Sharon Harrison

The content was mostly basic calc 1 (optimization, graphing, etc.), but we also did partial derivatives. Attendance is optional (along with recitation) but the lectures were helpful and necessary---I don't recommend skipping them. Prof. Harrison's teaching style for this class is basically just practice problems. Other reviews have said Luba (the TA) is a nitpicky grader. I disagree---she was generous with partial credit. The final is a 75-minute exam but Prof. Harrison give you the whole 3 hours if you need it, which was nice.

For an intro course, this class is challenging. You definitely would have to attend class if you don't want to miss anything. This was Professor Harrison's first time teaching this course so she was a bit disorganized and was not able to answer questions from the students which was frustrating. She was also not good at explaining complex concepts which essentially leaves you to teach yourself from the textbook. The textbook is easy to follow and light, and free online! Her office hours were not in any way helpful, so there is no point going there when you need help, rather go to Monday night econ help.

Chaos was AMAZING. Prof. Harrison is brilliant. She explains the material well and covers a wide variety of topics. I didn't really know what to expect from this class; I thought it would be interesting but I had no idea what we were going to talk about. We ended up talking about pretty much everything; we'd learn about math one day and have deep, philosophical discussions the next. We did have to read Paradise Lost, which was a pain, but we also got to read Jurassic Park, which was totally kickass. The workload sounds bad but it really wasn't.

I loved this class! It was unlike any other class I took this year. Before I took Chaos, I had no idea what chaos theory was, but Professor Harrison explains it well. It is really interesting theory and I really loved how it was applied to many different disciplines, not just math. We discussed how chaos arises in religion, literature, science, and art. Also, at the end of the course, we made a presentation about chaos in fields we were interested in. Professor Harrison does an excellent job of keeping students engaged in the material. Everyday I felt we had really stimulating, thought-provoking discussions. Sometimes it was also a little difficult to see the relevance of some of the articles we read to chaos theory, but most of the time you could. We had a number of guest lectures which were fantastic. I also really liked the literature we read. We began with Paradise Lost, which was a little tricky, but so interesting to read from the perspective of chaos. Later, we read Jurassic Park, which is awesome because it really shows the application of chaos theory in a modern world. Our last piece was Arcadia which is an AMAZING play (if you havent read it)! Professor Harrison is also very organized, accommodating, and has a real passion for teaching this class. Plus, this is a seminar so you really get to know your professor and classmates well. All in all, this is a great class.…

If you take extremely good notes in this class, it will be a breeze. I mean go to every lecture, on time and write until your hand hurts. Write what she says, write what you think she's trying to say....you get the point. The problem sets are fair, if you take good notes- but keep your answers brief and to the point (one TA grades like all of them). Also, if you don't know what the question is asking just make a good guess and go with it. Hand them in on time, she drops the lowest grade. She's not available outside of class too much, only during her OH. There is the option of a paper or debate, either one will be exponentially easier if you take good notes. She really gives you everything in class, you don't need to sweat anything, doesn't matter if you miss a reading (or 2) or spend less than 30 hours (duh) on your final assigment, because that's not what she's looking for.

So, I didn't do well in her class, but I have to hand it to her...she is a REALLY good prof. Her TA is very annoying and a stickler. But, Prof. Harrison gives AMAZING notes and unlike many columbia/barnard profs...the woman can TEACH.

She basically goes along with the book. You can either go to class or read the book; you really don't need to do both. The weekly problem sets are very easy and pretty short. The test questions are taken directly from the homework. This class is incredibly easy, and she's a generous grader. The class is more of a basic, introductory class for students to "understand the world better" and "understand the news" (she starts each class with asking students what they've read in the Times recently and relating the events to Macroeconomics...which, don't get me wrong, is pretty cool). All-in-all Professor Harrison is a pretty nice, cool, easy professor to have for a required theory class. But the class doesn't cover a fraction of what the Macro class equivalent across the street does, and it shies away from any difficult math. All you need to know is how to move the lines around in a graph, which is pretty intuitive (Mankiw-like) stuff anyway.

Harrison is one of the best Econ professors that I have ever had. Her lectures are clear and concise (everything that you need to know is written on the blackboard). If you need to take econometrics i suggest that you take it with Harrison because you'll actually come out of the course having learned soo much. Plus, if you do all the work, there is no reason why you shouldn't get an A. Great Courses, great Prof!

basic math for the economics major. was expecting an A-/B+ going into this class with a mild difficulty, and ended with a B (granted, my personal life has been extremely difficult this semester and math's never been my strong suit). professor's a great teacher, and honestly would recommend her section of the course for anyone who has to take this class for the major requirements. she's understanding, she was a student at one point too, and curves leniently (curves to the mean to a B on everything). the actual GRADING is wild sometimes, like you can have the right answer but one word in the explanation that essentially is redundant can dock you half the points so DEFINITELY STICK AS CLOSE TO WHAT WORDING THEY GIVE!!! this bit is much more on luba (the TA) though, and the grading on tests the professor checked were actually much more fair. maybe just watch out for wording with the TAs, and 100% go to their office hours to ask what SPECIFICALLY they want in their worded answers. there were points harrison didn't even mention in class that the TA would dock for that i only got cause I went to OH before every quiz, so before every quiz go in and ask about that. wouldn't necessarily recommend if you don't HAVE to take calc for the econ major, but if you do and don't wanna take calc 1&3 and math isn't ur thing, i would strongly suggest take it with her. the content isn't my cup of te…

Prof. Harrison is a super nice person but just isn't great at teaching this particular class. This was the first time she was ever teaching the class so we had no idea what to expect- there weren't enough problems so that we could understand what exactly she wants of us and there were no previous tests. She was very confusing while teaching most of the material and we had to learn it on our own because of that. She was super nice and tried to be as helpful as she could be tho. I have taken her math methods class and she is a MUCH better teacher in that class.