Reviews for Maryann McDermott Jones
Average Rating:| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: December 5, 2011, 9:34 am | The TA's should be the only ones that get paid to teach this class because Maryann does nothing. I have a word for her that rhymes with punt. She is demeaning in every email she sends you. She colors codes the email as if we are little monkeys. She has you go through this long process to email her professionally and she'll give you a one word response back. She's extremely unhelpful on the prelab's so pray you have a nice TA like I did to help you. She also thinks she's always right even when your lecture teacher will tell you she's incorrect for instance, antilog for a pH of 8.20 is 6.0E-9. Not 7.0E-9 which she swore by and walk not back down from. The calculator doesn't lie. I'm sorry your life is so pathetic you have to rip apart students futures the best you can with a 1 credit class to feel better about yourself. Sorry she's the only one in charge of all the Chem lab sections. Just safe yourself the trouble from trying to communicate with her. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A November 28, 2011, 11:52 am | She's never around during our lab so I can't really write much about her personality. The labs and the post-lab questions are fairly easy. However, the mid-term is a little bit more difficult. I believe the mid-term is fair though because it questions you about the concept, rather than the procedure. The practical was the most difficult (in my opinion). She sent the procedure to the practical through an e-mail the night before at 8:00pm. Without reading the procedure, the practical is almost impossible to do because she does not put it on the exam sheet. |
| TerpGuy Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A August 19, 2011, 7:51 pm | She is interesting, lets just say that. Expect a color coded email from her everyday of the semester about exams, pre-labs, lab changes, etc. The TAs are scared of her. Not gonna lie, she comes off as a very intimidating lady but she is actually really nice. I went to her office hours a couple of times and she was really able to explain the chem concepts related to the labs. Go to the TAs for Post-lab questions because some of the questions can bamboozle you. I realized that later in the semester and started doing better on the post-labs. Load up on post lab and pre lab points. The pre labs are worth 10 points. You have to do it online before you attend your lab ( You get three tries). Do them well because her 10 multiple choice questions midterm and final exams are crazy. Its not about knowing the material, its more about dissecting the wording of the question and answer choices. I had a firm grasp on the content of the lab, but I never knew what her questions were asking. They are long, wordy and very confusing. The lab practicum ( you perform some of the lab procedures and your TA grades you) is much easier than her written exams. However, one good thing is that the class has a huge curve. Her classes have around 7-8% curve during the end of the semester. Be prepared to put in some work to get a good grade in the class. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: A August 13, 2011, 10:00 am | I can't even begin to tell you how hard I had to work for my A. For one, her grading scheme is amazingly detailed, and she nitpicks away points in the post lab if you don't phrase the answers the way she wants them. She takes points away if you don't have a good product yield, or good enough results in your experiment even if you don't have any control over it. Since, I took this over the summer it was especially hard what with 3 labs/week, along with post labs and reading for the next experiment and pre-lab quiz. It was a lot of work. Now onto her tests. Frankly, they are quite ridiculous! She gives you a question which can have multiple correct and true statements, but only one which follows her reasoning. This makes it very easy for you to fall into the trap of picking one of the other true statements, which don't follow her circuitous rationale. An 84% should guarantee an A, but getting that 84% is no joke. You have to be able to do extremely well on your post labs and not manage to get less than 75% on your mid-term and final. As a person, I would say she has a very passive-aggressive nature. So, hopefully you can catch her on a good day. If you do end up taking her, hopefully you will have a good TA, who is lenient enough to tell you how to improve your post labs and worksheets ahead of time. |
| terp999 Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A July 5, 2011, 6:10 pm | The class itself is TONS of work for a 1 credit class, and the midterm and final are definitely full of obscure questions, but as long as you study her review packets that are posted on elms, you can definitely be ok. If you get above a 30-35 out of 50 (for the midterm) and something in the high 20s on the final you should be above the average. Dr. Jones is definitely - as someone else has already said - an interesting character. The few times I have e-mailed her she seemed fairly nice and answered all of my questions, but in person I found her to be quite unfriendly. The reviews she has before her tests are definitely helpful, and if you have questions she will certainly answer them for you. The woman really knows her stuff - but she definitely isn't the nicest. Don't stress out too much, take notes from the manual before attempting the pre-lab quizzes, and GO TO YOUR TAS for help with the lab reports. If you're as lucky as I was, you'll get a nice one. There is also a pretty decent curve. I had an 86 and got the A. Don't let these reviews scare you! You'll be fine! An A is definitely possible. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: July 3, 2011, 5:20 pm | Shes a really nice lady if you go to her during office hours alone, but if you go in a group, shes not very pleasant. Reminds me of my crazy manic grand ma lol. For the lab, it all really depends on the TA you have. I had a TA named Paul, and he was probably the TA out of the group (get him if you can!!). Anyways, if you get a good TA like I did, it makes the lab much more bearable. As for grading, yields depend a lot for the grade. Absolutely go to TA office hours, makes things soooooo much easier, but guarantee you will annoy the TA whos helping you there because you will ask stupid questions.. not much you can do about that heheeh. |
| PreMed Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: May 18, 2011, 12:12 pm | Pros – her labs are much more organized than many others (ex. Physics lab). Cons – her exams are not so much an assessment of the material but more about your ability to dissect her strange and unusual phrasing. I think exams should be difficult…after all, they are an assessment of what you have learned throughout an entire semester; however, the intensity of her exams is not the problem…it’s the limited time you have (40 minutes) to try to understand what in the world she is asking! |
| NeuroSciX Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: B- May 15, 2011, 9:18 am | In all honesty she's proven to be a decent instructor. Obviously it's not her fault that the curriculum demands organic chemistry lab be such a cluster****, but that's the way it is. Overall her grading scheme is fine, almost every year the higher grade is 405/440 so that's the new 100%. My recommendation is to visit the TA lab and spend a good amount of time reading the experiments in the book for quizzes and the tests. Did I like the course? I'll have to admit I disliked it very much, but in the end it's only a 1 credit course. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: May 14, 2011, 1:03 pm | I always like to say something positive about a professor when I am reviewing them, but honestly nothing comes to mind. The prelabs that are required are annoying and don't prove that you are familiar with the material, just that you can read that lab-manual and can decipher her wording and logic. Her exams are SO pointless, they are all factual based exams, when the entire class is about the actual practical side of chemistry. There is one midterm, which is 10 multiple choice questions worth 50 points, so in other words, if you get 2 wrong, you are down to an 80%. And for my midterm there were so many gramatical and conceptual errors that it took longer to read and figure out what they were asking then to answer the question. The praticum is an hour long set of miniexperiments that you have to do and that is actually one of the few redeeming qualities of the class. You prove that you can do these experiments properly and without blowing up the lab. Grades can go either way. There is a rather large curve, so that is nice, but they do grade very harshly. The few actual interactions that i have had with Dr. Jones, she was a mean little lady, so this class is necessary to get the requirements done, but don't expect anything fun or easy, because you will be in for a rude awakening if you do. |
| Erik.Deaton Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: C April 27, 2011, 10:40 am | All in all, the experiments aren't particularly challenging, but the assignments are graded so harshly that you could get a 30/40 on everything and get an A in the class. Too difficult. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: April 21, 2011, 10:38 am | I honestly do not think she deserves to be a professor. The pre-labs that you have weekly are mostly based on prior knowledge rather than the lab manual instructions. I literally learned most of the material from high school, but she just purposely makes the midterm and final impossible. It is as if she wants us to fail. The lab manuals don't go in depth with the material so you have to rely on your knowledge and google. I can only say that I detested this woman with all my heart. I asked myself the question, how can a human being resemble a witch so remarkably? |
| WEAM Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: B April 17, 2011, 7:33 pm | Please explain to me why a 1 credit course requires the following? -A $200 textbook -A 14+ page syllabus -Between 2-4 hours of work a week -Lab exercises so long that the TA's themselves state we won't have enough time to finish them during the lab period -Midterms and finals so difficult that your TA informs you that even she wouldn't do well -Weekly lab reports, lab worksheets, and lab write-ups (copied directly from the textbook) Anyone? |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: C April 13, 2011, 8:29 pm | Dr. Jones is terrible. Shes like the devil. Class Sucks. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: B April 13, 2011, 5:59 pm | She is not a nice person at all. She goes out of her way to find students cheating, and accuses them of academic dishonesty even if they didn't cheat. I understand she has 300+ students to manage, but she could definitely be nicer about a lot of things. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: B March 30, 2011, 9:05 pm | This class was more difficult than it should have been...I have met her once and she comes off as very cold. It's almost impossible to study for midterms and finals, unless you happen to be really good at lab (ie know EVERYTHING) the average for the midterm was a 30/50, and the final average was a 25/50, pretty much curving one whole letter grade up. I learned a moderate amount, but only because I took notes from the lab. And that's another thing. If you want to get mostly perfects on the pre-lab quizzes, take notes from the book! It'll help you immensely in retaining random information that they decide to quiz you on. I personally didn't go to TA Lab Help, (I only went once, and then found out I actually didn't even need to go) but if you are sucking ass at labs, they are really helpful, and good time savers if you are short on time. Be careful though, because you had help, you might struggle on the midterms and finals since you didn't try to figure out the answer yourselves. |
| pink_pink1991 Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: A January 5, 2011, 8:25 am | I took Dr. Jones' class for both CHEM 132 and 232, and I have to say yes, her emails are quite intimidating and her exams and labs are hard, but she is more than helpful. For someone who has over 1000 students, if you make the time to meet with her and work hard this class can result in success. Based on my experience here are my top ten bits of advice. 1. Go to TAs. That's what they are there for and they can help go over concepts that are unclear. 2. Read the text book before lab. The quizzes can be an easy 4 points to gain. 3. STUDY for the midterm and final. Everyone says it's pointless but it's really not. 4. Go over her review sheets. They are in depth and extremely helpful. You don't get review sheets in 242, she's giving you a present. 5. Go to review sessions. She often gives you exam questions and answers during those sessions 6. Meet with her before exams or if you have questions about labs. She is more then helpful and is actually quite fun to talk with. 7. Do NOT go for a regrade. Most likely you deserved to lose those points, if not a regrade will result in gaining the points back and then losing other points the TA didn't catch. 8. Go on You Tube and watch videos before lab. It will enable you to complete the labs in a three hour time frame. 9. Become friends with the person next to you. 10. Don't hate Dr. Jones she rocks. |
| zhangsta Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: B December 23, 2010, 2:41 pm | She's pretty much one of the most inaccessible professor I've had. I never saw her the entire semester I took orgo lab. The lab reports were also graded unnecessarily harshly. She'll curve the class based on how well the best student across all sections did rather than on a standard deviation or bell curve. When I took it, the best grade overall in all orgo lab sections was about 95% so you had to get at least 90% of that or about 85% to get an A and so on. If you go to the TA office hours, you'll do fine. |
| Sweetie Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: December 22, 2010, 1:55 pm | This is an awful class. It is way too much work for one credit and the midterm and final are impossible. Pray that you get a nice TA that cares because the lab reports are graded harshly. Dr Jones is the nastiest woman ive ever met. She is extremely unprofessional and rude and I dont understand why she chose a job where she would have to interact with others. Beware of her. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: B December 16, 2010, 5:54 pm | I don't usually use the c-word, but this woman is the epitome! She is unprofessional, unpleasant, and ignorant. She will blame her frequent mistakes on the students and punish them accordingly. When 900 students and the TAs disagree with her she will stand her ground. She is the most inaccessible professor I've come across (never met her). Pray that your assignments are graded correctly because it is practically impossible to get a regrade (you need a signed statement from your TA, and they are too scared of her to write this). The material is pretty easy but she makes it a struggle with her petty ways rather than introducing challenging material. The hardest part is trying to decipher her error-prone manual. Bottom line: take this class at your local community college! |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: December 16, 2010, 1:20 pm | Dr. Jones is NOT a bad professor. She has so many students to deal with! She does all of the Gen Chem 1 lab sections and the Orgo 1 lab kids too. When I met her the firs time, I have to admit, I was very intimidated after all the things I heard about her and yes, my first encounter, I didn't get a good vibe from her. I went to about half of her review sessions (she holds them twice every week) and she is a very pleasant lady. She is very straight forward. Can be very curt, but she really tries to help out her students. When you want a lab regrade, you need to give it to her and I was shaking when coming to her office since I was so nervous, but she was very very pleasant. People need to understand that she has so many students to deal with and it gets frustrating when a bunch of students come up to her and drown her in questions. Many people don't even take the effort to go to review sessions. The sessions help you on your post lab questions. For the prelab quizzes, you have 3 tries and they take your highest score, so you can retake them over and over again. But there are different questions on the retakes. Copy down these problems and the correct answers afterwards in your lab manual. It will help you study. Plus, they make so much more sense after the lab. TAKE NOTES WHEN YOU DO YOUR PRELAB READING. It helps so much for your prelab quiz! Your TA can really help you if you need it. There is quite a bit of work for this class, I must admit, for just one credit. But the class is generously curved. Midterms and finals are only 10 multiple choice questions, which can make them difficult. Go to review sessions before these!! They help. I screwed up on the practicuml, but that was my fault. It shouldn't be that hard. I heard that many TA's gave their students 50/50's on them. (Mine NOT being one of them), but even if a bad practicum grade, I still managed to get an A. Average for the final was This semester, if you got above an 82%, it was an A, so just try hard. You can't avoid the class. Good luck! |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: December 15, 2010, 10:01 pm | Waaay too much work for one credit. She's not exceptionally nice and is disarmingly condescending with rapid, random mood swings. Lab reports are graded completely randomly by various TAs who take off points for weird, unnecessary stuff. The postlab questions are often hard to answer and confusing... You don't learn o'chem, you memorize otherwise useless minutiae and other s**t about the reactions you did. The final was impossible; our average was below a 30%, so there was a stupendous curve. You'd think she would realize that if so many people are doing poorly, it's her and not her students, but she seems to high-and-mighty for that to dawn on her. I learned nothing useful from this lab. I wish I had, given the blood, sweat and tears that I put in. Suffer through it as best you can and make friends with your TA. Avoid meeting Dr. Jones at all costs. |
| cmoore16 Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A- December 15, 2010, 11:30 am | Dr. Jones is the most ridiculous woman I've ever encountered. I had heard she was mean, and when I approached her to ask a question (trying to be extremely nice) she acted like a complete b**** and was extremely rude to me. She makes this class extremely difficult. Out of all my classes this semester, this was my lowest grade and a ton of work for a 1 credit class. If you have a bad TA, well good luck. They grade so subjectively and it's pretty much luck of the draw. This course doesn't evaluate how well you know concepts or chemistry; it's more like memorizing weird details about experiments. This course needs to be changed immediately. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: A December 14, 2010, 5:21 pm | If you have Jones, i feel sorry for you. The actual class and material is fairly straight forward. Concepts are easy because they correspond almost perfectly with the lecture. That being said, Jones has an unbelievable knack for making you unable to demonstrate that you have, in fact, mastered organic chemistry lab concepts. She accomplishes this by writing post-lab questions, tests, etc. in a way that makes some 6th graders look like eligible recipients of a Pulitzer prize. My advice, read and re-read any test/question she gives you to make sure you understand what she is asking. Your TA will be your best friend- since they have the answer keys, they know what she is actually asking in a question. She will give you help if you go to her office hours, but does so in a way that is damaging to one's self esteem. I, personally, "am not up to par with real college students" because I did not read Chapter 28 when the experiment I had a question about was in chapter 6! |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: December 4, 2010, 8:21 pm | The course material is not hard at all, in fact, I would probably say it's easy. However, Dr. Jones is capable of making things VERY difficult for students.She fusses over little details and gives the course way too much importance than it deserves seeing as it is only 1 credit! Once, when I was taking her class, a majority of the class was unfairly graded on a question on the lab report because it was poorly worded. When students asked for a regrade on that particular question she very rudely refused and sent us all a lengthy email explaining the term "explain" which was completely unnecessary. I have not met her in person and I did not want to after receiving a few emails from her and reading the syllabus which is also a bit 'in your face'. I only saw her twice during lab and on both occasions she was yelling at students. I cannot say more about her personality than that. To succeed in her class, 1) Do well on the prelabs (you get 3 attempts, take advantage of them all and try to get perfect scores) 2) Makesure you understand the basic principle being experimented and listen to what you're TA says very carefully 3) Record detailed observations of your experiments even if it is not required 4) Write detailed and lengthy answers in your lab reports even if it does not require it (even if it says to name something specific, because according to Dr. Jones chem is a descriptive science and one should always be descriptive!) 5) Do not be deceived by the easy appearance of the midterm and final because you're marks will surprise you 6) Always ask your TAs questions about the slightest doubts because they are very friendly and almost sympathetic towards students 7) Write in pen 8) Don't try to work your way around things, just follow directions 9) Just be prepared I did not go to any of her review or discussion sessions but if you feel like you're unsure of what you're doing you should go, I personally did not find it necessary because the TAs are more than helpful. Just be prepared Hope this helps, I would say avoid her at all costs but it seems to be impossible because she's doing most labs. All I can say is GOOD LUCK! |
| genbiomajor Course: CHEM271 Grade Expected: A November 30, 2010, 10:57 pm | I took CHEM271 with Jones over the summer. At first, I was very hesitant and feared having her as an instructor because of all the terrible things I had heard about her through the grapevine. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she isn't as vile as people make her out to be. She was actually responsive to students' concerns about their grades. Unfortunately, she isn't a very good lecturer. She made countless mistakes on the board and oftentimes, she would get too ahead of herself and skip some pertinent steps. However, her exams were not very difficult, and she does give a huge curve. Basically, you can get a 50% in the class and pass with a C. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: October 28, 2010, 7:14 pm | I heard awful things about Dr. Jones' lab even before starting the class. She is one of the most unprofessional individuals I have met not just at this university, but overall. Her writing skills rival those of a middle schooler and when I went to her lab review, she would lose track of what she was talking about so many times, and talks all over the place. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A July 2, 2010, 2:05 pm | Not a hard class, but there's quite a bit of work involved even though it's worth only 1 credit. It can be tedious, but if you go to class and try to understand the lab, then you'll be fine. The lab manual is easy to understand and the questions are ok. The midterm and final are all multiple choice and are pretty challenging (especially the final). Study the study guides which are posted on Blackboard. There are online pre-lab questions due each week. You're lucky if you get a TA who understands your questions; if not, go to the TA help sessions. I never met Dr. Jones, but when I emailed her a question, she came across as extremely rude (though she did answer my question). I suppose you just have to bite your tongue. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A May 22, 2010, 7:18 pm | I have never encountered Dr. Jones personally, and honestly did not see any reasons to. This lab is dependent on TAs, so if you have questions...just ask them. There is a lot of work, mostly in the form of post-labs. Overall, I strongly recommend doing the post-labs right after the experiments and go to TA office for anything you have questions on. They'll always help you out. If you do that, a great score on labs should get you an A. Just survive the difficult midterm and final. There is a curve, so life is a little easier. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A May 19, 2010, 8:46 pm | First of all this course is all depend on your TA. You do not deal with Dr Jones to much unless for regrades of the lab reports. She is a very nice lady and responded to all the emails as fast as possible. I recommend you to attend the lab reviews which hold every week. She analyses the lab that is performed that week. Over all this class is not hard. As long as you go to lab and have a basic understanding of what is going on, you should be able to get an A or a B easily. |
| sillyputty184 Course: CHEM147 Grade Expected: A April 19, 2010, 1:29 pm | Came in to lab once, fairly normal for a lab coordinator. depends on your TA, but most are fine. Go to the TA office hours if there is ever an issue. Real simple intro to lab course. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM232 Grade Expected: B January 18, 2010, 9:14 am | I've never actually met her, since she never came to the lab, so I'll just go on the curriculum. To be honest, a lot depends on your TA, so I'll try and keep my review unbiased with that in mind. I would say that the curriculum definitely needs to be revised. It doesn't really give that real-world application of what we're learning in 231 that it should--it just seems to be more of a way to test how well we can follow instructions. Convoluted instructions. The prelab quizzes aren't helpful either. You can read the textbook before the prelab quiz, but she generally chooses to draw on some obscure detail, rather than conceptual ones, on the prelab quizzes. For the midterm and final, she sends out a review guide beforehand, and the majority of the questions are taken straight from that, so just try and memorize as much of it as you can. The postlabs are okay, but can be a bit of work if you're not too good with the concepts--however, if you go to office hours, the TAs will generally help you through it, and you won't leave with the wrong answers. Luckily she gives a big curve, but I would've preferred learning something. Summary: Labs can be difficult to follow/execute and often don't yield the correct product, prelab quizzes aren't impossible but it's important to remember tiny details, postlab writeups are somewhat hard but fairly easy if you go to office hours, midterm and final are very difficult because they require a ton of memorization, big curve at the end though. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: January 8, 2010, 11:18 pm | She seems very rude and unapproachable, but that's also understandable considering she coordinates labs for CHEM132 and for CHEM232, and I'm sure for many others. That said, the labs themselves are not all that difficult, and the post-lab questions are doable. Just go in to the TAs' office hours if you need help, and try working on them in a group. The exams are pretty close to impossible - unless you've had prior experience, don't expect to do too well. She emails out/posts review sheets for the midterm and the final, but the way the exams are written (the wording of the questions) throw you off. But the class is usually curved, and grades are negotiable, especially if you go to the exam viewings and bother to talk to Dr. Jones. She may come off as rude sometimes, but she's also willing to sit down and hear you out before assigning final grades. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A January 5, 2010, 1:29 am | Way too much work for a 1 credit class. If you want to do well, you generally need to put in at least a few hours each week for the pre- and post-lab assignments. Each lab has an overall point--figure it out and use it to do the post-lab. Exams are hard but doable if you study the review sheet posted online. Dr. Jones is rude in email, although I've heard she is somewhat nicer in person. I emailed her about a grading error on an online assignment, and she corrected the error, gave me back my points...and responded with an attack on my character and a lecture on why I shouldn't claim to know more than the professor. It was completely unnecessary and incredibly rude, especially since I approached her nicely. Expect similar responses if you ever approach her with grading issues. There is most definitely a curve. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: B December 26, 2009, 9:30 am | For a 1 credit class, the amount of work for this class is ridiculous. The lab manual is not well-written, you never learn the concepts behind the labs (and then get terrible grades on the post-labs), and the post-labs can take up to two hours to do. Any experience I have had with Dr. Jones is negative; she doesn't come to the labs of course, but if she ever does, she YELLS. And treats us like second graders. She's probably just really stressed out due to the fact that she coordinates so many labs but she has got to chill out. Also, her midterm and final exams are ridiculous. They are incredibly difficult, and are multiple choice (8 question midterm, 12 question final), meaning NO PARTIAL CREDIT. They really have nothing to do with anything you learned (or didn't learn, since all you can do is carry out the steps of the experiment; nobody understands what's going on) or what she said to study. BUT there is a big curve: I got like a 50 on the final but got a B in the class. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A December 18, 2009, 8:59 pm | At first Dr. Jones was slightly intimidating, but she is actually a very nice lady who is very willing to help you! She wants you to do well in the class and is open to help you with the labs. The labs weren't too bad. But the mid-term and final were ridiculously hard! They were mostly hard because you never really learned the basic conepts of the labs...you just do the experiments. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A- December 18, 2009, 1:41 pm | This class is hard considering that its worth only 1 credit and the labs can be exhausting. The midterm and final exams are all multiple choice so its really easy to lose a bunch of points here. The curve in the class for this semester was around 8%, which really helped since I failed the final but did ok on the labs and on the midterm. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A December 17, 2009, 10:18 pm | This class is way too much work for only one credit. The lab manual is somewhat confusing (especially when it comes to post lab questions) and the descriptions and background info are not very detailed. The lab itself is not too bad, you can understand the concepts and what is going on, but the TAs grade very hard. They take points off of almost all of your answers, even if they are partially correct. This is one reason that I did not do as well as I wanted to on my labs. But the TAs are very nice and helpful, and will give you hints at getting to the right answer. There are pre-lab questions that go along with every lab. These are very easy and this is what usually helps raise your lab report grade. There is one midterm and a final in this class. The study guide is useful because it is detailed and tells you exactly what you should be learning for the exam. The exam is all multiple choice and it's not too hard, but each question is worth SO MANY POINTS (5-8 on average). This is where the exams will get you. You can kiss your A or B goodbye if you get even one or two questions wrong on the exams. Also the curve is not that large in this class, so you will need to have a very high B in order to get an A or a very high C to get a B. Overall, I think this class is too much work for the amount of credit you get for it. It should definately be a three credit course. I worked less hard in my CHEM131 lecture and I got a higher grade than in the CHEM132 lab. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A December 4, 2009, 3:47 pm | OK this class is not hard. As long as you go to lab and have a basic understanding of what is going on, you should be able to get an A or a B. Yes it is tedious and yes it is annoying but like most things in life, as long as you just do what you're supposed to do, you'll be fine. The lab manual is not very difficult to understand and the questions are not impossible. I am in no way gifted in chemistry or any science class for that matter, but I found this class to be a a doable challenge. In my opinion, lecture was MUCH harder than the lab component. If you are a diligent student and will actually try in this class, you have absolutely nothing to fear. On the other hand, if you are someone who is not academically inclined, you should most certainly skip this course. The work load stays consistent throughout the semester and you are going to have to be able to understand concepts and build upon them. If you're the type of person who just copies from other people's homework and does a half-assed job at most things, again, you will not do well in this class and will most likely just annoy the other students and get a bad grade yourself. As for Dr. Jones, it's true, she's a rude ***** who has absolutely no excuse for treating students as shitty as she does. She is mean to everyone and always assumes that you are wrong and she is right. I have never talked to her directly and have only seen her three times, for intervals of about 30 seconds to one minute and oh boy was that enough to figure out that I probably should try to avoid her as much as possible. She always assumes people are cheating (which most of the time they are) and is always trying to bust kids and submit them to the honesty board; so seriously, don't cheat. In terms of her personality, she is a nasty, demeaning person who one can generally tell is just unhappy in life. She is a perfect example of why some people just should not work in education. Despite her totally rude personality, she does try to help students and always clarifies things that are unclear about the lab. She is very good at e-mailing updates and keeping students informed. The class consists of weekly lab reports, a midterm, and a final. The exams are EASY. She even gives you very thorough study guides that tell you main concepts that you should have learned during the labs. Anyone who thinks the exams are impossible says so because they must have just copied answers from other people and not felt like studying. Like I said, this really doesn't require that much work. |
| Anonymous Course: Grade Expected: B December 1, 2009, 4:33 pm | words of advise 1. never ask Jones questions 2. ALWAYS go to the TA help session, as they they are the only ones who decipher the lab manual 3. don't ask her any questions, she is scary |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: November 12, 2009, 11:08 am | Dr. Jones is all around rude, and should be avoided if at all possible. Once she yelled at me because I asked a question without telling her my name first. I've interacted with her a few other times and she has never been nice. She takes all of the rules very seriously, to the point where it is completely unnecessary, so don't bother asking for any kind of leniency because you won't get it. If you get a good TA, you should be fine in the class considering she never comes into the lab. Study a lot for the exams, although it probably won't help much... |
| aralchen Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A August 26, 2009, 10:31 am | Despite what everyone says, Jones is a great lab coordinator. Unlike many other professors, she is actually invested in helping her students. She offers online videos, office hours, blog entries, and review sessions before exams. I highly recommend using all these resources; they're very well thought out and greatly help you in getting the A. On the flip side, the lab manual is awfully written. You really do need to consult your TA/friends who have taken the class in the past in order to understand what some of these questions ask from you. Take her threats about XFing students VERY seriously. She WILL NOT hesitate to fail you if she even suspects cheating. ALWAYS write in pen (she WILL suspect cheating otherwise). Exams are VERY hard. Be prepared to fail, no matter how well you did on lab (I got more than 100% on most labs, but still tanked the midterm and final) In summation: write in pen, don't cheat (or really hide the fact that you do), use all her resources, and you should get an A. Even though she says there won't be a curve, there is one. And boy, it's SWEET! |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: June 4, 2009, 8:43 pm | Apparently, unlike most people, I have her as a lecturer rather than a TA, which makes me extremely envious. She is intelligent enough, and teaches lecture in a mediocre fashion, but she is a complete *****. I asked her a question about how to record Blackboard grades on the ARIS system and she yelled at me for 10 minutes in front of the class - until she found out that she hadn't actually put the information up. She believed she had it in the Blackboard site, but until I told her the exact location of the information she accused me of not reading it. For a question the first pre-lab assignment I answered "5.5mL," which was marked incorrect. According to Professor Jones, the correct answer was "5.5 mL," because "standard presentation dictates that there is a space between units and numbers." She automatically assumes that you won't understand the syllabus, and is clearly condescending - the first day of class she said "Oh, you all are so much smarter than I am, so you'll just do it your own way." She cannot speak in a normal tone of voice. She came into the lab to deliver her syllabus speech and it was almost as though she didn't understand that there were 15, 20 people in the entire room - the two students closest to her backed away after she started yelling. Her class genuinely isn't that hard, and the instructions are pretty good. But she is an awful person, despite the couple of brown-nosers in here. She is rude, condescending, and unapproachable, and your best bet is to try very hard in the course so you never need to interact with her. |
| DN12 Course: CHEM132C Grade Expected: A December 31, 2008, 7:40 pm | Honestly, regardless of what anyone else says, Dr. Jones is a really good lab coordinator.. and I'm NOT making that up. Dr. Jones helps her students out the best that she can (lab videos, lab review sessions, and VERY cooperative if a TA loses your lab like mine did), given the fact that she has 900+ students to look after. Everyone says she is mean but you would be aggravated too if you gave everyone the course info at the beginning of the semester and the majority of your students still ask about what's in the info. Her lab manual is not as hard as everyone makes it out to be. If you TRY and work hard in lab and pay attention (and do lab BEFORE the day its due), an A is not as hard to imagine for a grade. Stop giving Dr. Jones a bad rep. You need her class anyway if you are a CLFS major and she is the only coordinator. Learn to love it. I enjoyed lab, got an A, and Dr. Jones is a good prof. |
| tallboyt Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A- December 19, 2008, 7:48 am | If you're in a good group then lab is okay yet tiring (3hrs). Post-lab questions are hard and you need to know a lot more than what is taught in lab to answer and get full credit;extra credit problems are available. 9% curve. If you need 1 pt to get the higher grade you will not get it.She knows a lot about chem, very smart. Has reviews for tests. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: B- December 1, 2008, 7:54 am | dr jones is the worst you can possibly get!!! she is out to get you students!!!! her labs are RIDDLES!!! the pre-labs are BS!!!! - The people that do BEST in the course are those that know how to DE-RIDDLE questions and figure stuff out on their own. u get points taken out for NOT FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS - if u answer a question in 2 sentences instead of 1 sentence thats minus 2 pts. 1) the lab manual is POORLY written. it is VERY unclear, and sometimes you will mess up doing experiments just because of that. the procedures are unclear. 2) the midterm was cutthroat--it was difficult and most of the ppl in my class did average to low... including me. my TA was fair, she graded HARSHLY... i either got an A or an E on the labs. i got a B through the skin of my teeth. AVOID HER AT ALL COSTS!!!!! unless of course your the 4.0 type of student that can do well in ANY course and understand things on your own... |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A November 22, 2008, 9:40 pm | Jones Jones Jones She is very very loud. She doesn't explain things clearly and always ends up shouting at you. This is one intimidating professor and although lab in general is easy, she just made it a lot more cumbersome. You don't have to avoid taking her class because she rarely ever comes, but when she does come avoid her at all costs |
| eolsen Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: B June 4, 2008, 7:40 am | McDermott Jones is actually an amazing teacher. She just never gets to teach the class. I went to her review session before the exam and I learned more about chemistry in two hours than I have ever learned in my life. She's really good at explaining the material in detail when you talk to her in person, and I think she just wants the students to understand. Read the lab manual before the experiment so that you know what you're doing. Go to the TA or Professor Jones if you don't know the answers to the lab reports, because they will take you hours to write on your own. Professor Jones and most TA's will actually just explain the answers to you if they see you struggling. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM136 Grade Expected: A May 19, 2008, 3:55 pm | Jones is by far THE worst lab supervisor I have ever seen and experienced. In lab, it's expected that the supervisor make rare appearances. However, she only came into class ONCE, and that was to explain the honor code. In addition, she's is extremely quick on the gun to recklessly accuse students of academic dishonesty. She literally saw someone copying TEAM data in the hallway, and tried to stamp an XF on their transcript. In all honesty, stay away from this professor at all costs (unless of course you must take this course in a specific semester). Time is on your side, if you know what I'm talking about. |
| umdisbest Course: CHEM132C Grade Expected: A- January 9, 2008, 9:30 am | this class was physically painful to be in. Jones never came to class, so the entire class was left at the whim of THE most incompetent and misinformed TA. Exams, prelabs, and lab report questions were very poorly worded. Office hours may be helpful if you're the type that likes to get yelled at. |
| powerfullone1773 Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: A December 9, 2007, 7:46 pm | The lab notebook is written by Jones. It is riddled with enough errors to make your brain explode. When you do lab reports, you will spend more time trying to figure out what the cryptic sentences mean than actually answering questions. Also, I heard from a floormate that someone complained to Jones about the lab notebook, and then that person's following lab report was graded harshly. I don't know how true that is, but having met Jones, i would not be surprised. Also the prelabs are far and away the stupidest and most pointless things I have ever witnessed. The purpose of them is to get the students to review the labs before showing up, but they ask ridiculous questions such as "Which Team Discussion question (report by page, or procedural step #) addresses Application of Concepts question A2, (pg 148) about the response of a system at equilibrium to changes in temperature?" I pray that she only wrote the CHEM132 lab |
| Rdotter Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: B December 8, 2007, 7:06 pm | She lacks grammatical skills and is just plain mean to students. The lab reports are hard, and the manual is worded terribly and the prelabs are impossible. Bad bad lab. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM136 Grade Expected: November 29, 2007, 10:27 am | She has issues...but you don't have to see her during the semester because she doesn't even bother showing up for lab class. She doesn't know how to write well so her pre-lab exams are weird. She will have mistakes in her lab books and blame you guys if you don't notice it before she does. Try to get a good TA and you should be fine. |
| kbe12478 Course: CHEM132 Grade Expected: B November 13, 2007, 9:19 pm | My grade should have been an A+, but her so-called "extra credit" is totally screwed up. Instead of awarding you 60 points of extra credit (the maximum), which she had been saying all along would be the case, she gives you an "extra credit GRADE" out of 50! Also, the weekly lab reports and 2 lab practical exams are a bummer. They are difficult, tedious, and, if you don't get the right TA, can be harshly graded. On the plus side, Dr. Jones was very helpful when I had an issue with the labs I missed. |