Awesome professor! Makes the subject really interesting and is very approachable and helpful if you need it. I took this class over the summer so our midterm was a paper and our final was take home, and more of a series of writing assignments than a test. She's not an easy grader but she is definitely fair and gives good feedback.

Besides attendance is mandatory, she also requests you to speak in section and LECTURE. She will call on you even you don't raise your hand in lecture. If you don't know the answer, she will "come back to you" later. I think she is too much on this aspect... Materials are ok. Lectures are nothing but reading notes conclusions for the book.

They take attendance by assign writings on lecture. lecture and section participation made up 30% for this course. She treats students as if they are elementary schoolers, keeping forcing students to speak in lecture. Learned most of the materials from the readings rather than her lecture. Wouldn't recommend this course.

Her lectures are really condescending, but aside from that she is really nice and understanding. She tries to make the subject interesting even though it isn't. She calls on people but only if she remembers your name. The reading is not that necessary as long as you skim and get the big ideas.

Prof. Martin cares deeply for the history of science. She also cares for class participation, and will sometimes forego large parts of the lecture in hopes of fostering discussion which can be cringeworthy, at times. Reading is a must. Each lecture includes an in-class writing assignment (hint, attendance). The subject matter is interesting.

Very nice, passionate about teaching, and is accessible and understanding. However, don't feel like I got much out of the class. Lecture was mostly discussions that centered around students getting called on to speak. The papers (Lots!), especially the 2 book reports, often felt more like busywork than actually helping me learn anything.

Dr. Martin looks at everything from different perspectives, which I appreciate. No tests, just a few easy papers. Participation during class is a must, which some might find to be a negative aspect, but I really think it makes the class more engaging and interesting! She's very understanding and is fun to talk to. Easy A, great professor.

I abhorred ENVS 1 up until the first midterm, which I found relatively easy considering I did not study very hard. Lectures are suffuse with information and Martin expects you to pay attention to small details; however, her test questions are general enough. Section is mandatory and has a few assignments that require you to put in work.

Martin is a really passionate professor that really makes ES1 an enjoyable class. She does give heavy reading assignments that she will give 5 random quizzes on but even if you only skimmed the readings you'll be fine. Her lectures are loaded with info but she posts the slides online so focus on what she's saying more than the slides themselves.

Jen is fantastic, super caring and passionate and she wants you to be too. It's not hard to get an A but you have to show up, participate (most classes are discussion-based), and complete the abundant but easy assignments. Midterm/final are easy papers, and the second half of class is a mock summit.

Jen is an amazing teacher. She is incredibly passionate and encouraging, she learns every student's name, and she appreciates and finds value in every student and their ideas, no matter what. I took this in the summer, when the class was only about 60 people large, so the larger 300+ person lectures during the academic year may differ. Love her!!!

I took this class over summer. Grade breakdown: participation & in class writing 25%, key terms exam 10%, exam on readings & films 20%, 6 page film review essay 20%, 8 page take home essay 25%. She learns your name & calls on you even if you don't raise your hand. Participate & do the reading or you'll have a hard time passing! Hard but fun class!

Great class, lectures are very educational. Do what your told and you'll be fine.

Lectures are pretty dense but Martin is great at making everything interesting. The term paper assignment is kind of lame because the rough draft and all the steps before it are worth more than the actual final paper.

Jen Martin is amazing! She is so kind and genuinely passionate about the subjects she teaches. The term paper in this class takes a lot of work, mostly because you have to turn some part of it in every week in section. But it's helpful because it boosts your grade and prevents you from waiting until the last minute to start. I recommend her class!

Jen is super passionate and is a great lecturer. She was super helpful in office hours. However, she does talk fast so get ready to type. She makes her lectures relevant and interesting. The term paper isn't bad at all if you keep up with it and the tests are super straight forward. Readings are a portion of the tests!

The class is based off of two exams, a term paper, and two pop quizzes. However, as long as you study and do the readings, you'll definitely do well. She moves a little quickly through the lecture slides but she posts all the slides online. You should definitely go to lecture to learn all the concepts though. Overall really great class and easy A.

JEN MARTIN IS AMAZING. Her class was so eye opening and empowering. She cares so much about her students and that we are actually taking things away from the class. Participation is super madatory but she makes you want to participate. Not the easiest class ever ever but definitely 10000% WORTH IT. Take any class possible w martin.

Professor Martin has a passion for what she's teaching and she makes lectures exciting and thought-provoking. History 20 is a very unique class that I would recommend to anyone with any interest in science while trying to get a GE out of the way. Definitely one of the best classes I've taken at UCSB.

While she gives a good overview of the material at hand, showing multiple opinions/views of the topics, it takes away the scientific aspect of the ES course. I enjoyed her take on colonialism and globalization but in regards to renewable energy, I've been taught contradicting facts in previous upper div courses here.

I thought Jen was a great, caring professor. She is knowledgeable on the course and really teaches you a lot. Yes, she does lecture pretty fast, but you also get to learn so much in 10 weeks. She is passionate and very available for questions and extra help.

very passionate about the subjects she teaches & you are able to learn so much from her teaching methods. Yes, you have to pay attention in lecture and go to class (most of the time haha), and she tends to assign readings, but you really extend your knowledge and perspective of life. Class for ppl interested in the matter, not a GE if u don't read

Jen is honestly an amazing professor! Clearly very passionate about ES and this class will definitely broaden your perspectives. Quite a bit of reading to do every week but they are manageable because the assigned readings are so extremely interesting and correspond with the class topics. Super nice as are all the T.A.s for the course.

*took during online spring '20 so may be diff in person* Great prof! Cares a lot abt subject & students. Lectures are v interesting but talks a lot & doesn't have much on slides so gotta listen well. Weekly quizzes on reading 40ish pages/wk (books actually interesting). No midterm/final, just big essay. Interesting class for everyone to take w her

*COVID version of class* Loved it! Readings were super interesting; you learn more about the Anthropocene/history rather than technical ES topics though. She is really kind and wants you to succeed. Doable amount of work each week: reading, videos, quiz, forum posts and responses. The forum posts prep you for the big final essay. No midterm/final.

I am making this rating to emphasize how understanding of student's circumstances Professor martin has been in all of her classes throughout this pandemic. She really makes it feel like our health and well being come first. The classes are interesting enough, but it is her compassion that makes her so wonderful.

Your grade pretty much depends on your TA. Participate in section and go to your TA's office hours to see exactly what they're looking for in the papers. You have to participate in section for full credit anyways, and the material can get pretty interesting. Lectures are pretty boring, but worth going through so you know what the class is all about

The lectures and course content have been super interesting but most importantly the professor has been so kind and understanding about circumstances outside of school. Not too lecture heavy which is great but there is a lot of reading and a decent amount of writing. Would recommend if you're interested in the subject though!

Env S 3 was a fun class with Martin. Lots of reading, but low time commitment otherwise. About 1-2 hours of lectures a week, 4 pre-section reflections, and essays for midterm/final. She's clearly super passionate about her work and super empathetic towards students. Would recommend!

Lectures are sometimes repetitive, but interesting. Martin really wants students to do well and is really student oriented. Not a lot of work outside of the final project which is very freeform. I enjoyed this class, but wouldn't take it if I didn't have to for my major.

Jen Martin is a great professor and ES 40 is an easy class.

She speaks so slowly. Her lectures, although somewhat interesting, are incredibly boring. Her TA's lead the mandatory sections and are super helpful but also extremely tough graders. This class is a quarter-long research project where you can get advice from TA's and prof, but otherwise there is not a lot of structure to the project.

Participation in section makes up 20% of the grade. There's a heavy load of articles you have to read each week, discuss, then write a 600-word reflection to, and two 2000-word essays throughout the quarter. Lectures are long and boring because she talks so slow. however, she is definitely a caring professor who wants you to succeed.

Her lectures can be dry but she tries her best to make them interesting/interactive and really cares about her students. Super accessible & helpful outside of class and takes feedback seriously. Graded by section participation, big quarter-long project and reflection essay at end. She assigns a lot of reading but not really necessary.

Lectures were interesting but they kinda just ended up restating things in the readings. Not a huge workload. Take this class for an easy GE.

Very kind professor who cares about her students and takes the time to give positive feedback where it is due. I hope that I can take a class with Prof. Martin again before I graduate.

Jen was a really kind teacher, and the workload wasn't too bad. Four 600 word write ups, four 400 word reflections, 1500 midterm, and a 2100 final are all the assignments we did- which sucks if you hate writing. In section participation is graded on if you read and discussed with others. Overall the class was great and the lectures were recorded.

Loveee love loved Prof Martin!!! Never been disappointed by UCSB's ES department and she is not an exception! Super cool and very passionate about environmental justice

I loved this class and prof. She was super nice and organized when lecturing. Assignments only include pre-section and post section reflection (400-600 words) four times in the quarter, a midterm essay, and final essay. This was a super easy class that just required minimal effort, but still very interesting. I truly recommend it.

Martin is an excellent professor! The class is super interesting and lectures were posted online due to many covid breakouts in the class. TA Ahn was a super harsh grader so I ended up with a B+ but the assignments themselves are fairly easy. Be ready to write!!!

In general, the material is very similar to some of the other ES classes, so if you have taken any ES class before there is going to be some overlap which helps with understanding. There is quite a bit of reading that relates to the lecture and going over it in section made everything more clear. The class itself isn't too bad, a lot of writing.

Amazing professor

Professor Martin is probably my favorite prof at UCSB. Kind, caring, empathetic, and accessible. Lectures were always interesting, and you could tell Martin was passionate about the content. This class is project based, so make sure to start the project early enough. Put in the work and you'll get an A. Overall great class.

Jen Martin is a great teacher. She cares a lot about her students. Her class can get a little boring at times but overall it's a good class to take. There are no midterms or finals. She only makes you write 2 papers. This class isn't too overbearing tbh. I would definitely recommend taking this class if you are trying to finish some GEs.

Overall super easy GE. Reading reflections and midterm and final essay were only assignments, but graded pretty hard. My TA was really fun and nice. Class was honestly pretty interesting despite being an engineering major. Lectures not mandatory but did have 10 lecture questions we had to do.

Not always the most interesting class- overall concepts are interesting but lectures can get a bit boring and repetitive. A good class to add for light work and easy A. No exams and 2 papers that have clear instructions. Section participation is huge and mandatory. Lecture participation is required for about 1/2 of lectures. Passionate professor.

Professor Martin is awesome! You can tell she really cares about her students. ES 40 is super conceptual and based fully around your research project. Section was based mostly on the project and lecture was more learning about ES critical thinking. Lecture isn't mandatory. Grade is based on your project, presentation, and final essay.

Prof. Martin seems to love what she lectures on, and she tried to make every lecture engaging. Grading consists of lecture and section participation, a project presentation, a project on anything environmentally related, and a final paper. Unfortunate amount of work for a lower division class but grading was lenient (depends on TA though).

This class was extremely easy, I barely put any effort and did 0 readings until writing papers. As a STEM major a welcome break and the concepts are pretty much common sense so you can simply spend a few hours writing the paper and get an A. Take it for area E!

A lot of lecture material seemed very common sense/boring, never rlly did the readings. Prof. was super passionate abt everything though, and you really get as much out of this class as you put in. Chance to develop project of choice was cool, and grading seemed fair (no project rubric though, which sucked). Great intro to ES program.

Takes attendance at lectures, midterm and final are papers with clear prompts for every paragraph which was nice. Some lectures were super interesting like the plantationocene one, others were boring in my opinion. It would be a free A accept for the fact that essay scores are curved (I imagine downwards) to a B.

Lovely professor and quite interesting material. Took for pre-major req, highly recommend. easy-breezy. Go to lecture and You'll be good! I did the weekly readings, but might be fine if you don't.