Reviews of professor Rebecca Shields

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
Participation was not mandatory, but you have to watch the lecture videos. The textbook was not necessary, I got an A by only taking notes from the lectures. The lectures are also super clear and very easy to follow. There were weekly discussion boards but these were totally manageable, and all the big tests were open note.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
(ARTH 201, not 315)
Dr. Shields is very kind, approachable, and knowledgeable/passionate about her subject. Lectures were a little dry to me (non-art student) but slides didn't have much text, so important to show up and take notes. Weekly open-note quizzes and discussion boards, lots of reading, one group project. Takes attendance but not graded.

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 1.0/5
I like Shields as a person but her teaching method can be a bit difficult. She often asks questions and pulls tangents that make it hard to stay on track for what we're learning. If her questions were rhetorical rather than mandatory to respond to then I would enjoy the class more. Otherwise she's easy to test with and her assignments are simple.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Super responsive, passionate about the topics, attendance was not mandatory for the Banned art class.  We had weekly quizzes, 3 tests, a group project and an extra credit assignment.  She's super helpful but you can't bs the quizzes.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
great class, great teacher will learn a lot about art history. textbook and tests are online mostly.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Class is done well. Discussion posts every week about interesting subjects, and difficult tests, but with ample time provided. Only criticism is that the amount of "and"s used in the instructor videos when she talks gets kind of annoying.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Professor Shields is my favorite VCU art professor. I have taken her for three courses (ARTH 315, ARTH 250, ARTH 104) and all three have been wonderful. She really knows what she's talking about and really cares about what she's teaching. Her assignments were pretty clear, and she's a very fair grader. The lectures are the most important part.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
She posted weekly videos and weekly discussion boards. As long as you take notes and understand the lectures you'll be all set for the tests. The textbook was optional, I never used it and did well on all tests. It might seem like a lot of work, but don't be overwhelmed, the workload and difficulty was very manageable.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
This class was asynchronous for me so I don't have too much to say excpet that I thought her recorded lectures were interesting, she seems to care about the subject matter. Just take really good notes and you should be fine.