Nancy Burnham - Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA

Professor: Nancy Burnham

Department: Science

College: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Burnham's teaching style didn't work well for me. Classes (studio style) included tedious graded worksheets and problem-solving sessions that left me with more questions than answers. Her lectures are great! Her conferences were amazing, but her tests were too difficult (and communication about what would be on the test was nonexistent.)

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I had her for physics 1110 and she was a really good teacher. The class wasn't hard and it was easy to get an A if you did all the work.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: 1110
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Does a good job of making sure lectures aren't boring, so students won't zone out. Gives clear examples with actual situations. Is very helpful if you need it outside of lectures.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

She is an overall good professor. You learn new material during conferences, so if that instructor isn't good it makes the class more difficult. Tests were tough. She scaled the class but not as much as she said she would. Do the work and you can get at least a B.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Burnham has very clear grading criteria, and she's very clear during lectures. Participation is taken into consideration through clickers (devices that allow the class to answer questions without talking). Tests were tough, but she scales them and allows retests if you fail. Put a lot of effort in and you should do good.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: 1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She used clickers for my class. That means you HAD to attend lecture, conference and labs if you wanted that 10% of your grade. She was very clear, if you had a question during lecture, she wouldn't hesitate to stop and explain. Tests were sometimes harder than neccessary, but she would grade them on a curve, often making my C into a B.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Class is very easy and if you have any past physics knowledge you can get an A without too much effort

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PH2201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

She can be really mean to rate the homework and you may lose half of the point just because you forgot to box the answer. However she shows the material really clear and she tries a lot to make her class fun.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Tests are too long for the amount of time you have with them and they are about 3 times more difficult than anything she talks about in class. She will ask you graded questions during lecture that she formats specifically to trip people up and is usually really happy when she succeeds in this. She was excited for the class test average to be a 50.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great physics lecturer, friendly and willing to help students. Uses props to help students understand concepts.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Nancy is a majestic human being, beautiful and fabulous at that. The course work is tedious and boring, but Nancy brings in props and makes learning fun (Friday Physics Fun hyfr). I'm pretty sure everyone has to take this clss so choose Nancy, you won't regret it.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Prof. Burnham was my lecture instructor. She cared about what the students wanted to learn. The clicker questions are the reason to show up for class even if you don't think you need to. She was nice, approachable and even in a lecture setting attempted to make it fun. I would recommend her.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great professor and I liked the whole setup of the course. It was an easy A but I was familiar with the material from high school. The class did take a lot of work thanks to the daily mastering physics homework (online). I did not find the labs - which we had two of every week, very helpful and more a waste of time.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Gave a good understanding of the mechanics side of physics. MasteringPhysics homework plus conference REALLY helped me understand the material when lecture was not enough. Exams were reasonable in difficulty. The provided practice exams are tremendously helpful to study with. Would recommend.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She's pretty chill. She's tough in her tests, but she's available for office hours and they're pretty helpful.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

had her for PH1110, 1130, and AFM, and she is by far one of the best professors at this school - down to earth, happy to help, approachable and highly intelligent - writing the textbook for the AFM class. encouraged my enthusiasm for physics and i wish my minor weren't complete so i could continue classes with her

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She is pretty good. She does a good job of incorporating technology into the course, though sometimes at the expense of precious class time. Tests were generally harder than practice problems given, so my advice would be to go to Conferences and study the Summary Homeworks, and be able to adapt them for trickier situations. Not a bad class.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Class work was just example problems using equations and vocab that was never talked about or reviewed. I never took physics in high school so it was painful. However she is very smart, and i'm now a physics minor lol

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PH2510
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She is my adviser, so I might be a bit biased, but I've had her for 2 courses and worked with her in her lab and she is the most friendly, approachable professor in the physics department which makes her a wonderful introductory teacher. I definitely suggest taking a class with her if you have interest in physics.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PH1110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Shes the worst physics professor I've ever had in my life. I love physics and took two years before coming here and I'm lucky I did because I would not understand physics at all after coming out of her class. She can't teach at all and has a DRONING VOICE. She's tries to keep it interesting, but that doesn't help at all, it is stupid. Sucks for you