Joel Best - University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Professor: Joel Best

Department: Social Science

College: University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I'll save you time by telling you drop this class before it is too late and either get another teacher or don't take it at all. Not worth it to study for 12+ hours on exams only to come away with high 70s and low 80s at best. This guy is brutal plain and simple.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: SOCI201
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

You must attend lectures and pay attention to pass. write down every word he says and study your notes for exams because there is no textbook. Topics were interesting but sometimes boring. clicker points are easy points to increase your grade so just skim the articles before class.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Horrible professor. His lectures are super boring and have no direction to them. You basically have to memorize all the slides and everything he says to get a good grade. If your taking the class just to pass with a C then this is the class for you, but if your like me and you want to keep your GPA up then take another class. Never taking him again

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: SOCI201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

No textbook or homework, so you need to take notes on literally everything he says, and pay close attention to the readings (will ask very specific questions on them come exam). Grade is based on 3 exams plus a final and clicker points. Clicker question every class (easy and on the readings.) Exams are HARD if you don't have good notes/don't study

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

No textbook and The exams are based directly on the lecture which means everything he says you need to write down. Exams are difficult and hard to study for. would not recommend as an easy breadth because the material is different than typical sociology course.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: SOCI201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

What I really liked about him was that we didn't need a textbook (Thank goodness.) It's not your typical Sociology class; he rambles a lot, but he's pretty straight-forward. Come to class, take notes on (I kid you not, everything: PPT and what comes out of his mouth) read, clicker questions, exams. Lecture can get boring, but he's cool.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

His lectures can be interesting but the exams are pretty difficult and may reference something small he said in class. I did not to enjoy this class and quite frankly it was to stressful to just be a sociology class

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: SOCI201
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This class was pretty interesting. Sometimes the readings could be boring and lengthy. When taking notes make sure they are thorough as thats the only source you can have to study. No textbook. Clickers and exams are always straight forward and fair if you pay attention and do the readings. I highly recommend this class and would take again.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: SOCI201
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The only options for points is your daily clicker question asking about the article(s) you read & the exams. The exams are hard, each topic has 7 questions from the lecture & 3 from the readings. If you have to take this class i recommend rewatching UD captures & rereading the articles & pick out the main points you think he will ask questions on.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Best took sociology, a field in no way related to mine, and made it relatable. On the first day of class he said youll notice I didnt request a textbook. Thats because I dont use one. Each lecture was exciting to go to because each class was a random topic such as holidays and he would explain how society developed them into modern day

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Loved this class. Best is really funny and his lectures are interesting but you need to pay close attention in class and actually do the readings because his tests are solely based on homework and the lectures. Readings can occasionally be long but most are around 5 pages. Highly recommend.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: SOCI201
• Grade Received: D-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Best is a sweetheart but his class is lecture heavy which is boring. You have about 30 clicker questions a semester so you better get to class on time if you want those extra points. Im one of the few who actually stayed for his lectures but still doesn't do good on exams. If you're going to take his class then take it seriously. Learn from me :)

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: SOCI201
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Best is such a sweet professor! Grades are based off 4 exams and Clicker Questions, Most questions on his tests are straightforward from the lectures and the readings. Readings are always less than 25 pages, most are 5 or less. Also, you don't have to buy a book! If I actually went to the class, I could've gotten AT LEAST a B. I recommend Best!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great professor. But class is based solely on readings (clicker questions at the beginning of each class) and exams. Not too bad. Makes his lectures interesting

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Very boring and confusing- some lectures make no sense and he goes through them very fast

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This class is easy to do good in if you put in the effort. This isn't a class you can just study for the exams the night before. Your grade is made up of the 4 exam scores and clicker. Make sure you take notes and go to every lecture.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: SOCI201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

BORING & LOTS OF READING

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

lectures are typically super interesting and he's hilarious, but don't even bother asking him for anything. I tried and he was rude. Just skim readings, and make sure you know some take-away points from them so you can answer clicker Q. GO TO CLASS AND LISTEN TO EVERYTHING HE SAYS AND WRITE IT DOWN AND MEMORIZE. if you do that, you'll be golden.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: SOCI201
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Readings are doable but understand the information to get the daily clicker questions correct. His tests are all from lectures and I write almost everything down but his tests are still pretty hard. he's also kinda rude and intimidating

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: SOC201
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Class is strictly lectures and LONG readings. I took notes on the reading and got clickers based on them wrong still! I studied 2 weeks in advanced for his exams and wrote everything he said and still got low 80s, sometimes 70s. DO NOT take if you don't do well on exams. Lectures were very interesting and easy to understand, but hard to pass