Fall 2026

Insects and Human Culture-a Survey Course in Entomology

A survey course examining the importance of insects in the environment, including beneficial species, disease carriers, agricultural pests, and issues related to insect control agents.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Sean Schoville3.8/5Christelle GuedotRussell Groves

Summary

1 / 6

Workload consists of seven short essays, weekly quizzes, a moth-raising project, and a mini-documentary. While some find the volume of assignments significant, most report that the tasks are straightforward and manageable if students stay on top of deadlines.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
ENTOM/ENVIRST 201

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.00/5 from 23 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.4/5 raw quality · 2.0/5 difficulty · 19 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Sean Schoville is described as entertaining, passionate, and easygoing, with lectures that are generally interesting. Reviewers appreciate his engaging teaching style and the low-stress environment he fosters, noting that the class is fun and flexible.

Schoville maintains a high standard for top grades, requiring a 95% average for an A. While the workload is manageable, students must stay on top of assignments to achieve the highest marks, as the grading cutoff is strict.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.60 GPA, 88.6% A/AB (n=202 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.76 GPA, 91.9% A/AB (n=248 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.74 GPA, 91.5% A/AB (n=211 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.76 GPA, 91.9% A/AB (n=248 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.74 GPA, 91.5% A/AB (n=211 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.60 GPA, 88.6% A/AB (n=202 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.76 GPA, 91.9% A/AB (n=248 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.74 GPA, 91.5% A/AB (n=211 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews of Walter Goodman: Walter Goodman is described as nice, funny, and passionate, though some students found lectures disconnected from graded work. Reviewers noted the course was easy with simple quizzes and essays, but one student advised putting effort into the take-home essays which comprised a significant portion of the grade.

CHRISTELLE GUEDOT is recorded teaching in Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DAVID HOGG is recorded teaching in Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RUSSELL GROVES is recorded teaching in Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SEAN SCHOVILLE is recorded teaching in Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

WALTER GOODMAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Online (some classroom)67 / 600
LEC 002Online (some classroom)65 / 808
LEC 003Online (some classroom)63 / 807
LEC 001Online (some classroom)9 / 704
LEC 002Online (some classroom)13 / 800
LEC 003Online (some classroom)16 / 802

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Sean Schoville’s section is described as an easy, low-stress biological science requirement with no midterms or finals. Reviewers highlight the flexible online format and engaging lectures as key strengths for students seeking a manageable course load.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.60 GPA, 88.6% A/AB (n=202 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.76 GPA, 91.9% A/AB (n=248 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.74 GPA, 91.5% A/AB (n=211 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Workload consists of seven short essays, weekly quizzes, a moth-raising project, and a mini-documentary. While some find the volume of assignments significant, most report that the tasks are straightforward and manageable if students stay on top of deadlines.

Students appreciate the interesting content and the hands-on nature of raising a moth. The class is recommended for those wanting a flexible semester, though some note that achieving an A requires maintaining a high grade average due to strict cutoffs.

Topics

  • Importance of insects in the environment
  • Beneficial insects, disease carriers, and agricultural pests
  • Environmental problems due to insect control agents

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.12 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
ENTOM/ENVIRST 201 · Fall 2026

Insects and Human Culture-a Survey Course in Entomology

Recorded 2026-09-07
ENTOM/ENVIRST 201 · Fall 2026

Insects and Human Culture-a Survey Course in Entomology

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
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    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:355:007080",
    "course_id": "ENTOM/ENVIRST 201",
    "course_uid": "course_b51d1f38a12125cfc1dc45f6",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "007080",
    "source_subject_id": "355",
    "title": "Insects and Human Culture-a Survey Course in Entomology",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:360:007080",
    "course_id": "ENTOM/ENVIRST 201",
    "course_uid": "course_b51d1f38a12125cfc1dc45f6",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "007080",
    "source_subject_id": "360",
    "title": "Insects and Human Culture-a Survey Course in Entomology",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "0d674250dc50963cfef51b34909c5a71cc3dc9b1294a63027c9ac75deb942fe4",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}