Jonathon Bascom - Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI

Professor: Jonathon Bascom

Department: Geography

College: Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: GEO110
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Easy class (if you pay attention in class) but incredibly boring. The Powerpoints are scattered and not super clear, things are spelled wrong & he tends to mispronounce the names of places & things. Generally, lack of organization, but the class is easy. You get two tries on quizzes and the movie guides are easy points. Didn't use textbook.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: GEO110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Bascom is one of the nicest profs out there. He pushes deadlines back if you ask and does his part to make sure you do well by dropping low quiz scores and rounding up. He has many interesting stories to tell in class. The reading isn't much at all. The tests can be iffy, as his tests and his lectures don't always match up. I'd take him again!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GEOG110
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Really nice, interesting guy with TONS of interesting life stories. He tests on specific figures and examples, not just general concepts. Connects geography to economics, social issues, religion, environmental issues, current events etc. in a really graceful way. Most work at front end, so class gets easier as it goes on.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GOEG243
• 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:

Professor Bascom is a great person; he's easy to talk to, respectable and interesting. But his lectures get long and impossible to follow, and what he tests on is not at all reflective of what he says in class or what's in the textbook. Assignments are poorly explained, he doesn't give good feedback AT ALL, and he assigns way too much homework.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GEOG243
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Prof Bascom is such an interesting human. He tells great stories and is very relatable. Sometimes he digresses too much and you wonder when he's going to get out of this story that has now wasted 15 minutes. However, he loves what he teaches and is a very kind man. I do not particularly like Geography, but I have enjoyed this class because of him.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: GEOG241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The exam for this class came out of left field. The assessments just are not very genuine or telling of what I actually learned in the class. Really nice guy, but very unorganized.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GEOG110
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Can get off topic but in a good way. He's passionate about what he teaches because he's traveled many places and has great experiences. I would take this class again in a heartbeat. It't not hard if you take a little time to study. Fun class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GEOG241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Not the most interesting or clearest class, but he is more than willing to help you out when you need it! Nice prof, but the class gets off-topic very often.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: GEOG110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very very boring prof. Expect long lectures every day with powerpoints to accompany them. He submits them all online, which is nice for studying. Quite difficult exams but the weekly GeoQuizzes are an easy A if you give it a little time.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GEOA
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great teacher. Very knowledgeable. The Geo tests for this class are almost impossible. Have you ever tried to learn the exact location of 150 African countries, cities, water and land features in a week? Oh, yea, you also have to read a 30-40 page chapter, read an article, and write a short paper. class would be better with less is more!!!!!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GEOG242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very nice guy, but his test were impossible to study for. He gave us a study sheet and i studied it for hours only to find that 60% of the test wasn't on the study sheet. A bit disorganized but nice.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GEOG110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This man is a great person, but the class is difficult to concentrate in. My mind checks out before the half-way point in the class. (Class is 2 hours.)He tries to keep his tangents to a minimum, but he just keeps going. The class is very disorganized. Tests are impossible. Expect to know everything about everything for each term. Take with caution

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: GEO242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Best prof ever! I love him dearly. Does go on tangents often but has a lot of first hand experiences to share. Extremely personable and incredibly caring. I highly recommend him!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: IDS201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great guy and pretty helpful. However, if you want an organized class, definitely not for you. He is very disorganized and not always clear. Grading system is hard to follow, but tests are open note and open book.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: GEO110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

he's lectures are boring, but his class is't hard. He grades based on curve, so it's not too bad.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: GEO110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great teacher. His tests are hard, but if you do the extra credit and all the other work you will be fine. Ask for help if you need it. He loves to help if you ask. :)

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: GEOG110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I got REALLY sick of his tangents. He has no clue how to write a test, but the final exam was still very easy. Passionate about other cultures but comes off as pretty ignorant. The "projects" he assigns aren't projects: they're essays. Looking for an easy class where he won't know your name? Take Geo 110.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GEOG230
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Economic Geography overall was a good class, and learned much about the current world. Huge research project with classmates, takes place of final exam, which is cool once its done. No tests, just three collections of essay questions. Incredibly disorganized, but class was fun and laid back. Lectures are haphazard. Syllabus will change sporadically

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: IDS201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Intro to International Development Studies was very disorganized. Most of us (students) did not know what he expected on the assignments. I don't feel like I learned too much from the class. He is a very kind person though. Always open to suggestions and willing to make things better.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GEOG110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hard tests but a great teacher. He is easy to talk to and will help if needed. The text book is VERY helpfull but he does not require reading it.