mike_c primitive gets panned by students

[franksolich]

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=81816

Oh my.

Thanks to who found this.

Photograph and other information at link.

He is the worst teacher I have had in my school career. I'm an ecology major and this class has ruined it for me a bit. He gives no feed-back on any of the assignments turned in and never tells you what you need to know for anything. He just talks and talks. If you get behind he gives no way to catch up.

Worst teacher I have ever experienced in my whole college career. He obviously knows the principals of ecology very well, however, does a horrible job of conveying them. If you don't get the EXACT terminology or touch upon EVERY detail of the subject(which he may or may not have mentioned) then you will not get the full credit on the question.

Worst professor I've ever had. How does this man still have a job? It helps that he's buddies with the biology department chair...

As a person, he' kind, knowledgeable and approachable. Because he's such a great guy, I feel a bad writing this, but he's honestly a terrible teacher. You won't get lower than a C in his class because he gives away so many free points, but he is disorganized, unclear about what's going to be on the tests and rants about insignificant details.

If you are somewhat intersted in entomology do NOT take this class. There is one test and one lab practical at the end of the semester. He is brilliant but not a good teacher. He rambles on about miniscule details and doesn't even address the broader picture. He never returns emails or phone calls and he admits this.

Don't take his class. He's a nice guy, but a terrible teacher. His lectures are unclear, and his expectations are unrealistic given this is a lower division 110 class.He also responds very unprofessionally to any criticism. Midterms are part in-class, and part take-home. The take-home portion must be done in groups.

Ugh!!!

He's a very group work orientated person, which isn't a bad thing unless you get stuck with a slow and lazy group like mine. Tests hardly had any lecture material. You have to do outside reading with the textbook and extra articles posted on moodle to pass. Overall it was an okay class, not something I'd take again or from him.

worst teacher ever. doesnt even teach. relies on class to teach themselves. none of the test are from the text you buy. all tests are from other texts. biggest waste of money and time ever. you will not learn anything from him.

Mike isn't stupid. He's just lazy, and very stubborn and defensive about staying that way. Really, he just needs to let go of the Team Based Learning dream. He hasn't come close to perfecting how to make it work for his students, and so it doesn't. To top it off, he reacts so very unprofessionally to legitimate criticism and feedback. It's no good.

Now I know why people laugh when his name is mentioned! NO lecturers, only takes questions before tests. Most time is wasted on b.s. group projects. WHY are paying this idiot who expects us to teach ourselves, because he is too lazy to lecture? He also puts up "required reading" resources that you can't access on the campus computers, your problem.

WORST TEACHER EVER! Lazy and unorganized.

He is BY FAR the worst professor I have ever had. He is unorganized, lazy, vague about due dates and requirements, but grades hard. EVERYTHING you do in the class must be done with your lab group, even the final. There are no chances in the class to bring up your grade because all your grade is based on is two tests, and the final.

Ecology was one of the suckiest classes I have ever taken. Every assignment, including take home test to be done in groups of 4. Good luck with that.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Is group-based learning supposed to be Mike C-minus' socialist contribution to the academic arts?

How weird that it pans-out just like the email parable about the teacher who warns his students against socialism but splitting grade points of the achievers with the slackers.

The little tyrants howl like scalded cats whenever that story surfaces but Mike C-minus appears to have unwittingly validated it.

[marv]

...and the other side of the coin:

Okay, his class isn't challenging which is good and bad, but you essentially get out of it what you put into it,...

What he doesn't do is spoon-feed you information. You need to work independently, do the readings posted on moodle without being prompted and do excellent work to get As.

You have to do outside reading with the textbook and extra articles posted on moodle to pass.

relies on class to teach themselves.

WHY are paying this idiot who expects us to teach ourselves, because he is too lazy to lecture? He also puts up "required reading" resources that you can't access on the campus computers, your problem.

Take home tests are very nice (no studying), but difficult because most of the stuff on it is not from lecture. You have to do a lot of searching through the book and online to find answers.

At least he didn't pour the subject in, screw on the lid, and send the youngsters out into a world where you really have to perform on your own. I did something similar when I was teaching crypto maint/repair in the Air Force. I provided the input and output logic parameters, and had the students "design" the circuit. It worked pretty well.

In the real world, there is no prof following you around answering every question you have. Part of an education is learning how to learn. Otherwise, it's just an edukation........

[Karin]

But Marv, he really does sound just lazy.

Holy crap!  What terrible reviews!  What a POS! 

I hated those group things.  I really really wanted A's and a great GPA.  I was going places.  Then, you get teamed up with partiers and slackers and you end up doing the work of several people.  It sucks and it's not fair.  The only way teams work is if everyone is a paid professional, accountable to someone. 

[Rebel]

Mike isn't stupid. He's just lazy, and very stubborn and defensive about staying that way. Really, he just needs to let go of the Team Based Learning dream. He hasn't come close to perfecting how to make it work for his students, and so it doesn't. To top it off, he reacts so very unprofessionally to legitimate criticism and feedback. It's no good.

That person has him pegged.

[Chris_]

I feel a bad writing this, but he's honestly a terrible teacher. You won't get lower than a C in his class because he gives away so many free points, but he is disorganized, unclear about what's going to be on the tests and rants about insignificant details.

Sounds like a DUmmy, alright.

[jtyangel]

Sounds like he's just a facilitator. No offense, but many 'teachers' are. It's why I prefer to do most of my coursework online considering it's not of a scientific or hands on nature.

[marv]

I really really wanted A's and a great GPA.  I was going places.

Everybody wants A's and great GPA's, but those are just metrics that get you in the door. Where you go from there depends on how well you perform. Everybody wants to go to heaven, too, but nobody wants to die to get there.

Then, you get teamed up with partiers and slackers and you end up doing the work of several people.

There were situations when I felt the same way, but I rolled up my sleeves and did what had to be done. The result was that I was able to retire in '92 at age 54.

It sucks and it's not fair.

Life isn't fair. You get out of it what you are willing to put into it.

Mike_c might have been an ass in person, but whether he knew it or not he was giving those kids another valuable lesson, the taste of a real job in the real world. The better students would have grabbed it - and I guess that some did.

[Karin]

No offense, marv, but you're not lecturing me on how to be a grownup are you?  I've had 25+ years so far of a very successful career. 
My point was that I didn't much care to pull the deadweight of a DUmmie.  Not then, and not now. 

[Rebel]

No offense, marv, but you're not lecturing me on how to be a grownup are you?  I've had 25+ years so far of a very successful career. 
My point was that I didn't much care to pull the deadweight of a DUmmie.  Not then, and not now. 

Same here. If I get the pick the team, fine. Damn if I'm gonna be happy with some lazy ass professor picking the team I'll be on.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Marv, you're being way too generous to the guy.  I gather that most of those ratings are for freshman-level or survey courses that are supposed to teach terminology and procedurals, not invent the wheel from a bucket of bronze scraps and some lumber with a mission statement.  I've had some positive experiences with group work, but NONE of them in the undergraduate academic environment, where they all universally sucked due to (Tops) 50% of the members being both willing and able to make any positive contribution.

[FiddyBeowulf]

As a person, he' kind, knowledgeable and approachable. Because he's such a great guy, I feel a bad writing this, but he's honestly a terrible teacher. You won't get lower than a C in his class because he gives away so many free points, but he is disorganized, unclear about what's going to be on the tests and rants about insignificant details.

Reason behind the user name "mike_c"?

[Celtic Rose]

But Marv, he really does sound just lazy.

Holy crap!  What terrible reviews!  What a POS! 

I hated those group things.  I really really wanted A's and a great GPA.  I was going places.  Then, you get teamed up with partiers and slackers and you end up doing the work of several people.  It sucks and it's not fair.  The only way teams work is if everyone is a paid professional, accountable to someone. 

I just a took a class that was almost entirely group work.  I think there was 10% all semester that was individual.  I worked hard all semester, did the required powerpoint almost entirely by self (while sitting with teammates who were complaining about how they didn't know what we were supposed to do) and I wrote most of the required essay.  The last 10% of our grade was peer evaluations, and I had an A going into it all.  A week before graduation I the final grades were posted, an I dropped from an A to a B+.  Talked to the rest of the group, all of their grades dropped too, though mine dropped the worst.  I had a 50% on the peer evaluation.  I spoke to the teacher, and her only comment was, "if people don't turn in their peer evaluation, I can't assume you'd get full credit."  Forwarded that to my teammates, then found out that I was the only one who didn't get an A in the class.

Spoke to the teacher again.  Ends up, one teammate didn't submit any evaluations, and one accidentally submitted a blank one for me.  She told me that if the blank eval was corrected within 10 minutes, she would consider adjusting my grade.  It happened, but left me very upset anyways. 

[Karin]

That's outrageous!  See, they're not accountable to anyone.  At least in an employment situation, a slacker can get in trouble, or experience extreme peer pressure. 

[DumbAss Tanker]

I just a took a class that was almost entirely group work.  I think there was 10% all semester that was individual.  I worked hard all semester, did the required powerpoint almost entirely by self (while sitting with teammates who were complaining about how they didn't know what we were supposed to do) and I wrote most of the required essay.  The last 10% of our grade was peer evaluations, and I had an A going into it all.  A week before graduation I the final grades were posted, an I dropped from an A to a B+.  Talked to the rest of the group, all of their grades dropped too, though mine dropped the worst.  I had a 50% on the peer evaluation.  I spoke to the teacher, and her only comment was, "if people don't turn in their peer evaluation, I can't assume you'd get full credit."  Forwarded that to my teammates, then found out that I was the only one who didn't get an A in the class.

Spoke to the teacher again.  Ends up, one teammate didn't submit any evaluations, and one accidentally submitted a blank one for me.  She told me that if the blank eval was corrected within 10 minutes, she would consider adjusting my grade.  It happened, but left me very upset anyways. 

Anyone with a brain would toss the high and low peer ratings to preclude laziness or friendships/collaborations from influencing the grades, but it appears your instructor was an educator rather than a thinker.

[67 Rover]

Sounds like a DUmmy, alright.

Worst teacher I have ever experienced in my whole college career. He obviously knows the principals of ecology very well, however, does a horrible job of conveying them. If you don't get the EXACT terminology or touch upon EVERY detail of the subject(which he may or may not have mentioned) then you will not get the full credit on the question.

And yet another DUmmie in the making.

[Airwolf]

One thing that we can see is that mike_c is no differant in real life as he is at the DUmp and the other is this is what happens when the previous 12 years of grade school fail to teach you anything and just pass students on no matter how good or bad they are.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Pretty awful for a teacher that ostensibly has tenure.

I had a mid-upper level accounting professor who had been denied tenure.  I took one of his classes during his final semester, because we had to.  The dude didn't care about teaching, all he did was put up transparencies on the overhead projector all semester.  We needed the accounting theory for senior year classes, but learned nearly nothing.

Thankfully he graded tests on a curve.  I think the best test average for the semester was an 80 or 79, which "earned" an A.  I sat next to a couple of good friends, we all averaged around 65's and got B's.

Still, it hampered the learning we needed for senior year.

[dandi]

Sounds like a lot of college professors. You get a reading assignment, then in the lectures they concentrate on their own little pet peeves and topics of particular interest to them.

What I liked about nursing school was that all the important information was covered and time was provided to ask questions and clarify things so that it all could be synthesized into a coherent whole. If certain material was deemed important enough to base test questions on, you could bet that it was covered somewhere in the lecture. In test reviews you were allowed to argue points and how they were covered in class, which led occasionally to some questions being thrown out due to vagueness and future tests being revised without instructors' egos coming so much into the picture. It was much more conducive to analysis and critical thinking.