schaeffer, robert  

This was Schaeffer's first time teaching here so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but this class was pretty rough to sit through. I only made it to a handful of lectures because the ones I did show up for were pretty pointless. He would kind of ramble on about things that didn't seem to have anything to do with anything. That being said the actual material/grading wasn't bad. You have to do a research paper which is super straight forward and he breaks it up making it even easier. Also, for the midterm and final he gives you the questions beforehand and lets you use computers, notes etc during the test (which is 2 essays you pick out of a list of 4-6 questions). I think there were 4 required books but you don't really need to read them as you can google what happens. I bought them and the only reason I used them was to find random quotes for my paper. I'd recommend t just because I was literally never in class and pulled off a B.

First and foremost, this was a class with about 120 students in it. Keep this in mind for the rest of this rating. He assigned an abstract, bibliography, and two 4-page research papers all based on one's topic of choosing relating to some kind of global sociological issue of your choice. There were also 4 total books of assigned reading in addition to the quarter-long research papers. We were tested on the reading in the form of in-class essays during which we could use the books, and we received the essay prompts ahead of time. There were two tests, each comprising of two in-class essays. One test would have one essay on the reading, and one on the lecture. Now that you know how he made the curriculum, realize this means he had to READ all of these assignments if he was to distribute actual grades to students which reflected their work. Considering there was absolutely no written feedback on any of the returned essays, it's hard to believe he actually read through every essay rather than just giving B's to everybody. It's not fair to students to return essays with just a letter grade and no feedback on why you received that grade. I went to his office hours the first time this happened and he essentially generalized how he graded essays rather than being able to go through my essay and pinpoint areas where I could improve. Then there were the lectures themselves, which were awful. He has a hard time going into depth on any one topic. The notes he writes on the board are useless because they give absolutely no detail on what he's actually talking about, which makes it difficult to figure out what to write down. I could come to this class with 10 hours of sleep and with a cup of coffee and still fall asleep because of his lack of focus when lecturing. Overall, I would say avoid this guy until he finds a curriculum that better suits his teaching style. He would likely be a better teacher for a smaller classroom environment.

Professor Schaeffer is a pretty good teacher. He tries to be interesting by telling side stories. Although he "requires" you to read the assigned books, he summarizes them in class so there's really no need to read anything. He gives his midterm and final questions a few days before the final and if you add a extra quote from the Internet here and there youll get an A. The midterm and final are open notebook so.. Yeah. His class is super easy. But make sure you take notes in class because they're your saving grace. :) I liked him so much I took him for both soc 110 and soc 218(another GE class) Oh and his papers are not easy to get As in but he guarentees ATLEAST a B.

I don't think he receives as much credit as he deserves. He gives you the midterm and final three days before the exam and allows you to write an outline to bring to the test which pretty much guarantees a good grade. In addition to the two tests were two small papers and two large papers but the two large papers were the only thing that would affect your grade other than the two tests. It's pretty hard to get anything other than an A or a B if you just show up and take some notes with no work outside of class. Overall a good prof.

Schaeffer is a great professor and gets flack that he does not deserve. His lectures are interesting, informative, and most of all relevant. The topics he covers are worth studying. He also saves students money by not using textbooks. Instead he uses novels that are easy to read and much less expensive. Go to office hours with this professor, he will help you our in a big way and your grade will show it. The only downside is the course is all writing and Schaeffer is a very difficult grader. He gives 85% of the class a "B" (this is coming from an English major). Overall great course great professor.

Honestly, one of the best classes I took this quarter. Not too difficult, the class consists of a few essays that you build on all quarter. He doesn't overload you with work. Basically if you write a paper that's not complete bullshit you will get a B but I think its much more difficult to earn over a B on papers unless you are a good writer. Overall cool professor and he even makes some good jokes, presents material well and is VERY fair.

Robert Schaeffer is an excellent teacher. The lectures he gives are always interesting and he is well informed on the topics. Make sure take notes in all the classes as you will be expected to write two essays about a class topic for your midterm and final. Make sure to pick an interesting subject to write your papers about because you will end up writing 3 papers about it and if it is not interesting it will be a struggle. Finally go to his office hours if you are struggling with your paper as he will point out topics for you to use when writing.

This class was pretty boring because all he would do is lecture. Overall its really easy just some papers and some in class essays, for the essays as long as you are writing the whole time and write a lot you'll get a high grade. Don't leave halfway through thinking your done, just keep writing even if you're repeating yourself.

His class is supppeeerrrr boring but overall really easy. You have one midterm and final, both of which are open notebook/laptop/whatever you want. He gives you the questions beforehand so you can type outlines (or even the whole paper) before going into the midterm/final. He assigns like 5 different books, all 5 of which i did not actually read.... He also has you write a research paper on a topic of your choice which has different parts due different days of the quarter. He allows you to resubmit a paper after making changes if you want to attempt to improve your grade. He also gave those of us in class extra credit one day because of our commitment of coming to a class that didnt take attendance. If you want a Super Easy B, or a Easy A, take this class.

Easy class with a knowledgeable professor who is very straightforward about his expectations. His class can be a little boring and it's a little irritating sometimes that he doesn't use slides and just writes on the whiteboard, but he really knows what he's talking about and a lot of the topics you talk about in class are interesting. The midterm and final are open note and the class overall is no problem if you put a little bit of work in and pay attention.

I took this class this quarter, and I am signed up for another class with Professor Schaeffer. Here's why: This class can be dull sometimes. He lectures for a long time and the class never gets out early. However, it's an easy class. There are two books that are read outside of class, but they are incredibly interesting, and many people don't read them and still do okay (I recommend them though; they are awesome). There's also a research paper that is divided into parts throughout the quarter (he places a lot of the value of the grade on your sources from what I can tell, so if you cite books that you found in the library or online, you'll probably do great), and another very small assignment. All of this is fairly easy, and it's not stressful at all. The best part about this class though is the midterm and final. He gives you a list of essay questions the class before the exam, and you get to take it home. For each exam, there is one required essay (based on the book that you read that half of the quarter and the lecture going along with it), and then a list of essay questions that you get to choose from as your second essay for the exam. Each essay question corresponds with its own lecture, so as long as you're present and paying attention during the required lecture and one other lecture of your choice, you'll do great. He also doesn't take roll, so skipping the class isn't a big deal (though I didn't do that much so I had more options to write about for the exams). Anyways, back to the exam: it's open note, and it's best to come in with an outline and some outside sources and sit down and write it in class (that's what he recommends). This class is very low-stress, though dull, and I would certainly recommend it as a GE for someone who doesn't want to do a lot of studying outside of class.

Professor Schaeffer is literally the sweetest teacher I've had at Cal Poly. He is different because he doesn't believe in multiple choice or surprise tests, and gives students a chance to write about and focus on what interests them. Although lectures are vague and students get confused, I appreciate that he doesn't drill us with a PowerPoint lecture and you don't have to take too many notes. Love this guy!!!

Professor Schaeffer is really a kind & knowledgeable professor. I had him the first quarter he started teaching & I retained & learned a large amount of information. I can see why the information can be difficult to remember to someone not in the major or not interested. However, he does a great, thorough job of explaining the material. He's clear & concise. You MUST go to lecture to get notes, he does not do PPT. (Come on, you paid for the class, go to it). Any competent student should be able to attain at least a B in his class. If you're not, you're doing something wrong or you didn't study enough. Figure out what it is & fix it. He does assign papers in addition to the exams, but he makes the first ones worth less so that you have room for improvement. He's a quirky guy & is pretty funny. For his exams, he basically gives you the prompt & you can bring an outline to write it in class. What other professor is nice enough to do that? There's no excuse to not do well on those. If you put in the time & effort, you should do well. I definitely recommend taking his class.

Pretty easy, the only difficult parts were the in-class essays, but they were open-book, open-note, and you got the questions before -- so all in all, not bad at all. I fell asleep in lectures, but the subject isn't really for me. He's passionate about what he teaches, just kind of boring. Other kids in the class seemed to really like him and the subject material, but I kind of used it as a free period. Super nice dude though!

I loved this professor! It's a super easy class that's largely based on essays. Midterm and final are both open note essays that you get the prompts ahead of time. The class is really interesting when you're listening, but you can definitely zone out if you need one of those days. He's also a super nice guy who is very forgiving and will give you help if you need it. Would recommend 10/10.

I love Dr. Schaeffer. He is so extremely knowledgeable about the course material and tries to make jokes whenever he can. He is kind and genuinely wants to help students, and it a fair and kind grader as well. Tests were 2 essay questions that were open note and open book, and he gives 6 possible questions ahead of time. Other than that there are a couple of short essays dispersed throughout the quarter. If you pay attention and take notes, you will get an A.

Couldn't ask for a better professor, he's really kind and is always straightforward. You can tell he knows a lot about his field and is always prepared to answer any question anyone throws at him. The whole class was laid out from the beginning, with all of the deadlines for essays and projects, which he gave us plenty of time to do. For SOC 218, he wrote his own textbook, and the only real homework was to keep up with the reading, which was very very helpful for the essays. I highly recommend taking a class with Schaeffer, specifically SOC 218 (International Political Economy) because I found it super interesting and relevant to the world today.

Dr. Schaeffer is an excellent professor! He makes every lecture fascinating and explains things clearly and writes great notes on the board. Going to every class is so beneficial because every class is filled with incredible information because he presents it in such a cool way. He interacts well with students and cares about them and how they're doing. He uses film clips to drive home a point and that is always fun. Also, if you work hard and take good notes then the midterm and final are really rather enjoyable! And the three research papers we write build off of each other and are super cool. Easy A because of his teaching style, the content of the class, attending every class, taking thorough notes, and working hard. He's a great teacher and I hope to take him again for another class. Highly recommend!!