My review for this class is based on a completely revised version of the class for Spring 2021; the grading system is completely different for this quarter than previous quarters.

Let me preface this by saying that I believe Professor Robles is a great person and genuinely wants students to learn and improve. I'm sure if he retained the same grading system in the past or if this class was in-person, it would be ten times better the experience than most people had.

This quarter, Robles moved away from using exams as a gauge of performance and instead based the entire class on a set of requirements to meet a grade. I can't even begin to explain how details and convoluted the class setup was. The syllabus alone was damn near 20 pages long and 25% of the students who originally enrolled in this 200 person class dropped after the first two weeks. That's 50 students who dropped solely after seeing the syllabus. And that was literally just the syllabus. There's also a textbook that (thankfully) was made completely optional, and no sections.

The most basic way to pass this class and earn at least a C was to watch all the asynchronous lessons and answer at least 75% of the polls and answer at least 75% of them correctly. That's a really easy way to pass in itself, but it meant that 1) lectures were mandatory and 2) there were a LOT of asynchronous lessons. As in, in addition to attending 2 lessons live per week, you had to watch 2 asynchronous lessons per week and sometimes these asynchronous, recorded ones lasted anywhere from 10 minutes to over half an hour to complete. The synchronous lessons themselves included a lot of filler activities and though the material was sometimes interesting, unless you're passionate about health there's little "psychology" in this class and moreso just statistics and mind-numbingly dull content. Halfway through each class I'd be asleep bro. Asynchronous lessons were also not easy to sit through and you also had to write answers to essay questions embedded in those lessons on CCLE to complete them.

The biggest issue with the class, though, were the papers. In order to get an A, you must complete 3 reflection papers and 2 Disparities-Inequities papers. Now, the Reflection Papers were not hard at all, you can literally finish them within a day and get decent scores with minimal effort. But all the Papers were scheduled way too close in deadlines, as in they were pushed in the second half of the course so that there was damn near one paper due per week and by the end of the quarter we didn't even have feedback on most of the papers we did. Although Robles tries to take time out of lectures for "paper consultations" it rarely happened and most people in this class said that they came away even more confused sometimes when talking to the professor and TA.

Why? Well, the instructions and requirements for each paper, like the syllabus, also happened to be like 10+ pages long. There weren't even any previous examples since this was the first quarter using such a system, so although grading criteria was provided students didn't have any solid insight as to what constituted good grades on papers. I can't even begin to explain how complicated the grading system was, not to mention the "token" system used to redeem late papers or send papers for revision. If I did, I would literally be writing a 5000 word essay on Bruinwalk because that's how damn complicated it was. So I'm just going to say this: the papers were HORRIBLE to write. Very little guidance, very tiresome research, and I converted from a grading scale to P/NP in week 9 because I couldn't stand writing another Disparities-Inequities Paper. It was absolutely, unforgivingly overwhelming. It was quite possibly some of the worst writing assignments I've ever had and rivals that of 100B. Most students this quarter ended up frustrated, confused, and changing to P/NP if not struggling in week 10 to complete the final disparities paper. Very few people could probably attest to having a positive experience in this class this quarter.

Overall, I regret signing up for this class and ending up P/NPing it. The other Column B classes are SO much better, and no offense to Robles as a person but as a professor there are DEFINITELY better profs for this class and material. Robles, if you're reading this, I'm sorry but the system you used this quarter was not it. At all. So please don't repeat it for the sake of future students, going back to exams would benefit them soooo much more.

Grading was based on:
1) 3 exams + final (cumulative) exam - a couple of fill-in-the-blank and short answer questions at the beginning, with the majority of the exam being multiple choice questions

The exams can be kind of tricky, since they emphasize application of knowledge rather than just simple memorization.
On the bright side, the learning objectives, aka the study guide questions for each exam, are listed in the syllabus (except for the ones for the final exam because the professor uses the learning objectives that people seemed to have the most difficulty with on exams 1-3 for the final). Honestly, the study guide you make based off of the learning objectives is the ONLY information you need for the exams. Textbook readings are pretty pointless, in my opinion.

2) Online activities - TopHat (at least 80%(?) need to be answered to receive full participation credit); very simple/quick/easy 5 CCLE assignments (of which one can be missed)

3) Extra Credit opportunities (You can get up to 3(?) extra credit points) - course evaluations; Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center events (though it seems that students had a hard time trying to find ones to go to); Psychology Department Subject Pool; and certain Finals Week events (ex. therapy dogs at Powell).

Bonus things to note:
Outlines to be used in note-taking can be found on CCLE before each lecture. :)
Each lecture is Bruincasted. :D
The professor creates his own screencasts at times, with the intention that the students view them and take notes on them (using the outlines) on their own time. :O

Overall, though the exams can be a bit tricky and "having" to take notes on the various screencasts outside of the class is kind of annoying lol, the professor is nice and funny, and the material itself is interesting. Good luck!

Took him for Psych 10. The class was divided into 3 different modules, with Robles as the teacher for my second module (approx. 3 weeks). He's a GREAT lecturer/teacher. Super interesting and seems like a real nice guy. Tells cute stories about his daughter.

Btw, selling the book for this class, Psychology: The Science of Behavior, Carlson et al. 7th edition. Message me at lnt009@ucsd.edu if you're interested.

Ended up with a B+ cause I didn't take the class as seriously as I should've. The grade was entirely based on 3, 30 question multiple choice tests which weren't super hard but it had it's tricky, strangely-worded questions. The cool thing was even the discussion section was lecture style and podcasted. Soooo convenient. Especially for people who like to sleep in like me.

He is an awesome guy. Even his ringtone was awesome (Super Bass by Nicki Minaj hahaha). Taught his lectures in an effective manner by not posing the slides online to just print and not go to lecture. Was a good teacher overall.

Very caring & a great lecturer! I really enjoyed his class! Not difficult & you don't need the textbook! Just watch the screencasts & lectures. He posts a video podcast of all lectures. I recommend psych 150 with him!

Very nice and approachable. The information is very enjoyable and highly relevant to everyday life. If you attend the lectures and pay attention, you should receive an A. I hate to break it to the person below, but this isn't a core class.

Professor Robles is an interesting and kind man. I learned a lot from his class and it's cool cause he sort of give you an outline of the lectures and you fill in the info and if you happen to miss it there's always the podcast. And just for showing up to class you basically get freebie points for doing in class assignments. To do well in this class make sure to READ the book and TAKE good notes! A lot of the questions on his exams are from the lecture so make sure to write detailed notes and study the notes over and over again. There is also a required paper where you try to change a "bad" health habit and you basically keep a log of the behaviors and write about your experience and use methods you learned from the book to try to implement healthy changes. Overall this is a good class to take to fulfill the psych core

Professor Robles is very passionate about the subject. His enthusiasm and passion are contagious. You will learn so much from him and the course. He will allow you to see another side of health - the side that most people ignore. Health is not only about the absence of disease but it also the about social, psychological and biological well-being. If you are pre-health (going into medicine, pharmacy, public health, ect.), you should definitely take this class. It'll help you become a greater/better health educator/practitioner.

This professor is awful. While the tests may be relatively easy, he makes the subject matter extremely boring. He treats you like you are in elementary school by making you fill out worksheets during class. Do not take his class, you will not enjoy it.

Prof Robles is an awesome guy! His lectures are def fun and i really enjoyed the material, his presenting style, everything. There are 3-4 in class assignments that are worth 1 point each (diet/exercise, stress, coping are 3 lectures u wanna go to). His exames: 4 (including final) and you drop the lowest. the grading is a little confusing but you'll figure that out sooner or later.. There is a health-change habit paper which is not too bad. All lectures are podcasted- he talks kinda fast so this might come in handy. Every exam has like 2-3 questions based on the book, which you can probably guess and get right. SO THERE IS NO NEED TO BUY THE BOOK. Online assignments are easy (20 pts- which is half an exam!!) and you can get 2 extra credit points. Getting an A isnt too difficult! And the class is fun! TAKE IT