Retallick, Keela  

Dr. Retallick is one of the worst animal science instructors at Cal Poly. She knows what she is talking about but assumes everyone in the class does too. I know a lot about beef and she even confused me in class. Only likes the students who make it clear have a beef background and if you don't tell her you do then she doesn't like you. She does not help with anything when you have questions and she makes you feel very stupid. Almost the entire class failed the midterm and she was happy with it. When you submit the draft for your report she only mentions a few things but when you get the final back, she tears it apart and gives a bad grade even though she didn't mention it before. That being said, she is an awful grader and her tests are impossible. Do the extra credit when she offers it because it will help. Unfortunately you don't have a choice to take her or not but watch out and go to every class. Good luck!

Dr. Retallick is a prime example of yet another poor hiring decision within Cal Poly Animal Science. She lets you know where she got her masters and that she has a Ph.D , yet even with all of those accolades under her belt, she still can't teach. She does a poor job explaining things to the class. She makes things way more confusing than they need to be. The vast majority of the class did poorly on the midterm she gave and yet she was not bothered by this at all. Furthermore, as. A student that has grown up on a ranch and within the cattle industry, I can tell you firsthand that this ol gal seems like she has never been on a ranch before and does not really know about the subject matter she is supposed to be an expert in. Cal Poly's Learn by Doing philosophy is great but in a subject like agriculture, how are we as students supposed to learn from our professors if they have never actually done what they teach? I recommend you study hard and take good notes or you will be the next confused student in Dr. retallick's class.

She's not that bad of a teacher. She obviously.. isn't the greatest teacher, but she does know a lot about beef. Her class is easy, just do the work and go to class! Her midterms and finals weren't that hard, she gave a study guide that you basically just fill out and memorize, it went question for question so if you just memorized what you wrote on your study guide, you got an A. I was really surprised I got an A in this class because I got a D on the first midterm, and then B's on the second midterm and final. She gave an extra credit opportunity, and that boosted my grade up a lot! It's easy.. so just do it. I have no beef background too.. I didn't grow up on a farm or whatever. You don't see me complaining. I went to her office hours once, and she clarified a lot of things for me although I do agree she's a bit condescending.. but she just wants you to get what she's teaching.

Dr. Retallick is one of the nicest people I know. She will bend over backwards to help any student who needs anything. Her beef class is not hard at all, all the information for the midterm and final is exactly what is on the PowerPoint slides. The projects are easy but if you do have any questions she is so helpful in her office hours. Also if you send her an e-mail she will get back to you within a few hours. If you have a chance to take any of her classes, I would highly recommend it!

I think Dr. Retallick was fine. Went to office hours, she wants to help and gave me a lot of good answers to my problems. I knew nothing about meat or the cattle industry before this class, and I ended up getting a B. Is it the easiest class you'll take? No, but don't listen to the other comments regarding how mean or shitty of a professor she is.

Dr. Retallick is a great teacher. She is clear and concise about what she wants her students to know and is good about explaining the material. Her test are not hard at all, as long as you look at the PowerPoints, pay moderate attention in class an are up to date on prices listed on Cattlefax you are guaranteed to do well. She also makes outlines for the midterm and the final that are super helpful. The syllabus that she gives out at the start of the quarter outlines everything you need to compete for the quarter as well as grading rubrics for the two main projects. She is a moderately hard grader but if you really make an effort and are interested in what she has to say she will give you a B or better on any of the assignments. Dr. Retallick is an amazing professor! She even made us cookies for the final.

Retallick is a great professor. She made lab super fun and was always willing to help people. Previous reviews of her I think are unfair because she had just started working at Cal Poly. She seems to have figured things out and was able to teach a wonderful class. Yes you do need to study for this class, but it's a lot of memorization, just like any other animal production class. There's no homework and the midterm and final are fair. There's also a lot of hands-on experience you can get with the lab, like freeze-branding, herding, vaccinating, etc. Plus I have a new-found respect and love for cows! I would highly recommend this class.

She is a really organized and presents the material very clearly. There are a few opportunities for E.C. which is nice. Do take her class seriously.... she is a hard grader! Very harsh on the paper, but she lets you do one redo. Her exams include multiple choice, T/F, fill in the blank, and short answer. There are weekly quizzes online and quizzes every couple of weeks in the lab. I was only 10 points away from an A- (I missed a 10 quiz and forgot to do a 15 point assignment) so it is very possible to get a good grade in this class if you take it seriously :]

Keela's class was more challenging than I thought it was going to be. Always go to lecture because she does a few unannounced in class assignments. Also, go to her office hours because she is so helpful and honestly wants to see you do well in her class. If you study and go to lecture you will do well. Her only downfall is that she doesn't grade consistently among her students. A friend of mine got a question on the midterm wrong when she wrote the same thing as me.

Thought this class was way more difficult than it should have been. Do not really like her as a teacher, but as a person she is nice. She is not a consistent grader at all. we had to do a paper that was worth 17% of your grade. I found it extremely difficult. You have to read a Cattle Fax report each week and the paper is a summary of the main events that happens within the 6/7 weeks. A few people did well, I just found it difficult to understand what was going on in the Cattle Fax and what was important. You get two submissions though. She helped me a lot on mine and I still received an 80% on it. The midterm and final were multiple choice/fill in the blank/short answer/essay. She tells you throughout the lectures whats really important to know and gives you a study guide. You definitely have to study for them. There are 4 quizzes in lab that are pretty simple. The first day she will give you a paper with all the cows body parts on them, study it for the last 3 quizzes. Not too bad of a class, but you have to put some effort into it.

Do not take this class if you aren't familiar with the beef industry. Take small ruminant instead. I took this class hoping to learn more, but Keela slams information at you and expects you to know it all like the back of your hand. She is so familiar with the material as she's been around it her whole life, that she thinks we pick it up super quickly. Labs and their quizzes are easy and lab often gets out very early but don't let that fool you, her tests are VERY specific, and she is especially harsh on the CattleFax reports. I went to her office hours to have her help me and she still graded everyone VERY harshly. She offers extra credit and a redo on the CattleFax, and doesn't weight tests too heavily, but this is not by any means an enjoyable class. Keela (now Trennepohl, not Retallick) is a nice lady, but this class is extremely subpar.