James Tanaka - University of Victoria

Professor: James Tanaka

Department: TBD

College: University of Victoria

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH201
• 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:

Jim is a very kind man, and when I saw him outside of class in his office hours he was super helpful. I would advise anyone taking his class for psych 201 to read the textbook and try to keep up along with the lectures then it would be super overwhelming when your exams come up. He does iclicker participation marks throughout every single class.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Terrible. Only take this course if it is required.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Tanaka genuinely wants you to learn, do well and improve as a psych student. He replied quickly to emails, gave feedback if asked and went the extra mile by setting up a weekly study group led by himself. Unfortunately, this class wasn't the most interesting so lectures could be hard to sit through. The lab wasn't enjoyable but was practical!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• 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:

Dr. Tanaka was a great professor! He made the dry material from this class as engaging as possible. His notes were always logically organized, which was very helpful when studying for the exams. He is very kind, and you can tell he cares about his students. I definitely recommend taking psyc 201 with prof Tanaka!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

kind man. half the time this man just looks at his slides and says "yeah." very frustrating because part of the grade is on attendance and every time i am in class i want to cry for 145 years. Again, very nice man, but he does not know how to keep a class engaged. often gets confused by his own slides and is confused by what he is supposed to do

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• 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:

Dr. Tanaka is one of the most caring professors I have ever had at UVic. I loved the class and it was probably one of my favourites since I am really interested in psychological research. However, a lot of my friends who took the class with me have disagreed with me. The lecture has a reputation of being very dry but Tanaka did an exceptional job.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PSYC492
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

One of the best courses I have ever taken! Jim is super caring and friendly! He is always available to help outside of class as well. It is a heavy course however, but extremely beneficial to improving yourself. He also gives great feedback on all the papers. 10/10 recommend, I wish he taught more classes

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• 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:

Do not recommend him. The lectures are lacklustre, the information is just read off the slides. He mumbles and says ughhhhh then lowers his voice for the end of the sentence to raise it for the next sentence. Goes over projects before you hand them in, like a hour before, so you know your mistakes and cant fix em.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

This class was insanely easy, basically just review of the math and research subjects in intro psych. The midterms were mostly multiple choice, the projects were graded easily, and the paper was also graded easily. If you put in effort, you'll get an A.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Jim was extremely monotone. Lectures are required because of iClickers but are beyond boring; people often napped or watched netflix. It isn't only Jim's fault though, the course is a complete nightmare with topics that are not new to anyone and are mostly a waste of time. Midterms are easy, group project sucks and bulk of grade is in the project

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PSYC492
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Jim is such a sweet man! He cares so much about his students' learning experience and fosters a welcoming and enjoyable classroom experience. Take his seminar course if you get the chance! It was a really unique opportunity to get experience reading papers and RA tasks.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He makes the long lectures really interesting and makes you want to learn. The content is heavy so his slides are really nicely broken up and he includes videos. Overall, he is a great prof and I highly recommend!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PSYC390
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is disrespectful and pretends to care about his students. He makes sexist comments and makes you feel bad about yourself. If you come to him with a concern regarding unclear expectations or question him, he convinces you that the fault is your own and not his. He grades arbitrarily, and has left me questioning the morals and nature of academia.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PSYC22581
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Doesn't try to trick you, his tests are very fair. His lectures are very thorough and his examples in lecture help a TON. He's a really approachable guy and although the class he taught was dull, he ensures that you know the concepts before moving on to the next topic and somehow made it interesting and worth learning.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class was really fun at first, It was mostly common sense which made the assignments very easy. We had to do a group project needless to say it turned out like every other group project ever (aka free riders and the prof/TA didnt care). The last 2 weeks of this course were hell: 2-3 assignments, a poster presentation, and a term paper due.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

A very caring prof, and to emphasize that I'll add that he would literally reply to emails within 10 minutes on a Friday evening. Tests were very fair, based on his easy lecture slides and easy (sometimes lengthy) readings. There was a large group project in which students produced their own research, which lead to a presentation. Recommended!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Tanaka speaks in a monotone voice so drink some coffee before coming to class. Uses iClicker and the lab is worth 40% of your grade with a final report worth 20% of that. Between Tanaka and Paulson, go with Tanaka, seriously.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

James is a caring professor who does his best to make a dry Research Methods course into something interesting. His lectures are well thought out, and he is good at explaining, although repetitive sometimes. All in all, wants you to do well, and very open to helping you if ask.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Makes somewhat boring material interesting and cares about students and wants every one of his students to do well. Lots of opportunity to do well in the class.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PSYC201
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Makes the material very interesting by relating it to everyday social media stuff, like making fun of Trump. Puts the material into simple terms so you should be able to understand easily if you just show up. You don't even have to write notes. Just enjoy. (TA's do mark hard though so make sure to ask what they are looking for. ) Can't avoid that