Melissa (Lisa) Levy - American River College, Sacramento, CA

Professor: Melissa (Lisa) Levy

Department: Science

College: American River College, Sacramento, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: GEOL305
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Tests are difficult to study for and are on a lot of material. She gives study guides for the tests, which contain minimal material that is on the tests. Make sure to study for the article questions on tests the most. Also, focus on making a good sheet of notes to use on the tests.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: GEO300
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor, I do not know what people are talking about with regards to politics. I took her Intro to Physical Geology and fell in love with the field of study. Slightly weird habit of name based seating since people taking up with no ambitions space got front seats. But it was a great class and very generous with points for grades.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GEOL300
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Terrible lectures, and rants about her political beliefs which I find to be very inappropriate. Can even be vulgar when on one of her political rants. If I were to take two tests, one on her political views and one on geology I would get a better grade on the politics test. Pretty disappointing and inappropriate.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GEO305
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

most annoying course I have ever taken for my GE's. Who would've thought Earth Science would be this ridiculous? the learning experience is not good at all. She just breezes through chapters in a day, inadequately talking about it from the top of her head using generalizations and expects you to understand it enough to be tested right away, 4 tests

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GEOL305
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof Levy lectures for the class period and most of her slides are just pictures. She expects you to know everything about geology but it's a pretty easy class. My advice is to do well on the online quizzes and choose a interesting topic for a written summary. 3 exams, one is a take home midterm. You can also use a page of notebook paper for exams.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: GEO305
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Honestly I went into this class expecting to get a great class experience out of it, boy was I wrong. I am typically an A or B student but this class made me feel so lost! She does not lecture very well and more than half of her lecture doesn't actually relate to the exams. You will spend hours looking at pictures that mean nothing.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GEO305
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class was average. She is funny & has a good attitude but sometimes the lectures just drag on & on. She only gives homework about 3 or 4 times and they're very short and easy worksheets. One essay, 3 tests. The tests are pretty hard even with the page of notes so study hard! I say as long as you get 100 on the essay and do the hw, you'll pass.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GEO300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This class is extremely vocabulary-heavy and you are expected to know all of it. If you like all things geology, this is the class for you. If you go into this class thinking you'll be getting just a general understanding of geology and be able to pass this class, you will be wrong. In my opinion, this professor expects too much.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: GEO300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Nice lady but poor instructor. She doesn't lecture on what you really need to know in order to comprehend the subject matter and to succeed in her class. She seems to assume that most of what is covered in her class is review. She also goes way too fast for most people to absorb the information. As I said, nice lady, but I don't recommend.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GEO305
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Levy has been one of the most inspirational teachers I've ever had. She is extremely passionate about geology and has encouraged me to want to be more active in caring for our earth. Overall, she's awesome. Take her if you need a geology class!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GEO305
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great teacher, she is very passionate about Geology.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GEO305
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Mrs. Levy is a knowledgeable teacher. Teachers that can rant about the subject in multiple ways so that you can understand are considered to be good teachers to me. She has definitely made Earth Science interesting for me. Don't take this class if you aren't willing to put in the work. Be sure to read and print out the notes before each meeting.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: GEOL300
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I've taken about three of her classes now and I keep coming back to her because she's nice, tells great stories and I love the topics she includes in her pictures. she'll also recommend great places to go if you're going on a road trip, and you'll learn a lot about how the Earth's topography was formed! It's not something that you'll forget easy!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: GEO300
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great instructor. I have taken two classes with her and will never forget them. I am not a big fan of minerals or geology, but she made the class fun. She is a very kind person and will take time to help you individually if you need it. She is very quick to respond to your questions through email. Great professor overall.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: GEO305
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Did not like her at all. She was super picky on worksheets and the tests. You get one side of notes for each test which is pretty cool. The study guides don't really help with the tests so I suggest you read the book instead.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: GEO300
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Expect to do alot of studying on your own. Her lecture style is obtuse and will blow through slides with helpful notes on them to look at slides with pictures for 10 minutes at a time and fawn of the geography. Tests are okay, but will involve more critical thinking than expected for an entry level GE requirement.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: GEO300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Study guides have absolutely nothing to do with test. Barely knows the material she is teaching. If she doesn't know the answer to a question she will either try to make a joke out of it or states her opinion. Expects way more than she gives.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GEOL300
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Levy's teaching style is basically she lectures from the powerpoint every day. There are four tests which have multiple choice and short answer questions. Overall boring class!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: GEOL305
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Levy is a very nice and funny southern professor. All her lectures are powerpoint based and she puts the powerpoint slides on D2L. She shows a lot of interesting pictures and videos in her slides. Her written assignment is easy if you find the right article. For her tests she lets you bring a one-side page of written notes. Great professor :)

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GEOL305
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Science actually interests me and I tend to get good grades in a science class. Levy's lectures drag on and majority of her slides are just pictures which doesn't help me learn. The class progress moves very slow and she expects you to easily grasp all concepts. You have three exams and one paper. For each exam you are allowed one paper of notes.