2.1
Quality3.8
Difficulty22%
Would Retake109
Reviews22%
Would Retake
109
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
13
4
11
3
10
2
29
1
46
What Students Say
“Please please please for the love of chem dont take Prody”
12229 - 1.0 rating“lectures are horribly written and very scattered”
CHEM121 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
84%
Textbook Required
40%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.29 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO472
5.0
(1)BIO474
5.0
(1)CHEM472
5.0
(1)CHEM473CHEM474
5.0
(1)CHEM121122
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
BIO472
5.0
BIO474
5.0
CHEM471
4.6
BIO473
4.3
BIOCHEM375
4.0
Reviews (109)
She is very patronizing and condescending, treating the students like we're all idiots and she knows everything. Big on attendance. Grades based on attendance, participation, homework, labs, and tests. Class is confusing.
she is a good teachers, explains things well. lots of free points, labs and attendence w/ participation. class is kinda hard, do the hw and its easier. shes kinda crazy, a few too many days with chemicals if you ask me!!
She is an incredibly interesting professor, and likes to blow things up as much as the students. She is very flagrant and teaches well, but her tests are quite challenging.
I don't know why I took two classes from her. She is confusing (especially on test review days), and it would be so easy to learn the material just from the book and not lecture, but you can't miss class or your grade drops!
Way confusing lectures and makes vague comments about what information will be covered on exams. She was never around for help out of class and was always very condescending when "helping." She teaches the 400-level class like should we already have our BS to pass it.
I was really disappointed with the lecture style she adopted in this class. It was really disorganized and didn't add clarity to a topic (Biochem) which is already very difficult. Her lectures were not useful. She seemed to oppose the class and complained about the class doing well on tests.
Completely unorganized in her lectures and makes mistakes on exams. She treats students like they are stupid and offers no help.
What a horrible class. She will not help you learn anything.
I loved her. She makes the class fun and isn't scared to clarify questions, or make a fool of herself. She's way better than Dr. Weyh..that's for sure.
Awful prof and not nice! Very rude and condescending if you ask questions during lecture, definitely plays favorites with the chem majors, which is unfortunate if you are a biology major. Lectures were confusing, exams were riduculous. She had to curve the grades so the whole class wouldn't fail.
Rated fair by colleagues, and for good reason! She was unclear & made us feel stupid for not knowing the answers. I was afraid to ask her for help because of this. She randomly calls on people for participation grade, which isn't fair because we would have learned more by not going & reading the book. Unclear lecture notes & poor lab instructor.
a very fair grader, but does seem to think everyone should know as much as she does about chemistry.
i thought this was the easiest classes of all time. but pretty much that is because i read the book over and over till i understood it....because you won't learn much from the lectures~i felt the lectures were one big commerical for biochemistry (what she wants everyone in there to major in) she blows up lots of crap on fridays which is cool.
Prody was possibly the worst teacher I've ever had. She actually laughed at students questions. She didn't really know what was going on in lab either. 1st test was easy, but the second was pretty tough. Go to class for participation pts.
Alright - So I transferred to Western from UW this year and think Prody is the worst teacher I've ever met in my life. The class was moderately hard - read the book and you'll be fine. She puts people down, makes fun of students that don't know answers to her questions and treats you like an idiot if you ask her a question.
Didn't like her much at the time, but in retrospect she was OK. Lectures disjointed and confusing (contradicted herself often), attendance system ridiculous, but really helpful in labs. Tests are really hard--maybe 6 questions covering every concept mentioned so far. Once I figured this out and studied like crazy, did fairly well.
No Comments
The course material is hard enough to understand. But with this kind of disorganization it is aggrivating to the fullest.
Avoid her if possible. She's often vulgar and uses sexual innuendo alot, is rude to students, late for most classes and labs. Makes fun of students who ask questions or need clarification. Lectures were disorganized. Tests were about average.
She was a very, very unhelpful teacher. Her lecture slides were all pictures of explosions and disorganized. She spent a lot of time on easy stuff in class, but then didn't even touch on some of the harder questions on the test.
Although she is very excited about teaching chemistry, she doesn't understand that the students don't know everything when they first begin. And when students give wrong answers, she is very rude about it. One good thing is that she always puts up sample tests and explains what exactly you need to study for the test.
Energetic but in general not a good prof. She has tenure and she takes full advantage of it. Shes not there for the students, its clear. Does good review sessions, so come with questions. Did not cover all material required for labs prior to. Had troble completing all course material.
Prody is by far the worst professor I have ever had. She is rude to students, extremely disorganized, laughs at student's questions, and has no communication skills. I was extremely disappointed in her teaching. Don't take her class. It won't be very hard but will have alot of unneccesary frustration.
Oh Prody. Having her for 471 after having Kriz for O-Chem was the biggest downgrade of my life. She expects you to remember a lot of info from 123 without helping you with it. Also her tests are ridiculous. They don't always make a lot of sense. However she sets the average grade for the class at a B- and the curves from there. Disorganized.
ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!!!! She wasn't helpful at all and enjoyed making fun of students in front of the whole class! DO NOT take her class!
By far the worst professor I've had at WWU. She doesn't care at all about the students, is not nice at all in office hours, and calls on people at random to answer chem questions in place of actually teaching the stuff. Manditory attendance counts for a big part of your grade. PLEASE DON'T MAKE MY MISTAKE AVOID THIS CLASS!!!
She gets a bad rap, because she expects you to know everything you've ever learned. But she's right, we're about to embark on scientific careers and we should be held responsible for what we've learned. If you take her it'll be very hard and you might strongly dislike her, but if you take it for what it is, and allow her to help you - you'll be a
HORRIBLE, worst teacher I've had. Lazy, disorganized, and just mean. Her tests have little to do with what she teaches.
Very unimpressed with the teaching. Each student has a notecard with their name, so you will randomly get called on during class, which wastes a lot of class time and can be worrisome. Most of my learning came from the book. I would try to avoid... I really enjoyed chem 121 with Gammon and this was a harsh change.
I hate her, she is terrible. If you can avoid her, do so.
No Comments
Proffesor Prody's fatal flaw in my opinion is that she expects you already to be able to do it all. For a senior level course you should be able to do many things on your own, but unfortunately she takes it to an extreme, where the class largely ends up being what you learned by yourself out of the book, & tests have little to do with lectures.
Extremely frustrating professor!! Consistently late for class and review sessions! Often becomes confused while "explaining" something on the blackboard and makes mistakes. I credit the tutorial center completely for my good grade and recommend if you get stuck with possibly the worst professor I've ever had you head to the tutorial center asap!
She was an awesome professor. excited, excitable and had always came to class with a great sense of humor and a real love of chemistry. Blow's stuff up and has a great time doing it. Understandable why people don't like her, but don't let that make your decision, i'm glad i didn't.
Dr. Prody is awesome. She is always available for help and she is crazy about chemistry. She really makes class fun and you learn a ton because she will call on students randomly for answers so you have to be on top of your stuff when you come to class. Don't listen to the people who have rated her before, Dr. Prody is rad.
It's hard to learn Chemistry when the teacher thinks you already know it all and doesn't teach the material. Her lecture methods didn't seem to be going anywhere and she never explained things well. She always seemed so flustered and shocked when someone was confused about something. Don't take her unless you already know everything in chemistry!
oohhmmmm....... carbon only makes four bonds ....................
Prody made chemistry more confusing then it really is. She got me to hate chemistry and changed my mind about being a dentist.
Worst class I've ever taken in my life! Seriously, I loved chemistry coming into college, and now I'm dreading taking two more courses, because of this woman. She's can't explain anything well. I'm pretty sure the entire class hates her. I feel bad writing harsh critisism of someone, but if it keeps you from taking this class then it was worth it!
Prody is a good teacher. She is fun and wild. On the last day of class she blew up a balloon full of H and O, IT WAS AMAZING. She is entertaining and interesting.I honestly don't know why she got such bad ratings but I think she is great. She grades on the curve and gives her students attendance points. Take her class she is great!
No one knows what the person below me is saying... she is horrible!! Listen to everyone else, she picks on you in class and will wait until you find the answer! I do not like her at all! Take it from someone else! Horrible teacher!
This is the teacher you have heard about, the one your mother warned you about, the beast from nightmares! Tremble, for there is none worse. Beware, she shall crush your simpering GPA beneath her taloned feet! Weep, for there is no escape, 473 is REQUIRED for biochemistry majors!
What a joke, her tests were absolutely ridiculous! She throws the most random questions on her exams and treats everyone except for her select posse/ suckups like they are retarded, especially when it comes to her notecards which I actually think did help teach information. She grades very hard and even gave a couple zeros, yes zeros, on exams!
Great professor. The class was not taught consistent with most chemistry classes, but the academic demand motivated me to do well. Read the textbook EVERYDAY and memorize everything she suggests to memorize, I received a B+ for doing that. Cheers.
interesting
hmm. interesting lady.
I sat down in the front row every day and loved the lectures. the time passes very quickly because she covers so much information, but if you can keep up, you learn a lot in a short period of time. Gerry Prody is a character, and you can tell that despite working with students who tend to rate her poorly, she really enjoys teaching.
Took this course last year. Dropped it. Took it again this year and worked as hard as suggested. Was able to pull off an A and I really enjoyed her teaching style the second time around. Read the book, memorize what she tells you to memorize, and PRACTICE.
The most condescending and abusive teacher I've ever experienced. She also forces students to answer questions in front of enormous classrooms and insults them if they are incorrect. After witnessing her behavior I dropped the class and retook it with another professor.
I do not understand how people like this still have jobs at a University that is looking to save as much money as possible. I've got a trick for the Chem. Department to save roughly 60K a year. FIRE PRODY. She is useless, demeaning, and just generally not a good person. Take Chem from Mark Peyron. (Or anyone else)
Very energetic and enthusiastic, straight forward about what she expects from you. I found the exams a bit cryptic but if you ask her during the exam she will help you. Attendance is MANDTORY. She uses 3x5 cards to keep track of you asking, what did you learn yesterday? Not a hard question peeps! If you are that shy, take the class from anther prof
Prody is a very enthusiastic and effective professor. She may not seem like it but she really does care about her students.Tests actually assess how well you understand stuff and although sometimes they are confusing she's willing to help you during the test taking period.
Prody was very enthused and very accessible. She will hold you accountable for the material you cover while in class, but she really wants people to learn and love chemistry, and it shows. I really enjoyed this class, even though it was a summer session, and therefor a lot of work.
prody was the worst teacher i have had at college. the only good part of the class was when she electrocuted herself on accident one day when doing an experiment. take this class from another teacher if you can.
I was really motivated to do well in this class because Prody has high expectations and isn't afraid to let you know if you're an idiot. Maybe this is just me, but that made me really crave her approval. She's a really nice person and wants you to do well, but doesn't hand out A's for free. I can see her not being very good for Gen Chem.
The worst....simply the worst. It's not that the topics are too difficult, because with some time and effort outside of class, especially with help from the textbook, you feel like you've grasped the concepts. But her tests are IMPOSSIBLE to do well on. Poorly written, too complex, and worth WAY too many points a piece. AVOID!!!
She was pretty bad. Taught from a powerpoint as opposed to using it as a guide. She skipped topics which wouldn't have been a problem if we hadn't been let out 10 to 15 minutes early every day. First two tests were easy, final was very difficult. Best week of the course was when she left and the lab coordinator taught lecture. Don't take her.
Dr Prody was a very funny teacher and I especially enjoyed how she focused on less material in Biochem 2 this quarter so we could really master some metabolisms. People are too hard on her; the tests are challenging but on material in lecture and she grades on a curve so you need to do better than those around you, as should be expected.
I absolutely loved Prody! Her lectures were very clear and she made sure she explained things. If you actually asked questions, she would answer them for you and explain her process. If possible, definitely take 121 with Prody.
She lectures right from her powerpoints, and teaches the class in a different order then the other chem 121 classes, so when it's time to do the labs it is over stuff you haven't even learned about! Trying to learn chemistry on your own and still pass the labs and homework isn't my idea of a good teacher...
Dr. Prody is the worst teacher I've had at at WWU. She falls behind in lectures and when she actually does teach, its completely out of order from the rest of the Chem 121 profs! Don't take her if you're learning chem for the first time, she's confusing. I learned more straight out of the book than I ever did from one of her lectures.
Prody was great! She did go out of order from the other chem classes, but I felt better with this order. Her tests are pretty straightforward as long as you practice and ask her questions about issues you have because she loves to help you. I really appreciated her and wish I could take her again. If you don't get her lectures, the book is helpful.
I would not suggest toking Chem 121 with her. If you already know some chem you will be fine. But if you have never taken chem before, she is not the one the introduce you to the world of chem. Clarity was a persisting issue, and I ended up spending my time reading the book front to back, and using the student center whenever i had a question.
Ah Gerry, to summarize once she did an experiment where she dropped a too big piece of pure sodium into water. It exploded (to her surprise) and the building had to be evacuated. If that doesn't tell you enough she lost one of my tests and didn't let me know or attempt to contact me at all. Please please please for the love of chem dont take Prody
If I were to judge Prof Prody as a person, she is awesome. Incredibly nice and has a deep interest in anything Biochem. Although her lecture style is horrendous. She expects you to have a strong understanding of chem before walking in the door. She is WAY more suited to teaching advances classes. Overall, I don't recommend.
She teaches all the chapters in the wrong order. Also will leave you in the dust as far as subject matter if you don't ask questions, and even then she doesnt really like answering questions
She will give extra homework time as needed but often falls behind where the class should be.
Dr. Prody's a wonderful lecturer, and an even better lab instructor. To succeed in her class, just be prepared for the day. A little review before class each day does wonders for your grade and overall anxiety levels. She is tough, but not impossible. Some just aren't up to the Prody challenge...
Her teaching style is extremely hard to follow. She covers material out of order, and even though her slides are available online, they are really confusing and don't help at all when it comes to tests. She repeatedly told us she won't test on certain material, then put it on the exam. Stuff that was never covered in lecture shows up on tests.
Worse teacher ever!! Her lectures were always confusing and her organization skills suck. She messes up tests and provides useless study guides. She doesn't cover everything she puts on tests and rushes through her power points.
If you've only been exposed to High School Chem, she's not the Prof for you. Her lectures are difficult to follow and she's unorganized. I basically learned straight from the book and LIVED on YouTube. Seriously, if you can avoid taking her please save yourself the trouble or get really comfortable learning from Professors on the internet.
Prody doesnt instruct you at all, she makes a ton of mistakes on exams, shes condescending, deliberately sets her course so that its out of order with the lab instructors, but whats worse is she knows all of this and just doesn't care. literally, like she laughed when no one in the class scored above a 60 on exam 2.
Uses the words chemistry and alchemy interchangeably. Ignores 95% of emails you send her. Shows up to class hungover (and brags about it). Catch phrase is "I don't know why you don't understand this, I guess we'll just move on." Grades exams unfairly (some students receive different point values for the same answer) and refuses to change them.
Prody is a very interesting person but not a good professor. Her lectures are scattered, she has no patience for students who don't understand a concept and she tests on material never taught. Her first exam in the class tested on material from a class that was not a required prerequisite for this course and if you had not taken it she did not care
Prody is very passionate about Biochemistry which is awesome. You must do lots of book problems to survive this class though and be prepared for tests on material you never went over. She doesn't work many problems on the board and puts very difficult ones on exams. Our first class exam average was an F. The class is interesting but keep up.
Easily the worst teacher I have had at western. Calls on you and if you can't answer, says things like, "it's not that hard". She is a nice person but can explain things to you that you already know and when she's done, you won't understand it anymore.
This class was severely disappointing. Prof calls on students at random and laughs when they don't know the answer instead of actually teaching them. Lectures make no sense, homework is impossible and takes upwards of five hours to even get a D+. Is sometimes rude and overly critical, tests are often vastly different from class material. Terrible.
I attended every single class, took notes from her lectures, the book and the powerpoints she posted (which she never finished). I scored well above average on the tests (not saying much) but we were still so far behind that I had no idea how to do the online homework. Get ready to live in the tutoring center and bother the Chem tutors!
Worst professor i've ever had. Lectures are incredibly scattered and far behind the other classes, tests are awful. Learned everything online. Homework took me a minimum of 5 hours each assignment. I would have rather waited another quarter or another year to get literally any other professor.
She's always very scattered! Never learned what we were supposed to, way far behind in the book compared to chapters and lab work. Hard tests for knowledge unlearned.
Prody is hilarious and really enjoys what she does! She is so smart but wont give you a bs answer just to give you one. She can be tough to follow sometimes but if you pay attention and attend lectures, take good notes, do the modules and homework, you'll get through this class just fine.
Prody is very passionate about what she does, and I admire her so much for that. Although her lectures are sometimes scattered, and her tests are hard, you should be able to get through her class just fine. Do the homework, ask questions, and show up to the lectures, and success in her class should be easy.
Spends more time talking about "how cool science is" and prefacing the lecture than actually lecturing. Chem 121 is a basic chem class, and she pretty much shames everyone who says any wrong answer in front of the whole lecture class. Whenever someone asks a question, she just smiles and nods then tells a joke and moves on without answering. 10/10.
lectures are horribly written and very scattered. she doesn't like to walk you through problems or equations to help the class understand, she just gives you some of the components. she is very rude to students asking questions whether its in class or over email. not to mention her lectures are always way behind her homework. not a good class.
Her lectures dont make any sense and the sapling homework is just a joke. She totally makes fun of everyone she calls on. Honestly the worst professor Ive ever had and I learned way more online and from the book. She should honestly be fired or just not teach cause she is really bad at it. Id give her a -5 out of 5 if I could.
She isn't good at answering questions and speeds through content without a chance to breathe, even if she knows the whole class has no idea what just happened. Her lectures and her books have conflicting and inconsistent information. The online homework goes over subjects we never go over in class. You'll only like this class if you a teacher's pet
Throughout high school I loved chemistry and even thought about majoring in it, I was also fairly confident in my abilities. The first college chemistry class I took was with Prody and she was one of the worst teachers Ive ever had. I now hate chemistry and dread continuing the series. Take her if you want to spread a lot of your time aggrevated
Gerry is very intelligent and knowledgeable about chemistry, but she's an awful teacher. She's very rude when you don't know the answer to something, and she is very condescending when you ask her a question. Participation and attendance matter. She's very rude. Don't take this class with her, especially if you struggle with chemistry.
She writes your name on a note card the first day and calls on your randomly to answer questions, and when you don't know the answer she goes out of her way to make you feel stupid. What's on her tests doesn't match up with what she covers in lectures. Learned more from youtube videos than from lectures. Would not take one of her classes again.
Gerry was rude and condescending to students when they had questions. Her lectures were very scattered and I feel like I had to teach myself the material, if you don't already have some chem experience I would stay away. This quarter she had to leave early during finals so she made our exam ALL multiple choice so there was lots of room for error.
Overall, pretty solid. She provided practice tests and held FAQ sessions before every exam which were extremely helpful. She occasionally skips over some of the basics, but if you've taken chem before, it'll be easy. Even if you haven't, if you put a little elbow grease into it, you can still do well as long as you go to lecture and read the book.
Prody is a funny person but a horrible teacher. Do not take her class it's awful and only people who are teacher's pets succeed. I loved her as a person not as a professor.
Would test the class on material not covered, and graded tests very randomly. Theres were sometimes answers that some would get points for and others wouldnt. She would frequently contradict herself and the material she was teaching. Dont recommend
She's a scatterbrained Professor and not the best at explaining concepts. Read the book and watch some online lectures from other places and you should be fine. She really does care whether or not you understand the material though, especially if you talk one on one. Could she do better? Yes. Is it still possible to do well despite? Yes.
Prody is so awesome!!! As a female science major, I found her particularly inspirational because she is really strong and smart and laid back. I have no idea why she has a bad rating. She will like you if you show interest and put in work.
LOVER HER! Many people didn't like her bc she wasn't always clear with what was on the tests, but going to the reviews helped a lot, exams are graded on a curve so (usually) that helps. I thought of her like a fun, cute grandma with her floral turtle necks and tennis shoes. She made chemistry not horrible. Give her a chance and be open minded.
Tried to take Chem as a general requirement, the first online assignment did not correlate in any way to the material in class or in the textbook. When I tried to gently explain that I didn't know how to answer some of the questions, she just looked confused and did not seem to understand that she was not teaching what she was quizzing us on.
Gerry is super super stoked about science, which makes her lectures enjoyable and entertaining, but her use of class time is extremely inefficient and I taught myself a lot of the content because most of what you're graded on isn't covered in lecture. She is scatterbrained and acts offended or bothered when students ask questions.
Chem 161 was a difficult class, and Dr. Prody tried her best to keep on top of the material. However, homework was often ahead of lecture and the problems that the Smartork5 software kept having made assignments frustrating. Prody is an OK lecturer and is always available after class, though she can come off as patronizing sometimes.
Calls randomly on people to answer questions for attendance. Not really good at explaining when students need help. Gets confused easily and is fake towards her passion for chemistry
I haven't had to work this hard for an A in a long time. She's a good person but she can be very flighty. She very often will trial off in the middle of a slide and just skip along as if we should all just know the information. Her greatest flaw is that she expects you to know a lot about chemistry and if you don't she shows very little remorse.
Gerry's teaching is very scatter-brained. She makes a lot of comments about people's work or questions or responses that make you feel really stupid. She expects you to know what she wants without saying it and expects that you remember every minor detail from previous courses. I would not recommend because she is consistently confusing.
Unclear and inconsistent expectations for grading, long and wandering lectures, tests did not relate to lectures, lack of professionalism in communication with students (especially over email). Curved our grades down at the end of class. You can spend every minute of the day on this course and still find yourself stuck with a grade you don't want.
Prody expects students to have the same level of knowledge as her and will be rude to students who dont understand her scattered lecture material. She often said I dont know what your guys problems are its really easy and didnt listen to feedback very well. Very unprofessional. And curved our grades down to a C+ regardless of if you got an A.
Run while you can I had her for one week and I swapped class after finding out she uses Kahoot as a form of quiz. Im sure shes a very good professor not on a online platform but I didnt want to risk it.
legit the worst teacher I have ever had. She belittles the students, then expects the world from them. If you are taking chem for the GUR good gods please skip her class. And wait for something else to open up. It's not worth your time, money, or brain power to attempt to follow along with this class.
Least favorite professor I've had. Rude comments and confusing lectures. Tests were confusing and barely related to lectures. Tough grader and passive aggressive, unprofessional emails. I've never seen a professor belittle students in the manner she does. I stopped asking question after she never 'understood what I (or others) meant.' DON'T TAKE!
Professor Prody is the worst prof I've taken at WWU. She's disrespectful, passive aggressive towards any question and rude. The class average on one of our exams was a 50% and she blamed us for not knowing how to study. Lectures are unclear and unorganized. Calls randomly on people to answer and grades on that participation.
Extremely rude and unprofessional professor. Her retiring is a good thing.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
84%
Textbook Required
40%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.29 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO472
5.0
(1)BIO474
5.0
(1)CHEM472
5.0
(1)CHEM473CHEM474
5.0
(1)CHEM121122
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
BIO472
5.0
BIO474
5.0
CHEM471
4.6
BIO473
4.3
BIOCHEM375
4.0