Annette Spivy

This professor has taught: ENSP101, ENSP305, ENSP342, ENSP399R, ENSP400, ENST460, ENST461
Information Review
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A
vivelaviv
12/13/2023
Professor Spivy was one of my favorite professors this semester. Her lectures are interesting and she is a very sweet person. For the tests, they are easy to ace because the TAs tell you exactly what to study for a week before the exam, and there are only 10 short answer questions for the exams I took. There are discussion posts every couple of weeks (easy af) and only 4-5 homework assignments that lead up to a final paper. You will get full points on the assignments as long as you meet the criteria and turn it in on time.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/13/2023
Lectures are pretty boring, I found it hard to stay engaged. Not a lot of assignments for the class 4HWs, 3 exams, a final paper and weekly discussion post which means each one is weighted pretty heavily. However, the work is not hard and it's an easy A. If you come to the class before the exam she literally tells you what every question on the exam will be like. They are 10 paragraph responses and if you pay attention to the 10 topics she tells you and study those, it's extremely easy to get an A on the exams.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/12/2023
This class is pretty good, I can't say I ever spoke to Prof. Spivy directly but she seems nice enough. I found lectures to be quite boring due to their content- they generally consist of writing down the definition of concepts or practices, which isn't very stimulating and makes it easy to zone out. The tests are 10 free response questions, which aren't terribly difficult but they oftentimes dock points for (in my opinion) trivial reasons, such as not referencing a certain vocab word. Overall, this course was *fine* for an introductory 101 class, not the most engaging but not too hard.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/06/2023
She's super passionate about what she teaches and that makes her lectures really engaging. She's also very nice and understanding if you need an extension. She basically tells you exactly what's on the exam before you take it so you know what to study, and once you get over the learning curve of the format of the first exam it gets pretty easy to understand the expected answers to her questions. Also the exams aren't cumulative. You have 2 opportunities to earn extra credit, 25 points each, and if you go to class frequently enough there is another opportunity. Overall, super interesting class and great prof!!
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/01/2023
Dr. Spivy is a great professor overall and the class is super easy. Lectures are engaging and simple, you can earn up to 50 extra credit points, and she says exactly what you will be tested on for each exam. Attendance is not required, but she does talk about some key things that are not on the slides. The only iffy thing is that on exams, she will dock 2-3 points if you miss a vocab word which can be annoying, but there is almost always a curve on the exam. The final is not a cumulative exam, it is basically just exam 3 which is nice. The textbook would be helpful for reinforcement, but is not necessary. Overall an easy class and would recommend her.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/14/2023
Really good professor who definitely gives you all of the materials needed to succeed in this course. The exams are all open ended questions, but they are super fair and reflect the course material well. I don't have any experience interacting with her personally, but she seems to care about her students' success and offers extra credit opportunities. The homework is minimal and keeps you on track for your final paper. My only issue is that I find the lectures really boring so I usually only attend on exam days, but this is probably more of a me problem than her because she is a very good professor.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting a C-
Anonymous
05/28/2023
According to other reviews, this was supposed to be an easy A, not when I took it though. I felt like I was putting in so much effort into the class and yet I was still getting marks off for stupid mistakes. Maybe it was just my experience, but I would not take this class with her or her TA's again.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/29/2023
She’s an interesting and kind lecturer, who’s clearly very passionate about her field. Exams are easy. Also, the day before an exam, she will pretty explicitly review all things you need to know.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
04/04/2023
I do not understand how Spivy has such high ratings. Her teaching is fine, incredibly boring and sometimes with incorrect data but fine. However, she as a person is a nasty piece of work. She’ll pretend to be on your side and blame the TAs and then give you hell. For example, I asked for a one week extension over spring break for an essay draft because I had three midterms the week it was due and two the week before that. She would not give it to me until I had to go to ADS get them to send her my accomodations and set up a meeting with her. She had previously (about the extension) accused me of lying that I had accomodations. Even when in the meeting with my advisor, she tried to say that I wouldn’t have enough time to write the final draft when I had told her I would write the draft and the final over break. Her grading is horrendous. If one of your discussion posts isn’t as long as the others or one part of it isn’t as long the other, she will say you didn’t show as much effort and doc a third of the points. The grading (which she does not post anywhere) is either full points, 2/3 points, or no points. There is nothing in between and nothing in between. As for exams, use all the vocab in your answers. She won’t ask for it in the question but will doc you 2-3 points for not using it. She also docs you if you are too wordy or didn’t explain it to the point a two year old would understand it. Furthermore, one of the questions she docked me on was just plain wrong but I was so fed up I didn’t even argue at that point. She asked about ways to reduce water usage. I had answered that you could collect runoff from buildings and parking lots and then reuse that water in grey water systems like toilets. She gave me zero points saying that that wasn’t how runoff worked. I’m a LEED accredited professional and what I described is a common practice recommended by LEED’s building accreditation system. So take her if you have to but be meticulous about everything and enjoy her unhelpful pickiness.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting a B+
MisterArpa
12/14/2022
The course is not difficult given that you attend lectures which I found extremely boring but I am somewhat biased since I was not really interested in the course. Professor Spivy however is very helpful and tries her best to get you an A. The extra credit also helps.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/11/2022
Probably my favorite teacher ever. She is SO engaging with her lecture I never find myself getting bored during class. I will say that I took APES in high school so I pretty much knew everything already, which made the class pretty easy. I don't know how easy it would be without that experience (probably still not very difficult). Extra credit is CRAZY. You can get 75 extra credit points (meaning 75/0) from doing relatively simple assignments. People saying the exams are hard are the ones who don't come to class (she tells us exactly what is on the exams during class).
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/08/2022
LOVE, Love, love. Easy class, really interesting too, basically reviews what is going to be on each exam. The textbook is not needed If you listen to her lectures. Take note of her examples they are really beneficial for the exams. The textbook is good for review if you need more clarification, but she does an amazing job you won't really need it. Amazing teacher, passionate about what she teaches, and great at it too. Lots of extra credit and gives you entire work at the beginning of the semester, so you are never surprised. Always asks about student input and ends up normally extending deadlines.
Annette Spivy

Expecting an A+
UMDStudent100
12/05/2022
The really good teacher however exam grades are very inconsistent and not great for granting extensions if need be.
Annette Spivy

Anonymous
11/03/2022
Fairly easy class. The exams suck. They are graded oddly, and structured kind weird. Even if you don't do well on the exams, you can still get an A in the class. Do both extra credit assignments and get a 100 on all the homeworks (which is easy to do). Class is really really boring. You only need to go for the exams.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
02/22/2022
Imma keep it a buck. I was going thru some stuff and missed class very frequently and still ended with a high B. Just go to class and you will be 100% fine. Exams are oddly structured and can be graded weirdly, but overall it is a solid class if you like science
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
03/24/2021
Great professor! Easy to understand the material. Tests are logical and fit the material. She also provides many opportunities for extra credit.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/27/2021
Fantastic teacher that rewards interest.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/22/2020
Took her class during COVID here, she is a very down to earth person and if you want a easy GenEd course to take, this is it! Homeworks are straight forward and the final is a paper. Tests are also very straight forward and you can use open note slides to easy do them. She also offers extra credit which gave me an A+ in the class
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/16/2020
Excellent teacher! Cares about her students and offers lots of extra credit
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/01/2020
During COVID, all her classes were her going through her Powerpoints and explaining the concepts. Even though I highly recommend you take notes as she's talking (so that you don't miss any explanations), she still provides the powerpoints online after going through them. The only homework is working on the final paper and a few readings for discussion section. The textbook is helpful if you want additional notes, but I never used it and it was fine. All of the exam questions are straight-forward and have been taught in class, there's no big surprises. Overall, she's very understanding and really friendly, and a good professor as well. I definitely recommend taking her class!
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/05/2020
She is so sweet and her tests are fairly straightforward. I am taking her online due to covid and her lectures are not too bad. i enjoy the class and the conversations about the environment are golden def recommend. The class is also fairly easy.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Anonymous
12/15/2019
I think anyone interested in the environment will really enjoy this class, but also people who don't really care that much for environmental issues. She has a down to earth personality and makes her lectures interesting. It's easy to follow her explanations and she thoroughly explains the concepts. You can tell she has a strong background in this field, but she's able to breaks things down to make sense. Even if you're majoring in something else I think you'd enjoy a class with her. The work load is also pretty chill.
Annette Spivy
ENSP101

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/19/2018
Very passionate about what she teaches. Really kind and cares for her students. Offers a few extra credit assignments which helped me clutch an A. Show up and participate in class to get all the discussion points. There are few homework assignments but those are to help you with your final paper. She gives really good feedback. There is also a final group presentation but that is slight work since it is based on your paper.