CourseReviews.com - Truman State University

Not good if you want to learn something

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2008-06-29T02:29:00-05:00

If you are just looking for a quick way to get through a mode of inquiry, then maybe this class will be okay. If you actually want to learn something, for the love of all that is holy, do not take this class. The material is outdated and Sal is more concerned about what others think than about what we learn. Sal seems very friendly during class, but if you walk into his office on the wrong day, he will bite your head off and send you running for the hills. Most of the time if you go to his office, he will spend the time complaining about other faculty/staff, which I found very unprofessional. He does not make a good professor and would be better suited as a car salesman. Seriously.

All-time favorite!

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2008-01-16T11:26:00-05:00

I took Italian with Cole the first year they let him teach it - - - must have been 1993 or 1994. With his quick and wry wit and laid-back nature and my silly righteousness I thought, "This guy is either going to be a PITA or a lot of fun." And of course it turned out to be the latter. It may have been >ulp< 14 years ago that I had class with him, but it stands out as my favorite classroom experience to date, including grad school. Our assignments were challenging, but not unreasonable for a 2-credit intro course. They were fun and I recall taking great pleasure in our final project, which was a translation of a poem or short story into Italian. I still have mine, and not hidden away in a box. Charmingly self-deprecating (not cloying), crazy intelligent, up for any topic of discussion as long as it can be made germane to the at hand (and he can make it so if need be), and completely genuine in his interest in his students and their success as thinkers and scholars, he's a treasure. I only hope that a group of grateful alumni could fund a big fat scholarship in his honor. We remained friends for several years then sadly lost touch, but I thought of him often when I was teaching grad school courses over the past couple of years. The man leaves a helluva impression, and I miss him a lot!

Awesome Teacher!!!!

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-11-07T20:10:00-05:00

Mrs. McKamie is one of the best teachers I have ever had! She is absolutley awesome about helping out students when they need time after class. She will work around almost any schedule. The class is really interesting but not too tough. If you pay attention in class you will do very well on the tests. Also, she holds review sessions that almost garuntee you an A on the test if you go. Definatly take her class.

Horrendous class.

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-10-18T14:37:00-05:00

This class was absolutely terrible. It took weeks to get things back, if you saw them at all. A good portion of the class was just wasted time as he rambled about his personal beliefs that we should teach ourselves with the text book and internet- he's just "along for the ride." Speaking of being along for the ride, when time did come to get something done you had to depend entirely on your classmates and pick someone to be the sacrificial lamb to ask him questions and get attacked. He really seems to take pleasure in telling you just how wrong you are and point out that if you were a good student/intelligent human being, you should have known everything already. Darn you for wasting his time!

WTF!!!!!!

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-10-18T14:24:00-05:00

This class was the worst i have ever had at truman. I feel i have learned nothing at all about ecology. He spends way too much time on BS topics that have nothing to do about the subject matter. AVOID Kelrick. He will "Take you to school."

"It's Pat"...not exactly funny in real life.

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-08-04T21:39:00-05:00

I had Prof. Harrison for both LATN 150 & 250. Neither time I took her was by choice. She is an amazingly nice person--always willing to make time for her students--but she is reminiscent of Pat from SNL because of her mannerisms and the noises that she makes, the charm of which wears off rather early in the course. She is probably the most versed living person in Latin, which may sound promising, but cannot teach it. This is not surprising because when all you know is all-things-Classics you may not be able to relate to the living. She tries many techniques to help the students learn (such as conjugations or declentions put to well-known songs), but for the non-Classics majors in the class who are already lost beyond belief, this is hardly a remedy (particularly since her new lyrics did not fit the songs very well at times so all you end up remembering is the tune that was known from the beginning). Her homework is kind of helpful and not all-too-difficult, but her near-weekly quizzes are comparable to the tests of the other Latin professors and a kick in the crotch was much preferable to her tests. Anyway, if you get stuck with her, it is manageable to get any range of grades (even an A). However, unless you are willing to put into this class the dedication of a Classics major, go for a different professor. Lastly, I'd like to note that there is a loophole in the Truman catalogue, which allowed me to take LATN 250 Pass/Fail, and that way I didn't have to worry about her class killing my GPA.

Class and prof were... interesting...

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-06-14T03:48:00-05:00

I enjoyed gen. psyc. with Mr. Costa (a.k.a. Sal). It was a really interesting class as most of the focus was on abnormal psychology. It taught me to never be surprised at some of the things that people will do. There are only two types of tests: book tests and note tests. Book tests are usually over three chapters and I think they are made by the company so it would help to use the study tools on the student companion book website. Note tests are over anything and everything Sal says in class so make sure you write down and study his every word. An "A" is not easy in his class, but definitely possible. As an introductory psyc. teacher, Sal does a good job. He knows the facts for the classes he teaches, but not a whole lot for upper level psychology and research. If you are getting ready for grad school is psyc., try a different professor. Otherwise he is good for fulfilling the LSP requirement. As a person, Sal is very concerned about what others think of him and also rather pompous. He seems to think he's the greatest thing on earth in more than one way. Also, if you catch him at his office hours, he can be pretty bitchy and will smack talk about the Truman faculty and his colleagues behind their backs. If you can put up with that, he is generally helpful during office hours.

Easy if you do the work

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-05-15T17:04:00-05:00

I have no idea why people would fail this man's class. he is so straight forward. there are no suprises at all on his tests. do the homework, take notes, study for the test and dont read the book = easy A. if you cant do this then you probably should go to a community college or mizzou.

Turned me on to policy analysis and administration!

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-05-15T16:58:00-05:00

Candy is amazing! first of all i am not a nerd, meaning that i dont love school, but i did write a drunken email to candy after the bars closed in which i stated that she "rocked my socks off" and taught the way professors should. She cares about student learning and Truman education. she is pretty much the reason why i went to graduate school in public administration. she is awesome outside the office as well and love shooting the shit with her when she is available (she is quite busy). anyway take her you wont regret it.

If you knew now -what you will know then

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-05-02T16:21:00-05:00

Took a couple of classes with Dr. Barron many moons ago. Don't worry about your grade, worry about learning all you can about writing. Don't sweat it if she doesn't agree with you or if she likes you or not. Learn to think creatively and look at things just a little differently than everyone else. Put your ego aside and learn all you can. You can earn big money and have a creatively stimulating career if you do. Being broke is not virtuous. There a lot of companies willing to pay people with some "creative game" big money. 100,000.00 to 250,000.00/yr. I graduated with about a 2.5 GPA and make more than anybody on Truman's payroll.

A Great Professor

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-04-21T15:32:00-05:00

Dr. Tigner is a great teacher and an all-around nice, funny guy. He really expands on the material in his lecture and covers it so well that you may find that you don't always need to read the book. His tests are all multiple choice, and they usually seem pretty fair. Dr. Tigner is approachable and very good about anwering questions in and out of class. Take him for Hist. & Syst.!

I paid $600 for this?

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-04-18T18:22:00-05:00

I believe his class is just somehting he teaches so he can read and make fun of the way "main stream" people live. He missed many classes, but that was okay because we never acutally did anything in class. We had to give a presentaiton on a author from a list. This assignment didn't fit into the class and was a complete waste of a lot of time. Spitzer did not even listen to the presenter. He would gaze around the class like he was zoned out. The only time he paid attention to the presenter was when they went over the alloted five min.s, after that he would start fidgeting and moving about like he wanted that kid to shut up. He is stuck on the damn "SNT" which is shown not tell. Seriously sayinging somethink is "ozzing" is considered show not tell. For the midterm he counted five percent off for each SNT in and inclass writing assighnment and he counted on one student for "war". Come on!!! The class is completely unstructured and a complete was of time. I learned nothing!! Another anoying habit of his is to lecutre to the class and look at the floor the entire time!!!

Wonderful Guy- Satanic Class.

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-03-31T19:25:00-05:00

This class is DIFFICULT. No one can waste class time like Dr. Beaky. He spends more time talking to himself and laughing then he does teaching physics. He is a really, really nice guy. I can't stress enough how helpful and polite he is, but honestly... he has no clue as to how hard he makes his tests. I study CONSTANTLY, and I am struggling majorly for my awful grades. Tests are weighted a considerably large amount and it's ruining quite a few students grades. Homework takes absolutely forever and you will come to HATE Masteringphysics.com and how it will destroy your grade.

Zero Work

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-03-31T19:19:00-05:00

Moore's class requires little or no effort for an A. I have yet to read a single assignment, yet she is continously telling me that I have wonderful insights into the readings. We have written maybe three papers approximately four pages in length and I've gotten A's on all of them. Granted I do write for different publications, but I'm almost certain a trained monkey could get an A from this women. Discussions easily turn political and it's a sinch to get her off topic for hours. Strong suggestion if you need some easy grade points.

Incrediable, of course

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-03-31T19:12:00-05:00

Everything with Cole is amazing. I rave about him to everyone I know. I took Shakespeare with him because he was so amazing when I took him for Italian. It's impossible to say enough positive things about him. He does expect you to work and he will test your knowledge and your ability to think for yourself- but this an honors University, if that bothers you, change schools. He's funny, whitty, incrediably intelligent, and he can have a conversation about anything. Take any class with him that you can and savor your time with Cole Woodcox- then sign up for every other class he teaches.

Amazing! Read my review. (This is Jacob Shroyer)

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-03-18T19:33:00-05:00

Lloyd Pflueger, by far, more than any other professor at Truman, represents the pompous air that "all" professors at the Harvard of the Midwest should aspire to attain. He will hold you responsible to bleed for your grade. You will find that "extra credit" is not optional, but rather mandatory. Also, something to keep in mind while BSing the night before: 90% of all your assignments will be graded by students much like yourself, students who took the same class you did and know full well how much of a pain it is to take it. I am not one of those students grading your papers; I am not that stupid. I am however appreciative of the fact that unlike most classes that I have taken at this university I could still remember relevant information hours, even days, after the final. In conclusion, I firmly believe he is not only an exemplary example (<--alliteration) of Truman's finest, but in order to best adhere to Truman's Elitist Mission Statement, I believe that "all" students at Truman, should be required to take his courses.

PERFECT

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-01-27T11:36:00-05:00

This is the best teacher I have ever had in my entire life. I actually care about learning and NOT my grade in his class. I have taken two classes with him so far and hope to take several more. He will stretch your mind and help you grow as a person; he genuinely cares for all his students. He is not a hard grader and very fair in preparing you for tests and/or quizzes. You will do well in his classes if you listen to what he says and engage with the material.

Demonic Tendencies

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-01-27T11:29:00-05:00

While a good speaker, passionate about her subject and easy to follow in lecture, she has demonic tendencies. During my brief stint in her classroom I witnessed her freak out and loose control on several occasions. Several students recieved hateful e-mails from her during the semester. She is not a bad teacher and I wouldn't tell you not to take her, I only tell you to proceed with caution. She must feel that she is on top of the world at all times. Prepare to bow down and worship . . . or else! All in all, Bridget Thomas is a good teacher but not a nice person.

She was hottie in her UMR days

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-01-10T17:35:00-05:00

I remember her as a TA during the mid 80s at Rolla. One of the best looking gals at Rolla.

Extremely difficult, possibly worth it

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2007-01-03T14:54:00-05:00

Dr. Harker knows what she's talking about, but she's still willing to hear other views during class discussion. When it came to essay due dates, she was very flexible given our pace with the syllabus (which changed constantly...), which was welcome given the difficulty of the Scottish texts we read. Unfortunately, she usually wasn't clear about her essay expectations. You kinda had to guess as to what she wanted. Her exams were difficult but fair. They covered the material presented, and she was very clear as to what she wanted on the exams. You just had to do the insanely hard part of living up to those expectations. She had some problems with email, sometimes even losing/never receiving students' essays. This wasn't a blow-off English class. You have to keep up with it or you will drown. It's easy enough to get a B (the B scale goes down into the upper 70s), but you really have to work to get an A. Don't take her unless you want a challenge and have friends who will listen as you complain about the difficulty. Good luck! (Plus, she dressed up like a demon and gave us candy corn on Halloween. She has some awesome class discussions; I was never bored.)

No good

noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student) — 2006-12-13T23:44:00-05:00

This professor is not good. She just spends most of the class going over sample problems without promoting understanding of the material. When asked questions about something slightly off-topic or more in-depth, she can't provide answers. She does, however, tell you exactly what is on the tests, which makes cramming easy. Just don't expect to come away from this class with useful, long-term knowledge.