Bird Courses Catalog UWO

July 2021 Edition
The Catalog of
"Bird" Courses
at Western University
Created by Webstraw
Not affiliated with Western
Table of Contents
Letter to the Student 3
Resource Guide 4
Universal Birds 5
Math 1229A/B: Methods of Matrix Algebra 6
Earth Sciences 1086F/G: Origin and Geology of the Solar System 7
Computer Sciences 1033A/B: Introduction to Multimedia and Communications 8
Kinesiology 2000A/B: Physical Activity and Health 9
Earth Sciences 2232F/G: Exploring the Planets 10
Birds for Geography and Earth Science 11

Geography 2010A/B: Geography of Canada 12
Geography 2011A/B: Ontario and the Great Lakes 13
Geography 2152F/G: Geography of Hazards 14
Geography 2160B: Healthy Cities 15
Birds for Literature 16

Classics 1000: Ancient Greece and Rome 17
Classics 2200: Greek and Roman Mythology 18
Classics 2300: Sport and Recreation in the Ancient World 19
Women's Studies 2161: Women and Popular Culture 20
History 2186B: Zombie Apocalypse 21
Birds for Science 22

Computer Science 2033B: Multimedia and Communications II 23
Computer Science 2120A: Coding Essentials 24
Physiology 2130: Intro to Human Physiology 25
Biology 2485A/B: Environmental Biology 26
Birds for Psychology 27

Psychology 2030A/B: The Maladjusted Mind 28
Psychology 2036A/B: Psychology of Physical Health & Illness 29
Psychology 2040A/B: Child Development 30
Psychology 2070A/B: Social Psychology 31
Psychology 2074A/B: Psychology of Gender 32
Psychology 2990A: Applied Psychology 33
Birds for Political Science 34

Political Science 1020E: Intro to Political Science 35
Political Science 2141A/B: Global Violence and Injustice 36
Political Science 2142A/B: Politics and Pop Culture 37
Webstraw - submit a new course 02

Letter to the Student
Dear Student,
This resource is designed to provide you with insight into courses that will
enhance your academic experience at Western. These courses, commonly
referred to as “Birds”, are highly recommended by other students because
they are structured in a manner that guarantees your academic success.
Furthermore, these courses are often taken as electives to help lighten your
overall workload, as content is easily digestible and evaluations are
straightforward. In simple terms, we define a “Bird” as the following:
Bird: A course that, by design, enables students to succeed with content that is
easy to grasp, requires minimal effort relative to other university courses, and
has fair evaluations.
This resource was created based on testimonials from students who took
the course during the time of COVID-19 (2020-2021) and the two years
prior. The course structure and evaluations for the 2021-2022 year may differ
heavily depending on the mode of delivery. This resource is based on current
available information. Any of these courses can change without notice. We
strongly recommend you use this resource with caution and choose your
courses carefully. We advise that you choose courses that pique your interest to
enhance your academic experience rather than relying on the estimated grades
provided in this document.
Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee that this resource will stand the test of
time and therefore we are not responsible for any outdated information.
This resource is supplementary to resources provided by your instructors
and should not be used as an alternative to course syllabi. We also are not
responsible for the outcome of anyone’s decisions based on this
resource.
We will try our best to update this resource if there are any drastic changes. We
also hope to release a new version of this resource every year in July.
To report any changes or inaccuracies, please click here
To recommend a Bird for next year's edition, please click here
All the best,
The WebStraw Team
Note to Instructors: If this resource includes any inaccurate or concerning

information, please email us at team@webstraw.org.

Resource Guide
For each course, the information will be presented in the following format. In the
table below, we explain the type of information you will find within each section:
Course Name
Professors linked to their Rate My Professor page
Lecture Hours: Here is the amount of hours you would spend

on lectures each week.
Time
Commitment
Study Hours: Here is the amount of hours you would spend
studying each week.
Estimated In this section, we provide an estimate of the grade you

Grade should expect to receive relative to the amount of work you
put in.
Grades associated with fair effort: the time commitment for

this course is comparable to other courses. However,
evaluations are straightforward, which make the specified
grade easily achievable if you study.
Grades associated with minimal effort: the time commitment

for this course is lower relative to other courses. The
recommended method to study will be explained in the
comments section below.
Guaranteed grades: are calculated based on scoring 100%

on all the designated free marks and scoring a 75% on
essays and/or exams. We use the term free marks to
describe assessments that are very easy to ace.
In-Person Setting Virtual Setting

Linked to syllabus Linked to syllabus
In this section, we will list off In this section, we will list off
Evaluations the evaluation structure based the current evaluation
on the latest available course structure based on the
syllabus from an in-person execution done during the
year. past virtual year.
Additional In this section, we will provide In this section, we will provide

Comments a general student testimonial a general student testimonial
from those who have taken from those who have taken
the course in-person. the course virtually.

Universal Birds
The courses found within this section are recommended for students from all faculties.
These courses do not require students to have any prerequisite knowledge in order to
succeed because they are introductory courses or have forgiving grading schemes.
There is a general consensus that these courses are easy to get a 90+ with minimal effort
and will help lighten your overall workload.
Math 1229
Earth Sci 1086
Comp Sci 1033
Kin 2000
Earth Sci 2232

Math 1229A/B
Methods of Matrix Algebra
Professors: Dr. Allen O'Hara, Dr. Alexander Neshitov
and Dr. Vicki Olds
Time Lecture Hours: 3 hours per week

Commitment
Study Hours: 1-2 hours per week
Estimated 90+ With Minimal Effort

Grade 80+ Guaranteed
10% Online Quizzes (6 10% Quizzes (best 5 of 6)

Evaluations
quizzes total, lowest 20% Term test 1
dropped) 20% Term test 2
20% Midterm 1 40% Final
20% Midterm 2 Proctored
10% Grade Transfer from Remaining 10% allotted to
highest graded midterm best exam out of the 3
40% Final (Cumulative)
Additional The material is fairly simple with concepts that are easy to
Comments understand, almost at a highschool level, with fair and easy
exams. This is a category C course. While it is a math
course, you need minimal math skills in order to do well, and
you can learn the material without attending lectures.
Quizzes are free marks. Most of the questions on the exam
are very similar to the past exams, so there are no
curveballs. Do the past exams to prepare for your exam and
you should be set! The midterms are really easy, unlike the
final exam, which is a bit harder, with the short answer
questions being somewhat tricky. However, even if you
mess them up, you can still do well in the course.
ONLINE CHANGE:The course remained fairly similar to the

in-person version. Exams did not include short answer
questions like previous years which may be beneficial for
some students. Students were able to do very well in the
course despite the virtual setting.

Earth Science 1086F/G
Origin and Geology of the Solar System
Professor: Dr. Elizabeth Webbs
Time Lecture Hours: 2-3 hours per week (involves reading through
Commitment the chapters given on OWL)
Study Hours: 2 hours per week

Only Available Online and Asynchronous
Evaluations 25% Midterm Test

25% Final Exam
34% Scientific report
10% Quizzes (8 total)
6% Writing questions, answers and reading forum posts
Proctored; midterm and final exam are proctored, but quizzes
and everything else is open book
Additional This is a 0.5 essay course that can also fulfill the category C
Comments breadth requirement. This course explores the Solar System
with an emphasis on the Sun, the planets and their respective
satellites, and other bodies such as asteroids and comets.
Additionally, this course also explores the hypotheses and
theories that attempt to explain the origins of the Solar System
and the objects contained within it. The entire course is
asynchronous which allows students to set their own schedules
for taking notes. PDFs of the required readings will be posted on
the OWL site, so there are no extra textbook purchases needed.
There are many opportunities to gain easy marks such as the
open-book quizzes and the 6% that can be earned through
forum posts. Even though the exam and midterm are proctored,
many questions are taken from a provided study guide that also
provides the answers. The final exam is non-cumulative and
only covers material learned after the midterm.

CompSci 1033A/B
Intro to Multimedia & Communications
Professors: Dr. Laura Reid and Dr. Bryan Sarlo

Commitment Lab Hours: 2-3 hours per week
Estimated 90+ With Fair Effort

7% Poster Assignment
Evaluations 1% Syllabus quiz
14% Web Assignment
9% Labs (10 total, lowest
19% Major Assignment
dropped)
15% Quizzes (1.5% each,
50% Assignments (3)
once a week)
Non-proctored, open
book
10% Labs (1% for 1 lab)
Non-proctored, closed
book
Even though this is a ‘computer science’ class, you don’t need

Additional to have any sort of background knowledge in computer
Comments science as it is more so focused on teaching individuals the
fundamentals of design, photoshop, web development, etc.
There is no actual coding involved!
Some consider the final to be tricky since it’ll require quite a

bit of memorization regarding minute details. It is known to
lower the average, but achieving a 90+ in the course is still
definitely doable as most of your mark will be coming from
relatively straightforward assignments and labs.
ONLINE CHANGES: Peer marking for assignments. You will

have to mark 5 random students’ assignments, and your
assignment mark will be based on the average of the 5
students who marked your work.

Kinesiology 2000A/B
Physical Activity and Health
Professor: Dr. Marc Mitchell
Time Lecture Hours: 2-3 hours per week

Commitment

15% Tracking Assignment 10% Quizzes (4 total)

Evaluations 6% Tracking Assignment
30% Midterm
45% Final Exam 5% Student-led exam
Optional: 15% for a 2-min question development
presentation which will 35% Midterm
allow the midterm and final Non-proctored, open
to be reweighed book and linear
accordingly 44% Final Exam
Non-proctored, open
book and linear
Optional: 15% for a 2-min
presentation
Additional Students that have taken this course with Dr. Marc Mitchell
Comments have found it enjoyable and easy. The lectures are
supplemented by textbook and article readings. The quizzes
are short and open book, so they are fairly easy to perform well
on. The final exam is cumulative but there is a heavier
emphasis on course material learned after the midterm (20% of
questions come from content covered before the midterm and
80% of questions come from the content covered afterwards).
There are many ways to gain easy marks such as the quizzes
and the tracking assignment which consists of tracking your
exercise and physical activity throughout the semester. Having
good notes for this course is imperative since professors tend
to ask questions from lectures, readings, and the posted
articles. Not all students will be chosen to present the 2 minute
presentation (only 40-50 students will be selected for this).

Earth Science 2232F/G
Exploring the Planets
Professor: Dr. Nigel Blamey

Commitment

30% online labs (3 labs, 30% online labs (3 labs,

Evaluations
10% each) 10% each)
30% OWL quizzes (6 20% OWL quizzes
quizzes, each worth 5%) (6 quizzes)
25% individual report 25% group research
15% group poster project
25% Final
Non-Proctored
Additional This course is entirely online This course, while still being
Comments and is notoriously one of the relatively easy, is no longer the
easiest courses offered at easiest course at Western,
Western. OWL quizzes are free primarily due to the addition of a
marks and derived from past final exam (which is based on 2
quizzes. Labs are also easy random essay prompts,
marks but require a bit more meaning the entire semester’s
effort. Instead of a final exam, worth of content is fair game).
there is a group assignment at The professor and TAs were
the end of the semester very disorganized and made life
involving a poster presentation, hard for the students - however,
so make sure you find a good this is balanced out by the free
group. The only downside is that marks given from labs and
enrollment in this course is very quizzes. Highly recommend
competitive. Also, you should enrolling in the course with a
keep in mind that after taking group of friends you trust for the
this course, you will not be able final research project, as it is
to take Earth Sciences worth 25% of your final grade.
1086F/G. Overall, it should still be easy to
do well.

Birds for Geography
and Earth Science
The following courses could work for anyone with the slightest interest in the world
around us or the universe that surrounds us. Courses in this section have a lot of free
marks. Geography courses are Category A and Astronomy courses are Category C.
Geography 2010
Geography 2011
.
Geography 2152
Geography 2160

Geography 2010A/B
Geography of Canada
Professor: Dr. Mark Moscicki

Commitment

Evaluations 24% Midterm Test 32% Midterm Test

40% Final (cumulative) Non-Proctored
5% Weekly Discussion 38% Final (cumulative)
Questions Non-Proctored
16% Quizzes 5% Weekly Discussion
5% Weekly Activities Questions
11% Weekly Lesson
Review Quizzes
2 Assignments: each
worth 7%
Additional This course requires a considerable amount of effort per

Comments week. There are quizzes and discussion questions that need
to be completed weekly, so staying on top of the material is
important. It is fairly easy to do well in this course if you have
well-written notes; exams consist of questions from lecture
content. If you’re interested in learning more about the
geographical locations within Canada, this course is perfect
for you! Alongside the provinces, you’ll be learning about the
physical, historical, humanistic, and economic aspects of
geography!

.
Geography 2011A/B
Ontario and the Great Lakes
Professor: Dr. Wendy Dickinson

Commitment

Evaluations 40% Test 1 30% Mini-Reflections (4 at

40% Test 2 7.5% each)
10% Map Quiz 35% Great Lakes
10% Northern Ontario Assessment
Assignment 35% Ontario Assessment
Additional This is a geography course focused on the physical, social,

Comments economic, environmental and political geography of Ontario
and the Great Lakes Region. Students can expect to draw
knowledge and information from a variety of sources
spanning different disciplines.
People generally find this course to be easier than 2010,

albeit a little bit drier but students find it to be interesting
regardless. If you’re torn between the two courses, you can’t
really go wrong with either as getting a high mark will be
reasonably attainable.

Geography 2152F/G
Geography of Hazards
Professor: Dr. Mark Moscicki

Commitment

Evaluations 5% Weekly Question 5% Week Discussions

Sets 16% Weekly Assignments
9% Weekly Assignments 11% Lesson Review
30% Midterm Exam Quizzes
20% Essay 18% Midterm
36% Final Exam Non-Proctored
16% Essay
34% Final Exam
Non-Proctored
Additional Many students mention that Dr. Mosciski's courses are

Comments interesting and well taught. This course looks at the social
science theories of hazard responses and the human
response to these hazards. The course content is based on
the weekly lectures so there are no extra readings, making
the time commitment per week short. There are many
opportunities to gain marks, such as weekly discussions,
quizzes, and question sets. The essay, midterm, and final
exam, however, are said to be a bit more challenging as it
consists of long answer questions. The final exam is
cumulative but will mostly focus on topics covered after the
midterm exam.

Geography 2160B
Healthy Cities
Professor: Dr. Jason Gilliland

Commitment Lab Hours: 1 hour per week

Evaluations 10% Participation 40% Weekly quizzes (8

30% Assignments quizzes 5% each)
20% Test 1 60% Weekly assignments
20% Test 2 (7 in total, varying weights
20% Final from 5-15%)
Additional Healthy Cities is a very well liked course by many students

Comments especially when it is taught online, since there is no exam
when the course is online. Many students also enjoy the
content taught in this course as it is much different from their
science and math courses. This course looks at what is
meant by the term “Healthy Cities” in terms of geography,
urban studies, real estate, psychology, economics, health
studies, and medicine. When taught in person, the tests and
final exam were fair and easy to do well on depending on
how much time you spent studying the lecture material
(readings are minimal or supplementary). In addition, the TAs
are said to be fair markers and often students can easily ask
the TAs for what they are looking for on the assignments. In
other words, this course is fairly easy to do well in as long as
all the assignments are handed in.

Birds for Literature
The courses found within this section are recommended for students from all faculties.
These courses do not require students to have any prerequisite knowledge in order to
succeed because they are introductory courses or have forgiving grading schemes.
There is a general consensus that these courses are easy to get a 90+ with minimal effort
and will help lighten your overall workload.
Classics
1000
Classics
2200
Classics Women's
2300 Studies 2161
History
2186

Classics 1000
Ancient Greece and Rome
Professor: Dr. Christopher G. Brown

Commitment

Evaluations 20% Test 1

25% Test 2
25% Test 3
30% Final
Proctored; midterm and exam are proctored but quizzes and
everything else is open book
Additional This course requires a considerable amount of effort, but is

Comments easy to attain a high grade in. If you’re interested in the
ancient Greeks and Romans, this is one of the many
interesting topics that will be covered. The in-person version
of this course consisted of non-cumulative exams that
contained multiple choice questions. Preparing well-written
notes for these exams is important as the majority of
questions come from lecture content. Given how you have to
memorize dates, years, and specific images, this course can
become quite memorization-heavy.

Classics 2200
Greek and Roman Mythology
Professor: Dr. Arya Suksi

Commitment

Evaluations 30% Midterm 1 (non- 30% Quizzes (6 quizzes,

cumulative) 5% each)
30% Midterm 2 (non- 30% Midterm
cumulative) Non-Proctored and
40% Final (cumulative) Linear
30% Final Exam
Non-Proctered and
Linear
8% Written Response
2% Discussion posts
Additional This course is all about greek In the virtual setting, there is
Comments mythology. Performance in this zero emphasis on memorization
course is dependent purely on since every test is non-
how well you are able to proctored and linear; therefore,
memorize. Most of the content you should invest some time
consists of stories in greek into making good notes that you
mythology. Exams are easy can use for the tests. The
knowledge based multiple readings may be helpful but
choice questions, mostly from they are not needed to succeed
lecture content with only one or in the course. The written
two questions from readings. responses and discussion posts
Exam questions include the are quite easy to do well on, as
following: identifying characters, long as you put some time and
authors, themes, images, and thought into them rather than
quotes. Attending lectures is doing them last minute.
important to succeed because
you have to memorize
everything from the lecture to do
well on the exams.

Classics 2300
Sports & Recreation in the Ancient World
Professor: Dr. Charles Stocking

Commitment

Evaluations 30% Midterm 1 (non- 50% Quizzes (10 quizzes,

cumulative) 5% each)
35% Midterm 2 (non- 25% Midterm (fall term
cumulative) cumulative)
35% Final (non-cumulative) Non-Proctored and
Non-Linear
25% Final (winter term
cumulative)
Non-Proctored and
Non-Linear
Additional This course consists of The tests and quizzes were

Comments interesting content and easy non-proctored and non-linear,
exams. The exams are based but this didn’t make things
on lecture content only (no easier as quizzes could get
textbook). Professor Stocking very tight for time (1 minute per
provides in-depth reviews for question) and are worth a total
the topics you need to study of 50% of your grade.
before each exam. The provided Nevertheless, memorization is
study guide covers almost 95% not required if you have well-
of the exam questions. The organized notes. Readings are
exams are all multiple choice not required except for 3
and straightforward, requiring lectures. The questions
you to mainly identify images, themselves are extremely easy
identify terms, and categorize and knowledge-based with no
quotes. Attending lectures is application required. Dr.
strongly recommended. Stocking posts exam review
slides that cover exactly what
will be on the exams.

Women's Studies 2161B
Women and Popular Culture
Professor: Dr. Nichole Edwards

Commitment

Evaluations 30% Midterm 40% Midterm

40% Final 40% Final
15% TV Assignment Non-Proctored and
15% Online discussion Turnitin
Posts (3 at 5% each) 20% TV Assignment
Additional This course explores themes regarding the portrayal of

Comments gender in popular culture and the messages we receive
about women through various forms of media (TV, films,
commercials, etc.) The majority of the course will focus on
contemporary themes, the branding of feminism in
mainstream media, and the depictions of class and femininity
apparent in reality TV. This is done all while illustrating how
various forms of media directly impacts how women are
represented in popular culture. The general consensus for
this course is that it is quite interesting and enjoyable with a
passionate and accommodating professor to teach it. The
marking on assessments is also quite fair.
If you enjoy/excel at courses requiring you to write, definitely

look into this course, as the workload is on the lighter end
and lectures will be fun and informative.

History 2186B
Zombie Apocalypse
Professor: Dr. Jonathan F. Vance

Commitment

Evaluations 35% In-class primary source assessment, written answer

35% Midterm
May be Non-Proctored (TBD)
30% Final
May be Non-Proctored (TBD)
Additional Many students are drawn to this course because of the name
Comments as well as the interesting content that is presented. This
course looks at understanding the impact of fear on humans
in history through the lens of many different panics such as
pandemics, revolutions and financial turmoils. The course
also touches on topics such as witches, demonic
possessions, and cults. All the tests only contain lecture
information but you still have to keep up with the readings
posted as they are referenced and added on to during the
lectures. Since there are not many assignments to hand in,
the weekly commitment should not exceed a maximum of 3
hours, although the time that the primary source assessment
is due can get quite busy. Historically the tests consist of a list
of topics and you can choose which one you want to write
about. It is not difficult to figure out what kinds of terms will be
tested on because the professor goes into depth with the
people and events that will be tested on. Many students enjoy
the online version as well because the lectures are
synchronous.

Birds for Sciences
The following courses are not your typical bird course, but they are birds
relative to other science courses. The courses found within this section are
best suited for students in the faculty of science looking for electives within
their respective modules. However, computer science courses are more so for
anyone interested in computers/coding in genelear. All category C.
CompSci 2033
CompSci 2120
Biology 2485
Physiology 2130

CompSci 2033B
Multimedia and Communications II
Professor: Dr. Bryan Sarlo

Commitment Lab Hours: 2 hours per week

Evaluations 10% Labs 45% Final (Cumulative)

40% Assignment May be proctored
50% Final (TBD)
36% Assignments (3 at
9%, 12%, and 15%)
9% Quizzes (3 at 3%
each)
10% Labs (1 lab weekly at
1%)
Additional While it is labelled as a ‘computer science’ course, it is mainly

Comments going to be focused on front-end development (website
design)! This course is just going to be building off of
computer science 1033 and advancing the breadth of your
skills in photoshop and website development (languages you
can expect to learn include: JavaScript, HTML, CSS, jQuery,
Bootstrap).If you enjoyed computer science 1033 and did
reasonably well, definitely consider taking this class as it is
essentially a continuation of the content. This course will
provide you with creative freedom when it comes to website
development, and it is also taught and organized quite well.
The only ‘difficult’ part of the course would be the quizzes.

Additionally, make sure to understand the labs (shouldn’t be
too challenging though), and review the lecture slides in order
to set yourself up for success on the final!

CompSci 2120A
Coding Essentials
Professor: Duff Jones (Graduate Student)

Commitment Tutorial Hours (Optional): 2 hours per week
Estimated 95+ with Fair Effort

Evaluations 36% Assignments (3 50% Assignments (4

assignments, varying assignments, varying
weights) weights)
10% Labs (10 labs, 1% 10% Activities (3
each) assignments, must
9% Quizzes (3 quizzes, complete 2 for 5% each)
3% each) 40% Final
45% Final Proctored, closed
book
Additional This is an Intro to Python course with 60% of the marks in the
Comments form of Lecture Activities or Assignments. Focus on doing
well on these assignments as they are the “free marks” of this
course. The assignments are quite straightforward and you
can easily get 100% on each of them with a fair amount of
effort. The final exam is somewhat tough and is a mix of both
MCQ and SA. Make sure you go over the small quirks/tricky
cases in Python that you discussed throughout the year
which you will be familiar with as the course progresses.
Have a decent grasp of basic theory (especially the Machine
Learning section) and how to code by hand. Although this is
a somewhat tough 40% final exam, you should have a strong
60% buffer, considering you'd likely enter the final with a
100% from the previous evaluations, and make it out with a
90%+ overall. The professor is very kind, and his office hours
(as well as the TAs) are very useful; take advantage of this
extra help!

Physiology 2130
Intro to Human Physiology
Professor: Dr. Christine Bell

Commitment Tutorial Hours: 1 hour per week

Evaluations 6% Case Studies (4 8% Case Studies (4

altogether, 1.5% each) altogether, 2% each)
6% Quizzes (4 12% Quizzes (6
altogether, 1.5% each) altogether, 2% each)
16% Test 1 20% Test 1
16% Test 2 20% Test 2
16% Midterm Exam 40% Final
40% Final Tests and final exam
are proctored, linear
and openbook
Additional This course looks at learning the basic facts, concepts and
Comments principles pertaining to the functions of the human body and
learning to apply this information to clinical and disease
situations. This course is generally said to be really enjoyable
as many students find the course material very interesting
and straightforward. That being said, the course is content
heavy so to achieve a mark of 90% or more good notes and
time management skills are a must. The case studies and
quizzes are submitted through OWL and are easy marks as
they can be done quickly by simply reviewing the lectures
and looking over the notes. All the tests, midterm and final
exam are fully multiple choice with the final exam being
cumulative. In addition, only the lecture material is tested so
any extra textbook reading is simply supplemental. It is often
said that the online course has a higher time commitment per
week compared to when the course is delivered in person.

Biology 2485B
Environmental Biology
Professor: Dr. Tim Hain

Commitment Tutorial Hours: 2 hours per week

Evaluations 5% iClicker 35% Midterm

5% Tutorial Quizzes Proctored, linear and
30% Group Reports and open book
Presentations (5) 35% Final (cumulative)
25% Midterm Proctored, linear and
35% Final (cumulative) open book
20% Presentation on an
article
5% Forum Posts
5% Reflection
Additional This is an environmental biology course focused on

Comments developing a scientific understanding of current
environmental issues from a biological point of view. Some
important environmental topics that you can expect to learn
about and discuss in this course include: Human population
growth, Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Water resources, Energy
resources. Students typically find this class to be both
straight forward and interesting, with a manageable workload.
(The textbook is also available online for free in PDF form)
ONLINE CHANGES: If you did better on the final exam than

the midterm, 10% of the weighting from the midterm will be
shifted to the final exam!

Birds for Psychology
This section contains all Psychology courses. You do not need to take
Psychology 1000 to take the following courses, but if you did take Psychology
1000, these courses are fairly similar in difficulty. If you have an interest in
psychology and can memorize well, these courses are a great option.
Psychology
2036
Psychology
2030
Psychology
2040
Psychology
2070
Psychology
2074 Psychology
2990

Psychology 2030A/B
The Maladjusted Mind
Professor: Dr. Ian Nicholson

Commitment

Evaluations 15% Online Participation 10% Quizzes (2 quizzes)

(Discussion Posts 2x per 15% Test 1
week) 25% Test 2
30% Midterm 1 50% Final (cumulative)
30% Midterm 2 Non-Proctored and
25% Final (non- Linear
cumulative)
Additional This is a generally easy course Students found the course to be

Comments with interesting content that time-consuming as it relied on
most students feel is engaging self-teaching the content by
throughout the entire semester. making notes on the readings.
This course builds upon The test banks are a good way
knowledge from Psych 1000, to prepare for the exams.
but it is manageable even However, many students
without background experience. complained about the exam
Free marks can easily be format being too difficult. All
obtained from online exams were linear and
participation and the midterms consisted of 125 multiple choice
and finals have straightforward questions in an hour. If you
multiple choice questions. Test prepare for the exams assuming
banks are a possible source of they are closed book, you will
practice material. Make sure to be able to do well. A
keep up with the content taught considerable amount of effort is
throughout the semester, doing required to do well in the course
the readings and taking notes if as you have to memorize all the
possible. course content to recognize the
questions quickly. Relying on
your notes during the exams
proved to be very inefficient for
students due to the limited time.

Psychology 2036A/B
Psychology of Physical Health & Illness
Professor: Dr. Eric Collins

Commitment

Evaluations 33% Midterm 1 10% Quizzes (2 quizzes)

33% Midterm 2 15% Test 1
34% Final 25% Test 2
50% Final (cumulative)
Non-Proctored and
Linear
Additional Based on the older posts on The professor was great in the
Comments RateMyProfessor for the current virtual setting, as he was nice
prof, this course was an and enthusiastic in his recorded
absolute nightmare in person. lectures. The content is
The course material and layout interesting and quite basic, but
is about the same (with the the textbook readings are
exception of online OWL absolutely mandatory. The
quizzes), but this is made quizzes and tests could get tight
harder by the fact that it will be for time, but most of the
proctored when taken in person. questions are very
You will have to memorize the straightforward. Although the
textbook inside and out on top final exam was cumulative,
of lecture material, since the more than half of the test covers
exams cover tiny details that newer content, so you won’t
you wouldn’t think are relevant. need to spend too much time
Furthermore, it seems like studying. Questions were
Professor Collins refused to multiple choice, fill in the blank,
give feedback on something true/false and matching, all non-
worth 20-25% of the final grade. proctored but linear.

Psychology 2040A/B
Developmental Psychology
Professors: Dr. Graeme Hayes

Commitment

Evaluations 33% Midterm 1 25% Midterm 1

33% Midterm 2 Non-Proctored
34% Final 30% Midterm 2
Non-Proctored
30% Final
Non-Proctored
Discussion Forums: 15%
Additional Psychology 2040 is really like an introductory course. It goes

Comments over some of the key theories that psychologists use while
also going over many of the same topics typically learnt in
first year psychology courses. However, the main focus of
this course is to dive into topics like learning, cognition, and
social developmental changes that a child goes through. It is
recommended that you finish the chapter readings as many
of the questions on the exams are derived from there.
However, this is a manageable course with other heavy
courses. The exam has multiple choice questions that are
straight forward. Another recommendation is that if the
course does have discussion forums, try participating early,
reply to other posts and also create posts. A good mark on
discussion forums can go a long way. Overall, it is a typical
bird course, not going over many new concepts while also
not testing you too hard.

Psychology 2070A/B
Social Psychology
Professors: Dr. Corey Isaacs and Dr. Graeme Hayes

Commitment

Evaluations 10% Participation 25% Midterm Exam

45% Midterm Exam Non-Proctored and
45% Final Linear
15% Essay 44% Final Exam
Optional (Reduces Non-Proctored and
each exam weighting Linear
by 7.5%) 22% Infographics (2
infographics and peer
review)
Reading Annotations: 8%
Extra Credit: 3%
Additional Psychology 2070 is an interesting course for those interested

Comments in learning about many of the fundamental studies that were
done to understand human behaviour. It details the results
and methodological flaws in many of the common studies
done in psychology. In terms of the level of difficulty, the
virtual course is much more difficult than in-person. The
exams were much more application based rather than simply
knowledge based for the virtual course, which was attested
by the professor. Although the exams are multiple choice,
many of them were select all that apply, making the exam a
bit more difficult. However, the infographics, annotations, and
peer review really help gain those marks back. Plus, the
additional 3% credit makes it easy to at least get an 80+. In
sum, it is recommended to take the in person course and do
some review each week as some of the questions may be
application-based.

Psychology 2074B
Psychology of Gender
Professor: Dr. Rachel Calogero

Commitment

Evaluations 33% Midterm 1 40% Midterm

33% Midterm 2 60% Final (cumulative)
34% Final Non-Proctored, open
book and linear
Additional This is a psychology course that focuses on examining

Comments genders across a variety of domains and seeking to
understand how gender influences one’s expectations of
themselves alongside others' expectations.
Many individuals find this course to be quite interesting and
thought-provoking. The content and readings are
straightforward and will allow you to achieve a reasonable
grade. As with many psychology courses, make sure to
supplement lecture content with readings and utilize the test
banks that are out there!
ONLINE CHANGES: 1 Midterm instead of 2

Psychology 2990A
Applied Psychology
Professor: M. Blair Evans

Commitment

Evaluations 40% Exam 1 30% Exam 1

40% Exam 2 Non-Proctored
20% Discussion Forums 30% Exam 2
Non-Proctored
40% Exam 3
Non-Proctored
Psychology 2990 is known to be a very interesting course for

Additional individuals who want to learn about how psychology is
Comments
applied in many diverse areas. The course includes topics
that apply psychology in law, environment, diversity,
healthcare, etc. Many of the second-year psychology courses
go over topics that overlap with first-year content and
sometimes make the lecture content quite boring. However,
this course goes over topics not covered in Introduction to
Psychology! It is best if you read from the textbook as there
are some questions that are derived from there. The exams
consist of multiple-choice questions and are relatively simple
and straightforward.

Birds for Political
Science
The following courses are not your typical bird course, but they are birds
relative to other science courses. The courses found within this section are
best suited for students in the faculty of science looking for electives within
their respective modules. However, computer science courses are more so for
anyone interested in computers/coding in genelear. All category C.
Political Science
1020
Political Science
2142
Political Science
2141

Political Science 1020
Introduction to Political Science
Professor: Dr. Dennis Klimchuk

Study Hours: 1 hour per week

Evaluations 15% Exam 1 15% Exam 1

15% Exam 2 All exams proctored
15% Exam 3 15% Exam 2
15% Exam 4 15% Exam 3
10% Tutorial Participation 15% Exam 4
5% each term 10% Tutorial Participation
30% Essay 5% each term
30% Essay
Additional This course requires a considerable amount of work per

Comments week as there are lecture hours, tutorial hours, and readings
that you should complete. Well-written notes are essential for
this course. This course has many assessments, with 4
exams (2 in the first semester, and 2 in the second semester)
which gives you room to improve your grade. The tutorials
are also known to be great mark boosters. The exams are
multiple-choice, and are based on lecture notes, readings,
and tutorial content that will be specified. That being said, the
exam requires quite a bit of memorization of the lecture
content and readings.

Political Science 2141B
Global Violence and Injustice
Professor: Dr. Erika Simpson


Evaluations 45% Midterm 40% Midterm

45% Final Proctored
10% Lesson Tool 40% Final
Participation Proctored
10% Tests and Quizzes
10% Lesson Tool
Participation
Additional This course requires a considerable amount of effort as there

Comments are lectures and readings, however, relevant readings will not
be tested as it contains too much information. You can easily
boost your grade by completing the weekly quizzes (easy to
do well if you have well-written notes) and if you participate in
the forums. Although the exams contain 80 multiple choice
questions, they are from lectures and so, if you study lecture
material well, you should do well. The professor tends to
emphasize concepts that will be tested heavily on exams.
The professor also provides “Lesson Tools” to help you learn
some of the material - similar difficulty to exams.

Political Science 2142A
Politics and Pop Culture
Professor: Dr. Nandita Biswas Mellamphy


Evaluations 25% Exam 1 35% Midterm Exam

35% Exam 2 45% Final (cumulative)
40% Final (Cumulative) May be Non-
Proctored (TBD)
20% Weekly Quizzes
Additional This course requires students to stay on top of the content. If

Comments you take detailed notes these quizzes should be a breeze,
and is a good way to boost your grade. To help you
understand the material better, there are reflection questions
after each lesson in which you can test your understanding.
However, as the in-person version does not have weekly
quizzes, it is important to memorize the content well. The
exams all consist of multiple choice questions and with
proper memorization/understanding, you can do well.

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July 2021 Edition

Birds for Geography and Earth Science 11

Birds for Literature 16

Birds for Science 22

Birds for Psychology 27

Birds for Political Science 34

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The WebStraw Team

Note to Instructors: If this resource includes any inaccurate or concerning

Webstraw - submit a new course 03

Lecture Hours: Here is the amount of hours you would spend

Estimated In this section, we provide an estimate of the grade you

Grades associated with fair effort: the time commitment for

Grades associated with minimal effort: the time commitment

Guaranteed grades: are calculated based on scoring 100%

In-Person Setting Virtual Setting

Additional In this section, we will provide In this section, we will provide

Webstraw - submit a new course 04

Earth Sci 1086

Comp Sci 1033

Earth Sci 2232

Webstraw - submit a new course 05

Time Lecture Hours: 3 hours per week

Study Hours: 1-2 hours per week

Estimated 90+ With Minimal Effort

In-Person Setting Virtual Setting

10% Online Quizzes (6 10% Quizzes (best 5 of 6)

ONLINE CHANGE:The course remained fairly similar to the

Webstraw - submit a new course 06

Study Hours: 2 hours per week

Estimated 85+ With Minimal Effort

Only Available Online and Asynchronous

Evaluations 25% Midterm Test

Webstraw - submit a new course 07

Time Lecture Hours: 3 hours per week

Study Hours: 4 hours per week

Estimated 90+ With Fair Effort

In-Person Setting Virtual Setting

Even though this is a ‘computer science’ class, you don’t need

Some consider the final to be tricky since it’ll require quite a

ONLINE CHANGES: Peer marking for assignments. You will

Webstraw - submit a new course 08

Time Lecture Hours: 2-3 hours per week

Study Hours: 1-2 hours per week

Estimated 90+ With Fair Effort

In-Person Setting Virtual Setting

15% Tracking Assignment 10% Quizzes (4 total)

Webstraw - submit a new course 09

Time Lecture Hours: 2-3 hours per week

Study Hours: 1-2 hours per week

Estimated 90+ With Fair Effort

In-Person Setting Virtual Setting

30% online labs (3 labs, 30% online labs (3 labs,

Webstraw - submit a new course 10

Webstraw - submit a new course 11

Time Lecture Hours: 3 hours per week

Study Hours: 2 hours per week

Estimated 90+ With Fair Effort

In-Person Setting Virtual Setting

Evaluations 24% Midterm Test 32% Midterm Test

Additional This course requires a considerable amount of effort per