I am currently taking Sylvia and she is, to be frank, a sadistic tyrant in both behavior and grading. I have never come across a professor nearly as verbally abusive as her. She has repeatedly screamed as rudely and loudly as she could manage at students in the class (including that poor Australian girl who makes the rounds every year to recruit for her Semester in Australia program), tried to humiliate them, and has adopted a standard of instruction and evaluation that parallels this treatment. She will flash up information on the overhead that could not possibly be transcribed in the time it remains there, while at the same time going off on a tangent that could only be understood if the information was already grasped. There is no website, no printouts, or review materials of any kind particular to *her* course (vs. Knopp's, for which the green course outline was clearly designed) other than a couple half-assed sheets of the most basic information. And now we have received our first exam back and it is fully apparent that she has turned this course into an absurd exercise in capricious grading. We are getting large quantities of points deducted for not having the "magic" definition or elements of a question she was tacitly "requiring." (And this is after even reviewing previous exams given by her, as suggested.) This same capricious grading has occured each week on the problem session quizzes as well. Out of a class of 200 students, 5--that's right, 5-- received *any* level of A on this exam (which of course she blamed on us.) Further, she has given her TA's specific instructions *not* to be of any assistance outside the problem sessions themselves. And of course our narcissist props up her ego by attending each problem session and psychological flaying whomever she selects as the nonelect that day (all mixed in with cooing to the elect that they are her "sweet dears," "cuties," etc.), humiliating the TA as well, and occupying a large portion of the time on some irrelevant "chatty" tangent that is supposed to prove how "human" she is (her words, not mine.)
I am not averse to hard work, and have put a great deal of work into this class. I also have earned excellent grades in all the prerequisites to this course, with challenging professors. Finally, I have even reviewed previous exams, as recommended (and which were very generously provided by some of you for free--thanks again). A large number of questions from those previous exams did reappear, so I was able to have a very focused preparation for this exam. Also, no significant portion of the test is something that I truly got wrong. Yet the grading standards are such that from my grade it looks like I have barely studied and barely understand the material. This "teacher" has simply turned this class into a pretext for her own ego gratification through our degradation. (Of course, she used teach at Duke medical school, you know, and so we should find it quite the privilege to be ground into the dirt by her oh-so-unreachable "high standards.")
So the end of my vent. What I would like to know is, how is Professor Knopp? I know his class is for majors, but I would far rather take a challenging class than a class that is simply capricious, and a teacher who is simply abusive. Is his class doable at an A level for a non-major with a very good grasp of Organic Chemistry and General Chemistry? Is he reasonable in his exams, or will I run into the same "magical definition" requirements that are found with Sylvia? Would I be able to do well in his class without taking the biochem lab class? Is he a reasonable individual without major personality disorders? Anyone who has had Knopp please advise, as I just cannot see continuing with Sylvia. Thanks very much.

9/25/2006 5:46:44 PM

Quote :

"for not having the "magic" definition or elements of a question"

Knopp's definitions are worse. If you do anything with your degree, you'll be thankful you took this course at the intensity you did. I've seen several graduate students with little to no background in biochemistry vs. somebody who took it at NC State ... and the NC State person can do a lot more.

Quote :

"I also have earned excellent grades in all the prerequisites to this course, with challenging professors."

Courses before this don't count, sorry. If you weren't warned this course would eat 20 hours a week throughout the semester, you are hearing it now. Not saying you aren't intelligent, probably just not fully informed .

Quote :

"how is Professor Knopp?"

Harder than Sylvia academically, but heard better things about his teaching style.

Your best advice right now is to talk to your academic advisor. You've got ~1 week to make the decision to drop the course and take it another semester.

9/25/2006 5:56:39 PM

i liked knopp. i did well in his class and i wasn't a bch major. he is very specific in his grading, in that you have to have EXACTLY what he wants to get full credit for a question, but he does give partial credit. he's a bit arrogant, but i think he really puts a lot of effort into coming up with ways to make the material understandable/memorizable. i never went to his office, so i don't have any experience with him one-on-one, but the TAs were helpful.

9/25/2006 5:57:09 PM

I agree with ya. I hope the grading gets better. I get annoyed at stupid shit like i got the question about the most important interaction, which my answer was hydrophobic interactions and it had to be hydrophobic effect. I mean, really, wtf. My biggest problem with her, is the way she treats the TA in our problem session. Just curious, what did you get that you consider to be that bad? I just know some people would be like OMG i got a 25/32, THATS AWFUL.

9/25/2006 7:53:05 PM

He is very strict as far as definitions and little nitpicky things go, but his problem sessions are excellent and he does a fairly good job of letting you know what needs to be memorized word for word and what doesn't. You will spend just as much time studying, but you should have a clearer view of how the chemistry works and the TAs are VERY available with three different library sessions every week in addition to the 2+ hour problem session.

Also, we have snack time in problem session

[Edited on September 25, 2006 at 8:20 PM. Reason : .]

9/25/2006 8:19:57 PM

dude, i got a 26/32 on her first exam and i didn't go to many classes. just study the book, and scribble down key points from lecture (exam words, graphs, concepts to review) plus look over old exams to understand format and you should at least get a B.

(ever heard of paragraphs?)

9/25/2006 9:38:51 PM

That's Dr. Sylvia, just suck it up like the rest of us did

Knopp curves like hell at the end, people with the same grades as someone in sylvia's class will get a better grade in Knopp's.

Knopp's tests are no easier, they are more than likely harder b/c he doesn't reuse EVERY question like Sylvia does

Study the old tests, memorize shit word for word like she wants and don't bitch, so many people have suffered through this... you aren't the first

9/25/2006 9:51:22 PM

This is way beyond, "Dude, study old tests and suck it up and memorize shit." I have spent a great deal of time memorizing and studying. She showed us the distribution for the previous semester and it was 50-some A's on this first exam. I don't not know if it is the onset of senility or just geometrically increasing bitchiness, but the criteria she is holding us to are not what could reasonably be prepared for or understood in answering questions. Yes, 5 people of 200 got some level of A, and that is would be expected given random deviation in answer content, with those 5 happening to stumble upon the magical formulations sought. It is easy for some of you, not in this class, to assume that, dude, we just aren't taking the right short cuts or working hard enough. However, no being in *this* class you are unable to verify the possibility that this is actually a class that has become fundamentally capricious in its instruction and evaluation. (If the A level has dropped by a full order of magnitude, what is the more likely cause? That level of random deviation in students, or an extremely aged and aging professor rapidly who is rapidly approaching retirement and has simply decided to demonstrate her "vitality" by flaying the students under her authority?) Examples from the exam: 5. "At physiological pH=7.4, which direction would alanine migrate in an electric field?" The answer that at this pH it is a zwitterion ion and would not migrate is marked 0 credit because Sylvia apparently wanted us (explained after the test was handed back) to calculate the isoelectric point (2.2+9.5)/2, and give alanine a net positive charge because the pH is above this point. Zero points, despite this from the text at the two points zwitterions are indexed: "Thus, in the physiological pH range of 6.8 to 7.4, amino acids are zwitterions, or dipolar ions, even though their net charge may be zero" (54), and "These calculations verify our statement that Zwitter free amino acids exist as zwitter ions at neutral pH" (65) (yes, that is slightly different from pH 7.4, but if isoelectric point is being used to defined charge state, neither pH could produce a zwitter ion.) 6. A calculation problem in which 20% credit is deducted because I wroted log of [1]/[1]=0 and solved the henderson-hasselbach, instead of further simplifying to the insane degree of then saying "log 1=0." 15. "Name the primary force/interaction responsible for protein folding and stability." The response "hydrophobic interactions" is given zero credit because we were supposed to intuit that when asking for "interactions" what Sylia wanted was not "hydrophobic interactions," but the magic words "hydrophobic effect." And so on and so on, with fully adequate definitions and calculations being given little to no credit again and again. Instead of accepting reasonable answers, the exam has been turned into another "guess what I'm thinking" exercise in Sylvia egotism. This person is clearly no longer interested in either teaching or grading at any reasonable level, but is quite interested in using this class as a forum for giving herself a sense of importance by any means possible. What is actually hilarious in a maudlin way is that this material was actually conceptually rather easy. We are now getting into much more challenging mathematical derivations of enzyme coeffiecients and graphs, and I can only assume the course will become more demanding as it builds on itself. This being the case, this fraud of a teacher is not going to even have enough A students to fill the needed 7 problem sessions next semester (assuming that any of them are up for another round of Sylvia S&M.)
I am encouraged by what I hear about Knopp and his TA's. I assume the above sort of b.s. is not the norm in his grading? Also, for those of you that are taking him currently, what was the ratio of A's to students for this first exam? Thanks again for your input.

9/26/2006 2:56:24 AM

[FUCKING BLOCK OF WORDS]

ENTER

ENTER

ENTER

9/26/2006 8:53:14 AM

Quote :

"[FUCKING BLOCK OF WORDS]"

In the business world, anything more than a paragraph in an email generally doesn't get read the first time around. Separate your posts into paragraphs or bullet points for readability for the rest of us please.

Quote :

"This person is clearly no longer interested in either teaching or grading at any reasonable level, but is quite interested in using this class as a forum for giving herself a sense of importance by any means possible."

Considering she has taught this class several semesters in a row, either they lack sufficient instructors to teach an intro biochemistry course (not the case), or she is doing a relatively good job from the feedback they have received. Sometimes teaching/learning styles clash; if that's the case, drop the course. Posting on TWW isn't going to help you resolve your problems, other than providing a realitively weak medium to convey your feelings about the situation.

[Edited on September 26, 2006 at 9:16 AM. Reason : .]

9/26/2006 9:14:37 AM

Every semester she gives on test that the class fucks up on, for my class a year ago it was test #3 that I believe only 6 people scored an A on and aprox. 45% or more failed.

The material, what is tested, really doesn't get any harder and her grading isn't quite as hard on test 3 and 4. She tries to scare you off... Make sure you study for those damn quizzes in Recitation and make a 32 to replace a test grade... you will get extra credit in there for several things, i think around 5 extra points.

9/26/2006 9:55:25 AM

My wife had both instructors (451 for knopp and 451 with sylvia) and was a TA for Syliva for 451. She liked both professors, and when she had BCH in med school, she breezed through it while a lot of her classmates struggled. According to one of her med school profs, we have one of the best (albeit small) BCH programs in the country.

9/26/2006 10:11:52 AM

Well, we now have one of the worst instructors in the country. I have no idea what Sylvia was like previously, but I do know what she is like now, and what her class is like now, and as mentioned above, it appears that anyone currently in it will have little chance of going anywhere on the basis of their assigned grade, however well they may have learned the material. I can only hope for the sake of those who continue in the class that the previous poster is right about one curveball exam, but it seems that the questions for this one were very predictable from previous exams, and it is the standards applied to the grading that are the problem. As for my providing support for my points: 1) You don't get to have it both ways and claim I am griping without basis and then object to the copious proof that I am not. 2) Discussions in this forum in no way constitute a grade appeal, but they may provide clear reasons for future students to steer clear of her. And, of course, a nice opportunity to vent. I am truly angered that I have been cheated out $600 tuition and the opportunity cost of a 4 unit class this semester by someone who is seriously abusing her position as a teacher, whatever her previous conduct may have been. I do thank you all for your input, and any additional info re. Knopp's class/exams/grading is welcome.

9/26/2006 5:08:59 PM

for professors like sylvia i usually go by the old "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" ideology

she's not going to change for you, and the more you complain and whine about it, the more she'll be the way she is

you just gotta accept her for who she is

and she's just one of those professors who expects that if you want to be successful then you'll learn how to be successful on your own

that's all there is to her

you're in college now, this is where you either learn or don't learn to be spoon-fed for the rest of your life

Quote :

"I am truly angered that I have been cheated out $600 tuition "

you're too far stuck in the moment to realize that this class can affect more than just this semester

if you reap everything that can come out of this course, you'll think you cheated the university out of $600

[Edited on September 26, 2006 at 6:37 PM. Reason : adsaf]

9/26/2006 6:31:30 PM

suck it up and study.

everyone comes on here to complain, this was seriously one of the easiest upper level classes i took at NCSU. only think hard was the final exam.

if you cant memorize the old tests and do well, then you need to find a new major.

9/26/2006 7:00:23 PM

^I disgree. This material presented in this class does not seem to be really difficult. What makes it impossible is an arrogant old lady. If she wants her class to be difficult, then fine, I'm up for the challenge. But you should never make an A obtainable to only 5 students in a class of 200.

9/26/2006 8:04:39 PM

Quote :

"But you should never make an A obtainable to only 5 students in a class of 200."

She tells you upfront EXACTLY what you have to do to make an A.

The structures to draw, and how to draw them.

The definitions to know word-for-word.

The graphs/equations that you need to know.

9/26/2006 9:09:19 PM

this dude sounds like a whiney little prick

9/26/2006 9:24:55 PM

really, at the point in your college career that you should be to be taking 451 fucking suck it up. if anything, sylvia's class is a lesson in how everything is not always going to be presented to you the way you like it on a silver platter. learn to adapt and just study hard and from as many old tests as you can find.

9/26/2006 9:29:45 PM

^^ exactly.

i almost made an A.

9/26/2006 10:28:43 PM

I had Knopp 3 years ago for 451. I agree with what people have said about him and the class in general. It's not 'hard' in the sense that it's impossible for everyone to get good grades and and that people don't learn anything; it's 'hard' in the sense it becomes a part time job and relies heavily on memorization. This is why my advisor (also Dr. Knopp) recommended I take only 14 hours with this class, because this and 452 will become your life.

I've heard about Sylvia's daunting teaching style, but Knopp is really only a little nicer and won't cut you any more slack. If anything, I heard Sylvia's class was easier because it was essentially based on Knopp's, but with less memorization.

If you want to do well in her class, keep studying the old exams, and exploit all the possible materials from Knopp you can get your hands on (Knopp's Notes, outline, other people's notes, etc.)

9/26/2006 11:30:54 PM

Apparently, BCH 451 is a good indicator of how proffesional school is...

Although i have no experience w/ proffesional school as of yet..

9/27/2006 10:46:39 AM

IMO, I think Sylvia was good real world preparation. Eventually, everyone is gonna encounter someone like this, where every little thing has to be done exactly their way. I remember Syliva specifically saying to us at the beginning of the semester that I took it that she was going to be, for lack of other words, a "hard headed bitch" and if she gets into your head, she wins. By not toughing it out and letting her get in your head, you lose. Take it as a life lesson.

Oh, and the grades on the tests in her class are like that for every test, every semester. But she can't just let everyone fail, no matter what she says. Look at her grade distributions, they don't match up with the exam grades. You'll be fine in the end.

http://www-records.ncsu.edu/cgi-bin/grddist3.pl?semyear=106&curr=BCH&num=451

better than knopp....

[Edited on September 27, 2006 at 3:27 PM. Reason : link]

9/27/2006 3:25:07 PM

^^^

Quote :

"...because this and 452 will become your life."

Yes.

9/27/2006 4:48:56 PM

452 is a big old pain. 5 hours in the same room makes me wanna go crazaaaayyyy.

9/27/2006 9:44:13 PM

Quote :

"if she gets into your head, she wins. By not toughing it out and letting her get in your head, you lose."

9/28/2006 3:53:22 AM

I love how all trolling morons on wolfweb--and you have clearly identified yourselves among the responses above--has to always take every opportunity to inject their sadism: "dude, just suck it up," "you must be a whiny little prick," "it's just preparation for the real world." First, you must admit the fact that there can exist such a thing as an unfair class, an abusive teacher, and capricous grading. If you do not, because "dude, unfairness is the real world," then get your nihilistic punk ass out of my thread. I have provided ample proof that all three elements exist in this class, this semester. None of those rude and emptiheaded responses above have addressed this proof. I do not know what Sylvia was like for previous semesters, and I did verify that her grade distribution for previous semesters was reasonable before I enrolled in this course. However, this semester she has conducted her class in such a way that only 5 of 200 have received any level of A, versus--by her own account--50 out of 200 for the previous semester. Further, she has now revealed that the *mean* score for this exam was 17.35 (including 3 free points) out of 32. That is a mean percent grade of 54%, which on her grading scale is a D+. For the clearly impaired trolls above, what that means is that half the class received a grade of D+ or less on this exam. She has also revealed that this has been the lowest mean ever for her class. As for there being a curve put on this carnage to make everyone happy at the end, there has been no mention of such a curve anywhere. So again, what is more likely, that random flux has produced such a huge difference in student preparation, or that a professor who feels retirement and the end of her accustomed power over students approaching is now seeking to demonstrate her vitality by subjugating her students by all means available, and has adopted arbitrary grading standards that are fully capricious? I know how I have prepared for this class, I know how my test has been graded, I know how Sylvia delights in abusing her authority in her treatment of students, and I have no doubt that the latter is the case. I do appreciate the encouragement and helpful advice that many of you have offered here, but I am afraid that those who continue in this class are going to find out that there is no net to save them after all. And this is permitted to happen. For those of you who have any doubt, take a look at Mowat's grades for Physics 211 in Fall '05 (and this, according to my physics lab partner, was after half the class had dropped). So the trolls can troll on, but very unfair teachers unfortunately do exist, and no one is going to look at an application and say, "Wow, that guy must have sucked it up! Look at his shitty grade! Let's admit him!" because a poor grade, at the end of the semester, is simply and only one thing: bad.

9/29/2006 12:26:30 AM

If you had the balls to present your objections to her teaching and grading style with respect, she would probably double your exam grade.

9/29/2006 1:52:25 AM

^More likely, she would just tell you to get the hell out of her class.

9/29/2006 12:42:50 PM

Quote :

"More likely, she would just tell you to get the hell out of her class."

Have you ever actually talked to her?

She's actually very nice.

9/29/2006 12:50:40 PM

id wager $1,000,000 he hasnt.

9/29/2006 1:08:32 PM

Yes, I've spoken with her.

This thread should die...its now completely pointless, except for those people who constantly try to combat other people's legitimate posts.

[Edited on September 29, 2006 at 1:34 PM. Reason : b/c I chose to]

[Edited on September 29, 2006 at 1:36 PM. Reason : z]

9/29/2006 1:30:07 PM

Amount of Time Joeanon takes to type a post: 15-30 minutes
Posts so far in thread: 4
Total time: 60-120 minutes
Progress on improving situation: 0%

So um, what DO you plan to do on fixing/bettering this situation? Other than posting on TWW?

9/29/2006 1:42:19 PM

their grievances arent legit. they're immature and reflect ignorance.

^ i couldnt have been more clear. YOU GO TO HER AND TALK TO HER RESPECTFULLY. 99% of the time youll find your problem solved.



[Edited on September 29, 2006 at 1:44 PM. Reason : vgfhq ]

9/29/2006 1:43:06 PM

PARAGRAPHS ARE YOUR FRIEND!!

9/29/2006 4:53:20 PM

Quote :

"Have you ever actually talked to her? She's actually very nice. "

And, in saying she is unfair, that is SO VERY UNTRUE! There is no way that the tests are graded unfairly. Every student is treated exactly the same. If you think you should have gotten some right that were marked wrong, GO TALK TO HER! Imagine being a TA grading her tests, would you want to fuck up? And she also did tell me, that the TA's take her key and assign the point values to it. They all have to agree what they should be, then they take it to dr. sylvia. Just fyi.

9/29/2006 6:48:39 PM

shit, i can't get through most of joeanon's posts, but i did see in his last post how he commented that sylvia has made no mention of a curve...

DUH. why are teachers going to make it clear from the beginning that there will be a curve? they still want you to work your asses off, not think "Eh, it's gonna be curved, I can slack a little bit."

9/29/2006 7:54:51 PM

she is actually very nice. even gave me a few hugs in her office.

she may seem like the devil, but there is no way you should be getting less than even an A- on her tests with the amount of help that is out there.

she loves men with beards from what i hear.

9/29/2006 11:54:21 PM

Other words exist besides 'capricious' to describe something rather that is rather fickle, flighty, random, on a whim, etc. Please use them.

10/1/2006 8:27:19 PM

^Word of the day toilet paper

10/2/2006 5:02:17 PM

PLEASE TAKE TECHNICAL WRITING SO THEY CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT THE ENTER KEY

10/2/2006 6:07:56 PM

Quote :

"She tells you upfront EXACTLY what you have to do to make an A. The structures to draw, and how to draw them. The definitions to know word-for-word. The graphs/equations that you need to know."

This thread is just stupid now. There is no way she's going to fail everyone....Knopp AND Sylvia both curve when necessary.

If you do poorly in this class you're just fucking stupid or lazy. You can get away with being EITHER stupid OR lazy and make a good grade in this class. This quote shows you exactly why. If you're bitching about the tests, then you didnt listen to her when she told you exactly what would be expected of you. Quit bitching about it and go study. I made an A in knopps class without busting my ass, although I studied more for that class than any other so far in college....I was also taking GN 411 at the same time, not a good combo.

Note that everyone pretty much in a science major takes this class. Many people struggle, but its always better in the end if you put forth the effort to learn the material. You're lucky you're not a biochem major, cause it only gets worse in 453 and 455. Imagine learning the material you do for Sylvia's class.....then actually having to understand and apply it on all of your tests.


You dont have it hard. You're in college. If you expect do succeed in life then you cant bite the dust in this class cause you dont like the teaching style. This class is nothing compared to professional school and grad school.



Also....notice that every test is worth 32 points.......add up the total available points on the test and ask yourself again why you're bitching.

[Edited on October 2, 2006 at 8:19 PM. Reason : ]

10/2/2006 8:15:56 PM