2.9
Quality4.1
Difficulty44%
Would Retake96
Reviews44%
Would Retake
96
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
96 total ratings5
22
4
20
3
13
2
22
1
19
What Students Say
“Expects you to know everything already”
CHM142 - 1.0 rating“Dr trail is the worst teacher I have ever had”
CHEM142 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
78%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.13 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM130
4.0
(1)CHEM112
3.7
(3)CHM143
3.6
(13)CHM142
3.2
(25)CHEM142
3.1
(33)Difficulty by Course
112101
5.0
CHEM130
5.0
CHM100
5.0
CHM112
4.7
CHEM142
4.2
Reviews (95)
Dr. Trail is a very nice guy. Did neat demonstrations before each class. His class however is very confusing, because he goes on tangents alot. He is helpful when you need help, and is very fair grading wise. However, his tests were hard. There Seemed to be to much material to remember.
Helpful and nice, but this man was a poor excuse for a teacher. He is inexperienced, and it shows. The tests are difficult, and do not reflect what is covered in class...you never know what kind of tricks this guy is going to put on his tests. This class was extremely frustrating, and I warn you to think twice before taking this teacher.
He is probably the best chemistry teacher at ECC. Dr. Trail really cares about his students and helps them with their questions ASAP. He is a little clumsy, but he TOTALLY knows what he is talking about & does neat demonstrations when class starts!
I took this teacher last semester for Spring. This teacher is very good, he understands the students, and is funny. The only bad thing about him is that he in unorganized & clumsy at times. Other than that, great teacher for Chemistry.
Hes good
Great teacher, always there to help you when you need it. he'll take the extra time to go through problems ot help you out. funny with a dry sense of humor, great teacher, highly recomend him!
The homework would be due even before he lectured on it. He teaches as if we have this clear understanding in chemistry. Very nice but rushes and skips over material. It's a snowball effect of confusion.
I really enjoyed this class...however I had a hard time on what we were learning in class. I had him the first semester he ever taught. I was kind of lost. But he was very very helpful when needed. He made class intresting by doing an experiment almost every day.
I'm an older student. I have a BA in Journalism. CHM 112 is a prerequisite for my healthcare major. Dr. Trail is the most dedicated, caring, and helpful professor I've ever encountered. He has given me countless hours of out of class help. He answers emails quickly. His website has sample exams with the solutions. He is the greatest. Period.
geez, this guy finishes axplaining the sections the day that the homework is due. he doesnt really teach, all he does is desribe the problems
Dr. Trail is a really wonderful guy. His lectures are extremely hard to learn from because he strays from the subject so much and you get really confused, however, e is great one-on-one at explaining things and is available on D2L almost constantly! Is always ready to answer your questions. Just be ready to spend time yourself learning w/textboo
Would not listen to a complete question before answering. Inevitably the answer he provided was not what was being asked.
Dr. Trail is a very smart and competent chemist. That being said, he still has a lot to learn about teaching. I often had to read the textbooks to understand the material since his lectures were often confusion. I think he is so high in his education that he has trouble relating to a group of first-year level students.
Didn't like his attitude. He never answered questions well and usually just made things more confusing. I don't know where he found the questions and problems he put on the test but i didn't rememeber ever practicing them or using them in class!! would NOT take a class with this teacher again!
His lectures were very confusing. He often goes off on tangents. The class its self is very long but he never seems to be able to stay on schedule. This class is a hard class and to understand. you pretty much have to have one on one time with him to figure anything out. He assigns a lot of home work but doesn't do a good job of explaining examples
wouldn't recommend him unless you are a chem expert.He gets off tract for most of lecture,when asked question he cuts you off and talks about something else.Very hard on grading,takes points off for everything.Homework is due without even learning certain material.Practice exams and study guides do not follow whats on the quizzes or 2 tests.
He is the worst teacher I have ever had in my entire life. He is rude, and he thinks he is the smartest person in the world. His tests and quizzes are way to hard, and it would e impossible to recieve a decent grade in his class unless you have chemistry previous. Please do not take this class, he is horrible!!
Extremely hard teacher. His lectures go off subject and cause you even more confusion. I wouldn't suggest taking his class if you need a good grade. Our class average was a "D"
He is cool teacher but he will not help u directly because he wants students to understand and solve them self. so he will give you hing and his was of teaching is odd. buy if you get it no one in world can explain like him. it helped me lot to learn chem. even though i had come back to revise chem i had learn in such way that i m not forgting it
Horirble teacher. Thinks the world of himself and is constantly making students out to be idots. If you ask a question he will make you feel incompetent. He doesn't respect your time, takes the class to lab late (because he can do it in 10 min!)and expects you to stay late to do the lab because you were too stupid to finish it in 10 min like him
He was a horrible teacher. Like others said, he brags about how wonderful and what a great chemist he is and brings us down when we try to correctly answer his questions. He marks down alot for sig figs! we don't really use the book but I usually read it before lecture so i understand it. He wouldve been better if he went over stff we didnt underst
Very helpful outside of class. Can be time consuming and answers will not be spoon fed to you. Probably a difficult teacher for those not interested in chemistry and not detail oriented. Will be marked down for spelling and sig fig errors.
At first, I was hesitant on staying in this class. He lectures are very disorganized, and it can be frustrating. However you will do just fine, IF you attend class daily, pay attention, go to him when you need help, and STUDY. Dr Trail will not just give you answers either, he wants you to think the answer through. Overall, hes a good teacher!
Expects a lot from his students. He's not boring though. Dr. Trail knows his stuff and sometimes expects you to know everything he does which can be frustrating. Despite that, I enjoyed the class and learned a lot.
Lectures very unorganized and hard to follow. When you ask a question he goes off on some random branch trying to relate it to everyday life which really just makes it harder. You have to really search for the answers which can be frustrating if you don't understand the subject. Very difficult teacher if you are more of a chronological learner.
Very difficult, his lectures are useless and he likes the sound of his own voice. Doesn't clearly answer questions. All of the learning was self taught through an online book and all quizzes were based off the online as well, which was never covered in class. I highly suggest choosing a different teacher if you are not able to teach yourself.
Don't even remind me of this class. Super stressful. His notes don't make sense. I am not a chemistry fan so the class was super hard. Plus when I asked questions, he made me feel very stupid. Way too time consuming and yes smartwork is horrible. His test are super hard and so are the labs.
Worst teacher i have ever had. he is unwilling to help students, When you ask a question on how to do something he will respond with more questions for you to answer. He feels you should know it coming into the class and compares you to his kids and how smart they are compared to students. Also takes a while to grade papers and hand them back.
He is a horrible teacher! He expects everyone to have the knowledge level of a PhD, like him. He makes his tests and quizzes are impossible to figure out, and are a lot harder than what is tought in class. More than half of his students are failing. That should say something. Do yourself a favor and find a different teacher for the class.
Can't even bring myself to words. Told everyone he'd raise a borderline grade if we came to class, never missed one class, got a 59.6 percent. Save yourself the disappointment.
Straight off the bat he informs you that you need to study on your own. He wont baby feed you information or give easy exams, quizzes or homework. He does however give specific information on what to expect on exams and quizzes.The professor isn't bad rather students are incompetent and they input minimal effort.Great professor overall.
Do not take this class if you never had chemistry before... I felt lost the entire class, only to get something a few weeks later. If you don't get chemistry now, you won't get it with him...
Do not take his "hybrid" class nothing was online, and that was the whole point of taking a hybrid class. I went to him for help and he said this isn't a high school course, I can't help you. Awful teacher!
I wouldn't even consider him a teacher. He didn't teach anything. He expected everyone to be chemists! It was an intro to chemisty, not an honors chemisty class. Worst teacher I ever had.
Great teacher.You will hate him at first but then realize that he is trying to help.Really wants you to know chem.Class requires a lot of effort,very hard. You can pass.Curves though if you try hard.Can be confusing so tutoring is a must.Can be unclear about what needs to be memorized. Yes he can come off as rude but I think he really cares.
Class is super hard and he doesnt make it any easier. I get the vibe that he doesnt care if we do good in the class cause he never explains anything to help us better understand. Tests are ridiculous and online homework is super tough. def dont reccomend unless youre really good at chemistry
If you enjoy teaching the material to yourself, then you'll enjoy Dr. Trail. He tends to go off on tangents related to absolutely nothing and talks about his time at MIT and all the other lovely things he's done with his life. He never answers questions straight forward and shows up late to his own class most of the time.
I just want to say Dr.Trail is an excellent professor. I took college level chemistry, and while the information is challenging Dr.Trail covers the concepts quite well. They say if you could explain it to a 3rd grader, you know the subject pretty well- and dr.trail does just that. He has online resources and is a character during lecture :)
Know the material, know the man, and I profess he is a good man. Though he is slightly quirky, I guess I have the same quirks he does because I enjoyed the class. No matter how many times I answered incorrectly, he was willing to correct me [:^)]. Take his class and enjoy the fountain of knowledge that I know as Dr. Steven Trail. And ask questions.
People like to complain about his grading or expectation of you to know the material thoroughly, but he posts practice tests which are nearly identical to the real thing for every chapter. If you are even slightly adept at chemistry, you will get in A in his class. I skipped entire weeks of class and was able to ace all of his tests.
The reviews so far are all over the place, so let me clarify: The class is extremely difficult. It would have been nice to have a helpful teacher, however that was not the case. Trail likes to think everyone knows as much as he does in chemistry, which is not true. He does know his chemistry but when it comes to teaching he knows little to nothing.
I don't get all the bad reviews. The material isn't that hard and he's very helpful. The labs are kind of boring, but that's not his fault. Lots of people dropped, but they're clearly not going anywhere in college.
Dr. Trail was a pretty consistent instructor. He lets you know what he expects and covers the material thoroughly. Chemistry is a difficult subject for me at times, but he was always willing to stay a bit after class or have you come by the office if you needed help. He wants to see his students succeed.
Trail is nice as a person, but a horrible horrible teacher. He basically talks about chem as if you already know everything. You're lucky if you get an A on anything because he grades super tough and analytically that you basically would rather give up than try.
great teacher, but he has the same problem all smart professors do, He expects you know a lot before her teaches. If you didn't take an AP chem in high school you will have a hard time. Ask him questions in class. He's fun, funny and nice, but he can be hard, and get frustrated if the class isn't doing well. quizzes were hard, tests were ok.
I really don't understand all the bad reviews. He's a good teacher and a good guy, always willing to help. His tests are not terribly hard, but of the few points I lost, most came from the multiple choice parts. Listen, just read the book and the class will go just fine, it'll even be enjoyable.
Absolutely horrible. Can never stay on topic and emails you the day before a quiz to tell you that you have one. Expects you to know everything already. I've had straight A's every semester & it's 4 weeks into this semester and I've never been more confused. Would not recommend taking him. At all.
Dr trail is the worst teacher I have ever had. He wastes so much time in class and then puts things on tests that were not gone over in class.
Dr. Trail is a tough teacher. He's a tough grader on the tests. But he's also helpful if you go in for help. You absolutely have to put in the work to pull a decent grade. However, the tests are exactly along the same lines as his sample exams. If your degree depends on knowing the ins and outs, take Dr. Trail, otherwise take someone easier.
I took both 142 and 143 with Dr. Trail, thoroughly enjoyed both and received an A in each. I think his testing style just clicked with me. To all the people who think his class is extremely hard, try taking BIO 113 and 114 with Qasmieh. Those are truly ridiculously hard classes. Every time I'm in bio I wish I could be taking Trail's again instead.
Doctor trail may be the most qualified member of the ECC teaching community and it honestly shows. He has high expectations and high standards; however, his expectations can be easily met by doing all the work you are supposed to be doing.
He did alright explaining chemistry concepts, but what he didn't do well with was the math concepts. He did little to no examples of math problems, which is what most of the test/quiz questions were. Teaching yourself is the key to doing well in his class. He also expects you to know and understand everything in the chapters, like many have said.
The class is harder than I could've imagined but Professor trail makes it interesting. He's also one of the best qualified instructors I've ever had.
His lectures are really boring and sometimes hard to follow. He likes to go off on tangents and talk about his old career. The material itself is not very hard, but most of the learning I had to do on my own outside of class because he didn't teach it very well (sometimes at all) in class.
Its a hard class and the effort you put into correlates to the grade you will get. Professor Trail is one of the best instructors at ECC. Before each test he gives you the ability to do practice tests to insure the understanding of the concepts.
There's no question that he is incredibly intelligent, overly-qualified, and loves Chemistry, but he should be teaching advance level courses, not freshman chemistry at a community college. If you love Chem, you'll LOVE him, but if you don't, you'll struggle to grasp even the basics, as the way he explains things is too advanced for this course.
Dr. Trail is good at chem, but not good at teaching it. He assumes you know everything from gen chem 1 and always goes off an a tangent when explaining a concept, which is where he lost me. He posts labs and quiz samples THE NIGHT BEFORE THEY'RE SCHEDULED, leaving us no time to study. I wouldn't recommend him unless you speak the language of chem.
I really dont understand the hate towards Dr. Trail. He isnt rude, or tough on students. He went over an entire test with me and really helped to make sure I understood what went wrong. He cared to make sure his students knew the material and gave plenty of opportunities for people to raise their grade. The labs, homework, and quizzes were easy.
If you thoroughly understand chem I would highly recommend him. However, if you need a little more explanation, I would not recommend him at all. He doesn't explain his lectures, it's just that... a lecture. He tells you things, but doesn't explain. I really appreciate him as a person he's very intelligent, but not as a professor.
He is okay when he actually teaches, but he often would go on long, unrelated tangents that ultimately took away from lecture. This put us super behind on schedule, so we had to play catch up all semester. He also had a tendency to skip over random topics and sections of powerpoints, so there wasn't really any structure to the class.
Trail is a good teacher and a nice guy. His knowledge of Chemistry is extensive. Trail really knows his stuff, so sometimes he goes a little fast, but ask questions and show up and he's sure to answer and help you out. Not a class where you can slack. Study! Stay on top of the free points (homework and labs) and you should do just fine.
Well-prepared for a research career- not for teaching.
You can get by with him for 142 as it's the easier class, but do NOT take him for 143. There is no structure. His lectures are all over the place and he goes on meaningless tangents every 20 minutes; you'll suffer all semester. This class is all math and he doesn't take the time to thoroughly explain anything. Avoid him at all costs for gen chem 2!
Spends so much time talking about the history of chemistry that he doesn't even review concepts. When he does, he'll review the same thing over and over. Lectures are super monotonous and not helpful. Might as well just read the book and learn yourself. Great person, just a terrible teacher
not too bad overall. for chem 142, pretty difficult class but he teaches it well. definitely don't waste your money on a textbook if you have access to it at a library because you wont need it at all for coursework, only for supplementary reference
Dr. Trail is a wonderful teacher. He outlines everything you need to know for the tests and is always available to help you where you're struggling. You will need the text book for certain chapters. If you complete the homework and attend class, you'll be fine.
While I can't imagine he'd be very good at teaching CHM 143, I highly recommend him for 142. Yes, his lectures are often off-topic but you will learn a lot from him and he's very engaging. If you need further explanations he's better at explaining one-on-one and the book is also a great resource. He will never make you feel dumb. He's a great prof.
He is a nice guy out of the classroom. The issue is he doesn't know how to teach. Lectures are long and confusing. He jumps topics a lot. You have to learn most of the topics on your own anyway. If you struggled with chem in high school, take a different professor.
Wealth of knowledge and focuses on learning over memorization.
Professor Trail is a great person. I initially struggled to get used to his way of teaching because he jumps topics a lot but throughout the semester it became easier. Chemistry is a generally difficult course so you have to put in the time to study. This professor is very helpful and accessible but, at moments, frustrating.
Dr. Trail is actually a very nice person but I think he is too smart to be teaching a basic chemistry course. Overall, he gave us tools but was very confusing and unorganized with quiz and exam dates. His practice exams and quizzes were pretty helpful, but not always. He rambles a lot during lectures and it's difficult to understand him.
Professor Trail is a really nice person outside of class and he is always available by email but his teaching style is extremely hard to follow sometimes as he doesnt necessarily explain things clearly and he jumps through things a lot. Also the course is very dependent on the 3 semester tests and final exam. Be prepared to do a lot of self-review
I took Dr. Trail for both Chem 142/143, and he truly propelled my interest in chemistry further than it already was. Contrary to the other posts on here, I really dont think hes a tough instructor. He goes above and beyond, and youll do great in the class if you keep up with the work . Hes a knowledgeable and caring guy- definitely recommend.
Dr. Trail is very knowledgable, but he is not the best at teaching others. He is a nice guy, but I often felt stupid in his class. He rambles a lot in lectures and it's very difficult to get help. The tests were multiple choice with 10 possible answers and his course outlines were very unorganized. Please don't take him.
Dr. Trail is knowledgeable in chemistry and is excellent at helping students understand the material and wants his students to succeed. Assignment due dates are flexible, and hw extensions are often given. Tests are a breeze if you complete the assigned work, particularly the written hw assignments. Grading is swayed in your favor.
I would recommend taking classes with Dr. Trail. Do not take the summer course unless you are willing to spend all your summer doing homework, lab reports and studying for quizzes and exams. Overall Dr. Trail is a great professor who is willing to help you understand and enjoy chemistry. I wish i had taken his class during fall or spring.
If you can, avoid Prof. Trail at all costs. I graduated high school as a 4.0 all conference honors student and have never struggled in any class until this. His lectures are inefficient and hard to follow. On the first exam, half of all his students received failing grades and he curved it by 5%. Take Prof. Ritu Saha. She is the best for chem 142.
Do not take Prof. Trail. Lectures were ridiculously hard to follow. He is smart, but he is unable teach at the level of his students. The class is almost completely dependent on how well you can teach yourself, as little instruction is usually given. This is the most unorganized professor I have ever taken
Poor communication on assignments, quizzes, tests and grades. Lectures were tedious, hard to keep up, and often get off track, and not in a fun way, just where he talked about himself. He also told me, a autistic person, that I should look into other career paths because I'm autistic.
Worst professor in all ECC. He keeps babbling about his life and achievements and doesn't teach the subject. You're on your own. Avoid him to save yourself from boredom and headaches.
Dr. Trail is a good professor. He is very passionate about the subject. He has a certain teaching style that might not do well with some people, personally I found to like it. Once you get to know him, he is a good and caring guy. Homework heavy, pop quizzes, and goes on tangents. Overall he's not great but he's good. Taking him for Gen Chem II.
Dr. Trail is a great professor who cares about his students. He's very knowledgeable and super passionate about Chemistry. He tends to ramble during lectures, but I found it entertaining, and we always stayed caught up in content. If you do the homework the tests are not too hard. Would definitely take his class again.
It is very hard to take notes in Trail's class. He rambles a lot, but the two options for CHM-142 are Trail and Saha, and neither is great. The difference is that Trail is a caring professor; he will help you through anything, and spend HOURS in office hours to help you improve. I would take him again, but you cannot be tired, or you will get lost.
He does not curve his tests. Stay away if u want to keep good gpa.
Trail is a good guy and he knows what he's talking about, but when he explains something he explains it in a way, like you should already know what he's talking about. he's a fun guy but I would like it if he could dumb the topic down a little bit.
Almost failed this class but he let me turn in homework super late because he sympathized with me. Great guy, terrible lectures. Material isn't too hard to learn and he gives a ton of practice so it wont be difficult to pass if you do the work. Funny guy. He cares so much about his students and curves a lot of stuff. He really wants you to pass.
This class wasn't the hardest, but definitely not easy. You have to be willing to put in a lot of work to understand topics because he teaches them as if we should already know. The textbook helps with this so make sure to read the chapters along with the lectures in class.
Dr. Trail is very caring, but lectures can be confusing as he sometimes talks about random things. He is very smart. He does give pop quizzes though, and the homework on Aleks is horrible, as any Aleks homework is. Don't be afraid to reach out to him for help, he is very kind. Look back on quizzes and tests for practice.
During the lectures he rambles on and doesn't get to the point. I struggle to understand what he is trying to teach because of this. He is very unorganized with his lectures, he is all over the place. He will be teaching something but will over complicate it by adding irrelevant information that is not needed. Lectures are boring and tedious
He's nice enough but kind of weird and definitely has favorites. He rambles often and doesn't explain or teach very well. When he says to expect to spend 2 hours outside of class for every credit hour, he means it.
This guy is good and seems chill as a person, but he doesnt do a good job at teaching. He rambles about things and expects you to know what he is saying like you majored in chem. Another thing that sucks is that he will write anywhere and everywhere on the white board very sloppy making it hard to take notes. quizzes are given without a heads up
He rambles about nothing, expects you to know every single thing about chemistry, lectures are nothing but him thinking out loud. im typically really good with math and chemistry, but he's singly handedly the worst professor ive had. I might have to retake this class again next semester. I have stayed for every office hour and still confused.
You can tell he cares about the class and he knows his stuff, but he is just horrible at teaching. he will go off on tangents about a project he did 30 years ago for an hour and then skp through 5 slides in 2 mins. he throws pop quizzes so randomly you will have two pop quizes one week then you wont see one for 7 weeks. stay far away from this guy.
He knows what chemistry entails but awfully sucks at communicating and relaying it to students. I personally think he will succeed more doing research than teaching. he goes on really long yaps abt his past and makes simple things very complex. be ready for pop quizzes. lil bit of a strict grader and definitely has his chosen ones.
Dr. Trail seems passionate about his work, but is not a good teacher. If you ask a question, he will go on a tangent and proceed to--in a very long-winded way--not answer your question. Online resources are not well organized and assignment instructions are not clearly given. Truly, if I could rate this class experience lower, I would.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
78%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.13 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEM130
4.0
(1)CHEM112
3.7
(3)CHM143
3.6
(13)CHM142
3.2
(25)CHEM142
3.1
(33)Difficulty by Course
112101
5.0
CHEM130
5.0
CHM100
5.0
CHM112
4.7
CHEM142
4.2