Lee Penn - University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN

Professor: Lee Penn

Department: Chemistry

College: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Lee is a very charismatic professor but I was lost most of the time! From the start they told us not to read the textbook, but reading the textbook was the most helpful thing for me to understand. Demos in class were really fun. Online quiz taking consistently had problems.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Penn, while an excellent person and a wholesome human being overall, doesn't have a very good grasp on how to teach. I've never heard them give a satisfying answer when asked questions. At the beginning of the semester, I was told not to use the textbook. This is a bad idea, read it cover to cover.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

They are a very wonderful person, however their teaching style is not very easy to vibe with. They also spend most lectures talking about things that we weren't even tested on.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lee had daily demos that were both entertaining and helpful to understand the material. There's not many example problems done in class, but pay attention and do the optional homework and you'll be fine. The class had online quizzes and final, not ideal but you get used to it. I've heard Lee's office hours are fun & helpful but never went myself.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

They're a super great person but not so great at teaching. They acted as though everyone already understood concepts and we just had to review it and mention fun facts in lecture. I basically went to lecture just to watch demos and did several hours of work every day to teach myself. Also the averages in my class were crazy, 60% was GOOD on a quiz

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Lee was an incredible prof. They care immensely about each student and are always willing to provide help when asked. That said, this is by far the hardest class I've ever taken. Homework isn't graded but helps a TON, but because only quizzes are graded, it can be hard to get a good grade, especially because the quizzes are extremely difficult.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Penn is a great lecturer which made the subject matter more interesting. Penn was also very caring and easy to talk to whether it be with explaining a concept further or addressing a problem with the online quizzes. As for the course, it should be noted that there is a pretty helpful "curve" at the end of the semester.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1031H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Though Professor Penn is obviously very knowledgeable, they are not great at teaching students who are new to chemistry. Also, the lectures, homework, and tests are all extremely different. A topic discussed for less than 15 minutes may make up 30% of a quiz. To do well in class, be ready to work a lot on your own.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Lee is a very nice person, but Lee does not teach very well. You can tell the level of intelligence and mastery, but information is not given to students well.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Penn is extremely smart, but unfortunately, she cannot teach; she cannot explain topics well in a simple manner. Additionally, she expects everyone in the class to have a pretty deep understanding of chem before the course (high school), yet most did not. She is not extremely helpful, but will try to help out at office hours, if you can meet her.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lee Penn was a great professor. She graded fairly and honestly and was always quick with feedback, including understanding issues with the online homework. My grade in the class was exactly what I expected it to be due to the level of effort I put in, but an A is achievable without much work.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lee was an amazing professor. She is very friendly. Her lectures are generally not boring, although some of the topics are not easily understood. Some more study and practice are needed out of the class in order to be well on track. Her demos are really interesting, and it was great that she did them very often.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Penn is such a great person but this class was ridiculously hard with no opportunities for extra credit or anything. If you've tested out of chem I don't make the same mistake and take this class, just skip to chem II.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lee is a great teacher and actually focuses on explaining the content. She gets through all of the information you will need to know for the exams so you dont even have to read the textbook.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Lee is literally the coolest most amazing professor I had this last year! Not only is she enthusiastic, she always does exciting demos in class. She genuinely cares about all her students and will go out of her way to help everyone understand the material. She is a great lecturer and I loved going to her office hours they were both helpful and fun.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: 1071H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lee's class makes taking the honors version well worth it. Lee cares a lot about her students and loves when you come to office hours. Class is decently engaging for gen chem. Lecture is much less stressful than the corresponding lab component.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Her class is very hard, but I still looked forward to her lectures. She is an interesting speaker, and if you talk to her one-on-one in office hours, she is extremely nice. Definitely not an easy class, but her curves will always be in your favor.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

My favorite professor! She is so passionate about chemistry and also incredibly passionate about teaching as well as her research. Her passion shines through and makes her class interesting and upbeat. Very helpful in office hours. Great at explaining things in different ways of you don't understand it the first time.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CHEM1071H
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

It's a difficult class, so I appreciated that the final grade was not based solely on exams. Lee seems like she would be a cool person to hang out with. I could tell when she was passionate about something, although it was never gen chem. Her trademark line is "if you liked this, take P. chem!" right after we go over something awful.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CHEM4601
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The class was extremely boring and unorganized. The Moodle site is absolutely atrocious and the grading system is not good. Professor Penn took whatever interest I had in Green Chemistry and flushed it down the drain. Horrible Prof. Avoid if possible!