Western Kentucky University / M / Sam McFarland

The grade for the class is based on one 40-minute class presentation and a 12-15 page paper, both on the same topic of your choice. Be sure to participate in the discussions on current human rights news. This is a pretty interesting topic but the text and Dr. McFarland's discussion get extremely boring. He expects high-quality work on the presentation and paper. Overall, not too bad for the required honors colloquia, although it was pretty boring.

I, too, was shocked to see any negative evaluations for Dr. McFarland. In my opinion, he is very intelligent and possesses a kind, helpful disposition. He was always available to meet with me and had no problem rescheduling quizzes and exams for students. He even presents extra-credit opportunities up front and allows the entire semester to do them.

Of course there was reading required, and anyone who has taken upper-level courses should expect no less. The workload was definitely not exhaustive by any means, and Dr. McFarland's exams were well-constructed and fair. I believe he is a credit to this university, and I highly recommend him to anyone who actually wants to learn social psychology.

Dr. McFarland is an incredible professor and is very passionate about the subject of human rights. He helps to open your eyes to human rights and why they are important. In short, he helps you to become a better human being.

Dr. McFarland really cares about his students. If you go to class and take good notes and do the chapter readings you will do fine in this class. Don't get me wrong this class is pretty difficult and you do have to study in order to make a good grade on his tests. There is a ton of extra credit where you can bring your grade up so if you arent a good test taker there isnt any excuse because he offers over 100 extra credit points. I would recommend Dr. Mcfarland to anyone who is willing to try and make a good grade and to anyone who wants to learn more about Social Psych he knows alot about the subject. Very nice professor!

Okay, this is a 400-level class, so you can expect to put a lot into it. Dr. McFarland holds high standards to his students and wants to see them do their best. His lectures are boring sometimes, but the material is pretty interesting.

He's also very helpful outside of class. He'll help you navigate through the book and focus on the most important stuff if you go to his office the morning before your exams.

Oh yeah, and the exams are all-essay and take about an hour to complete. They usually cover a lot of material out of the book and out of notes, but a lot of the info in the notes are repeated in the book. Very few things are covered outside of the book.

And when he's in a good mood (which is most of the time), he'll e-mail his lecture notes to the class.

When he grades your exams, he lets you know where to look up the answers that you missed.

You also have to write a 10-page paper. Just put effort into it and you'll get a good grade. Remember, this is a 400-level class.

I want to voice my opion for Dr. Mcfarland because I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw so many poor reviews. I will not say that this class was easy but it was definitely doable. Most of these reviewers seem to have overlooked the fact that they are enrolled in 300 and 400 level courses. Yes, he expects a lot but if you are in one of his classes you are more than likely looking toward a future in the psych field, and if you are I can not imagine having a better professor. He cares about his students, his school, and all of humanity. I must honestly say that I have been moved to tears on more than one occasion from his talks. I personally think there should be more like him at WKU. I think it is very sad that students are upset when a professor cares about his subject and tries to inspire them to also. As far as tests and readings are concerned, I don't see them as being unreasonable at all. On the few times that he used a question that we had not covered in class, he would drop it and give us credit. There was one essay question on each exam, but you had a choice of usually 4 topics or writing and answering your own. There were also many opportunities for extra credit. I don't see what else the man could do to try to help students. There were several times when I had to reschedule quzzes or exams and he was gracious and helpful everytime.

Very easy course as far as coursework. One 12 page paper and one classroom presentation over your paper. The class was incredible though, intellectually stimulating and Dr. McFarland is just a pleasure to be around. I felt like I connected with him...he knows a lot about a lot. He's extremely passionate about human rights but open to hear your ideas, even if you disagree. I learned a lot from this man, and not just about human rights but about how to be a better scholar.

This is probably my favorite class to date. It is so applicable to everyday life! You have to read the text to do well on the quizzes and tests, but the text was actually interesting. There is a essay on the exams but he lets you write your own question. There are plenty of extra credit ops. I believe he is atheiest and so I was weary of taking his class, but he has more love for humanity than anyone I've ever met. I can tell he really enjoys teaching the class. He even filled us in on important current events that I wouldn't know of otherwise.

This class really opened up my eyes and I learned alot about human rights. There is a lot of reading and the final is a 10 page paper and oral presentation/discussion leader thing. It may be a lot of work for 1 1/2 hours of credit but it was worth it. Dr. McFarland is very knowledgable and I enjoyed having him as a teacher.

Dr. McFarland is really a nice man and explains things as very thouroughly as he can. He knows the material very well and likes to bring in things not from the text for better understanding. The only thing that will kill you is the fact that there are only 3 tests, 1 paper, and a cumulative final. The test is the type where if you know it, you'll pass. There is no lucky guesses, it's all essay, short answer, and definitions. So you have to study your butt off and READ in order to get a good grade. He expects a lot because it is a senior level course. Do not take him if you are not willing to study the books and notes very often.

Dr. McFarland is a very tough teacher. If you take him you will be studying your ass off, or you won't pass the course. Although he does know the subject matter very well, he is too good of a teacher to be here teaching at WKU. He teaches us like we already know the subject matter. If you wan't to study your ass off then take him, if you want to have time to enjoy your college time, don't take him.

This course was rediculous! I have never had a bigger waste of my time in my life. My class met once a week for three hours and Dr. McFarland talked the ENTIRE time! Never anything important or useful just talking! Although passing the class wasn't hard, sitting through three hours of incescent rambling was enough to wanna shoot yourself! Please take my advice and find a different Freshman Seminar teacher. I also wouldn't recommend him for any of his "real" classes.

 

one of the most helpful teachers i have ever had. goes out of his way to help his students. gives them numerous chances to improve their grade. wonderful guy!

I really like Dr. McFarland. He covers many key concepts from the book in class. He also presents a lot of additional research from journal articles. The class was not hard for me, but many people in the class did not do so well. The questions on the test force you to know key concepts underlying the knowledge. If you do well at that sort of thing, then you will do well in his class. If you can't, then it will be really hard for you.

He is not willing to help his students, even after voicing your concern of your grades. Test questions are very specific, that come from the notes and the readings from the book, which consist of about 40 pages.

I thought that he expected us to know too much information for a 10 question test. He wants you to bee able to relay back everything he has says in class. Tests are very unreasonable. Teaching an undergraduate class at graduate level.

Dr McFarland's test require in-depth critical thinking, he expects a lot from his students. The class is interesting but McFarland can be a difficult person to work with. There are better 350 teachers available