Very unhelpful and only covered a baseline of knowledge, but expected too much on the final exam.

Lectures were long and not very interesting, covered a lot of basic stuff but expected us to know more on the exam. Marked assignments based on what he thought of your idea, not what you actually wrote; you could hand in an A+ paper but he'd fail you because he didn't like your idea

This is the one political science professor you have to avoid. Because of him I had to retake the class because the final mark he gave me killed my GPA. He was so unhelpful and I should have listened to my friends when they told me to drop but I didn't. Now I'm paying the price. AVOID! Worst prof I have had up to date.

Do not take him. Worst teacher EVER. Rude, mean and tells the whole class who is good and who is bad. If you ask a question, he'll make you look stupid. His grading criteria are not clear.

Worst prof at OttawaU. Killed my GPA. Get ready to read and study your ass of for tests.

Worst prof I've ever had. He lost my midterm, and isn't understanding with his students whatsoever. He can make you dislike any class, even subjects you were once interested in. Very boring lectures, especially at 8:30AM! His exams are super specific, but not the worst. Would NOT recommend this to anybody.

Son cours est très ennuyant et ses attentes pour les travaux sont extrêmement inclair. Il est sympathique lorsque vous le visitez dans ces heures de bureau, mais devant un groupe il est condescendant. Un cours qui prend beaucoup d'effort et ce prof le rend encore plus difficile. À éviter à tout prix.

Avoid at all costs. I'm in my third year and this is the worst prof I've ever had. He's super boring, and he's really strict. He's pretty unreasonable and honestly just seems like he wants to prove that he's smarter than you. He has no problem with embarrassing you in front of the entire class and he doesn't care if you're immersion.

LE prof le plus condescendant que j'ai eu de mes études jusqu'à présent. À éviter.

takes attendance every class. boring as hell. calls out students if they say wrong answer. isnt clear with what he wants when it comes to projects. hardest grader. AVOID TAKING HIM

Worst prof ever! Very boring and he's not trying to get the students attention. He reads in a monotone way the whole lecture, and he thinks everybody will read all the reading he's giving. Exams are true or false questions and he grades you for participation in class, but he's mad when you have the wrong answer.

Definitely the WORST prof I've ever had, I changed my program because he somehow found a way to make international development the most boring subject ever even though the content of the class was very interesting in the readings.

Awful prof, very boring lectures. His lectures are all based on the textbook that he didnt even write. Says that his Powerpoints are useless for the exam if we only study them but he just reads them in class and does not add information to them. AVOID AT ALL COST.

I have never had a more awful professor. He does definitely does not have the best interest of his students at heart. I would suggest anyone thinking of taking a class with him to strongly reconsider.

This professor seems like a very kind individual outside of the academic setting, but he was one of my most disliked profs yet. His grading criteria is often very unclear, there are quizzes every week, lots of readings to do (although interesting) and his expectations for exams and term projects are extremely high...I.E. write 20-25 pages in 90mins

Very inconsiderate prof.

Long readings to prepare for his quizzes. As a French immersion student, the readings would take me between 6-8 hours, and i would still get poor marks on the quizzes. He gave me a 0 on my midterm (which was worth 25% of my mark) because i had a technical problem. He expects you to write 20-25 pages on midterm. Could not recommend him less.

Do not take a class with this prof.

Goes on irrelevant tangents and genuinely does not care about students.

ce prof a entendu que nous faisions de l'apprentissage en ligne et a décidé de nous donner l'enfer. 9 pages pour un examen de mi-session avec 1h30 de temps de rédaction. De plus, les conférences via zoom sont horribles. J'ai suivi le cours en lisant le manuel et Google. Totalement irréalistique

I do not recommend this prof at all.

It's hard to answer his exam questions since he gives a lot of questions in very little time. I wouldn't recommend this prof. It's not impossible to do well in his class but it will require a lot of effort on your part. Take good notes, read every lecture and take notes of every lecture and prepare your exam questions in advance. Otherwise, oof.

Makes no sense why I have to read 30 pages of complementary papers if he taught his class properly. The absolute worst prof I've had. Does NOT care AT ALL about students. Gives big project right around finals and takes forever to correct, mid and final unrealistically long (5-6 qst HAVE to answer in paragraphs) and no indications as for studying.

Not worth the stress, exams are unnecessarily hard and he is not clear in expectations. Hard grader.

très méchant, cour difficile à comprendre

I had probably the worst experience with this prof, despite the fact that he knows his stuff and makes sure to understand people's concerns, he is very passive-aggressive and thinks he is always right. Would not recommand

I always pick my courses based on time and place, so I never pay much attention to who teaches the course; Professor Shirdel has made me reconsider that approach.

run away

So horrible! He's extremely disrespectful towards his students, extremely unclear in his expectations and will never admit he can do any wrong. He doesn't treat his students like they're people. Extremely short exams where he expects you to write him a novel. Save yourself and never take him

He gives very hard quizzes every other class worth over 2% of the final. The tests are impossible, and he blames the students for getting things wrong.

He. Is. TERRIBLE. 35% of the mark is based off in-class work - he expects you to write a whole essay essentially for a simple short answer question in some cases. In other cases he gives quizzes worth 2% based on 30 page chapters. His lectures are very un-engaging and he always thinks he's right (even moreso than Donald Trump). Avoid at all costs.

I have no words to describe the pain this class gives me

Have you ever had a professor insult you infront of the entire classroom? What about a professor who laughs at your peers infront of the whole class? Well look no further then Professor Shirdel. If you take his class be ready to have your patience and politeness put to the test. If this class wasn't a mandatory credit this prof wouldnt have a job.

He is SO condescending and tough. He is very disrespectful to all of his students and has these impossible quizzes every other class worth 2% of the final. He writes unhelpful feedback on exams that just tells it was bad. Avoid at all costs, you'll regret taking him.

He does not care about his student!! just dont take his class mate

someone said "I have no words to describe the pain this class gives me" 100% TRUEEEE !!

I have never had a university prof who was as rude and disrespectful to his students as prof Shirdel. When we had to present our group projects to the class, his comments afterwards were very blunt and passive-agressive. Plus, the surprise quizzes he gives every 2 classes are so difficult that you just have to guess your answers. DO NOT RECOMMEND.

Despite the comment suggesting that the negative reviews are from students who simply do not want to work, I have just never had a professor who blatantly and openly disrespects their students to their faces. The course content and grading aren't terrible (could be better though), helpful during office hours but is very patronizing/condescending.

You know, I really really did not like having this guy's class. With that being said, the other people making comments about him are crazy. He's not the worst prof in existence, if you have to take his course, you should do fine if you put in the work. It's just that you more likely than not will not get an A. However, I would still not recommend.

the class just started 10 mins ago and none of us could join the zoom and he said it's our fault not his without offering any help or solution so this is starting great can't wait to find out if i'll be able to join the next meeting

I was reading through the reviews, and it seemed too optimistic. The course is simple: you will do great if you do the readings and take good notes. However, the professor himself is very condescending and makes students' lives miserable. He has zero respect for his students; when I tell you zero, it is ZERO. The good reviews are lies trust me

This is the most disrespectful professor I have ever had in my time at this school. He ended the final exam about 5 to 7 minutes earlier. And when pointing out the clock he literally put on behind us. He dismissed our remarks openly. His exams are made explicitly to trip you up too and very reading heavy, even though we barely ever saw them in clas

Incredibly direspectful and dismissive. He gives a quiz at every class which is impossible and ridiculous. Would avoid

Pro: you can find textbook on AnnasArchive. Con: Hes as bad, if not worse than the other reviews claim. weekly quizzes worth 1.5% each + if you miss one you must write an essay justifying your absence? Extremely rude, dismissive, condescending. Does not provide corrections for ANY assignment. Avoid if possible.

Most horrible teaching ever. For you're own good, AVOID. Very disrespectful, sometimes his lectures don't make any sense and gets mad at his students for not understanding.

Make sure to read the assigned books, as quizzes are entirely based on them—around 20 pages per quiz. The midterm was too long, with five detailed essay questions requiring in-depth answers. He doesn't upload lecture videos on Brightspace, and his PowerPoints lack many details from class, so you must take VERY detailed notes. He is very arrogant.

Coming from a person who took his class, it is not hard; you must teach yourself the components. However, the professor is highly arrogant and rude; I have never experienced such a rude professor, he made a student cry. If you want to be treated like a student, then take another professor!

Horrible prof. Mean, disrespectful and provides unclear instructions. There's quizzes every other class. When most of his class was failing he said it was our fault. Avoid.

Doesn't care about his students and constantly disregards them. Whenever a question is asked he always says "This is a personal question. Come to my office hours or send me an email" in a very rude and dismissive tone. He doesn't clarify what he wants on the projects and has pop quizzes. The midterm was online w/ LDB & the exam is in person. AWFUL

Do not take this class.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!!! DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!!!!

one of the worst things that's ever happened to me was when i cracked 2 bones. i'd rather experience that pain all over again than ever take this profs class ever again.

Attending his class is pointless except for quiz points. He doesn't teach well, the lectures are boring, and you can teach yourself from the slides. His midterm and final are extremely hard, detail-heavy, and unfair. He even removed the PowerPoints for the final exam, only allowed 5 page useless aide-mémoire considering how loaded the course is

Genuinely a villain. Literally save yourselves from this prof I have nothing else to say.

unless you absolutely have to, dont. I ignored these reviews in september and it was not a good idea.

This prof has a superiority complex. He doesn't answer questions without a condescending response and it's never a useful one either. Overall, it's not the most difficult class or content wise but the prof himself I would strongly discourage.

this prof is disorganized, rambles about the same points for the entire class. Going into the final exam we were told would be very similar to the midterm, we were lied to.The midterm consisted of explaining and comparing concepts, the final we were analyzing very precise example briefly covered in class which barely demonstrate comprehension. RUN.

Worst teacher I've ever had, he told us the final would be similar to the midterm and that was a total lie. It was on really specific topics barely covered in class, and some wasn't even in the slides. If you have to take this class be prepared to do all the readings and attend every class and accept the fact that you probably wont get an A. Avoid.

This prof was worse than what the reviews portrayed him as. Do not take his class unless you genuinely hate yourself (or if it's mandatory).