Jaime Pineda - University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA

Professor: Jaime Pineda

Department: Cognitive Science

College: University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: COGS1
• 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:

My worst class experience in UCSD. The whole course organization is a mess. 2 of the 3 midterms are graded with mistakes and the quiz if full of unnecessary details that will not let you learn anything really helpful. Professor can be hardly reached out of class and both the information for EC and the curve are not given clearly.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He made the class way harder than it needed to be. I was lucky to get my grade because I did really well on the first midterm. TAs said he asked them to make quiz/test harder to make a curve. Honestly, there were so many specific details about every part of the brain you either knew it or didn't. Each ppt would have about 60-80 slides a day.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: COGS1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Midterms were focused on details and pretty hard. If you get him and dont need to take the class for a letter grade, Id reccomend taking it pass/no pass. I didnt find the class interesting and definitely wouldnt take it again.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: COGS1
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

If you study for this class, you'll get a good grade. But you HAVE to study/read. I would recommend making a study guide that combines info from TA slides, kahoots, lecture slides, and Pineda's study guide (only reason i got a decent grade tbh). Don't rely on Pineda's EC or "class curve", he's a strict grader and notorious for screwing up grades.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His lectures aren't the interesting in the least bit. He has two midterms, six quizzes, and then the final. Takes very little time trying to reinforce concepts and is constantly behind schedule and trying to catch up. Would definitely avoid him if he ever comes out of retirement. Take Rangel !

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: COGS1
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The midterms are all base on detail which I don't know how will that help to learn anything. He made grading errors in two midterms and never made clear how the final grades will be determined. He offer extra credit but never inform us of the proper requirement of the extra credit but grade harshly on the EC, which I found not fair.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: COGS1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Don't take him. He's really disorganized and literally, his tests are WORD FOR WORD from lecture slides which contain a bunch of random facts. Don't expect logic or application of information, just memorize slides and you can get an A. The guest lecturers were great and had some interesting concepts.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His lectures aren't the most interesting but everything else is great. He has two midterms, six quizzes, and then the final. Each question on the quizzes are worth around 1% of your grade which I think is awesome considering that the questions are insanely easy. Just read the textbook chapter an hour before class and boom free points!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: COGS1
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The worst Cognitive Science professor at UCSD. Avoid if possible!!!! His tests are highly unorganized and tell students information literally during the test. Also, the test problems are poorly worded!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

There's so much to learn in this class. His midterms and finals are based 85-90% off lecture, you won't get an A on the exams without reading the textbook but a B / B+ on the exams are easy from the lectures alone. He didn't offer extra credit but he did curve everything (3-5%). Individual quiz questions are worth more than exam questions!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Scattered, disorganized lectures and slides. Massive miscommunication between professor and TA's - each will give you a different answer and you'll end up losing important points on exams. Exams are unfair, quizzes are extremely difficult, but there was a curve. Professor doesn't seem to care about the class.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: 107A
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

You will do well in this class if you have a good TA. He has weekly online quizzes and he doesn't give you a lot of time on it to prevent cheating. It's like 12 minutes for 10 questions so it forces you to study and do the reading. The midterms are difficult, especially midterm 2, but the final is not cumulative and was very straightforward.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The class was very interesting and quite difficult. There is a ton of information to learn, but that is just the nature of neuroscience. The tests are closely related to Pineda's slides and the quizzes are from the book. Pineda is a great professor and super nice guy. I would take the class again, but just be prepared to study a ton.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This class is really cool. Dr. Pineda is a good educator and it's easy to see he cares about what he teachesresearches. The downside to this class, for this quarter at least, were the TAIA's. They have a lot of responsibility in this class, and their efforts were seriously lacking. Pineda is legit, but the TAIA thing needs more selectivity.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

(6) Quizzes are online just from book readings assigned. Harder than anything else. Questions are ridiculous. (2) Tests are only from lectures, they are hard but not as bad as quizzes. (1) Final. USE STUDY GUIDES PROVIDED. Meager SONA extra-credit. Don't take this class unless you need it. It is rather demoralizing.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Eh. Pineda's alright. The course itself is a LOT of material in a short amount of time so get ready to hit the ground running. I'd probably take someone else if the option was available. Quizzes are from the book, but the tests are from Pineda's slides.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: COGS174
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Interesting class about the history, culture, and neuroscience of drugs. Reading is required for weekly quizzes but not for exams. Exams stick to lecture slides but can get pretty specific, not just concept based. Pineda is a nice guy & his lecture style is just fine. If you are interested in the topic, you will do fine, if not, you may struggle.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The quizzes are tough at times taken online but it has a time limit, the exams are even harder, really pay attention to the slides from lecture for the exams. No extra credit is offered. He is a good teacher and very intelligent, it's not always necessary to attend class but better if you do. Book offers a little assistance on subjects.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: 107A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He goes through some of the hardest stuff (which most neuroscience students are still foreign to, like neuronal electrical circuits) very rapidly, and expects you to figure out a lot of stuff own your own. Neuron labs are usually a big mess, since no ones sure what they are doing. He skips a lot of material on lectures, but still tests you on them

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: COGS107A
• 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:

Some lectures were interesting and some were boring. Definitely a lot of material to learn. Online quizzes were pretty difficult. Labs were confusing and mostly had nothing to do with the subject learned in class. Tests require a lot of studying.