2.9
Quality3.9
Difficulty52%
Would Retake148
Reviews52%
Would Retake
148
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
32
4
25
3
33
2
30
1
28
What Students Say
“avoid at all cost you learn nothing in his class”
PSYCH221 - 1.0 rating“Lectures were easy to follow, with a lot of simulations of past experiments used to help us understand concepts”
PSYC221 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
35%
Textbook Required
67%
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A-
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Declining
-0.32 avg changeRatings by Course
666
5.0
(1)PSYC303PSYC221
5.0
(1)PSYCHO
5.0
(1)303
4.7
(3)PSYCH221COG
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
666
5.0
000
5.0
PSYC201
5.0
PSYCH303
4.8
PHYC221
4.3
Reviews (148)
He's cute but he's evil too !
Cute yet evil. Too much stuff to read and understand. But he's still eye-candy.
No Comments
good teacher class is easy if u keep up adn follow along, test are fair and not difficult if study the material
WOW! one of the most interesting classes I have ever taken at university. The lecture notes are very clear and the demonstratations for the visual illusions are awesome. However, only take this course if you are interested in cognitive psych. SPALEK rules
covers material pretty well, how do you find the exams?
Very difficult class, only take it if you are serious about the topic
Hard class, tests could be more fun. Occasionally fails when trying to speak and comes out with great lines like 'you complete me'. Study a lot and you may survive. :-)
he may be hot but his ego is way too big, he spends more time with power point than actually explaining anything, he also puts no effort into exams, instead he just goes with the test bank, such a loser
No Comments
Does not use test bank, makes most questions on his own. Offers a fair challenge, interesting content, and lots of good laughs. Least egotistic prof I've met, extremely persistent, never gives up on a student. EXTREMELY patient. Dresses funny though.
The class is great and a very interesting topic, and Dr. Spalek is an awesome prof. He makes the class fun.
No Comments
Dr.Spalek is a great teacher, but in my opinion he doesn't hand out enough savoury snacks in class. Also, there should be more movies in class (Home alone 2?). In summary, Dr.Spalek is a brilliant individual with a blatant disregaurd for snack etiquit
He seems to know his stuff and uses examples/experiments to help portray his ideas. His exams (60m/c) are difficult because he tries to trick you with neg. phrases in quest and neg. in answer. Overall a good prof.
His midterm is very hard but his final is easy. However, his mc questions on both final and midterm are very detail. You have to read your textbook.
Real nice guy. Interesting course material. Examples and demonstrations are very helpful. He's approachable and seems to care about his students. Needs to relax on the exams.
like everyone has said, extremely nice guy. but his midterm was brutal! very confusing (wordy), however he did try to make the final a bit easier.
He had decent lectures. He was kinda unorganized but he tried to explain things as clear as possible. His midterm was brutal. It was mostly from the textbook and he got picky with the details. Funny guy tho... or at least he tried.
not a very good teacher, too fast, not too good at explaining things
Did not like him as a teacher at all!! He is not clear in his explanations, goes way too fast for people to understand. Quizzes are BRUTAL! Exams are even worse. Would not recommend him for this course.
He is not fast, in fact, he entertains too many stupid questions! and ends up skipping material. Speed up! and be Decisive Tom! We don't appreciate "it could be that way" answers to our questions.
Midterm is hard, but m/c, so read the text book and follow his notes and you'll do fine. Quizes in tutorial keep you on track and up to date. Overall, his lectures are pretty informative; he uses lots of examples to understand better; but really you could just listen online rather than go to class.
No Comments
He's a nice teacher but this class is very difficult. Be prepared to read the textbook throughly. However, the textbook is hard to understand sometimes, especially if you've never taken any biology. The midterm is EXTREMELY difficult. STUDY STUDY STUDY!
Tom is unclear in getting things across. His attitude is negative, and he doesn't seem to want to help AT ALL. Quizzes help you bring your mark up and the midterm was quite hard, you really have to know your stuff. I would recommend waiting for a new professor before registering in this course.
A lot of people don't seem to learn well from Tom's teaching style, but I thought he was excellent. The exams are hard, but grades are based on rank order, so it doesn't really matter how well you do as long as it's ok compared to everyone else....a lot of people don't seem to understand this.
He is clearly interested in the subject, but is a poor teacher. This is an INTRO class, but he treats it like you have a background already. Rather than concepts, he emphasizes very particular details. Exams are based mostly on lecture notes, and are EXTREMELY hard. It's like a 300/400 level course.
Tom is very enthusiastic about this course. He seems to really care about the students. His exams are difficult (70m/c) but visit him in his office and he will help you. The friendliest and nicest prof I have ever spoken with !!
No Comments
He seems like a cool cool person but his exams are confusing & hard. Otherwise hes cool
can't teach. exams are hard. avoid this class like the plague
Nice and friendly prof, but he can't teach...Both exams are really hard and tricky.
he's hot
No Comments
Avoid taking this courses if possible, his teaching methods are absurb and very difficult to comprehend. There is a lot of material, he expects you to memorize each and every study which is a lot. Exams: 60 M.C Q's. - which are tricky questions. I did well, but studied way 2 much for a 2nd yr cour
Man, I don't know what is wrong with a lot of the people last semester, but Spalek was a good prof. If people actually read the textbook and comprehended it, you can do very well in the course. I am not an A student by any means, but I found this course to be an easy A.
i hate this course, dun even understand what he says. i dun think he knows how to control the class. yeah he's easy on the eyes but the exams are frickin' hard... and there's no point in understanding it... i failed this course. dun take it if you wanna pass easy.
I agree that he's hard, not helpful and unclear, but if you read the textbook, you will do very well like a B or something. I know it sounds strange but that's true.
No Comments
Spalek is genuinely trying to make difficult material easier, but ultimately fails in doing so. When he tries to clarify, he ends up making things more confusing. Not the best at conveying information, but his choice of text is good and will help you.
Well...yeah, the exams are tough but he made the final a bit easier because we complained about the midterm being confusing. Study the textbook, pay attention in class and you can do well. Not very interactive with the class, just lectures from notes at high speed.
I don't know why everyone complains about this course. I went into it thinking it was gonna be hell but if you read the textbook and ask him questions through EMAIL he does a pretty good job of explaining things. Textbook and his lectures are a bit confusing tho I have to admit.
Couldnt concentrate on what he was saying because me and my friends were too busy fantasizing about him. Major oogle material. Course was interesting too but not nearly as pleasureable as him.
I hate this prof, don't ever take this course if you can avoid it !! Even ppl that i know who did well said they just got luck with the tricky multiple choice. If you are the type to just read the material urself, ur better off taking a correspondence couse then with this guy !
NEVER take his class!! Super HARD tricky MC exams, Covers LOTS of materials w/ Boring/Useless powerpoint lectures~ Lot's of readings on you own, if you want get a ok mark~(15 Chapters in total, 9 Chapers for the Mid-Term)
Not easy, but not as hard as people have been saying. He has multiple choice tests covering a lot of material, so prepare for it. He provides lots of examples in class to help you understand the phenomena being studied, so go to class.
He teaches fascinating material, but it is also super super hard, and class average on the midterm was 58%. He is not that friendly or social...he is very quiet and prefer to keep to himself rather than talk with students
He is an ineffective teacher because he is such an expert in his field and assumes we all are too. Not the case though ... he should take a look at the marks on his exams and evaluate his teaching ability. He covers difficult material in way too short a time span and does this at an extremely rapid pace. Not a class I would recommend taking.
Tom is very social and is willing to take time to talk with anyone. You people are tools. If you listen during lecture and read the textbook, then you will be fine. Go ask him questions and he'll gladly respond until you understand the answer. But you won't because you're tools.
Tom is a wonderful person and professor. I would like to refute any and all comments made to the otherwise. The only reasons you do poorly in his class are: 1)lack of interest and 2)not asking enough questions. Tom will spend a copious amount of time explaining things over and over in different ways until you get it. Look inwards before blaming him
Nice guy, but he does not know how to teach. Exams are designed for everyone fail. Definately not a slacker course. Having a good TA definately helps. Beaware of his famous multiple choice questions, for he is very creative. He covers too much too soon.
he should be band from teaching
Not a fan of his teaching, although he is a very nice person. He flies through material and then askes you some of the most complex MC questions I've ever encountered. Definitely doesn't make a hard topic any easier. I don't think he's cut out to be a prof. If he wants us to understand in great detail, he should teach that detail to us.
Wicked prof. Nice ass. What more could you want?
Tom is a good prof. He does indeed rush through the material but if students are stuck with a certain concept, he will go through it again and again until it is clear. Responsive to student feedback. Interest in subject matter and effort into course work is key. (Some students should be "band" from university for illiteracy - not the prof's fault)
Very nice person, I am sure, but not a good teacher. He has difficulty communicating his ideas clearly, presents too much material, and doesn't really seem to want to be there. The text book is interesting and useful and the TA is helpful.
Tom rushes thru everything like u know everything and this is just a review. take advantage of the TA, really really helpful. the tests are very wordy and twisted, donno why he keeps doing it. best strategy is to get almost perfect marks for the quizes and presentation to kindda balance the midterm and final.
It's true, his midterms are a bit of a wakeup call. I'll save you the time and heartache with this: BE ABLE TO PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF THE MATERIAL COVERED -if you do this you will go a LONG way without learning the hard way - he tests your conceptual knowledge of concepts - not rote memory!
No Comments
I do like this prof, his tests are hard to seperate those who understand the concepts from those who haven't given much thought to the info being taught. For every experiment, know the significance of the results (like its implications). The exam has a lot of material from the text, so know the text! Very helpful prof so if stuck ask him after lec.
His teaching style made it PAINFUL to go to class. He forces you to attend every lecture by making popquizzes worth a huge 20% of the grade! Very cocky and purposefully confusing. Basically acts like a jerk while teaching and doesn't really give you any useful information. AVOID!!!
I would never take a class with this proffesor again.
His teaching style is a ok.. talks clearly.but the midterms are hard, be sure you read everything in the textbooks and know the concepts really well. my class average was 55%. He actually told us he is a hard teacher at the very beginning of the semester!
Please think not once, or twice, but three times before enrolling in this profs class. My whole semester was a nightmare thanks to this one course. I have never experienced anything as dreadful as this.
Do not take a class with this prof! Class is extremely boring b/c he drones on endlessly about relatively simple concepts. You can study as much as you want for the exams, but good luck... class average was around 57%.
oh god yes.. i just read the most recent review. i came back to see if this prof had improved at all but I am not surprised,.. one of the most odious classes Ive experienced. One wants to pull out their hair rather than listen to this man lecture.*yawn*
Spends way way too much time drilling in the most simple easy to understand concepts while totally brushing over difficult concepts, and then tests on the difficult ones in detail. 3 hours on monocular depth cues, give me a f-ing break, its behind something else we get it!!
This prof goes out of his way to make you do bad! yes he goes over things but he goes over the things that are easily understood! DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE AS THIS WILL BRING YOUR GPA DOWN!!!!! if your interested in this course take sensation instead!!! REPEAT DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE!!!!!!!!
I don't get why he feels like he has to make the exams so hard. If the average of the midterm is 60% then there is something wrong with the exam, NOT the students. And the topic is a little boring, but if you are a good prof, you can make it interesting. But he can't.
AVOID THIS PROF! has pop quizzes just to make you attend and do the readings. people would show up then leave if there was no quiz. makes exams super hard and you have to remember the people who did the stupidest studies. not an interesting class, and he is the WORST prof i have ever had! grade is based on 2 exams and quizzes.
Universities should not be allowed to have professors teaching lower division undergraduate courses that are made to make students fail. We are clearly educated kids if we've made it this far, why would you go out of your way to make everyone miserable? I would punch this professor in the face if I could. AVOID THIS CLASS
Avoid this prof!! He literally sets out to make his students fail. His pop quizes were difficult and his exams even worse. Our class average was *30%* for majority of the term!! He actually blamed the class for our poor performance, because approx 150 students are all dumb right?!
DO NOT TAKE A COURSE WITH THIS PROF. He is a nice enough person but is one of the most boring lecturers out there, and he sets the course up to fail students. The class average for ~300 students on exams was just over 50%, reading the textbook helps but he phrases questions such that no matter how hard you study exams are difficult to do well on.
VERY intelligent man, however, he is impossibly hard. Pop-up quizzed force you to attend boring lectures. He dwells on the easy and skims through the hard and only tests you on the hard. Unless you study for this course EVERY NIGHT, this course will ruin your GPA! Smart guy, but makes a VERY HARD PROF!!!!!!
The only reason to attend this class is for the pop quizzes. They were reasonable but only because the TA's wrote them. His exams were ridiculously hard. I studied the whole book and memorized every single one of his practice questions and still felt like garbage after the final. Only take this class if you absolutely require it. I got a B
I found his exams pretty easy. All the questions could be found in the textbook, there was nothing tricky about them. I think Spalek talks in a monotone voice, but the content of the course is interesting so I was able to pay attention most of the time. I thought it was easy to get an A.
I am currently taking his class and I admit I find him a bit monotone, however the class content is very interesting & you can tell he has a high interest & knowledge for the subject. I have e-mailed a few times and always receive a quick, helpful response. Quizzes easy if you keep up readings, motivates attendance. Yet to take a test though.
DO NOT TAKE A COURSE WITH THIS PRO!! If you really really have to take his class then study for the quiz! ( at the end of the course it worths 25% of your term) you will have 2 midterms (25%) and a final (25%). Forget about getting a good mark on his midterms.... but seriously DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS!
I really dislike this guy. Cannot get through a lecture in class time - easily distracted, and his quizzes are a joke.
Cruel,cruel...he mentioned at the beginning of the semester a girl who he still failed despite her having family troubles. Some may say he's trying to be fair to everyone, I say compassionless. He makes tests difficult and pedantic, also comes across as a cold person. Not worth taking a course with him!!!
He is a nice guy, and seems to really care whether his students are understanding the material or not. However, what makes the course difficult is the way he words his exams. If you are going to take the class with him, study the textbook, even the small details.
Tom seems like a nice guy, but he makes the lectures soooo boring. Most boring class I've ever taken. The slides are all over the place, and his voice is quite monotone. The quizzes are don't even cover what is taught in class.
nice guy, you can tell he cares about the students and wants them to understand the material. this course is not impossible, quizzes almost every week which are easy marks as long as you keep up with the readings/notes. exams are on the harder side but if you dont cram and understand the material they are fine! study and you can ace it!
Tom may be an okay person, but he's a lazy and boring teacher. Never answers emails, makes ridiculous tests that don't even make sense, and makes his lecture slides so dull. If you're a psych major and have to take this course, try to get it with someone else.
Horrible teacher, boring as hell, unhelpful, makes test wording as confusing as possible. In my class he changed the grading scale at the end. DONT DO HIS CLASSES
Tom is a terrible professor. Incredibly lazy, does not get back to emails, and takes forever to mark tests. Our final was a 40 question scantron and I got all of my essay marks back before this one. He does not deserve to be a professor.
This class is horrible. Grades take FOREVER to come back. We basically got our first midterm marks back the week before our second midterm! And it's all MC! Who can't mark scantrons within a day? TA's are also unreliable and never available when supposed to be. Horrible, horrible, class
I wish Tom had engaged students a little more. A three-hour lecture on cognitive processes can get really dreadful. He lectures on Attention, yet he hardly ever gets it from his students as it is extremely hard to concentrate for the full three hours. Unfortunately, exams average very low, so your only hope to get a decent grade is the curve.
I enjoyed this class and found it quite easy and comprehensive. If you want to do well, do the readings (hint: he provides an awesome study technique on the first day of class. I recommend trying it), go to classes (you have to, for the quizzes), and finally, understand the relationship between the theoretical approaches, theories, and researchers.
Prof is boring. This is a study intensive course, if you don't do the readings you won't succeed. The pop quizzes are pretty easy you can manage them just by reading his lecture slides. Exams are not easy but if you study and read you can do really well.
OK. You have to read the textbook for the exams. No question. His lectures aren't the most exciting and the way he covers the course, he talks way more about the experiments than the theory/practical stuff. Be sure to study that. Quizzes are really easy but the exams are much more difficult. And for this course, the curve is your friend.
One of the WORST professors I have had in my post secondary education. I am I firm believer that students grades are a reflection of the prof. Boring and monotone on a subject that is already less stimulating. Makes quizzes easy and test HARD. All M/C test but leaves ambiguity to fight your answer.. pretty sure M/C test s are a DEFINITIVE answer.
So hard to stay focused during lectures, he is sooooo monotone :( I wish his guest speakers did all the lectures, they made their topics interesting... Attendance is mandatory as there is a quiz almost every class. And you seriously need to read the textbook to do well on midterms/finals.
I have to give this prof some credit for knowing his stuff. His exams are very hard and it's rather naive to expect a good grade in his courses. He's good at explaining things, though. I learned quite a lot and to me, at the end of the day, that is what matters most. I wish there was more discussion in this course.
Horrible prof. Makes class boring as hell, hard quizzes and exams. AVIOD.
I thought this was a pretty difficult course with him, he makes the material more boring than it already is and his lectures are difficult to pay attention to. Plus, the pop quizzes can be tough if you're not keeping up with the readings and paying attention to the lectures. Avoid taking this course with him if you can.
Would not recommend taking this class. Lectures are boring. 15 minute group presentation with long questioning period afterwards by the professor and TA. Exams are difficult.
Quite difficult, but you can get through.
Gosh his lectures are so boring. He is somewhat like Dr. Day assigning tons of readings and quizzes, but way harder. I was surprised how he assigned three chapters to read in one week and have a quiz right away. He grades you relative to other students so just hope your classmates are not so smart. Just read the textbook and you should be fine.
Wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless. DON'T TAKE IT!
absolutely terrible. he is good person but not good teacher. he's so lazy he uses lecture slides from last year they are not even updated. his lectures do not make any sense and they are not helpful; this is the first psychology class that I had ever trouble with. avoid at all cost you learn nothing in his class.
If you read the assigned chapter, you'll be fine. It takes a few hours to go through each chapter, so this class definitely takes up time. However, it is well organized, he does a lot of demos in class and there are no surprises on examinations. Also, 2 midterms and a final all non-cumulative. You only have to know 3-4 chapters per exam.
Tom is a real nice guy! He can be dry and dull during lecture but if you have questions he will be there for you! Quizzes every week and they add up too 25%. Tests are extremely difficult! You need to study to do well in this course! I really enjoyed Tom and would take another class with him
His cognition is very obtuse and adept.
If you want a PSYC course where you easily lose marks on grammar rather than getting tested on the course material, go ahead.
I am not sure why there are so many negative reviews for Dr. Spalek but he was an amazing prof! If the lecture is a little confusing, then read the textbook because all the information in his lecture is from the text. He is also very caring and understanding. He is tough on the group project. Tests are fairly easy and based on the class/book.
Very nice guy however worst class i've taken because it ruined by gpa. In class quizzes every week all long answer, none have I passed yet. These count for 25% of your mark.
Im really just out here trying to figure out why he made me write my own quiz because he didnt have enough????????????????
Best prof E.V.E.R!!!! Super knowlegeable about course material, but what really makes him the best is the fact that is very accessible after class, or even during final's week. Tom cares a lot about his students and dedicated the last lecture for review. Will definitely take anothe class with him again !
Lectures were easy to follow, with a lot of simulations of past experiments used to help us understand concepts. a lot of people disliked the course b/c the class average was pretty low, but if you listen in lectures/take notes and read the textbook, you'll do fine in weekly quizzes (all written) and exams (all multiple choice) just study hard
pretty dull lecturer, especially considering this is a three hour lecture, but this course is not as hard as many make it seem. As long as you come to class and do the readings you should be fine, but apparently people like to slack off and blame it on the prof/course... I'm not saying he's great or even good, just not as bad as some think
Hard marker! Weekly quizzes that most students dont pass. Take with someone else
Looking for a course to lower your GPA? Thomas is your man :)
He rambles on during lecture and over-explains things that are quite simple which makes the lectures extremely dull. He barely uses concepts from the textbook which is ridiculous seeing as how expensive it is. Majority of the material he covers are just experiments conducted rather than actual concepts. Take with a different prof if possible.
Extremely boring lecturer. He can barely get through all the slides and often goes over time. Only gives one short break during a three-hour lecture and most students leave. Those who are left don't pay attention.
He is clear and provide extra examples for the concepts. Not so hard to get an A if you put effort on it. Easy 5 points if you do the homework weekly which require you to create a mc question and 20% of them would be used in your exam. Weekly short answer quizzes could be difficult but you can guess what is asked once you get familiar.
Lectures tend to drone on. Not very engaging. Toward the end I would write the weekly quiz and walk out. Ended up averaging 86% on the exams. Dr Spalek said getting above 80% in the course should result in an A. Resulted in me getting a B+. Sweet. Thanks Dr Spalek.
Very dense lectures & you have to go to at least the beginning to do well on the quizzes, which you want to study hard for. Study guides get posted which you should focus on. Once you learn his testing/lecture style it gets easier to know what is important. Used textbook only to better understand concepts, skimmed the rest.
Lectures were very dry and boring, weekly quizzes, the final exam and midterm will save you - weekly quizzes will not. I would study very hard for his weekly quizzes and failed more than half of them. Interesting information but the way it was taught/explained made me dislike the class :/
There is a 5% participation mark which everyone can get. Quizzes are worth 20%. The lowest 2 are dropped. It is easy to score on these quizzes if your concepts are clear. Solving the study guide prior to the quiz definitely helps. Quizzes are mainly from the lecture slides, but reading book helps. For midterms read the book. Be attentive in class!
There are three exams which make up 90% of the grade and 10% quizzes that you have to make up every week. The lectures are 3 hours long and very boring especially since it was online and it was just 3 hours videos of him talking. The lectures are more examples and about important people instead of clearly defining the concepts in the book.
Memorize the STRUCTURE of the textbook. For his short answer he gives you the most vague instructions to "test recall", but it was more a test of figuring out what textbook section he wanted you to know the headings for. I got 95%+ on all the mc, but 60% on written bc I couldn't figure out what answers he wanted. Lectures are long, boring, useless.
I found his lecture was boring and dry. It was not a dynamic lecture at all. Needed to understand terms and definitions.
Tom is a nice prof but the lectures are dry. You do not need to attend any lectures to get a great mark, but be ready to read the textbook. 303 has a 30% group project, which is annoying (I hate group work), however if you follow the rubric, it isn't hard to get a good mark here as well. Would take again as there is not need to actually go.
Great prof and the course was fascinating. The group project was unpleasant (as all group projects are) so would have preferred to not have the group project included in the course. Writing a lit review or something wouldve been more interesting. Responds very quickly to email and in WAY MORE detail than you expect! Fab prof. Would take again!
His lectures are super boring and he's one of the worst professors I've ever had. No commitment to classes or anything else. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS.
Would not recommend taking Psyc 221 with this professor. Lectures were extremely boring and long. There are 3 exams total which were very difficult and graded tough.
The final is tomorrow and I'm so freaked out. I'm doing well in this class but he grades on a curve. Beware.
Lectures were dry and kinda boring. Don't take the class if you are not a test-taker. 3 exams, 30% each. 10% participation by submitting little stuff on canvas. Class average was C+.
Tom is a really kind person. Very accommodating during COVID. 3 midterms worth 30% each, 10% for participation. Hard to memorize the amount of information in both text and lecture especially with no additional components like papers, projects, or discussion. If you're good with memorization, you'll do well. If you struggle with exams, avoid.
the prof was very nice but this class was really boring. had to memorize a lot of stuff for the exams because they were pretty much the only thing we were graded on. i heard a lot of people didn't pass so i feel lucky despite this class bringing my average down lol
He is one of the best prof that I ever had. PSYC 221 is a hard course, his exams are quite hard. However, he teaches very well, his classes are fun, you can lean a lot from his and honestly if you go though all the lectures and read the text book, you can get a very good mark. I definitely recommended. ;)
Although Tom is a good lecturer, I feel like the way he structures his lectures can be quite confusing at times. The course could have been a lot easier if he had just focused on what we actually needed to know. Class average was always at 60%, but at least the course is graded on a curve.
It is clear that either Spalek either doesn't care about teaching or doesn't believe what he teaches about. Gives great tips on memory retention improvement, but wholly fails to incorporate these methods into his course. The irony would be funny if I wasn't paying so much to attend. Likely hired for research skills bc there is no teaching ability.
I loved this class. Professor Spalek truly cares about his students and is an amazing teacher. The content is so interesting and you can tell he has a passion for it. This class encapsulates very difficult material but if you pay attention it can be quite easy. Amazing professor would take again.
Amazing class. Amazing professor. You can tell he cares about the subject he is teaching. Difficult material but show up and pay attention and you will succeed.
Loved this class and Prof Spalek. Difficult material but not too difficult that it isn't able to be understood. 10/10 would take again
loved the prof and the class super interesting material.
This professor uses lots of examples, the class actually wasn't too hard. 3 exams each worth 30%, then 10% in assignments (takes you literally 5 minutes to do). If you read the textbook and go over the lectures you'll be fine, also for the word answers REMEMBER THE EXPERIMENTS that he shows in class and the results of them, and who did them.
Tom is very approachable. Whenever I was unsure of something he was able to simplify the concepts and explain them using simple language. The only issue I had was that the emphasis was overly focused on some experiments which I felt were not necessary to learn. If you attend lectures and study then you should be good.
Dr. Spalek's lectures are slow-paced, but he records them, so you can speed them up for studying. His exams are non-cumulative, so it is not hard to catch up even if you've procrastinated. The weekly assignments are also easy and not time-consuming. Overall, the course content can be challenging, but if you watch the lectures, you should be fine
Really enjoyed 221. The content is super interesting, although his lectures can be a little monotonous. Our weekly multiple choice assignments only take a few minutes. He puts them together to create study guides for the exams which are super helpful. Exams are straight forward with really easy written sections. You just have to like the content.
Dr. Spalek is a fantastic professor! His recorded lectures are clear and easy to follow, and I really enjoyed his teaching style. He's also very nice and approachable, making it easy to ask questions when needed. The exams are straightforward, just study the material and review his study guides, and you'll be good to go. Highly recommend his class!
While Tom is a nice person,he talks very slow&monotonous.Many examples&you will need to know them.Tests on things from the book not covered in class.Imo needlessly detailed where it does not matter,eg theories that long disproven. Why so much detail for things that we know are false? I think this just sets students up for confusion in the future.
Spalek is awesome. I find it hard to focus in lectures (for any prof), so I watch the lecture recordings in a faster speed and its great. The material itself is a little tricky unless you spend a lot of time with it, but you can tell he wants the students to succeed. Provides us with study guides and opportunities for bonus marks at end of sem.
If you ever get the chance to take PSYC 221 with Tom Spalek, PLEASE DO IT. He's genuinely one of the best profs I've ever had. He's so kind, funny in a subtle way, and he actually cares if you understand the material. The content can be challenging, but if you put in the effort, it becomes really AMAZING.
Amazing prof, very good at teaching. Made this semester fun to learn. He explains concepts very well and exams are super super fair. Would 100% take again
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
35%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.32 avg changeRatings by Course
666
5.0
(1)PSYC303PSYC221
5.0
(1)PSYCHO
5.0
(1)303
4.7
(3)PSYCH221COG
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
666
5.0
000
5.0
PSYC201
5.0
PSYCH303
4.8
PHYC221
4.3