Poll: RateMyProfessors.com has scared me.

[lacktheknack]

Quick background:

I'm a freshman at the University of Alberta, Computer Science specialization. I don't suck at Math... except for last semester, where my professor was Chinese and barely spoke coherent English. I studied for at least sixty hours on Math alone during the Two Hundred Hour Crunch (aka "Drag Me to Hell Time"), and passed by THAT much.

Now, new semester tomorrow, and a new Math class. Yay! Except... RateMyProfessors.com has ruined my day.

My next Math professor has an EVEN WORSE rating then my last professor. I don't know if I can do this. On one hand, if I fail the class, I lose $500 I can't afford to lose. I'm willing to shove ridiculous amounts of effort into this class, but there's absolutely no guarantees. Especially when the majority of feedback is "Find someone else. ANYONE else!"

On the other hand, if I drop the course now and save my money (I have two to three weeks to do this), I might lose even MORE money later by delaying this prerequisite class a semester to find a different professor. It looks like there's a 80% of me being utterly screwed no matter what I do here.

I can't swap to a different timeslot - my five other courses have eaten all the options.

Yes, I need this class. I already have the $400 textbook, no way I'm skipping it entirely.

TLR - I am walking into a deathtrap class that I need, and am probably fiscally in trouble if I fail it or delay it to find a better professor. How should I proceed?

 

[JemJar]

Press on, find a private tutor or a previous grad who can help you out with some of the content. Hell, there are probably people on here who can answer any questions you'd have about CompSci-flavoured maths.

 

[Aurgelmir]

How about finding out if the professor sucks, and if he do gather a bunch of people and make a study group?

Also if you know beforehand that this will be a hard class you can do (what I never did) the smart thing and study a lot from the get go.

 

[vxicepickxv]

Press on, find a private tutor or a previous grad who can help you out with some of the content. Hell, there are probably people on here who can answer any questions you'd have about CompSci-flavoured maths.

I've always wondered how a homework help site might work.

At least you have a plan, I need one, and then I need to start learning for whatever major I might want to get. Of course, with that in mind, it does provide me with one advantage. I tend to learn at my own pace with things, so I can study before I start a class, which makes it easier for me.

 

[zombiesinc]

I wouldn't start worrying about this new professor so much based on one website. Although it seems that it's accurate, unless you decide to drop the course, you're going to have to deal with this. Worrying about how bad it could be, or how poorly you could do will only stress you out beforehand.

If you stick with this course, and he turns out to be just as bad as you anticipated, talk to someone with authority about it. Explain that you're struggling to understand or learn the material solely because of the teacher. Be mature and detailed about it, while emphasizing that you're taking all other steps to try and balance this issue. Explain that you do not think it's a fair situation to deal with, or one that you can overcome. Perhaps they'll be able to suggest a tutor, or switch your courses around so you can get into a different class with a different professor.

If you find that you can't understand the concepts he's teaching in class, take the time to go up to him and explain that you're struggling. Perhaps he'll be able to properly explain it to you, and you'll find yourself following the course far easier. If you find that you're still struggling because he just doesn't explain it well, or you can't understand him, then find a tutor, or spend the extra hours trying to understand the concepts yourself. It shouldn't be this way, but there are always things you can do to try and balance the situation.

Ultimately, you need to take whatever steps you can to resolve the issue. If you don't bother talking to him one-on-one, or to someone else about the issue, then you're not trying hard enough, and the struggle isn't entirely this professor's fault. What's most important as this point is to not continually imagine the worst case scenario, as it'll only cause you further stress and could affect more than this one course.

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

Quick background:

I'm a freshman at the University of Alberta, Computer Science specialization. I don't suck at Math... except for last semester, where my professor was Chinese and barely spoke coherent English. I studied for at least sixty hours on Math alone during the Two Hundred Hour Crunch (aka "Drag Me to Hell Time"), and passed by THAT much.

Now, new semester tomorrow, and a new Math class. Yay! Except... RateMyProfessors.com has ruined my day.

My next Math professor has an EVEN WORSE rating then my last professor. I don't know if I can do this. On one hand, if I fail the class, I lose $500 I can't afford to lose. I'm willing to shove ridiculous amounts of effort into this class, but there's absolutely no guarantees. Especially when the majority of feedback is "Find someone else. ANYONE else!"

On the other hand, if I drop the course now and save my money (I have two to three weeks to do this), I might lose even MORE money later by delaying this prerequisite class a semester to find a different professor. It looks like there's a 80% of me being utterly screwed no matter what I do here.

I can't swap to a different timeslot - my five other courses have eaten all the options.

Yes, I need this class. I already have the $400 textbook, no way I'm skipping it entirely.

TLR - I am walking into a deathtrap class that I need, and am probably fiscally in trouble if I fail it or delay it to find a better professor. How should I proceed?

If you have a bad attitude walking in, of course it will be bad. Just try to stay positive and do your best.

Besides, the people who go to that site to rate profs only do so because they've had a bad experience. The people who were fine with the teacher never bother.

 

[lacktheknack]

Besides, the people who go to that site to rate profs only do so because they've had a bad experience. The people who were fine with the teacher never bother.

Not true. My Music prof has a 4.8 out of 5 with a couple dozen reviews.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Admittedly I was brought through the UK system which I'm told by my Canadian course-mates is a little different.

You can't take RateMyProfessors (there's one difference already, you have to put in a lifetimes work over here before you get to be called a 'professor') and other such systems completely at face value. Just because other people had a bad experience doesn't mean you will.

Professors/lecturers don't get a whole lot of teacher training, for example, so the first few years can be very much trial and error. It sucks if you're in that class (and I've been in one) but if you bear with it it can actually be quite rewarding. That Chinese guy might be really good in a couple of years time (in fact your university is probably banking on it).

Secondly, don't be passive. You're paying a lot of money so you can expect good teaching for it regardless of where you choose to specialize. If you're dissatisfied give feedback to your head of faculty explaining why you're having trouble and encourage others to do the same. They can and should intervene. The threat of not getting tenure can be a very powerful motivator.

Thirdly, if you chose to do Maths either you're banking on being able to sell it later (unlikely, it's maths) or you're passionately interested in it. Maybe my humanities background makes me naive, but if you're genuinely interested working around a bad lecturer shouldn't be too much of a chore. Working and researching independently might be gruelling but it's very good to practice if you plan to go on to postgraduate study. If you don't understand a concept, you can always visit other members of the faculty and ask them if you don't feel comfortable asking your lecturer. If the guy is that bad a teacher, the chances are they'll know about it and understand.

 

[dmase]

There is a chance that your school has a good transfer program with several other colleges. If so you can take the class somewhere else like an online university(or community college) during the semester and drop the other class you already have. Just make sure the credits transfer and you have a good enough work ethic to keep up with the online classes. Sell your other book if it won't work for the other class and get a new one etc.

 

[SturmDolch]

You're at the U of A, too? I have to ask... What's with their policy of hiring foreign professors? A guy I knew in High School didn't get into the U of A because he didn't speak English well enough, but three of my computing science professors and a statistics professor spoke it even worse than him.

Anyways, you have two weeks to drop the course or take another one. Go to the first class. If he is terrible, drop the class and don't look back. Take the course during the spring/summer terms if possible. I took two of my math courses during that time, 115 and 120. They were both taught by TAs who knew the stuff and were understandable, the classes were relaxed, and even if I had done terrible, the GPA doesn't really count.

Or you can just take the course anyways and learn from the textbook. But you will really have to stay on top of it. And do remember to do all homework given. I didn't for math 214 last semester and I did terribly.

Also, if you want, you can PM me the name and I'll ask a couple of my friends if they had the prof and get back to you ASAP.

 

[lacktheknack]

Thirdly, if you chose to do Maths either you're banking on being able to sell it later (unlikely, it's maths) or you're passionately interested in it. Maybe my humanities background makes me naive, but if you're genuinely interested working around a bad lecturer shouldn't be too much of a chore.

Not quite the case... it's a class I don't want, but need to take as a prerequisite for higher level Computer Science courses I do want to take (like Advanced Game Design). So I've got the double whammy of not even liking the course in the first place.

 

[lacktheknack]

Also, if you want, you can PM me the name and I'll ask a couple of my friends if they had the prof and get back to you ASAP.

I took this guy up on it, and...

<quote=Sturmdolch>Alright, my friend had her for 115. He says she's "really nice" and "down to earth", but she's old. She's not hard, but she's also not easy.

She talks a bit quieter, so you should sit at or near the front. She's also Russian, and has an accent. Some words can be hard to catch.

But he says it's a good course, especially because the assignments are all a lot easier to understand than other prof's. She uses Math XL and the textbook, so if you want to boost your mark, you can download the solutions online and use those to check your marks before you hand it in for 100% on assignments.

Gotta say guys, this certainly makes me feel better.
Thank you, Sturmdolch!

 

[SturmDolch]

Gotta say guys, this certainly makes me feel better.
Thank you, Sturmdolch!

No problem! And I see you might be taking Computing Science courses. I'm in my second year of computing science, so if you have any questions about that, go ahead and PM me and I'll hopefully be able to help.

 

[Another]

I used rate my professor one time. And only one time.

It was for a U.S Government class, and his comments were all glowing. Then I got into class and discovered he was a conspiracy nut who used to work for California as a speech writer. Turns out he was fired, and was then hired by my school. They found him in a bar. -_-

Moral of the story. Try him for yourself, rate my professor can be wrong.