Review:
I dropped this course, because it was not the easy science I thought it was going to be. The course material was not easy, but required a lot of mathematical background. The book was expensive, the lectures were unhelpful, and the professor was patronizing. Di Stenfano is from Harvard and I really question why Tufts would hire someone who spoke to us like we were three years old but tested us like we were already experienced astronomers. She would never say what chapters in the book we were covering until a week before the exam. The professor and her team were not very organized. They lost my first homework assignment and it took ten emails from me and several visits to each of the TAs to finally recieve some credit for it. Much of the class time was wasted as the TAs and Di Stefano tried to figure out how to use the same equipment they used every class.

If you are looking for an easy sciene, take Wanders in Space, not this one.

Workload:
Three tests, you can drop the lowest one. Three homework assignments (answers are in the back of the book).

review a class you took with Rosanne Di Stefano - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
Prof Di Stefano is a very nice lady. If you somehow manage to contact her, she'll put in a good effort to help and it seems like she cares. However, she is a terrible teacher and also very disorganized. She has no clue how to use equipment and it takes her up to 15 minutes to start class. The lectures are incredibly boring and seem pointless as I felt that I learned nothing. I fell asleep in every class except when we had exams. Overall attendance is poor, more than half the class doesn't show up. Much of what Di Stefano says in lectures is irrelevant. She may say one thing is true in class, but that same thing turns out to be false on an exam. Lecture notes are not very useful at all. All you need to know for the exams is in the book. She is an awful teacher and I advise going somewhere else for is you're just trying to fill the science requirement.

Workload:
Workload is not bad. There are a few problem sets, 3 exams, project and no final. You should do well on exams so long as you know what's in the book. Project is pretty easy and it's worth a lot. Don't be mislead by low class averages for the exams that may appear on Blackboard as the zeros from people dropping the class are sometimes factored into the average. Those zeros will later be removed...so don't bank on a curve.

review a class you took with Rosanne Di Stefano - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
This class is the biggest waste of time. It is essentially a science course for people who want to avoid math. You don?t have to come to class most of the time, all the lecture notes are given to you. If you need a science credit and want to do a minimal amount of work, take this course. At the same time, the teacher goes out of her way to make sure you understand the material, and answers e-mails. While very interesting conceptually and good for an easy science credit, I think I fell asleep just about every class at one point or another.

Workload:
Assignments were straightforward, as were exams. Very light workload. Only thing that needed improvement was greater discussion between the TA and the teacher.

review a class you took with Rosanne Di Stefano - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
She is really nice and will always be willing to answer questions. She is a grader "by the math", so don?t miss anything, and make sure you really pay attention in class. Last time I was in the class, we didn?t use a textbook because she didn?t like any of the ones offered... She is a really cool lady, and the final project at the end of class -- if you put good work into it (not necessarily Nobel research) -- should be fine.

Workload:
Not too many readings, because last time she taught it she had no textbooks. However, she may have one now... Just listen in class... She won?t go beyond what she talks about.

review a class you took with Rosanne Di Stefano - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
This goes down as one of the three worst classes I've taken at Tufts. Look elsewhere to fulfill a science requirement. Lectures were incredibly boring, and Professor DiStefano doesn't answer questions particularly clearly. She's not at all accessible outside of class (she works at Harvard). It's a huge lecture class and there's not really an opportunity for questions or discussion. She doesn't emphasize the need to read the text, which definitely helps on exams. I remember nearly nothing that I learned in the class, and I would never take another class with her.

Workload:
There are 3 tests, weekly reading, and a group project. The first test was frustrating because she'd been teaching us at a very elementary level and the test had questions that were extremely difficult. Most of the class did very poorly. You can drop one test. The tests are all more difficult than the lectures would indicate. Weekly meetings with the TAs are required at the end of the semester for your group project (which is incredibly easy - we made a children's book and did it in an evening), and every member of the group must attend - difficult to schedule. Our TA could barely speak English. Every time we asked a question she told us to ask the professor, who was not accessible (doesn?t answer email) and I couldn?t help but wonder what the purpose of the meetings was. There are opportunities for extra credit. The grading is skewed. I got an A even though I did poorly on some exams and didn't do extra credit, and friends who had done the extra credit and had done better on the exams got lower grades. When they complained, she replied that she "could only give out so many As."

review a class you took with Rosanne Di Stefano - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
This is definitely a class for students who need to fulfill that science requirement and don't want to do a lot of work. This class is generally easy and goes at a slow pace. I think that very few people in the class of over 200 are actually interested in the material (class attendance reflects this). Prof. Di Stefano does not strike me as a particularly good professor, and she seems to have trouble communicating what she knows. The tests sometimes have a few surprises on them.

If taking the class, I would advice against believing that it is so easy you don't have to do anything, and then getting a bad grade. I think attendance is a must, but the light readings are somewhat more optional.

Workload:
The grade is based on 3 tests, a few homework assignments, and a project. There is an option for some extra credit assignments. Also, one of the tests can be dropped.

review a class you took with Rosanne Di Stefano - help your classmates make informed decisions!