4.3
Quality2.3
Difficulty90%
Would Retake102
Reviews90%
Would Retake
102
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
66
4
17
3
10
2
9
1
0
What Students Say
“She was a decent teacher BUT she treats you as if you are in a kindergarten class”
COMM1 - 4.0 rating“One of the professors that you miss after the course ends”
COM10 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
53%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.06 avg changeRatings by Course
COMMST1
5.0
(1)CS1
5.0
(3)PUNLICSPEAKING
5.0
(1)COMUN100
5.0
(1)COMMUCOM
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
PUB1
5.0
GROUPCOMM
4.5
COMM2
4.0
COMM08
4.0
COMMST01
3.5
Reviews (102)
I was scared to death to take Speech before hand, but Donna made it so non-threatening and fun that I ended up enjoying myself! She's tremendously organized, very fair and easy to approach, and really provides alot of helps for the student. I HIGHLY recommend her.
the reason why i stayed is because she is very hot... and she was a big help in class :P
The most understanding teacher I have had. What a wonderful experience for a non-speaker to come to grips with a fear of speaking in front of class. Highly recommend. She's a kick!
Awsome teacher. Extremely supportive and clearly wants you to get an A. Go to class, prepare well for speeches and take good notes on her lectures, and I don't see why you couldn't get at least a B. Totally down to earth. Always willing to help. A+ for Mrs. Knifong.
Donna is an excellent teacher. She explains the material well and very clear. She makes the class fun. Her exams are not easy but if you study you can get an A. Great teacher!
one of the most understanding teachers out there. its fun to be in her class i guarantee it.
No Comments
She seems to grade pretty easy, considering I wrote all my speeches the night before and never even practiced them and still got all A's and B's on them...she has boring lectures but whatever...overall, she's pretty cool. She's friendly and will help you out however she can.
Very ez grader. No one in the class was enthused to be there. Most speakers were unprepared yet still got great scores. Boring lectures with dull stories.
Boring lectures hates when you sleep in class. Does grade really easy, super PC though.
I thought that I would hate this class, but Donna has made it interesting! Her lectures can be dry, but they are easy to follow, and straight to the point. She is very organized and she follows her syllabus exactly. Her exams are hard, so study for them! If you take notes, you should pass the exams.
Donna is a great teacher. She is kind, organized, and easy going. She gives great study guides and tells you exactly what will be on the test. If you do your work and and prepare for her test, it is easy to get a good grade!!
Donna is an awesome teacher. She is very nice and very organised(a little too organised). She is easy to talk to in person and by e-mail. She is very knowledgeable about learning styles and makes the class easy and fun for everyone. One of the best teachers at seirra
SHE HAS SUPER BORING LECTURES AND TREATS STUDENTS LIKE CHILDREN. EASY CLASS THOUGH IF YOU CAN STAND IT.
Some of the activities seemed pretty dumbned down- and some of the time she talked to us like very young children which got on my nerves. She's a very thorough grader on speeches and exams, but a pretty easy grader for essays.
Donna is considerate and kind. She is a great teacher. Even though I fear public speaking she made the class fun. Not only would I take her again I would also highly recommend her.
Don't take this class! Teacher is a control freak that runs every class to the last second. Don't expect a good grade if she doesn't agree w/ you politically. Way too PC for me. The one & only test you will have is a long final exam :(
DO NOT TAKE HER......TERRIBLE TEACHER WHO DISCRIMINATES HER STUDENTS. GRADES POORLY AND UNFAIR AND GIVES A 17 PAGE FINAL!!AVOID HER EVERYONE..U WILL HATE HER IF U TAKE HER
she was a very easy teacher sow up to most classes and do your work and you should be fine. she does talk to everyone like they are children and her lectures are a little boring but the class is a peice of cake if ou can stay awake
I would avoid the teacher at all costs!! She has no sense of communication even though she is a com.1 instructor and feels she has to yell the entire class period in order to get her point across. The class is easy but she makes it a horrible learning environment!!!! Don?t even bother trying to ask her any questions because she will just make you
Easy class, a little boring, got an A, I had too fun with my speeches, and not hit the points that she wants. give what she wants, you'll get the points. knows her stuff, but she is still boring.
Excellent teacher! I went into this class dreading public speaking. She made each class pleasant and enjoyable. I came out of this class actually liking public speaking! Take her class if you have the chance!
This teacher is the worst teacher I've had since attending Sierra College. She talks to you like you're a five year old! If you do take this class only talk about kittens and nothing funny in your speeches because you will get docked! Showed us over and over this clip about lyons running and hugging their old owner. LAME!
Took Group Communication with her in the spring--a really good class. Early 8:00 am classes are hard, but one or two of the guys had a crush on her, which livened things up. She was pretty cool.
I took her class my freshman year. Her class was the first college class i had ever attended. She made me feal at home right away. Suddenly college didn't seem so terifying anymore. I Love how personal she is. She knows every name in the whole class. And our homework is esay. I would recomend this teacher to anyone!!
Donna speaks to you like you're a child and dumbs down everything. She's ridiculous when it comes to grading. If your paper is in the first half of the stack you'll get an A and if its in the bottom half you'll get a C depending on her mood. Easy class but can't stand the teacher.
She was awesome, a really sweet teacher, who really wants you to succeed. Easy class.
Follow given instructions completely and you're guaranteed an A. Those who go first are graded more easily. Participation points- show up. Reading assigned but only found a small need for book for final. Grin and bear it.
Donna is kinda hot and cold for me. Her grading system is unclear, although I never got any bad scores. She does talk to her students as if they are 5 and that gets irritating. Her test are harder then the average test, even when she includes a study guide. I got an A, but I did work for it. I'd say this is an easy B class. must push to get the A!
I definetely learned a lot. She uses good analogies. Except, she treated and talked to us like we were lil kids, her tests were EXTREMELY difficult, and she never goes over the study guide. I'm a definite type A person and hard worker, and I had to work my butt off extra hard to get an A. This class stressed me out. p.s. don't get on her bad side.
She treated us like we were a bunch of children. She was unreasonable when it came to homework and tests. Our tests were huge, around 13 pages each. This was supposed to be an easy General Ed class and she made it way harder then it needed to be. I have never been so bored in a class my whole life. Her lectures were painful to sit through!!!
A good instructor. I want to change my major now to Com. Tests are hard.
Donna is a very nice lady who wants her students to succeed. She does have good stories and her lectures are not boring. Everyone is right though, she does have a very soft voice (not her fault) but somes you do feel like a child when she talks to you and it gets a little annoying. But all in all I enjoyed her class and would probably take her agai
Veryy Veryyy Veryyyy sweet lady!! I used to be very scared of public speaking, but she helps you to break out of your shell. She is a very reasonable grader, and wants you to get the highest grade possible. I hate public speaking, but I did not dread coming to this class. Thanks Ms. Knifong!! GREAT CLASS!!
Super sweet woman. If you pay attention in class, take notes and participate this class will be a great experience. You can learn a lot about yourself and how to treat others through taking this class. The final was easy as long as you studied the textbook. It doesn't matter how strong you speaking skills are, as long as you try.
Sweet prof. Lectures are super short and clear. Great memories with great examples applied to the lecture. Her voice can put you to sleep, watch out! Syllabus was as long as a booklet--> imagine the exam! Exam was quite easy though, multiple choice mostly. A lot of presentations in class, but all soooo interesting. Public Speaking is not scary!
Donna is a really great instructor. Yeah, she does talk like she's talking to children. Her tests are difficult, and you really can't miss a ton of class. Her lectures are short but thorough. There are 3 presentation projects as well. Not an "easy A" but definitely passable if you pay attention and come to class.
Extremely nice woman! Has a sweet sing-songy voice that reminds me of a disney princes but she is honestly the best! Loved the class and her! A super easy class to take notes in and pay attention in. Tests aren't easy but if you listen and study your notes you'll be golden.
Best teacher I've ever had! They don't get better than this! She is very kind and really cares about her students. She is very supportive of her students and gives excellent feedback on your speeches. I wish she taught all of my classes! On a scale of 1-10 her rating would be 100!
Worst teacher I have EVER had...She talks to her students like they are 5 (in a passive aggressive undertone) and for a public speaking professor is the worst public speaker I have ever heard. Will not give you a full score for anything and when confronted cant provide an explanation.
Talks to her students like their 2 years old, total of 5 speeches, must attend class and cant miss more than 4 or she will drop you right away, class is super boring, sort of easy grader on speeches, annoying voice, pretty easy class if you just do the assignments
Good teacher! She is very sweet. Class is kind of boring, but she really wants you to succeed in her class. Tests are average just make sure you pay attention and take notes. Group project was pretty easy just make sure you take your time on it and make it interesting.
She is such a sweetheart. Seriously, she never got mad over the entire semester. She's really understanding and willing to help. The only tests you have are for the midterm and final, which consist of everything on the study guide she gives you. Make sure to take notes during her lectures because everything shows up on the tests.
Donna is a very nice professor. She will help you in any way she can. Class entailed 3 speeches, three papers, and a midterm and final. As long as you study and complete all of your speeches, it's easy to get an A.
Donna is an awesome professor. Her class was super easy... I got A's on every single assignment. I didn't buy the textbook because the only thing you need it for is to study for your final so just use it on reserve for that. Aced her class. I would recommend everybody to take it!
Donna is a good professor who despite her terrible hand writing gives good notes. Her class is very manageable if you show up, prepare for speeches and do the feedback sheets. Over all Donna made this class enjoyable.
Donna is an extremely helpful and professional teacher, if it wasn't for her dedication I would not have even passed it class!
I wasn't looking forward to taking this class, but now I am sad to see it end. Donna is not only a wonderful teacher, she is a wonderful person. She makes everyone feel comfortable. The midterm and final are easy to pass as long as you study. The speeches are easy, and fun. She is very helpful, and so sweet. TAKE HER CLASSES!!
Donna is a really nice women, although her lectures were painful to sit through and I'm not confident I learned very much. She also couldn't remember everyone's names so she would make it awkward when she forgot your name. Overall, the class is very easy to pass.
The Survey course is thorough. A good course for the major. I feel ready for transfer now.
If u are nervous about giving speeches, or if u just want to enjoy a speech class, Donna is THE prof to take. She is very helpful and treats u w/ respect. Whoever said she treats u like a kid either misunderstood her or needs a good dose of humility. Very easy A if u attend class and do the work. Lectures were easy to listen to, I learned much.
Pretty good teacher, learned a lot and a pretty easy class. She tries her best to make it fun because she knows most people in the class aren't that thrilled to take public speaking. Overall good teacher. I would take her again.
One of the best teachers I have ever taken. I learned so much. She makes you feel so comfortable. You will have to participate a lot in her speaking class but she makes it so easy to get comfortable. I think I write and speaker better in general because of her class. Great feedback, fair with grades, and she is respectful.
Great teacher... hate public speaking and she was great support. The best teacher I've had in anything. Highly recommend her.
Donna is the kindest person I have met at Sierra College. She genuinely cares about communications and it really comes out in her teaching. She does have a kind of high pitch voice if that kind of thing bothers you. Other than that shes awesome, I would totally recommend her to anyone starting they're communication series.
She was a decent teacher BUT she treats you as if you are in a kindergarten class. Will scold you like youre a child and even speaks to you like a child. She is constantly lecturing and didnt miss a single class all year. she will drop you if you miss 3 classes and isnt very flexible. overall i enjoyed it but wouldnt take another class with her
I totally recommend taking her Public Speaking class. It was much easier then expected, your grade consists of 5 speeches(7 mins was the longest one), a final exam, and participation points. She's very helpful when you need something and is super responsive over email. Overall a great class to take.
Was very nervous about public speaking before taking this class, & now i'm much more confident! Donna has a way of creating a class environment in which students feel so comfortable with each other. This class was taken over summer, so we had a speech almost every week. Very reasonable amount of work & she lets you use a page of notes on the final.
One of the professors that you miss after the course ends.
Donna is incredibly sweet and kind. She always gives very enthusiastic and supportive feedback on speeches. If you follow the assignments and meet the requirements you will get an "A". Recommend saving handouts throughout the class for the final exam. She is a very supportive and caring instructor and clearly wants all her students to succeed.
Donna is the kindest teacher, I loved having her! She incorporates student feedback into lectures and allows everyone to share their thoughts and experiences on the topic openly. I learned so much from her and loved the environment she creates in her classroom! Great notes and detailed syllabus that if followed, result in a great grade. Take her
Donna is such a great teacher! She is very understanding and helpful too. She is such a kind person and her class is super easy. I took this class over the summer and I'm so glad I did. This was a fun and easy class that I actually enjoyed going to.
Professor Knifong was the absolute sweetest instructor I've ever met! Her midterms/finals are really intense though, but she lets you use a 8x11 sheet of notes, front &back. Attendance is a must, one group project that was super easy and many things from the tests are from lectures so take notes. If you can do all that, its an easy A.
Donna is such a kind woman with an interesting way of looking at things.
She is amazing and super sweet! She really cares for all her students and even though there is alot of homework, she grades it fairly. I passed her class with a solid A and I'm such a procrastinator! Her tests are hard but you can use a whole page of notes (that saved my life!!). Take notes and participate and you'll be fine!
If you don't like public speaking she's the teacher to take! She makes things very comfortable and gives encouraging feedback. If you like constructed criticism and enjoy public speaking I wouldn't take her because its a rather easy class and not much of a challenge. She is very very kind and is a great person to know!
Donna made this class such an enjoyable experience! She worked really hard to create a comfortable, friendly class atmosphere, which helped lower my nervousness. She responds to emails quickly, and she is incredibly helpful. If you don't want to take public speaking, but you have to, take Donna's class!
Donna is the kindest person and an excellent professor. She's very approachable and will help with speech construction/editing if you only ask! Definitely read the required chapters, they are discussed in class and are on the exam. She appreciates participation. Very encouraging, interesting, and kindhearted. I'll miss this class.
Professor Knifong is amazing!!! She is absolutely the professor for people who hate public speaking. She is very organized and gives clear instructions. She creates a safe environment for her students and motivates them through constructive criticism and praise. She is very helpful and it is very easy to get an A if you show up to class!
I was absolutely terrified of having to take a communications class and have been putting it off for so long! However, Donna is the best!! She is so sweet/caring and always leaves positive feedback on everything you turn in. She really and truly cares about her students and it's so nice to have a professor who believes in you every step of the way.
Supportive and positive even when you don't do well, helpful feedback. Grades a lot on participation and effort, so even if you are not great at actually doing speeches you can still definitely get an A in the class. Almost zero homework. Don't need the book. Take notes during lectures to study for the final (only test of the semester)
Donna is very positive and open person. She is understandable and unique. I took her morning class and as a college students, our class were half awake in each class lecture. Its not because of her. She spread her good vibes in class so take her and I am glad that i took her class :)
she does make this class a breeze and she is very nice, but it is very very boring. like unbearable.
Take her if you want an easy A in COMM 1! She is super friendly and the speeches are easy. She created a warm environment so youre not likely to be as nervous! Her final is rough, but you get a double sided sheet of notes.
There's around 4 Speeches for those in the Summer Course. 1 Informative Speech, 1 Sales Speech, 1 Persuasive Speech and 1 Speech of Tribute. To wrap it all up there's a Final which really blindsided many of us as you MUST read from the Textbook Chapters. Take notes as well as 40% of the final is notes and 60% of questions from Textbook.
Speeches are not hard at all. Lecture info is kind of dull, its mostly common sense. But Donna is really sweet and keeps it interesting. She also totally gets the fear that goes along with public speaking and is willing to work with you to get through it.
Donna is a must take if you are not a public speaker. She is always positive and encouraging and will make you feel comfortable. I highly reccommend taking her for any comm class.
Donna is hands down one of the best professors I've had. She understand how much fear students can have public speaking and she works with you as an individual She is lecture and note heavy but it is very clearly taught and easy to understand. If you don't take class notes you will fail because questions on the exam come directly from class notes.
Very sweet and cares about her students! Clear instructions and only two exams, though there's many assignments related to the group project. Very understanding about the struggles of working in a group and will make sure you succeed even if your group is imperfect. Very approachable both in and out of class :) I highly recommend taking her class!
I was in her public speaking class on campus when the Corona virus hit. She did a great job moving things online unlike some other on-campus only professors. She's a very kind and caring person and I would absolutely recommend her to anyone. If you actually complete your assignments it's an easy A. She even let tons of slackers turn work in late.
She is Awesome!!!!! I thought i was not going to pass or get a A but i did!! she is super Awesome, She did really good when we had to switch to online because of covid. I super recommend her guys!! trust me!! I passed with an A and I am not a smart person. One test, there is 4 speeches in total and one paper. super easy don't over think it.
Very Un-organized And theres always so many things due on different tabs and its VERY confusing. If you are a busy person outside of school probably dont take this class. You will always be on canvas trying to figure out whats going on.
SO NICE, understanding, and accepts late work. I took an online summer course. Public speaking was still nerve racking for me even on video. We had to do around 6-8 videos (cant remember) for speeches. Quizzes every week & discussions, but nothing too hard. I highly recommend her to everyone. I wish all teachers could be more like Donna Knifong.
Amazing professor. Truly cares about her students and wants them to do well. I wish she taught more classes so I could take her again.
Great class to take! No homework just 5 speeches pre recorded that you upload to the class, 2 zooms total, one or two open note quizzes a week (easy), one paper , and one Discussion a week. She answers any questions you have and is there to help. Even if you aren't the best speaker she grades easy, graded on effort/if you the followed instructions
She was definitely one of my favourites & I would 100% take her again. You have 1-3 quizzes weekly based on the lectures & the textbook so dont skip either, you have about 4 speeches to do & there are 2 mandatory zooms, you also have to write a paper close to the end, There are weekly DB. She is truly incredible & sweet & replies Immediately :)
I LOVE HER! No one has ever been as passionate about anything as Prof. K is about speech/communication studies. She's the type of teacher that you REALLY want to do well for. She gives amazing feedback and really takes the time to get to know her students, even virtually. Her lectures are a bit long but you definitely get all of the info you need!
Great teacher, very cheerful its just sometimes the assignments are a lot and a lot of reading. Gives good quiz time. Just read a lot. And youll pass easy class.
She is a very kind and accessible instructor; the class itself was very simple in nature, however it required an extensive amount of peer interaction (multiple discussion boards weekly, lots of feedback per peer for speeches, etc.)
I love Professor Knifong, but there are a few things I take note of. There is SO much reading and way too much lecture. She has very little topics to discuss and somehow drags them out into 1-2.5 hours of lecture as well as assigns ample reading. Class is an easy A if you can keep up with due dates and lectures. Very friendly professor.
Professor Knifong was really lecture heavy. Her lectures are unnecessarily long, she really likes to talk a lot in them, and it takes well over a few minutes to get back on topic. She was nice but didn't really try to help when you needed it. I personally would not take her again, and just got to throw it out there that DB's are 3 points. :(
Be prepared for a lot of homework, reading & lecture. Her lecture videos are extremely long and dragged. There are 3 major speeches w/writing and 3 small speeches. Discussion is worth 3 pts except speech discussion which are 15 pts. 3 quizzes every wk, each worth 5 pts. She is sweet and very accommodating. Just do the work & its an easy A
for those worried about long lectures, the longest I've had (in an online course over 8 weeks) was an hour. and she talks very slow, so I put the videos on 2x speed and it was totally coherent still and easy to follow. the reading isn't that heavy, I skimmed it all for the quiz answers so it was very quick. grades easy and very nice
prof. knifong was superrr nice and sweet! she'd record videos as feedback on speeches/assignments. lectures are kinda long (20-50 min, 2-3 per week) but are still comprehensible in 2x speed. there's 2 zoom meetings but otherwise no attendance required. I took the shorter, summer course so keep that in mind.
Miss Knifong was great. Sometimes a lot of prep work was needed for the presentations, but she was very understanding and caring. Don't be too nervous. She genuinely cares about the students
Professor Knifong, or as she prefers to be called—Donna, is super sweet, kind, and supportive. Her feedback was detailed, encouraging, and truly helped me improve. She created a positive, stress-free learning environment and always made sure we felt confident in our work. She genuinely cared about her students' success. Highly recommend her!
semester-long project... very task-heavy class. Very nice professor and doesn't grade harshly. I personally loved Donna as a professor, but I felt like this class could've used more communication/presentations instead of the heavy writing we needed to do for our semester-long project. It came out to be around 15-20 pages worth of writing.
Miss Knifong is kind and offers great feedback. Make sure to ask if you have any questions.
Sweet professor who genuinely cares that her students pass her class and feel comfortable. Her personality is bubbly and caring, so presenting wasn't intimidating or scary. This online class consisted of short open-note quizzes based on her vid lectures and the textbook, video and/or text discussion boards, and 2 easy but bigger Zoom presentations.
Very sweet, and encouraged people to speak about things they were passionate about. I learned a lot from her class, even though I was only taking it for my GE, and I would totally recommend you take her class - it's very simple and straightforward, just do the work
Amazing professor; I took her in-person Public Speaking class. She has 5 speeches, 1 essay, and 2 online, open-note-and-book exams. The speeches will require a lot of preparation if you want to get a good grade in the class. It's an easy A IF you put in the effort. She grades on participation too so if you miss class, it will count against you.
She cares about her students and generally wants to see them succeed and enjoy themselves, but she false short when it comes to time management. You'll likely find yourself spending excessive amounts of time to learn rather simple concepts, and you'll be required to take notes and pay attention despite this carelessness.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
53%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.06 avg changeRatings by Course
COMMST1
5.0
(1)CS1
5.0
(3)PUNLICSPEAKING
5.0
(1)COMUN100
5.0
(1)COMMUCOM
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
PUB1
5.0
GROUPCOMM
4.5
COMM2
4.0
COMM08
4.0
COMMST01
3.5