Professor Pickering is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate; although it's clear he only teaches for research, his lectures are still informative and interesting. The discussions seem somewhat disjointed from the lectures, and the exam questions can be a bit vague and poorly worded, but this class should still be an "easy A" for most students.

Professor/TAs don't care about you and they are pretty uninspiring. Tests (2/3 of grade) are open note/internet and lab practicals (1/3 of grade) are pretty hard if you've never taken anatomy. Don't take this class with this professor unless you need bio science credits

Great lecturer. Four discussion quizzes and four unit tests total (no final). Exam questions were usually about offhand comments he made in class, so you have to take notes on literally everything he says.

Good professor who was clearly passionate about anthro, lecture was optional but I highly recommend going because he makes it easier for students who do attend lecture. You have to go to the discussion sections, if you miss one you're most likely screwed. Does not post his lecture slides, but they barely have anything on them anyways.

He was a fine professor. There were exams on lecture content and practical quizzes on discussion content. The exams were open note, online, and very easy. The practical quizzes were more difficult. I skipped lecture for weeks and got As on the exams, but didn't skip any discussion sections, because if you miss the content you will fail the quizzes.

The professor is okay, his lectures don't match what you learn in sections and his TAs are okay, they just read off slides. He doesn't post slides on Canvas and there are barely any words either so you have to pay attention to what he says. If you study for the practical tests and do well on them it's relatively easy. Honors optional not worth it.

Super interesting lectures, but if you miss one there aren't any slides to look back on. Tests are open notes so as long as you go to lecture you'll have an easy time at it. Lab is a lot of memorizing specific details of bones so I studied more for that than for exams.

Anthro intro

He cares much more about his research than his classes, especially his level 100 classes, and makes that a very apparent fact. Somehow he manages to treat it as a blow-off class even though he is the professor. His lectures can be difficult to get through as he is quite opinionated and definitely holds attitudes towards certain topics. Great TA's!

The lectures were interesting. He doesn't try to fill the time with useless information. He would even end class early. Exams could be tricky but they are open note and unproctored. Just go to class and take good notes. The same goes for the lab/discussion. Lab exams are easy if you pay attention.

Barely any homework and the lectures are very easily digestible. I only took this for my science credits, and it is decently easy. The professor is sarcastic and has a no-excuses attitude, which I can appreciate. People who complain about this class don't appreciate the fact that there is no homework (for lectures) and all the unit tests are online

2 of my friends took anthro105 and they both agree the stuff this guy assigns was way more difficult than what they had. My issue is not that the class was hard, bc it's not that bad, but is the fact that this guy has 4 exams 4 quizzes and doesn't post any material. So if you miss a lesson (you can skip a few) or a lab (do not miss any!) your SOL.

His lectures were long and dry. No textbooks recordings or slides posted but even then, the slides were just bunch of random images and had little text to what he's actually saying. Professor doesn't care at all about this class or the students, won't help you if you reach out, basically dependent on the TAs. Not that hard class but horrible prof

The professor is one of the most self-important, pompous people with anger management issues that I have ever met. He is very smart, but here to do research and does not give a rip about the class. He LEAVES the room for most of it so you will teach yourself. You will learn a ton but it could be one of the most challenging classes you ever take.

Lectures are mostly just him speaking at you with minimal info on the slides. He can be dry/boring but the content isnt too hard. He doesn't post any material so you have to go to every lecture and pay attention, but if you do that its easy to get an A. You're graded on 4 tests and 4 quizzes (during discussion). Mc and online with no honorlock.

Pretty dry professor, but overall not too difficult or unfair. No lecture recordings or slides on canvas so you're required to go to lecture to catch up on content. Course was graded by 4 exams on lecture content and 4 quizzes/practicals on lab content, and the two are very distinct topic-wise.

Professor Pickering makes this very difficult class pretty enjoyable. He is funny, in a dry sarcastic way. He gives short lectures that tell you exactly what you need to know for the exams. He is a very fair grader and is willing to help if you ask a question. This class has no canvas page, and 5 cumulative exams. No other grades/homework

HE POSTS NOTHING on canvas, so you need to cram in your notes during lecture because the slides will NOT be posted. He never seemed to be in a happy mood and wasn't enthusiastic at all while teaching. Exam had many "Two or more" "one or more" as answer options. Confusing and did not perform that well.

If you missed lecture, you would have to find notes from someone in that section since lectures weren't recorded and notes weren't posted. Your grade is basically determined by 4 exams, but there are many questions on those exams that are worded weirdly.

No work but exams are 100% of the grade. Doesnt care about students, I mixed up the times of a practical quiz and asked if I could retake it so I didnt get a zero and he just told me I cant (yes I know its my fault but still come on). Tanked my grade 10% for something so dumb. Most exam questions have "two or more" and "none of the above", annoying

I did not like that lectures were not recorded. If I was sick I would have to find someone that was willing to send the notes. My exams were online and they can be a little confusing with wording but it was open note. If you do not great on one of the exams it can make it hard to get your grade back up, even though it was an easy class.

This man is one of the worst teachers at UW. He has little compassion and is generally very rude to students when you approach him in private. He does not care if you are sick or if something happened in your life. Don't reach out to him for support. I had to get notes from other kids while I had COVID because he refuses to record lectures.

Professor Pickering was a nice guy. The only way to get the information for the class was attending the lectures because he didn't post them. No homework assignments and discussion attendance was not mandatory but useful. He did assume we had experience with the material which I found unusual since it was a level 100 class.

The lectures were okay, some of them were pretty dry and the lack of captions makes differentiating between terms sort of difficult. 4 tests each make up 25% of the grade and there's a lot of questions that have "2 or more" or "none of the above" as answer choices so you really have to write down everything from the lectures. No mid grades (AB/BC)

Not a good lecturer, lectures are very tedious sounds like he's dying inside. This class is only graded by 4 exams and doesn't have mid-grade. Not recommended.

Pretty enjoyable lectures, tests are fair given the amount of time to take them and the fact that they are open notes. If you mess up on a test it can definitely put a hamper on your grade, though.

Personally, I really enjoyed Professor Pickering's lectures. I thought he made the topics very interesting and accessible, especially considering the all-online circumstances. Other reviews say that the exams are worded poorly and are difficult, but I didn't think so, as long as you take good notes (since the exams are open-note) and pay attention.

I want to give him a 0 out of 5 if it's possible. Worst prof I had ever. Lectures are monotonous, tests are wordy and difficult. Never responds to the email I had sent, does not care about his students. Avoid him.

The class is graded on an A, B, C, D, F scale which makes it more stressful. The class itself is very low work, but the questions are the test are worded so the tests are hard. The class is only lectures and exams so if you don't do well on the exams thats your grade.

The class was not a lot of work at all, only watching the lecture videos online. Only the exams matter in the grade. Most of the time, the exams were worded so poorly, that the true meaning of the question was hard to decipher. Before this class, I had taken Anthro 100 and knowing stuff from that class did not help at all. WOULD NOT TAKE WITH HIM.

He is so sweet and really likes what he teaches. I also enjoyed the content so I was a big fan.

Travis started out the semester by saying the class would be an easy A. He rushed through all the content very quickly and assumed everyone knew all the material already. DO NOT take this class if you're looking for an easy 100 level class!

Pretty interesting lectures, and he can be funny at times. Test wasn't extremely difficult

Professor Pickering is a cool guy and no doubt intelligent as can be. However, his lectures were information heavy and he doesnt put any of the powerpoints online. Most of the quiz content is directly pulled from lectures so if you miss class, you BETTER get the notes from someone else. 50% of final grade is from quizzes, the other 50% from final.

He's a fine professor. His lectures are pretty vague, even though he prefaces them with "the exam will only be on lectures", but then begins to reference the reading. For his section of Anthro 100, DO THE READING. It's important and helps you understand much more. He's a fine professor, ANTHRO100 in general is SO unexpectedly hard. Take 104 instead

This was the hardest but best class I have ever taken. The exams are super difficult, but you will be surprised at how much you learn. I honestly have never learned more from a class at UW and I took this my last semester. Pickering is the best professor I have ever had. He's funny, incredibly intelligent, and an excellent professor.

Travis would come to class 2 minutes late, and be the first one out the door when class was over. He didn't really care about what he was teaching. He even made remarks about how he doesn't like teaching the course. He expects his Anthro100 students to know things only anthropology majors know Very difficult professor.

Not a good class, took this for gen eds and no just dont take him. the test is based on lectures and the test is a lot more memorizing than you could handle, you cant even make up your grade either, it is 75% test and 25% homework

He doesn't give you anything for free, but he's a fair grader and an all-around chill guy.

Travis Pickering is the most condescending professor I have come across thus far at UW-Madison. In addition, on more than one occasion he came to class over ten minutes late, rushed through his slides, and ended early (always the first person out the door). That's pretty much all I have to say in his regard.

If you are looking for an easy 100 level class where you can get by without doing much work, this is not the class for you. There was a lot of information, and it was somewhat unclear as to which information was relevant. Very different impression during lecture, in contrast to time spent during his office hours. Class is on a bell curve.

Pickering is like a high school gym teacher: intimidating, rude, and unhelpful, but fairly easy. He shows up last minute and belts out the door when the class is done. He seems bored and condescending. His test, however, is fairly easy.

good

Don't really need to read the book. Not the most interesting class I've taken. Dr. Pickering seemed uninterested and bored when he would come to lecture.

PIckering was a pretty unenthusiastic professor. I fell asleep multiple times in lecture and wasted too much time on textbook readings that barely covered his lectures. Test was definitely hard - it was unclear as to what to study. Definitely would not recommend if you want an easy level 100 class

Pickering's lectures are hard to become interested in because he is very unenthusiastic about the material. Tests are pretty difficult for a 100 level class. Lot's of information to sort through as well.

His PowerPoints at times could be quite dry and weren't posted online (as many other professors do), but he did hold a review session where he went over the most important areas to study, which was very helpful. Overall, Pickering is a good professor, but if you're looking for an "easy" 100-level class, I would advise you to look somewhere else.

Pickering's lecture style wasn't preferable for me - things were all over the place and he constantly talked down the class. You could tell he was used to teaching higher level classes. I didn't mind him, but I wasn't enthusiastic about him.

Travis seems like he would rather be digging in dirt than talking to a bunch of students that are just taking the class to fulfill a requirement. He is a pretty boring lecturer.

Does a good job trying to make this class interesting to those (like myself) who are taking it to fulfill a requirement. Tests are tricky, all multiple choice, but every question has an All of the Above and None of the Above choice.

There's three professors for this class, and he was my least favorite of the three. He doesn't say what needs to be on the exam, which was very difficult. I didn't like his attitude either, it seemed like a bother for him to be there.

Interesting lecturer and is clear on the important and extraneous information. Reading the book helps a lot. 50-question multiple choice exam that was in line with vocab, readings, and lectures.

Pickering is one of the best professors i've had in college. you have to show up to class, plus theres only 10 people in it, so he'll know if youre not coming. show him that you care and you'll get the grade you deserve. tests are all practical where you have to identify bone fragments. not easy but if you put in the work an A is doable

He's an okay professor. His test was a little tricky (I could narrow it down to two answers but it was difficult to pick the right one). It's important to come to lec because he doesn't put his slides online.

Quiet, monotone, but seems to know what he's talking about-- could be more enthusiastic. Discussion helped me a lot, if you like anthropology take this class, very informative and useful and interesting videos!

Was very good at pointing out what we needed to study for tests...however he did move almost too fast sometimes and lectures were spent trying to copy down all the notes and not always listening to what he was saying

Pickering was good at lectures and pointing out what we needed to know for the test. Reading was somewhat helpful. Was pretty quiet most of the times, I feel that he is a great guy, just is a little quiet. Doesn't like cell phone use in class-so don't use it especially if you plant yourself in the front row of the class. Tests were satisfactory.

Had a great time in his class and learned a lot.

Travis is a fantastic professor. He's a little quiet, but knows his facts. I also studied abroad to South Africa with him, and he's a really nice guy. Easy to ask questions to, lectures clearly, and doesn't ask too hard of questions on exams.

He is completely unhelpful and very rude to his students. He has a pompous attitude, and he only hears what he wants to. He is clear during lecture, but when it comes to what will be on the test, he is quite vague. In short, he's a complete tool, and my favorite part about the class besides the subject matter was when he tripped into a cabinet.

Very unsatisfactory professor. Displayed little enthusiasm and seemed to care little about the students' need. Monotone and entirely too easy to tune out, he gave me little inspiration to go to lecture. Inept at using technology. Hard to read slides. 0 out of 5 stars in my book.

Prof Trav Pick is hilarious. Stereotypical anthropologist, lectures are enjoyable, but it seemed as if he couldn't quite realize that he was in a classroom and not an excavation pit. Textbook is useless, but section is helpful

Really good teacher, but exams are difficult

He taught bio section (1/3 class). Of 3 professors, he was 2nd best. No need to read book-does not help-may not even want to buy it. Tests are somewhat date oriented. MUST know names of different species. Memorize your notes and hope to get good TA. Harder class because 3 diff tests and 3 diff prof

I really enjoyed this class and he really did a good job during lectures. He clarifies things that are important and makes sure he repeats it. Great class!

He lectures very well and obviously knows his stuff, but he doesn't know how to prepare people for his test. He made us all read huge sections of the book that NEVER showed up on the exam and tested us on things he had only said in passing. Our discussion sections were supremely useless. If he had just told us what to study, I would have had an A.

First off, whoever said he was hott, was definitely lying...a lot. But he is a great teacher!! He is really interested in what he's talking about and understands that you might not be so he explains everything REALLY WELL. Awesome teacher!!

Easy-to-follow lectures. book reading was helpful, but not necessary. I found the lectures interesting. Besides, he looks like he belongs in Indiana Jones, so you can't go wrong!

Straight forward lecturer, easy to follow notes put on power point. Exam was really tricky, multiple choice, but included the choices "all on the above" and "none of the above" in almost all answer choices. Overall, decently good lecture, tricky exam.

Easy notes, easy course...gorgeous teacher.

His arms are like anacondas. Looks like he knows his way around a hay barn.