Prof Shaman is the best! He really and truly cares about his students deeply and wants to help them get acclimated to college life. Most classes are very discussion based and rather lighthearted (we spent almost the entire first class talking about the UVA crossing guards iykyk), with the last 30-45 mins of class being time to go out of the classroom and observe. There are several times throughout the semester where you'll ask "so what's the point of this" after walking out of class, but you will definitely gain some new skills by the end of the semester.

Decently easy A. Grade consists of discussions that are due after each class that take no more than 15 minutes and are basically a participation grade, along with an actual participation grade that together are 50% of total grade. There are readings due before each class that are usually pretty simple, not very long, and just meant to spark discussion in class (so do them!). Then there are two papers that are graded very fairly and are each 6 pages plus a reflection that will be a couple of pages, and each of those are 25%. The hardest part of these papers is just getting started, but once you're a paragraph in the page limit will fly by.

Both papers are rather unconventional, with the first being basically a synthesis of all your observations in-class that are focused around a specific topic, and the second being a more traditional research paper but is almost exclusively based on identifying and posing a problem related to your topic from the first paper, rather than trying to solve said problem. As I said though, these are pretty easy to write once you get started.

I would definitely recommend this class and Prof Shaman to anyone, as he made my transition into UVA much easier!

Professor Shaman is a pretty decent professor and one I would recommend for anyone taking ENWR 1510. Our class followed the art of observation, having us go outside to observe different things around Grounds. And while it initially started, for me at least, as something I thought wouldn't take me anywhere, I did find myself eventually applying what I learned from the class to the outside world. There are only two essays for the course, however, there is consistently a reading before class and a discussion post after class about what you observed that day. A lot of these ENWRs emphasize an open curriculum, and Shaman's does just that.

I really enjoyed this class! Professor Shaman is a great professor and allowed me to learn a lot more about observational writing. This class was primarily outdoors, which was advantageous sometimes.

This course is very easy. Its critical to know that participation and attendance are crucial for your grade, you need to show up to and talk in class. The writing itself consists of 2 weekly discussions that took me about 10-20 minutes each time, but he gives so much flexibility to what you write about. There is the occasional reading, but they are very short and doable. He asks you to choose a focus, which can be student interactions, dining halls, methods of transportation on grounds, etc. There are 2 big essay, both fairly simple and with a lot of time allotted to completing them. Roughly every other class period he releases students to go "observe" their focus and take notes. You can use this time to do the discussion, eat lunch, or just wander. It's a good idea to use the time wisely though, taking time to write about your focus. Having friends/acquaintances in class is nice as well because of all the peer-reviews and small group discussions in class. Its a good class to make friends in if you're into that. ATTEND AND TALK IN CLASS!

As a class itself, it’s easy. As long as you do the discussions and put in some effort into the two larger essays, getting an A should be no big deal. Also, participation is graded pretty strictly so try to talk a lot. Now, BE WARY THAT ATTENDANCE IS ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY. It is stated in the syllabus, but he does not really cover it in class ever. Furthermore, he does not do anything if you are absent, so it seemed like attendance was optional if you didn’t read the syllabus. BUT ATTENDANCE IS ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY, and he doesn’t let you know about the penalties and doesn’t put them into canvas until the end of the semester. I would’ve ended with a B, but I missed a few classes without knowing the consequences, and ended up with a C- instead.

I took ENWR1510 Science and Tech with Prof. Shaman, and it was one of my most easiest and enjoyable classes. In terms of grading, there are in-class participation, daily discussion board posts, and 2 essays.

For the discussion posts, you'll have to write down your observations about anything that you see outside, which could be the Lawn, Rotunda, Thomas Jefferson, etc., as long as they're thorough and substantial, you'll always get full marks. If you do miss some points, don't sweat it! Because there are a lot of discussion posts, it'll barely affect your grade at all unless you want an A+ (which cmon, A and A+ are really much the same).

For the essay, it's more prompted to make you incorporate questions, thoughts, and ideas, and generally just inquire more about your "focus subject." This essay for most will be challenging for those who have never written such a freebase structure because he encourages you to ditch the 5-paragraph essay structure, and just start writing and putting your thoughts into paper.

There are also readings he assigns, but those are pretty simple to read through. I would recommend reading them the night before or morning of class just so you don't forget as he does like to briefly talk about the reading.

In terms of how your average day will go, it'll go something like (1) meet outside for class (unless it's raining or snowing); (2) talk about the reading; (3) start writing your discussion board for the day by observing anything i.e. grass, clouds, squirrels, ANYTHING; (3) reconvene with the class (if he says so) and talk about what you observed; (4) You're done for the day!

Overall, really simple class, low stress, and I got an A.

Professor Shaman is very interesting in how he teaches. His main advice throughout the semester, when you are writing is to write in questions, and pretend you are having a conversation with yourself. It was very strange, and I didn't follow that, so for the first essay, I followed the prompt, and wrote a very well written essay, and in my conference he said I didn't follow my inquiry enough. So I ended up turning in a final which was literally me asking myself questions, answering them in the next paragraph, and using those answers to ask more questions. That cycle went on for five pages, but I got an A, and he said I did a great job. I realized that didn't make a lot of sense, but the whole class doesn't make sense. Even though you spend a whole semester super confused, the class is an easy A, and very little work. #tCFspring2022

I enrolled in the Science & Tech writing course with Professor Shaman; however, none of the course material or discussions really applied to either of those topics. There was one reading about education and two others essentially about how we perceive and understand the world around us. Although Professor Shaman was very nice and approachable, I thought that the class did little to help with advancing my skills in writing. The class was very easy and was (for the most part) completion based; however, I just didn’t find it very interesting.

Professor Shaman is very into what he teaches, like VERY into it. He's a kind man and tells you what is best for you in terms of your work. The essays you have to write in this class are structured very freely, you do as you wish as long as you put your best effort in. The man uses accountability to judge all of your work, but he uses the word so much no one knows what it means anymore. The class is for the most part a very easy A, but there's a lot of confusion because no one knows what is going on most of the time. Other than some confusion and rather boring class time that he spends grilling anyone who responds to anything he says and no one else gets to speak and nor do they want to. Not too shabby.

Professor Shaman is extremely patient and insightful throughout the course. The type of conceptual thinking and intellectual humility that this course requires and that Professor Shaman encourages is VERY difficult to transition the for first several classes. However- being open to the ideas and discomfort of this new approach to thinking is the best strategy and makes the rest of the course more digestable. The skills taught in this course are unique, powerful, and necessary so don't be discouraged! When it comes to the essays and written assignments, using creative modes and pensive syntax (perhaps, I wonder, maybe, in contrast, etc.) is the most helpful.