Lois Putnam

Putnam's class is in no way a sleeper class or slacker-friendly, but it has absolutely been one of my favorites in the department. Every lecture requires your full attention. I was afraid to miss even one because of how vital her explanations are. Her slides themselves can be a little sparse at times but, personally, I think that's just to make sure people are really listening and not just assuming they can download the slides later and learn from them alone. But Putnam makes up for it in a rich, engaging lecturing style that's very aware of how her lessons (and students' understanding) are progressing. She uses illustrative examples and goes at a really great pace, making sure that you get take-away points from everything she covers and that you remember the big picture of the course. And she holds herself accountable to really admirable standards, wasting no time and no energy. If it's superfluous material, you won't find it in lectures or your reading. Even every video clip she plays is worth your attention and a few quick notes. I can't stress enough that for every ounce of energy that Putnam demands you to put in, she gives you back tenfold in a really rich methodology and curriculum. In that respect, the woman is no less than a force of nature. Her lectures and syllabus are meticulously designed. I don't think I've ever seen a more rigorously maintained and organized Cou…

She seems very nice, with anecdotes about her own parenting experiences, her lectures are interesting and her use of the multi-media classroom is very good. Very strict with deadlines.

I cannot believe this woman does not have a silver/gold nugget, she should get one just for the effort she puts in to every single class. I was very skeptical about this course when I came in, not being particularly interested in child development, but she made it interesting, challenging and engaging. I learnt so much from this class that I don't even know where to start. She can be a little nitpicky, and expects you to put in at least as much effort as she does into preparing for the class, but you really get so much out of it. Clearly organized, often detailed slides, interesting reading and engaging discussion. As long as you pay attention in class, and skim the readings you will be fine. I personally loved this class, and the professor!

This is not the course to take if you want an easy A. Putnam does a good job of showing you the important aspects of each reading (well those she goes over anyway) but then in the exams you are asked super specific (and often weirdly phrased and misleading) questions. She's really kind of over-enthusiastic about the subject. The portfolios you have to hand in twice during the semester are not hard at all...however they do take up some time and are require much more effort than Putnam allots them. I never want to write 10 2-page papers for 10 percent of my grade. Putnam grades the portfolio's generously but she grades the tests harshly and they are basically your grade. The multiple choice don't leave room for error and if you're not willing to sit there and memorize everything and anything then don't go. Also go to lecture because you have "minute-papers" after almost every class which add a few points extra credit. You also have in class essays...which aren't graded but its important to not miss more than one.

I took Putnam's Intro to Developmental two years ago despite the less than stellar CULPA reports she had - what a great decision! Putnam's lectures are always well-organized and incredibly interesting. She's very clear about the material, and the TA's were also knowledgeable (one had taken the course previously, which was really helpful).

The reviews for professor Putnam are outdated, so I figured I'd write one. Putnam is very good at teaching. It's very clear she takes her job very seriously and does everything in her power to make sure you get everything you possibly can out of the material she presents. That being said, she expects close to perfection from her students. Grading is incredibly difficult and nit-picky. No extra credit is given anymore, so don't rely on that to help your grade. No one in the class had anything positive to say about the writing portfolio, and I cannot stress this enough. She expects a portfolio before the midterm and the final. Both times I printed out my portfolio, it was over 25 pages in length. Including newspaper articles you had to locate yourself and EXTREMELY detailed two page writing assignments. Be prepared to write four pages making sure you covered every little detail she asks for and then be forced to cut every possible ounce of creativity out of the thing in order to size it down to the two pages she limits you to. She counts words and lines to make sure you don't go over the limit by a sentence. Be prepared to get a C on the overall project, and repeat the process again a week before the final is due. If all of this sounds like something you can handle, take the class. Aside from the portfolios, the class is a bit irritating but interesting. If you're a strong write…

She really is a talented lecturer. She always lays out what she is going to teach and then moves point by point. Putnam will stop lecture for any question or comment (no matter how stupid) every time. The readings are extensive but ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. What she teaches in lecture only makes up about 75% of the questions on the exam. The rest are pulled from the readings (even if she never brought them up once). SO READ. Putnam DOES NOT CURVE so if you're looking for an easy way out of the science requirement, keep looking. If you work, you will do well and come away with in depth knowledge about developmental psychology. My main criticism of the course were the two portfolios you had to turn in. They are graded VERY NITPICKILY (is that a word?) and are way too high school like to be called a college assignment (i.e. Find articles related to class discussion, summarize in your own words, and criticize). They were both really pointless and time consuming. But overall, a class I would definitely recommend for those fitting.

Undoubtedly, Prof. Putnam teaches a great lecture. She is also generally sweet and attentive to her students. Unfortunately, she seems to think that developmental psych really means "make your students feel like they are three years old." This can be helpful, as she builds in lots of review into the lectures, or downright horrible. Case in point, the written assignments. Ten pages long, and due the week before the midterm and final, Putnam describes them as "fun" and "good review." Worth a measly 20 percent of your grade, and subject to the full extent of her anal retentiveness, they are a huge waste of time and worthless. She actually accused us all of plagiarism on the midterm written assignment and made us all rewrite any passages we thought might be questionable. I am now trying to re-rephrase perfectly acceptable passages to fulfill this useless requirement. Is this a plot to make us all sweat? I just wish they offered this material with a different professor...

Some of the topic matter was really interesting. However, on the whole, I couldn't stand this class. Too many lectures were devoted to too little, and there seemed to be little connection between topics such as developmental bio and speech and IQ testing. SO SICK of writing little notecards about any questions we had about the lecture, and the writing portfolio is the BIGGEST waste of time. The extra credit opportunity is good, and will actually teach you something. I think that might have been the only benefit I got from this class. All in all, if you want to learn about how children develop, and are uninterested in the bio aspect of it, take Social and Personality Development with Dweck (who is a much more talented lecturer). Seriously think about this class before you take it, because if you get annoyed easily by professors who treat you like children (or who dote on their own children and use them as case studies WAAAAY too often) this class will just drive you nuts.

Prof. Putnam herself is very nice. She and the TA's put a lot of effort into the class, posting lecture slides and readings etc etc. The lectures are ok (though the previous comments about Putnam talking to us like we're 10 are pretty accurate). Writing portfolio assignment is lengthy, and lets be honest, the exams make up most of the class. NOTE TO PEOPLE WHO HATE MULTIPLE CHOICE EXAMS: the final is 50% of the grade, the midterm 35%, and they are both almost all, if not all, multiple choice. Oh yeah, and THERES NO CURVE. A lot of the questions are worded rather ambiguously too.