3.1
Quality3.4
Difficulty60%
Would Retake151
Reviews60%
Would Retake
151
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
24
4
43
3
35
2
27
1
22
What Students Say
“I still don't understand what she's saying”
CPSC211 - 2.0 rating“Leyk is a nice lady, but her lectures are absolutely awful and she doesn't understand that we are taking more classes than just hers”
CSCE221 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
80%
Textbook Required
11%
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A-
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CSCE221222
5.0
(1)CPSC311
4.0
(1)CSCE222
3.5
(4)CPSC211
3.3
(3)CPCS221
3.2
(17)Difficulty by Course
CPSC311
5.0
CPSC221
3.7
CSCE121
3.6
CSCE221
3.5
CPSC211
3.3
Reviews (151)
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Is very helpful if you make the effort to see her outside of class.
Very boring lectures. Unclear about assignment specs. She is extremely nice and gives alot of extra credit. She will even help you during a test sometimes. You will probably get a good grade in her class, but probably won't learn very much.
I still don't understand what she's saying.
Most helpful. She really wants her students to learn.
Knows her stuff but has a thick accent. If you go talk to her after tests she will give you back most of your missed points.
She is a very helpful prof who picks on people sitting on the front row. She is more than willing to bump your grade up if you go to her office hours.
It is impossible to understand her and she has just as much trouble understanding you, so don't bother asking questions, it will only get MORE confusing. You have to create multiple usernames and passwords and her and the TA did a terrible job of explaining how to go about getting started in lab. There are multiple assignments due each week
Poor grasp of the English language. Assignments are mostly integrating the obscure lecture notes into an algorithm. Unethical grader and will increase your grade if you attend office hours.
This class is taught somewhat poorly. The work load for this course is IMMENSE and many people cheat. No one really knows solid answers, and you pretty much have to bs your way through the course. Leyk is nice, but lectures have NO structure and are mostly useless and incomprehensible. Tests are confusing, but representative to some degree.
Dr. Leyk is a nice lady, but her lectures are absolutely awful and she doesn't understand that we are taking more classes than just hers. The workload is insane but she sometimes delays due dates if enough people are dying. The class sucks overall though, and her bad lectures on important and sometimes confusing material make it worse.
Thick accent, but very focused on helping students learn. Lots of work for the class but this course is the basis for so many other CSCE classes that it is very important to learn the material. Very approachable outside of class.
She is impossible to understand, and doesn't understand when students ask questions, so she ends up confusing everybody more. Her lectures are unstructured, and communication of the logistics of assignments and projects is poor. It is possible to get a good grade, but you most likely won't actually learn anything.
I cannot understand one word that she says. I basically had to teach myself using her slides and it was so frustrating I wanted to scream. She's very nice and willing to give you grade help, but if you can't string together one intelligible English sentence what are you doing teaching in English?
Dr. Leyk is a tough professor, but if you go to her office hours for help she will work with you to make sure you learn the material. Also, if you go over the test with her and show her you understand the material she will give points back on the test.
Horrible, way too much work for a class like this. Assignments very difficult, and grades very tough. Tests are not too bad, but make sure you go to her office hours. She does give points back only if she likes you. I guess she didn't like me too much because some students went from failing to an A and I went from failing to a D.
While she does care about her students, her lectures are long and barely understandable. Most of the time you cannot understand a lot of what she is saying. She is not the worst, but definitely not the best. As for the class, it does have a lot of work so be prepared to be challenged. You have many late nights to come.
She might be hard to understand at first, but after a few lectures you get used to it. She is very helpful if you go to office hours or ask questions. She actually wants you to learn the material. There is lots of homework. Once you finish one assignment you pretty much must start on the next one to not get behind. The tests aren't too bad.
The assignments are certainly time consuming, but I think important (since she lectures over the kind of stuff you can expect in interviews). This is a core CS class, so expect work. Dr. Leyk is very sweet and helpful, especially if you attend office hours to clarify concepts. Sunday review sessions with PTs will make your life easy on tests.
Leyk is an excellent professor. She has an accent but it is easy to get used to. Sit in the front row, it makes it easier. She gives lots of points back on tests if you go to her office hours. She is very friendly and very willing to help you or answer question. Her class isn't easy you will get out what you put into her class. Definitely recommend
Yes, she has an accent. However, she is very nice and will go out of her way to help you. Also, she gives tons of points back on exams, if you go to her office hours.
Dr. Leyk is my favorite professor I have had so far. She really cares about her students and wants them to learn and succeed. It is really important to go into her office hours, especially after a test. This class is a lot of work and there is always a new assignment, but they teach you a lot. I would really recommend her.
Dr. Leyk was a very kind and caring professor. She was very useful in her office hours as well. She clearly cares that you understand the subject and she will help you out if you show that. However, her lectures are hard to follow at times because of the fairly thick accent. Also her notes are either really great or really poorly done.
I'm sitting I'm her class right now and I have absolutely positively no clue what she is saying. Her accent is so terrible, how do the rest of you even understand her? Better question, why is she teaching in English, and why is she the only prof. teaching this class at A&M?
Cons: Her lectures are not engaging enough. Some concepts not explained well. Pros: She has somewhat helpful powerpoint slides on her website. Not hard to understand her accent in my opinion. Helpful during office hours. Gives back free exam points. Curves quizzes. ***Runs an excellent Peer Teacher Program*** (Should take advantage of).
Decent professor. She cares a lot that you learn the concepts she's teaching. Not too difficult to pull an A if you study and look over her lecture slides before going to lecture. Highly recommend watching a video or two over what she will be teaching in class the next day or else everything will go over your head.
Skipped every lecture, skipped every lab except to present, stayed home instead and studied the lecture slides, practiced problems for the test, read the book, and did the test corrections for each test, made an A. Understand that it helps if you can teach yourself in this course, as lectures are not that engaging. Stay on-top of all assignments.
Lectures are useless but she cares about the students a lot, and is very accessible in office hours and will give points back on tests if you make corrections.
If you pay attention and go to her office hours as well as go to the Week in Review you will understand what is going on. She is easy to get a hold of and is willing to make time for her students so that they understand what is going on. She is a little difficult to understand when she forgets to turn on the microphone.
Really unorganized and unprepared for class. Often 'participation' involves having students just read the question from the slide out loud, other times they call up the student to just copy her own notes for a problem. Classes are more disorganized without her TAs there, she fails to mention that resources are usually in another classes page.
Overall, Dr. Leyk is a great professor that really cares about students success. She has fair assignments and grading and keeps everything straightforward. She makes sure that the assignments that we do both help us master the concepts and prepare us for the exams.
Hard class but she is a really caring lady, and she gives you most points back on everything if you go to her office hour or talk to her after class. Could get an A just by simply asking her to explain the problems, as she will even stop her own lecture to show you specifically how to solve the problem type. Go to her office hours
Dr. Leyk is a great professor and really cares about her students. Her assignments are fair and the tests are pretty straightforward. If you do all the assignments and pay attention, you will do great in the class.
Kind of disorganized with assessing quizzes and homework, but overall she cares if her students understand the concept. Going to office hours will help a lot to clarify some concepts missed in class. If you read the textbook before class and watch some discrete math videos, you can do well in this class.
She is a great professor. Really knows her stuff and if you go to her office hours she is super helpful! She is pretty hard to understand in class due to her accent but if you do the HW, Programming Assignments, and go to class then you can pull out an A or B! I have zero programming background and she was willing to help me in office hours
Her teaching style is not for everyone, but you should always go to her lectures. There are regular quizzes that will help you prepare for the exams. The programming assignments are a lot of work so get started on them early. Dr. Leyk really cares about her students and wants you to succeed. Do all of the assignments and go to office hours.
Her accent is somewhat difficult to understand, but other than that there isn't anything I wouldn't recommend Leyk by. Her class, while not easy, is eminently do-able and manageable if you put the time in.
This class is fairly difficult, but if you put in time and effort on the assignments and study for the tests, you will do well. Dr. Leyk really cares that you do well in her class. Don't be afraid to ask her for help.
Super sweet lady. Her accent is a little thick, so I recommend sitting at the front. Always go ask to see your test, because she'll almost always give back a few points for correcting. I really enjoyed the programming assignments. They were pretty applicable to what we were working in class.
Very nice prof, she really wants you to understand material. She will give points back if you go to office hours and try to understand what you did wrong on tests. Class is difficult if you have never programmed before but not too overwhelming. Pretty thick accent so lectures aren't very helpful but her slides have most of the info you need.
She cares about your success and I appreciate that - but she's not a very good professor and is hard to understand and doesn't really understand our questions. She doesn't really know what's going on in lecture. However, an A is totally achievable. Study the slides and do the projects and it's doable.
Leyk is a great professor if you have some coding experience going in. She goes around the class and teaches through question-answer. You can tell by the way she teaches this intro class that she's used to teaching higher-level courses. Nevertheless, I'd take her again. Study the slides before the exam and an A is definitely doable.
Her lectures can often bore you but this class is not difficult. If you have prior programming experience, this will be easy.
Leyk is hard to understand and I pretty much zoned out every lecture. The class is mostly reliant on programming assignments. Overall, it is easy to do well if you have prior programming experience.
Leyk is a decent teacher for 121. This was the first semester she taught the course I believe so it was kinda all over the place, but she did a good job. HW isn't impossible or unreasonable and there's plenty of help. Also only having a final project and no final exam was nice.
Dr. Leyk is an incredibly caring professor. Though it was sometimes hard to understand her due her accent and the lectures were not always very organized, she tries to give you as many resources and opportunities to do well.
Leyk is probably one of the best teachers for any of the CSCE classes. Quizes every Friday. If you have a chance to take her pounce on it.
the class itself is not difficult, here assignments were not bad, and the homework was ok as well, but seriously she cannot teach at all, I really tried to understand what was going on in class, never understood anything, so if you actually trying to learn anything from her you are wasting your time, overall she is bad as a prof to teach anything
She really cares that her students succeed. Good teacher, but kind of boring. Had her for 121,221
Hard to understand, speaks quietly when she lectures and likes to ask students questions about things that haven't been taught yet. Grading criteria was unclear at times. Helpful in office hours though.
She made it really hard to want to attend the lecture. There were things that we were expected to know that were never outlined. The grading criteria was the worst thing for me- they would either change last minute or would be so unclear that I missed points for things I didn't know were a requirement. Would definitely not take for this class.
It's really hard to pay attention during lectures, but if you really apply yourself, Leyk is a good, understanding prof. She's extremely understanding during office hours and can tell whether or not you understand the content. All of the homeworks and quizzes do a good job of making you learn the material. I would take Leyk again.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Avoid at all costs, unless its mandatory. This course just pissed me off. I am a smart and hardworking student, but this is just too much work. You wont be able to study for your other classes AT ALL, ever see the sun, or do anything other than coding. You are supposed to know everything before the first day of class.
I have absolutely no doubt that Leyk is very intelligent, but as she mumbles during lectures it is fairly difficult to understand her. Only take her if you have a lot of good solid programming experience (ENGR 102 doesn't count as Python is very different from high levels like C++), and be prepared to move quickly.
She's probably really smart but her lectures are too hard to focus on to have any use. She gives out at least two quizzes a week which ends up either just being more homework or a quiz on her lecture that is impossible to understand and it is overall not well run. The TA's and lab periods are super helpful. Really annoying class. overall
Do yourself a favor and DON'T take this class. You'll regret it everyday. You need immense programming knowledge (and no, CSCE110 doesn't cut it). The professor has unrealistic expectations from her students. You'll be so busy with this class that you won't have ANY time for other classes or anything else. Every week is harder than the last one.
If you want to try and get ahead and do programs early so you can actually enjoy yourself then don't take this class. She gives in-class coding quizzes which actually just mean one-day coding assignments that ruin my Friday after I've spent all week trying to have one day of not doing homework.
I have taken this class three times. I Q dropped the first time, D the second time (my final grade was a 72 but my test avg wasn't a 60) but TERESA ROCKS. Made an A. Her exams are directly from the slides or reviews made by TA's/Labs. She has extra credit and TRY and u get a good grade. Don't even need to attend lectures besides Friday for quizzes.
Leyk was a very lecture heavy professor that gave out a lot of work that were ten times harder than the examples that she would give in class. She would not follow up with her syllabus and teach the harder material first rather than gradually teaching each piece of code from easiest to hardest.
Although her class is very easy, her lectures are very confusing. Furthermore, she has a very thick accent that I could not understand. The one good thing is that her tests are exactly like her lectures. Just study the lectures to do well on the Exams.
Professor Leyk has a pretty thick accent, but she cares a lot about her students so if you are struggling I would recommend going in during office hours and she will help you out. The tests are almost the same as the homework questions and she gives lots of opportunity for corrections on tests.
Professor Leyk genuinely cares about her students. Her quizzes usually range from easy to moderate difficulty, with the tests being harder. Unfortunately, the class is definitely self study from other materials, as her accent makes lectures incredibly hard to understand and her powerpoint notes are very unclear and abstract.
Lectures/prof notes are extremely unhelpful! If you need to learn something, I highly recommend TA reviews, they taught me everything I know in this class. Weekly quizzes. Lots of homework - watch out for sudden unexplained changes in due dates! Tests are very difficult and random, "review sheets" are way too broad to actually help.
Leyk is not an amazing lecturer. Her accent is thick and her slides are often jumbled and abstract. She gives weekly quizzes that kill and her tests are no joke. She also seems to believe her class is more important than any of your others. She does genuinely care, however, and is sweet in office hours.
Weekly quizzes (sometimes more than 1), thick accent, lectures are not engaging, jumps around slides a lot, poor explanation, learn outside of class on your own, poor organization, poor wording of questions, response to student questions are broad and/or vague, picks on the same few students, office hours are a must (get on her good side).
Dr Leyk's class is pretty much what you'd expect. If you don't pay attention, and you wait till the last minute to complete homework and programming assignments, you're going to struggle. Her lectures can be a little monotonous, but try and pay attention, because the info WILL show up on the tests.
Thick accent, confusing lecture and slides, interrupts when asking a question. Assignments are okay.
I had Leyk for 121 & 221. Her lectures are hard to follow. Almost all learning takes place outside of the classroom. If you are struggling and you know it don't wait till the last minute to try out reviews go early on. Utilize all the PTs and TAs available. Although the class is not taught that well it isn't too hard to make an A or B just study
For starters, 98% of ENGR profs at A&M have an accent and you'll get used to hers by the 3rd lecture. I hated her 222 class, but I still chose to take her for 221 because she genuinely cares about her students, in a tough love kind of way. Just ignore all of the hate and take her. I got my first ever B in her 222 class but that's my fault tbh
Leyk wasn't too great. Her lectures can be unhelpful because she calls people out to present at the board, which doesn't work in a lecture of 100. The programming assignments can take a while, but the TAs and PTs can be very helpful, and I would highly recommend using them. I got 70s on both tests and still got an A, so she curves pretty well.
She is a great prof if you put in a nonzero amount of effort. She always helped in office hours and wanted everyone to succeed. If you try at all, she will help you out! This class wasn't the easiest but she made it very understandable.
She did not care about students during the pandemic. I never asked questions in her zoom because every time I did she got mad at me for not knowing and belittled me. She said attendance wasn't mandatory then assigned a quiz every single day on top of homework AND projects. Don't take her unless she's the only option left.
She has a thick accent that takes time to get used to. Willing to help a lot. Could provide better notes. Willing to give points back on quizzes and tests. Class is difficult but she at least waters it down to be able to understand her. Curves grades by making some quiz grades bonus.
Insufferable lectures, but an easy grader. She may be the professor you want, but she is not the professor you need.
Professor Leyk knows her stuff. I am absolutely awful at programming, but she made it clear at the beginning of the semester that she will pass her students who remain in her class. And she was not lying!!! She curved A LOT to pass me!
What sucked the most was the DAILY quizzes. Very hard to be consistent on. Other than that the programming assignments are difficult but you can get them don't if you prepare accordingly. The tests are stupid, as with all computer science tests, so that arent fun. She isn't terrible but also isn't the greatest.
You will have daily quizzes, sometimes in a group. The programming assignments can be tough but the TA's are very helpful. The tests are brutal. Expect to average in the 50-60's. This class is very time consuming so don't take it with other tough classes. This class is extremely helpful for interviews and building your skills as a programmer.
Main complaint is that it was very hard to understand her in lectures with her thick accent. Definitely did most of my learning on youtube or through the TA's. Tests can be hard(avg 60-70), hated daily quizzes over material learned that same day. Wouldn't recommend her purely based on the fact that I could barely understand her in lecture.
Leyk is a nice lady, but she is not a very good lecturer. But you can see she definitely tries and cares about her students. 2 exams, 1 final, and the rest is on quizzes, hw, and programming assignments. Programming assignments and hw are long but doable. Her quizzes are hard. Like the class, exams are mid. Final is horrible. She's decent at best.
Dr. Leyk is a really sweet lady and really cares about her students' success. There is a quiz every lecture, so be sure to attend class. PAs can be time consuming, but you learn a lot from them. The exams are very difficult, so study as much as you can. If you are struggling, GO TO HER OFFICE HOURS!! She will really try to help you!
Leyk is very bad at lecturing and you're better off watching YouTube videos on the topics instead. You'll learn most from doing the programming assignments and homeworks. There is a lot of homework but it's easier than 121. Tests are super hard but she gives extra credit if you go to office hours. Lots of extra credit and a curve at the end.
Leyk is a very nice lady, but struggled to interact with the class through zoom and is a very mediocre professor. You will learn the most through YouTube, homework, and TAs. Quizzes every class suck and are pretty difficult, but the exams were pretty straightforward IMO. Also, a huge curve at the end which made it easy to get an A.
Dr. Leyk was nice, but I found it really hard to understand her accent. I found the material to be tough, and there are quizzes every. single. class. Those are what really killed my grade. Not sure if it was the online class, but I found the tests to be really difficult as well. If you have a good TA, this class is doable.
As the semester progresses and the material gets more difficult, the lectures became extremely confusing because 1) no one could understand the accent and 2) the power points are not clear or helpful. If you want a good grade, STUDY AHEAD and have an understanding of all the data structures and algos you'll be going over before you start the class
I have perspective transferring from TAMU to another University, this class is hard, and talking to graduate students from other institutions it's not hard to see why, there's typically graduate level DSA covered in this class. It's worth taking for that reason alone. The depth, and content covered makes this the most important class in TAMU CS.
Great and caring professor. She is hard to understand sometimes, and lectures can sometimes get distracted, but she clearly cares about her students and takes care of them. Great class
She is rather hard to understand, but if you go to her office hours and actually try in the class, explaining where you messed up she is a gem. Take her, work, show her your willing , and she will take care of you
The same opinion on Leyk as everyone else, however, PAs are tedious, get the textbook. Lectures are dry, but the material is golden. She is the head of PTCentral and her TAs are top-notch. Gives pts back for attending office hours. She is hard to understand but wants you to succeed. She is my first choice for 221.
The class is hard, the programing is hard, the quizzes are hard. If you try to do this class without a group of guys, and asking TAs you will fail. After you bomb the exams, talk to leyke, fail a quiz talk to leyke, ask the TA's to walk you through the programing assignments and homework. If you ask, and work this class is a hard A
Leyk is really not the best lecturer, but if you go to all the labs and office hours, you will walk out of the class with an A. Programming assignments are easy to get 100s on because of TA office hours, and if you manage to get around 70s on the tests, and go to Leyk's office hours, she will give you a lot of bonus points.
This class is pretty hard; PAs are tedious, in class quizzes every lecture; lectures weren't the greatest as she isn't super easy to understand and the powerpoints are really longwinded and confusing; easy to talk to and accessible in office hours and you can get points back on quizzes and tests that way
HWs take forever so go to TAs for help. You will get in-class quizzes at least once a week so attendance is effectively mandatory. Tests: coding questions are very easy, the multiple choice are actually pretty difficult. Test grades tend to be high though. Lectures are dull but you learn from the HWs. Textbook is actually great resource use it.
Hard to understand, but you don't need to pay attention bc your TAs will go over the material in lab. Lectures are mandatory bc quizzes. Programming assignments (PAs) are the hardest part of this class. Utilize TA office hours for everything as they will walk you through everything. Watch TA review sessions for tests and they'll be easy.
She's hard to understand but it really doesn't matter because the TAs will teach you again in lab. Quizzes in class. Programming assignments are hard but that's the same for all professors. Go to TAs for everything and they'll walk you through. Her tests are very similar to the content posted in the TA's exam reviews. Just start assignments early!
Dr. Leyk was a solid professor for DSA. My only complaint is that it feels like she rushed through graphs at the end of the semester. The in-class quizzes are very hit or miss, but there's so many that a few bad grades won't hurt you. The PAs are straight forward. For the tests, watch the TA review video and understand the HW and you'll be set!
I'm going to be honest, as a Teacher, I don't feel like she was that good but her TAs were her saving grace. The tests felt like how much you could read the question rather than testing your knowledge. There were a lot of weird questions that were just meant to trip you up. Outside of that and coding assignments, pretty easy class.
Lectures can be dull but very informative if you pay attention. Basically every class has quizzes. She is very nice and if you miss some she lets you make them up. Tests are pretty simple. Review sessions before all of them which covers the material really well. And she has amazing TAs that help with test, homeworks, programming assignments etc.
Leyk is a good prof, but her lectures can definitely be hard to follow. The saving grace is how generous she is with extra credit: just show up to her office hours after an exam, and she'll give you back enormous points. TAs are a fantastic resource for the PAs; pop quizzes basically every day in class, so be sure to pay attention.
This class is very doable, however her lectures can be difficult. To get an A, you must study her lectures outside of class and possibly use some extra materials. The lectures are required since there are quizzes. The labs are very helpful and also required. If you have perfect lab attendance, 2 points are added to your semester average.
Dr. Leyk was a good professor! I felt like the end of the semester went by a bit fast, but overall the pacing was good. The quizzes can be pretty challenging, but there's so many of them that few bad ones won't affect too much. Make sure to go to lectures as the quizzes are given out in class. Start on PAs early!!!
Leyk is a great professor who despite being tougher and calling people out in class if they aren't taking notes, etc. she is very lenient and willing to work with students on areas they're struggling with and also any conflicts with exams, etc. Quizzes at the end of class, but after 1/2 of the time passes you can look at notes and talk with others.
Leyk is incredibly hard to understand in class. The only way I could learn in 221 was because the TA's would always go over lecture material in lab. She spends half of the time in class asking students questions rather than lecturing. Never go to Leyk 1-on-1 if you need clarification on a topic, she is not helpful at all and also quite dismissing.
Leyk's class is mostly carried by her army of TAs. In class, the topics are taught by more mathematical examples and sometimes it is harder to visualize them conceptually. Her voice and style of lecture are not very engaging, but when you go to lab the TAs go over the topics really well. The tests also cover very nitpicky things from the slides.
Dr.Leyk is a pretty solid prof, she also has an army of TA's that can be helpful in lab. Solid choice for 221, but make sure that you are doing your hw and don't fall behind because it is a huge pain to try and catch up. Start the programming assignments early and you'll be fine.
The exams are extremely difficult due to there being a coding question that's worth 16-19% of the exam grade. You really only get about 10-20 minutes to solve these and their difficulty could be compared to "Medium" level questions on LeetCode. The homework also takes forever and you need to rely on TAs in lab and office hours.
Professor Leyk is not terrible, but is clearly not good. She often pulls students to the front to work examples. While the single student who gets selected learns that on topic, it does not help the majority of the class and is very stressful when you are pulled to the front. Typical Comp Sci weed out class; difficult tests and tedious homework.
leyk is caring but doesn't teach that well. lecture slides and materials r nice but canvas is disorganized. the TAs are great and teach concepts well. there's a quiz at the end of almost every lecture so attendance is required. if you get full attendance in lab then you get +2 pts on final average which is nice. exams feel kinda hard to study for.
Leyk does not lecture well and is also quite condescending. Pulls student to work at front that makes lecture confusing, has quiz right after explaining concept; and inconsistent grading as she adds point to exam in office hour. TA are good but their office hour is shared across prof. Overall a bad experience and I wish I took it with someone else.
Very organized canvas, responds to emails quickly, gives points back on test if you just go up to talk to her. Annoying attendance quizzes and her lectures/slides were really theory-based. Most of my learning was mostly self-study/ learning from the TAs. Overall, not the best lecturer but she gives a ton of resources to let you succeed.
The lectures were more confusing that helpful, however you have to know the material pretty quickly because of in-class quizzes that test your knowledge of the previous lecture material. The TAs was the most helpful resource because they made the material understandable and were able to help you with the coding assignments.
Professor Leyk's 221 class is difficult, and I originally had a failing grade. However, she let me work on make up assignments and help me passed the class, and I really appreciate that.
Leyk is a pretty average professor. Quizzes in almost every class get pretty annoying, but they were helpful for reviewing for the exam. She isn't a good lecturer and usually picks people to come to the front of the class and demonstrate concepts, which doesn't work well in practice. The TAs are amazing for this course and super helpful.
People call this a weed out class but nearly every 221 prof just hands out A's. The tests should be an easy A if you did the programming assignments/homeworks, and memorize all the in class quiz questions. The programming assignments take a lot of work but if you start them early and put in work, you can get all 100s which make 40% of your grade.
The lecture is a bit disorganized but okay otherwise, she does cold call on people to front to work out examples, and there is a short quiz almost every day (good lecture review but you can't skip classes). HW takes time but is easy, tests are not bad. If you interact with her, and put in work, she's usually quite nice and understanding.
Attendance quizzes aren't too bad but only if you understood the previous lecture which was impossible with her heavy accent and slides crowded with useless information. Makes you work in front of class if chosen or calls you out if she finds you doing other work. Unreasonably stubborn when it came to questions and answers on tests.
Lectures are hard to follow, and quizzes almost every lecture. TA's are very helpful, and there is a lot of extra credit.
Very great professor. She has a bit of an accent but you get used to it. She is accompanied by an amazing staff of TA's. She does call on people to work problems which can be stressful if she picks on you. But honestly I enjoyed it because it kept you paying attention. There are also quizzes each lecture. Some are very easy but dont throw
The final exam was tough but the other exams you could do well in if you watched the TA review videos. There is a 2% bonus for attending every lab which can be clutch. The professor is nice but her lectures are sometimes hard to understand and the material is disorganized. Without the review videos and TAs this class would be a 1/5
probably best 221 prof. programming assignments take a while, but not too difficult and TAs help a lot. she WILL give points back for exams if you go to her office hours and show that you get the content. attendance quizzes are the only thing i hated, but they're 6-7 questions and you work with your group.
Absolute worst professor I've had thus far at A&M. Confusing lectures that don't really transfer over to exams and hws. She's a little condescending. 90% of the relevant material you learn from the TAs in lab. Not a hard class, but hated lectures.
CSCE221 is a challenging course, but the TAs are great resources. Lectures can be confusing, so staying on top of the assignments is key. Using tools like unstuck study and ChatGPT helps with study prep. Overall, the class is a rewarding experience if you put in the work.
The professor is really nice during her office hours, but during lecture, she would put you on the spot, jumped around in the slides, and didn't explain enough to understand. Her thick accent didn't help much. For the final, everything about the exam was changed so we had no idea what to expect for the final, overall so much unnecessary stress.
She's alright. Her lectures were okay at the beginning, but by the end of the semester they were poor. She would jump all over the slides and then randomly call students to demonstrate which felt like a poor use of time as opposed to her demonstrating for us. She does give extra credit. The PAs are doable but the HWs and exams are okay.
There are many small quizzes at the end of most lectures. Professor Leyk tries to increase engagement by letting (forcing) students to go to the front of the class and do a problem. Her lectures are sometimes a bit confusing (especially if you can't understand her accent), but otherwise she really cares about actually teaching.
Although lectures were not always the best and she has lots of quizzes, Dr.Leyk was a fair professor and her material wasn't too challenging. Her TA's are great, and her office hours are super useful. Would highly recommend for this course as she's the best of the 221 professors, and you will definitely learn the most.
Leyk may be the best for this class but without a doubt is carried by her gigantic army of TA's. There isn't anything that u learn in lecture that u don't learn better during lab with the TA. Quizzes every class that you do with a group and there are 3 tests. She curved test 1 but not test 2 so its just based on her maintaining her usual GPA avg.
Gets the job done
Leyk is hilariously bad at teaching. She just reads off of her slides, and the few times she doesn't it's borderline incomprehensible. She gives out Canvas quizzes at the end of each class, which are very annoying, especially as an 8 AM class. Sadly, this is probably still one of the better professors to choose because her TAs are very good.
Would take again just for the TAs. If it was not for the end of lecture quizzes, there would not be much reason to go since everything is explained better in lab. That's not to say I learned nothing from her and that forcing everyone to join in on her demos wasn't useful, but the content delivery could be better.
Leyk is not a good lecturer. However, she is the main 221 professor and her class is structured to where her lectures are supplementary. The other profs follow her and most the TAs have taken her. There are quizzes at the end of most lectures so watch out. Other than that tests and HW aren't that bad. Learn from lab, self-teach, and you'll be fine.
She looks and sounds like an angry bird, which is quite apt. Never met a professor who seemingly cares so little about their job or hates their students so much. Shoutout to her TAs though.
UGHHHHHHHHHGHH DONT! take her. the other professors offer a much higher curve and are also a lot more accessible and approachable.
Not a good lecturer, somewhat difficult accent to understand. Has quizzes every day over lecture material that can be pretty hard honestly, password given in class so you have to attend. TA's will probably teach you everything, and the class seems very responsive to feedback. PA's are easy. Overall, not great lecturer, still the best choice for 221
Her lectures were sooo confusing and I learned little to nothing in them but the TAs are awesome and I pretty much learned everything from lab. Still had to attend lecture because she had quizzes at the end of lecture. She puts students on the spot all the time and it wastes so much class time and she is also condescending.
She really hates her students is the general impression. Also her lectures are horrendous. TAs carry this class.
She truly does not care about her students. She ensures the mental crisis of each and every one of her students. Also she is a terrible, off topic lecturer. This class is the worst class I've ever taken. It ruined the mental health of myself and everyone I know in it. Get ready to self teach yourself a subject that requires actual instruction.
She does not adequately teach which is unfortunate given that she is also extremely unapproachable and does not answer questions in a helpful manner. Beware.
Offered a pop-quiz at the end of class over a one-hour video. Literally no way to pass the quiz without prior CS knowledge. What?
Just no. Take anyone else. People hate Sandeep Kumar but he is kind and helpful at least. He's better than her. Worst class ever. Every CS class I've taken after this has been far better simply because of better professors.
Take literally anyone else
Prof was alright and probably the best option for 221. Everything is very structured, as she has been teaching for a very long time. labs carried.
Dr Leyk is actually one of the sweetest profs in the department. She's been teaching way longer than any of your other options for this course, so there's a ton of resources. TAs are super helpful
Lectures are alright, but labs are much better. Lecture quizzes can be a little difficult but you can work with others. There's a lot of resources to help you do well thanks to the structure of this course, and of course the TAs are absolutely goated. Leyk is a decent prof to take if you don't have better options
She's good when materials are discussed 1 to 1 in her office hours (hence a 2 instead of a 1), but for the rest, I just couldn't click with her. She has a heavy accent that I found hard to fathom, her slides sometimes are a bit disorganized, and her lectures bored me (and I got an A in CSCE 120). The army of TAs & PA/HW she has, though, were great.
Something wicked this way comes...
She traumatized me from CS. People say Sandep Kumar is bad but compared to her he is an angel
Chaotic neutral teacher. She cares, but is a little scary sometimes. Got a pop homework due the day-of that ruined the class's weekend plans. Daily quizzes, and somewhat consistent schedule. She has also canceled/moved around appointments, so careful. All in all, if you pay attention, good prof/class. TAs carry the actual assignments.
Prof Leyk's class was great. The class is structured very well. I personally learned more from her TA's during lab, but thats because of how the course is set up. If you watch the review videos from the TA's you will get an A.
Her lectures are very unhelpful for the exam.
Her lectures were not helpful at all, and didn't respond to any of my emails. Looks too old to be teaching, kinda feel bad for her tbh. As for the course, its structured so that an A or B is very doable if you pay attention during the labs and do your work on time. She teaches most of the sections, so there isn't much of a choice, just be prepared
Daily quizzes in lecture. The lectures are very difficult to understand, but if you watch study materials outside of class, the material is not difficult to understand.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
80%
Textbook Required
11%
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CSCE221222
5.0
(1)CPSC311
4.0
(1)CSCE222
3.5
(4)CPSC211
3.3
(3)CPCS221
3.2
(17)Difficulty by Course
CPSC311
5.0
CPSC221
3.7
CSCE121
3.6
CSCE221
3.5
CPSC211
3.3