Human Origins & Evolution · Ecology, Evolution, And Environmental Biology
I learned everything about human origins! From early evolution of primates/mammals, to climate, to dating methods, to Darwin, I feel like nothing was left out. I only wish there was more time!
Quizzes, 2 midterms, a final - all from the notes. Also, a project and a paper. It sounds like a lot but it's not.
I got a both an overview and detail of the origins of the human species as well the philosophical underpinnings of ideas regarding evolution and the debates surrounding those ideas. Detail regarding primate evolution set the stage for the emergence of Homo. Background including issues of climate, geology and geography fleshed out the conditions which made this evolution possible. Biological changes that marked evolution completed the picture.
Dr. Valderrama and this class have a number of pros and cons. Ultimately, I found it to be a good class in which I learned a lot. Cons: she mumbles and trails off at the end of her sentences so unless you sit in the front and listen closely you miss a lot of what you are saying. She also skips over, maybe because this was a condensed summer course, a lot of detail. This leaves you with pretty much no idea how things work but with enough info to get by on the tests. Pros: the power-point presentation she gives and hands out as class notes mean you don't really have to take notes and the quizzes and tests are directly from the power-point notes. I wasn't too keen on this style of rote memorization at the beginning but looking back, I actually learned a lot. She likes the subject, she's fair and even-handed, and she's kind of funny.
Details about primate and human evolution, the different ways that variation occurs, how we can differentiate between different taxa for primates and early hominins, debates surrounding human evolution, vocabulary and ways to designate and describe different ways of distinguishing between taxa.
Weekly multiple choice quizzes. 3 exams (not cumulative!). The lowest quiz and exam are dropped.
Basic evolutionary principles, biology of the living primates, and the evolution of humans and human ancestors
Okay. People need to get a grip. The material for the course is really fascinating, and the text is easy to read and informative. True, Valderrama is not a gripping lecturer, but she can be really funny if you pay attention. The tests are very straightforward, and if you actually know the material, they are also very easy.
This course provided an in-depth look at the history of Human evolution.
weekly quizzes (you can drop one. recommend spending the class studying for the quiz instead of paying attention to lecture). three midterms (drop one, probably the second which many students failed). two article summaries (piece of cake, but arbitrary points taken off)