Catherine D'Andrea - Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Professor: Catherine D'Andrea

Department: Archaeology

College: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ARCH375
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She seems like a nice professor, however, she is not very engaging when teaching. She would teach for about an hour out of a three hour class, wth the remaining two hours of the class consist of watching a film. Also, the class was mostly guest lectures. If possible, take ARCH 375 with another prof, I would NOT recommend this class.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ARCH272
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Perhaps once this prof was passionate and articulate like I hear some people describe her as, however for the past couple years the only term applied to her is "scattered". Dates are often wrong and contradictory on slides, she consistently forgets deadlines, and due to her rambling the class moves at a snail's pace through exceedingly dry material

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ARCH272
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

The best prof ever!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ARCH252
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She made me fall in love with arch! Be prepared to attend lecture and put in work. I did read the textbooks and found them to be helpful but focus on the lecture material more for the exams. She is passionate about her work and is a brilliant instructor. I always visited her in office hours and got a B+ in the class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ARCH375
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Boring and uninformative lectures as she simply reads her slides and does not give feedbacks on tour assignments. Would never take a course with her again.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ARCH252
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She is super passionate and knowledgeable about the course. She is also very clear with what is going to be on the exam. Great prof!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ARCH252
• 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:

Not a big fan of her teaching and tests. There are only 3 tests the whole term and the first two are practically the same yet one is worth 50% and the other only 30%.We also received a take home essay but it is useless because we are being asked to basically repeat exactly what she said.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ARCH252
• 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:

I actually like D'Andrea - she is helpful and approachable, and seems to care about the students. My biggest issue with this course is the exams. Requires memorization of hundreds of terms/people/ideas and if you have forgotten a small handful it is possible to fail, as the scope of the exams is rather limited.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ARCH252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Her tests are ridiculous. Matching, definitions, and essay questions. You are required to learn and memorize over 150 terms at least for each test, yet she only tests you on 5 or 6. No list of specific terms to study, anything is game. Asks questions on terms she spends very little time on. At least give us a list of terms to study.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ARCH100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

You should take this

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ARCH100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Catherine is an amazing prof. She is extremely interested in archaeology and if you allow her to, she will get you interested in the subject as well. In order to do well, go to all of her lectures (when the TA's aren't teaching) and take notes for all slides. This class has made me contemplate doing a minor in ARCH.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ARCH100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

If you go through the readings and take really great notes (as in, write down basically everything she says) and then study those notes, you will find it easy to get an A+. Just skim over the readings if you want (know the bold terms), though there weren't many exam questions on the readings.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ARCH100
• 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:

She is a good prof. Lecture is quite boring. The grades marked by 4 quizs. If u read her lecture notes you can get B, if u can spend time on textbook, trust me, easy A.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ARCH100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

She's a great professor who really cares for her students. When we fell behind, Catherine cut her notes down instead of rushing through material. Although the readings were supposedly examinable, I haven't done any and I've managed an average above 90%. So, use the recordings, take detailed notes, memorize as much as you can and you'll get an A+.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ARCH100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Easy course, just lots of memorization for quizzes. no mid, final, or assignments. Just skim the text, most of it covered in lecture. SFU should just abolish these breadth courses, as they are ridiculous for both the students pursuing a completely different discipline and the profs who have to teach students who have no interest in the material.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ARCH100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Had no sense of timing. Would rush through lectures, jumping around slides, only to dismiss the class an hour early. Would also dismiss class if she sensed lack of interest, which led to falling an entire 3-hour lecture behind. I felt extremely frustrated most of the time. Tests are fairly easy, all multiple-choice. Doesn't feel approachable.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ARCH252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Extremely helpful and engaging. Clear, concise lectures.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ARCH252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Really good class... Pretty easy if you go to the lectures/ listen to them online. GREAT powerpoint slides! Was very clear about what was going to be on exams. If you have any interest in ancient Egypt or Africa definitely take this class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ARCH100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She really cares about her area of expertise and it shows. She can be tough, but she is fair and will go out of her way to help you if you need it. And on top of that, I find her very attractive.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ARCH252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Cathy was a great professor - her lectures were definitely long, but were made interesting with the incorporation of pictures and some videos. If you're interested in the archaeology of ancient Egypt, this is the class to get some more background knowledge. The three tests were pretty easy, except for the essays, which I felt she marked too hard.