She always complains about her family... appears to be very unhappy and takes it out on the class... not knowlegable... impossible tests... very uptight personality... doesn't like talking to students and is never present at office hours or cuts you off and leaves early.... doesn't seem to like especially asians and other foriegn students...

seems very upset all the time... talks about insipid family issues/problems all the time to the class (?)... she tends to take out life frustrations on the class that have nothing to do with the students... try to take another prof... her class is a very unpleasant experience even if you do well...

I do not recommend her... she grades hard and gives hard tests. She's not the approachable type either.

Tests are unnecessarily hard, ~50 minutes to write one full program worth 24 points, half of a program worth 20 points, the remaining points are fill in the blank and hand tracing program segments. Her assignments are just as hard and overly complicated for an introduction to programming class.Overall- DO NOT TAKE HER! You will regret it

Dont take her class. She hates answering student's question. She will most likely ignore you, if you ask question more that once Her tests are hard.

Dont Take her. She doesn't know how to teach. The worst part is her exams , assignments and quizzes are tough and the way she talks in class tells everyone that she wants to fail you. The only students who like her class are the ones who know stuff already.

Thompson lacks the skills to teach at the University level. She discourages questions during class, based on the excuse that she has too much material to cover. She finished semester by covering 13 out of 17 chapters as identified in syllabus. Ch.14 and 15 were taught in a matter of minutes. Her lack of success is too frequently pushed to students.

Professor is not fit for an academic environment. She told our class once that her husband had to help her finish grading the work. Thompson will eventually get into trouble by the associate dean. If she has her husband grade my code, can I have my mom write my programs? Laurie Thompson is purposely digging her own grave.

I am incredibly disappointed after taking this course. I thought I would be able to learn a lot of material and discuss it with the professor. I enjoy learning computer science. This professor doesn't seem to enjoy teaching this course. I suggest another professor. Don't expect a good relationship with this teacher. She picks a fight with everyone.

A nice woman. The professor is good, but not great. She needs to change her approach to lecturing, grading, and communication. Other than that, she serves as an ideal example of a computer scientist who can't effectively communicate nor respect her fellow students. If Mrs. Thompson refuses to respect her students, how can we respect her?

Do NOT take prof Thompson.

Just don't. If you hear shes a great professor, its a lie... just don't. You will teach yourself how to program if you take her

Would never take again!!!!

JUST DONT TAKE HER!! WILL PRAY FOR YOU IF YOU DO

Thompson was incredibly condescending and wasn't even an effective lecturer to make up for it. She snaps at students over incredibly minor things. The class is badly paced - we were 2 chapters behind all other sections and then rushed to catch up in the final weeks. The class isn't hard, but the professor is the worst I've ever had.

You'll be assigned seating for the semester. She is strict in her policies (ex/ a 97+ is an A+). She expects you to put in 9-10 hours of work outside the classroom. She seemed more interested in controlling her students than helping them succeed. Plus side? If you survive, this could be the worst of it. Down side? You don't and are overwhelmed.

Think of her class like high school. She is going to yell at you for petty things. She has a seating chart and is very strict with attendance. The pop quizzes aren't bad, but you have to pay attention or read prior to the class to do well. Just read, because her class is insanely boring. You can't sleep because she takes off points from grade...

She was very rude and had a very bad attitude each class. We had assigned seats for a class of 85. She taught the material well and went over examples and problems that were going to be on her tests and quizzes. The exams were not too hard as long as you studied. You will learn a lot and get a good grade as long as you put in work,.

She reads directly from the slides, and the slides are verbatim from the textbook. But you can't skip class or she lowers your grade. I got lucky that I had previous programming experience and nothing was really that hard for me, but for first timers it's a real challenge because the program logic is way too hard.

Don't take her!! Please spread this word to everyone!! All the ratings below are very true! Just a warning, choose another proffesor

If you want to really learning C++ don't take this proffesors because u aren't going to learning much and it will be very learn to learn the material on your own! JUST PLEASE PREVENT THIS CLASS! I will pray for you if you end up being with this instructor.

Good thing I knew the material going into the class, I feel like I taught the people next to me better than she did.

This professor structures everything like a high school class. We have assigned seating chart and we're not allowed to take out our phones, or she will take points off from your final grade. If you don't have any previous experience with programming, it is safe to say that you will have a really hard time. AVOID THIS TEACHER!

Avoid taking this professor at all costs. If she's the only option, take the class at a community college. One of the worsts CS professors at UT Dallas hands down. She doesn't teach the material properly, has assigned seating, if you ask a question she will make you feel stupid. Avoid taking her class.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Avoid her if you can. Her tests are multiple choice but each question has like 8 choices. It focus more on how much you pay attention in class rather than how much material you know. This is an easy course but she makes it TERRIBLE. I did very well on her assignments and quizzes but failed all her tests

She doesn't know how to teach beginners in a prerequisite class. I had some previous computer science experience and did decent in her class. most people that take her class have little to no previous experience and get low B's or C's.

if you take notes on your laptop then don't take this class. she has a strict no-technology policy. Also just buy a programming book and read it. Basically how she lectures anyways.

Did well in her class easily. Now in 1337, there are so many things that should have been covered in 1336 which were definitely not. She is slow and thorough, but does not cover enough material. Read the book and you will do fine.

Whenever I walk to her class, I hope to get struck by lightning so I don't have to endure anymore of this.

Honest reference! DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS. Has assigned seating as if you were in kindergarten. Tests are extremely extensive for the limited time and each test requires you to write code separately too. All of the projects are extremely hard. Doesn't teach, just reads off slides. No questions. Will be extremely difficult for beginners so don't take.

Was so disappointed at the way this class was structured for CS 1336 during the fall semester.

No. just No. steer away

NO!!! CHOOSE SOMEONE ELSE

Lectures sometimes tend to get off topic and our time in that class goes so fast, we hardly have time to finish the topic we are learning. Also, the end of the semester, you will have to work so hard to catch up and learn the topic not covered in class on your own! Be prepared if your taking this class! ):

This course felt more like it was structured towards weeding people out rather than teaching the material. Avoid this professor.

do yourself a huge favor and do not, even by mistake, take this professor. she takes most of the class time taking attendance and reciting about her family life. it's totally fine for professors to talk about their life outside of teaching, but what is not okay is when it takes over valuable learning time. also, her lectures are beyond boring.

Very Bad Professor at UTD!! I was too ashamed to take her!

Bruh tell me why this professor be taking attendance exactly at the beginning of class. I swear my class started at 1pm she be taking attendance at 12:58. Bruh this professor be so trash. Just save yourself the trouble and go for another professor. It will save ur GPA.

Currently enrolled in her class, she is the absolute worst. Save yourself by not taking her. She is too strict and her lectures are really boring since its just her reading off the slides. She isnt able to answer any questions and she treats the class as if everyone has had multiple years of experience in coding when it should be the opposite.

At the start of the semester, I read the below reviews and laughed thinking " she can't be that bad" ... oh I was wrong. Her lectures are boring and very fast and go's off on tangents about her sad life often. Considering this is an intro class you'd think she'd be a bit more detailed but it's as if she expects everyone to already know everything.

Class is easy for those who have programmed in the past. Too much detail for things that do not need explaining. Has a seating chart. Will take off points for very small infractions, even if it does not interfere with coding logic/operations. Extremely anal person, i.e., records people as tardy for being 1 minute late. "Citizenship" grades.

For beginners avoid this professor. Mandatory attendance isn't an issue however the "citizenship" portion of your grade may be an issue to some. Lectures are nothing short of dull and monotonous that get more and more frustrating as the semester passes. Grading criteria is also very nit-picky and extremely tedious.

Should be able to rate a 0. reads from slide whole time, AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Her grading doesn't make sense most of the time and takes off for random things that don't affect the code (like forgetting one space).

20 minutes is not enough time to finish her quizzes every time I missed one question due to time running out.

Lectures are boring, tests are hard. Lectures will not prepare you for the test completely. Only saving grace are the assignments (harshly graded, but you can triple check them yourselves) and online quizzes, which are all online.

I regret being put into this class. The lectures are lengthy, boring, and somewhat uninformative. The professor is a control freak who demands all of your attention at all times. You would be better off reading the entire textbook than attending lecture, but you are essentially forces to show up as it is a grade. (The stories you hear/see are true)

One of the worst classes I have ever taken. The teacher is petty, boring, and doesn't know how to teach. I have taken introductory coding courses before, so I got through her course somewhat easily. However, I also had to spend on average at least 2 hours a day re-teaching the material she tried to cover in class to my struggling classmates.

Literally the worst professor anyone will run into at this school. She gives out unnecessary assignments that sets you up for failure. Her grammar is poor on quizzes and exams, but even more is very tedious with minor issues that will never affect you in the real world. Absolutely horrible and would rather learn on my own than from this "professor"

Her classes were very long and boring, she would read right off the powerpoint slides, on top of that no computers were allowed in class even though this was a CS class. It doesn't make sense to not practice the material in class. Her assignments are long, and there are pop quizzes. She is accessible outside of class but is bad at managing time.

Ridiculous grading criteria. This is my first CS class and I think it was harder than it needs to be. You lose a lot of points in assignments because of style which was stressful since your code works perfectly. However, what I hated the most was definitely her exams because she tries to trick you and remember small things she mentions on lecture.

She is awful. If you respect yourself, do not take her class. I am not a computer science major and this class was just an introduction to C++, well she made everything be so hard and her lectures were extremely boring. Half of the class was open-eyes sleeping. I received 4 emails from her asking me not to sleep during her class. quiz HARD.

Mandatory seating charts, She teaches rather robotically, and (imo) was terrible at teaching how to think in code - coming from someone that has coded for 5+ years and took this class because they didn't know they could've tested out. If you've never coded before it's gonna be hard no matter what... just a lot of work. GL. lectures are SO boring.

I would not recommend taking her, she does not help her students in any way she is a very hard grader and even if there is a small similarity in your code she will report you. She became worse after the class shifted online, her grading is rough for the tests both the tests and quizzes are hard for a beginner class.

She makes things very difficult even if you already know how to code in C++. The tests are ridiculously hard and the lectures are boring. She explains each subject with the most basic examples. However, in tests and quizzes, you will face complex questions and problems with minimum time to finish. Just choose another professor.

Please dont take her, dont make the mistake that I made. Her exams you cant even run the actual code, its in txt format so its like coding in the dark. which sucks since programmers run their code every 5 to 10 lines. her exams are worth 70%, so if you are a bad test taker or have test anxiety, I don't recommend.

This professor is rude and exams/quizzes are not beginner-friendly. She does not realize that some of us have never coded a day in our life. Even those who have, struggle. She screams at students for asking for help from another student, because they are "talking in class". She really lack empathy.

The class is not beginner-friendly even though it's an introductory class. When the 2nd exam (out of 3) happened, the withdrawal date for classes has already ended (exams weighed 70% of your grade). We had a programming assignment assigned 1 day before Thanksgiving break and it was due during it (mind you the CSMC was closed the whole break).

If you're reading this, PLEASE take someone else. If you're an experienced programmer, you'll probably scathe by, but if you're completely new DON'T take this. She stopped recording lectures halfway towards the semester and this was a super helpful tool. She cares little about how much people participate in class. No thoughtful discussions.

If you're like me and waited for the lasts minute to register and found Thompson was the only available professor, boy are you in for a treat. Her class is very lecture heavy, participation is required, and her three exams are worth a total of 70% of your final grade! So, if you don't do well in the exams, then expect to #fail.

she's literally is very harsh and goes to fast. She expects you to to know stuff the first day in and wants you to get ahead of everything. She has a very specific evil laugh and expects you to solve your own problems. She is very picky towards comments in coding and very narrow toward assignments. When she's coding in class, she's lost.

Taking CS 1136 lab. Mandatory attendance even when you can complete the lab online. You are expected to do the work yourself so there is no need for small groups. Very unorganized, constantly changing due dates and very poor communication to the students.

WORSE PROFESSOR , honestly just test out to 1337 if you can or skip her class and take someone else in the spring. Hate her laugh and her sh*ty teaching style, be prepared to want to kys on your way to class every day . If i switch majors its 100% because of her , not even the subject just her.

Thompson does fine teaching with regular lecture. However her practice exercises become very long and redundant when she goes on a tangent via meaning of over explanation or off-topic. Causes the whole class to be far behind in comparison to the other 1336 classes. That when you reach the lab you're on your own since she has not discussed in class.

With all due respect, the worst professor/teacher I've had since I started schooling in kindergarten. Prepare to fail this class regardless of how hard you study. The one good thing I got from this class is the amount of programming knowledge I got from self studying from the stress for the upcoming exams. Exams are 70% of your grade. Good luck :)

Worst cs professor , if you take her just be prepared to take labs at 9pm with no real help . Attendance is mandatory and she starts class 5 min early to take attendance (so if you come to class on time she'll mark you late) , and makes class last 15m longer , so prepare to have 20m wasted . Her laugh is absolutely diabolical and makes you cringe.

For a freshman course, she makes her test and overall assignments in a way that if you don't read the textbook back to back you're going to fail. Avoid her at all cost, I would wait for next semester if she's the only professor available. Mandatory attendance and she starts counting attendance 5min before the class starts.

Took her as a freshmen, and now I'm a senior. This professor is really the bottom of the barrel. I had already been programming for several years. Her teaching was obtuse and removed from learning; thus, it made things hard despite already knowing what I was doing. Her tests asked overly specific questions, including things about her personal life.

She gives 2 tests throughout the semester, which is the midterm (35%) and the final (35%) which makes up for 70%, attendance is mandatory, and she will even count you late if you are not on time. Lectures can get boring since she is just reading off the slides, there are labs every single class, If you dont know how to code, then dont take it.

This class is NOT beginner friendly. The grading criteria is overwhelmingly unfair. If you are new to coding, unless you spend all day every day trying to learn this you aren't passing. The exams have questions that she never even mentions during the lectures. Like windows processes??? Just feels rigged. Also, she's weird and laughs like a maniac.

Do not take this professor: very exam heavy and lecture heavy. Teaches materials less than a week before exam and has seating charts.

This is the toughest grader ever, she will nitpick you with every little mistake that has nothing to do with the code and mainly with the Code Comments like it's an English class. You will lose points if you forget a single space or tab.

Horrible, do not take.

Tough grader, not kind to students

creepy smile, do not take if you want a free grade

Overly strict for no reason. Kind of a rude teacher and has a lot of attitude. Not engaging. Very nit-picky on CS code which isn't even related to the code itself but the comments. No earbuds, if you get caught wearing earbuds you will get called out in front of the whole class and even risk being absent. The assigned seats thing is very childish.

I came to class 4 minutes late and she marked me absent but she marked other people present that came 10+ minutes late, she calls people out pls dont take if you love yourself.

her grading is absolutely abysmal if you aren't perfect with your formatting and not the best coder don't bother

She's a rules based uptight person that borders on being mean. Don't ask questions, she'll bite yor head off. She seems disorganized. Try her in office, she seems calmer there. Takes attendance, so be carefull or your grade will be affected. Good luck if you take her.

Does not respect students at all. Calls out students right during class for minor things. Disrupts the whole course. Obsesses with attendance, and very unstructured teaching style. Who knows what causes her meaness? So just be aware of it. Heard there's been complaints filed about her. Really, if possible take someone else..

Ever want to go to military school? Then take her. Strict, excessive rules, bad nasty attitude, and down right mean. I mean its totally absurd that UTD would not control her. They say she used to be a hottie when she was younger, maybe that's why she survived. Massive work loads. Uses Zlabs ... Ugh. Don't forget to salute.... good luck comrades.

Do NOT take this professor if you want to have an A in this class. She is very picky with how you format the code and will take points for things like comments on your labs. Attendance is mandatory, and if you come in 10 minutes late but stay the WHOLE class period, she will still mark you absent. The exams were hard and her lectures did not help.

dawg I hate her so much

Keeps you in class for the entire 2 hours, overexplains the simplest subjects to the point of overcomplicating them and wasting everyone's time.

Attendance is maditory - so beware. Course uses the mess known as ZyLabs. Very strict to the point of being toxic. Don't believe it, ask her a question. This should not be that hard a course to take. Be Afraid... Be very Afraid... Be very, very Afraid ... etc

Very boring lectures. Keeps picking on students for extremely small things such as wearing hoodies. Very very tough grader. Extremely strict style guide for code. TAKE ANYONE BUT HER!!!

She is insane on attendance, takes like 10 minutes to mark everyone. Calls out students wearing earbuds and hoodies. Uses Zylabs for assignments, makes assignments way harder than they have to be. Exams have BARELY enough time to finish even for experienced programmers. Lot of people don't finish each exam, said she's not doing anything about it.

As an experienced programmer, Ms. Thompson's class was unnecessarily annoying. Nitpicky grader with your code (literally takes off points for COMMENTS) and over explains really easy subjects to the point where its so complicated. Takes attendance 5 minutes before class. Exams were really long and barely enough time, would not recommend this prof.

One of the most toughest professors for an intro level CS course, supposed to be an easy class but she gives 2 exams, 35% each so 70% total, and if you fail one exam, she says you need to drop out and theres no hope for you, you spend 80$ to do labs, you need to stay the whole class, really rude and not fair, wants students to fail, DO NOT take !!

Don't take her I did cs 1 and cs 2 already and had to take this intro class. Its so hard for no reason and I think she genuinely enjoys torturing students. Take someone else its just not worth it if you are just starting on cpp. Long ahh lectures 90% of the class not listing after 30 mins. Yaps about basic things more hours and making them harder.

Writting class, not a coding class. You are supposed to write 150 lines of comment in a 50 lines coding assignment. Boring lecture, even you passed the test cases with 100/100, you will never get 100 in your lab because of very small comment fails, spacing,.. Do not take her if other profs are available, trust me.

If you can take another professor. She is extremely nitpicky about how your code is set up, even down to how many comments you have. She discourages asking peers for help or ever looking things up online, despite not teaching how a certain function works, and the textbook being of no help.

Terrible just terrible. She needs to be fired asap, she will grade you based on your comments and not your code. She is actully so evil and laughs like a maniac I am scared of her. The questions in the tests are so overly complicated its not even funny but Its not hard. She is actully demonic.......GL if you HAVE to take her. Hate her w all myheart

Still astonishes me that she still teaches in UTD,

ruined my life, my freshman year of college, she nitpicks everything, makes you spend money to do labs, holds you in the full class, hardest exams worth 70%, its an introduction to CS course but expects you to know it all when u enter it. Pls do not take