Sarah Woolley

Definitely A LOT of memorization. I don't think she's as bad as some of the previous reviews mentioned, but she can go way too into depth about some topics and then rush through the rest of her PowerPoint. Thankfully she posts the slides and her tests are pretty straightforward, only consisting of concepts and definitions she taught during lectures. One thing I appreciate about Prof. Wooley is her passion for what she teaches; it makes the lectures a lot more interesting to listen to. That being said, only take this class if you're genuinely interested in animal behavior. Otherwise, it's just painful memorization.

Don't take this class, I did because it sounded really interesting, but for me it was a really bad experience. the review below this one is from our TA, not a student. She doesn't care and won't help you if you're struggling. I was mislead by older reviews, no reason to take this, do another 2000 level psych class and don't waste your valuable time. When it comes to these reviews pay attention to the agree/disagree, I didn't and had a bad experience because of it.

If you want to learn significant scientific skills, this is the course for you. Please see my comments on its strengths for specifics. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2023 Course: PSYCGU4265_001_2023_3-AUDITORYPERCEPTION : PSYCGU4265_001_2023_3 - AUDITORY PERCEPTION Instructor: Sarah Woolley

Okay... I took this class thinking the reviews must be outdated or something. Certainly, she can't be *that* bad... but now I know I would not have taken this class if I knew what I knew now. It is not hard, per se, but my only goal is to pass so whatever. Anyway, Dr. Woolley is very passionate about the material, but I do not actually learn much from lectures. They are interesting, but you have to read the relevant scientific studies if you want good grades on exams. I only attend lectures because she produces verbal sound effects for every animal and my girlfriend thinks it's hilarious. She is very strict about deadlines and extensions.

I really enjoyed this class but was quite annoyed at the other students in the class. Sarah was painfully patient answering irrelevant questions and listening to personal stories that students felt to share with the entire class in order to get recognition or just hear themselves talk. There seems to be some complaining from people that they couldn’t copy the notes down fast enough but she didn’t leave a ton of information off from the sides on CourseWorks - maybe she has changed it up a bit, but the slides weren’t mostly blank for us. Most definitions were missing but the words to define were there so you could Google it later if you missed something. Go to class, take down the missing notes, memorize the definitions of the terms she spoon feeds you with on the “exam final review, and read her summaries on the slides about the papers. Do this and then be able to apply some of the concepts to parallel examples and you are good to go. I’m a neuro major so maybe I had more background on some of the concepts than others in the class and thought this would be a fun class for the psych requirement – I don’t know why people were say the class was hard. The majority of topics were covered in intro classes if you put a decent amount of work into the class you can get an A. Sarah is a entertaining lecturer and seems super cool. She is not out to fail you- she wants everyone to do well…

Take this class if you're interested in the overall topic. It covers a wide range and the more conversation the better. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Spring 2022 Course: PSYCGU4265_001_2022_1-AUDITORYPERCEPTION : PSYCGU4265_001_2022_1 - AUDITORY PERCEPTION Instructor: Sarah Woolley

After a year of waiting to write this review, I have gone back to my notes which I have kept regarding my interactions with Sarah Woolley, solely for the sake of moral justice. This is a cautionary tale for those who are considering taking her class, highlighting reactions of Professor Woolley to the unexpected situation of one of her students having a concussion a few days before the first exam of the semester. Throughout my experience she has proven to lacks basic communication and social skills, actively go against the values of the profession of teaching, and shown more empathy towards the birds she researches than her actual human students. I have never had such a bad experience with not only a teacher but any other human being that I inhabit this planet with until taking Professor Woolley's class. If you are reading this review, I would suggest do not take her class, and also do anything in your power to not have to interact with this lady until you graduate. All of this started when she refused to write me a make up exam after I was abruptly hospitalized for a concussion the weekend before the actual date, and with the doctors medical suggestion found out that I should not take the official make up but instead be administered an exam a week later. She did not reply to my emails regarding the matter, and was extremely pissed off that she had to write another make up. Whe…

I really hate writing negative reviews, but I feel obligated to my fellow students to share my experience with the class and professor so that they can made wise decisions when registering. I found the text and a few of the papers to be interesting, and Professor Woolley does seem funny and is excited about the material but overall I would not recommend this class or this professor to another student. The Lecture slides are posted but the important parts are left blank on the slides posted to Courseworks. If she was mad that students didn't show up to lecture, why not just take attendance? It's a horrible tactic because instead of trying to understand the material or enjoying the professor's lecture, everyone is scrambling at break-neck speed to copy the points in red on the slide. She rushes through complicated material and concepts (like Hamilton's Law) without taking the time to help you understand the material. Each lecture is a disorganized knowledge dump and many of the concepts presented are controversial and abstract. We were lucky enough to have a great TA who would take time out to help us with the material, but don't make the mistake of thinking this professor cares if you understand or wants you to succeed in this class.

Best course ever! The material was very interesting, and Professor Woolley is very approachable. I love the fact that she is very goal-oriented and is a great person to talk to. This will always be my favorite class at Columbia and I suggest anyone interested in animals to take this course. I am sure this is a great way to fulfill the science requirement, and by far the most interesting class I have taken.

I've taken both Animal Behavior and Auditory Perception with Professor Woolley. She is without a doubt the best, funniest and most interesting Prof I've had at Columbia. If you don't like science and reading about fun science facts you won't like this class, but if you like weird stories and making animal noises then you'll absolutely love it. Studying for the tests did not feel like studying at all, it was like reading a book you'd actually want to read in your free time. Don't be fooled by this- both of her courses were among the hardest I have taken. Auditory perception, in particular, terrified our entire class until we got the midterm back. I hardly understood anything and studied 24/7 for a few weeks for the midterm. But hard work actually pays off in this class and you'll learn a lot, if you are willing to put in the hours. I feel like I actually can converse about electrophysiology now. Everyone, even the students in my class that didn't like the material and were doing badly, loved Prof Woolley speak. She is HILARIOUS and I totally disagree with the previous posts that she puts no effort into being a professor- the fact that she puts up versions of her slides without notes actually must take a lot of extra work, she has to make two copies of everything and she does it for the benefit of her students who SHOULD come to lecture. Professor Wooley is intelligent, sophisti…