Nice Guy. Kind of dry at times, but I have talked with people who have taken him since, and they have said he is more lively now.

He is an awesome teacher. Always helpful in and out of class. He outlines what is expect from you. You always learn such interesting information in class. There will be a lot of reading, but it is necessary for history. I would consider taking him again.

He's very thorough with what he teaches and uses his time wisely, starting and ending at exactly the right time class starts and ends. With history as one of my weak subjects I've actually enjoyed the class.

Easy class if you write notes and pay attention. It can be a little difficult to pay attention sometimes, but for the most part it's not too bad. I rarely read anything and made an A on the final by just studying my notes, but I did go almost every day.

I have taken numerous course with him. He is very knowledgeable and can be passionate about the material but has difficulty bringing the material "to life" for some students. All courses will include a class presentation, so be ready to teach y

Not the most inspiring speaker, but still very good. Knows his material and can mix in the occasional joke. You will learn a lot and I don't think anyone would ever regret taking his class. Very thoughtful and easy to talk to outside of class.

An excellent professor! He explains things well and has a good sense of humor. Nice person. Make sure you are on time to his class--he starts the second class is supposed to start.

Awesome teacher. Well not really teacher but lecturer. Explains things well enough that you'll easily be able to dish it out on a test.

Dr. K is great when he sticks to his topic. Trying to pander to a crowd of semi-literate would-be-Guevaras makes him tedious. He needs to become a professional and keep his almost thought out political views to himself. He is well travelled and well read. He's a great lecturer and PowerPoint master.

I was concerned because I had heard Dr. K was unreasonably difficult as a professor. Not true at all! He was an awesome lecturer, created a very enjoyable classroom environment, and motivated me to read and learn the material. If you want to really learn something about the topic, then sign up!

If you attend class, take notes and do his assigned busy work, you'll do well in his class. He loves particpation on BB and in class. A lot of info is thrown at you, but he really knows what he's talking about. Tests reflect how well you take your notes and pay attention to what he says.

Best Professor at UNF

Fun class. Hard class but very fun. Dr. Kaplan is a thoughtful and engaging scholar. Connects with students well despite teaching subject matter that is not always easy to connect with.

He is tech-savvy and an improving lecturer.

Great Professor Awesome lectures on BB, I didn’t even use the textbook that’s how good of lectures he provides. Go to class take good notes and you will get an A. His exams have 10 terms and you write about 5 include who, what, where, when, and 3 essay question you write about 1. 5 Papers outside class readings are a piece of cake. Take him.

He is excited about history and tries to involve students to make the subject come alive. You must read the book and study hard to do remotely well on his tests.

Awesome lecturer and knows almost everything about Ancient history. Requires a lot of work and studying for his midterm and final. Requires 1 five page paper, 2 tests, 1 ten minute presentation and three 2 page papers for the semester. take this Course if you like history, you will learn ridiculous amounts of knowledge

Dr. Kaplan is a good teacher. In order to do well in his classes, one must take notes, present well in front of class, and read all the assignments!

He is pretty straightforward. Tests come from notes, and a little bit is from reading. Go to class! He can be pretty funny and won't put you to sleep...sometimes! Testing is fair, essays are pretty easy. Go to class and take notes and this won't be hard for ya! Don't buy the books for the essays. Just google summaries of the books.

HARD CLASS but interesting.. DO NOT TAKE IT EARLY MORNING... Good professor though!

I liked this class. At first I thought I was going to hate it, but it is not as bad as I thought it was going to be. He makes history interesting. His grading breakdown is good - 3 exams, 3 essays and section work.

He's good eye candy. Plus he breaks everything down to where you can understand. Buy a tape recorder because he goes fast.

I honestly don't understand why Dr. Kaplan has such a poor rating; he is a great lecture teacher who knows his material and seems passionate about what he speaks about. History can be boring for some but he tries to make it interesting; does not stress memorizing dates but rather why things are important/significance. Pray you get a good section.

I have mixed feelings about Dr. K. He is passionate about his work, however, I'd describe him as a sophist. His classes are very fast paced so if you are use to having a professor that lectures to a pace where you can jot down a lot of notes, you might want to pass on taking him.

Professor is very enthusiastic about his subject. Lectures are very fast paced so note taking can be a little difficult. Breakout sections were everything.

He knows what he is talking about, but had a few boring lectures.He uses blackboard, google earth, and powerpoint a whole lot. Plus, he puts all his powerpoints and section study guides on blackboard.He is not a hard grader, attendance is mandatory (sort of).2 exams, one group presentation. Really interested in students!Not a hard class - take him!

He's very difficult to follow at times. I am a note taker, but he only speaks the notes, powerpoints are all pictures. I like to have visual words and notes. Not my style of teacher. God for those with audible memory, or some kind of recording device. Class attendance not required. Breakout teacher was good.

Ancient Near East was a great class, very interesting. Most intelligent professor I know. Very Very helpful outside of class!

The professor seemed to have passion for his subject but not his students. He did not always read his e-mails and seemed to enjoy piling work on us even during exam weeks. Unless you really have an obsessive interest in Ancient Greece, don't take this class. I won't even order Greek salads anymore! Hated it. Run, run, run.

Quirky humor and enthusiastic about the material. Tends to jump a few years or so from topics but still relevant. Exams are challanging but once you have the format down and know what to expect it's a matter of time and effort. I genuinely looked foward to each lecture.

He talks rather quickly and i had a hard time understanding what was important material to write down, kind of mono tone. His tests are impossible at first but talk to your breakout teacher and they should be able to help. Be prepared to spend hours studying,this class takes alot of memorization. do not take this class with an english lotsofwriting

Interesting class, mostly lectures, a few small papers and an option to do a research paper instead of Final Exam.

He does tend to overuse Google Earth but other than that, he is a fun professor who doesnt just lecture for an hour and fifteen minutes. Three small papers are a mix of creative historical writing and if you do well enough on the Midterm, you can do a small research paper instead of the Final. Overall a great teacher.

Kaplan conveys the material well, lectures are fun, but there aren't many ways to take notes because he uses pwrpt pics and google earth exclusively. The tests cover a lot of material but he tells you what to focus on. The google earth project sucked because I didn't feel like I was learning as much from students as what I could from his lectures.

I had Kaplan for Core 1. It is very essay driven. It can be overwhelming but if you take good notes in class, read the book, and attend the breakout (mandatory), you will do fine. I like Kaplan's lectures and I think his use of google earth is helpful in giving the topics perspective. He is very passionate about history and knowledgable.

Overall very good. He really knows his stuff and his exams are very fair. Uses technology extremely well in his teaching. I would definitely take him again

lecture are ok and are helpful at times. READ the text book and essay exams are easy! It really depends on your core instructor. Connolly was GREAT! Dropped an essay and mad a website for all the terms. Kaplan wants you to know 100 terms the other Professor narrows it down to 40. 2 Exams one final (not accumulative):5 vocab definitions and 1 essay

He knows his stuff. Just make sure you go to class so you can soak everything in. You don't even have to take extensive notes, just LISTEN! and get Connolly as your TA, you won't regret it. She's very lenient. Exams were EASY if you just read chapter summaries and memorize a few important dates. I got an A.

Very smart man, he knows his stuff. Make sure you attend lecture and soak everything in and get Connolly as your TA. She's very lenient and offers extra credit.I recieved an A.

I like Kaplan, for the most part. He's an incredibly smart man. I mean, this was a seminar so obviouly there is a lot of work invovled, but he is pretty great. I've taken multiple classes from him now, always learn a lot. If you like history, you'll like him.

He was VERY helpful, as long as you go to lecture and take your own notes you're golden. His class has helped me learn how to listen to a lecture and rephrase the notes. He's great. Use notecards, you won't regret it. I recommend him.

He definitely knows his material and if you're not into history, then you'll probably find this class boring. Attendance is not mandatory in the class (but it is for the breakout sessions), but I recommend going to class. I like how he provides power-points without notes. He's smart not to rely on them. He is a great professor!

It was an amazing alternative to EUH and as long as you go to Friday sections it's easy to pass, he is a super nice guy

Kaplan is a very good professor and really knows his stuff. If you are interested in history then be sure to take one of his classes, you will learn a lot. If you pay attention in class, do the readings, and are willing to do research then you should do well in the class.

Good Professor. Extremely Knowledgeable. Goes the entire lecture without needing notes or skipping a beat. He's been to most of the places he lectures about in Ancient Greece. Didn't care for the Google Earth aspect that much, but I guess it helps some people. I'd take him for another history course.

the class is extremely boring!

Good Prof. A lot of reading and writing, but hey, you shouldn't be a History Major or Minor if you don't want to do that. Google Earth project was an easy A! I like that he threw something else in there besides always writing papers. It made you really examine and look at the areas that you picked.

Such a tough class. The main problem I have is I never got anything back. You submit everything online he grades it online you get the grade you have and there's no explanation as to why you got the grade that you did. Taking 3 other classes I don't have time to go to his office to find out.

Not a bad guy, class is pretty hard, even for a history major. But you will get a lot out of it

Very interested in what he teaches

Very passionate individual and very nice man. I personally did not care for his lecture style, but he knows his stuff!

Very passionate. Very knowledgeable. I recommend him.

Kaplan rocks. Class was boring for me until I started really following along with the readings. This guy knows a ton about his subject, and if you're attending college for more than just the degree than this class is one you should take. Read the textbook!!!

Interesting class, Dr. Kaplan knows his stuff and after taking his class if you pay attention you will learn things. Some of the assignments I found a little hard because they were unclear. 1-Google Map, 2-Blogs, 1-Paper, Midterm, Final. Tests are in 4 parts: location, terms definition, passage identification, and essay. Prepare to work hard.

Second class with Dr. Kaplan, enjoy his lectures felt this class had too much in it. Long period and vast area. Using BB made it easier for the exams because he would allow student to post terms which he would choose for the exam, he also gave a map to study for the exam. Made it easier for the exam, participation is important in the class.

2 small papers & 1longer one, a map project, 2 tests & 1 group presentation. Overall, as long as you take notes & read the book, you can get at least a B+. He tells you EXACTLY what he expects for the tests and gives you extra credit opportunity. He's a dry lecturer sometimes so don't take this class during the midday slump time like I did (3-4:15)

Dr. Kaplan is brilliant. Lectures are full of discussion. Lectures are picture powerpoint so you have to take good notes. He lets you know EXACTLY what is expected from him. 2 short 500 word papers, one 5 page paper, online map project, participation, midterm & final. Extremely helpful and he knows his material!! Took him twice this semester.

I LOVED Dr. Kaplan's Ancient Rome class. I learned so much from him. To pass his classes and his exams you HAVE to do the readings. The few projects and papers in his class were pretty easy and straightforward, and he's a very fair grader. If you just read what he assigns, you'll pass his exam. Also? He's pretty handsome.

Dr. Kaplan thinks he's incredibly funny, which in turn makes him very endearing. He's very knowledgable, but more importantly unafraid to admit to not knowing a subject and asking for some time to research it so he can get back to you with correct information. My grade was because I missed the final and slacked a lot, he's truly excellent.

He is really a great professor. Took two classes with him this semester, both were structured the same way. Midterm and final exam, two short essays, monument assignment and a primary source analysis paper. Tough grader but gives good feedback. Also uses every second of class time. Dont skip lectures though, powerpoint are not posted online

Kaplan is good at lecturing. He gives a midterm and a non-cumulative final exam. The Exams are normally broken up into four parts ( term identification, passage analysis, an essay, and a section that is based either on finding places on a map or a project done in class). He gives a project and paper in his courses as well.

How the class was organized in Spring '21 allowed for you to easily pass the weekly quizzes if you simply watched the lecture and take notes while you do. For the weekly discussions, I'd recommend reading ONE of the options and verse yourself in that. Not awful; is boring.

The class requires a lot of work and has essays back to back at times. The professor bashes Christianity at times and has very strong opinions which are made very clear. Books for the class are cheap which is good but I would not take this class again . Many dropped with good reason.

Kaplan is clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about his subject; that is an attribute I highly appreciate in professors. I would just caution those taking his class to be organized and self-motivating. He does not assign a lot of graded assignments, so each count! He assigns a lot of reading--a lot--and greatly appreciates insight in class.

I took Ancient Egypt with Professor Kaplan. I definitely struggled at times but if you do the readings and attend lectures you gain a lot from the class. I learned a lot and at the end of the semester, I felt like I learned a lot about the history of Ancient Egypt.

Be prepared to read! If you're not a student that can keep up with heavy reading (like me) his classes probably arent for you. However he is incredibly helpful outside of class, and he's is INSANELY knowledgeable on his topics. I was afraid of him at first, for no reason, but hes a great prof. Just be prepared to study. lots of content, be prepared

He's nice but expect to be called on every class and read a lot of assignments every week. He expects you to read 100 pages before every class when assigned the book which isn't possible. He assigns a Lot of work and never grades them questioning whether you're doing good or bad and will just have to wait until the semester is over.

If you are taking Ancient Greece, know these things to pass. He gives you a lump-sum participation grade for the Perusall readings and raising your hand in class. Do both. The Midterm is just a test on the starred terms on canvas for every lecture. He gives 2 short writing assignments. He assigns 1 big paper. Mid-term and Final. Thats all.

took one of my history seminars with Kaplan, greatly enjoyed it. his lectures were amazing and he's a tough grader but has great feedback

Lectures were amazing, but you NEED to pay attention and take notes, if you don't, you are cooked. He goes fast and covers a lot every class. There are few actual graded assignments and the final paper and exam together make up 45% of your grade. He gives extra credit opportunities of up to 6 points extra on mid term and final exams, TAKE ADVANTAGE

If a lot of his other ratings scare you, I recommend taking his class online. Yes you still have a lot of reading and writing to do, but the lectures are easier to take notes on. Some assignments are actually very engaging and creative. Word counts for essays ranged from 500-800, and its very easy to go over that with the information provided.