Bruce James

This professor has taught: AGNR300, ENSP101, ENSP386, ENSP400, ENST421, ENST440, ENST722

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Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/19/2012	Fantastic professor, very understanding and helpful. Pretty clear. Lots of writing as others have mentioned, but nothing terrible. Highly recommended.
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting an A PossePrincess 11/10/2011	Dr. James is an awesome guy, and a great professor. His lectures never seemed like lectures. They were interesting and I always enjoyed attending. It was easy to take notes and understand everything he was talking about. Discussions were good. We typically read articles and then discussed them in groups, sometimes having debates. He allows up to 100pts of extra credit for attending various seminars. I'm looking forward to taking him for ENSP400. Tests are written, and require understanding of the material. Due to shipping snafus, I never received the textbook, and was fine without it. Look at the exams from the previous years, go over the lectures, and you'll be fine. The paper topics were interesting, but its important not to put off finding scientific sources and starting the papers.
Bruce James ENSP400 Anonymous 05/30/2011	Since I can only post one review, I've included my reflections on both ENSP101 and ENSP400: ENSP101 - Dr. James is a really cool guy who really cares about the class and tries to make it enjoyable! The downside to the class is that the exams are really long, and it can be quite a bit of work, especially since you have to write a lot! Plus, sometimes, it doesn't always seem like the questions on the exams really demonstrate your knowledge and they seem to be somewhat tough on the grading. Therefore, be prepared to study hard! However, even if you don't do well (which, for the first exam, is typical of most people), he does provide plenty of extra credit opportunities to make up for them! There are a couple papers and problem sets throughout the semester in addition to the two midterms and the final (the final is worth the same as both midterms combined). Make sure you really read the directions for the papers carefully and don't procrastinate! They do require some effort (and you need stuff such as outside sources, which can require more time than you might think)! The problem sets, although not too bad in general, were one thing that I wasn't so keen on, because they could be kind of vague and almost too "open"-sometimes you aren't able to know if you answered them correctly and it was frustrating when I lost points when I thought I shouldn't have! One cool thing about Dr. James is that he does not rush through his lectures, and he uses powerpoint-which he made available to students if they came to his office (and the TAs each presented some lectures as well on their own areas of expertise). Besides the papers and assignments, the homework is essentially just the assigned readings, most of which are discussed in discussion section (some are from the book, others from websites, etc). Make sure to attend discussion because participation is 10% of your grade! Discussion sections mostly talked about the assigned readings, and not necessarily the work from class so much, so it was a bit odd not having discussion and class related, but my TA was pretty cool and laid back (and my discussion was right before the lecture slot, which made it convenient), so I have no complaints about it! Plus, most of the readings were very interesting! Overall, a very cool class! Expect to struggle a bit early on in the semester, so don't get too frustrated, just work hard and take initiative, and you should be able to pull through in the end. ENSP400 - Dr. James makes the class interesting. The first half of the semester is lectures and discussion about environmental ethics. It's pretty straightforward, so be sure to do the readings and pay attention in class (the powerpoint slides aren't posted until close to the exam). The exam consisted of a bunch of short answers and essays so be sure to understand the concepts well. The second half involved a group research project and presentation. The project was interesting and involved putting together an individual and a group paper about the future energy sources of an island, as well as a presentation (using powerpoint) to the class. You meet with Dr. James and the TA on a weekly basis to assess progress and make sure everything is on par. Be sure not to procrastinate as the project is very in depth and time-consuming. There is also a small reflective project as well. Most of the grade involves the individual components of the project as well as the first exam. Don't be afraid to ask questions and make use of Dr. James as a resource. He's a great guy and very wise!
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/18/2011	Awesome teacher!
Bruce James ENSP101 ilenerf 01/25/2011	Professor James is an amazing professor, he knows his stuff. He is engaging, does not have unrealistic expectations of his students and the class is actually really interesting. He does not try to trick you the exams and papers are straight forward and he even gives extra credit, which I highly recommend doing. Overall amazing class! Would love to take a class with Professor James again!
Bruce James ENSP101 Anonymous 12/03/2010	Professor James is genuinely concerned with his students. Even if you have only talked to him once for like 3 seconds, he will know and remember your name the whole semester. he knows nearly our whole lecture and is able to have personal conversations with all of us. This course is challenging, be prepared to work hard and have to study. Professor James and the TAs are extremely friendly and willing to help with anything you need. You can also get up to 10 percentage points added to your final grade with all the extra credit offered.
Bruce James ENSP101 lovinlife1492 12/02/2010	Dr. James has been my favorite professor so far, he's the best! He's very approachable & will learn everyone's names (somehow) regardless of the classes size. His lectures are somewhat hard to follow at times, and his tests are quite challenging/detailed, but he gave my class a curve on the first test and allowed a cheat sheet for the second exam. He seems genuinely conerned with his students and seems open to suggestions on how to improve.
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/30/2010	Powerpoint lectures, they're posted a little bit before the exam which is annoying because sometimes you can't write everything down. There are 2 exams, the final, 3 problem sets, and 2 papers. The problem sets are easy. The exams are a little difficult, the second one we were allowed to have a "cheat sheet". The papers have very strict guidelines. There are 2 opportunities for extra credit: attend a seminar related to enviro science and/or a paper on a news article. The discussion sections are kind of useless. Some of the material we learned wasn't what I expected from this class. I thought it would be more focus on global warming when it was really more of global systems like biomes.
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting a B RLJ2009 01/21/2010	Great teacher! I learned a lot about a subject I did not take in high school. Grading is fair and I recommend his class for any incoming freshman. You will work hard, but your efforts will pay off. 3 tests, 2 papers, 3 home works, and a final. Tons of extra credit as while and hardly teaches from the book. Teaches from slides and posted them online before the exams.
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting an A rose11 01/08/2010	By far the best professor I've had. His lectures are interesting and he makes a great effort to know each of his students. Within the first week he knew each student by name, all two hundred or so. Dr. James is very friendly and approachable. Work for the semester consisted of two tests, two papers, and three problem sets (short answer assignments). There are also several extra credit opportunities that can considerably boost your grade. The TAs were very nice and helpful as well. This course was required for my major, but I highly recommend taking it as an elective or core.
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/07/2010	I love Dr. James!!! He is definitely the best professor I had this past semester. He genuinely cares about his students and wants everyone to succeed. I wish I had gone to his office hours because all of the conversations I had with him before and after class were fascinating. He really knows the course material and takes many questions during his lectures. He also encourages class participation by asking many questions of the class (and 5% of your grade is class participation). Dr. James is definitely a fair grader and as others have said do the Extra Credit because it will significantly boost your grade. I failed the first test (85 points out of 150 points), but I still ended up with an A in the class because of the other assignments and extra credit. Don't be discouraged if you fail the first test, because most of my class did and I know that most people did NOT fail the class.
Bruce James ENSP101 stealingsheep 12/08/2009	He is SUCH a GREAT guy. He really cares about his students, takes alot of questions in lecture (which is impressive since it is a 100 level course). He wants students to do well, and will give you a "cheat sheet" for the final and second midterm exams. These help you learn and study the material better. There is alot of extra credit opportunities, so take advantage of them. The 3 problem sets kind of are long wound and annoying, but they do help to learn the material, and are not entirely too difficult.
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/08/2009	Dr. James is a great professor. I highly recommend his class. He is able to make the class interesting and is an overall nice and helpful man. The test are not too hard and if you do badly on them he gives out extra credit assignments. There is a 1000 points in the course and you can get an extra 100 based on extra credit which can raise your grade an entire letter. Also you can appeal specific questions on the tests. If you appeal a question and your appeal makes sense you will get the points back. Dr. James is my favorite professor at UMD so far.
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/16/2008	Hands down one of the best professors you'll ever have. He cares about the subject, and genuinely cares about the students. Always respectful and makes class very comfortable. His anecdotes are often amusing and he's open to questions. Exams are mostly short answer and essay. He provides lots of guidelines for the papers, and offers lots of help if you want it. The subject matter is also very interesting. BONUS: although an environmental scientists, he doesn't preach. He gives you the facts.
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/08/2008	The exams are long, you must write a lot. There are a couple of small paper assignments. Lots of extra credit. The discussions were a little boring. Overall he is very interesting and if you are into environmental science, like I am, you'll enjoy his lectures.
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting a B bkretzer 12/06/2008	He is a great teacher. It is a challenging course but fair. He wants his students to do well. There is a lot of extra credit to help with your grade. His tests are long and there is not a lot of time to finish so you have to know your stuff. If you take this course make sure you enjoy this field becuase I do not enjoy environmental science and sometimes I am very bored.
Bruce James ENSP101 Expecting an A annon 03/10/2008	He's a really sweet man, who cares a lot about environmental science. He learned the entire class's names by the second class period. The midterms are hard though. They are applications of the concepts learned, and longer than they should be for the time allotted. He'll give you lots of opportunities for E.C. by attending events and write papers about them. On the final, he lets you use a "cheat sheet" which was very helpful. There are also a few longer papers you'll have to write.