Professor profile for James Sprinkle
Student reviews of James Sprinkle
Review from a student who took GEO404C
avoid sprinkle like the SARS! avoid him like youre saddam and hes the UN Weapons Inspector! Not to say that he's a bad guy, but his class is horrrrible. His grading is sooo illogical. Once in a while, he would assign a quiz, and they would be worth 3 points. He deducts by half-points. Since the scale is so, he would have to ask 3-part or 6-part questions. What logic does this make? Why not make it cleaner and grade out of 10? you might say im nitpicking..but you havent heard the beef: his lectures are HORRIBLE! this is by far the worst lecturer at UT. his webpage is never updated... kinda a step back in our age. his main lecture notes are supposed to be up, but they are only posted once in a while. his slides? maybe 1 out of 20 used in the class is posted. he cites the reason as copyright infringement. this is on one of the best geo department in the US, and our school gets tons of funding, yet we cant get a benefit of a slide? ofcourse, you cant see the slides in class because they are tiny tiny tiny, crooked, and just plain illegible. his lecture is sooo vague and broad, one wonders which information should be digested and which is irrelevant. also, the light is dimmed, so most people get very sleepy. it is difficult to keep awake in that class. i manage stay awake in the class BEFORE this, and also in the class AFTER this. why is that? mind you i do have an interest in geology. ive taken connely's 401 class and liked that much more. it is very STRAIGHT FORWARD [strongest contrast i can draw against sprinkle]. even though there is alot of information, you know exactly what you should/have to learn. i could go on and write a disseration about dr sprinkle's class, but ill save you the read. again, he is a nice guy, but his class sucks. take my word for it. for you guys coming out of 401, take a different class.. i wish i had
avoid sprinkle like the SARS! avoid him like youre saddam and hes the UN Weapons Inspector! Not to say that he's a bad guy, but his class is horrrrible. His grading is sooo illogical. Once in a while, he would assign a quiz, and they would be worth 3 points. He deducts by half-points. Since the scale is so, he would have to ask 3-part or 6-part questions. What logic does this make? Why not make it cleaner and grade out of 10? you might say im nitpicking..but you havent heard the beef: his lectures are HORRIBLE! this is by far the worst lecturer at UT. his webpage is never updated... kinda a step back in our age. his main lecture notes are supposed to be up, but they are only posted once in a while. his slides? maybe 1 out of 20 used in the class is posted. he cites the reason as copyright infringement. this is on one of the best geo department in the US, and our school gets tons of funding, yet we cant get a benefit of a slide? ofcourse, you cant see the slides in class because they are tiny tiny tiny, crooked, and just plain illegible. his lecture is sooo vague and broad, one wonders which information should be digested and which is irrelevant. also, the light is dimmed, so most people get very sleepy. it is difficult to keep awake in that class. i manage stay awake in the class BEFORE this, and also in the class AFTER this. why is that? mind you i do have an interest in geology. ive taken connely's 401 class and liked that much more. it is very STRAIGHT FORWARD [strongest contrast i can draw against sprinkle]. even though there is alot of information, you know exactly what you should/have to learn. i could go on and write a disseration about dr sprinkle's class, but ill save you the read. again, he is a nice guy, but his class sucks. take my word for it. for you guys coming out of 401, take a different class.. i wish i had
Review from a student who took 404c
Before taking this class, know what you are getting into. There is ALOT of information covered and Dr. Sprinkle's test are above average difficulty because he doesn't ask for straight facts but rather drawing conclusions from what you've learned, etc. He's a very nice teacher and very willing to help if you are struggling. The slides aren't posted on the web but he has all of them available to look at in his office so they aren't inaccessible. The lectures can be somewhat monotonous because the material can be boring at times. If you need a second geology, take an easier one; but if you have to take this class don't dread it, you just can't be lazy. Final word of advice - don't buy the book, it's about $100 new and I never opened it once.
Before taking this class, know what you are getting into. There is ALOT of information covered and Dr. Sprinkle's test are above average difficulty because he doesn't ask for straight facts but rather drawing conclusions from what you've learned, etc. He's a very nice teacher and very willing to help if you are struggling. The slides aren't posted on the web but he has all of them available to look at in his office so they aren't inaccessible. The lectures can be somewhat monotonous because the material can be boring at times. If you need a second geology, take an easier one; but if you have to take this class don't dread it, you just can't be lazy. Final word of advice - don't buy the book, it's about $100 new and I never opened it once.