Virginia F. Saunders

i loved this class. it was easy to understand the way that it was taught. the tests made sure that you both read the book and showed up for lectures.

I'm mystified by the negative reviews of Dr. Saunders. Her lectures are clear and *very* understandable. She doesn't inflate her language to confuse students who might not have a huge background in psychology yet. Her tests are challenging but fair and when most of the students in the class got confused over a piece of one test she restructured her grading so that it didn't crucify us all academically. Her writing is perfectly legible and she moves at a pace that is easy to keep up ones notes with. Her explanations of the material are clear, concise, applicable, and thorough. There are three exams, short essay format, and two diagram tests, simple labeling. The grading is very fair, even generous at times. I would happily take another class from this professor.

This class put me to sleep..zzzzzz

She has 3 tests, which are all essays. The worst thing about it is you have to remember all these articles, and write everything down in 50 minutes. She gives extra time in the beginning of class, but for those who have a class b4 her...you are outta luck.

The TA's are the ones that grade your essay. Some are nice, others are ?*#! She does grade some, but she is brutal.

She is a sloppy writer & writes all over the board! So if you take this class BRING a tape recorder!...you might be able to record her "smacking" on her gum...gross!

Dr. Saunders is a poor excuse for a teacher. I've noticed that people who have gotten good grades in her class reviewed and gave her a good grade as well. However, I beg to differ. First of all, her handwriting is borderlining illegibility and her gun chewing is extremely unprofessional. I agree that this class had the potential to be great, but EVEN if she had a "teaching style", it would be atrocious! Her "teaching style" is repeating the information (practically verbatim) from the articles she's assigned and occasionally throwing in an example NOT to help clarify so much as to be another bit of information required to be memorized and echoed in the essay portion of the test. I am not the only person who was frustrated with her lack of explanation and claification to what exactly she wanted us to know. The real learning took place the review session before the test date from the TAs, who basically taught us the important information from the articles. Mind you, the review session was for one hour; in one hour, we had to learn (and subsequently, memorize) the information she wanted us to know (which we had no clue as to what exactly it was before the review session) and spit it out back to her in essay form. Not only was she unclear about her expectations, but her grading policy was not on the syllabus (which at SFSU, it is required!) and when she happened to actually grade a test, she gave NO feedback, even after a request to do so. You would actually be fairly better off if you just bought the text assigned for the class and read it on your own. Dr. Saunders couldn't possibly add anything to the learning experience that a slightly motivated person could not do on their own. Truly and deeply disappointing...

No, Saunders doesn't teach at a PhD level; she's just doesn't give away grades. You have to be organized, plan well for the tests, attend class, write clearly, and think quick on your feet. She was always at her office hours when I needed her, so that wasn't a problem for me at all. This is probably one of the hardest undergrad psych classes. If you're not ready, you won't do well. If you are, you'll do fine.

It is my opinion that Dr. Saunders does not teach, she simply distributes assignments and expects you to figure them out. I can challenge myself at home, I don't need to pay to teach myself. She does not lecture at all. Fifteen-thirty minute workshops are lead by TAs that have no teaching ability. I don't recommend taking this class. Stay home and learn the material and then take test and "test out" of the course.

Dr. Saunders is a very intelligent woman who is set in her ways. Her lectures were terrible (i.e. chewing gum, not speaking loud, terrible handwriting). She relies heavily on her assistants but does make time to talk to us the students. When writing notes on the board they were always scattered all around so we had to pay attention every second or we would be lost. Saunders often went off on tangents about articles that we the students did not have. She expected us to know every piece of knowledge that she taught which was ridiculous! During lectures she seemed to be in her own world talking to HER peers. Her t.a.s seemed to treat her like a God which she obviously is not! She also changed the form of the complicated test two times which was absolutely ridiculous. Once we got use to a form, she would change it on us. All in all, she seems like a very sweet and intelligent lady but needs to speak more to the students on their level and not on a p.h.d.s level.....

I really liked this teacher. I thought she was extremely challenging and I really appreciated that. The class readings are very interesting and bring in biological, clinical as well as social implications in psychological development. I learned alot from her. Her TA's are incredibly helpful as well. Don't be intimidated by the hype about her tests, it can be done and alot can be learned from them!!

You will not be taught anything is this class. It is self paced and you will receive little in class assistance. The workshops are given by TAs that have not been trained to "teach" in a classroom setting. At the end of the workshop we would look at each other with disgusted expressions. Even though I received a good grade, I have myself to thank. Teaching just doesn't exist in this class. ...and they get paid for this??????

This class had great potential to be very interesting, but she totally ruined it. A photographic memory would be very usefull when taking this class, since in order to pass the tests, it is necessary to memorize the large amounts of reading that is required. I don't mind reading for a class, and the articles were pretty interesting (which is what saved her from getting an F), but the tests were very unreasonable. In doing the tests (which were all essay) we had to remember not only the facts presented (almost word for word) but who said them in which articles, who wrote the articles, the title of the articles, which other articles were related and why, the dates of the lectures that related, and some other stuff. It was very hard to keep track of who said what and when since there was so much stuff to go over. The TAs were pretty helpful (and actually taught better than she did), but unfortunatly the study groups they led, which were held outside of class, usually occured when I had other classes to attend. The class itself had potential, but she wasn't able to do it justice. I am normally a very good student, recieving mostly As and occasional Bs. In this class, I received my very first D EVER, and it brought my G.P.A down. I do not recommend taking this course.

Contrary to what some of these reviews say, I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Saunders' class. She's tough and the structure of her course is different from what most of us are used to, but isn't that the point of higher education, to be challenged and be exposed to a variety of teaching styles? I loved the reader, was really into her lectures, and learned a lot in the class. It is true that she's hard to reach and not good about returning calls, but the TAs she had were down-to-earth and a big help. Dr. Saunders, if you ever read these reviews, my only suggestion to you would be to try and find more time for your non-physio students, but other than that, I enjoyed the class.

Although I received a C+ in her class, I really enjoyed her lectures and left the class feeling that I learned a lot about psychology. I feel that many of the students that are bashing her because they didn't like her style of teaching should have done the intelligent thing to do and dropped the class at the beginning of the semester.....she and her TAs are VERY clear about what will be expected and the level of difficulty involved in the exams. This is not an easy A class, but you cover a lot of area in the field of psychology and the TAs I had were very good. If you're up for a challenge, check this class out.

Dr. Saunders is definitely not the typical prof. here in the psych. department, many of which teach cake-walk, easy-A classes where you leave with a good grade, but not knowing a thing. Instead, she teaches a class that's reflective of the junior/senior level of instruction you should be at when taking the class. She is truly a "college professor" and teaches her courses accordingly. It is a challenging course and she expects a lot, but whatever the grade you receive, you walk away having learned so much about psychology! Thank goodness for Scott and Amanda, her TAs the semester I took the course. They were outstanding. I don't think they're TAing again this semester, but I've heard her TAs are always of high quality. You have to work hard in then one, but it's worth taking.

Dr. Saunders teaching style is very interesting...she is truly professional in a way that many teachers are not anymore... In teaching, she shows her vast knowledge of the topic (specializing in the biological aspects of psychology, specifically psycho-neuro-immunology). Her knowledge is cutting edge and always up-to-the-minute. However, Dr. Saunders classes could stand to use a little more student interaction. All in all, her classes are worth taking.

She's definitely got a different approach to teaching than do most of the psych profs. here. Her current issues was the first one at SFSU I was ever excited about. It's a lot of integration of concepts that may apply to a wide range of specific topic areas. It challenges you to think and tie subject matter in a coherent and (and sometimes creative) way. The physio class was harder for me. The T.A.s are good. It is true that she is busy, won't do e-mails, phone calls or recommendations unless she knows your credentials very well, but she does warn the class of that in the beginning. She knows her topic extemely well and loves it. Yes, current issues should be taken before physio--they would be too hard to take together. She gives three essay tests per semester. You have to integrate themes from articles in current publication. They are hard, but challenging and you learn a lot...you can NOT skip class on her. You'll suffer.

Dr. Suanders gives good lectures which not only cover the basics of neural anatomy, but also intergrates current issues in the field of neurology/ psychneuroimmunology which is expanding daily. I commend her profound knowledge in the subject and her keeping current in the topic of her field. She makes the information which can be very complicated easy to understand and digest. She is challenging, but not unrealistic in her requirements: three essay exams including short identifications. Her TAs are always top notch and go out of thier way to help you get the A if you want it. But that's the problem (and it's a big one). She almost never answers questions in class and is completely unavailble in her office. She does not answer phone calls or e-mail and defers all questions to her TAs. I also felt like she should have made Current Isues in Psychology a cuncurrent enrollment in this class because every lecture she mentioned something that she had discussed in that class. I am hoping that she will have more time for her stundents when she hires another Physio. Psy prof. for the Fall. She is a wonderful person and it's great to see women in scientific achademic postions.

This is a very useful course to take if you interested in the field of Psychology. Dr. Saunders presents information very clearly in class. There are three basic exams throughout the semester and each one is given after a completed section. We get the opportunity to discuss issues with other members in the class in small groups which helps to understand information more clearly at times. Although there is A LOT of information to cover and remember for exams, it is interesting material that can be easily remembered or memorized. Dr. Saunders encourages class discussion and offers extra credit for class participation. This is definitely a class I would recommend to my friends.