ADPL 1810
Special Topics: Our Common Home: Philosophies of Ecology · 1 instructor on record · 2 sections
Boston College's ratings are bunched at the top — the median instructor averages about 88 out of 100 on the raw scale, and 44% of them clear 90 — so a raw score cannot separate anybody. Every figure here is ranked against BC classes and that rank is re-expressed out of 100, which is what turns a raw 88 — the middle of the university — into a figure that says where somebody actually stands. On this scale 77 is the median, 84 the top quarter and 91 the top tenth. Workload is then an adjustment on top of that, worth nothing at all for an ordinary one. Lighter work than 7% of BC classes.
The class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it — who taught it is the board below.
How is this worked out?
That is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between: the board carries each instructor's own score for this class, and the score above is the class averaged across all of them.
Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question. It is not a measure of difficulty, grading or workload.
How is this worked out?
Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.
One of Boston College's five workload bands, not a number of hours. Higher means more work, not worse.
How is this worked out?
Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.
This course is a journey through the diverse landscape of ecological thinking as shaped by diverse world philosophical systems. "Our Common Home: Philosophies of Ecology" delves into the intersections of ecology, philosophy, religion, and cultural perspectives to unravel the intricate relationships between humans and the natural world. The title, and course, emphasize the bond of responsibility between human communities as the home we share. The title, and course, also emphasize that earth is the common home not just between human beings, but also between humans and all other plants and animals. The word ecology means literally the study of home. The way we think and feel about our home shapes how we interact with it, and how we relate to one another within it. The course will feature diverse readings from ancient philosophy and religion, to poetry and literature, to contemporary articles in ecological science. Our efforts to understand the various ways of thinking about ecology will take us around the world and down through history.
| Instructor | Curve | Easiness | Challenge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric SeversonAdvancing Studies Provisional | 8194 raw · 2 records | 58−5 to the score | 53rd |
There is no ranking to read here: Eric Severson is the only instructor with evaluation records for ADPL 1810, so the number is a record, not a position. It rests on 2 records, which is thin — read it as provisional.
Also taught by Eric Severson
2 other classesOther ADPL classes
All of them| Class | Instructors | Course score |
|---|---|---|
| ADPL 1500Ethics | 413 records | 89 |
| ADPL 1800World Philosophies | 18 records | 90 |
| ADPL 2011True Detectives: Investigating the Crimes and Mysteries of Existence | 18 records | 90 |
| ADPL 1070Philosophy of the Person I | 36 records | 83 |
| ADPL 1483Philosophy of Human Sexuality | 14 records | 91 |
| ADPL 1498Philosophy of Cinema | 14 records | 95 |
The line
All 13 items · means across 2 recordsBars are ranks, not raw scores. Nothing here is graded good or bad.
What each item asks
- Explains Clearly
- The instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
- Available
- The instructor was available for help outside of class.
- Motivating
- The instructor motivated me to do my best work.
- Sparks Interest
- The course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
- Organized
- The course was well organized.
- Clear Goals
- The learning objectives for the course were clear.
- Useful Later
- What I learned is applicable beyond this course.
- Assignments
- Assignments and exams contributed to my learning.
- Fast Feedback
- I received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
- Useful Feedback
- The feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
- Workload
- How much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.
- Challenge
- The course was intellectually challenging.
- Attendance
- Attending class was necessary to do well in this course.
Why these numbers are curved
Both the number and the bar are the rank against every comparable record we hold, printed back out of 100. BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so on the raw scale every cell here would read in the high eighties and every bar would be nearly full — thirteen numbers that tell you nothing. Each cell prints its raw BC figure and its percentile underneath, so nothing is hidden by the transform. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.
Game log
2 sections · newest first| Instructor | Term | Sec | Instr | Course | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Severson | Fall 2025 | 01 | 91 | 86 | 80 |
| Eric Severson | Fall 2024 | 01 | 97 | 97 | — |
How to read this board
Instructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.