2.5
Quality4.1
Difficulty25%
Would Retake111
Reviews25%
Would Retake
111
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
13
4
18
3
22
2
27
1
31
What Students Say
“He is absolutely hilarious in class, and shows passion for Psych”
PSYCH100 - 3.0 rating“If you are expecting to be coddled through your education or are very sensitive to criticism, you've got the wrong man”
PSYC325 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
83%
Textbook Required
75%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.59 avg changeRatings by Course
PSYC388
4.0
(1)PSYCH
4.0
(1)PSYCHOLOGY
4.0
(1)PYSCH100
4.0
(1)PSYC225
3.2
(9)Difficulty by Course
225
5.0
PSYC325
5.0
PSYCH325
5.0
PSYC4
5.0
PSYCH 100
5.0
Reviews (111)
don't be fraked out by his attempt the first couple days to seem horrible
Interesting lectures
No Comments
Sometimes on a power trip, but knows his stuff and is so interesting.
Goofy, sometimes moody, hard exams, pop quizes
he threw the chalk brush at the wall the first day.and is moody.but he is cool
He is hilarious, and I got along fine with him, however he doesnt really aim to teach the students who only have a psych 100 background. He aims to teach the third and fourth year students. Not really fair sense we all pay the same amount to go here.
very hard to under stand very confusing
No Comments
Extremly diffuclt not a nice person. Do not take any course from him unless you have no other choice
Probably the scariest man I have ever met in my whole life. I don't think i've ever been so scared of anyone ever. Hes a great prof, funny, but can be quite moody. VERY SCARY
He curses a lot and that's funny. He has good stories that relate to class material and can keep your attention for the whole lecture. He came dressed as Frankenstein on Halloween haha.. what a plug.
worst course i have ever had i do not recommend it at all
I did not like this course and would not recommend it. He seemed to know what he was talking about, but could not explain it well.
I think that he is one of the most ignorant people i have ever come in contact with in my life. He makes such shallow and rude remarks towards some people. Do you think you are better than your students? We are the reason why you are here, ****.
I liked the material and the course. He takes awhile to get used to. Can make some questionable comments. If you miss class u're screwed as he doesn't keep online notes or slow down enough to go over material
Interesting and knowledgable but a total ****. Attitude is ignorant and childish as well as moody. If you're really interested take the course but if not avoid him like the plague.
He's really moody and doesn't cover enough material. He always tells meaningless stories and doesn't focus on what we need to learn for tests etc. Not clear at all on how he wants papers done. Avoid him if you can!
I like his class. I havent found anything wrong with the guy so far. He seems moody, but isnt everyone?
In my oppinion he's an excellent prof, he does his best to answer any questions you may have and trys different ways of explaining things if your having trouble. As long as your attentive, untalkative, and show up to class (on time) hes not too moody. I've learned a lot from him.
Extremely miserable human being, he's moody, rude, and just plain hateful. He overloads you with information and never stresses key info, you're supposed to grab it from the air. If he studies the brain so much, the man should know that art students do NOT excel at science! Cut us some slack!!!
A very knowledgeable prof. You have to read alot on your own, but he will always answer questions you have. Can be kind of moody and lectures tend to be all over the place though. He will challenge you if your up to it.
He's great to listen to and makes alot of the book clearer then stated.
He has a very weird style of teaching, with a lot of weird hand gestures. I thought he was a good professor in that he knows his stuff and looks at the science approach of psychology. Probably not a good professor for arts students. He may appear grumpy or strict but is actually quite nice.
I'm studying for my psych final, on 7PM friday night. See, it's my last exam and I'm completely burnt-out and jaded from my other 4 exams. And you'd THINK he'd show a little COMPASION and go EASY on us seeing as how its such a late exam, but NO. He's a sadist, a nut and I don't like him.
Well, I am pretty sure he is up there on the worst profs ever list! At least in my opinion! He is so boring, hard marker, tells you to staudy things that don't end up on the exams! I hate his classes, although he is strange enough to keep your attention for half the class!
do not take the course
This prof was a God send compared to Duncan. Knew what he was talking about and actually took the time to listen!! Very cool guy!
Great guy, great class.
worst class ever!! do NOT take this class because he's the only prof teaching it and he is awful! he gives so much work and is completely unorganized so alot of the work ends up being piled up and all due at the end of the year. he is boring, and all over the place. he has attention deficit so u can't talk or u will distract him. he's a BAD prof.
He is one of my favorite profs. He is kinda grumpy, and not a huge people person, but if you can get past that, and not take everything too personally, he's cool. I am in science and loved his classes, I can understand why arts students are less into it. If you are a psych student, awesome class, but its alot of work if its just your elective.
he is an very mean man, telling u to study the review sheet and like none of it being on the exam like come on give us a break , theres so many other classes/ midterms to study for and his is the hardest one, but over all hes funny, not NOT NICE, and sometimes very unclear...
McKenna really knew his stuff. A great course for those who want to learn the scientific aspects of psychology. He's also good for a laugh or two throughout the year.
mckenna is awesome. he seems very scary at first but hes not. i really liked him i thot he was very thourough and helpful and best of all he was fair and very entertaining during his classes :P he is a very intelligent man who knows his stuff. i have a great amount of respect for him
He will scare the hell out of you, and he marks hard as hell, with no sympathy! He is however hilarious, I think he smokes a lot of pot! Definatley knows his stuff, and expects you to!
total jerk. Class was boring, he is just a cranky old man that comes to work everyday and ****es. Was pretty funny when he came dressed up as Elvis for halloween though
Good enough teacher, but ended up being rather cruel and uncaring...doesn't care at all how his students do, just does the job for the research
Very fair teacher who made things very clear. Managed to make even the driest scientific material interesting. He seemed somewhat unapproachable at first but he never was scary or ridiculously moody.
Funny guy
BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE... hardest prof ever, hardest marker ever... accuses everyone of plagairising! Do not take this course!
if you want to get a bad grade then by all means take this course... McKenna is a cruel and intense prof who is determined to make you miserable in his class. Be prepared for bad marks and unfair marking!
He didn't seem to want to be in class. I was in an evening class and he often didn't show, but expected you to. I found him mean and rude. Funny at times but more rude. He knows his stuff and would be a great teacher if he wanted to teach but does just not seem interested.
Really like McKenna, very intelligent man knows psych inside and out. Not an easy grade by any means but a very interesting class.
One of my favorite teachers. Makes the course very interesting. Not scared to say anything and cracks me up!
Do NOT take this class! He accused 20 first years in a class of 50 of plagerism on the first paper. Avoid him at all costs!! Awful class.
LOVED this class. So interesting, will answer any of your questions. Very entertaining. The course is really hard work and he is a hard marker; I assume that's why so many people gave him poor ratings. If you didn't like him, it's likely because you're lazy and/or can't handle being challenged in a course. Stop blaming him for your faults!
Awesome teacher, makes class extremely interesting. Can be a little self centered, but I would recommend him to anyone! One of my favorite profs this year!
I want to take every class he teaches!Interesting subject with interesting prof,comments and jokes push the line most of the time and its so funny!REALLy knows what he is doing and what he is talking about!Dont believe the ppl who give him a bad mark,they R lazy and this in university.B careful to site everything correctly! not sure,site it anyway!
He's okay
Ok, I resent everyone saying those who gave him a bad mark are lazy/stupid. I'm a second year, on the Dean's list, and absolutely hated his class. It had nothing to do with the difficulty of the class, it was his negative attitude and lack of interest in his students. He doesn't care about teaching, it seems like he's in it for the research.
The worst Psych professor at St.FX. He has an awful attitude, is not approachable whatsoever, and makes many feel he wants them to fail at life. His lectures are interesting but he is an extremely hard marker and is very full of himself. He should have just stuck with being a carpenter because the psychology world has no use for him!
Worst prof I've ever had. Worked really hard for a crappy mark. He's rude and doesn't care if anyone passes. The class is disorganized and the text book reads like a novel; picture that "biopsychology of pain - the novel". Take something with Kim McLean, Ed Pencer or John Edwards. Don't take this class if you care about your GPA.
warning: DO NOT TAKE PSYC 100 WITH MCKENNA. He is rude, scary, and extremely unprofessional. Made a poor girl cry before a midterm. He actually gave out 0% for our assignment paper. Marks extremely unfair and way too hard. Only focuses on the biological side of psychology. Course is extremely unorganized.
If you are expecting to be coddled through your education or are very sensitive to criticism, you've got the wrong man. However, if you're interested in being challenged and learning to think critically about pain and neuroscience research from a very passionate, no-nonsense, and logical prof, I would 100% recommend taking a 300 or 400 level course
Very unfair and heartless prof. He doesn't show much interest in helping students strive for success.. at all. He is very unorganized and inappropriate sometimes. DONT take the course unless you are willing to focus ALL of your time into that course and ONLY that course!.. seriously, worst prof EVER, and i LOVE psych. He ruined it for me.
worst worst worst worst teacher ever. horrible teacher, i had him first term and i HATED psych, and now i have a different one and i LOVE psych. he makes it soooooooo hard, way more harder then its supposed to be. he took 4 months to return a 1 page paper...... and then gave more then half the class a zero on it.. do not take this teacher
Avoid at all costs. I, also, resent those who said that the raters who did not like him are lazy - I am nothing if not devoted to my schoolwork and I absolutely couldn't stand him. Very unfair, unkind and plain mean.
By far the absolute worst professor I have ever had. He does not care about his students and will not return grades throughout the entire semester. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. He ruined my university experience at StFX.
Horrible. He was so unfair. First paper I was flagged for plagiarism when I did not, I even asked other profs. I fought it and he said my paper was highly unintelligible. My next psych paper was a 90%. You be the judge. He is rude, unhelpful and is soo unapproachable. Lectures are a joke. He puts up a slide show and you can't even read it. AVOID!!!
My overall experience with him was not a good one. For an intro level course he expects your level to be way higher and my first paper I was flagged for plagerism, which I fought and finally recieved an 80% mark. He semms generally uninterested in teaching intro and never made time to see me. Please AVOID!
If you try hard to do well in his class & make yourself more than just a name then he will be willing to help you; the 2nd midterm of winter 2010 was bullcurved. He has no patience for people who don't take his class seriously & skippers. You MUST study the textbook & study 10 days in advance of midterms & exams to succeed! Very hard paper marker.
By far the most unfair marker I have seen, gave half the class a 0 on our first university paper and flagged us all for plagiarism, when other profs later confirmed is wasn't. ESPECIALLY avoid him if you're new to psychology classes, he's very unfair and highly discouraging to deal with as a first year.
terrible teacher, avoid if at all possible.
this man almost ruined my psych experience. SO discouraging and unwilling to help. he made exams difficult and the info was all over the place. he is rude, mean and seems like he wanted to be ANYWHERE other than teaching us.
A lot of negative comments on here for McKenna.. honestly, his class is hard. He doesn't have patience for laziness and he is very clear about his expectations. READ THE TEXTBOOK!! It will be your saving grace. I worked harder in his class than any other class and finished with a 75%, which I thought was fair.
Avoid this professor if you want to enjoy learning. He is rude, annoying, and self- centered. I was yelled at for passing out multiple choice cards in the wrong order which completely caught me off guard. Sitting in his class DRAGS through my morning. He is anything but nice and needs to do something else with his life other than teaching.
He is the worst lecturer I have ever encountered in life. Made me think twice if I really wanted to major in Psych anymore. Very rude and not helpful at all. If your going to teach first year students think of not ruining their dreams, and more of encoring and helping them out with what is necessary!!!
Best prof at X, the only one who taught properly and was professional, and he did not put up with nonsense.
He is absolutely hilarious in class, and shows passion for Psych. Don't take his class if you think it's going to be an easy A because you will have to put in work. He has interesting examples and basically goes off of the textbook.
Dr. Mckenna is not a nice person. He calls people out in class and it unnecessarily rude. I would not take his course again and I am personally very intimidated by him. He does not post powerpoints online so you must go to class and take notes. Expect weekly quizzes and DO NOT go on your phone in class or whisper to the person next to you.
McKenna is a very tough and intimidating guy. He teaches straight from the text book, right down to the examples-- he does not put the work in that we deserve. I wholly agree with reading the text book but I believe class should be learning other than word for word the text book.
Mean, scary, won't help, promotes marijuana all the time, not clear on tests, not prepared, straight outta textbook
I enjoyed the study of psychology before getting this prof. Extremely rude, doesn't allow the use of laptops, calls students out, reiterates exactly what you're already reading in the text, puts nothing online, gives tests with questions that are barely relevant to what you've covered. Also promotes drug use and overuses profanity. Do not recommend
He was pretty funny most of the time, but do NOT make him mad. And make sure you memorize the whole textbook.
Doesn't post notes online like all the other profs do. Promotes marijuana use constantly. Very intimidating. Read the textbook. DO NOT USE CELL PHONE IN CLASS. Won't go so far as to say he ruined psych for me, but definitely less enjoyable now.
McKenna's not as tough as everyone makes him out to be. You do have to study and listen but it's nothing insanely hard. He's biology heavy but it is kind of helpful. I'd say don't even bring your phone to class and try to write your notes by hand rather than on your computer.
McKenna is a doll, he can seem a bit standoffish but visit him during office hours & he'll be your best friend (as long as you've done your homework). He is extremely intelligent & knows his stuff. Class participation is a MUST. McKenna loves to have banter & discussion within the class, so always be on your toes. Oh, don't use your cellphone..
Dr. Mckenna is an extremely tough guy when it comes to marking or even just connecting with his students. He's extremely hostile and rude when directed at students and even staff. His lecture notes don't even cover half of what you need to know for the class. He relies heavily on the book and if you want to even pass you MUST make your own notes
Dr. McKenna is one of my favorite profs so far. He is hilarious, intelligent, and he's style and level of difficulty is reasonable. Those who complain about him are typically the ones not reading or studying hard enough. All the content is covered well and he answers any and all questions you have and if he doesn't have to answer then, he'll get it
He was interesting to listen to but he wasn't very clear with coursework. Also, he never gave enough time for us to copy down his notes from the slideshow and he refuses to post them online. The class was also pretty tough, it didn't help that there was a quiz basically every week
I couldn't go to any of his classes without being anxious at the sight of him. It is mandatory to read the textbook or else you will not get all the material. He flips through his powerpoints so fast that it is impossible to write everything down. He also does not post any notes. Few pop quizzes that were on the most random material.
Definitely a tough prof, but I have grown to thoroughly enjoy his way of teaching and his classes. Ive had him for 2 years now and I have learned so much. He does rely heavily on the textbooks and you must read in order to understand anything, however if you do your readings before class he is always going more in depth and clarifying duringlecture
he is very rude when speaking with students. you don't dare ask him a question or he will come back with a very rude comment.
he would be much better if he didn't go through slides way to fast I don't know how he expects people to do well and know his information when he skips through way to fast
Made the mistake of reading his reviews before class started and was picturing a very scary prof, but I found Dr Mckenna to be funny and approachable. Never found him rude (though he REALLY hates cell phones). His lectures stick close to the text. He seems to like when you show an interest in what he's teaching beyond what is in the textbook.
If you want to learn something/are passionate about a topic, do not take his courses. He showed up for lecture 10-15 minutes late each class, wasted the rest by talking randomly, the final was 30 fill in the blanks (As a story) that took 10 minutes. He did not teach and seriously seemed as if he was there for the paycheck. No testing methods used.
I took 225 as an Arts elective. He expects a lot of his students, especially if you're in the Psych department. I got an 84 in the class which was in the 10th decile. If you're looking for something easy and good grade, look elsewhere. If you want to take the best Psych class available at STFX and learn a lot, 225 is what you're looking for.
This guy is the worst prof I ever had.
Makes things kind of confusing and the tests are really hard.
Has student in mind with respect to teaching examples and testing. Educational methods are in-line with educational research for memorization/learning. Tough grader but fair, grades always based on the info given/assessments. Extremely knowledgeable on all things Biopsychology/neuroscience. Underrated due to difficult course material imo.
Tough professor, tough marker. Very rude, inconsiderate, and does not properly help when you ask a question about course. do not recommend
Very inconsistent with pop quizzes, and a very tough grader. Does not answer questions, or answer emails. Skipped a lot of classes because I was anxious of him
Dr McKenna does not actually teach material. He does not care about his students & does not speak to them with respect. Tests are hard and not relevant to lectures.
Extremely rude and disrespectful to his students. Worst prof I ever had
Rude, disrespectful & textbook heavy. Does not care about his students and is very privileged and tough. Lost all respect for him last year.
By far the worst prof i have ever had. Flys through the lectures so fast and couldn't care less about his students. Expects everyone who comes into his class to be a psychology genius when in reality half the people are not even in psyc. Guy needs a serious reality check. His face fills me with anger just because of the way he acts towards students
By far the rudest, strictest prof I have ever had. Does not have the student in mind in regards to learning. Was very rude when i asked him a simple question, and was not kind at all. goes through the lectures so fast and expects us to understand things he is not teaching us. Do not take this class if you like psych, he will ruin that.
I've dropped the course due to his teaching. Has given rude answers to students questions, speeds through lectures with no chance to actually understand the information. If you want to pass you must read the textbook and teach yourself.
He does not put anything on moodle, goes over his notes too fast in class, does not respond to his email, and in no way accommodates for his students. You will have to teach yourself everything from the textbook, the notes in class will never be enough.
Dr. McKenna is so rude to his students and has heavy, hard tests. Avoid, Avoid, Avoid
In my experience, Dr. McKenna is very rude.
This professor shows 0 Respect for his students and is quite often rude when asked questions. He treats the class as if they are a bunch of 12-year-olds. He will not take the blame for issues regarding the required E-Book and issues regarding it. Has slides that students don't have access to. These slides are rarely shown long enough to write down.
He's just mean. Uses online textbook which has weekly quizzes (very helpful really liked that). But during lectures he would just read slides and wouldn't give time for us to copy notes and if you dared to ask him to go back a slide to finish copying notes you get yelled at in front of the class. He seems like he has a sweet side but I was scared.
Dr. McKenna is a great professor. He's very interested in the material and gives great examples to make sure you understand the material, but you need to show to class. Missing one class put you behind in a lot of material since he can teach a chapter in 2-3 lectures. His midterm and exam are very hard. Good sense of humour and very understanding.
Dr. McKenna has a dry, sarcastic, sense of humor that's a little dark sometimes. I can see why classrooms made of middle class 18-25 year olds would see this as "rude". The e-textbook was great and came with built-in flashcards for studying. McKenna's lectures comes off as callous because its just content from the book.
Avoid classes with him at all costs.
My worst decision was thinking this sounded like an interesting class. You have to go to every class (fair) but you also have to keep up with his lectures (hard) and know the textbook cover to back (how?). I wish I had checked this website before. exams SUCK. those who give him 5 stars must feel pity for him or they're one of his favorite students
The rudest worst prof ever. If you ask John the simplest questions he will belittle you to the point you wish you didn't ask anything. The only good reviews on here are either from his favorite students, or he made them himself. He is not only rude, but he says the most uneducated comments. I don't understand why this university still employs him.
By far the most awful professor at the university. If you want your mental health to decline he's your guy! His exams are way hard to hard and he covers next to no material that is on them in class. If you have a question - save it and google it. He will belittle you and give you the most snarky reply. Easiest the rudest prof at X.
Psychology of pain, well he caused me lots of pain. What a tough class. Avoid taking this class if possible.
McKenna's dry sense of humor rubs some students the wrong way, but the online textbook and quizzes are super helpful. Attend every class and use unstuckstudy to prep for tough exams.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
83%
Textbook Required
75%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.59 avg changeRatings by Course
PSYC388
4.0
(1)PSYCH
4.0
(1)PSYCHOLOGY
4.0
(1)PYSCH100
4.0
(1)PSYC225
3.2
(9)Difficulty by Course
225
5.0
PSYC325
5.0
PSYCH325
5.0
PSYC4
5.0
PSYCH 100
5.0