Professor
Elizabeth West
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - Overall a lot of the reviews from this first quarter have been impacted by both the traumatic and chaotic circumstances the class was taken under, and the responses from professor West. To those reading reviews from the same time period take both sides with a pinch of salt, as no side is entirely right or wrong. Both the student body and the professor could have been more effective and considerate with their responses. As such I will spend my review explaining both sides and hopefully providing insight into how one should consider the potential taking of a class with Professor West. 1.) Professor - Overall her teaching style is perfectly fine, with plenty of supplementary examples and a strong emphasis on understanding how and why given equations work the way they do. All of this works towards furthering the classes understanding of the underlying principals of physics through the learning of real world examples and logical reasoning. Furthermore, she is a nice and approachable person so there are no direct barriers to asking for help; in the online setting she periodically stops to answer questions and attempts to clarify the less direct points of learning. All that being said from this standpoint she is also a new professor, and as such has plenty of areas to focus on improvement. While I personally may not agree with the approach she took with regard to providing accommodations for those negatively impacted by the rioting and protests over the events surrounding George Floyd, she did have solid reasoning for what she did. However, much of the breakdown and frustration over the response came due to the use of impartial language in its delivery, as well as the reckless declaration of standpoints on a student's role in a university and as a person. It was clear that personal beliefs impacted her decision making, something I believe should be kept separate from the classroom setting. In addition, the tests provided were exceptionally difficult without a sufficient curve to back up one's proportional learning among the class (i.e. a score of 56% was left as raw for grading purposes despite that being the median score - something generally warranting a 70-80% in other classes). Finally, her use of a 50/50 split between AB grades and CDF grades is highly unorthodox, and potentially offers little to no benefit for those taking her class. Personally, I believe the implementation of a standardized z-score curve about a B or B+, a more traditional approach, would be more equitable and effectively reward students for their hard work (as it more accurately and fairly demonstrates one's placement within the class). 2.) Students - As mentioned before and is evident by the less than impartial reviews, a significant portion of the class was left dissatisfied with the professor's response to the disastrous circumstances of 2020 Spring Quarter, particularly with the style of the final exam. Much of the distaste surrounding the topic was due to the inequitable implementation of recommendations from the Academic Senate and Physics Department, both of which strongly recommended the use of a "No-Harm" final where it could not negatively impact your score. West's rejection of that recommendation, instead choosing to simply fluctuate the weighting of the final exam left many to object — especially given the fact that other 1A and 1B courses chose the No-Harm route. While the pursuit for accommodations on a similar scale was not unjustified, the emotional response, choosing to bash the professor was uncalled for. She clearly cared about the well-being of the class, its just her words were not always well-reflected by her actions. Claims of support while providing minimal ease or accommodations left plenty to lash out emotionally, resulting in her being called heartless, detached, unsympathetic etc. Overall, take this however you will, personally I see no issue with her teaching style and she does a decent job at teaching. Just hope some things will be sorted out in the future (and honestly do sorta regret being a test subject, but what can you do).
Spring 2020 - Overall a lot of the reviews from this first quarter have been impacted by both the traumatic and chaotic circumstances the class was taken under, and the responses from professor West. To those reading reviews from the same time period take both sides with a pinch of salt, as no side is entirely right or wrong. Both the student body and the professor could have been more effective and considerate with their responses. As such I will spend my review explaining both sides and hopefully providing insight into how one should consider the potential taking of a class with Professor West. 1.) Professor - Overall her teaching style is perfectly fine, with plenty of supplementary examples and a strong emphasis on understanding how and why given equations work the way they do. All of this works towards furthering the classes understanding of the underlying principals of physics through the learning of real world examples and logical reasoning. Furthermore, she is a nice and approachable person so there are no direct barriers to asking for help; in the online setting she periodically stops to answer questions and attempts to clarify the less direct points of learning. All that being said from this standpoint she is also a new professor, and as such has plenty of areas to focus on improvement. While I personally may not agree with the approach she took with regard to providing accommodations for those negatively impacted by the rioting and protests over the events surrounding George Floyd, she did have solid reasoning for what she did. However, much of the breakdown and frustration over the response came due to the use of impartial language in its delivery, as well as the reckless declaration of standpoints on a student's role in a university and as a person. It was clear that personal beliefs impacted her decision making, something I believe should be kept separate from the classroom setting. In addition, the tests provided were exceptionally difficult without a sufficient curve to back up one's proportional learning among the class (i.e. a score of 56% was left as raw for grading purposes despite that being the median score - something generally warranting a 70-80% in other classes). Finally, her use of a 50/50 split between AB grades and CDF grades is highly unorthodox, and potentially offers little to no benefit for those taking her class. Personally, I believe the implementation of a standardized z-score curve about a B or B+, a more traditional approach, would be more equitable and effectively reward students for their hard work (as it more accurately and fairly demonstrates one's placement within the class). 2.) Students - As mentioned before and is evident by the less than impartial reviews, a significant portion of the class was left dissatisfied with the professor's response to the disastrous circumstances of 2020 Spring Quarter, particularly with the style of the final exam. Much of the distaste surrounding the topic was due to the inequitable implementation of recommendations from the Academic Senate and Physics Department, both of which strongly recommended the use of a "No-Harm" final where it could not negatively impact your score. West's rejection of that recommendation, instead choosing to simply fluctuate the weighting of the final exam left many to object — especially given the fact that other 1A and 1B courses chose the No-Harm route. While the pursuit for accommodations on a similar scale was not unjustified, the emotional response, choosing to bash the professor was uncalled for. She clearly cared about the well-being of the class, its just her words were not always well-reflected by her actions. Claims of support while providing minimal ease or accommodations left plenty to lash out emotionally, resulting in her being called heartless, detached, unsympathetic etc. Overall, take this however you will, personally I see no issue with her teaching style and she does a decent job at teaching. Just hope some things will be sorted out in the future (and honestly do sorta regret being a test subject, but what can you do).
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