3.4

Lisa Kadonaga

Geography - University of Victoria

3.4
Quality
2.5
Difficulty
43%
Would Retake
85
Reviews
3.4
Quality
2.5
Difficulty
3.4
Helpful
3.3
Clarity

43%

Would Retake

85

Reviews

Rating Distribution
Official

5

32

4

16

3

11

2

15

1

11

What Students Say

Clearly knows her stuff but can't lecture well

GEOG314 - 2.0 rating

Easy enough to get an A as we got us all the exam/midterm questions beforehand but still a LOT to study and her lectures are really bad

GEOG101A - 2.0 rating
Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

17%

Textbook Required

36%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

A-

86% confidence
Based on 12 grades
Most common grades:
Not sure yet (7)
A (4)
A- (3)
Grade Distribution
A(7)B(1)C(0)D(0)F(0)A-/B+(4)
Based on 20 reported grades
Not sure yet: 7
A: 4
A-: 3
A+: 3
Common Tags
Group projects (6)
Accessible outside class (5)
GROUP PROJECTS (3)
Clear grading criteria (3)
Graded by few things (3)
Get ready to read (3)
Caring (3)
GRADED BY FEW THINGS (2)
Rating Trend

Declining

-0.64 avg change
Dec
Sep
Dec
Feb
Apr
Dec
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

101

5.0

(2)

214324

5.0

(1)

GEO214

5.0

(2)

100A

5.0

(1)

GEOGRAPHY

5.0

(2)
+17 more courses
Difficulty by Course

GEOG101

4.0

GEOG102

4.0

ES316

4.0

GEOG374

4.0

102

3.0

Reviews (85)
5.0
1.0
GEOG214
Mar 17, 2002

If you like overheads, this is the teacher for you :)

5.0
1.0
GEOG214
Mar 17, 2002

knows her stuff, entertaining

4.0
4.0
GEOG101
Mar 29, 2002

No Comments

5.0
2.0
101A
May 23, 2002

good class

4.0
2.0
214
Jul 19, 2002

tried to make things fun

3.0
3.0
GEOG101A
Sep 3, 2002

Okay instructor. Speaks too fast in class - just whips thru overheads.

5.0
2.0
GEO214
Oct 29, 2002

No Comments

5.0
3.0
214
Dec 4, 2002

Most brilliant prof I've ever had. She inspired me so much.

5.0
3.0
101
Dec 4, 2002

I really liked her style of teaching.

5.0
3.0
214
Dec 5, 2002

Incredible prof, real passion for the course material

5.0
3.0
GEOG324
Dec 6, 2002

Makes the course interesting and has a wonderful way of telling storeys.

5.0
3.0
101A
Dec 9, 2002

Fantastic instructor, the reason I switched to Geog!!

2.0
3.0
GEOG350
Dec 29, 2002

Assigned brutal workload for 6 week summer class (4 papers)

5.0
2.0
214
Jan 6, 2003

Great instructor, easy A if you work hard!

5.0
1.0
100A
Jan 7, 2003

gives exam outline so you dont have to go class GREAT!

5.0
3.0
GEOG214
Feb 12, 2003

Brilliant lectures complimented by stunning beauty. By far best looking prof.

5.0
2.0
214
Feb 18, 2003

absolutely brilliant person, and she's REAL! Doesn't give crap,doesn't take it !

5.0
2.0
GEOG214
Mar 28, 2003

Lisa is extremely intelligent! You will learn a lot from her!... How do you bribe a whale?

2.0
1.0
GEO101A
Apr 12, 2003

Easy tests, but lectures are terrible. she's an awful public speaker and she's difficult to approach. It's difficult to hear her in a large classroom, and this makes understanding a challenge.

5.0
3.0
214
May 27, 2003

lisa kicks ass. the best prof ever!

4.0
2.0
350
Aug 25, 2003

Very difficult to talk to in office hours, but if you put the work in you'll be pleased with your mark.

2.0
2.0
GEOG101A
Nov 9, 2003

Dr. Kadonaga needs to learn how to speak in public. She's quiet and honestly, it's a miracle that I read the newspaper enough to pass this course.

4.0
2.0
GEOG101A
Dec 10, 2003

Really into the subject. Lots of tangents, but they're pretty relevent to geography as a whole. She spoke quietly, but for her first class as a professor, pretty good. Heritage tomato seeds, anybody?

5.0
2.0
GEOG350
Dec 21, 2003

Good class, lots of essays. Enthusiastic and I can always count on her to make me laugh out loud once in a while. Her teaching style can be a bit distracting at first.

1.0
5.0
GEOG102
Apr 1, 2004

Horrible teacher. Class was so dull. Lectures are straight from the text. I hated it. Talks way too fast and quiet. Hand movements and gestures are soooo distracting during lectures, I was hypnotized. Turned me off and made me hate geog.

4.0
1.0
GEOG214
Apr 22, 2004

Great Prof, Lisa knows her stuff and gives you so much info in those lectures that you will find you know your stuff when it comes time for tests

5.0
1.0
101
May 4, 2004

Brilliant teacher, very inspiring, funny and approachable. If anything, she's too easy with the marking, but very fair. I loved her class. HIghly recommend.

5.0
1.0
GEO214
May 4, 2004

best course and teacher ever - if you can take a class with her DO IT shes a wonderful, intellegent, funny person and teacher

1.0
3.0
102
May 15, 2004

Lisa is not helpful or approachable. It always semmed that she wanted to be somewhere else. She would greatly benefit from some public speaking classes. However exams were easy, but the labs are time consuming and often boring.

5.0
1.0
GEOGRAPHY
Jun 2, 2004

Lisa rocks! Funny, inspiring, brilliant, totally willing to help and overall I loved the course. Highly recommend taking a class with her. Hope to take more next year.

5.0
4.0
ES316
Jun 10, 2004

Smart, funny, to the point, a genuine interest in her field. 3 papers is waaay too much for a summer course.

4.0
2.0
GEOG214
Jul 8, 2004

this teacher is very good with the information. Problems are that she gives sooo many notes by the end of a lecture your hand is tired and you can't remember anthing she said but hey at least you have the notes.

3.0
3.0
GEOG102
Dec 18, 2004

Probably the worst prof at public speaking in the history of Western Civilization.

4.0
3.0
214
Dec 29, 2004

Ok, at first I have to admit that Lisa's style of teaching was a bit different, somewhat distracting and took some getting used to. But by the end of the course, she was my favorite prof ever. Don't judge a book by it's cover- she's a brilliant teacher andis very inspiring!

2.0
2.0
GEOG385
Jan 28, 2005

she is a funny little asian woman who speaks really fast, and will never look you in the eyes when she lectures or talks to you one on one.. she gives you all the questions before the exams though

5.0
1.0
GEOG214
Apr 13, 2005

Awesome class... although it is really depressing at the same time. We are all doomed. However, Lisa is just about the smartest person I have come across, and you get the questions before exams!

3.0
4.0
GEOG374
May 2, 2005

Lisa is quite smart and has a funny sense of humour. However, there is so much writing in the class that you can barely listen to the lecture. She does give the questins ahead of time but there were so many and they were so hard that I almost wished she hadn't. Harder than 214.

4.0
2.0
GEOG214
Jun 24, 2005

Lisa is passionate about the stuff she's teaching so you can learn alot if you listen to her. Somtimes listening to her is hard because she keeps throwing notes at ya. She tells you pretty much everything that will be on the mid term and the final so everyone should be getting at LEAST an B+

2.0
4.0
GEOG324
Jul 1, 2005

I was very unimpressed with this course. Lisa is unorganized, a horrible lecturer and very unhelpful in person. The notes are scattered and unclear. I have never been so bored in a class. And it doesn't help that she marks so easily - it just makes me feel like I cheated.

4.0
2.0
GEOG
Aug 9, 2005

I love her more than life itself (in a very non-romantic way). Best prof ever to grace the front of the room, as she is hilarious, usually well organized, interested and knowledgable, and she dresses up for anti-war rallies in fake armour. I wish I could hire her to raise my children.

5.0
2.0
214324
Grade: Incomplete
Sep 13, 2005

Have had Lisa for two courses and really liked them both. She's a very passionate teacher and is just about the smartest person I've ever met. Her teaching style is a bit unusual at first, but if you actually listen to her you can learn tons! Highly recommend her and I hope to have her again next term.

3.0
4.0
GEOG214
Nov 29, 2005

Her exams are all about what you can remember, not contextualizing what you know. Handy tip: her study guides for exams pretty much emulate the actual thing. She NEVER makes eye contact with you.

2.0
3.0
GEOG214
Apr 1, 2006

Basically all this class is memorizing for the two exams. I actually learned a lot but my mark and my exams were not reflecting of this. Lisa was not very helpful for extra help. I wanted to make sure I was memorizing the right stuff for the final, and she just told me to read my notes, which I had done at least 10 times before I went to see her.

3.0
1.0
GEOG324
Jul 15, 2006

Lisa is an easy marker, but she can be very unclear with her exam questions and statements she makes in class. Just ask her to clarify things and you will do great. If you did poorly in this class you got an A-. Most people received an A or A+.

2.0
3.0
GEOG385
Dec 24, 2007

Lisa is a really nice person and teaches really fast which is actually nice. Shes probably one of the smartest people I've met. She gives you all the notes, so the speed she teaches at is perfect. The essays are interesting believe it or not, but there just needs to be less of the larger ones :S the final was pretty hard.

5.0
4.0
GEOG324
Apr 5, 2008

I enjoy how Lisa's academic background includes the human, cultural and physical sides of geography together and she does a really good job of relating the content of this course to all three. Very enthusiastic and interesting/funny. If I had children, I probably would hire her to raise them...

2.0
3.0
GEOG314
Apr 18, 2008

Lisa is super awkward and really frustrating. She makes no sense and gives unclear expectations.

4.0
4.0
GEOG314
Jul 15, 2008

Lisa's classes are difficult and challenging, but in an unpretentious way. She expects high quality work from her students, but she also provides high quality instruction. She is always prepared and super knowledgeable. However, I?m sick to death of group work, I?ll be able to handle the ?real world? without having to ?practice? working with other

4.0
4.0
GEOG314
Jul 15, 2008

Lisa's classes are difficult and challenging, but in an unpretentious way. She expects high quality work from her students, but she also provides high quality instruction. She is always prepared and super knowledgeable. However, I?m sick to death of group work, I?ll be able to handle the real world without having to practice working with other peo

5.0
3.0
GEOG385
Apr 7, 2009

Lisa is a great prof, excellent feedback and responds to questions quickly, assignments are long but are interesting, worth taking other classes with her.

3.0
3.0
GEOG314
Jul 8, 2009

shes crazy, all over the place, no organization, she lectures with overheads and is quite engaging. however, she cannot deal with students outside of class, useless in office hours and at end of class. maybe shes nervous? assignments are long and tedious but shes an easy marker. exam questions given to you. nice wardrobe ;)

3.0
4.0
GEOG385
Dec 16, 2009

tons of readings, average amount of notes. workload is high in this class. way too much material to study for the final. lectures are not engaging, but if you're into the material it's tolerable. she shows some cool videos. and has lots of cool friends she talks about. overall, lisa is cool.

4.0
3.0
GEOG385
Jan 29, 2010

A fair bit of assigned readings (although most aren't really necessary until the final exam). She gave us 4 essays which weren't too hard but unfortunately weren't worth a whole lot of our grade. The final was worth 50% but she gave us a question list in advance. Very enthusiastic.

4.0
2.0
GEOG314
Mar 17, 2011

I really enjoyed having Lisa teach this class. Learned a lot from her. Her style of teaching takes some getting used to but overall she was great.

3.0
2.0
GEOG314
Sep 2, 2011

Lisa is a prof that takes getting used to. Her lectures are dry and she uses overheads for her notes so attendance is mandatory. Her organization of lectures and the class is not great and she requires a lot of work for an A. She is very knowledgeable about the material however, so if you can get past her style the class is worthwhile to take.

4.0
2.0
GEOG314
Sep 23, 2013

Lisa is a quirky prof who’s always enthusiastic about the lecture material. Ideally, aim for a small classroom setting at a reasonable hour if possible. I had the unfortunate experience of 3 hour lectures late at night in a classroom of around 70. She tried to keep us entertained but lectures became dry.

3.0
3.0
GEOG314
Grade: A-
Feb 21, 2014

Meh. Interesting subject matter and she had some freakin' HILARIOUS comments (made even funnier cuz she didn't intend to be funny). Overall, projects and papers were super easy to get great marks. The final exam, worth a lot of the grade, was VERY difficult. She gave a list of questions and topics that was HUGE and pretty much expected memorization

1.0
3.0
GEOG314
Grade: B
Dec 3, 2017
Wouldn't take again

No organization in class readings or lectures. Goes off on tangents. Obviously knows what she's talking about but has no idea how to relate to 2017.

GRADED BY FEW THINGS
GROUP PROJECTS
2.0
3.0
GEOG314
Dec 4, 2017
Wouldn't take again

Clearly knows her stuff but can't lecture well. Lectures are impossible to pay attention to. She goes off on tangents that are not relevant and spends days on topics like citation style. Doesn't post slides, doesn't post assignments. if you miss a class you could be missing nothing or you could miss an entire assignment. Wouldn't recommend her.

GRADED BY FEW THINGS
GROUP PROJECTS
LECTURE HEAVY
2.0
3.0
GEOG101A
Grade: A
Apr 16, 2018
Wouldn't take again

Easy enough to get an A as we got us all the exam/midterm questions beforehand but still a LOT to study and her lectures are really bad. Incredibly inorganized and not good a lecturing, often going off on tangents and overall just very ineffective. Our lab was also terrible and SO MANY ASSIGNMENTS including two 1500 word papers worth only 5% each!

SO MANY PAPERS
Clear grading criteria
GROUP PROJECTS
2.0
3.0
101A
Apr 18, 2019
Wouldn't take again

Lisa is hilarious and definitely did her best to make the lectures a bit less boring, props to her. Lectures are not mandatory but they can be helpful. She gives full review questions for each test which is awesome, but then that means she expects you to know your stuff come test time. Overall, She's a cool lady, but not the best lecturer.

Group projects
Hilarious
1.0
2.0
GEOG314
Grade: B+
Dec 3, 2019
Wouldn't take again

I will start with a positive comment, she is very passionate about her work and knows a lot. Too bad she is not able to stay on topic long enough so the class can effectively learn. Can be very rude/condescending over email and when asking questions. She is VERY unorganized, especially the assignments and projects. This class was a disaster,... :(

Group projects
1.0
3.0
GEOG314
Dec 10, 2019
Wouldn't take again

Sure, she's a passionate person and cares about what she teaches, however, it's deceiving as she goes off on tangents each lecture. She asks "any questions?" after every couple of slides which intimidates the class and results in no one asking questions, ever. She's so unorganized, which reflects in the final group project & it was a sh*t show.

Graded by few things
Group projects
Tough grader
2.0
4.0
GEOG314
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 15, 2019
Wouldn't take again

I really wanted to like this class- and Lisa. I respect her as a person, she has accomplished a lot, and it is clear that she knows a lot. She has troubles trying to convey all of this information in a way that makes sense to her classes. We often had no idea what to write down. Final exam is essentially based on memorizing some 100+ questions...

Get ready to read
1.0
3.0
GEOG314
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 26, 2019
Wouldn't take again

This class sounded really cool initially. It turned out to be the worst class of my entire undergrad. Lisa is VERY unorganized, no one had a clue what was going on all semester. The group project was a joke, same with the final exam. I wouldnt recommend this class or this prof to my worst enemy.

Graded by few things
Group projects
1.0
2.0
GEOG314
Grade: Not sure yet
Jan 1, 2020
Wouldn't take again

Nice enough person but terrible, terrible prof. She is condescending, awkward and has the most complicated instructions. The thing that annoyed me the most was the final exam... she gave us 100 questions to memorise and acted as though she was doing us a favour..... if you don't need to, do NOT take this course with this prof. Steer clear

Group projects
Lecture heavy
3.0
2.0
GEOG101A
Mar 18, 2020
Would take again

She is very enthusiastic. Sometimes the lectures are hard to follow, only because she covers many different topics very quickly, and usually just touching the surface on many topics. She told us what all the questions would be for the midterm, if you have time to study all of them you could get 100%.

Group projects
5.0
3.0
GEO101A
Grade: Not sure yet
Mar 30, 2020
Would take again

Lisa sets you up for success. I'm not sure why so many people have given her such a low assessment. She gives you the exam questions ahead of time, which if you study, a good mark is easily achievable. Lisa is super knowledgeable and is able to clarify any questions in lecture. I would recommend this class, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

5.0
1.0
GEOG101A
Jan 7, 2021
Would take again

Such a lovely lady. Lectures were very entertaining. Was so helpful in giving very specific tips and information for the exams.

5.0
1.0
GEOG252
Grade: A
Dec 5, 2021
Would take again

Lisa is a great prof. Her GEOG 252 course was one of the easiest i've taken so far with no tests and 7 total assignments. You don't need to go to lecture but her lectures are still engaging and fun.

Respected
Caring
So many papers
4.0
2.0
GEOG252
Grade: A
Dec 24, 2021
Would take again

Lisa is a very caring, respectful, and socially aware person. Classes were often put on hold whenever there were more pertinent issues that impacted accessibility of any kind. Lectures can be interesting but are not required for passing the course. Assignment outlines and rubrics are very helpful and I would highly recommend using them!

Accessible outside class
Clear grading criteria
Caring
5.0
4.0
GEOG252
Apr 13, 2022
Would take again

She is knowledgeable, nice, and fair with her expectations and grading.

Caring
Respected
Accessible outside class
3.0
2.0
101A
Grade: A+
May 17, 2022
Would take again

Lisa was a very good professor, I thoroughly enjoyed her enthusiasm and examples in lecture. I did find her lectures weren't necessary to listen to, instead make sure you are keeping up with readings. The lectures also sometimes lacked a clear organization and instead focused on quotes or ideas from the textbook.

5.0
1.0
GEOG252
Grade: A+
Sep 6, 2022
Would take again

Lisa is an engaging and knowledgeable professor. Lectures are not mandatory but useful if you don't have any background knowledge on the topics for the written assignments. The assignments themselves were interesting but easy, ranged from 500 to 1200 words, and had very clear instructions/criteria.

Clear grading criteria
Graded by few things
Accessible outside class
1.0
3.0
GEOG252
Dec 13, 2022

So disorganized, the lectures are so boring and dry not worth your time. It takes over a month to receive grades back. Not worth it!!

2.0
2.0
GEOG314
Grade: A-
Sep 14, 2023

Lisa is a lovely woman and very passionate about what she teaches. Lectures can be a little off topic but overall good content and assignments were relevant to our material. Prepare for some/all of your marks to come back very, very late-- our marks (including the final) are finally uploaded as of this evening (Sep 2023), class was in Fall 2022.

5.0
3.0
GEOG314
Grade: A-
Dec 10, 2023
Would take again

I found the random facts/case studies she would talk about very interesting. If you note down main points you will do just fine. Grades take a while to be released but a very fair grader! Faster way to reach her is through text and will give you a quick call if needed, which I found more helpful than waiting around for an email response. Amazing!

Accessible outside class
5.0
4.0
GEOGRAPHY
Dec 17, 2023
Would take again

I took several environ'tal aesthetics courses with Dr. K in the 00's. I think about those once a week. Her classes had diverse asks from field work to critical film analysis to deep reading. Her marking was tough but it was what I needed to start really proofreading and connecting ideas and authors. I would take her classes again any day.

Get ready to read
Gives good feedback
Inspirational
2.0
4.0
GEO101A
Grade: Not sure yet
Feb 29, 2024

If you have to take geog 101a, wait until someone else is teaching it. Lisa is clearly passionate about the subject, but talks incredibly fast from the blandest slides. She teaches directly from the textbook, and yet expects you to know the smallest details from lectures for exams. Would not recommend to anyone.

Get ready to read
5.0
2.0
GEOG252
Grade: A+
Apr 19, 2024
Would take again

Such a kind and cool lady. I love Lisa

4.0
1.0
GEOG252
Grade: A
Dec 5, 2024
Would take again

Lectures are very interesting if a bit disorganized, it really seems like she's just talking about things she's interested in. Projects are very fun to do - loosely related to classes but lots of choice involved. Lisa is a great professor, I'd highly recommend taking this course with her

Amazing lectures
Accessible outside class
2.0
2.0
GEOG314
Dec 6, 2024

It's December 6th. Classes ended two days ago. NONE of my 6 assignments have been marked. NONE of my classmate's assignments have been marked.

1.0
2.0
GEOG314
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 18, 2024

This course is a shambles. No grades or feedback given as of December 17th (we sit our final exam in two days). She's given us 100 possible exam questions to memorize - many of them unanswerable from the course content. Minimal course structure, rambling and off-topic lectures, and bland facts about climate change that are common sense. Avoid her!!

1.0
2.0
GEOG314
Dec 19, 2024

DO NOT TAKE ANY OF HER CLASSES! I have only received a grade the day of the final exam from previous assignments. Lisa does not give a crap about her students or their success. Our class is wondering where the hell our grades are going into this final. Lisa should not be an employed professor. She clearly can not do her job.

1.0
3.0
GEOG252
Grade: Not sure yet
Dec 27, 2024

You will not get your grades back at a reasonable time. Went into a 30% midterm which was basically at the very end of the course knowing no grades. Still 3 weeks after the last activity in the course do not know my grades. Lectures were not engaging and she rambled on quite a bit. She was a nice lady but shouldn't be teaching.

Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

17%

Textbook Required

36%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

A-

86% confidence
Based on 12 grades
Most common grades:
Not sure yet (7)
A (4)
A- (3)
Grade Distribution
A(7)B(1)C(0)D(0)F(0)A-/B+(4)
Based on 20 reported grades
Not sure yet: 7
A: 4
A-: 3
A+: 3
Common Tags
Group projects (6)
Accessible outside class (5)
GROUP PROJECTS (3)
Clear grading criteria (3)
Graded by few things (3)
Get ready to read (3)
Caring (3)
GRADED BY FEW THINGS (2)
Rating Trend

Declining

-0.64 avg change
Dec
Sep
Dec
Feb
Apr
Dec
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

101

5.0

(2)

214324

5.0

(1)

GEO214

5.0

(2)

100A

5.0

(1)

GEOGRAPHY

5.0

(2)
+17 more courses
Difficulty by Course

GEOG101

4.0

GEOG102

4.0

ES316

4.0

GEOG374

4.0

102

3.0

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