Boswell, Michael  

show up... listen to the people talk (usually very interesting)... turn in summaries of what the people said... get one unit... that simple

Show up to the class, pay attention, and turn in all three assignments. That's is the easiest way to pass this class. Mr. Boswell (I don't remember if he is a Dr. or not) is an easy-going guy. He will answer any planning-related questions to the best of his ability. Good luck in CRP 101!

Mr. Boswell is a great teacher! Although CRP 212 is a boring class Mr. Boswell has a way of making it fun. He presents the material in a way that is really easy to understand. He also posts his notes on the internet, so if you miss class you can easily gat the notes without having to ask somoeone for them. There is one midterm and a final, the best part is that the midterm is like 10% of your grade and the final is 20%. The rest of your grade is based on three easy, but boring, assignments. You do leave the class with some interesting information too. But if you're going to take this class only take with Boswell!!! So if you want an easy A or B technology GE class take this one.

This is a fairly easy class if you study and take notes. Boswell is a nice guy, but the class is extremely boring. Everything is so dry, and a majority of the students are usually sleeping. The class consists of two exams and four assignments, no final, which is nice. Lots of reading. Boswell tries to keep it interesting and he is very approachable.

Boswell is a pretty good teacher to have when you're starting your freshman year at Cal Poly. He's very approachable if you have any questions. The 2 class exams may be a pain to study for, but are doable (and no final). His lectures can get dry at times, but that can be a problem for any lecture class. I'd take him again.

This class is easy to understand and Boswell is a great guy. You will have trouble focusing and getting engaged in the lectures if you are not interested in the topic, great way to see if you're in the wrong major.

What I did to succeed in Boswell's 212: I showed up to every class and participated in Every Tophat Exercise. I did all the class prep quizzes. I submitted both assignments. I studied minimally for every exam. Does that sound hard? No. Easy A.

Professor Boswell is the best CRP professor, period!! I'm not saying this because he is easy, because he isn't. The workload is fair, but contrary to traditional CRP courses he makes you learn to think for yourself. Planning Theory could have been an absolute disaster with a less capable instructor. He also is a pretty easy grader I think. He only gave out a couple A's but passed students with C's that were pathetic enough to only turn in half the assignments, and show up sparingly.

You will learn a lot from Boswell if you pay attention. He assigns a lot of reading in this class, but it will pay off if you are a CRP major and haven't figured out what you want to do yet. The readings are pretty dense sometimes, and you are required to turn in a report every class meeting, but there are no tests or exams, so that's cool. I think Boswell is definently the most clear, concise teacher I've encountered thus far in CRP. He gives you the straight dope, doesn't beat around the bush, doesn't speak in generalities, and he knows what he's talking about. Just keep up on your readings; this class met on Tue and Thur. and I had to do Tuesday's paper on the Friday or Saturday before otherwise I would get backed up in the middle of the week. Believe me, you do not want to be reading Sandercock (planning author) at the last minute! If you do the readings ahead of time (the weekend before) this class should be a breeze.

Received an A. Almost Impossible to get less than an A in this class. Go to class as there is mandatory attendance when he randomly checks roll on certain days. This is like the philosophy of city planning. You discuss the different aspects of certain individuals who shaped the way we plan today. In this class planning is seen as a theory ready to be tested, but all hypothetical (maybe). You discuss why you think a certain planning theory is best and back it up with examples/evidence in the readings you do. I liked radical planning just because I think I would rather see chaos and through that chaos can real change happen. As Batman The Dark Knight, Alfred Pennyworth said "Some men just want to watch the world burn." City Planners are the police enforcing code and practice, Architects/Developers is joker trying to break the system, and Batman he is the unknown factor.:)

Dr. Boswell is an excellent teacher. He is clear and easy to follow, his presentations are nearly flawless, and the material makes sense when he explains it. That being said, he assigns a huge workload that includes hundreds of pages of reading, then expects you to answer quiz questions with some detail. Don't be fooled by the word "quiz" because failing to pass any question automatially gives you a D in the course, unless you make it up with a 3-page essay on each failed question. The group paper was 25 pages long, and the Power Point presentation had to be 7-10 minutes long. The Power Point assignment was fun, but don't take Boswell's section unless you like to read and write--a lot. To get an A in the course you have to convince him why you deserve one with a discussion or paper, and after all of the other work I was too burned out to bother. Don't take this class if you need a GPA boost.

For a GE, I thought this class was pretty reasonable. There were weekly readings with questions that were sometimes a bit extensive, but these questions almost always showed up on the midterm/final so it was worth doing the readings. There were also in class questions so it paid off to actually go to class even if the lectures were often boring. Other than that there were a few other assignments that we would have sometimes instead of lecture that were pretty straightforward and didn't take too much time. TLDR: Some work is required for this class but if you put in the effort it's manageable.

Class is pretty manageable, attentandance makes us a good portion of the grade and exams were very similar to practice problems from readings and TopHat participation. He didn't grade the Labs, but had his assistant do it, and feedback was rare so it was tough to know what you did wrong. Pretty interesting class for an area F GE I would recommend.

Mr. Boswell is so smart, he doesn't recognize that not everyone can grasp a complicated concept as he briefly presents the material.

He is definitely a really smart guy, but he\'s a horrible professor. He is constantly sending emails with random articles that you really don\'t need to read. He makes slides, which are helpful when developing your IS, but you really shouldn\'t have to sit through class and go through them when he sucks at explaining. It\'d be a lot easier to just sleep in and review the slides when you have time. However, he takes attendance at times. Oh and don\'t bother going to his office hours. He\'s either not going to be there or he\'s going to be too busy eating his lunch or talking to Wack to listen to what you have to say. He also sucks at responding to emails. Basically, he sucks at explaining the material; yet he grades super hard. The only good thing I have to say about him is that you can tell he\'s smart, I just wish he knew how to present his knowledge to his students.

This class requires multiple all-nighters, and dozens of hours of pure research. It is a tough class to say the least, but it is a class that symbolizes maturity for students within the CRP major. You'll learn the SLO general plan inside-out, and the result will be a crafted submittal piece (nearly 120 pages of research and environmental analysis) that will be essential to your portfolio. Boswell is a really smart dude, and is always approachable for questions. To succeed in this class you need to show up to every class, and try your best to take an interest into whats being taught. I found that, although this class is notoriously time consuming, it is really beneficial to understanding both the current state of planning and the future. Boswell understands 342's reputation and has made strides to make the workload more realistic. The classes are generally interesting, and more than half are field trips to sites. Treat the class like it is part of your resume, and at the end of the quarter that celebratory beer will be just that much more refreshing. Thanks Mike, your keen wit was appreciated.

Fine teacher, but a little dry in the presentation. I wouldnt suggest having her at 8:00 in the morning, might be difficult staying awake.

Mike is a very nice man. The class was new so no one really knew what to expect but he handled it well. We did many out of class activities that were very helpful and he's pretty smart in the sustainable world. The class was not too much work, a lot of group stuff that doesn't take too much time.

Boswell is a great teacher but DO NOT take this class unless you are sure you want to be an Environmental Planner!

Boswell is an amazing professor. The materials for each class were well organized and thought out. There was a lot of reading material, but each each reading connected perfectly to the subject being taught during the class and helped me to learn the main concepts that we were supposed to learn. There are assignments due either every class or once a week, but if you stay on top of them, then they are manageable. The class is part lecture and part group discussions, which is a really good balance. One of my favorite classes I've had.