Reviews for Michael P Montague-Smith
Average Rating:| Anonymous Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: April 1, 2013, 12:21 pm | Teaching ability: I had him for organic 2 which, as everyone knows, is not an easy class to teach. I ended up getting a B. I felt he was easy to follow, and provided clear explanations as far as reaction mechanisms and such. However, he rarely provides a comprehensive view of how all of the reactions relate in the grand scheme. You could say he paints the trees rather than the woods. I think it's unlikely you will get a B or higher in this class if you don't attend GSS (a weekly meeting where a previous student provides practice problems and clarifications) Testing: Tests are extremely long and difficult, so time management is key! Do not underestimate this. His tests strictly adhere the material covered in class. If the book has a section that he just glossed over, then it's not going to play a huge role in the exam. Personality: In one word, BIPOLAR. I have emailed him questions before and he was very rude in reply. Seriously talks to you like you are a piece of crap. Really really awful. He also was my advisor for some time, and was extremely hot and cold. The majority of time, he is so personable in class, but is randomly very grumpy. I also find him to be a little arrogant. I started out loving him, but over time his true colors have emerged. A note about Organic Chemistry 2: This subject has some inherent properties that can't be blamed on the instructor. For example, the heavy reliance on memorizing, the almost impossible to master infinite number of details, etc etc. Please know what you're getting into before you take this class. It is not easy for some people. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: November 5, 2012, 7:28 pm | He is a very good professor and makes the material relatable to real life. He always started class with a molecule/substance that we use in everyday life that also relates to what we are leaning that day. He doesn't expect you to memorize the 240 or so reactions that you will know by the end of the semester.. rather he actually teaches you the chemistry behind everything. I am in higher level chem classes right now and i still look back at his old notes. Overall he is an amazing teacher... one of the best on campus. I try to convince all my friends to take his class because it is truly worth it. * his class also goes hand in hand with the laboratory. you learn the same things at the same time.. unlike alot of other orgo II teachers. His exams are hard but fair. He will never put anything on an exam that he has not gone over in class. His final is also very VERY fair. I would recommend buying the "orgo II as a second language" book because it goes hand in hand with his class (better than the actual text book) |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: February 2, 2012, 9:15 am | I dropped out middle of the semester. Before I continue, I just want to clarify that I am not bitter about the professor, just on his teaching style. Of course there are a lot of things I personally could have improved on to do better but I really believe the major influence of me dropping was Smith's teaching style. As another reviewer pointed out, Smith is shockingly childish but very enthusiastic about subject material. He went on unnecessary tangents or stories from his personal life that really took focus away from what we were learning at the time even though the stories were slightly related to the material. His illustrations are awful and there were many instances where students had to butt in and tell him they can't read what he is writing. I also found that his extremely high level of energy was ironically distracting. I also suggest you do not take this class at the 1 hour and 15 minute slots. At least for me, the amount of information given in that span of time is overwhelming and it is unbearable once 45 minutes goes by and the only thing you think about is when the class if finally over. Grades were curved and averages fell at the F/D/ or C cutoff for the exams. At the same time, there were many students who did well, like a student who got a 100% raw on one of the exams so don't be discouraged if you are a stellar student. For me, his teaching style didn't really mesh, As a result, I had little motivation for studying and fell back on material (which as anyone in Orgo can tell you is the point of no return on catching up on material), forcing me to drop out. Again, I could have taken initiative and done better, but I don't think I would ever do well or get an A in a Montague classroom. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: B January 11, 2012, 1:11 pm | As a previous reviewer wrote, by the end of the semester, the class was booing and cheering on his command. This made lecture seem more like a comedy show and was both annoying and distracting. His interactions with students during class were at times outright rude. He went on tangents every class, which sometimes related to chemistry (dangerous chemicals he worked with as a grad student) but also included awkward sexual stories and the two years he lived in a tipi. I would've been able to accept his eccentricities if he was a good teacher, but he was not. The biggest challenge I had taking this class was that he did not give any practice problems throughout the semester, even though he and every professor knows that the best way to succeed in orgo is to do practice problems. He called the exams "cute little quizzes" but he also made Orgo seem like drudgery instead of inspiring his class to want to learn. The harder parts of Orgo were "bad news." (Example: "Do you want me to teach you this mechanism now?" Class boos. "Or should I let you out of class early?" Class cheers.) Not the way I like to learn. Lastly, I really liked how in Orgo I, Dixon showed the clear divisions of grades after each exam (this helped me get an A). M-S never did this and didn't even know when he was asked, which made it difficult knowing what grade I had in a curved class. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: A January 7, 2012, 1:26 pm | This guy is very funny and a very good professor. By the end of the semester he had practically trained the whole class to boo and cheer on command. I didn't look at the book once during the semester and still did well. He has difficult exams but he will never put something on an exam he didn't cover before. His spectroscopy questions for the exam are usually much simpler than the ones you'll see in CHEM242. He wont give partial credit for some problems unless you clearly show your thought process. Also, as a side note you can get a synthesis entirely incorrect on the exam but still have it be correct. If you did it in a way that was not on the answer key you can still get full credit if you just explain your way to the professor. Your synthesis must be functionally correct though to receive credit. |
| NeuroSciX Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: B December 20, 2011, 10:42 am | Overall he's a very good professor, has a good sense of humor, practice tests are very similar to current tests, and overall approachable. However it's pretty difficult to get an A in his class, but that can be said about all organic 2 classes. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: December 15, 2011, 1:44 pm | I can't stand this guy. He admits he's an overgrown child, and he is. He's hyper, easily distracted, puts up crappy lecture notes as scribbles on printer paper that he then projects, and is way too awake for 8am lecture. You can tell he's a shitty professor because he had to curve like 20% - he can barely teach. He likes to tell weird stories and make chemistry feel far more sexual than it should be. I'm no prude, but it got to be annoying after a while. His TA was also irritating and unhelpful. Very little in the way of practice problems. My least favorite part of his class was when he stated on the very first day of lecture that nothing he taught us in the class would ever be useful to us after we finished his final. Number 1, that is so untrue. Number 2, way to take away my motivation. He's certainly very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject, but he teaches it poorly. When I see orgo stuff now, it makes tons of sense, but on his exams it did not. Smart guy, just poorly socialized and a poor-to-mediocre lecturer. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: April 28, 2011, 11:18 am | Dr. M-S is a great prof. He's funny, very nice and helpful in office hours, and does not have unrealistic expectations of his students as some other orgo profs do. My only criticism of him is that he does not give much partial credit. AT ALL. You have to have things pretty much close to perfect on his exams to get points. I highly recommend you copy his old exams - they are more helpful than the textbook. |
| PossePrincess Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: February 23, 2011, 12:13 pm | I love Dr. MS!!! He's the first entertaining chemistry professor I've ever had, and he teaches well. Every lecture we were all interested, even though it was at 8:00 in the morning. I feel like I'm actually learning chemistry this time around. (I dropped Khachick's class last semester because although I though I learned the material, the exam had nothing to do with what we covered in class). If you have the opportunity, definitely take Montague-Smith. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: January 14, 2011, 8:56 am | 2 words The Man... Funny as hell... still orgo tho so u gotta put a lot of work into the class |
| Anonymous Course: Grade Expected: December 22, 2010, 10:04 am | Dr. Montague is engaging and funny, but he did not seem to be particularly fond of teaching freshman. I learned almost nothing in lecture, and did all of my learning from the book. His lectures were really not helpful, and he got off on many tangents. That said, though, his tests were pretty straightforward - if you do practice problems in the book you'll be more than prepared. Towards the end of the semester, he started showing us some interesting molecules at the beginning of class which made the class more interesting. He makes a lot of awkward sexual chemistry jokes, which I guess requires a degree of talent, but if that kind of stuff doesnt offend you you should be fine. Given that he didnt require us to memorize a lot, or force through the end of the book because we didnt have time, he might be one of the better professors for CHEM135. But, be warned, do not let the simplicity of his lectures fool you - many calculations that he does not even mention in lecture, but are in the book, show up on the test. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: A December 18, 2010, 6:57 pm | If you've taken AP Chem, this class is too easy with MS. Like the others said, hardly any memorization is needed. Skim through the chapters, make sure you can do the Mastering Chem hw, and you're good to go. Lectures become a waste of time (I just gave my clicker to my friends), and I never went to discussion/GSS. The final was 1/3 directly copied and pasted, and he gave us the titration problem beforehand. If you haven't had any chemistry for awhile, you're in trouble. Be prepared to teach yourself and study like crazyy! |
| Anonymous Course: Grade Expected: A December 18, 2010, 1:12 pm | Dr. M-S is super fair. His tests were exactly what we were prepared for: he very rarely had trick questions, and he tested the same concepts that he talked about in lecture. His jokes can be a little awkward at times, but he makes up for it by not expecting us to memorize any useless information. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: C December 15, 2010, 1:19 am | He's an engaging lecturer, but he really doesn't teach the material / prepare you for the tests well at all. He teaches concepts, and rarely does practice problems in class. His anecdotes are always entertaining however, and I rarely found myself bored in his class. I did find it moderately creepy, however, how he managed to make almost every subject in Chemistry awkwardly sexual. I wouldn't particularly advise taking him for CHEM135, but I'd imagine that there are worse teachers. Be prepared to put a lot of effort into the class, and do a lot of problems from the book (as he says in the syllabus). |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: A- December 6, 2010, 8:50 am | One of the better professors for Chem135. He doesn't require his students to memorize much; if it is found in a table in the book somewhere, chances are it will be given to you on the test. The tests are pretty straightforward, and you will do well if you study. A lot of my friends had other professors, and their tests were much harder, plus they were required to memorize a lot that I wasn't required to. |
| bigbabby Course: CHEM135 Grade Expected: December 2, 2010, 9:58 am | Pretty good professor. He doesn't make you memorize as many things like polyatomic ions, constants, formulas etc., and his tests are easier than other professors. Clicker questions almost every class, MasteringChemistry HW every week (completion grade), and he curves. Only (possible) downside is that he goes off on tangents in class and tells stories, which is entertaining to some and a waste of time to others. |
| jq272 Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: B August 8, 2010, 5:33 am | As much as I dreaded Organic, Dr. M-S was a fantastic teacher. His teaching method seemed slightly erratic but it was ultimately effective for me. He sprinkled his lectures with hilarious stories which helped make him one of the best overall lecturers I have had to date. |
| pat Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: B July 20, 2010, 8:41 am | This guy is a real windbag. For starters, his lecture notes would serve better purpose as back-up toilet paper. They are basically random molecules or reactions that he pulls out of a hat all scrambled down onto a piece of paper - poorly with no apparenty logic or reason. This man killed any possible inherent interest in the chemical sciences I ever had. He is like this big goofy 57 year old clown who isnt funny at all. I consider myself a good student (90 transfer credits on a 3.8 GPA) and this guy blew my f*cking mind. He is a real self esteem killer - and his tests are unreasonable as he gives you no way of practicing for them. He gives out a piece of paper with "recommended problems" on it from the book, all of which I did and still felt remarkably unprepared for his tests. I got a B somehow, and I can sit here and honestly say that I know no more about orgo than I did when I walked in. He is the most disorganized moron of a teacher I have ever had the displeasure of having, and his ass needs to retire. I basically wanted to kick him in the fatch on a daily basis. If you have no other choice but to sign up for this guy then I'd recommend setting CHEM231 aside for the time being and staring at your ass in the mirror for 50 minutes three times a week - you would learn just as much about orgo as coming to this jerks class. I feel as if I wasted my money and time, and I did put in an honestly diligent effort to learn the material. INFURIATING. PS - if you really want to piss him off tell him that chemists are people that flaked out on a physics degree (the only real scientist). |
| TerpGuide Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: B June 8, 2010, 2:41 pm | This guy was the reason for my only B. Haha actually, well I can take part for that. Montague-Smith is awesome. But his handwriting is bad and his lectures are all over the place. Discussion helps and so did GSS. You learn a lot from this class; my biggest advice is to study reactions and reagents. Montague-Smith doesn't lie about what is gonna be exams, but he is also not that specific. Don't get the wrong impression when he tells you that a lot of the final is copy and pasted questions from the previous exams. Though there are some, its not as much as I thought there would be. I would pick Montague-Smith though, he is the man |
| widmiester Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: A April 25, 2010, 7:07 pm | The Man. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: A December 23, 2009, 3:41 pm | I was initially not quite used to Dr. M-S's style of teaching, but in retrospect, I think he was an effective, straightforward teacher who was reasonable and most of all, very fun. His exams are challenging, yes, but definitely manageable with adequate studying. Also, he gives you a mechanism list to memorize. His test format is always the same, with 15-20 reactions, 1-2 mechanisms, 1-2 syntheses and 1-2 specs. He obviously knows a whole lot about orgo and biochem, and you can tell that he's really excited about this stuff. At the end of the semester he gives a very generous curve, with the high 70s being an A. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM241 Grade Expected: B December 18, 2009, 10:28 am | Professor Montague-Smith is a fantastic professor for a difficult class. He gives you 5 minute breaks during the one hour and 15 minute class, tells jokes and anecdotes to help you remember reactions, and explains mechanisms thoroughly. Also, if you take the time out to meet with him, if you improve throughout the semester you will get a good grade. His tests are difficult but as long as you review your notes, he tells you exactly what to study for the exams. My only complaint is that he writes his notes on the overhead projector and sometimes it is difficult to read what he writes. However, if you ask what he just wrote, he will attempt to correct it so it is easier to read. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM461 Grade Expected: December 18, 2009, 7:13 am | Great professor. Fun to attend lecture. I love his thing about including a break in this 1.25 hour long classes. Really helps. His exams are ok, not too bad. He tells you exactly what mechanism is going to be on it so you know what to study. Oh, also you may want to check his structures. He tends to get them wrong in little places because he's so excited about teaching it. |
| rbterp Course: BCHM461 Grade Expected: A May 3, 2009, 11:11 am | I really liked Dr. MS's style of teaching biochemistry, which is his actual specialty. He writes out notes on the overhead, so its easy to take notes with him throughout lecture. He was very clear as to which mechanisms would be tested and he often gave examples of test questions after finishing various topics. He added humor to what could otherwise be a dull topic. |
| cninferno Course: CHEM271 Grade Expected: A- December 25, 2008, 8:42 pm | Dr. M-S is a really cool, funny, and an easily approachable professor. His lectures were very clear and he always writes everything he says up on the overhead projector so it should be very easy to copy notes in his class. However, he does say some important stuff (what will be on the next exam or on the final, what you HAVE to know, and any other side information) that he does not write on the overhead. I highly recommend him for ANY chemistry course, whether it may be General Chemistry I (CHEM131), Organic Chemistry I or II (CHEM231, CHEM241), General Chemistry II (CHEM271), or Biochemistry I (BCHM461). You will not regret it. |
| Anonymous Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: A- December 29, 2007, 4:22 pm | Taught Orgo I really well. Really funny and makes the class enjoyable. His tests are hard but doable. He gave a really generous curve at the end. |
| yellohswttart Course: CHEM231 Grade Expected: December 15, 2007, 1:50 pm | He's an excellent Orgo teacher; I've heard otherwise for his CHEM 2 class. Anyway, he's engaging, interesting, and knows his stuff. His tests are somewhat difficult, but not unnecessarily hard. It is a difficult class, but that's the nature of the class. He really pushes you, so be ready to work if you're taking the class. |