John Strong - Missouri State University

Professor: John Strong

Department: TBD

College: Missouri State University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Very good dude, lectures are very good if you are one to pay attention, found myself interested in the topics he discussed. However be prepared for 3 memorization tests that require dates correlated to events(he will drop the lowest one).

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Presents the material in a straightforward manner, and all readings are appropriate. Quizes/exams taken from all sources, so read what he asks you to read, listen to lectures he provides, and you will not have any problem.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Strong is a great professor. I came in thinking the course material (Hebrew Bible) and he would be dry, and he actually makes it interesting. Don't assume that because it's an online class, you can zip through- he has a lot of lectures and you really need to watch them. But, they're interesting, and he makes the material interesting.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Strong is one of my favorite professors. I might be biased because he is also my academic advisor so I know him better outside of class, but he goes out of his way to interact with students, and make the lecture material as understandable as possible. This class is very quiz heavy, and you are expected to come to class with the material read.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Mr. Strong was very knowledgeable and was able to explain things that made topics more simple. Although it is best to do the assigned reading because he will ask questions in class about it. The toughest part about his class was probably memorizing historical dates and being tested on it.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: REL397
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Strong's online course over the Dead Sea Scrolls is a must for Religion Majors and Minors at MSU. His online lectures are fantastic, if not a little long at times. He is very knowledgeable on the subject and makes learning about the DDS even more interesting. If you need help he is also always willing to offer a hand to make sure you succeed.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Really good professor. Each week he posts video lectures and the reading material, then you are expected to take a quiz and participate in a discussion board. If you do your reading and watch the videos you can easily get an A. He's very passionate about the topics presented and is good at conveying his points. I really enjoyed him, even online!!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: F
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Professor Strong is an incredibly nice guy, he would regularly ask students how their days were going and was consistently friendly. However, the way he teaches is rather confusing and I quickly found myself failing. The lectures are not very clear and just the way he teaches the subject, in general, is incredibly hard to grasp.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: REL397
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I love Dr. Strong's classes. As a senior taking this course I found it to be challenging but well rewarding. I learned a great deal from this course and would recommend Dr. Strong to anyone who really wants to learn. The course code 397 is a special topics course and this particular one was Religions of the Ancient Near East.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really Interesting topic and he makes it fun and easy to comprehend, but studying and showing up to class is a must.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

John was a very friendly and encouraging person. I'm not sure if the class is set up to be taught a specific way by the department or if it is his doing, but I didn't love the curriculum. It is ordered in a confusing manner and the quizzes are the majority of your grade and are tough. Difficult for a 100 level class and very lecture intensive.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I will admit, this class is hard for a gen ed and going into it without prior knowledge of Old Testament made it rough. But if you take notes during the class and read from the assigned book, it's not really that hard. Quizzes has questions directly from class time. John was very friendly and willing to help! Lectures were veryyyyyyy long though.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

DO NOT take REL101 with Strong if you do not previously have a religion back ground. He revamped the class to where the only grades you get are on 10 question quizzes over 2 chapters of the bible that are impossible. The questions are extreme detailed and need specifics. Besides the quizzes you write two papers and two essay exams and that is it.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took this class as block course, and as an iCourse. The material did feel a little crammed into a short amount of time, but it really wasn't so bad. It's difficult to get motivated to watch the videos. I watched them all pretty much at the last minute, and still got a B. It's a good way to get a gen ed out of the way quickly.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: REL571
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Strong is a nice guy, but sitting through his class is like pulling teeth. He interrupts during presentations--which for this class is EVERY class period. You only get lectures via podcast. Quizzes are cryptic and make up over half of your grade. It goes without saying: do not miss this class. You only meet once a week as it is. Good luck.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Very clear on the material. The online lectures could get boring, but if you follow the outline he explains everything. And if you don't find time for the online lectures, the class discussions cover a lot of the material. Only downside is the 5 page term paper, which he practically gives you the sources needed.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class is what I expected it to be. Be sure to study your maps. You can tell he is passionate about the subject matter and you will learn a lot. But there are a lot of names and locations you need to know. But he has study guides for each lecture (At least on his internet class). Not a bad or boring professor at all.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Took his telecourse block class, which was challenging but enjoyable. His is good with the video lectures & they are on iTunesU, so they are free. I would not recommend taking the block class because everything was rushed, but I still managed to pull a B. He is a great instructor and the videos are easily followed but he did not respond to e-mails

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Good guy, bad professor. He does know the subject matter, but he cannot communicate it. Knowing the entire old testament is your only hope... He grants each student 4 skip days.. Lectures were so boring I often heard snoring from various people in class. Not much work required, just tests, quizzes, and a term paper.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I think that Dr. Strong's OT class was great! The geography was essential and the pictures that he let the class view were very helpful. If it were not for the foundation I gained from this class I would not have been able to do as well in my next upper level course in REL studies.