FAL · Columbia University
Weekly post-class quizzes often 10 ish questions and 3 attempts (5%), participation in studies and reflection (5%), attendance (5% four worst are dropped), midterms x4 (45% worst score is dropped), writing reflections/assignments x3 (15%) final (25%) 3 extra credit points available to be added to final score in the form of surveys and writing assignments. Midterms and final are OPEN note, midterm has one front and back and final has 2. On weeks of midterms and final put in about 6 hours to curate study guide, other weeks 30 minutes.
I learned about the basics of psychology
the nervous system anatomy, motor systems, sleep, emotion, motivation 2 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Spring 2021 Course: PSYCUN2450_001_2021_1-BEHAVIORALNEUROSCIENCE : PSYCUN2450_001_2021_1 - BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE Instructor: Alfredo Spagna
Teaches through lectures, with all information found on slide decks that are posted on Canvas. Engaging lecturer who takes attendance through PollEverywhere (worst 4 are dropped). Attending lectures and reviewing slides is enough for success in the midterms, post class quizzes, and final.
Neuroscience, Scientific Method and Research Design, Disorders etc.
4 exams (15%, 15%, 15%, 25%) 3 semester projects (25%) – These build upon one another and are extremely short (around 300 words), except for the second one, which is slightly longer. Weekly quizzes (4%) – You can retry them until you get 100%. In-class attendance (Poll Everywhere questions) (3%) – You can miss up to four without penalty. Later in the semester, especially during exam season, she didn’t take attendance and even made some lectures optional during regular test times so students could either self-study or attend her review sessions. Psychology study participation (3%) – These are extremely easy to complete early in the semester. Just sign up for the earlier ones and get them out of the way. Extra credit (+3%) – She offered 3% extra credit at the end of the course, which was added to the overall grade. To earn it, you had to complete short writing assignments (around 300 words each). A 93% is an A in her class, and an A- requires an even lower percentage, making it very easy to achieve. So this is a easy A tbh looking at how light it is.
About the field of psychology- including the biological component of functions like memory, personality, attention, awareness, etc. We also covered disorders.
I had to write this review because I saw another one that was just terrible—in the nicest way possible—and the fact that it had 10 likes is crazy. I have never met a fairer or nicer teacher than Dr. Demoya, and I definitely have a life outside of this class. She’s such a sweetheart and, most importantly, a great teacher. The workload is actually so light, and she even allows us to use cheat sheets on all the exams. I genuinely don’t understand how someone could call this class “nightmarish” unless they simply didn’t put in any effort at all. The other review claims the workload is “insane” and that juggling this class with others is hard, but I barely remember doing much beyond making cheat sheets and reviewing slides. How much easier could an intro psych class possibly get? This is a great foundational course, and Dr. Demoya connects every lesson to real-life examples, making the material extremely easy to understand. That alone makes learning fun, but it’s also a huge help when taking the exams. And speaking of exams—how is it an “insane” amount of effort when she literally lets us use unlimited cheat sheets for the final? Not to mention, she posts practice exams and quizzes where the exact same questions reappear almost all the time. Her tests were so fair and easy, and the overall class did really well in the end. If you don’t put in bare minimum effort, your grade—and you…
4 exams (15%, 15%, 15%, 25%), Semester project of which there are several (25%), Weekly quizzes (4%), in-class attendance pollev (3%), Psychology study participation (3%), extremely limited extra credit opportunities. Avoid at all costs
The different parts of psychology, an introduction.