Reviews for Ryan Dean Curtis
Average Rating:| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: A December 31, 2011, 11:50 pm | The material for this class is soooo intersting. It's the first time I actually read a textbook cover to cover but that might partilly be due to the quizzes on each chapter. Curtis has an insane amount of work for this class that isn't really necessary at all. This is what he gives: online chapter quizzes due before lecture, wiki project(soo much work), goals reports, goals pre and post test papers, and exam review worksheet thingies. There are lots of opportunities and I suggest that u do all of them. The exams are half mult. choice and half short answer. The exams can be tricky but once you understand how he thinks they get easier. Curtis is an engaging professor he just does the most when it comes to work AND he takes forever and a day to post grades. We didn't get our grades until December. he gets very defensive when you ask him about psoting grades but other than that he's a good professor. IF YOU ARE LAZY THIS IS NOT THE CLASS FOR YOU |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC100 Grade Expected: A- December 26, 2011, 2:19 pm | Curtis as absolutely fabulous. Very funny in lecture and explains things clearly. He is accessible outside of class and is willing to clarify/answer if you have questions about subject matter. The only hard thing about the class is its size (PSYC 100). Grades don't tend to be posted on time, and the worksheets are real point-drainers/GPA killers. Wording in exams/worksheets is also not always completely clear. Curtis is a great lecturer, but the class itself doesn't measure up. |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: A November 7, 2011, 4:20 am | TAKE HIM IF YOU HAVE THE CHANCE. Great lecturer / professor. He's hilarious, engaging, and exciting. This class is difficult - exams are tough, the wiki project takes forever, and he's a tough grader but he's an amazing professor and he's fair. This class is interesting in itself but Curtis makes it phenomenal. The textbook for the class is awesome, I decided not to sell it back I like it so much. TAKE THIS CLASS. |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: A May 24, 2011, 8:20 pm | I really wish there was a 4.5 option, because there is really only two complaints I have about this man. 1) Some of his exam questions are weirdly worded and vague. If you ask him to clarify what it is asking, he will smile at you and shrug his shoulders. 2) He takes FOREVER to post grades, probably the TA's fault, but it gets really annoying sometimes when you wait over 2 weeks for a grade. But now for the positives. He is awesome! He is sweet, funny, charismatic, and approachable. I took him for 221 and loved him, so decided to take 334 just because of him. The workload is a lot, but manageable if you don't procrastinate. He uses clickers which are really neat for his classes because you can see how many people in your class are virgins and how many of them have cheated on their lovers. He has some weird quirks about him, like his obsession with corn dogs and Tina Turner, but that just makes him even more adorable. I highly recommend him for 221 and 334 if you are willing to put out some effort for a really rewarding class experience. |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: A April 14, 2011, 8:23 am | I love Curtis, but what's love got to do with it? (if you take PSYC334 you'll understand) Curtis is easily the best professor I've had at Maryland! You can tell he really cares about his students. I wish every Psychology class (or class in general) at Maryland was taught by him. |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC221 Grade Expected: B December 17, 2010, 3:59 pm | I agree that Ryan is a good professor. The main problem that I had with him is that he takes a LONG time to post grades. When questioned about grades, he blames it on his TA's and has many excuses why things aren't done on time. Also, he assigns a lot of things throughout the semester, but they aren't impossible to complete. |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: A December 16, 2010, 10:45 pm | Easily the best class I have ever taken at UMD. He is a great professor and so engaging. You have to go to class because you get clicker points, but the exams are a joke and the assignments aren't graded harshly, so as long as you do your work and go to class you'll get an A. Class is so interesting and fun. There were so many times I left class smiling just because I enjoyed it so much. Definitely take Curtis!! |
| psychterp12 Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: B December 16, 2010, 5:37 pm | Ryan is a fabulous lecturer. The class was so interesting and he was very engaging. However, there are a lot of assignments in the class. The exams weren't too difficult but I ended up forgetting to do a lot of the smaller assignments which really hurt my grade. I still highly recommend this class but you should be willing to put in the work it deserves. |
| sjk Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: A December 5, 2010, 1:11 pm | Curtis is one of the best professor in UMD!! I enjoyed every single lecture and going to his lecture was never boring. The course material is interesting and work load is very manageable. He made everything clear for each exam. You dont need to read the text book as long as you go to every lecture. His exams are relatively easy and straight forward. Overall, I strongly recommend to take this class. |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: C December 2, 2010, 5:11 pm | Ok. So I took this class because I hear it was great. Which it is. Most interesting class I've taken so far at UMD. He is an amazing lecturer and he uses clickers which takes polls of everyone...so he asks questions like "who has had sex within the last ___" and all (it's anonymous, which he shows you before asking). But the only problem is that there are these "prep" worksheets on each chapter before the lecture. They are only 3 points each, but it's easy to forget to do them. And the questions are tricky, and from a question bank so you can't do it with other people. So you get 2 or 1.5/3 a lot, and it seems like no big deal but it adds up to a huge gap in your grade. Also, there are goal reports and stuff for a goal in improving your relationship with someone. Cool concept, until the TAs grade your stuff and you see that you've gotten 5/10. Very difficult to do well on those, and again it takes a lot of points away. The exams are really easy, just read the text and highlight and you're fine. But again those goal reports/prep worksheets WILL fuck your grade up. |
| terp13 Course: PSYC221 Grade Expected: November 19, 2010, 10:05 pm | Easily my favorite class, just because of the subject matter. But Ryan was great! He keeps the lectures interactive (he takes clicker points everyday for attendance) and interesting. He loves corn dogs, snickers, and whatchamacallits. Tests are really not that difficult if you 1) go to class and 2) pay attention in lecture and review notes. Three writing assignments, slightly difficult, but not impossible. One group presentation related to the two papers you have to write, although the papers are individual assignments. Weekly multiple choice "worksheets" on Blackboard for each chapter that we focus on. Questions can be tricky. |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: June 23, 2010, 4:29 pm | First of all, I want to say that, yes he is a great lecturer. He is very engaging and attentive to the students' questions. The assignments are fair, as long as you monitor your wiki group's progress. However, what I really did not enjoy in his class were his exams. Some of the questions he asked are very obscure and are just completely irrelevant. I've attended almost every single class, and read through the entire book line by line, and I still came across questions on the exams that addressed topics that were rarely mentioned. I wish he emphasized more on comprehension of the topics rather than just ask for minor and obscure details. |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: A- May 24, 2010, 8:10 pm | Ryan Curtis is a pretty good instructor. The class material is very interesting, but I would not say the class is an easy A. It's definitely doable, but not a "ride in the park." There's a lot of work, but it's worth it because you learn so much in the process. Ryan gives 3 exams (MC and short answer), a wiki paper, online worksheets, relationships goals, and clicker points. There's also a chance to get up to 10 points (out of 500 points) of extra credit through SONA. I really enjoyed this class and I definitely recommend that all psych majors take it. Whether you want to become a therapist, or if you just want to improve your relationship with your friends and family, I would take this class! |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: A May 21, 2010, 1:21 am | Curtis is great. He was a good teacher, had very organized powerpoints covering textbook information each class, had interesting clicker questions that asked people about themselves (for attendance), and it was adorable how he talked about his wife and how she and his 2 sons came in the last day! There is a Wiki project. Groups are encouraged and you have to write a 11 pg. paper on a topic of your choice (relating to relationships-- if it's a 2 person group it's 12 pages, 3 person group 13 pages, and so on. So it's not too bad if you make a 5 person group, 3 pgs, per person! The textbook is also pretty interesting. I learned a lot from this class, stuff useful in everyday life. Take this class! I really enjoyed it. |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: A April 13, 2010, 6:49 pm | Ryan Curtis is the man! If Maryland knew what was good for the psych department they would have him teach more classes. I know Professor Curtis from taking his class and working in an adjacent lab to him. He is a phenomenal teacher and really good person. I noticed a girl approach him prior to an exam with some sort of distressing situations and he responded with understanding. You must read the book and go to class, but you want to go to class because the lectures are pretty fun and interesting. Take Ryan Curtis for anything, but especially PSYC334 if you can. |
| Anonymous Course: PSYC334 Grade Expected: A April 9, 2009, 1:40 pm | I have had Ryan for 2 classes and he is one of the best professors I have ever had. He passionately cares about the topic, and gives interesting lectures. The tests are easy if you study and even though he gives worksheets, they are quick and painless. Highly recommend him. |
| kbe12478 Course: PSYC221 Grade Expected: April 8, 2008, 12:41 pm | Going into this class, I thought it would be pretty boring, and I thought that the teacher might not be able to handle the class, as he was just a grad student. However, Prof. Curtis rose to the occasion, and was a very impressive speaker. He gave very accurate, concrete examples of the material we were covering. He was easy to connect with, and approachable. He was knowledgeable and professional. An all-around nice guy. The workload was decent; three exams, weekly assignments that weren't too difficult as long as you had the textbook, and a group presentation. Also, discussion attendance is taken, and that is where the group presentations are done, so you should go. A good class, and fairly easy. |