3.7
Quality2.7
Difficulty66%
Would Retake351
Reviews66%
Would Retake
351
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
351 total ratings5
145
4
75
3
56
2
40
1
35
What Students Say
“In Kens lectures you can tell how passionate he is about what he teaches and I love this about professors like him”
ENGL23 - 5.0 rating“Plus it has no section”
ENG23 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
83%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
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-0.49 avg changeRatings by Course
ENGL122EA
5.0
(2)ENGL122RW
5.0
(1)ENGL231
4.2
(6)ENG122
4.0
(2)ENGLISH24
4.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
ENG122
3.5
ENGL231
3.0
ENGLISH24
3.0
ENGL222324
3.0
ENGL24
2.9
Reviews (300)
Passionate lecturer, very positive and inspirational. Content is interesting and he posts the lecture slides online which are rich in depth. Downsides are that you are only being graded off attendance (mandatory), midterm, and final. Some questions were very specific. Uses alot of "All of the above, A & B, etc" options on majority of questions.
Honestly one of the best professors here. I was so inspired from ENGL122EA and it changed my perspective on a lot. Class entirely based off of students presenting in class on a topic followed by a group discussion, so you had 2 group presentations a quarter that were not that difficult plus a final project. Great class even if not engl major
If taking English 22 with Hiltner sit in the front of the lecture hall as Hiltner, while a very nice and respectable teacher, has a very monotone voice that can be boring to listen to for an hour. Do all of the readings as the tests have some questions on very specific aspects of the readings, and study his prezi's! If so, you'll do great!
Very good communicator. 30% attendance, so do yourself a favor and show up. 35/35 midterm final. Passable with minimal reading but the assignments are pretty light and I shouldve been more on top of them. Interesting, passionate, brilliant guy. He changed my view on some things for sure. Enjoyed his lectures. Some say monotone but I didnt notice.
Prof Hiltner is inspiring, passionate, and intelligent. Every Friday until midterm is dedicated to climate change, which personally made me go vegan. Although some lectures are boring bc it's ancient literature, Hiltner clearly knows what he is talking about. Slides are available on Prezi and midterm/final are somewhat difficult if you don't read.
Prof Hiltner is inspiring, passionate, and intelligent. Every Friday until midterm is dedicated to climate change, which personally made me go vegan. Although some lectures are boring bc it's ancient literature, Hiltner clearly knows what he is talking about. Slides are available on Prezi and midterm/final are somewhat difficult if you don't read.
Hiltner is an AMAZING professor. Truly cares about what he teaches and the students. ENG22 is one of the easiest GEs you can take, entire grade based on iclicker, midterm, and final. If you show up to lectures, take good notes, and study a decent amount you will easily get an A. Material is interesting and he is engaging. Reading-heavy, but doable.
Hilter is inspiring and brilliant!! If you arent interested in environmental issues, i dont recommend taking this course. BUT... if you are, DO IT! Hiltner gave me a new perspective on the environment, and Im vegan as a result.
Attendance was mandatory. Lectures were interesting, but the Prezi is word-heavy. They're posted though. Interesting topics. Reader wasn't bad or that expensive. Required novels to read, but I only read half of both and got a good score. iClicker attendance. Hiltner's voice is slightly boring, but he's not bad at explaining concepts.
This was the first time he taught this course. It was interesting, an easy A, but some of the students presentations were so boring. He only grades on the presentation, which is a group presentation, and the final 8 page essay. No tests or quizzes. Participation matters. Theres a class discussion after every presentation, but readings optional.
Probably my favorite professor at UCSB. Because of him, I have chosen to do the literature and environment emphasis on my English major. I enjoyed all the readings we had to do as they varied from old (first story - epic of Gilgamesh) to modern (e.g. silent spring), and he went in depth and always left us in awe. Caring and extremely knowledgeable.
Hiltner is an interesting guy. He is clearly very smart and interested in environmental issues but his enthusiasm doesn't come across in his lectures. His voice is extremely monotone and lectures are repetitive and dull at times. Class was super easy and undemanding but you must show up. Readings were interesting but long
Environmental lit. was amazing! He had all of his slides neatly organized on Prezi and had some short/difficult readings (that he clears up in his lectures). He also had polls in order to take attendance which he immediately adds into the grades. The class was mainly based on attendance, the midterm, and final (some Q's are based on the reading!)
One of the best professors I've had. Discussion based lectures so you need to do the readings to fully understand what's going on but man oh man did this class change me. I have never been more excited to leave class knowing what I learned will actually help me in life. Summer session so it grades were on 2 tests, 1 paper, and attendance.
Easily the WORST prof I've ever had. He's so boring and reads directly off the powerpoint which is ENTIRELY huge paragraphs. You gain absolutely nothing from attending lecture, but you have to because iClicker is worth 30% so every time you miss, it takes 1% off your grade. idk what class these other reviewers went to, but it sure wasn't mine.
Attendance for lectures is mandatory, taken via iclicker. Lectures are hard to follow/ pay attention to due the number of students in the course, and there are no sections to reiterate or analyze what was taught in class. He posts his prezis though so you are able to go back or try to teach yourself.
His lectures were hard to listen to because the classes are so large and he speaks monotone. No one pays attention and you can understand more from reading the prezis yourself as oppose to listening to him read them off exactly in lecture. Attendance is mandatory (the only reason why people go). Grades are attendance, film responses, and exams.
Some of the readings can be lengthy, however he breaks down the book's ideas and gist of what you need to know for the exams during lecture. 30% of your grade is just showing up to class. The exams are pretty easy if you just do the readings and watch the films, almost a guaranteed A/A-. He also gave the class extra credit on BOTH exams.
The lecture is a little boring but it helps. He gives many extra credits so you can easily get an A if you study. Very excellent professor in his own field.
English 22 was a very easy and decently interesting class. There was a fair amount of reading homework, but I hardly did any of it and I still ended with 98% in the class. You have to show up to the lectures and pay attention to do well if you dont do the reading though. Overall Ken is a g and a super smart and thorough professor.
Tests easy, kind of trivia-like. Lectures useless; majority of people just go for iClicker. If you just watch the films, skim the course readings, use Quizlet, & go through the Prezi well, you'll get an A/A-. Learned a lot through the Prezi and films; I have a new perspective on many things now. Ken is knowledgeable & wants to make a difference!
Professor Hiltner was one of the more interesting professors I have had at UCSB. He clearly cares about the climate crisis and has made me care about it too. I would definitely recommend taking his class!
One of the best professors I've had here at UCSB. He is well-organized and knows his lectures off the top of his head-not constantly looking up what he is going to say. I appreciate the fact that he does not make us pay for online access to his lectures and videos!! The readings are relevant and very well taught.
If u study 5h for your midterm, you are 100% fine
Ken's a good guy who rly cares about the environment but WOW eng 22 is boring. Lectures are both mandatory and truly mind numbing. Tests contain questions such as "What is the best description for the color of Plato's left sock?" Movies will preach eating manure veggies and owning 1000 acres of land instead of feasible solutions.
Content is interesting, but doesn't actually lecture in class. He posts his lectures on YouTube; you watch 3 lecture videos (1 is accompanied by an article, 1 is accompanied by a documentary), and leave 3 comments a week. The actual lecture block is spent reading YT comments, and no attendance credit if you leave early. Feels like a waste of time
Don't get me wrong, I think that Eng23 is a really important class that teaches important concepts surrounding the climate crisis. That being said, dear god, never did I expect to have to mandatorily sit through about 2 dozen lectures JUST looking at Youtube comments on HIS videos. Clearly likes to hear himself speak, maybe bit too much.
his structure of the course falls very flat to me. He makes everyone do comments but they have to be rather long. there's no section so he does this to add engagement but it makes it very forced and mind numbing. You end up getting behind so that you just have something to comment.
Ken is great but needs to work on structure. If he only focused on readings and films and made optional discussion forums on something like reddit, I think it would increase genuine engagement and help people focus on the actual material for exams, not just enough to have enough comments. Lectures should not be him reading comments. Come on, Ken :(
Ken's lectures and tests are irrelevant to learning, but the readings are very good. He spends lecture making us silently read Youtube comments that students made on his video, and his test is memorizing details that don't add to your knowledge of climate change. One question of his midterm was: "What painting was on top of Leo DiCaprio's crib"?
A pretty easy class if you do all the work but it is time consuming. Have to read something, watch a film, and watch 3 video lectures every week and make 3 comments. In person lectures are him responding to student comments so they're pretty useless in terms of testing material but attendance is a big part of your grade so you have to go.
He canceled the final exam and gave all the students full credit on the final.
Because of the virus, he canceled the final exam and gave everyone full credit on final. The midterm also had curve.
Ken is a great guy. He cares about his students and wants them to succeed and learn. He is knowledgeable on the material and highly values student input. Although the format is unconventional, this class teaches you a lot and is a completely manageable amount of work.
Amazing professor. I learned so much about the climate crisis in this class. Definitely the most life changing class I've taken at UCSB so far.
Professor Ken is a super duper good teacher who makes his students enjoy taking his classes and staying at the lectures for the entire period of time. You should absolutely take his class and learn useful climate crisis solution from him. He should be honored as the best teacher in UCSB, honestly.
His lectures for English 23 were not great. He just went through the class comments that we did for homework every week. You have to pay attention during the lectures, readings, and videos. He clearly knows his stuff about climate change, but his execution of the lectures wasn't great. It was a brand new class, so I'll give him a break for that.
Took him for Engl 22 (102% grade) and engl 23 (100%). Tests are curved a lot, and homework is very easy to do for both classes. Lectures can become repetitive. Very easy class.
Honestly a really good guy, but this class was mind-numbingly boring. Lectures were mandatory and shouldn't have been, as it was just us doing iClicker Qs and listening to him comment on our own Youtube comments, super redundant as we learned nothing new. Midterm wasn't bad but consisted of questions that were either oddly vague or too "niche."
Definitely recommend! Prof Ken is very passionate about climate change. His lectures make you rethink your values but he also gives you solutions for the crisis. iClicker necessary for participation points and the main assignment was online youtube comments. Pretty straightforward/easy.
This class was setup very weird. He made a YouTube account where you had to make 3 paragraph-sized comments per week. Lectures were very boring, as all he did was cherry-pick some comments from YouTube and read them out to the class. Hes also very strict with iClicker attendance. Many times he started class with iClicker questions.
Professor Hiltner does a great job of structuring a large class and picking valuable readings. A professor I genuinely liked and would take again. Only downside is that tests focus on numbers and stats, less ideal for a humanities class.
Ken is such a great guy! He is like a fun, inspirational uncle! His lectures are a bit boring since the class is largely reviewing the work of your fellow students. He is super passionate and it shows! It is hard to study for his tests since the matter is vague but take good notes and you'll be fine. Very easy to get an A and a very fun class.
There were no lectures in this class and just a rotation of student presentations with guided discussion after. This class was really informative and enjoyable. The final project tanked my grade a little and wasn't that related to the class but still would recommend overall.
Prof Hiltner was a wonderful prof! I loved his style of class. Homework heavy though, you do your own reading, lecture, and video weekly and then he uses lecture time to discuss your responses. Iclickers are required, he spaces them out so u have to be there all class. Very eye-opening content, I recommend this to anyone.
He's the reason I switched my major to Environmental Studies. His class was so informative and super inspirational. The class setup is far different than any other course I've taken... its all well-made YouTube video lectures and paragraph-long comments to write. Overall so much respect for professor Hiltner, he really practices what he preaches!
Took his class back when everything was in person. Truly passionate about what he teaches and cares about his students. Attendance was taken through Iclickers.
This class not only was an easy A but it can really alter your perspective on the world and especially the environment. Lots of reading but you can get by if you skim. Really loved this man so genuine and passionate about this subject.
Ken was super nice and made class expectations clear from the start. Lots of readings but his lectures go over everything you'll need to know for quizzes, the midterm, and the final. Only other assignment was weekly film comments, which were a piece of cake. He also picks out really interesting films, in my opinion. Overall, easy A.
If you put in 1 hour a week, you should get an A. If you space out the work, you should get an A. Ken does not want to fail anyone and in fact, it is clear he wants as many kids to get As as possible.
Ken, as he likes to be referred as, is passionate about what hes teaching and inspires me to treat the environment better. He is informative, enlightening and interesting, even though his lectures are on the longer side. I took his class online and as long as you watch the lectures and take notes, the class is an easy A.
2 quizzes each week worth 50% total grade. 15% midterm, 15% final, 20% movie comments. All easy. very easy A.
Kens a cool and passionate guy but his lectures do run a little long, I played them at double speed and was fine. If you put effort into this class its really a breeze. Finals and midterms arent heavily weighted. Ken has a very particular voice, his lectures are on YouTube on the Ecocritism 101 page if you want to check him out.
Prof Hiltner is super cool. Really interesting material (at least for me) and not too heavy on the workload. The information isn't rocket science and it's pretty easy to keep up with all the lectures and reading material. I really enjoyed this class and the professor :)
Only 4 weeks in & Im just gonna say it, pls dont take Ken.. Hes probably a great person but damn does the guys like to hear himself talk.. His quizzes and exams consist of very specific & very vague questions which u only get 1m to answer (Plus cant go back and forth between them either...). Every week literally feels pointless to study now...
DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS. Ken is the most insufferable, pretentious, self serving professor I've ever had. He cares more about his videos doing well on YouTube (interacting with them is 20% of your grade) than how well they teach his actual students. He is also not open to hearing feedback, questions can only be posted as Q&A and may not be answered.
I had Ken for English 22 and he was a fine , but something changed over quarantine. Now he is more invested in his videos getting views than actually teaching the material. He knows about the same amount of knowledge of the climate crisis as any other ES major, yet claims he "knows all." Sounds very pretentious and the class is boring, don't take.
Hiltner is very nice, but I honestly find the whole discussion posting and replying to people's posts so very repetitive. Watching the deep dive lectures where he responds to comments is for what purpose? You have to watch TWO 1 hour long deep dives where he rambles on during half of it is wasting our time honestly, I'm sorry to say.
Ken has been one of my favorite and most caring teachers. He makes the subject matter accesible
Super passionate teacher. Ur assigned 1 reading, 1 film, and u have to make 1 comment on each, weekly. Also have to watch two "deep dive lectures" each week which are 1 hr each. I don't know why people are complaining about the lectures bc while he does talk a lot, it's just like having to go to class... Everything can be done in like 6 hours total
The recent negative reviews are being extremely dramatic. Some kids are upset because people got caught cheating and the midterm will no longer be an easy 100%. The class is easily digestible and can still be easy to earn an A in. Dont let them fool you, Ken is a kind man and a great professor. The class is informative and in an easy format.
Ignore all the recent bad reviews. They are just mad that the final got altered due to a few kids ruining it for the rest of us. It was not the professor's fault at all. Ken is the most devoted professor I have ever seen. He is truly my favorite professor. He truly cares about spreading the urgency of the climate crisis to our generation.
Ken is a great guy, plz excuse the negative comments and think about whether or not you care about the environment. He is lecture heavy just take good notes and put the videos on a high speed and youll do great. Have taken him twice and can really admire his POV of climate change and what is necessary for our generation for solving it.
Ignore the bad reviews. People are upset he changed the midterm because he caught a group of students cheating. The class is easy and long as you, this next part is crazy, DO THE WORK He doesnt hand you a grade but if you do your job it is ez. He is passionate and cares about the quality of his work. If you dont want to learn dont take the class
So passionate about what he teaches. Class is time consuming, not hard. Really cool guy!
Ken is a great professor, very well informed and passionate about the material. Frankly, his class has taught me more in 5 weeks than most classes have after 10 weeks. He is extremely responsive and accommodating. There has never been a time that he took more than 45 minutes to answer my emails. His class requires studying, but its manageable.
I am currently taking English 23 with professor Hiltner and he is one of the best /caring teachers I have ever taken a class from. There are "deep dive" lectures that take up two hours total but those are in replacement of in-person seminars so the time commitment really isn't a big deal. Take this class if you care about your future/planet.
Ken is one of the most captivating professors I've ever had. He is passionate about the course and through his teaching, I've felt more inspired to reevaluate my contribution to the climate crisis. Quizzes can be stressful with only 10 mins to answer 10 questions but the info learned in this course is far more valuable so don't be discouraged!
This class is not it. Boring and difficult. Do not recommend
This class is a bit more heavy on reading than I'm used to (but makes sense - it's an English class and I'm not an English major), and there's two 2 hour lectures, 2 short lectures, and a documentary each week, but if you pace yourself it's not too bad at all. His lectures are very moving and the content is very impactful, honestly love this class
Ken is a professor who truly cares. He is passionate about what he studies and tries hard to share that passion with his students. He sets up the course in the online format so it is really easy for students to succeed, just take notes on all the lectures and engage with the reading. Not that much work at all; I was able to get it all done in 2days
People say the videos are two long, but the time you spent is exactly what you get for a 2 lectures/week course. Plus it has no section. I find this course quite enjoyable to be honest, and Ken is a very kind and thoughtful professor. The amount of work he put in his website is EXCEPTIONAL. He also made sure no additional purchases is required.
On deep dives lectures he often rambles with the testable info scattered in between (hard to keep attention, especially online).Would have a more enjoyable experience learning the material if given in a more condensed format. Everything he writes/talks about is quite verbose, which is understandable since he's an English professor. Quizzes are fair
Ken Hiltner is a very caring professor who is passionate about what he teaches. He puts in a lot of effort into his content and wants his students to succeed. Take his classes!!
Content of class is interesting & Ken seems to be a nice guy. Material is way too long for a GE class. Quizzes are very specific, prompts you to focus on getting all the information down rather than learning. Command F will be your best friend during quizzes. Can do well if you try, but definitely do not take w/ hard classes like biology or chem.
In Kens lectures you can tell how passionate he is about what he teaches and I love this about professors like him. The reading are manageable and so are the comments you have to make every week about the documentaries and readings. I didnt think the quizzes were hard, so as long as you do your work, you should get a high grade!
Weekly you will spend 4 hours on videos and 6080 pages of readings to get a B or higher. There are two short essays every week too. This class requires too many works as just a GE class and also his ideas are too extreme for me. Unless you must take this class to graduate, I do not recommend you to take this class.
Super passionate professor you can tell he enjoys teaching a lot. Quizzes are unnecessarily difficult as it focuses more on memorizing irrelevant data rather than topics that are important.
I wanted to give Ken a chance, but he formats all his test the same, all having ridiculously specific questions. Ive literally cried/had panic attacks in his class every week... Does he not realize that people have probably been getting all the hard randomly generated questions each time? Definitely needs to change his question formatting period.
Leaving a bad review not because Im one of those got caught cheating. Because his materials are excessive & boring. Quizzes are insanely specific, you have to know unnecessary details in order to succeed. Im sure Ken is a nice guy but he is way to pretentious, its painful to sit through his lectures. He should focus on topic that actually matter
Im really sad to see these unfair reviews of prof Hiltner. I took him for fall quarter 2020 online & it was so easy, if you do the bare minimum of watching lectures on 2x, youll get an A just like me. Theres no need to cheat, it was the easiest class Ive taken. He was so reasonable and accommodating, theres so many bad profs here & hes not 1.
I took his Eng 22 class and Im currently taking his Eng 23. Please ignore his bad reviews. A lot of these students are just salty because they got caught trying to cheat on the midterm by sharing answers. This class does take up some time to finish the work, but just like ANY other class. Loved his class, EASY A. Just do the work. Simple
people got caught cheating and messed up the midterm for all of us, but the professor so nice and had to make a whole new test for all of us which must have been frustrating and he does not deserve all of the hate he is getting! He's such a genuine man that cares about the environment and you can tell he truly enjoys teaching.
Took this class randomly as a senior to fill my schedule and it ended up being one of the most informative and important classes I've taken at UCSB. Ken is extremely passionate about the climate crisis and really motivates his students to reevaluate their actions. A lot of readings but the quizzes are extremely easy, and material is super engaging.
One of the best GE's I've taken! Ken is extremely passionate and cares so much. Lots of reading, but for a class that meets two times a week with no section the material isn't that bad, and is always interesting. Not sure why people don't expect reading in and english class. Quizzes are easy if you actually pay attention or use command F.
The quizzes are insanely specific and hard to score a 100 on. He completely changes a test days before it because of a cheating issue that he basically created. A lot of people are struggling. Makes learning about climate change stressful and uninteresting, because of the amount of time spent on memorizing useless details. Overall, not a fun time.
The Climate Crisis 101 is an interesting and enjoyable class! The information needs to be heard by everyone!! The class is graded on weekly tests and midterm/final which are easy to do well on if you actually watch the lectures and do the reading, duh. Due to the online format, I recommend taking detailed notes and you will be fine.
Ken is the man! He is a passionate teacher, has an impressive amount of scarfs, and just seems like the kind of guy you want to drink a beer with. Do yourself a favor and take one of his classes.
Ken is one of my favorite professors at ucsb. Hes a caring and compassionate teacher who wants to get his message out there about the climate crisis. Hes inspiring and I hope everyone who takes him gets his message and it sticks with them. He is dedicated and his class is easy if you do the work. I recommend this class.
I agree with "Quizzes are unnecessarily difficult as it focuses more on memorizing irrelevant data rather than topics that are important". It is almost impossible to remember the irrelevant detailed info from a long boring lecture and tons of weekly reading. This class force you to waste time.
Prof Hiltner has inspired me more than any other professor I have had at UCSB. He is extremely passionate about his students and the course, and gives us opportunities to evaluate our own lives and offers ways to make positive personal and widespread changes. His course is easy if you just watch the lectures and read what is required once a week.
I highly recommend this course. Although I am only half way through this class, Kens lectures and assignments are interesting, engaging, and fun. It is obvious that Ken is passionate about the climate crisis and I am so grateful that he takes the time to personally read the comments we write. He only ever tests us on material he teaches.
He is a wonderful professor. Very passionate! People seemed to complain that it was a lot of work, which it was but thats college for you. I think people were being babies. It is a great class and it doesn't seem like a lot of work if you enjoy the material. Wonderful course, I would take it again.
I have been enjoying this course a lot and I would recommend it to anyone! If you are passionate about the Climate crisis or just interested in learning more, the way the course is taught will appeal to you. I struggled with the first two quizzes, but after changing my method of interacting with the course materials, the quizzes have become easier.
I really enjoy it. Although it's reading and lecture heavy it doesn't feel like it. All of the readings and lectures have been very informational and interesting. You could honestly do all of the work in one day if you have the time. As for the people complain about the quizzes I don't think they're hard just take notes as you watch the lectures.
Professor Hiltner cares about his class more than any other professor I have encountered during my time at UCSB. He made an entire website and YouTube account just dedicated to climate change. It is evident that he really feels passionate about everything he teaches, which makes it better to learn. A lot of work but worth it!
This class is easy if you do the work. There are about 3 hours of lectures a week, a movie, a reading (usually a chapter of a book or an article), a 10 question quiz, and 2 comments each week. It takes a decent amount of time but it is all interesting and stuff I care about knowing. Ken is so passionate which makes this course better
If you're interested in the climate crisis and want to know how to take action, take this class. It's a decent amount of work 1-2 short lectures, 2 long ones, a film, a reading and quiz each week. The quizzes can be specific take good notes. HIGHLY RECOMMEND, but only if you truly care about the subject it's a lot of work but very inspiring.
Waste of time
I don't know why so many people rate him good. I doubt he rates himself because he cares about ratemyprofessor a lot. I and my all friends agree that this class is one of the worst GE classes. You will waste over 68 hours a week to get A. Don't take his class.
Expect to hyper analyze lectures to find the most specific answers that he chooses to use for his quizzes/tests. Ken literally suggested that students drop this class if they could not afford to dedicate enough time to these lecture/film-heavy class. A good lecturer but he does nothing to accommodate students in a pandemic which is frustrating.
Ken is a great guy and has the highest quality lectures Ive seen at UCSB. This class is not an easy A, at least not remotely. This class requires a lot more time than a regular GE and quizzes are 10 minutes for 10 questions, sometimes having unrelated content. That being said, the beneficial information in this class far outweighs the grade.
My favorite teacher at UCSB! He is such a nice guy and his class is super easy and interesting. I highly recommend
I believe everyone should be taking a course like this one. Ken is probably one of my favorite professors so far and his class is definitely the best class I've ever taken. I have changed my lifestyle for the better thanks to him. I 100% recommend taking this class. Readings and lectures are a bit heavy but you can definitely get an A or a B.
Dont know where all these good reviews are coming from... Dude literally had specific questions such as, Whos the 3rd person mentioned in a film? on every single weekly quiz which makes up 50% of the grade... Also screwed everyone over by not curving his insanely specific questions on weekly quizzes/midterm/final even though he said he would...
Horrible teacher... Cares more about his status than actually teaching us valuable info. Literally all he taught were just specific facts which although are important, arent good at improving retention rates, especially when all his tests are formatted the same unfair way. Dude needs to get rid of tests & switch to a different format already...
I don't usually feel inclined to rate a professor, but taking this class just made me feel so strongly. As an online class this is not an easy A/ GE. Definitely pass If that was what drew you to this course. Quizzes are very specific, trivia type questions. Tarnishes the message of saving Earth. I leave every week of class frustrated and burnt out.
While this class had a slightly heavy workload, the material is truly interesting and you can tell Ken cares about the climate crisis and educating people on it. The weekly quizzes can be challenging because they are quite specific and have a strict time limit, but it was extremely manageable and control F is your friend.
This class takes a good amount of time but it's totally worth it if you're interested in the subject. I didn't mind the time commitment too much because I actually enjoyed the material. If you put in the work, the quizzes and midterm/final are easy.
Tbh, Ken is a pretty good professor especially given the online situation. Yes, the quizzes are oddly specific and difficult and there is a lot of material to cover but this was a good class. The films and readings were always relevant and offered different perspectives. Would definitely recommend it if you're interested and ready to work!
Unfortunately I took this course online but nonetheless Professor Hiltner was a great professor and I 100% recommend. Like every other class you still put in a good amount of work, but it is definitely worth it. That being said, this is one of my favorite courses I have taken at UCSB, it truly changes your perspective about the climate crisis.
English 23 online is a fair class with a lot of easy work. The professor's voice makes lectures incredibly difficult to sit through, but the work isn't difficult. It only takes a couple hours of effort per week. Grading is fair. Don't take this class if you don't care about the subject matter.
This class really isn't as difficult online as some people are claiming. As a third-year, this was probably one of the easiest GE's I've taken. The quizzes aren't that specific; if you take good notes you should do fine. Also, people complain about the "no-curve", but most students in this class are getting A's. It's an objectively easy class.
His deep dive lectures really tried to emulate a discussion format, but it made them a bit difficult to watch. His quizzes were honestly not that difficult. The people complaining about the specificity of the tests are focused on their grade rather than the content of the class. I really enjoyed his class, it was really thought provoking.
absolutely loved this class and I think everyone should take it!
This is a super interesting class. It makes you reflect about your own personal impacts. It's very lecture heavy, but to be honest you can skip some of the lectures and still do well. Ken is a very caring person, and he puts a lot of effort into the class.
This is such an amazing and very important class that I believe everyone should take! Quizzes and Exams are oddly specific, so I recommend reading through the transcripts of all the lectures and note all the statistics he says. That is what makes up the most of the questions, so if you have those, you'll for sure succeed.
A must-take class at UCSB. Definitely applied what I learned from Engl 23 to other classes. Love that this class covered social injustices. Skilled and warm-hearted prof. I'm looking forward to taking another class with Ken.
Very interesting class that makes you reevaluate your life and your choices that affect your carbon footprint. It is very heavy in lectures with about 3 hours of lecture plus a documentary and readings every week. If you get in the flow of planning it out over a week and reading the transcripts for the lectures its manageable for sure and fun too!
Really passionate about the material and inspirational content. The weekly quizzes are worth 50% of your grade so lectures are crucial to do well. The class was really lecture heavy and it was necessary to take notes on little details, but if you're genuinely interested in the course subject its a great class! Learned a lot and was very impactful.
He's passionate about the subject and I respect that! I think this was a good class, but lecture heavy though so it was tough to pay attention through the entire lecture. He gives many resources like access to the Prezi's and slides so that is VERY helpful. You def will learn a lot in this class and it'll open up your eyes to environmental issues
The class is based on watching lectures, a film, and commenting on the videos every week. The quizzes are timed and can not go back to change questions which is the hardest part within the course, the same format for the exams.
he makes you watch a lot of lectures and documentaries, however, they are really inspiring and not boring. He truly cares about the environment as well as his students. as long as you watch the docs and lectures you'll do just fine on the quiz and midterm/final. Overall loved the class
This is an environment-related course. However, there are so much more to that(You'll see.) I enjoyed this course thoroughly from films to readings. They are very well-selected and every single one has an influence on me in how i think of my life choices. Yes, there are readings and lectures, so be prepared to learn and get inspired. Hope it helps!
The worst course ever
This course is too demanding...I spend huge amount of time to get an order. I have to doubt if it worths it. Mostly graded by quiz and exams, up to 80%. But Hiltner is a guy really cares the environment.
You can tell he really cares about this class. He makes all of the information from the class available on the internet for everyone, and I love the content he teaches. I didnt do any reading or work and I still did fine, easy class with interesting content. Only annoying part was iclicker
Feeling like an idiot reading things about biology... Ancient English is really hard to understand and I would definitely forget about all the stuff after the exam...
Annoying iClicker that sometimes doesn't work, minimal and EASY homework, difficult exams, boring content. Textbook can be found online, DO NOT PAY! but I never read it and passed. Professor doesn't seem to care very much about the students, but the material is good. You learn more about the environment than English, which I appreciated. Good TAs.
The films we watch are actually super interesting and thought-provoking and throughout the course you realize Ken is actually passionate ab what he teaches, not just a pretentious faux. My only true gripe is i-clicker attendance and the test questions which are semi-vague and subjective (as well as not being able to review them). Taking Eng23 next!
Ken was a great professor to have for my first quarter. His lectures show that hes very passionate and knowledgeable about his studies, and you really feel like you learn a lot from him. The video lectures sometimes felt rushed and/or boring, but the actual content was super interesting. Take ENGL 22!
Weekly comments on a documentary, a midterm, and a final. The lectures are long and boring. The professor is very passionate with the subjects but he talk in a very illogical and disorganized way. We used iclicker since the start of the quarter yet they decide to cancel it out at the end, which is pretty unfair for those who made all the attendance
This course is interesting as it lets you analyze environmental issues from a literature perspective, the materials and readings are very well-selected and you could leave the course with much more new knowledge. However, the lectures could be tedious at times, and midterm and final each is 35% of grade, which could be stressful to prepare for.
Homework is easy to manage, the documentaries are fun to watch, and the course content is thought-provoking. The readings are surely a lot since it is a literature class. The midterm and final take up 70% of the grade. Overall, it can hardly be a trouble to pass, but it If you want to earn a good grade, you should listen every lecture carefully.
Grade consists of 35% midterm 35% final, weekly comments and attendance. Prof is extremely passionate about this subject and I found the lectures to be super insightful. Pay attention in lecture and you will do great. Weekly readings were pretty heavy but honestly you can get by without doing them lol. Really enjoyed this class! Super kind professo
35% midterm and 35% final but both were online optional, so they were easy. Lecture are long & repetitive so it can be super boring, but you gotta watch them for the tests. Very passionate about the class. Only homework is weekly readings, watching a documentary each week and commenting on the movie. If you go to class and do the hw, youll get an A
Take ENG23 not ENG22 (if you're interested more in the environment than older literature). I found 22 repetitive and boring, lectures are recorded and played on a screen. All of that being said, 23 was one of my favorite classes (more of a general overview of the climate crisis). Neither class is too difficult, but a decent amount of work.
extremely dry lectures that were mandatory for majority of the quarter... interesting subject but the lecture style was not for me
This class is mostly based on the weekly documentaries and readings. The midterm and final were both multiple choice but were based on your interpretation. Overall the course is super easy as long as you attend lecture. The lectures were in-person but prerecorded so you can't really ask questions directly.
This class wasn't online, but might as well have been. The lectures were just pre-recorded that he showed in the lecture and were also available to watch on zoom. Attendance was necessary for the grade. The worst part about this class was the was he talks. The mouth noises were awful and made it difficult for me to watch the lectures.
Hiltner was one of those teachers who changed my life because of the perspective he gave me. One of the best classes I have ever taken hands down. The tests were actually really hard but its open notes so just make sure to do all the readings and videos. I recommend him to anyone!
Ken seems to be a nice guy, but this class was honestly just pretty boring. He projected a YouTube video that he pre-recorded for each lecture which made it hard to focus and want to attend class. Make sure you do the reading for the midterm and final exam. The weekly documentaries and comments were super interesting and my fav part of this class.
I took ENG23 and loved it, ENG22 was not nearly as good, Ken was clearly more passionate about 23. 22 had a lot less reading and the lectures were recorded and projected which made it not as fun, the tests are specific so take notes on EVERYTHING he says. I would probably not take this course again, but I highly recommend ENG23.
Ken clearly cares about the subject he is teaching. He is passionate about educating students on the climate crisis. There are weekly documentaries and readings, but they are all super interesting if you are even mildly concerned for our environment!
the sweetest man. lectures can drone on, but they're available after assigned class time as youtube videos or zoom recordings. you have to watch the lectures, and movies, and read in order to get a good grade on the final and midterm. The only other assignments were weekly comments on the lectures.
Straightforward class: 1 weekly film & comment, 1 midterm (wks 1-5), final (wks 6-10). He posts lectures online (¬es), but attend class for iClicker. Stay on top of reading! Midterm/final were open book for us -asked questions about films, readings, & lectures. I liked the documentaries. Lectures are interesting and discuss relevant topics
He's super accommodating and offers an online option for all lectures. The exams are super easy as long as you read/watch everything you're supposed to. Test questions can be pretty specific, but most of it's pretty fair. The class is insanely inspiring, so enjoy
Ken clearly puts a lot of effort into making this class accessible, and the topics we learn are incredibly relevant. Lectures can get pretty boring and drag on too long, but he posts them after so it's flexible. Definitely read the articles and watch the documentaries and additional lecture videos because test questions are specific!
Loved learning the material. Make sure to actually do readings and watch documentaries, helps a bunch. Lectures were a little boring. Super easy midterm and final, only 30 questions each. Insanely easy class, no time required. I didn't even go to lecture. Good literature GE. Ken is passionate about subject, very monotone and boring voice.
Seemed difficult during it, until I realized I finished with a 94 in the class. Graded off of comments (you should get 100%), midterm, final. Both exams online, but sequential navigation, 30 questions, 30 mins. Lots of lectures/reading, but I realized you don't have to give as much effort as seemingly expected. Worthwhile content, but depressing.
Ken is clearly extremely passionate about the environment and the climate crisis. His lectures can be a bit slow but nothing 2x speed can’t fix. One film and reading per week. Graded on comments (very easy), midterm, and final. Midterm and final are online, questions are extremely specific to the lectures so make sure you are well versed on them!
I’ve never written a ratemyprofessor review, but this teacher is the reason I’m here for the first time. His lectures are all pre recorded, and will bore you to death. Half of the readings are in old english, and tests are massively weighted with questions that are random and ridiculously specific. Not sure how I pulled off an A-. Do NOT take.
Such caring, intelligent guy! Online format of class a bit bland bc his lectures had no slides, but still interesting to listen to as a podcast while you do something else. Comments really easy to get 100% on, and tests are a little difficult but as long as you really do the readings/documentaries and pay attention to the lectures, you’ll be fine
Loved this class and Ken ! Would absolutely take again, the material and the way it was presented made it easy to want to make a change. 2 Weekly comment make up 40% of your grade and the rest is midterm and final.
Ken's lectures are incredibly repetitive and boring. He prerecords the lectures and then plays the videos for lecture. I feel like he is getting paid to do the minimal amount of effort. Regardless, the class is very easy. You are graded off of weekly YouTube comments, a midterm, and a final exam (all online).
Ken's ENGL 22 course was great! I found the material very interesting. For the first half of the class I did the required reading and got an A on the midterm. For the second half I did not do the readings and still scored a B+ on the final (not cumulative). As long as you take good notes on the lectures, the reading isn't super necessary.
ENGL 23 is very reading heavy! You need to do the reading and watch the docs to do well on the exams. The exams are EXTREMELY specific so make sure you take detailed notes!!!
I can't even wait until the end of the quarter to express my utter disdain for English 24. Under no circumstances should you take this class unless it is required for your major. I'm a STEM major and professor Hiltner assigns more pointless weekly homework than my chem and math class combined. Also attendance is mandatory and none are dropped.
This class had so much homework and it was impossible to keep up on the readings. Unless you want to read 20+ chapters a week don't take this class! Attendance is mandatory because of the iClicker points. The lectures are all interview based so it's impossible to gauge what's going to be on the tests. 0/10 would recommend this GE class.
Such an unorganized class. No actual framework, the professor just lets guests talk about whatever they want. Midterm asked ridiculously specific questions about a massive amount of reading and videos. As someone taking chem and stats- this is the class I dread going to most. Maybe a good class for ES majors, but a horrible horrible class for a GE.
I loveee Ken. He's so passionate about the environment and nature, and he just wants everyone to care as much as he does. The class itself has a weird structure. Every lecture we had a guest speaker and we just take notes. Kind of boring, but easy. There is a documentary and reading each week with a paragraph comment about it. Again, pretty easy.
Class is decently interesting, but I didn't gain any new info because it was basic climate crisis. Weekly readings are kind of long but are relevant to the exams because he will ask about any random detail which is annoying. Documentaries are good and you don't need to write any papers.
Ken is one of my favorites professors so far at UCSB. You can tell he genuinely cares about the topics he discuss in class and the speakers he brought it were inspirational. Its easy to get an A if you do the readings and films, 35 question multiple choice midterm and final. Overall amazing class and I plan on taking more of his classes.
Don't get me wrong, this class is A LOT of work but the Professor is one of the nicest Professors at UCSB. He has speakers at each lecture so it's not just him reading off of the same PowerPoint slides which gets monotonous in other classes. The grading for this class is fairly simple (2 exams, 20 YouTube comments & iClicker points)!
This was a guest-speaker based course, so we didn't hear too much from Ken, but when we did he was very sweet. There is a lot of reading, but not more than I would expect for a literature GE, between 50-150 pages per week plus a film. Class could get repetitive, and could sometimes be overwhelming with the amount to climate change information
Ken is a good professor, but the structure of the class was not great. Every lecture period he had a new speaker speak to the class, which would be very interesting except for the fact that they all did basically the same thing so there was a lot of repetition and it was hard to keep the speakers straight. There is also a lot of homework.
This is the 2nd of Ken's English courses I've taken and I've really enjoyed both. He structured the class very creatively and tried to convey many different perspectives on the climate crisis. You can tell he genuinely just wants you to learn and he does a good job ensuring that especially considering the large class size (like 800 people)
The amount of work to put into this class just being a GE made me upset. He expected you to read BOOKS in one week, attend lectures as it was MANDATORY, and watch films every week. Midterm 1 was extremely difficult, but since the average was low, midterm 2 was easier. Lectures were guest speakers, kind of boring, concept was good.
The concept of the class was very cool-- guest speakers, films, and readings. However you are expected to read 150 pages a week for a GE because "this is an english class" but then complete two bubble test exams for you grade. The questions were insanely specific and difficult. I did all the readings and barely passed the course.
I agree with others that having different guest lecturers every class got boring after awhile, but don't listen to those who said the class was difficult. I honestly barely paid attention and got an A-. The mandatory attendance is annoying and the material is okay, but this is a really good class to balance out some of your more difficult courses.
Attendance taken on iclicker app throughout class. Weekly write-ups of readings and documentaries, very easy. 1 midterm and 1 final both multiple choice. He did not lecture in this class, guest speakers only. Pay close attention and take notes because what speakers mention & important facts from readings and movies will be on tests.
Everyone's saying lectures were mandatory but by the end of the quarter I was so sick of his long, robotic, boring lectures that I stopped going and just used the lecture PDFs for the final and was fine. Also didn't do the readings. Ken's clearly passionate and it ended up being an easy A but it was not a fun road getting there.
All of his lectures are YouTube videos of him, we were required to sit & watch them and use Iclicker every 20 minutes. I think he recorded these videos during covid and decided to not lecture anymore and just play his YouTube videos for lecture. Lectures are super convoluted, he has very monotonous tone. I'm super ADD so I found it hard to focus.
The class allows crashers, so there are over 100 extra people in the room, but you're not allowed to sit on the floor even though attendance is mandatory and lectures are just videos that he prerecorded so attendance seems useless, especially in an overcrowded class.
MY FAV PROF SO FAR! His exams are m.c. and are pretty straight foward if you actually do the readings and pay attention to his lectures; this isn't hard to do bc they are so interesting. It's easy to get an A. Aside from his amazing lectures, he is genuinely so cool. He has a new and facinating take on everything regarding the environment.
He just shows recorded lectures from COVID but forces you to go to lecture because of iclicker. Extremely dry and boring class and insanely hard tests. Terrible GE. Do yourself a favor and don't even think about taking a class with this narcissistic professor
it's easy to fall into sleep during his lectures. But it is quite remarkable that he keeps refresh my global view and teach me philosophies and global crisis and thinking.
A really good professor. Attendance is mandatory but the class is very insightful. I really enjoyed the class and as long as you study lecture material and keep up with the readings you will do fine
This was one of the worst classes I've ever taken. The midterm was extremely specific and had questions that almost no one would know, and that were very different than the example questions he gave. No one got a good grade on the midterm, everyone's scores were so bad he had to curve it by 6 points and that still isn't enough.
The readings are extremely important. The TA strike impacted our quarter quite a bit and our final grades are being determined only by the midterm, attendance, and our weekly youtube comments. Attendance is overly prioritized. He takes it through iclicker and if you miss more than 1/5 i clicker questions then you miss attendance credit for that day
Very chill professor that puts a lot of thought in what he's talking about. The downside was the pre-recorded lectures, it made the class very boring and not interactive. I enjoyed watching the documentaries and the content I learned last quarter. I don't know if I would take a class again with Ken unless he changes the way he runs lectures.
The class I took with Ken completely changed my life and also the way I look at literature (I'm an English major). The lectures were engaging and thought provoking and I was never bored. There were a lot of readings, but they were mostly fun, especially the first few. The tests were pretty hard but if you did the readings you are probably OK.
Regardless of the grade I got (which still I haven't got back bc strike) I wouldnt recommend Hiltner at all. Reading heavy, attendance mandatory, watch movie every week; he just plays a YouTube vid of himself every lecture & expects u to show up for iclicker attendance. Midterm was so hard for no reason... it's a 700+ person GE class man
I wouldn't recommend taking Hiltner. He expects us to sit and watch his boring youtube lectures as his ta takes attendance through iClicker. Although I took this class as P/NP, he claims he "curved" our grade to the best of his ability when HE was the one who didn't want to continue on due to the strike. Our whole grade was based on one midterm...
Lectures were incredibly boring and texts were difficult to read. Weekly documentaries were interesting, though, and professor was nice. He just plays recorded lectures during lecture and posts them so you can always watch them again. Midterm was okay and he gave a really generous curve.
Ken is a good guy. You can tell that he really likes teaching this class. However, I think the grading for his course is a little unreasonable. Your grade is basically determined by two tests with oddly specific questions. He will mention something once in lecture, and it will be on the test. The tests are too hard.
Ken is a good lecturer definitely enjoys teaching this class. You'll definitely get the most out of it if you're actually interested in climate change. If you want an area G with minimal writing, this class is for you. The only catch is the midterm and final are ridiculously specific, and they make up 60% of your grade.
Hiltern's very passionate about the environment. The material was inspiring, but the readings are kind of unevenly distributed (we had to read a whole book after weeks of short stories). Unfortunately, his lecture style and deep, quiet voice are very sleep-inducing. He is very bald. Accessible and enjoyable material but make sure to study for tests
Ken and this course were very informative in regards to the climate crisis. The tests were hard, but doable if you study properly. This course is pretty self paced, as you can get multiple weeks worth of work done whenever you want. Attendance is mandatory, and his lectures are not recorded, aside from the YouTube videos he plays in class that is.
a LOT of reading, tests are hard if you didn't read and watch all the stuff so take notes and pay attention if u want an A. the documentaries that he provides are actually interesting and everyone should watch them because the climate crisis is real.
1 midterm/final: both mc, in person; take notes, Qs very specific. Weekly YT comments (easy af). iclicker mandatory. Content is interesting and inspiring. Encouraged me to change some of my habits + appreciate the environment. Hate to give mid rating bc as a person Ken is great, but the lecture/test content + format so unideal and stressful.
Ken cares a lot about his lectures and helping people learn about the climate crisis. I changed a lot in my own life because of this class. However, while I felt I learned a lot (attended all lectures, read + watched everything) I didn't do so well on the exams. Study for these HARD and WELL. Questions are very specific.
You can tell that Professor Hiltner is very passionate about the course topic and material, and I personally learned a lot of new things from this course surrounding the climate crisis. However, his tests are very specific from the weekly videos and readings you must comment on and do so I highly suggest preparing well as I found them a bit hard.
His lectures were awful as he just played his covid videos and expected us to attend every lecture for our grade. He used the TA strike as an excuse to not teach even thought he once had to hold lecture without the help of his lead TAs. Grades sucked since that midterm basically determined it. Only take him for an easy pass/no pass GE course.
Ken was such an inspirational professor with such genuine lectures! His classes were set up well and beyond informative. All around, left me so aware of the environmental impact I had, and even inspired me to go vegan. This is an incredible course at UCSB, and additionally, it is super easy to pass!
BEST PROFESSOR EVER!! I want to give him a hug he is the best person ever.
Well well well look who we have here. Another person looking for an easy filler class. You have come to the right place. Easy midterm and final, but the most boring lectures ever. Also the weekly comments are just time consuming. The TA's for the class are not very nice. Ken seems like a good guy though.
Prof Hiltner is amazing. The classes aren't very personal because they're so big but it really is an inspirational class. I've taken ENGL 22, 23, and 24 with Hiltner and I learned so much. He's an amazing professor and I took these classes as electives but they really changed my life
Amazing. I took ENGL 22, 23, and 24 with Kenneth and it genuinely changed my perspective about climate change. The classes are all very easy (although they should be taken for knowledge) but lecture attendance is mandatory for attendance and to do well on the tests. He's very knowledgable and I loved all of his classes + did well with minimal work
This class is the most reading-heavy out of 22, 23, & 24; there are about 150 pgs of a book to read per week. Other than that, his lectures were interesting and I really enjoyed this class. Ken is very passionate about his work and it shows. If you have any interest in the climate, take this class! Attendance is mandatory.
though his lectures are extremely boring, his course itself is not too hard. the comments take minimal time and you can get away with a pass after doing virtually no work.
Just watched videos in lecture. As long as you do your work and go to class, you will be fine.
Just take notes on everything said in lecture by him & guest speakers and reread them a few times for the midterm & final and you'll be fine. Lots of reading per week. Weekly Youtube comments. iClicker for lectures. Very sweet guy but wish the lectures were more structured bc some speakers would talk about a whole bunch of nothing
Took this pass/no pass even after I got 97% on the midterm. Didn't really do much second half of the quarter and went in pretty blind to the final and if I had gotten one more question right I would have gotten an A. Pretty easy class, yet it is still pretty interesting. Read >500 page book in two days on audible 3.4x speed. Why are people talking?
This professor changed my life. I grew so much as a person from taking this course and I am so grateful for it. Easily the most important class I have taken here. I would highly recommend 23 as this is where you get all the info on the climate crisis and it really isn't much work. English 24 was reading heavy. TAKE HIS HONORS SECTION its amazing.
There are weekly reading assignments and film assignments where you have to watch a documentary and submit a commentary. His lectures are boring and makes me sleepy because of how monotone his voice is. Most of the materials are organized on his website which is nice.
Ken is a great person and professor, but THIS CLASS WAS HARD. Readings & tests were torture. Thankfully, the films and comments help pad your grade. You must pay attention to do well in the class. I hated Iclicker, but it was the only reason I showed up. There are easier GEs to take, but I did learn a lot in this class.
LOVED taking eng 22 with ken. You can tell he is very passionate about what he's teaching and genuinely cares about the topic. Lecture heavy because you are also graded off attendance and the only things you get points for are attendance, exams and leaving YouTube comments. Easy to understand his material and overall just an awesome prof.
Ken clearly cares about what he is teaching. Attendance is mandatory and lectures can get kind of boring, but work is not too difficult. Homework is watching a documentary and writing a comment or reply once a week and a few readings a week. Midterm and final consisted of 60 multiple choice questions about the documentaries and readings.
All classes are mandatory with IClicker used as attendance. His tests are difficult, having you memorizing the textbook word for word. His lectures can sometimes be interesting but most of the time he's droning on and often times boring. Good luck to future students, you're gonna need it.
Most complex info out of the climate crisis series (engl 22,23,24) but very interesting. 1 middy, 1 final, weekly YT comments. Has good stuff to say but lectures/slides are all over the place. Don't buy course reader-can get good grade w/o it. J write everything he says and memorize it, and you'll do well on exams. Course is overall easy
Very boring lecturer but by no means bad. He believes the material is much more interesting than it actually is and is incredibly repetitive. Each new lecture often fails to bring a single new idea into the course. That being said his lecture style is incredibly helpful to actually take in the course material, boring as it may be.
Lecture can be pretty boring, as he repeats ideas multiple times. Try to pay attention to them. Understand the readings and the main points of the documentaries as well. Mandatory attendance as part of your grade.
Professor Hilter classes are great for completing GE's. The only difficulty was both exams making up 30% of the grade and YouTube comments only 20% each. The exams are quite wordy and tricky, and quite specific. Make sure you listen to lectures, and keep up with the content each week. It is a class you can get behind in quickly.
Recommend for good test takers and ppl who don't have time for heavy homework. I didn't read anything in the second half of the course but got a good grade on the final simply by memorizing all lecture notes. Would've gotten an A if I did the same for the midterm instead of spending time reading. Tests weigh so much but he curves.
Knowledgeable and passionate about the climate. Unfortunately, he has a monotone voice that makes it hard to focus in lecture. I focused on reading lecture notes and did well on the final. Usually curves the exams to help out the grades. Takes iclicker in class so participation is required. I would take him again just bc I know what to study.
This class has a minimal course workload. So, I recommend pairing it with heavier classes. There's no section and your grade comes from 2 midterms, noncumulative, daily attendance, and weekly comments. Lectures are boring but not too bad and he curves the midterms.
Ken has a lot of passion for the environment and literature. The class requires ~30 pages of reading, a film, and a comment a week. 2 ~60 MCQ tests, which can be passed if you have a good understanding of the readings and films. The lectures can feel long at times, but if you listen, the content can be really interesting.
Ken was amazing, definitely would recommend taking his class. One midterm, one final exam, both were 60 multiple choice questions. Exams were fairly easy as long as you paid attention to the lectures. Lecture attendance was taken by two iClicker polls.
I love him. He's an icon. Only 1 midterm and a final and the final isn't even during finals week (don't trust what gold says). Only homework is a lot of "mandatory" readings and 1 documentary per week that you have to write a relatively well-thought-out comment for. Final isn't cumulative and you can just rewatch his lectures in 2x to study.
Lectures are the same as reading, you dont learn new information in class but uses iClicker. Tests are hard! No clear way to study; he asks specific questions: recount what he said in a particular lecture or an obscure statistic. Feels like hes shaming you into to going vegan or to stop flying. Fine GE not much work If you can avoid ken, I would
Ken is an icon. He's super passionate about what he teaches, and honestly made me passionate about his class. English 23 has changed my life. This class is also really straightforward. The only tests are a midterm and final. As long as you do the readings, go to lecture, and watch the films you'll get an A.
Weekly readings and films + comments for each of them. No section but you have to watch his online lecture. midterm on the first half of class and the other is for other half of class. Lots of work is required for this class, Iclicker is how lecture attendance is taken. Not sure why our tests are all on paper but this class is for climate crisis.
I would only recommend this class if ur going to pass/no pass. homework is easy and class is quite interesting + Hiltner is obv passionate about it. However tests are horribly unfair. A midterm & final are 60% of the grade and he asks super specific obscure questions. Class itself is good but bc of the tests I can't recommend which is sad :(
This class was a lot of reading with some randomly specific facts that you were required to know on tests, which was tricky. But hey, its Hiltner, you gotta love the guy.
made us watch a video of him talking every single lecture rather than him talking irl. If i wanted to watch his videos i would rather watch them at home. forced us to attend too with his iclickers. exams were based on what his comments were after this boring lecture videos, which was even worse.also made us watch biased documentaries.
Do not take this class if you are looking for an easy GE. His exams are ridiculously hard and the only possible way you can hope to do well is if you take extensive notes on all of the readings, lectures, and films. He says that he wants you to understand the main objective of his assignments, but tests you on random statistics and small details.
Love you Hiltner
Exams are based on random facts from random lectures and readings, but as long as you actually do the assignments you can phone it in and get a passing grade, which if you are taking his English classes for GE like me, is all you really need. I like him otherwise, good lecturer and seems like a nice guy.
Lecture are long and boring and extra lectures online. You better take notes during those lectures, since he will randomly pick statistical information from those lectures for the exam. There is one reading and a documentary discussion. The writing is acceptable, but you need to remember every important point in reading and film to get high score.
Lectures were extremely boring and difficult to pay attention to (and also mandatory). There were also additional lecture videos we would have to watch outside of class times. Exams are extremely specific which means you have to really pay attention to all the readings, videos, and lectures. Overall just too much work for a GE and not worth it.
Do not take this for a GE if you are looking for a low-effort class. His lectures were incredibly boring and halfway through all he would do was read other students comments on discussion posts. There are films and readings every week that you have to memorize if you want to pass the class. Most of his class material is completely subjective.
Ken was a cool person but a terrible professor. He was not engaging, lecture was monotonous and he just read off students' comments without telling us anything new. Long weekly readings/films for homework. The midterm and final asked obscure, nitpicky questions and were weighed to be the majority of our grade which made a lot of students suffer.
Only take this class if you have the time and energy to pay attention to films, lectures, and have a lot of free time to do his boring readings. If you are taking classes that are really time consuming don't take this class unless you are pass no passing it.
this class isn't super difficult, but a lot of time needs to be devoted to the course though. both the midterm and final are heavily based on the material learned in lecture (weekly videos, weekly documentaries, readings, and lectures). his lectures are generally flat, but if you dedicate time to the course you'll do well.
The class is definitely unique and one of a kind. The subject matter is interesting for most people at UCSB but the class is massive which makes the grading weird. It's based off his YouTube which we comment on and tests. Very fair but honestly the tests had some extremely specific questions that were opinion based which low key made the class hard
Good class to take if you complete the weekly films (1-2hrs) and readings (100-150pg). Taking notes during lecture is also important. Most of the people complain that it is difficult, but this is because they didn't do the work. Attendance is very important for grade and taken with iClicker. Ken is very nice and understading
He gave too much reading. He gave a very difficult exam. I nearly failed this class.
There are about 150 pages of reading and a 2-hour film every week, so if you don't want to put in the work, do not take the class. Ken did not handle the TA strike well and canceled the final leaving many students with failing grades due to poor performance on the midterm. He did little to help students do well in his course and had no sympathy.
this class had the potential to be interesting but the tests were super tedious and difficult for no reason. over 150 pages of reading per week which was usually not interesting, overall a difficult class to manage if you are taking other hard classes. ken doesn't really do much in this class though its all speakers and readings.
If you are one of the people who knows they are great at remembering things and multiple choice tests, this is a phenomenal GE. Not the most interesting class, but tests are always curved and if you're not lazy and actually do the work they should be pretty easy. People complaining here must be either mid test takers or simply not up to par.
This was almost entirely memorization! The lectures were so boring. There are so many extra materials and it takes hours to go over it, but the two exams rely on insanely specific details. He preaches accessibility yet attendance is 20% of the class with no permitted absences, and many documentaries had sensitive topics with no warning.
Ken was amazing in English 22. English 23 was a bit less engaging for me because of the nature of the material. I also think parts of the lectures were redundant and unnecessary. Classes felt long at times, but I did enjoy the message behind his lectures and think he's a really sweet person.
Although this class has 140 pages of reading every week and a film assigned every week, it is totally doable if you keep up. The guest lectures might be a bit boring, take notes it helps. During the TA strike he actually included many curves, some people's grades were raised a whole letter grade.
Prepare for a heavy workload - lots of readings, films, and memorization required. But if you put in the effort, unstuckstudy AI and other study tools can really help you succeed on the tough exams.
This class had several readings a week and 1 film a week that were accompanied with a "comment" for each that are both worth 2 points. Short quizzes are given at the end of each lecture from previous readings/films. You can prob get by without reading all the texts given, just read through the lecture pdfs and watch some films and u should be good
Class is very lecture heavy but he makes it interesting because you can tell he is very passionate about what he teaches. We have quizzes every class (instead of a midterm or final) and the questions are VERY specific to the texts/films we are assigned for homework but aren't impossible if you do your work outside of class.
So much reading every week. Also, quizzes are on the most obscure moments in lectures. If you aren't writing down every single word out of his mouth you cannot get 100% on daily quizzes.
Class is great if you're an environmental science major or LOVE the environment, but boring for anyone else. Overall it is pretty easy, just a reading, film assignment, and 2 short quizzes every week. Lectures and films are long and often boring. Quizzes have questions designed to trick you. Class should be renamed to something abt the environment
It's an easy class, but the quizzes are a pain. If you miss one question, you lose one percent of your grade, and attendance is mandatory. Ken is a funny guy, and he is very passionate about the content.
Professor Hiltner teaches ENGL 22 super well and is very passionate about the subject material however the lectures are extremely boring if your not personally interested in the subject material. Also the daily quizzes are weighted pretty highly so if you miss too many questions on them then there's no chance at getting an A in the class.
Such a sweet guy you just have to read and pay attention a LOT
Ken is clearly passionate about the topic and is very knowledgeable. The content builds off of itself throughout the quarter. The course has daily quizzes instead of a final and a midterm. Course is based on one film and readings per week, with a discussion post for each. Lectures are easy to follow along with, as he posts the PDFs ahead of time.
Great if you want an easy GE & work was minimal. A bulk of your grade in the class is dependent on daily quizzes on readings and films, and the only issue I had was that every question you get wrong on a quiz is -1% off your total class grade. I did all the readings and watched all the films yet still got a handful of quiz questions wrong.
Had a very interesting format to class with daily quizzes, homework, and attendance making up the whole grade. 1 reading/film assignment per week, manageable homework load, lectures could feel a bit dragged out but overall a solid professor
The lectures were VERY boring if you are not interested in the environment. There were no midterms or finals, and only graded on weekly homework and short online daily quizzes. Only attended half of the lectures and still finished with an A-. A super easy class where I barely put any work into it.
His lectures felt long and boring but if you pay attention you will do good on quizzes. We had a film assignment and a reading assignment due on Sunday each week. They are short discussion posts and replies to other students. Attendance quiz every day and a reading quiz or film quiz each lecture. Overall easy but boring.
Bro has a superiority complex and talks down to everyone for the entire lecture and yells at people for raising their hands in class. Every lecture has a mandatory attendance quiz on canvas and his presentations are just him reading discussion comments that students make on the assignments. Also bro looks at himself in the camera the whole time
Easy class -- no final or midterm just weekly quizzes. While the quizzes are light, they're weighted pretty heavily; if you make one mistake you lose a percent. However, you can easily do well on them as long as you listen during lecture, skim the readings, and just watch the films. Overall chill class with easy assignments and quizzes.
Would not recommend due to his "new" formatting on ENG22, the quizzes were difficult and did not seem to reflect actual class material. Even listening in lecture, watching all the movies/videos, and doing all the readings is not enough to do well in this class. He puts random questions and there's no opportunity to show what you actually know.
New format is a content quiz (either film or reading) every single lecture, each worth like 3% of your grade and questions can be really hard. Weekly film and reading responses are pretty bare bones but take a solid amount of time and feel repetitive. Actual course content itself is really interesting, though, if you engage with it.
No exams which was a blessing. Graded on weekly 2-3 question pop quizzes and a very lengthy comment on a film and reading. Sometimes felt overwhelming. Lectures were EXTREMELY dense and felt dragged on. All readings free on Canvas. But, he's very passionate about the environment and I learned quite a bit.
Easy class for units. No midterm or final but there are quizzes every lecture (2-3 questions, 1 min/question) that are on the videos and readings he assigns. 1 reading and 1 video assignment due every Sunday. Take notes on videos and reading! Not much work needed to put into this class. Learned a lot about the climate, took some things with me.
Ken isn't the best lecturer so focus your attention on paying attention to the films. Reading wise, you don't really have to do them just like have AI summarize it and your chilling. Def attend lectures bc the attendance quizzes will boost ur grade. Idk this class was easy I guess just really boring
This class is insanely boring. I have never been in a more dull lecture in my life. He literally just likes to hear himself talk and LECTURES have mandatory attendance. He also purposely makes the quizzes hard so even if you did all the work it's still really easy to miss a question. Also, the class is insanely depressing so keep that in mind too.
this was a pretty easy class if u just want to get a GE out of the way. lectures are mandatory and you get a homework quiz at the end of each one, but if u do the reading/watch the videos you should generally be okay. tbh tho lectures were not entertaining and most of what i learned came from the weekly video assignments.
Attendance is mandatory but the lectures are boring. There is a quiz at the end of every lecture that is based on the weekly reading/film so you have to take extensive notes on each or you'll fail the quizzes. No midterm or final but the weekly quizzes make up around 40% of your grade so you have to do well on them to get a good grade in the class.
this is my second class with ken. very easy classes, no exams, just weekly readings and comments that don't have word limit. quizzes aren't hard, just look up the questions if u really need to. prob one of my fav profs bc the course structure is so easy. def recommend for an easy pass GE
one reading discussion post and one film discussion post each week. lecture is mandatory bc two quizzes each time: one for attendance and one on the reading/film you did last week. questions are SO SPECIFIC, like random details you never would remember. no final so those are all that make up your grade. He's very passionate but lectures are so dry.
Not a ton to complain about
Weekly discussion posts on film and readings, not too much time to do. Daily attendance and quizzes based on previous week's materials. No final or midterm. Pretty standard and clear course structure. No EC offered but not hard to pass. Quizzes 2-3 questions, a minute per. Grasp general concepts and important statistics; gained a lot and recommend!
An interesting class and he is very passionate about it. Lectures are just about the readings and comments but the class is extremely easy. Wish he dove deeper though instead of just if reviewing student comments.
Lectures are incredibly boring. Attendance/Lecture/Film quizzes focus too much on minute details that are easy to miss, not to mention how each missed question results in a 1% drop in your overall grade. Not the worst class in the world, but there are most certainly better ways to structure a course than the way Professor Hiltner does.
I would ride that bike.
ken was okay. his lectures were not informative AT ALL. he literally talked about other peoples homework responses every lecture for the entire time. we had daily quizzes on our homework the week before but they were so specific that even if you did the work u might still get them wrong. homework was a documentary and article a week with a response
Ken was a great professor, super passionate about what he teaches. His lectures weren't the most engaging, but in all honesty you don't need them to pass. I didn't take any notes or really pay attention and got an easy A. There's also no midterm or final! Definitely recommend!
I got a 96% in the class, but sometimes the quiz questions were unfair. Even if you watch the movies/do the readings, there is a chance you will get a trick one and lose 1% of your grade. It's the easiest class I've taken here, but I didn't feel like I got anything from it.
I enjoyed this class for a GE. Professor Hiltner is super knowledgable but lectures can be a bit dense sometimes. I really enjoyed the films assigned. He integrates student opinions as well. Every week a discussion post/reply was due and some film and reading.
I love his gentle energy! It is so refreshing. I love his passion for the environment and poetic attitude. Attendance is mandatory but his lectures are really soothing and sweet.
Graded on weekly reading and film quizzes with really niche questions that not many people know how to answer. His lectures are very monotone and unengaging.
As an English major, do NOT take Ken's classes. His grading is unfair, has zero regard for how his students do in the class and should not be considered an English prof- his classes nor teaching fall in the category. Would strongly discourage anyone regardless of major from taking his courses. Seems to take pride in the low success rate.
This class is a sad excuse of a college class. I have learned absolutely nothing. The quizzes ask meaningless questions about the films. Even if you watch and take comprehensive notes, you may still get bad grades on the quizzes because of the abstract questions he asks. Prof is incredibly biased and a way for him to further his political views
As an English major, avoid this class at all costs. Honestly, I have taken hard classes in the English department because I cared about the learned and respect the harder feedback but this class is just pointless. Lecture is super boring, you are graded on random 3 question 3 min quizzes about content from the week before, it is just unfair.
Your entire grade is just based on 5 quiz questions a week which became very annoying. Some of the topics covered were interesting. Very independent class, horribly boring lectures. Felt like I didn't gain much, but was not that challenging once I got the hang of his quiz system. DO NOT MISS A CLASS - your grade will tank.
Quizzes that are the majority of your grade are taken everyday at the end of lecture. Some are 'What did Ken say about...' Because there are so many quizzes and writing assignments canvas is very overwhelming. Though they are canvas quizzes grades are not released for 1-2 weeks.
the goat. this class almost made me vegan
It's more about the class than the professor but I hated that our only grades were daily quizzes and weekly discussion posts. The quizzes are 2 or 3 points so if you get even one wrong (some were niche questions about the lecture from a week ago) you get a 50%. Hard to keep an A unless you read and watch every single assigned thing.
The class is easy if you focus up and take it seriously. Lectures are insanely boring - and usually do not impact your grade in the class, since the daily quizzes are all about the readings and films. Easy class, but pretty dull.
Lectures span the entirety of the class time, just him presenting slides with lots of writing. Two quizzes per class, an attendance (0.5 pts) and a content quiz (2-3 pts). Very little time to complete quizzes. Each point is a point of your grade, if you get a 0/3 that's 3 points off your total grade. Includes weekly assignments (4 pts) due Sunday,
Super boring lectures that you are required to go to, have to do film or reading quizzes after every lecture which basically determines your grade. Quizzes aren't too hard if you do the reading/film and discussion posts are alright, TAs are chill too. Class isn't hard and doesn't take that much time out of your week, films are interesting too
Super boring lectures, his voice is monotone. Daily quizzes, 2-3 questions, only a couple of minutes to do, but each question is worth a percent of yr grade. TA's are eh. Unless you do all the reading/movies and memorize the material for the quizzes, it can be hard to keep your grade up. Other assignments are easy, lots of reading/watching movies.
Ken is a good prof but lectures are boring. class is easy but almost impossible to get an A. There are daily film/reading quizzes (each 2-3 qs/mins). You could complete all the work, pay attention and still miss most qs. Qs are so specific/random, not reflective of the content as a whole, rather a specific detail that you prob won't remember.
Hiltner is nice professor, but this class was EXTREMELY boring. There's no midterm or final, but there are weekly quizzes in lecture that seem nearly impossible to do well on since we're asked about the tiniest details. Attendance was mandatory which I found really annoying because I was still forced to attend class when I wasn't feeling well.
Lectures are so awful. Quizzes determine half your grade; the rest is homework and attendance. The homework takes hours, and you have to know EVERYTHING to guarantee a 100. Quiz questions come from a large bank: good RNG = easier questions = better grade. Many questions are BS, can't even argue with the TAs/Prof, they won't give you the point.
This is a good class to take for GE credit. Lectures are dry but the workload is very chill. Reading and lecture quizzes basically determine your grade so make sure to do good on those.
I thought the lectures were interesting and they definitely made understanding the reading easier. Pretty much the entire grade is based on short multiple choice quizzes that happen every lecture, and because they often focus on really specific details from the readings or films, they can tank your grade quickly. But no final!
Lecture content is interesting but drags on, class is on "ecocriticism", not "environmental literature". Readings and documentaries were insightful, but the real problem is the in-class quizzes. There is a quiz everyday and every question wrong = -1% on your FINAL grade. Questions are extremely specific, so reread before every class.
Prof is passionate but his voice is so monotone it puts you to sleep. I thought we would learn about the environment, however we spent like 2 weeks reading the bible dissecting its teaching on the environment?Boring lectures with bad readings. 2 assignments per week with short discussion posts. The film assignments were fun, the reading not at all.
If you pay attention he's really passionate about what he's teaching. The quizzes are SUPER easy and there really isn't that much outside work. Definitely look into this one!
Great and easy class, very easy GE and easy A. All you need to do is pay attention and do the readings and watch the films. There was no midterms or finals, grade just depended on lecture quizzes every lecture which were not confusing. Personally, I think you need to enjoy the topic, but you also don't need to, to do well in this class.
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