Israel Pastrana - Portland Community College

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Israel Pastrana - Portland Community College

Professor: Israel Pastrana

Department: History

College: Portland Community College

Rating # 1

Overview:

Course: HIST203
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: N/A
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

The Main thing that frustrated the crud out of me was that he did not grade anything OR give any feedback till the end of term!!! And when he FINALLY did grade stuff he did not give any feedback on what I did wrong!!! Don't take unless you don't mind your GPA taking a beating!!!

Rating # 2

Overview:

Course: HST203
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I always received detailed, individualized feedback from the instructor. The content was engaging and relevant. It's evident that Israel is an expert history teacher. He also understands that many of his students are nontraditional students. He works to ensure that the course material is accessible.

Rating # 3

Overview:

Course: HST201
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Israel did not give any feedback on any of the assignments and instructions were extremely unclear for weekly assignments.

Rating # 4

Overview:

Course: HIST201
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This was my first history class in the US and I got to learn about all the nuance in history, there was a lot of reading but it was always really interesting. We had 3 papers to write and they were all aimed at making you realize history is not just a one sided story. I really enjoyed learning from him, and he was always available to help us.

Rating # 5

Overview:

Course: HST250
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Being in Pastrana's class was refreshing in terms of the thought-provoking materials and lively class discussions. That being said, I didn't receive a lick of feedback the entire term, but he was also admittedly clear with expectations and extremely understanding, which partly made up for it.

Rating # 6

Overview:

Course: HST201
Grade Received: A+
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I cannot vouch for his what his class is like in person, but if you're taking his remote class, get ready for a lot of reading, no class, a weekly discussion post, three big writing assignments, and no feedback on almost any of your assignments. He is quick at responding to emails and seems so be an easy grader based on the one assignment he graded

Rating # 7

Overview:

Course: HST202
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

A ton of reading, but it's surviveable. He's nice and not a bad choice. He's not a hard grader, but make sure to participate and do all your assignments (there aren't many). Lets you listen to music during tests. Takes a very very long time to grade things though. He's a pretty safe choice for a professor, I'd say.

Rating # 8

Overview:

Course: HST202
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Israel is my favorite professor at PCC so far, very inspirational to me and I've taken almost all the classes he teaches! If you've taken Doug Byrd, they are good friends and pretty similar teachers. Barely uses his slides in lecture so you do have to pay attention, but isn't date/name memorization heavy on exams (or no exams at all). No textbooks.

Rating # 9

Overview:

Course: HST201
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Probably the only history teacher at PCC that doesnt teach entirely off powerpoints, youll watch a lot of videos and do some interactive discussions. Pretty funny too.

Rating # 10

Overview:

Course: HST202
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great Professor. Many Readings at the start of the term. He grades pretty easily, but your entire grade is based on the essays you write which get progressively more difficult. It can be a lot of work, but you should take his class anyways. Talk to him outside of class, it will improve your grade.

Rating # 11

Overview:

Course: HIST201
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Pastrana is one of those professors that actually invest time in his students. His passion for History truly shows when he is teaching. Great professor and mentor!

Rating # 12

Overview:

Course: HIST201
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Prof. Pastrana is an amazing professor. He is very engaging, great power points. I have learned so much from his class!

Rating # 13

Overview:

Course: HST201
Grade Received: WD
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Nice dude, but isn't very helpful when it comes to assistance with assignments. Class was poorly organized and we mostly read the chapter and came to class to talk about it. if you are looking for someone who takes the time to explains the content and actually teaches you the material, then I wouldn't take this class with this instructor

Rating # 14

Overview:

Course: HST201
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Israel is a cool person but when it comes to being a good instructor, he lacks potential. He is not specific with directions on assignments and you play the guessing game with your grade as he does not grade assignments consistently. On top of not lack of consistency, he is terrible at communication. 10/10 DO NOT RECOMMEND!

Rating # 15

Overview:

Course: HST202
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Pastrana has engaging lectures, and often has us do small group discussions. Participation does matter, but if you're shy or quiet, there are many ways to participate. Two tests, two papers, but text was online and free. Overall Pastrana is a great professor and the class was worth the workload.

Rating # 16

Overview:

Course: HST201
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Loved this Guy. If you have a decent personality with others you will love this class

Rating # 17

Overview:

Course: HST201
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He takes a very long time to grade anything be aware of that. Our midterms were three weeks ago and we haven't received them back. We also have done 5 other assignments in which he has only graded 1 in 12 weeks. Don't take this professor if you don't feel confident in History.

Rating # 18

Overview:

Course: HST201
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Took Pastrana my very first term in college and I couldn't have had a better first experience with college history. His ability to analyze, unpack and connect ideas and concepts throughout history is astounding. His way of teaching is very stimulating!

Rating # 19

Overview:

Course: HST201
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Pastrana is an awesome professor. Participation is huge, there's a lot of reading, but he makes learning about history fun and engaging.

Rating # 20

Overview:

Course: HST201
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great lectures and an interesting class project (and I normally hate group projects). Professor Pastrana is genuinely a good guy who conveys history in a way that allows his students to think more critically while examining prominent events and periods in time.

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