAs don't know what he wants you to do. Learned nothing so it's a waste of time tbh but its easy for credits.
Deni Ruggeri
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/06/2022
easy a, interesting guest lecturer's, weekly discussion assignments and a lot of group project work, but not a tough grader and not a hard class.
Dennis Nola
LARC151

Expecting an A+
Naruto
11/28/2022
I didn't learn crap but the class was easy. Had 7 different graded assignments besides the the weekly discussions we had to do. It is mainly group work, no exams. Easy A
Dennis Nola
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/18/2022
Class is easy, and I didn't have to attend lecture
Dennis Nola
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/28/2021
Nice guy who really knows landscape architecture. Most of the lectures are him telling the class about different design projects he's done. You just have to take notes on his achievements because those topics will show up on the exam. Pros: All questions on the exam are given beforehand on the study guides he provides. Kind and passionate about his work. Cons: Hard to reach (never answered my emails). Does not allow phones or laptops in class and stops the class to lecture about it if he sees one. The semester-long design project isn't too bad and spaced out enough to not be a hassle. Fun and easy class if you enjoy sustainability and design.
Dennis Nola
LARC151

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
04/09/2021
Great guy. Really passionate and understanding about things. Really easy going especially when our classes were online due to COVID.
Kelley Oklesson
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/07/2020
Such an amazing professor! She is truly passionate about the course and has very informative lectures! All her assignments and exams are fair and is nothing you cannot handle as long as you pay attention in lectures. Definitely recommend if you are in need of a GenEd!
Dennis Nola
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/24/2019
Nola is a really nice person and the class is easy, as long as you attend discussions and submit notes on the readings, which are a huge portion of the grade. However, despite Nola being a good lecturer, the material is dry, the syllabus had no clear grading policy (a clear violation of UMD policy), and grading attendance is heavily discouraged by UMD policy. It's an easy A if you attend discussion but you have to be willing to put up with these annoyances.
Dennis Nola
LARC151

Anonymous
11/29/2019
Cool class, learned a decent bit. The first exam was too hard and asked some overly specific questions but I think he was aware of that once he saw the exam scores. I liked the group project and liked the idea of getting teammates based on skill sets (good at art, good at organization, etc.). Unfortunately that did not happen but I think that was more on the TA. Lecture is skippable if you need to but try not to miss too much because he says "Hmm, this looks like an EXAM QUESTION" a lot, which is obviously useful. He was nice about helping assignments get graded when the TA was not on top of it. Very friendly and nice.
Allison Tjaden
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/19/2019
Very enthusiastic teacher who wants students to succeed. Some 'required' reading, test material is covered in lecture, overall fun and easy course.
Allison Tjaden
LARC151

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/19/2018
Allison is super passionate about what she is teaching, she's pretty funny and her lectures are usually entertaining. Class isn't very hard, pretty good class for a gen-ed, especially if you're interested in agriculture.
Dennis Nola
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/14/2018
This guy is the best professor ever. If you need to take some gen eds, do it with this guy and you will have a great time.
Allison Tjaden
LARC151

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/30/2018
She is a nut about food. She is generally very cheerful and energetic giving lectures. LARC151 is not too bad of a course to take, and she generally makes lectures engaging.