Reviews for PSYC234

Information Review
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/17/2024
SUCH A GREAT CLASS & PROFESSOR! She is so sweet, has the best energy, and genuinely cares about you succeeding in the class. The class is very easy if you show up and do the work. There are easy 5 point in class participation assignments and module quizzes testing your knowledge on class content. Aside from this there are two major papers and a final exam. There is also a happiness workbook where you are supposed to complete different entries on happiness technique strategies, which are very easy. She also offered two extra credit opportunities. Overall, this class is an easy A and I would definitely recommend it.
Abigail Nicolas
PSYC234

Anonymous
05/20/2024
Easy class, but Nicolas' rubrics are actually pathetic and you'll have no idea what to do for any projects in this class.
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/12/2024
Super sweet! A pretty simple class with some pretty great take-aways on happiness. Certain quiz/final questions were confusing, but overall pretty great!
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/08/2024
Sebenick is a sweet professor who cares a lot about her students' well-being. Something I really like is that she tried to get everyone up and moving each class. The course content can get pretty bland sometimes and you can tell that people aren't paying attention a lot. The course is quite a bit of work with extensive textbook readings, quizzes, a workbook of happiness exercises, and a HUGE research paper due at the end of the semester. Attendance is also required for all but two classes; for each class, you must complete an in-class assignment that proves your attendance. She's a super nice professor but she definitely has a bit of a hard time keeping her large lecture engaged-- you can tell by the amount of times the sound of the NYT Mini Crossword goes off in class. Take this class if you want strategies to improve your happiness, but if you're looking for a gen-ed to breeze through, this isn't it.
Abigail Nicolas
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/01/2024
Wonderful person and lecturer. The only downside to this class is that the daily activities can quickly become tedious and boring. Otherwise, there is so much to be gained from this class if you actually engage with the material. The work is also very simple and it is an easy A+ if you put in the effort.
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/13/2024
She truly cares about her students and is very understanding! The content is super interesting. Weekly quizzes on one or two chapters in the textbook (I just skimmed through the chapter). Each chapter was about 15 to 40ish pages. If you attend the lectures you'll get the same information from the textbook as a helpful review. She embeds a fair amount of extra credit opportunities, so you almost have a guaranteed A if you do all the work! The only thing I didn't like was the happiness project, ONLY because my group didn't do their fair part. Otherwise, chill class.
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/21/2023
Very little effort required. Weekly quizzes and exam are super easy. I never had to study. The projects aren't too bad either. She really cares about the subject and her students. I'd recommend her to everyone. Best gen ed.
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/13/2023
Very kind and obviously cares about her students. The class itself is pretty easy and the content is interesting even if you're not a psychology major. There is an overarching project throughout the school year where you have to research happiness for a specific population. Make sure to not choose an obscure or overly specific population because you will have a VERY hard time trying to find people to interview/research articles relating to the population. She gives a decent amount of class time to do the project though, so it's not terribly difficult. Overall, very chill class and professor.
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/10/2023
Good course, good professor. No complaints. Quizzes and exams were light and because they are open note not at all stressful. There are weekly quizzes but again they are not hard. The course content is interesting. Although this isn't even remotely related to my major, and I was just taking this as a gen ed, I'm very glad I chose this course because I was genuinely interested in the content. The main part of the course is the writing assignments, which comes out to a total of about ~7 pages of essays over the course of the semester (not bad at all).
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
08/23/2023
I took this as a summer course. Dr. Sebenick is super kind and understanding and you can definitely tell she cares a lot about her students. The course content was super interesting and applicable to daily life. The structure consisted of a weekly discussion board, the happiness strategies workbook with activities each week, a reflection paper and the final group project which we worked on throughout the summer session. The final project wasn't bad and was actually quite interesting to work on. Overall I'd recommend anyone to take this course with Dr. Sebenick!
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A
Anonymous
08/13/2023
Easy, interesting course. She is very kind and accommodating to anything you may have going on. All the assignments are fairly straightforward, the last assignment is a group presentation which can feel unorganized depending on your group-mates but during the summer (like-me) it should be simple.
Abigail Nicolas
PSYC234

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/13/2023
Nice person, but incomprehensible syllabus. The class itself is a cakewalk as long as you can decipher the ridiculously overcomplicated class layout. As long as you do the assignments, you'll get full marks... assuming you're actually able to remember when stuff is due. Any points you lose will be for stupid stuff like that.
Abigail Nicolas
PSYC234

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/10/2023
I had prof. Nicolas for PSYC221 and loved her so much I decided to take PSYC234 with her! Both classes contained some type of writings each week (whether it was essays, short paragraph reactions to the chapter, or daily journals), which can be scary to some people but she makes the assignments very easy to understand and offers lots of help! There are also usually some type of discussion sections that you will have to attend every other week but she incorporates your discussions into the class time so you won't have to attend the class more than two days a week (and they are very easy discussions to get credit for). Also, she is very clear and thorough with directions you just have to actually pay attention and listen (which I found that a lot of my classmates did not do lol)! Overall, I really loved her and hope I get another opportunity to work with her again!
Abigail Nicolas
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/09/2023
Super easy course and she is an amazing professor. Wish I could've taken it in person.
Abigail Nicolas
PSYC234

Expecting an A
Anonymous
03/08/2023
Don't get me wrong for the 1 star. The class itself is relatively easy if you stay on track. The issue is that Dr. Abi does less than the bare minimum in terms technological layout for the class. She overcomplicates whenever possible, and is unsupportive when needed to provide some support. for example, despite every professor or teacher I have ever had putting assignments on the calendar so students are reminded about a due date, or at least putting a due date on the assignment in the elms "assignments" page, she decided that she was above this and refused to set these up leading multiple students to lose over 10% of their grade because of human mistakes. Her justification was because the due dates were in the atrocity of a layout that she called a syllabus. For a counselor and teacher who tells people to be lenient towards themselves, she is not lenient towards her students. The class - that is the pre-made curriculum she regurgitates - itself is good, and I have learned some useful things but for me who relies on technology and having things organized normally, she comes nowhere near the bar that is set in terms of how almost every other professor in the university arranges their course. She isn't a monster, or a bad professor, her teaching style just suffers from the following: - the inability to build an organized syllabus, assignment prompt, elms page, lecture format/slide layout... - snappy responses to genuine and understandable questions people have during lecture such as "this could be easily addressed by maybe looking at the syllabus but since you already asked..." - lack of due-date reminders except for in-class 0.5 second remarks that aren't even on the slides - a terrible grading scheme with VERY LITTLE room for error, though the grades aren't harsh. - the inability for her to keep students engaged during a zoom-based class despite it being the norm for years for most people. pros: - easy A if you put the effort in. the bulk of assignments are relatively easy - good if you want to skip therapy and learn positive psychology directly from the source for whatever reason. it genuinely helped me because I hate going to therapy - TA Michael is really great and provides great feedback and is open to answering literally any question you have.
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/05/2023
easy and enjoyable class but the group project is questionable and seemed disconnected and unorganized from the normal content of the class/quizzes
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/20/2022
Ended the course with above 100% because of the sheer amount of extra credit she gives. She's extremely nice and understanding and always smiling! The quizzes were all online and we could do them in our own time (the last one was even open-note). The group project was the bulk of the work here, but even as someone who doesn't like to work with groups, I can tell you that it was not bad at all. She gives plenty of class time for us to work on it, so our group managed to get the majority of the planning done during class, and we only had to meet once in our own time. It was basically just a PowerPoint presentation, where the group members split the work on, and it was presented via recording a Zoom call which we were all on, and the video was later played in class. Overall, it's a really chill class. Take this if you want an easy gen. ed. or GPA booster!
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/19/2022
So sweet and genuinely wants to see all of her students succeed. The course material was easy & interesting to learn. You have a couple of quizzes, a happiness workbook to fill out throughout the semester, discussions, and one group project. Not a huge time commitment at all and there's no final.
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/16/2022
This professor wants to make the class unstressful and there's barely any homework. Her quizzes are kind of tough, but she offers so much extra credit that I ended up with over 100 before the last quiz. Definitely recommend.
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/10/2022
Super accommodating, and the nicest woman you'll ever meet. She comes in every day with a smile and ready to teach. The lectures can get a little boring at times, since it's just slideshows, but she posts them anyways in case you miss something. No final, just a group project. As long as you do all the work, you will get an A.
Heather Ganginis DelPino
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/08/2022
Easy class, super kind professor who actually cares about students. Class is a "book club"-y experience, where you read a couple chapters and discuss them in class. No imposed deadlines except for exams. Could be a pro or a con depending on your style. Weekly 1-2 page assignments reflecting on reading. Some bigger assignments (e.g. group presentation), but nothing crazy. Final exam not in person, can turn in online.
Heather Ganginis DelPino
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/08/2022
Starting off, the teacher is super kind. She is extremely understanding of differing viewpoints and even regarding missing assignments. The class aspect has weekly assignments where one has to reflect on the week's reading, always got a 100%. Class attendance is recorded but I am unsure if it affects one's grade. The only negative is that the classes are a bit boring but I enjoy the class discussions. I definitely recommend taking this class because it is an easy A and she truly cares about her students.
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/12/2022
Love love love this woman. Cares about her students, genuinely kind, willing to talk about stuff, super open-minded, makes content interesting. I recommend this class to everybody I know
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/19/2022
One of the best and most understanding teachers! She was clearly very interested in the class and has a wonderful teaching style!
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/18/2022
Professor Sebenick was a great professor. Her lectures were very engaging and overall the topic of the class is very interesting. She showed multiple times that she really cares for her students and their well-being. I highly recommend taking this course!
Heather Ganginis DelPino
PSYC234

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/14/2022
Easy class. You really only need to come to one of the two classes every week. The class times are just a group therapy session which is nice. She records every class, but if you participate in class she will like you. Follow the rubric for the assignments and you will get a 100. The final is a group presentation and a research paper.
Heather Ganginis DelPino
PSYC234

Anonymous
01/11/2022
The course has light workload and is easy in general. On the downside, the course is so easy you hardly learn anything aside from how to set your mentality. Del Pino does her best to be understanding and encourages the students to express their thoughts on a topic, no matter how small. Majority of her topics include current news, such as the impact of COVID and racism. If you are interested in discussing world issues or a personal matter emotionally, or just an easy course to fill a requirement, this is for you. At the very least, make sure to properly complete your assignments, especially your final project as exam, as those two have the ability to completely flip your grade. If concerned, you can reach out to the professor or TA for review or help, make sure to if you question anything, since it is difficult to change the grade if not impossible once it's set out, with an exception of late assignments. On the other hand, Del Pino does offer multiple extra credit opportunities that will remain open for the majority of the semester.
Carole Sebenick
PSYC234

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/16/2021
She is literally the nicest human being in the entire world. She cares so much about mental health and her students individually (which is what a teacher should do). This course is also really easy and super interesting! We have reflection papers and 3 quizzes that were online and had a final project rather than a final test. I literally can't recommend this class enough! Please take it!
Dylan Selterman
PSYC234

afriasia_adonia
12/01/2021
This professor is great at conveying course content to students and utilizing course materials (textbooks, articles, videos, and podcasts) to improve student learning. However, he will also deflect from student concerns and throw his TA under the bus if a student is concerned about the way an assignment is graded. Guidelines for the assignments were difficult to understand and the professor has managed to deflect from fully answering students' concerns regarding this. This professor is also hypocritical in his teaching values and claims to want students to advocate for their education and that grades shouldn't matter but took an opportunity to gaslight us when concerns were brought up about the weekly reflections and the way they're graded.