Funston-Timms, Benjamin  

The professor has first hand knowledge about the material presented in this class, so he knows what he's talking about. Plus he uses alot of videos to present info in class. Overall one of the best professors I have ever had outside of my department.

I really really enjoyed the Cultural Geography class I took with Timms. He's great! Pretty much everything you will need to know is from the lecture notes. I printed them out everyday on blackboard and brought them to class. The book isn't really needed. I didn't read at all...only used the book for a reference sometimes. He also gives you a study guide to use for each test, which is great. 2 midterms, 1 final, about 45 multiple choice and 4 or 5 short answer very interesting! He was in the peace corp for a while in Jamaica. Interesting stories! This class was one of the main reasons i switched from business to social science...

go to class and take notes or print them out online. tests cover most the material so studying is required. book will help so i would buy it. some of the questions on tests are not in notes or our too speciific for notes so know the book as well. he's a really nice guy, easy to talk to. highly reccomend this as a GE b/c it's easy and not stressful

Timms is terrible! I am not a C student and i got a C in this class. He reads directly off powerpoint and doesn't go into any detail. you dont even really have to go to class because he puts the lectures on blackboard. dont bother going to office hours he doesn't help and expect to see stuff on tests you have never seen before.... if you like getting tested on stuff you've never seen then take this class. otherwise take SOC 110 for the GE its way better.

Timms was pretty good. Yes, he read directly from his PowerPoints. Then again, the majority of his midterm multiple choice questions were on the slides. He also hints at one or two of the "essay" (and I use the word "essay" very lightly) questions in class by saying "That would make a pretty solid question on the test". If you show up, pay attention, and attempt to read the book (looking for key terms and ideas outlined on his MT and Final review sheets) you'll do well. How well? Let's put it this way. He has two MTs and the final is the same format as the MTs (~60 multiple choice and 2 out of 3 essays). To do well on the essays, you need to breeze over the chapters--they're long, but that's not his fault. The multiple choice is pretty easy if you read over the notes and at least gloss over the chapters. In fact, he used the same question (regarding why Denmark makes a great example of a nation state) on both midterms (and the final . . . although he replaced "Denmark" with "France"). The final was easy too. He tells you that it's 50/50 from the previous MTs and new material. That's a professional way of saying "50% of the MC questions on the final will be taken verbatim (or damn near verbatim) from the previous MTs. This is why he strongly advises you to study during the review day. He changed two things for the recycled questions: the order in which they appear and the correct "letter" (i.e. on MT the right answer was "c", whereas the final has the correct answer as "a"). That's it. He even puts a few obviously incorrect answers on the tests. For example, when he asked what a "footloose industry" is, one option was "A movie where Kevin Bacon dances a lot" and another was "A movie where the soundtrack was written by Kenny Loggins". So, in a way, he tries his best to inject humor into the class. If I had to recommend a course to take concurrently with this, it would be HIST 207 with Wilson. A few of the topics (especially regarding land distribution and demographic transitions) came up in both classes. Of course, the topics don't match up perfectly, and there are only a few cases where this happens . . . but when it did happen, it was pretty cool. Timms is legit.

This class and Dr. Timms were great, I learned a lot about the world and challenged some of my own views in the process! The tests are a bit hard, and you should read the text. Lecture notes are on blackboard before class and help alot. Overall a great class, I'd recommend this class and Dr. Timms.

What a top notch/down to earth person and professor. He was very thorough and it really helps if you ask questions, if you're still not 'getting it'. Very accessible (office hours and arranging appts.), compared to other profs in this Dept. Class was fun and really made me open my eyes to the world. Thank you Prof. Timms!

Timms is awesome! Not only is the content presented fascinating but also the professor himself - Timms really enjoys cultural geography and can relate to his students as he\'s younger than the average teacher. Professor Timms has travelled to many interesting places and sometimes shows the class some of his work and pictures. Fortunately, this class is pretty laid back - there\'s not much homework at all and if there is it\'s either for studying for one of the multiple choice tests, reading the book (I didn\'t even buy the book but that\'s probably not the best choice to make), or writing, say, a single page essay for an extra credit opportunity - and that\'s pretty much it! There were a few worthwhile \"video\" days where we\'d watch entire 40 minute documentaries - those are the type of lectures I\'m sure many of us like! If you want an easy class with little if any homework, yet at the same time highly interesting lectures - take Timms! I had him in the morning and it was always a pleasant class to help me wake up!

He\'s funny and a fair-grading professor. His class was always interesting and the tests were definitely doable. There\'s 2 midterms and a final, and that\'s pretty much it. If you do the readings and go to class, you should get a good grade because the material makes sense and he makes it even easier to understand. Also, he adds cool tidbits just for shits and giggles about Jamaica and his Peace Porps adventures, which are usually tight. Take this class!

Awesome guy! He\'s very down to earth. Always responds to e-mails quickly. The lectures are interesting and actually fun to listen to. We got to watch a bunch of movies. A++ would take again

By far my favorite teacher for my freshman year. He knew the material very well and knew how to teach it. He was able to spice up the lectures and make them interesting. He used Google Earth a lot to show students where current events were occurring. I definitely enjoyed this class. And there were 2 midterms and a final which were pretty fair-game. I definitely recommend this class.

Timms is the man. My favorite class taken at Poly so far. I completely recommended taking him. Two midterms and a final, multiple choice. All the material is straight forward and presented in power points and the reading.

Dr. Timms is hella sick. I could not think of a better person to knock out a GE that you're not that interested in with. Clearly knowledgeable, very helpful, intelligent. Dr. Timms is one of those few, few professors that you learn so much from with such little work. I have learned more in this class than all my other classes this quarter and put in the least amount of work. Grade is just 1 fair midterm and a final. Mostly multiple choice, one essay that he grades easy, so don't fret too much about the essay. Cultural Geography isn't that interesting to me, but Timms made it easy and super quick to learn. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I loved professor Timms!! He does a great job of making the class interesting and applicable. He clearly loves teaching and is well educated and experienced. He started off the first day of class blasting Bob Marley. He gives you study guides for the exams and they're not too bad. Keep up on the reading and it will be easy. He's a down to earth, understanding, and knowledgable professor. I would definitely take another class by him.

This class is pretty straight forward. If you pay attention in class and do the study guide you can get a solid B in the class. If you put in the time and read you can get an easy A. He grades pretty easy on the essay questions and the final has alot of questions from the midterms. Timms is a great guy too. He is pretty young and interacts with the students well. He rounded my 89 up to an A, so no complaints there.

If you pass up the opportunity to take this guy, youre blowing it. i have zero interest in geography but this class was super interesting and relatively easy. your grade is compromised of 3 2 midterms 30% and a 40% final, but he takes a lot of questions off the first two midterms for the final. easy grader, gives out EC opportunities and is a great, knowledgable and understanding teacher. He lived in Jamaica for a little too and always refers to his travels and has super cool, interesting stories that interlude his lectures. TAKE HIM

Timms is a great teacher. Geography can be a boring subject but he keeps it interesting and makes it bearable to go to class. He gives you a study guide for each test that clearly outlines what you should study so getting decent grades on the tests is not hard. I would definitely recommend taking him

This guy is so cool, really kind, go into office hours because he'll help you out. Highly recommended

Timms is great. Lectures are not as boring as i thought they'd be. His grading is fair. Class is based on 2 midterms and final. Everything is straight from lecture, with a few questions from the book, and a little memorizing maps. I do recommend.

I had professor Timms for a four hour lecture on Fridays, and it wasn't absolutely dreadful! Geography is kinda all over the board, so there will probably be some lectures that are more enjoyable to you than others, but overall Timms' throws in a lot of cool stories and pictures to make the information more interesting. Also, it may sound weird, but he has a great lecturing voice. Its just easy to listen to during a lecture, and he loves what he is talking about so it makes it a pretty pleasant class overall.

Timms is a great professor who is very enthusiastic about his lectures, but be warned: you will fall asleep. His essay questions are normally general themes of the material, but definitely study the lecture notes and read the book if you want a decent grade on the midterms. Also, memorizing the maps/countries he gives will let you get a solid 20 questions right on each midterm. Overall, a decent GE, a great professor, but a really really really boring class.

Great teacher and he's really passionate about geography! The class can sometimes get a bit boring, but he gives a break halfway through and does his best to keep you entertained. There are 2 midterms which weren't that hard and a final. 20 questions are map questions so as long as you learn the countries that are on the review sheet, you are fine. The rest are just general review questions and it doesn't take that much work to pass the class.

Timms is a cool professor to take. You always have to appreciate someone who is clearly doing the thing they enjoy the most, and for Dr. Timms that is geography. The guy has been so many places and knows so much. He is very fun to listen to and will crack the occasional joke. Though I must say his 2 hour lectures could get pretty boring at times (most things get boring after 2 hours), he really does try to smooth it out by giving you a break halfway between. His tests were certainly fair, but I felt they could be a bit hard because many of the multiple choice questions had four answers that seemed reasonable, particularly if you were making an educated guess. You simply have to at least skim the book to do well, but I suppose you could skirt by attending lectures and remembering the answers to the weekly open-book online quizzes.

I loved taking this class. Timms makes the lectures interesting and he is very approachable if you have questions or need help. His study guides are very relevant to what is on the test so if you have a clear understanding of everything on it, you will do really well. Your grade is based on reading quizzes online and in-class midterms. Loved taking this class, and I hope to get Timms again for another class in the future.

Timms is one of the best professors I've had at poly. He's been all over the world and is very passionate about geography (ask him about Google earth and he can show you all the bells and whistles), and he does a great job of keeping lectures interesting. His tests are very reasonable and he provides great study guides that were super helpful. Lectures didn't get boring for me, even after 2 hours (they probably will for you if you're not that into geography). Class was made up of online open book quizzes, 2 midterms, and final. A lot of questions on the midterms were taken from the online quizzes.

If you like taking lecture classes with nothing too special about them, this is for you. Timms is very to-the-book and his lectures don't add much more than what is there, in the book. He assigns open-book, online reading quizzes to make sure you have done the reading. However, you can do the reading and still get the answers wrong. It's all about how fast you can remember where the information is at in the textbook and flip through the pages as fast as you can. He also gives detail-heavy multiple choice exams. Good luck.

Timms was a good professor. Attend lecture, study hard, and you'll get an A in the class. He is very handy with Google Earth, and knows a LOT about Jamaica. You will get a great base-knowledge of geography after taking this course. I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in the world overall, and wants to boost their GPA.

Really great guy, interesting subject matter (almost like current world history) and fun class. That given, you do have to read the book, but if you read the book, do the quizzes, and attend the lectures, you will get an A. The tests are extremely fair (not hard) and regardless of what you think you know about Jamaica, you will learn a thing or two about it from this class.

Timms is one of my absolute favorites. Not only as a professor, but just as a human being. He has so much passion for the subject and has had such cool life experiences, I just want to be the guys best friend. He presents very clearly and is good at making sure you know the material you need to for the exams. This class was low-key life changing for me; you really should take it. 3 exams all quarter and a reading quiz every week, but the work load is totally manageable. Take Timms!!!!!!!!!

Professor Timms is a beast :) Sure the readings are very extensive and long (~40 pages a week), but if you put the time into it and go to class, you should be okay. He definitely grabs a significant amount of questions for the midterms and the finals from lecture, but I don't think you'll get an A if you don't read. Super great guy who tries to make the class interesting. Engage in class and go to his office hours so he recognizes you also, I think it would help.

Dr. Timms is a great guy and really loves everything about geography. The class is super easy as long as you read every week and the lectures can sometimes be pretty interesting. He has a ton of stories to tell.

This teacher is very passionate about what he teaches and always has stories to tell since he travelled to many places in his life. Sometimes his lectures can get a little boring but go to class anyways since it really is an interesting subject and his lecture includes things on the test. There are 2 midterms and 1 cumulative final. When you ask him questions he answers it very clearly so the student understands. I really recommend this professor and class! I learned so much and it's eye-opening.

Really good professor and a pretty interesting class. Class gets sort of boring but he clarifies a lot of things the textbook glosses over so going to class is really helpful. Also, the study guide for the midterms and final are really helpful and really help you prepare if you go over the whole thing.

He's a great teacher, but my humble recommendation is to avoid his 4 hour lecture.... its a little much. He's 90% lecture based with the rest being random definitions from the book. If you have a short attention span, don't even bother with the 4 hour class. Its rough.

BOYCOTT!!!

Professor Timms was a great instructor. His test were fair if you actually read the material and take notes in class. His experiences that he brings in to the course are very interesting. He makes the topic interesting and did a good job.

Timms is a horrible professor. You ask him a question and he does not know the answer. He doesn't have full comprehension of the topic that he is teaching. The work load was overly demanding for an Upper Division GE/elective. He does not recognize student difficulties and should not be allowed to teach this course until he takes it himself.

Dr. Timms is a really great guy and professor. He is new to teaching so he still has some things to work on, but I felt that he was very professional, organized, and interesting to learn from. He has a lot of field experience and has some fun stories from his travels and time in the Peace Corps. There was some hw assigned, kind of busy work, but it was really easy and a good way to rack up points in his class. He shows videos that are relevant to the topic of his powerpoints that i thought relayed the information really well.

I took this class over summer and absolutely loved it. It was just 5 weeks so 4 hour lectures twice a week, which was definitely a long time for lecture. However, the class is super interesting and Professor Timms is the best. He's super mellow and had a lot of really interesting stories about all the travel he's done. Definitely one of my favorite classes and favorite teacher I've taken at Cal Poly. I 100% recommend taking this class or any class with Professor Timms.

I got an A-. Thanks! Has the coolest life stories from doing his doctorate research in Jamaica. This is an easy class just review the PowerPoint.

This class was awesome, I was nervous about a technical class like remote sensing but Dr. Timms made it MUCH easier to understand and fun. I actually like remote sensing now, and might even try to get a job doing it. Seriously cool class.

Dr. Timms is THE BOMB.com seriously he is one of the coolest professors I've ever had. I took his Geog 150 class Freshman year and it was pretty dry because it was a 150-person lecture but when you get him in a small classroom and he's teaching what he's passionate about it really shows through. One day we were sitting in class and he was lecturing then paused and stared out of the window for 15 seconds because he saw a squirrel. He's hilarious and his stories of his work abroad are awesome and entertaining! He also wore a Bob Marley shirt on his birthday underneath a full suit. You actually have to read the book which sucks but if you read it and take notes during lecture it's an easy A or B. The tests are hard if you don't pay attention, obviously. There are some curveball questions but pay attention and take notes and you'll be fine. 10/10 take this class. Remote Sensing sucks because it's boring material but he makes it as bearable as possible.

Class is interesting. I learned a lot. Make sure you do the reading. I always did the readings, but sometimes still did not get an A on the reading quizes. Two tests, three papers, and 4 quizes. Great class. Dr. Timms is a good professor.

Great professor, superior knowledge on the subject, made classes interesting and I learned alot.

Timms is a great guy and extremely passionate. I took GEOG 408 as an upper-division major elective, and it's a challenging but enjoyable course. There are nightly readings that are lengthy and dense but essential to his class. He expects you to attend and discuss the readings and ideas in discussion; he takes attendance via a couple pop reading questions and I'm pretty sure he takes attendance every day without telling the class, as it was a small group of students. He assigns 6 (3-page) essays throughout the quarter based on readings and discussion (10% each), grades on participation and attendance(20%), and for the final(20%) he assigns you to combine and synthesize all six of the papers (20 pages minimum) and give an informal presentation on them. If you care about the topic and are prepared to work hard, take the class as I feel it enriched my knowledge greatly.