| Information | Review |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/01/2023 |
Nice professor. Exams are open note and were curved a good amount. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 08/23/2023 |
Dr. Vandaalen was one of the kindest professors I've had. However, the class structure was kind of confusing. The course consisted of a lecture and review session each week with clicker questions, readings, a worksheet due each week before class and writing assignment due every two weeks, and the midterms/final. The class is set up into small circles/groups with a TA at each group to lead the discussion. I found the lectures to be very engaging and taught us how the course content could be applied to our daily lives. The content does not come from a traditional textbook, but rather a free resource that teaches through articles and videos. While she provided resources so we knew what to expect for the exams, there were a lot of very specific and random details from the videos or articles being tested that I felt more so assessed our ability to memorize small facts rather than our knowledge of psychology. That being said, it's very easy to get an A in this class as Dr. Vandaalen provides an insane amount of extra credit opportunities and curves. It's definitely more work than some of the other geneds I've taken, but I would recommend taking her for PSYC100! |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC344 Expecting an A+ callpink 05/19/2023 |
Great teacher and sweet person. I don't know why other people are saying her exams are hard. They aren't. The questions are literally copied from her slides. 2 exams are online and there's a final, where she lets you have a cheat sheet. Attendance isn't necessarily mandatory, and you can get away with doing clickers at home. But sometimes, she does in class activities for participation points or changes her clicker ID. Go to lecture but you don't have to pay attention or take notes. She's an easy grader and the class isn't time consuming AT ALL. I would definitely recommend this class for an easy A+. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/16/2023 |
Had her for Fall 2022, wouldn't recommend over other teachers for this class. It never felt like a gened and required more work than necessary. You're going to spend a lot of time compiling notes for the open-note exams, but the notes still didn't help sometimes because the exams were very difficult. Thank god she curves them, otherwise nobody would get an A. Classes are terribly boring and most of it is just review from what you had to learn for the online quizzes every Monday. Wednesdays were completely useless because they're taught by TA's (who were very nice, but they didn't give anybody any new information). You have to do an essay every two weeks, and that's not so bad. You can also complete every quiz and essay online weeks in advance if you put in the effort, which is nice. Basically, if you're good with notetaking and have a lot of time on your hands, this class is for you. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/14/2022 |
I would not recommend prof Vandaalen for PSYC100. Lectures are extremely boring with and basically useless for learning the material and doing well on the exams. Exams are very hard, making your notes extremely important for success on the exams. It really seems like lectures barely cover any of the required material for exams. If it weren't for extra credit opportunities and curves on exams, this class would be very hard. I know other teachers are way more chill and require much less work than her. She's a nice person that is accommodating, but I found myself doing way more work than expected. Especially when compiling good notes before exams. You will not learn much in this class. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC344 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/12/2022 |
Professor Vandaalen is the sweetest and truly cares about her students! Attendance isn't mandatory, but there are clicker questions that you get participation points with. You can follow along through PointSolutions. This class taught me a lot without being a stress-inducer. Loved her! |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A Anonymous 07/25/2022 |
Professor Vandaalen is very nice and very caring. However, her class is incredibly boring and barely covers any of the information in the textbook. Going to the lectures was a complete waste of time and I didn't get much out of them. I would have preferred actually learning a lot of the information that was in the textbook as opposed to learning about one small thing in the chapter. The tests were impossible and were incredibly difficult. I only did well because the curve was insane. Every test the curve would add at least 20 points. That said, I will say that Professor Vandaalen wants her students to do well and that is why she offers a bunch of extra credit assignments and curves the tests a ton. I am so appreciative that she was kind enough to do this. However, I would recommend taking the other Professor for PSYC100 such as Jones because my friends had him and did absolutely no work and their tests were open book and online as opposed to our tests being in person on a scantron and we were only allowed one doubled-sided piece of paper. In closing, Vandaalen is a very nice and caring person but I wouldn't go through all the hard work and stress to get the grade you want. Just take the easy A with the other professor. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/29/2022 |
Dr.Vandaalen is a really great professor, she makes the class easy, and she is always available when you are in need of help both in person and via email. The exams all have a curve which is really great, and there are a ton of options for extra credit opportunities in case anyone does need it. In general she makes psychology really interesting and fun to learn. By far one of my most favorite professors I've ever had at this university |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/21/2022 |
Nothing bad to say about Dr. Vandaalen. She makes this class very easy and managable. Grades are pretty simple, with participation clicker questions, weekly HW, exams, and writing assignments. She really wants you to succeed and will allow for lots of EC opportunity and curves very generously. By far one of my best teachers during the semester. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/20/2022 |
The lectures were so boring and honestly useless because no one showed up and she made it discussion based. Participation is graded on clicker questions that can be done at home which was nice. The textbook (Open Psyc) was such a bore to read at times, but you only need to read it in preparation for the exams for which we were allowed a 8x11 sheet of paper to put notes on. Discussion section was extremely useless but it's only every other week so it wasn't too bad. She curves heavily and gives lots of extra credit. The class itself is easy to pass, but you won't be learning anything in this class. If you're interested in the subject, take this class with a different professor. Otherwise, it's a chill class. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/20/2022 |
PROS: very nice and caring professor, allows for lots of extra credit opportunities, allows for a full 8x11 front and back cheat sheet, and gives a generous curve on exams, 5 easy papers IF you follow the rubric CONS: exams were excessively difficult(class average was never above 65% for any of the 3 exams), even when I felt as though I had a good understanding of the content questions revolved around tricky little details from the class rather than knowledge of the overall concept, this was annoying, and if it weren't for the curve this class would've been way more stressful. Almost all the learning comes from the homeworks which aren't bad but a bit tedious. She also wasn't a great lecturer, seemed new and nervous, sometimes I honestly felt like I could answer questions and explain the answer more clearly than she would. Overall, be thankful for the curve. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/18/2022 |
I really enjoyed her class. Exams were relatively easy, if you knew how to answer the questions from the study guide you were guaranteed an A on the exam. Dr.Vandaalen is a very nice and understanding professor, she provided numerous opportunities for extra credit so make sure you take advantage of that |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Anonymous 05/17/2022 |
I can tell that Dr.Vandaalen is sweet but she is not meant to be a professor. Lectures were the biggest waste of time and the tests were impossible. We were always graded harshly and feedback was limited so we were always unsure of how to improve. The only saving grace was the huge curve and extra credit. Don't take her if you don't have to! |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/28/2022 |
Class was relatively boring, almost no one showed up. It wasn't too bad, it was more of a lack of participation that made it boring. She had "attendance" grades but those are just clickers and can be done at home. However, this class is very easy; lots of extra credit opportunities and huge test curves. She also allowed full pages for notes on the test, you could basically fit the entire chapter's material on it. There are also a total of 5 "essays", they are only 500 words and pretty straightforward. If you follow the rubric and make it comprehensive, you will get most of the points. The only real con is that you learn mostly from the homework worksheets that she gives, but they're easy. I would say that she knows what she is talking about and enjoys teaching the material, though. I would recommend this class as it's not too much of a workload. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC344 Expecting an A+ YT 12/27/2021 |
Amazing!! Must take and super chill. Favorite class of the semester by far |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/18/2021 |
Such a chill and understanding professor. Clearly knows her stuff, which makes lectures easy to follow along with. The workload isn't anything to blow off, but I highly recommend you take her class if you genuinely want to learn about psychology. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC100 Anonymous 12/09/2021 |
Both the professor and the TA for this class are very nice. Exams are heavily weighted though!! If you have a strong passion for psychology I would definitely recommend taking her class. |
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Rachel Vandaalen
PSYC344 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/03/2021 |
So nice and understanding. She is so chill and this class was very enlightening and easy :) Gives a lot of extra credit |