Charles Gelso

This professor has taught: PSYC353, PSYC468H, PSYC603, PSYC660, PSYC661, PSYC690, PSYC698
Information Review
Charles Gelso
PSYC353

Expecting an A
ebane
12/16/2011
Tests = 1/2 book, 1/2 lecture. Lecture is off the slides, but attendance is mandatory because he adds so much information verbally. Tests are straightforward, no curveballs, so study the important stuff. Lecture is kinda boring, but the subject is still really cool and Dr. Gelso knows his ish and engages you. REAL SIMPLE: *YES. Dr. G = amazing professor. Nationally recognized to be correct. so don't worry about the teacher, just the class if you like the subject.*
Charles Gelso
PSYC353

Expecting an A
bunnykid123
05/18/2011
I disagree that lecture was boring! I found this class to be fascinating and Dr. Gelso to be an excellent professor! After my science courses I would come into abnormal and relax because it was such a stress-free environment. We watched videos, discussed schizophrenia, and engaged in debate. The exams were also super fair and straightfoward. Gelso is one of those professors that really wants you to do well. He believes that all of his students deserve to excel and gives us extra credit options and straightfoward tests. The TA's for this class were also great. Take it! You will learn a lot about psychopathology.
Charles Gelso
PSYC353

Expecting an A
Anonymous
07/14/2010
Lecture was honestly boring most of the time but still a fairly good class if you are interested in the abnormal part of psychology. A lot of studying is required for the text part of the exams because its not covered in class and the questions are specific and tricky. Dr Gelso is very nice and approachable and there was so much extra credit , which is easy and worth doing. There are only a few exams so doing well on them is essential, as it makes up your grade. Going to lecture is absolutely necessary, so if you do that , keep up with the text, and study, this class is pretty easy.
Charles Gelso
PSYC353

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
06/01/2010
Hands down one of the most engaging, informative, and interesting classes I've ever taken--not just because of the subject matter per se, but the professor as well. I have to strongly (but respectfully) disagree with the negative reviews, because I personally think that Dr. Gelso is a phenomenal professor, one of the best I've ever had in college. His lectures are very well structured, especially for a 75-minute class--he lectures for the first half, gives the class a break, then provides supplementary material (videos, case studies, etc.) and initiates thought-provoking discussions with the class. As a professor and clinical psychologist, Dr. Gelso has many years of professional and teaching experience. His good-humoredness, coupled with his wealth of knowledge and experience, makes this class a must-take. The multiple choice-based exams are very straightforward, and are based upon the lectures and the text, split exactly in a 1:1 ratio. The text portion can be a little challenging, but as long as you review the boldfaced terms in the book, the tables, and the general ideas found in the summaries at the end of each chapter, you should be more than fine. The final is noncumulative, and only tests the last part of the course.
Charles Gelso
PSYC353

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/25/2010
Professor Gelso is an amazing professor and this is a must-take class! To me who normally hates going to lectures, I looked forward to these lectures and never skipped one. They are very interesting and don't follow the book and are more related to real life. The tests are easy but the questions are all fair and straight foward, you just need to know the information. If you study hard and pay attention in lecture it is not hard at all to get an A. Don't let these negative reviews prevent you from taking the class because you will love it!
Charles Gelso
PSYC353

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/21/2010
I really enjoyed this class. It was great that there was no homework, and only 3 tests (supposed to be 4 but changed to 3 because of the snowstorm). Gelso is a pretty great professor, in my opinion. He's an extremely pleasant person, and funny now and then. It's true that his lectures could be a bit more structured, but if you go to every class and pay attention/take notes you'll be fine. Its a longer class, but even he knows that so he always give us at least a 5-minute break. The first portion of the exam is on textbook information, the last half is lecture stuff. Review your notes and read the textbook (yeah it's a lot, especially if saved for the last minute but at least it's interesting!) and you really should be fine if you really care about doing well. He repeats that you should focus on the bold words anyway. The last review confused me because I took good notes and read through the text once (usually right before the test, especially going over harder-to-remember parts, and I always did well... But there's extra credit if you need it, you can do up to two 2-page book reviews. They're not necessary though, I didn't do them and still got an A in the end. However, before the final I wished I did one, just so preparing for finals would've been less stressful!
Charles Gelso
PSYC353

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/18/2010
I actually thought this was a very interesting class, and I loved Dr. Gelso's teaching style. It made things more interesting when he switched from lecture to case studies to videos, and gave a more complete picture of the material. If you can keep up with the reading and study well for the tests, it's not too difficult for a 300-level class. I would recommend this class.
Charles Gelso
PSYC353

Expecting a C
Anonymous
04/27/2010
The person who said this was a great class is LYING to you. I too was fooled by great reviews on ourumd and other sites so i took the class. I couldn't have hated this class more. I thought it would be interesting learning about abnormal behaviors. Gelso is extremely boring. There's no structure in the class. He switches from power point to just lecturing and you never know what is worth writing down and what isn't. Randomly he'll break out into class discussions. I'm always confused as to what we're doing. He uses videos about people with disorders, which was interesting. There were only 3 tests, strictly half of the questions from the book and half from the lecture. No matter how many notes I took or how many times I read the book, I always did bad on the tests. I wouldn't recommend this class to anyone. The extra credit is to read a book on a psychological disorder and write a review on it for 5 points.
Charles Gelso
PSYC353

Expecting a C
psychterp12
04/26/2010
This class is fairly difficult. There are usually 4 exams but we only have 3 because of the snowstorm. The exams are half textbook, half lecture which isn't so bad but can get really confusing. There are two extra credit opportunities which involve book reading and paper writing - not worth it. He is fun and knows his information however he is not very good at teaching. Try to find another professor for this class.
Charles Gelso
PSYC353

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/22/2009
Great class, great professor. Dr. Gelso is engaging and interesting and actually makes going to class enjoyable. Exam questions are half lecture material half textbook material, which means you have to read and learn the book material on your own....annoying but very doable. Try not to miss lecture, because you won't be able to find what he says in your book. Three exams and a final, as well as extra credit opportunities.