3.7

Maureen Drysdale

Psychology - University of Waterloo

3.7
Quality
3.0
Difficulty
25%
Would Retake
88
Reviews
3.7
Quality
3.0
Difficulty
3.5
Helpful
3.9
Clarity

25%

Would Retake

88

Reviews

Rating Distribution
Official

5

45

4

11

3

14

2

10

1

8

What Students Say

I also overheard her speaking badly about me to the TA

PSYCH315 - 3.0 rating

Final was very confusing - open-book, but very unclear and as such the class did not perform well

PSYCH315 - 3.0 rating
Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

43%

Textbook Required

100%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B+

74% confidence
Based on 8 grades
Most common grades:
A (3)
A- (1)
A+ (1)
Grade Distribution
A(4)B(2)C(1)D(0)F(0)A-/B+(1)
Based on 8 reported grades
A: 3
A-: 1
A+: 1
B-: 1
Common Tags
Tough grader (2)
Get ready to read (1)
Graded by few things (1)
Clear grading criteria (1)
Rating Trend

Declining

-0.32 avg change
Nov
Dec
Aug
Jul
Nov
Dec
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

211

5.0

(1)

212

5.0

(2)

454

5.0

(1)

212315317

5.0

(1)

212317319

5.0

(1)
+22 more courses
Difficulty by Course

PSYCHOFEDU

5.0

PSYCH317

4.3

317

4.0

212315317

4.0

PSYCH454

4.0

Reviews (88)
5.0
2.0
211
Grade: A-
Dec 5, 2001

great prof! explains things well, very concerned with student's comprehension!

5.0
1.0
PSYCH211
Jan 16, 2002

Excellent class slides, only tests on what she teaches in class

5.0
3.0
317
Feb 4, 2002

Nice lady. Marks fairly. Sincerely cares about students.

5.0
2.0
212
Feb 12, 2002

Great teaching! We need more like her!

5.0
3.0
PSYCH315
Feb 19, 2002

She works hard to make sure students are learning! Her stories are great!

5.0
2.0
PSYCH212
Mar 22, 2002

one of the best profs i have ever had, she really cares about her students

5.0
1.0
PSYCH315
Mar 25, 2002

great prof, fair marker, fair tests and easy to talk to, great lectures!!!!

5.0
1.0
PSYCH315
Mar 26, 2002

excellent prof! good projects, interesting lectures, approachable

5.0
3.0
315
Apr 10, 2002

it's nice to know that I am not just a number to this teacher.

5.0
4.0
315
Apr 15, 2002

Interesting class. Watch APA, grammar & spelling in written work!

5.0
1.0
PSYCH212
Dec 12, 2002

She is an easy A. I got an 87 on the last exam and I missed classes.

5.0
3.0
454
Feb 11, 2003

craziest & funnest prof in the world!!! acts like a kid most of the time.

5.0
4.0
PSYCH454
Feb 11, 2003

Great prof.!! Brilliant, fair, caring, clear explanations! A+++

5.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Mar 27, 2003

Excellent material. Stuff I can use in my own learning! I loved this class. She is a great prof!!

5.0
1.0
PSYCH315
Mar 28, 2003

Easiest prof ever (fair, not necessarily easy). I took this course because I knew I wouldn't have to go lectures.

2.0
1.0
PSYCH212
Apr 13, 2003

No Comments

1.0
5.0
PSYCH212
Apr 24, 2003

Didn't like her at all... She's a mean one!

5.0
2.0
PSYCH315
May 5, 2003

already taken a million classes with her. she's a GREAT prof!

5.0
3.0
317318
Aug 5, 2003

Great Prof! Makes and effort to present material in an understandable and interesting fashion. Highly recommend taking a class with her. Go to lectures and will do well on exams!

2.0
1.0
PSYCH315
Aug 21, 2003

Fairly unimpressed overall. Seems friendly when speaking to the whole class but is quite unhelpful individually. I did well in her class but don't feel as if I learned anything.

5.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Sep 15, 2003

She's great! Makes an effort to ensure all students learn. Helpful outside of class too.

4.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Feb 22, 2004

one word. overrated. the lectures are boring 90% of the time and course is NOT as easy as the ratings say it is. don't let the ratings mislead you. looking for a bird course? this aint it

3.0
3.0
PSYCH319
Feb 26, 2004

She is bitter that this isn't a fourth year class, first midterm was hard, bad average, pretty boring, very dry textbook, first year running...hopefully it will get better

5.0
2.0
PSYCH212
Apr 2, 2004

Very good prof! Classes were enjoyable, and you can tell she puts in a lot of effort towards the quality of the course.

4.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Apr 13, 2004

The actual textbook and lecture material is fairly basic but her tests do not reflect this. I thought they were unnecessarily hard, she cut chapters after people had already read them. Test questions don't reflect all of the info learned.

5.0
4.0
212
Apr 13, 2004

Very clear and interesting lectures. Expecually helpful if your thinking of a teaching career. Overall good prof. Test are hard!! make sure you go to lectures.

4.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Apr 26, 2004

So dull! Material is dry, teaching will put you to sleep!

3.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Jun 13, 2004

the last name tells all. DRYsdale. BOOring. the material in the text is so easy. the tests are made to be very hard, with some questions way too obscure.

4.0
4.0
PSYCH212
Nov 11, 2004

No Comments

5.0
4.0
212315317
Dec 11, 2004

Drysdale is very knowledgeable about, and she delivers the course well. In upper levels, you really have to listen well, but it's worth it if you're serious about learning. She's nice from afar but she can be cold in person. Oh, and she likes to call herself the APA Natzi - she's not joking!

3.0
3.0
PSYCH212319
Jan 1, 2005

really interesting material but SERIOUS know it all, found it VERY difficult to take her condescending nature and the fact that she thinks she knows and has experienced EVERYTHING

5.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Feb 9, 2005

Very good prof. Lectures are interesting and gives good examples. Tests are a little difficult, but nothing impossible. Very knowledgable.

4.0
4.0
PSYCH319317
Feb 10, 2005

her tests are IMPOSSIBLE!!!!, and the stuff she asks on it, like who cares??really?!!pluuus the fact that she seems so nice, from afar, let me emphasize from afar! she's pretty cold, and harsh in person. She has pretty high expectations too, lastly who rated her as hot?!?! gross!!

5.0
2.0
212317319
Mar 1, 2005

The best but hard tests! Go to lectures! Great personal experience that adds to the course.

5.0
4.0
PSYCHOLOGY317
Mar 2, 2005

This professor is great. She is one of the best professors at UW. She cares about what she teaches. Her lectures are of the highest quality. Students with cell phones who do not turn them off during the lecture need a good lesson in manners!

5.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Mar 3, 2005

She is a wonderful teacher. She uses particularly effective examples, which help enhance the topics covered in class. A wonderful lady, easy to approach and very helpful. Overall, an excellent professor. Has great style too!

3.0
4.0
SMF207
Mar 16, 2005

Extremely boring class. Material is vague and repetitive, yet the tests are marked hard. This course is pretty much based on Erikson and a lot of what you learn is that children are constantly developing their skills and parents should be supportive. Don't waste your time.

5.0
2.0
SMF207
Mar 28, 2005

Interesting material and she provides great examples. Plays a lot of videos that are dull, but tests are fair. Reading is easy, material is easy enough...Prof is friendly and helpful

4.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Apr 4, 2005

not friendly outside the classroom. Is a good lecturer although her tests can be difficult

3.0
4.0
PSYCH319
Apr 15, 2005

BORING!! She presents WAY TOO MUCH information on slides its impossible to write it all down and isn't very helpful if you have to miss a class. Too much overlap with other classes. Her tests are brutal and she is very high on herself insisting that you address her as DR. Who the hell cares lady!

5.0
2.0
PSYCH212
Apr 15, 2005

nice class. no final - just 4 tests. all multiple choice too - pretty easy if you study your notes and read the textbook!

5.0
2.0
SMF207
Apr 24, 2005

Great Prof! Interesting, very clear, and informative. A slight know-it-all attitude, but makes up for it in friendliness! Definetly would have another class with her!

4.0
3.0
319
Jun 2, 2005

great prof. if you can't handle courses like this, don't plan on going any further in psych. very informative.

5.0
4.0
PSYCH212
Jun 19, 2005

I found her lectures very interesting and informative. I felt though that her exams were very, very hard. I studied intensively for her tests and still didn't do all that great. Good class to take if you fare well with multiple choice testing.

2.0
5.0
PSYCH319
Aug 3, 2005

material is interesting but there is alot of material. Missing one class can really put you behind. She is very very picky with referencing and a very hard marker for the paper. Her midterm and exam is also difficult. You really need to your stuff and be good with MC. It's definately not a memorizaton course.high on her self and not empathetic

1.0
5.0
PSYCH212
Oct 18, 2005

I would not recommend her. She is very unprofessional (full of herself, never available for students) and the lectures are snore-worthy.

2.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Grade: A+
Oct 26, 2005

Her tests are fair, but she is extremely rude and arrogant. She doesn't seem to care much about her students. But this is a good class for those going into teaching.

5.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Nov 2, 2005

No Comments

5.0
2.0
PSYCH212
Grade: A
Nov 8, 2005

Great prof. Excellent examples. Very friendly. Go visit her at her office. She loves to chat!

4.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Nov 18, 2005

BEST PROF EVER!! She isin't for the lazy ppl. that's for sure, and you are expected to read. Her examples are truly relivant, she tries to encorporate everyone's learning styles! Her tests are fair and her lectures are interesting. I've learned more from her, than anyone else at UW. We NEED more profs like her!

2.0
3.0
317318
Jan 8, 2006

Disturbingly unhelpful when needed

1.0
3.0
312
Jan 9, 2006

No Comments

1.0
5.0
PSYCHOFEDU
Mar 25, 2006

avoid if you can very unprofessional, condescending and arrogant

4.0
2.0
PSYCH212
Apr 4, 2006

good class. Interesting, and 4 m.c. tests.

1.0
4.0
317
Apr 10, 2006

Terrible....not in office hours, gives exam blueprints less than 24 hours before the exams. Says she will post stuff on the web by a given time and is late, goes to Vegas week major assignment is due and doesn't tell the class, asks MC questions that are not covered in lecture or in course notes. Speaks way too fast in lecture... awful teacher

1.0
5.0
PSYCH317
Jun 15, 2006

She's the devil.

2.0
2.0
PSYCH318
Sep 5, 2006

She's arrogant, condescending and just plain mean. Course material is easy enough, but don't miss any classes or else you'll fall way behind. I thought this class would be interesting and fun, but she managed to present it in a way that was neither. Avoid if possible.

5.0
5.0
PSYCH212
Oct 14, 2006

SUPER PROF!!!

4.0
2.0
PSYCHLOTS
Oct 31, 2006

I liked her until I had to go home for a family emergency and funeral... I missed a week of classes and was told I could only have a one day extension on the final assignment (bc a funeral only takes one day), and only if I gave her full travel documentation and a death certificate, etc.. before the assignment was due (which was like a day later)..

2.0
4.0
PSYCH211
Feb 19, 2007

I found the classes to be interesting, but the professor to be arrogant and condescending. She was never available for help outside of class unless it was at her convience. I would recommend the course for future teachers, but think a different professor should be teaching it, one with people skills.

5.0
1.0
PSYCH212
Mar 29, 2007

she was mildly entertaining. tests were very fair. as long as you go to class and read the textbook you will be fine.

3.0
1.0
PSYCH212
Apr 3, 2007

The class is really interesting and fun to attend. You will ace the exams if you attend class. The textbook isnt really used at all. She is a total **** though if you are sick and need to miss an exam. She is also super intimidating. For teaching educational psychology, you would think that she likes students.

2.0
4.0
PSYCH317
Aug 31, 2007

Boring class, she's not a good prof and not approachable, very intimidating and agree with all the comments below, very arrogant. Some anecdotes in her class are interesting but wouldn't recommend the course if you don't need it.

5.0
2.0
PSYC212
Sep 27, 2007

Very interesting Prof. I enjoy the class and she is a great teacher.

5.0
3.0
PSYC212
Jan 9, 2008

She is the best! Anyone who says she is not friendly or approachable (see other comments) hasn't gone to chat with her. She is so welcoming of students and loves to talk.I wish more profs were like her. Very Human! I loved her class and will take more from her.

5.0
4.0
PSYCH319
Feb 11, 2009

She may not be the easiest marker, or the most approachable prof, but she is VERY good at what she does. She presents really applicable material that I plan to use when I am a teacher. Maybe she's just stricter with lower level students. She's wonderful.

3.0
4.0
PSYCH317
Apr 16, 2009

Man can you say arrogant, demeaning, egomaniac? I had great expectations for this class but I tell you, this prof is horrible. Her arrogant attitude rubs off on her stupid TAs as well. That one guy TA who proctored the exam should get ego checked. I hope I run into him outside of class.

3.0
4.0
PSY212
Oct 2, 2009

Very stuck on herself. She also likes to scare students out of grad school. I think this is so everyone can worship her even more. She is also very mean to her Ta's and treats them like slaves. Avoid classes with her.

5.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Oct 24, 2010

Great class. Very interesting and usefull. I like that she has great examples and stories to share. Everyone thinking of teaching or working with kids should take this course. Dr. Drysdale is great.

5.0
4.0
PSYCH212
Nov 29, 2010

Awesome course. I love it. She is great and certainly knows her stuff.

4.0
4.0
PSYCH212
Dec 5, 2010

I learned so much from her class. The class has A LOT of information but exams are structured fairly(it may be challenging for some, read up and attend lecs). She really knows her stuff and when you need help, she seems willing to answer any questions. Intimidating to go up to but seems really nice and helpful. Will take any class with her again...

5.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Feb 18, 2011

Awesome! Very fair but tough!

5.0
2.0
PSYCH212
Mar 28, 2011

Amazing Prof! She knows her stuff and basically gives you the answers to the exams. Attend her lectures, listen and you'll do great! Really pay attention to the test blueprint!

2.0
4.0
SMF230
Apr 19, 2011

Very defensive of the course and her quality in teaching it (had a bad experience with the class previous semester). This made her unapproachable. Didn't go over entire assignments with the class until prompted several times. Defended her "mark a minute" for midterm (however, having 30 sets of data to calculate Stndrd Dev for is NOT 2 marks).

5.0
4.0
PSYCH212
Aug 12, 2011

Great Professor. She is very knowledgeable. I was having problems in the course and she was so willing to help me. I'll take another course from her for sure!

5.0
3.0
PSYCH212
Nov 22, 2012

Really great professor, do not understand how anyone could not like her! Very clear with explanations and will help you if not understanding. Very fair with marking and always keeping us interested. She is the reason that I am doing so well in the course. I would love to take another course with her.

3.0
3.0
PSYCH315
Dec 6, 2012

Decent prof but very dull class. Very obvious material and nothing new or interesting, really. Hard marker for written work. You can tell she's passionate about her work but it doesn't show very often through lectures. Doesn't use D2L much (marks, content, etc.) which was kind of a bother. Overall, not bad but not stellar.

5.0
3.0
PSYCH315
Dec 13, 2012

Very interesting course. She has high expectations and exams are really hard but she also gives in-class assignments that are very easy and an easy way to boost your average. Overall a great course. I mean really....we watched Breakfast Club and then got to earn 2.5% by answering a question on it.

5.0
1.0
PSYCH212
Nov 30, 2013

Very knowledgeable prof. Tests are very fair (well they'd better be, seeing as she is an expert in educational psychology). Minimal studying got me a 90+. Overall I enjoyed the course and would be glad to have her as a prof again.

3.0
2.0
PSYCH212
Jan 2, 2014

The course itself was pretty straightforward. As long as you attend lectures and read the textbook, you'll end up with a great mark. In my opinion, the professor was knowledgeable, but sometimes very disrespectful. The course consisted of 3 tests (including a short group case study before each test) and iClicker questions.

3.0
3.0
315
Nov 18, 2014

I'm not one of those students that does poorly and then blames the prof. However, I didn't necessarily enjoy taking her class. She doesn't seem to sincerely care about the students and the group assignments for participation were obnoxious.

3.0
4.0
PSYCH315
Grade: B-
Nov 19, 2014

Her teaching style is very straight-forward and easy to understand. However, when it came to the major essay for the class, her grading was very confusing and inconsistent, which I believe to have resulted from my writing about a topic from a point of view that differed from her own. I also overheard her speaking badly about me to the TA.

3.0
4.0
PSYCH315
Grade: A
Nov 19, 2014

A good portion of this class is watching moviesdocumentaries and filling out summaries from chapters we read. Final was very confusing - open-book, but very unclear and as such the class did not perform well.

3.0
5.0
PSYCH315
Dec 21, 2014

She is a tough marker! She doesn't post her slides so you are forced to go to every class. I thought I aced the exam and would end up doing bad. In-class assignments help boost your grade. I wouldn't take another class with her.

5.0
2.0
PSYCH312
Grade: A
Aug 3, 2021
Would take again

She is really big on using APA so watch out. Easy A if you do the readings and she is very clear on her expectations.

Get ready to read
Graded by few things
Clear grading criteria
1.0
3.0
PSYCH315
Grade: B
Jul 12, 2023

She was not at all accommodating of a medical emergency which caused me to miss an assessment despite having documentation. While her class was interesting, the distress she caused me while I was recovering from a major medical event was immense because she was unwilling to accommodate me or display any compassion, which also brought down my GPA.

2.0
3.0
312
Nov 17, 2023

Her perspective on sources makes absolutely no sense. Instead of focusing on writing good assignments, most of my time was taken up by finding sources that fit her ridiculous demands. Apparently peer reviewed journals published by renowned publications aren't quality enough if the authors themselves did not come up with the theory

Tough grader
1.0
5.0
317
Grade: C-
Dec 19, 2025

Not a very kind proffessor. Not flexible or charismatic in the slightest.

Tough grader
Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

43%

Textbook Required

100%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B+

74% confidence
Based on 8 grades
Most common grades:
A (3)
A- (1)
A+ (1)
Grade Distribution
A(4)B(2)C(1)D(0)F(0)A-/B+(1)
Based on 8 reported grades
A: 3
A-: 1
A+: 1
B-: 1
Common Tags
Tough grader (2)
Get ready to read (1)
Graded by few things (1)
Clear grading criteria (1)
Rating Trend

Declining

-0.32 avg change
Nov
Dec
Aug
Jul
Nov
Dec
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

211

5.0

(1)

212

5.0

(2)

454

5.0

(1)

212315317

5.0

(1)

212317319

5.0

(1)
+22 more courses
Difficulty by Course

PSYCHOFEDU

5.0

PSYCH317

4.3

317

4.0

212315317

4.0

PSYCH454

4.0

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