David Shankman - University of Alabama

Professor: David Shankman

Department: TBD

College: University of Alabama

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He is a great professor. Really interested in the subject and really wants his students to learn. If you attend class and pay attention its an easy A. Required very little time out of class. I barely studied and my lowest test grade was a 96. I highly recommend him.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: GY102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Not very difficult. All you have to do is attend class the two times a week and study every now and then. He repeats the important info constantly and it's very hard to miss. He obviously cares and always makes class interesting with stories and personal experiences related to the subject.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

HARDEST class I've ever had. MUST come to lecture to even PASS the HARD tests. ONLY 25 questions on tests, but very specific questions. The 4 tests are your ONLY grade for the class, so DO NOT take him. Maybe some other prof. will give HW grades. Good guy but too thorough for a 101 class.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GEO101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His tests are hard. If you go to class and you are good at taking notes you should do fine. He tells a lot of useless stories but try to realize what is important and not.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• 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:

The tests are hard.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: GY489
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I highly recommend taking any class that Dr. Shankman teaches if you actually want to learn something. This was my second class with him and it was very good. He doesn't bombard you with tons of information he just wants you to thoroughly understand a few important concepts. This was a fun class and if you like trees and forest then you'll like it.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GY001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Nice & knows his field. Doesn't define objectives clearly esp. for tests. Although he posts his ppts. on elearning, they comprise mostly of pictures/graphs. He jumps around on them anyway & tells many irrelevant, but entertaining, stories. I had perfect attendance in the lab/class yet struggled & passed w/ a C. I emailed him twice w/ no response.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• 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:

Dr. Shankman isn't exactly a BAD teacher. He was very interesting just while speaking. However, since he grades entirely on exams, and his powerpoints have no content to speak of, studying for his tests is really hard, so you have to really pay attention and retain everything in class, then reason out the test as best you can.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• 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:

Went to class almost everyday, ended up being pointless. Lectures seem like the material on tests would be somewhat easy, which they are not. I put in a good amount of time trying to learn the material, ended up struggling all semester. His class should not be nearly this difficult. This class ended up being harder than ST261, FI302. Avoid HIM

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

This is not a class about maps and state capitals. It's an earth systems/atmospheric science class. If you go to class and pay attention then this class is easy. If you skip class a lot then you might not do so well.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• 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:

Shankman is a nice teacher and he is older. The way he teaches is very confusing. I could not follow when trying to learn the material. His tests are not easy either. He says they are so easy that you can tell there is only one answer; well, he's wrong. He's not bad but he's not great.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

He is sooo nice! He is extremely helpful, and if you are confused and ask questions he WILL make sure you understand. He is the first professor that I really felt cared about my education!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He was a very strange professor. His tests were more difficult than expected and wasn't clear on some of his lectures. Probably wouldn't take him again.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Absolutely fantastic teacher. Readily accessible outside of class. Funny! Interesting material! He's very fun to talk to in or out of class and gives good advice about anything. I recommend him for any class regardless of major!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class should be understandable and clear but is far from with this teacher. No matter how hard you study, it's not worth it because he makes all the tests only 25 questions and claims they come from the class presentation, but they don't, like his goal is to fail you. I advise not to take this class and try to find a different teacher!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's boring and isn't clear during lecture bc he jumps around a lot but he makes his powerpoints accessible to students which are really helpful before tests. At one point I stopped taking notes bc I was so confused but studied the power points and did fine. It's not my favorite class but it's not terrible either. Lab helps the final grade a lot

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

great stories. interesting. knows subject. cares about students. encourages you. scales most tests. if there is something that he feels like hasnt gone over well enough, he will make up for it. you will learn in this class. take it!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• 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:

Great teacher. Attend class, take notes, and there is no way you can fail. I didn't start off well, but I ended up doing better in this class than any other.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

It was hard because he never laid out a normal set of notes. Instead he would jump back and forth between slides and pictures that meant nothing to me as a student, and so before the test I had no idea what I was supposed to know or study.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GY101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

As others have stated, knows the information but is not good at teaching it. I have studied and not missed one lecture and received nothing higher than a C on the test. Try another teacher, this is supposed to be an "easy science credit," but not with his teaching/tests.