1.7
Quality4.2
DifficultyN/A
Would Retake114
ReviewsN/A
Would Retake
114
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
2
4
11
3
9
2
33
1
59
What Students Say
“At least he is not Tillinger”
CHM157 - 1.0 rating“Took Gen Chem I with him several years ago and he was by far the worst teacher I ever had at OU”
CHM157 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
33%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.09 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM158
4.0
(1)CHM348
4.0
(1)CHM144
4.0
(1)CHM157LAB
3.0
(1)CHEM157
2.4
(5)Difficulty by Course
CHEMISTRY
5.0
CHM90
5.0
CHM163
5.0
CHMXXX
5.0
CHM147
5.0
Reviews (114)
He's tough and can "appear" mean, in the end you'll survive and learn----------he really isn't that bad
Hes not a bad professor, if you go to lecture and pay attention you should do fine on the exams. Some of the exams were a little hard though
No Comments
If possible, avoid this professor and Gendell. You will not regret it.
Avoid him. He likes to confuse the crap out of you. everyone in class justs looks at eachother when he talks cause he has no idea what he is talking about. STAY AWAY
Confuses everyone with cryptic, often wrong lectures. He'll ask a Personal Response Question (PRS) question, wait for students to submit their answers, then tell you that you all fell into the trap just like he thought you would and THEN explain...
Avoid this guy at all costs. Lectures are very hard to follow, it was much easier to learn from book. Will give a problem with a trap in it, and then rip into people who get it wrong (most of the class) and say he coulnd't have asked an easier question.
I took his internet course and struggled. Internet notes- not very useful and take a long time to get through. He makes a lot of mistakes and on homework, quizzes and exams and is stingy in compensating for them. Verify his answers/grading!
This professor was rather confusing as well as had a bad temper. He was very hard to keep up with. I wouldn't recommend him to anyone.
Terrible. Possibly the worst teacher I've ever had.
Not a very good teacher. The quizes and tests are very hard and there is a lot of stuff that he didn't go over. He's a decent guy but he makes it to hard. However, he does grade on a curve because a lot of people do bad.
Terrible prof, the worst I have had
DON'T TAKE HIM! I got stuck w/ him for 157 and he made my life a living hell. He's VERY confusing, he won't explain homework assignments, his tests are horrible, and don't think you can get by with reading the book....he wrote it. If you get into his class and he says "i'm joel russell" LEAVE!
This man is totally insane. He argued with me about a test question that I had answered correctly according to the book and told me that if I had been paying attention in class, I would have done it his way and answered the question as he had answered it. This was basically how the whole class went.
He is quite possibly the worst professor I ever had. When he went over homework problems, he frequently confused himself. The tests were straight from hell and some material on them was not even in the textbook. He seemed to care more about his research than the performance of the class. Avoid him.
If you work hard you will get a good grade and learn a lot. I am getting ready to take the MCAT and from his class I know most of the anwsers to the practice questions. He is also very willing to help. Some of his tests are hard but the final is a national exam and it was easier then his tests.
People are bieng too hard on him. Yes the class is difficult, it covers a lot of material for 1 semester. Thats not his fault,he is fair. If you pay attention in class, read the book & study you will learn a lot. Drops 2lowest QZ's & 2 lowest HW.Grades on a curve and offers ex-credit. >75% is a 3.0
Russell is extremely book smart, however, he is not able to convey the information. Is anyone aware that the chm 143 class moves twice as fast as chm 157 does.....why is this?
Do NOT take chemistry with Russell. His lectures are unclear and extremely difficult to follow. He often complicates simple calculations and makes a makes a mess of the board and his pants. He is easily frustrated by questions from students. We Are NOT Chemistry kids
Words cannot explain the degree of an out-right alful teaching style Russell has. I cannot understand why Oakland would even employ this man. Gendell is not much better, but he does go slower. (Ex) Russell will cover 3 more chapters than Gendell will during the semester. Reiterate: TERRIBLE TEACHE
He doesnt really know what he is talking about sometimes, he kinda fumbles over his own words, but he gives alot of opportunites for points. Go to class, you get points there too. Homework is on webassign and you get three submissions, so it helps. Final exam is really easy.
What can I say. Russell is absolutely terrible. This sentence does not even describe how poor of a teacher he is. He is more conserned with sig-figs than the process of the calculation. Online-labs are alful and sig-figs will ruin your grade. DO NOT take Russell, although Gendell is not much better. There are no good chemistry teachers at oaklan
Difficult to understand the lecture material, and frankly the book is no better. He makes the material harder than it has to be. I have no clue where he gets some of his test questions, they are not from the book or lecture material. 60-100 points to earn in class answering PRS questions. On-line labs are virtually impossible because of sig-figs
Very confusing, he yammers on the whole lecture without stopping to clarify. Then he confuses himself and randomly erases his work and then tells us we'll just have to figure it out ourselves. Online homework and Personal Response System questions will be your saving grace, labs and quizzes/tests are impossible. Not recommended.
I enjoyed being in Professor Russell's class. The class is difficult but he puts you to the test. Attending class and reading the book is a must. He works at a faster pace, reading the section before coming to class will help if you're not use to the speed. He is willing to help outside of class.
Out of all the professor's of Chemistry he is the best to take. You think at first you may not pass but in the end it is something to look back on & laugh about. Go to class, study hard, read the book, and make sure you let him know who you are & you'll pass.
No Comments
ditto to everyone, horrible teacher
He's a through teacher and knows what he's talking about even though he can be unclear and a little confusing at times. He wants a student to succeed and gives you the opportunity to do well, as long as you work hard. It's not an easy subject. Definately not an easy A.
actual email to his students: "CHM 143 Students, I put together that lecture while out of town and without consulting the textbook. Now upon consulting the syllabus and textbook I see that I had listed chapter 19 rather than 18 as the last chapter to be covered. Since I have now covered half of 18 we'll substitute 18 for 19". very odd indeed
He is tough but you learn alot plus has alot of ways to get points. So at the end of the year if you try your grade should be good. His grading system i like.
THE ABSOLUTE WORST PROFESSOR EVER <and I DO MEAN EVER>
I'm an engineering major and they said I had to take Chm 143 before i go into junior year. This guy is literally awful. I have never had so bad of a teacher in 2+years at oakland. His lectures: scattered, unorganized and presented poorly. His tests: very hard, even if you actually study the material? Russell will only bring down your GPA :(
A little too technology crazed. Every so often he'd waste 10 minutes trying to hook up the silly PRS units, and then we'd just miss out on the lecture material. He's very intelligent, but so spacey. He'll be saying "234 - 89" and be writing "457 + 34" on the board. I may not have gotten the numbers exact, but I'm not exaggerating.
can you save your GPA....YES YOU CAN DONT TAKE THIS GUY for your professor
This guy often drifts away from the subject at hand... NEVER connects with the student and is horrible with answering questions. DO NOT take Russell...
Russell is an alful teacher, not much of a great person either. Has the personality of a goat. literally. Avoid if possible, tests are very difficult, material is not covered well, and he flies through it. man....i hate this guy, i'll be glad when it's done soon
This guy has no heart at all, One of our classmates father died, RUSSEL DOSENT CARE...I cant wait until this semester is over
Stupid PRS stuff, most of the time, the answers are wrong, then he says I'll correct it and NEVER does. Terrible teacher, and it's true what the last comment said. I feel bad for everyone in the class. This is NOT the way chemistry should be taught. Average difficulty material made almost unapproachable by a bad teacher. He's just a grown - up dork
This guy freakin sucks, how else can I be passing w/ a 3.0 and NOT know how I am doing it. If you care about the quility of education, DONT take him.
this guys suck horse ****....one of my classmates has failed everysingle test/quiz and got a 60% above my 55% and got a 2.6 and I got a 2.5....bsbsbs
Stay away from this pile of chemistry dung. I'm not kidding, you'll be in for it if you think not..:<(
He is one of three instructors for this course. He's unclear, doesn't seem to want to answer your questions or want to teach at all. He had a terrible attitude. Stay away if at all possible.
The worst prof i've ever had. Attempts to do in-class problems but usually gets the wrong answers, and he typically has no idea what he did wrong. The online HWK is an extremely bad idea as is his PRS questions. Tests are true to the HWK and the in-class lectures, however most dont know how to do them. Not too hard of a grader, but AVOID!!
HE messes up every single lecture numerous times..classes on tuesdays have quizzes after them. You cant miss class because you have PRS questions during lecture..unclear and very hard teacher, he teachers really really bad...DONT TAKE...take another teacher..because more then half the class is FAILING and its not a 100 classs 4 sho
Absolutely terrible professor. Very unorganized, confusing, and unhelpful. Visualization experiments are impossible to figure out. Grading system is decent, but that's the only positive here. This man has no business teaching.
Absolutely the worst professor I have ever had, or even heard of anyone else having. Does not even remotely deserve to be teaching at any level of education. Shame on whoever hired him.
What a joke of a teacher. The class average exam was a 38! What does that tell you? Gets all problems wrong when trying to show you how to do them and then says "dont worry about it..hopefully theres another one later on". Dont ever take this guy if you value your education.
I agree. He should not even teach high school chemistry. When I and other students corrected his work every day in class I lost all respect for him as a teacher and stopped caring about this class. The only thing that helped my grade was my previous knowledge of chemistry.
Russel the love muscle - what a dolt. Is he still driving every weekend to Chi-town, cause his wife lives there? He's incompetent and arrogant - thinks his degree from Berkley or wherever makes him a Chemi-god :-(
This dude SUUCKS. You will be teaching yourself if you take his class. He's always confused and his class just flat out blows.
Wow...Theres no reason to even go to class because it would be easier to teach yourself the material. The only reason to attend is to answer the iclicker questions cuz they count for points. He cant explain anything for the life of him. And when he does problems on the board the class has to correct him all the time. Shouldnt even be teaching.
Everyone rips on Russell, but he gives you a ton of buffers to inflate your so it is harder to fail than if your prof gives you 3 tests and that's it. Homework and quizzes are graded out fewer points than you can get and tests are very fair. Final exam grade can replace course grade if it's higher. So if you're failing, you can still get an A.
Not very clear, goes from one topic to another without much transition or understanding
I agree that a lot of people rip on him. Ya he sometimes came across not too clear, but i loved the way his class was set up. Ppt presentations kept things organized, before the weekly quizzes he gave out a worksheet that basically covered the quiz, he curved tests, offered some e.c., and he really doesn't want to see his students do poorly.
tHIS GUY NEEDS TO BE BETTER PREPARED FOR CLASS AND NEEDS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HIS STUDENTS. YOU ASK HIM A QUESTION AND HE STARES AT YOU LIKE HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. HE REALLY NEEDS TO BE FIRED. WORST CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN! I LIKE SCHOOL AND HE MADE MYS SEMESTER HORRIBLE.
Joel Russell is incoherent. He is extremely hard to follow in his lectures and when he is approched for extra help he often dances around the given question. He often confuses himself in class and makes dozens of mistakes. It is my opinion that Joel Russell is incapable of teaching second grade, let alone a college class.
I will say that he knows his stuff but the way he presents it is well not good. Our whole class is confused most of the time and he will constantly rush you to get the in-class assignments done. Make sure you check your class descriptions, SCI 100 is chemistry and physics with no prereq. Big mistake on my part.
Dr. Russell is a nice guy. In order to do well in his class, it's imperative that you study. He uses iClicker questions in each lecture, but if you've taken good notes you shouldn't have a problem. Quizzes and online homework given each week. Grades are based on many assignments and final grades are curved. Was able to 4.0 in the end.
alright
Not the best, not the worst. I liked the Ppt notes, it kept things straight. I can only imagine how horribly the lectures would have gone without them. constantly makes mistakes when working equations and blames students for not telling him. Need to be proficient in microsoft excel or you will hate the labs with a passion, you probably will anyway.
Tries to use least amount of words possible when answering questions, which results in more confusion. Constantly errors on in-class problems. Doesnt pre-work lecture exercises to ensure they are good problems. Large grade curve necessary to ensure class does ok. Admits to trying to trick you with m/c test problems. Do ALL extra credit assignment!!
Terrible teacher, all problems he does on the board, he does wrong. you never understand what he is talking about. he does give extra credit but it is an assignment u have to do, and u only get the extra credit if u do better than a quiz. would not recommend taking him.
he sux! he soooo hard dnt do it!
absolutely with out a doubt an extremely horrible teacher. dont take him if chem isnt your best subject because you for sure will struggle and have a hard time. he messes up every day in lecture going over problems wich causes much more caos and confusion and he mumbles with his back to the whole lecture class. take another professor if you can
Avoid him, but if you get stuck with him, READ THE BOOK, work on homework with a friend, and get 100% on all the easy stuff at the beginning of the semester. He is always unclear and impossible to understand. He constantly makes errors on practice problems (which will lead you to believe he will also make errors in your grades).
Worst professor in chemistry.Avoid him at all costs.His questions has stupid mistakes.This chemistry is very similar to high school chemistry.I didn't took it in high school so it was hard.My sister who is very good at chem helped me get a 2.1.This professor is useless.Take the chemistry at a community college and transfer.
worst teacher i have ever had. I will never take a course with him again, please do not take him.
Not my best prof. If you do the EASY HOMEWORK, Show up to class every day, read each chapter, Its an EASY 3.0 . He drops your top couple quiz grades. He gives you a practice quiz sheet before each quiz and goes over it just before the quiz. If you cant 3 point this class its your own &$*$* fault. The HW is SUPER easy and worth a lot of points.
He grading is all over the place if he screws up - its on you. Do not expect to get your points back! He LOVES iclicker questions so you have to go to class. If you ask a question he gets pissed that you dont understand and he is useless in lab!
He grading is all over the place if he screws up - its on you. Do not expect to get your points back! He LOVES iclicker questions so you have to go to class. If you ask a question he gets pissed that you dont understand and he is useless in lab!
No help and so lost I spend my time doing this during class
i totally agree! he will do a problem and get an answer then look at his answer from when he did it the night before on his own and it will be completely different.. he messing up doing problems all the time. he is boring and sucks at explaining! for real dont take it with this professor. he is bald too lol. i just dislike him. end of story.
Don't take this class!
This professor doesn't know what he is talking about half the time. He gets his own questions wrong in class and the students catch him at least five times each class period. and the only reason he isn't out of a job is that he is a union leader and has tenure.
Attendance is mandatory because of iclicker use. Extra credit is offered through iclicker, MasteringChemistry and worksheets. He's very scatterbrained, frequently getting answers wrong and having to correct them. He tries to help and thoroughly reviews everything.. Not a terrible teacher but if you can take Sevilla instead, I would recommend that.
What a goon. This man cannot teach nor lay things out in a clear, understandable manner for his life. Everything is made more complicated. Makes tons of mistakes. Confusing and stupid.
FML!!!!!!!!!
This teacher is a nice teacher. He knows exactly what he's teaching - and ONLY he knows. Unfortunately, nobody else in any of his classes knows what's going on, EVER. I wouldn't recommend this teacher to anyone. I believe he's a genius in chemistry, but he can't teach for his life depended on it. YOU WILL FAIL WITH RUSSELL Take Taylor or Edwards!!!
I had Russel for lab and I had to rely on the TAs because he was never around or if I did ask a question, I was lost with what he said within 2 sentences. He is extremely intelligent, a bit arrogant, and a HORRIBLE teacher... DO NOT TAKE if you want to somewhat enjoy class...
Material is easy for the first half of the class. He's bad at explaining the rest and makes a bunch of mistakes doing it on the board. A lot of his points are based on in-class iclicker, which almost everyone gets wrong. He doesn't help AT ALL, and usually ignores me or walks away when I ask him something. Has to put HUGE curves on tests.
Very unclear and nothing was straight-forward except the ppts. But the test questions were much more complicated than those in class, and he was not very understanding to students confusion. Difficult grading, would not recommend this class.
very nice proffesor in the lab help with experiments, in the class he is a useless steel ladder in a lightning storm. he shows problems on the board and gets every one wrong then when you take the test nothing looks similar
Russell is a great professor! sometimes his examples are difficult to follow, but he does try to explain things. The grading scale is great because the final exam grade can replace the whole course grade. He is such a nice guy and a whiz at chemistry! I recommend him!
so overall he was an ok prof. lectures were kinda boring, but you need to be there to iclick the random questions that pop up. Labs were fun and not that difficult, TA's help alot and seemed to know more than he did. grading scale was good, you can have the final replace the whole semester grade. wouldnt necessarily recommend this prof though
He is a super nice guy and really knows his stuff. Sometimes he has a hard time explaining himself. He will try to help you. He is tuff but if you put in your part you will do fine in the class. His lectures are not mandatory but you do you have to be in class to get your iclicker points which are about 3-4 points at least per lecture.
when he teaches he does not give building block he jumps straight to complexed ideas, and he makes things too difficult. when he does not even get the problem right when he does them. He is nice just not a very good teacher
One of the WORST professors I've had. Constantly making mistakes when teaching, students catch all mistakes, talks down to people when they ask a question, never gets example problems right, questions on tests much different/harder than example problems, pretty much teach yourself by reading text. Need I go on? DO NOT TAKE UNLESS YOU WANT TO FAIL
He would literally get the entire class confused. When students asked him to explain something again, he would reply with words like, "This is something you should review in your own time" and talked down to students. If he did choose to explain it, he repeated himself. I had a high 1.9 and he wouldn't round.
He's very nice guy but doesn't teach well. He is VERY unclear and doesn't take the time to stop and explain things step by step even when the whole class asks him to clarify. Everything I learned was from the textbook. I received a 2.6 and def plan on retaking this class through a different teacher-& he doesn't respond to emails SO FRUSTERATING!!!!
I'm sitting in his lecture right now. He confuses the WHOLE class and is not clear, assumes we already know everything. He's a terrible professor
VERY confusing. Usually gets his own problems wrong. I studied from 9:30 AM to 12 PM with a two one hour breaks, and I still failed the exam horribly. Everything he teaches in class isn't even close to what's on the exam, it's way harder. Do not take this teacher if you want to pass. I have to re-take the whole class over again.
Everytime I told anyone I had him from Chem everyone would look all sorry for me, but I really don't think he's that bad! His lectures are sort of pointless because he keeps making so many mistakes and then redoing problems. I have over a 100% and I don't exert any effort, I just study really quick before exams or tests. He's meh.
Can't teach anything. Try and ask a question and he just repeats the formula over and over. Writes formulas on board and tells you to learn them without explaining how they work, and then gets them wrong when explaining. Absolutely horrible teacher, don't take him.
Bad teacher! Gets equations and answers wrong. Rushes through powerpoints to "get ahead". Definitely not worth the tuition paid to be in his class. Form a study group--it's the only way to actually learn the material. Also, do the Smartwork homework. Attend class regardless of his bdad teaching-iClicker questions in lectures = easy points.
I have never switched professors based on the reviews of this website, but if you're reading this becuase you're taking CHM 158 avoid this guy at all costs. It's worth waiting another semester if he's the only one available. If it weren't for the curve I guarantee more than 3 quarters of the class would fail. I've never hated anyone more than him
He is not a good prof!!! I failed this class percentage wise and still passed with an A- because nearly everyone in the class failes. Drop! He is an inconsistant grader and can't even explain the subhect he teaches.
Going to lectures would be pointless if he didn't grade you on iclicker questions. It's not hard to pass this class though, but you have to study on your own. The book is easy to understand so at least that's good. He does try to help you understand, he just honestly can't teach.
Attendance is mandatory unless you don't care about losing points for iClicker questions. There are about 5 mistakes made per class when he solves problems on the board. Quizzes weekly. Tests are fair. Read the book and you should pass. Not recommended, but he does seem to want to help. Doesn't like going over things too many times.
Avoid at all costs. The professor cannot teach to save his own life. If you don't read the book then good luck with passing the course. He will try to explain how to solve a problem and soon after you are tested on it by iClicker questions. Ask questions and he will repeat exactly what he already said. I wonder how he ever became a teacher.
Worst professor I've ever had. Cant hear anything you ask him. Constantly makes mistakes. Skims over difficult concepts and focuses on the easier ones. Instead of having an SI he makes you take quizes durg that time. Seems like a pretty nice guy but I have no idea how why he is a teacher. If you"re really strong in math you'll survive this class
Get ready to do some chemistry. It doesn't matter who the professor is for this class, it's going to be challenging. Dr. Russell is a good instructor, don't be afraid to ask questions. Read the labs prior or be prepared to be confused.
His class was pointless. He was not helpful or clear in his instructions at all. Around half of his examples he did wrong and we would have to redo everything. I learned more by reading the book on my own. The graded iclicker questions and required weekly quizzes were the only reason that I ever attended class.
Shocking. This guy deserves a fair review on here. He uses iclicker to give instant feedback about his lectures, videos and demonstrations to illustrate concepts, and allows the final to override the rest of the course's grades. I've never had a teacher do so much and lecture using such a variety of methods to try and get everyone involved.
RUN FAR, FAR AWAY. This professor is ridiculous in so many regards. First of all, I am a good student receiving all A's in every other class. But this class was SO frustrating. He cannot teach for his life, speaks very quietly making it difficult to hear what he's saying, his lectures don't help. Save your GPA and take the HS science gen ed.
Nice guy, TERRIBLE professor. Save your GPA and do not sign with him!!
Lectures are useless, other than the iclicker points. I only passed this class by reading the textbook religiously.
At least he is not Tillinger... The only positive thing of me actually showing up to lectures was the one day he knocked over the lit bunsen burner during a safety lecture... Also he doesn't offer an SI, he makes you take quizzes during that time while he should be lecturing and making up for lack of teaching ability.
I think he's the worst rated chem professor in the history of RMP. BUTTTT, his exams are decent to say the least. He will secretly curve the grade, and you will end up doing fair (A,B- ish range). YOU HAVE TO STUDY. Know how to do the problems from all the PPTs and quizzes and you will succeed on the exams.
Professor Russell was a decent professor, but I relied on the book, which was definitely more helpful. I was extremely nervous to register for his class after reading these ratings, but his exams aren't bad because they are modeled after his quizzes and examples from the book and lecture. Homework and iClicker points are pretty much free points.
Actually a really good prof IF you can keep up, he'll tell you everything you could want to know about everything but this makes him move along pretty quickly and you can get lost, but he will stop answer questions when asked. Tests and quizzes are only on what he gives for review and are pretty straight forward and he gives a hefty curve on them
Avoid at all costs if you're taking your college career seriously
If this is your first chemistry class, do not take him. He is a genius, he does mess up his powerpoint at times, but he knows so much about chemistry. He forgets that his students do not know chemistry to the extent that he does. Always outline chapters yourself before he even lectures about them. Make sure to do all homework and do the iclicker.
Thank god this guy is gone now. Took Gen Chem I with him several years ago and he was by far the worst teacher I ever had at OU.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
33%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.09 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM158
4.0
(1)CHM348
4.0
(1)CHM144
4.0
(1)CHM157LAB
3.0
(1)CHEM157
2.4
(5)Difficulty by Course
CHEMISTRY
5.0
CHM90
5.0
CHM163
5.0
CHMXXX
5.0
CHM147
5.0