Thomas Spalek - Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Professor: Thomas Spalek

Department: Psychology

College: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PSYC303
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Looking for a course to lower your GPA? Thomas is your man :)

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: COGS221
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Hard marker! Weekly quizzes that most students dont pass. Take with someone else

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PSYC221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

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

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PSYC221
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

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

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PSYC303
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

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 !

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PSY221
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Im really just out here trying to figure out why he made me write my own quiz because he didnt have enough????????????????

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

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.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PSYC303
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

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.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PSYC221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

If you want a PSYC course where you easily lose marks on grammar rather than getting tested on the course material, go ahead.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHYC221
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His cognition is very obtuse and adept.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PSYC221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

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

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PSYC221
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

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.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

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.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PSY221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless. DON'T TAKE IT!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PSYCH221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

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.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PSYC221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Quite difficult, but you can get through.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PSYC303
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

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.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PSYC221
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

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.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PSYC221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Horrible prof. Makes class boring as hell, hard quizzes and exams. AVIOD.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PSYC303
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

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.