Heung Kim

This review is for Prof. Heung Kim, CS 335 Section 31, Artificial Intelligence, offered at Northeastern Illinois University in Fall 2003 on Thursday evenings, 7:05 PM - 9:45 PM.

All in all, Prof. Kim is a decent instructor who tells you what to expect and sticks to it. There are no "surprises" in a Kim class.

SYLLABUS: Very brief, but to the point.

TEXTBOOK: "Artificial Intelligence: Structures and Strategies", by George Luger, 4th ed., Addison-Wesley. This is actually a SUPERB textbook for learning about Artificial Intelligence. In fact, it helped me with my Master’s Project. Even if you don’t take CS 335, I recommend getting a copy of this textbook if you have ANY interest in Artificial Intelligence.

Prof. Kim NEVER used the textbook - all you have to do is copy his writings on the blackboard and whatever he says during class to prepare for his 3 exams. It was funny watching him bring the book to each and every class, yet we never used it.

TEACHING STYLE: Unfortunately, Prof. Kim lectures very robotically. He rarely looks at the class, and simply copies from his notes verbatim for what he writes on the blackboard. He rarely cracks a smile, although on a couple of occasions we made him laugh. Regardless, one on one, he is very helpful and courteous. AGAIN, NO SURPRISES re what was expected of us.

An important criticism about how Prof. Kim teaches CS 335 - Artificial Intelligence is that the subject matter that he teaches, although relevant to Artificial Intelligence, felt more as though he were teaching a course in Logic and Data Structures. Although I felt that I learned a lot, we thus neglected many topics that I feel should have been covered in a course on Artificial Intelligence. (Please refer to the very same course textbook, by George Luger, that we NEVER USED.) Also, we did NO programming (it’s typical to have a LISP or PROLOG programming project in an Artificial Intelligence class).

CLASS PERFORMANCE AND MORALE: Reasonably high. Class medians on Exams I and II were in the low 90s, as I recall. Exam III, the "Final" Exam, was held on the last class day of the semester, and NOT during the regular Exam Week.

Also, class started late (around 7:10 PM) and never went past 9:00 PM.

BOTTOM LINE: I recommend taking Prof. Kim for any class that he teaches. However, people have complained that he is very monotonous and robotic when he lectures. But remember, go to every class, copy down EVERYTHING that he writes on the board and talks about, and MEMORIZE YOUR NOTES. Trust me, if certain other NEIU CompSci Professors were teaching this class, you'd be pulling the hair out of your head.

This review is for Prof. Heung Kim, CS 307 Section 31, Programming Languages, offered at Northeastern Illinois University in Fall 2003 on Tuesday evenings, 7:05 PM - 9:45 PM.

All in all, Prof. Kim is a decent instructor who tells you what to expect and sticks to it. There are no "surprises" in a Kim class.

Syllabus: Very brief, but to the point.

Textbook: "Concepts of Programming Languages", by R. Sebesta, 6th ed., Addison-Wesley. Copies of at least the 5th ed. are available for 2-hour loan from the NEIU Library. Prof. Kim NEVER used the textbook - all you have to do is copy his writings on the blackboard and whatever he says during class to prepare for his 3 exams. It was funny watching him bring the book to each and every class, yet we never used it.

Teaching Style: Unfortunately, Prof. Kim lectures very robotically. He rarely looks at the class, and simply copies from his notes verbatim for what he writes on the blackboard. He rarely cracks a smile, although on a couple of occasions we made him laugh. Regardless, one on one, he is very helpful and courteous. AGAIN, NO SURPRISES re what was expected of us.

Class Performance and Morale: Reasonably high. Class medians on Exams I and II were in the mid 80s, as I recall. Exam III, the "Final" Exam, was held on the last class day of the semester, and NOT during the regular Exam Week.

Also, class started late (around 7:10 PM) and never went past 9:00 PM.

BOTTOM LINE: I recommend taking Prof. Kim for any class that he teaches. However, people have complained that he is very monotonous and robotic when he lectures. But remember, go to every class, copy down EVERYTHING that he writes on the board and talks about, and MEMORIZE YOUR NOTES. Trust me, if certain other NEIU CompSci Professors were teaching this class, you'd be pulling the hair out of your head.