KNES483 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Stephen McDaniel KNES483 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 05/27/2025	If you are a diligent student who works hard, attends every lecture, takes great notes, and studies hard all year, you should expect a grade of around a C like I received from Professor McDaniel. The class is horribly structured and does not allow students to demonstrate mastery or understanding of the material. 6 total grades in the class (are you serious?!), McDaniel gave 3 pop quizzes throughout the year which were exceptionally tricky, yet I managed to average a 90% across them all. The only other grades in this class were the midterm, final, and final presentation. I cannot stress enough how hard this class was. I did countless readings, spent hours researching the company and topic of the final project, and anxiously studied to stay on top of the potentially looming fourth and final pop quiz that never came. I still got a 90% on the presentation which again should show how I have a fairly comprehensive understanding of the course content. Regardless, the exams were brutal and getting an 80% on both exams kept my grade in the B- range! I thought McDaniels was a great speaker and was knowledgeable about the topics of the class. However, he was rude, sensitive, egotistical, and overall an unbearable professor. I had to take this class and him as my teacher since there were no other open upper-level kinesiology options, and even after all the effort I had to put in during the final semester of my baccalaureate career here at UMD for this class, I still had a fear of failing this class which would have prevented me from graduating. All because this class is poorly structured, McDaniels does not respond to emails in a timely manner, nor does he grade things with any sense of urgency, and most alarmingly, his opinion on a topic would be the ultimate correct answer without challenge. If you are a hungry student looking for a challenge, try getting an A in this class while taking a full schedule and having a life outside of academics. Otherwise, save yourself the trouble. All the other kinesiology teachers are exceptional, and some classes are fun and challenging, but still "A grade attainable" for a good student. This class and professor are ridiculous! I tried way too hard given all the circumstances, and if I were any less determined of a student I would have no doubt I would have withdrawn from the class earlier in the year.
Stephen McDaniel KNES483 Anonymous 05/27/2025	Worst ego-tripping professor I have ever experienced in person. Has no urgency when it comes to responding or grading, but ends up only posting crucial panopto videos for 24 hours limiting students access to them. He is not understanding in the slightest and can declare you wrong without allowing for rebuttal or defense of your claims. His perspective is not subjective, it is objective truth in that classroom so unless you know what he is thinking you will be wrong. DO NOT TAKE THIS JOKERS CLASS!!!
Stephen McDaniel KNES483 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/14/2024	I guess I'll start with the good: Dr. McDaniel is very knowledgeable. He has a fantastic voice, is genuinely a good lecturer, and cares about the topics he teaches. It's a shame he doesn't care about us actually learning it. The bad and the ugly? Basically everything else. Dr. McDaniel simply does not care about us doing well and instead just needs his power trip. The class is structured horrendously. He goes through a billion slides per class but doesn't post them for us to access. If you're sick and can't make it to class, you're SOOL. There's 6 total grades in the grade book. 3 pop quizzes (you take 4, he drops one, but they're ridiculously hard), a project, a midterm and the final. All quizzes and exams are unfairly difficult considering we don't have access to the information. He posts a ton of readings but tells us to prioritize his lectures over them, even though we can't effing access the lectures. He gave a lot of guidance on our projects, but that only led him to be an*l about requirements and give genuinely rude feedback. He essentially laughed in our faces, in front of the entire class, for our mistakes. He takes weeks and weeks to grade everything, it's insane. He showed up late to almost every class, but on the first day gave us strict rules about walking in late and/or leaving during class. He didn't even want us to use the restroom during class, at our grown age. Can't use phones in class. Can't get up for any reason. He's a ridiculous professor and genuinely I don't understand how he's still teaching. All of the horrible reviews are true. It's seriously a shame because the guy can for sure lecture. I just wish he cared about his students. DO NOT take this class. I only did because I had no other option for upper levels. Save yourself while you can.

Stephen McDaniel
KNES483

Expecting a C+
Anonymous
05/27/2025

If you are a diligent student who works hard, attends every lecture, takes great notes, and studies hard all year, you should expect a grade of around a C like I received from Professor McDaniel. The class is horribly structured and does not allow students to demonstrate mastery or understanding of the material. 6 total grades in the class (are you serious?!), McDaniel gave 3 pop quizzes throughout the year which were exceptionally tricky, yet I managed to average a 90% across them all. The only other grades in this class were the midterm, final, and final presentation. I cannot stress enough how hard this class was. I did countless readings, spent hours researching the company and topic of the final project, and anxiously studied to stay on top of the potentially looming fourth and final pop quiz that never came. I still got a 90% on the presentation which again should show how I have a fairly comprehensive understanding of the course content. Regardless, the exams were brutal and getting an 80% on both exams kept my grade in the B- range! I thought McDaniels was a great speaker and was knowledgeable about the topics of the class. However, he was rude, sensitive, egotistical, and overall an unbearable professor. I had to take this class and him as my teacher since there were no other open upper-level kinesiology options, and even after all the effort I had to put in during the final semester of my baccalaureate career here at UMD for this class, I still had a fear of failing this class which would have prevented me from graduating. All because this class is poorly structured, McDaniels does not respond to emails in a timely manner, nor does he grade things with any sense of urgency, and most alarmingly, his opinion on a topic would be the ultimate correct answer without challenge. If you are a hungry student looking for a challenge, try getting an A in this class while taking a full schedule and having a life outside of academics. Otherwise, save yourself the trouble. All the other kinesiology teachers are exceptional, and some classes are fun and challenging, but still "A grade attainable" for a good student. This class and professor are ridiculous! I tried way too hard given all the circumstances, and if I were any less determined of a student I would have no doubt I would have withdrawn from the class earlier in the year.

Stephen McDaniel
KNES483

Anonymous
05/27/2025

Worst ego-tripping professor I have ever experienced in person. Has no urgency when it comes to responding or grading, but ends up only posting crucial panopto videos for 24 hours limiting students access to them. He is not understanding in the slightest and can declare you wrong without allowing for rebuttal or defense of your claims. His perspective is not subjective, it is objective truth in that classroom so unless you know what he is thinking you will be wrong. DO NOT TAKE THIS JOKERS CLASS!!!

Stephen McDaniel
KNES483

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/14/2024

I guess I'll start with the good: Dr. McDaniel is very knowledgeable. He has a fantastic voice, is genuinely a good lecturer, and cares about the topics he teaches. It's a shame he doesn't care about us actually learning it. The bad and the ugly? Basically everything else. Dr. McDaniel simply does not care about us doing well and instead just needs his power trip. The class is structured horrendously. He goes through a billion slides per class but doesn't post them for us to access. If you're sick and can't make it to class, you're SOOL. There's 6 total grades in the grade book. 3 pop quizzes (you take 4, he drops one, but they're ridiculously hard), a project, a midterm and the final. All quizzes and exams are unfairly difficult considering we don't have access to the information. He posts a ton of readings but tells us to prioritize his lectures over them, even though we can't effing access the lectures. He gave a lot of guidance on our projects, but that only led him to be an*l about requirements and give genuinely rude feedback. He essentially laughed in our faces, in front of the entire class, for our mistakes. He takes weeks and weeks to grade everything, it's insane. He showed up late to almost every class, but on the first day gave us strict rules about walking in late and/or leaving during class. He didn't even want us to use the restroom during class, at our grown age. Can't use phones in class. Can't get up for any reason. He's a ridiculous professor and genuinely I don't understand how he's still teaching. All of the horrible reviews are true. It's seriously a shame because the guy can for sure lecture. I just wish he cared about his students. DO NOT take this class. I only did because I had no other option for upper levels. Save yourself while you can.

Reviews for KNES483