Really great prof! Encourages class discussion and you don't have to take notes in class. You get to have a cheat sheet for all the tests and exam!

This past term was her first year teaching and I think she was great. She does expect a lot from her students so don't expect it to be a super easy course. She expects participation and there are in class assignments almost every class & journals for every other class& there were online tests each week but don't expect them to be super easy.

She is a fantastic prof! I took Health and Adolescence with her over the summer and she was the best prof I have ever had at SMU. She makes the classes really fun and relevant to each person who takes the class. The debates are always heated and fun and she gave me the confidence to speak up in class, and she has made me a better student :)

AMAZING prof, but she expects a lot from her students (online journals and quizzes), so she may not be for everyone. I had her for a 2.5 hour class once a week and she still managed to keep my interest for the entire lecture. She encouraged lots of great class discussions. I would definitely recommend her!

AMAZING Professor! The bad comments you see are the people who go poor grades because they didn't do the work. She makes it very clear on what she expects of the students at the beginning. This is not a course for lazy people. There is a lot of work. She is not an easy marker because she expects all work to be done proper. Book is a waste of money

She is an absolutely fantastic professor. Teaching is her greatest strength, she knows how people learn and will do everything she can to help you learn. She knows her stuff, encourages class discussion and you go over the concepts so much via journals and discussion that you absorb the material with out arduous hours of studying. You rule Dr. BP!

She is the only prof I've ever had that wanted you to learn for the sake of learning. She is a wonderful professor, however nitpicky with her papers (Don't try to pound one out at 3 am the night before and you should do just fine!)

I absolutely loved this professor! She's really focused on getting students to learn information they can use in the real world and is beneficial to everyday life. The paper is definitely tricky but if you put the effort in(get it proof read!!)it's entirely possible to get an A.

I think this was the third course that I took with Dr. B-P and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was fairly interested in the concept of Health Psyc before the course and it was great having a prof that knew the material well. I recommend this course for anyone who attends class regularly and is willing to put in a fair amount of effort.

I absolutely loved this course with Dr. BP, especially after just finishing Child Dev. She knows the material, is fair, easy to talk to, and not bad to look at either! One of the best profs I've had a SMU.

I took this during the summer and was worried about the long classes, but she does a great job in keeping everyone awake. She uses interesting videos and be prepared to work in groups a lot. I love that she gives quizzes which help to prepare for the tests and tries to make classes fun and interactive through interesting discussions.

Dr. BP is great! Her lectures are super interesting and class is engaging but you don't have to participate in the class discussion if you don't want to (she does prefer if you do). The textbook is required but she had a copy on reserve at the library which is what I used. Quizzes are tedious but not impossible. Tests were ok but kind of hard.

Professor BP has grown on me, she definitely does not hand out marks, but if you try hard and work for it, she is super fair with her grading. She doesn't expect memorization like most, which is a nice change! Her humour makes going to class worth it.

She may be a tough grader with a heavy work load, but she is amazing. She is passionate, and makes you interested in whatever she is talking about. Also, really cares about your learning and education, and uses a whole new style of lecturing that actually works. Go in open minded and she will be your favorite professor.

The lectures organize the information from the textbook well and makes it easy to understand. The workload is heavy if you are taking many other classes, however grading is fair and there are opportunities for bonus points. Only problem is group projects that make up a large percentage, hopefully your group members will contribute...

I almost dropped the class near the beginning of the semester because the course load was daunting with a full schedule, but I'm glad I didn't! Dr. BP expects a lot of her students but is prepared to give back just as much. Lectures were entertaining, and it ended up being my favorite class. It was worth the work.

Dr. BP is super passionate about her work. I found she gave plenty of chances for students to make bonus points. The group discussions for an online course seemed daunting as did the fact that you had to go in for tests. You definitely have to stay on top of assignments, but her expectations are clearly marked with examples.

Professor Carolyn was an amazing professor. She was funny and engaging and made lectures and projects interesting. The content was interesting but she made it even better. She was also very caring towards students and if you had any issues, she was there to help. Would 100% take her again!

Dr. BP is a perfect example of how professors should be. She is so accessible to students and understanding to situations. She gives you options for how much work you want to complete and wants you to succeed. Her lectures are amazing and I wish I wasnt graduating so I could take more classes with her!

Dr. BP is an awesome prof, she is attentive to students and constantly makes an effort to get to know people better. I would definitely recommend her as a professor, but she is an extremely hard marker. Her expectations are super high, and her tests are loaded with material. Along with this, the quizzes are hard even with open book.

Dr. BP does everything her power to ensure you succeed. She gave two options for grading schemes and allowed you to choose between them. If you chose the activity grading scheme, there were lots of small activities but the tests were worth less. I highly recommend this option as her tests are heavy on essay questions and hypotheticals. Great prof

Don't understand the hate below. Puts so much thought into her highly interactive, discussion-based lectures. Contemporary information and relevant 21st century perspectives. Not to mention she is very passionate, well-spoken and gives lots of detail on everything. Fun assignments like creating a podcast. Would absolutely recommend; fun and easy.

Do the extra credit it's easy, weekly tasks are easy but tests are super difficult. Questions are in hypothetical land and are confusing to understand, make sure to ask clarifying questions. There are 4-5 weekly tasks that you are suppose to do (quiz, reflection, textbook reading, powerpoints to watch, and optional activities) but they are good

Lots of assignments, and group discussions. Would have preferred more lecture time. Tough grading scheme, but you'll do well if you read the assigned articles and do your own research, and keep track of tasks each week.

super knowledgeable and accommodating prof. she was always very kind and helpful. attendance was 10%, reflections and quizzes were an easy 90-100%, tests were average to slightly difficult.

The course was very well organized. Reference material is available in many methods for different learning styles. Extra credit is offered in different ways (SONA or projects). The exams are a lot of writing but not overly complicated, Dr. Birnie-Porter explains the exams in detail prior to. She definitely wants students to succeed.

Focus on readings and material being self directed & lectures used for discussion & group work, workload is not heavy but is weekly, along with assignment, presentation,& an exam. Got a low grade, weekly stuff/some readings were easy to miss, however at the end felt very well versed in the material. Solid prof, good course, but not an easy A

Very passionate and cares a lot about her students success. Through many in-class discussions, I gained confidence in speaking amongst my peers. Very organized, fair when it comes to grading, and shows great compassion towards her students. A lot of reading compared to other classes of mine, but provides all the articles.

Dr. BP is very passionate about teaching and is generally kind and approachable towards her students. Overall she is a great prof, just be aware that she does have quite high expectations.

I have had this Professor twice now, and both times I enjoyed the format. This course in particular was heavily dependent on group discussions and not much was given in terms of information on the slides she provided. The weekly assignments, plus podcasts were VERY easy to miss, but they were all relevant and interesting to learn about.

I absolutely loved this class!! The lectures are fun and engaging, they require lots of participation but the environment she creates is very comfortable and completely non-judgmental. There are weekly tasks that can be graded harshly but just follow the syllabus to a T and put in a 4th year student amount of work you will really enjoy this class.

This class is amazing! It was everything I hoped it would be and Dr. BP is fantastic

Dr. BP is an amazing, smart, and passionate professor. I look forward to every lecture, and the productive discussion she facilitates. She makes the content relatable and relevant, but simultaneously thought provoking, scholarly, and inclusive. It has been my favourite class of my degree; so awesome to see a prof so passionate and engaging :)

Can get reading-heavy at times, especially stacked with other courses (to be expected for 4000). I have had 4000 courses with less reading but also had 2000 courses with more reading. The assignments usually are not very long.

Dr.BP gets a bad reputation, but she's the best prof I've had at SMU. If you take the time to understand the concepts she teaches, you'll have no issues at all. Her classes are really insightful, and she definitely cares about how you're doing in her class. She's also really funny. Couldn't recommend a prof more.

She is great! Really passionate about what she teaches and also very reasonable. She wants her students to succeed and do well.

Taught an engaging class, and offered lots of flexibility within reason. Exam was long but fair and she gave lots of guidelines for exam prep. I hope to take another class with Dr. BP in the future!

She is really nice and very understanding. I registered late for her course, and she still helped me a lot. I would definitely recommend taking her class!

Dr.BP's class is very project heavy and test heavy. She doesn't have much direction in terms of lecture. I loved her group work tho and she's willing to have a conversation with you if you don't understand something. She truly cares about her student's well being and shows true effort in wanting everyone to feel comfortable in class and in groups.

Dr. BP is an amazing professor who is very passionate about their work and wants to see students genuinely succeed. She is very compassionate and is will go the extra mile to support you (esp with the strike!). Ignore the bad reviews as you will find this class enjoyable if you're willing to put the effort in. Also VERY organized!!

Dr. BP is more organized than any prof I've ever encountered which was a breath of fresh air!!! If you prefer lectures, she might not be for you. Lots of group work which I don't normally love, but I do think having the consistent opportunity to engage with the content helped it to stick a little better! Overall great class, learned a lot!

Dr. BP is an incredible professor, and I am very lucky to have had her as a professor for two psychology courses so far. She really takes into account how the students in her class feel and mold the classes around what is best for everyone. Any student would be lucky to have such a passionate, caring and organized professor.

Well-organized, passionate about teaching, caring and supportive of students. The course is interesting and challenging and requires effort. It is essential that you read the textbook but the course is set up in a creative way, with an emphasis on group discussions and assignments like reflections on podcasts and creating your own podcast.

She is very helpful with everything and makes sure that you are not being left out. Every student matters to her, especially in education.

Dr. BP is an exceptional professor. She's compassionate and funny, and you can tell she cares about what she teaches and each individual person in her course. She's super willing to help explain things if you ask her. She has made my time at Saint Mary's amazing. I would recommend taking any of her courses as I believe they were helpful.

Dr. BP is a great professor who really cares about her students. She is super accommodating and wants everyone to do their best! Textbook was super helpful for course material, participation and reading is required! Would definitely recommend if you want to learn lots about the course topic! She is super knowledgable, and relatable!!

Dr. BP is a great prof. She's the most caring prof I've ever had, she truly wants her students succeed. Are her courses really easy? Not exactly, but she gives you all the tools you need to do well. Do the readings, assignments, study, go to class and you will have a great time in her class. She's funny, understanding, and really passionate.

I like how thorough she is and she really cares about the material and her students.

Dr. BP is great, this course was online but she was so engaged. Most online courses you dont ever even see the professor but she set up the class so its made for our success. The breakout groups are scary at first but if you actually engage you are bound to succeed. She really knows this course inside and out and it definitely shows.

I found that her course was very clear and well planned out. She was a really easy marker if you read the syllabus and review the rubrics. It is an online course and it is relatively synchronous but not where you attend an online lecture, it is pre recorded lectures. Overall, a great course and easy credit.

If you plan to specialize in family and relationship psychology/therapy her courses are perfect! While there's sometimes a lot of work to be done, the course load is manageable. The professor has clear rubrics for grading and if you are falling behind, you can reach out for more clarity. She's passionate about her work, which I really appreciated.

Professor clearly knows what she is doing and she is very organized. She carries everyone along if there are updates

Dr. BP is a great prof. Very approachable, understanding, and passionate about what she's teaching. It's clear that she wants her students to succeed and to really understand/apply course concepts rather than simply regurgitate information. Her classes aren't lecture heavy, they focus more on group discussion and participation matters.

I loved Dr. BP. She uses a lot of group work but it's just for participation and discussion which helps a lot. She takes great effort in making sure you are paired with like minded people to make participating more comfortable. I would like to have more lectures and she does go by only what she studies, but overall she was a very engaging professor