PLCY306 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Shanna Pearson PLCY306 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/19/2024	Dr. Pearson is by far the worst professor I have ever had. She is a terrible professor and an even worse person. She is overly critical, self-absorbed, and just plain rude. She seems to think the world revolves around her, and she has absolutely no care towards her students. She expects everyone to cater to her and will inconvenience all of her students on a daily basis just to fit a personal preference. Every single one of her students who I have spoken to hates her and is scared of her. We need to walk on eggshells around her. She seems to automatically assume the worst about each of her students, and she is obsessed with trying to catch her students cheating and using AI, even when we aren't. If you forget to write the academic integrity pledge on an assignment, she will assume you cheated and will move you down a full letter grade, even if you did nothing wrong. Her feedback is not constructive. Even if you get an A on an assignment, she will still try to make you feel horrible about yourself and your work. I put a ton of effort into this class, and somehow I feel like I learned absolutely nothing. Everything is just busy work because she does not know how to teach. There is so much group work that I feel as though my grade isn't even my own. She made this semester unbearable for me, and I cannot wait to never need to interact with her ever again. I always try to find the goodness in each of my professors, but I cannot find any in her. She has unreasonably high expectations for everyone around her, and she is constantly nasty for no reason.
Shanna Pearson PLCY306 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/10/2024	simply DO NOT take this class with her. being a college student is hard enough but having her as a professor makes it worse. never experienced a professor like her before. harsh grader, harsh professor, inconsiderate, insatiable. does not know what a rough draft is and grades it as though it is the final paper. please, if you can take any other professor, save yourself and do so. goodluck!
Shanna Pearson PLCY306 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/06/2024	Dr. Pearson is undoubtedly smart, knowledgeable, and clearly accomplished. However, she is not a good professor. Throughout the semester, there were moments when I felt belittled by her demeanor. She often presented herself in a way that made me and other students feel as though she didn’t care about our feedback regarding assignment grading or class organization. When I emailed her for clarification on assignments, her responses were often unnecessarily rude, adding to the stress of completing the work. Although she did provide answers, the tone and approach made the process feel frustrating and discouraging. Every time I felt like I was making progress in the class, something would happen to knock me back down. While Dr. Pearson is a kind person, she sometimes came across as viewing herself as morally and academically superior simply because she is the professor and we are the students. While I understand that a certain dynamic exists in the student-teacher relationship, repeatedly experiencing this attitude during lectures was disheartening. It made me feel as though nothing I did was good enough and that voicing concerns was pointless, as she seemed unwilling to accept criticism or advice. If I could give her a 0/5 I would. I have never had so much frustration with a policy professor but I truly felt that the way she taught this class made the students feel more like children than college students.
Shanna Pearson PLCY306 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/05/2024	Dr. Pearson is undeniably a well-accomplished and knowledgeable researcher; unfortunately, she is not very good at being a professor. She is disconnected from what it means to be a college student. The course has two semester-long group projects that run congruently, which is very taxing and, at times, confusing. The entire class is centered around group work, meaning that there is no opportunity to earn a grade without the impact of another person. Dr. Pearson is also weirdly obsessed with catching students using AI. Multiple times throughout the semester, she used class time to rant about artificial intelligence and accused students of being cheaters with no substantial proof. In class discussions, Dr. Pearson is rude and degrading, putting down students who make points she disagrees with. I can confidently say I would have preferred to take this class with any other professor in the School of Public Policy.
Shanna Pearson PLCY306 Anonymous 11/26/2024	Way too much busy work and insane expectations for students who have hectic schedules and many other classes. No remorse or empathy is shown to students. I see the benefit of this class and have learned a lot however, its just not a good/productive environment.
Shanna Pearson PLCY306 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/07/2024	never once have I had a policy professor who doesn't seem to care about there students the way professor pearson does. when i sit in the class i try to hold back tears the whole hour and 15 minutes. God forbid some one asks a question that she may not agree with, the answer is some sort of half assed, rude, ignorant response. Followed by some laughter if the answer is wrong. Don't get me started on the major assignments, the harsh feedback does not leave room for improvement but rather makes you feel like and actual idiot. I understand we are here to learn but being disrecptpful is not something that I thought a policy professor could be. She would rather stand in front of the class flaunting her work (don't even ask me what she did because I genuinely have not clue) than helping student understand where they fell short and help them to improve. Giving comments like "your wrong" or "i dont care about this" are words I dont think should come out of any professors mouth. if you have the opportunity to not take this class with pearson, take the opportunity. She lacks any support for students emotions and wellbeing and will continue to put them down due to the fact that she has a "degree" and seems to "know more" than any student in her classroom.
Shanna Pearson PLCY306 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/04/2024	She is rude, inconsiderate, and one of the least collaborative professors I have ever had. While the workload is bearable, that isn't really the problem. The content is important and I can see how research will be applied towards our later degree. Her teaching it makes me want to ram my head into my handwritten notebook (no technology in class). She talks down to every student who comes to see her or participates in class. When students go to her with a complaint, she ignores their complaint entirely and instead just says something along the lines of it is what it is. There's been multiple instances in class when a student will raise their hand and point out how something she said or is doing makes them uncomfortable, and rather than apologizing, she doubles down on what she said, citing that it was just "misinterpreted". I really don't know how talking down about how everyone in the class feels unsafe is misinterpreted. I know a couple peers who talked to her directly and she outright ignored their comments. I highly, highly recommend taking a class where the professor wants you to succeed. She treats us as if we are stupid and regularly compares between her two classes. I don't know anyone that feels that support from her. If you are reading this, Professor Pearson, laughing something off doesn't make what you just said outright mean. I hate how little value she sees in us, it is disappointing to experience. Every policy professor I have had has acknowledged that their students are smart and capable and will go onto impressive, impactful. From her, I get: give up hope. If you do have to take her, go in knowing that her standards are set internally and she won't really share what they are in a communicative way. You will probably not meet them. No one does. Also, she makes her students print out our homework and buy 100 dollar textbooks that are used for three weeks. As a public policy professor in a school whose motto is "Do Good", I hope you see how discriminatory and inconsiderate that is.
Shanna Pearson PLCY306 Expecting a B Anonymous 11/30/2023	She is a nice lady, but a terrible professor. Do not recommend. The course is so boring, even though 306 is supposed to be interesting, and the whole course was basically repeating the same topics and themes. She makes you do readings that are insanely long and time-consuming, just to lecture on the same material in class. On top of that, there is no tech allowed in class, and you have to print everything out, which is so unreasonable for a reading and writing-heavy class. The class is so boring, and you never really know much of what you are learning, since it really doesn't stick. She also grades really harshly, and most of the heavy grading assignments are at the end of the semester. Lots of work. And she gives pop reading quizzes, so you literally have to handwrite or print notes for those super long readings. While shes a nice professor, and tries to make the class good, its just not. Take another 306 course that has an interesting topic that you are meant to learn. I normally always get above A's, but for this class, I am not surprised to get lower than a B+. Since all the heavy grading is at the end, you cant really bring your grade up. It just goes down.
Shanna Pearson PLCY306 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/28/2023	She is what the French would call "les incompetents." Has no idea how to run a class and just rambles on about the exact same thing for class. She does pop quizzes that she says are to grade for overall comprehension but they are actually about tiny obscure details of the readings. She grades them how she would like to see the questions answered and not off of the objective truth. Puts trick questions in the quizzes. Gives unclear and pointless assignments. The readings have been slightly different versions of the same material all semester but you have to read it and take notes just for the quizzes. The class she taught was completely different from the one listed on Testudo. Everything has to be turned in on paper in class which is absurd as we live in the 21st century. Spent the first 5 minutes of class saying how she was sympathetic that we were so stressed and then laughed when she handed out a pop quiz. The class is fine with her just generally pretty pointless and could learn everything she "teaches" in about an hour of googling research methods. If you want to learn take someone else.
Curtis Valentine PLCY306 nochampagnejustproblem 11/11/2022	This man is the worst professor and person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting or interacting with. He assigned a major assignment on Rosh Hashanah when half of the class was absent due to the holiday. He is condescending, mansplains everything and I'm convinced he only went into teaching because he loves the sound of his own voice. I have not learned anything from this course other than the fact that I no longer want to be a public policy major. He focuses on education policy and has made me despise school. I dream of being hit by a UMD bus on my way to class so that I can miss it. There is no greater joy I can imagine in this world than the day that he finally retires or has a student put him in his place. If you want to be talked down to and have everything you say be completely ignored unless you are either 1. agreeing with him or 2. a boy, then take his class. If not then AVOID!!!!!

Shanna Pearson
PLCY306

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/19/2024

Dr. Pearson is by far the worst professor I have ever had. She is a terrible professor and an even worse person. She is overly critical, self-absorbed, and just plain rude. She seems to think the world revolves around her, and she has absolutely no care towards her students. She expects everyone to cater to her and will inconvenience all of her students on a daily basis just to fit a personal preference. Every single one of her students who I have spoken to hates her and is scared of her. We need to walk on eggshells around her. She seems to automatically assume the worst about each of her students, and she is obsessed with trying to catch her students cheating and using AI, even when we aren't. If you forget to write the academic integrity pledge on an assignment, she will assume you cheated and will move you down a full letter grade, even if you did nothing wrong. Her feedback is not constructive. Even if you get an A on an assignment, she will still try to make you feel horrible about yourself and your work. I put a ton of effort into this class, and somehow I feel like I learned absolutely nothing. Everything is just busy work because she does not know how to teach. There is so much group work that I feel as though my grade isn't even my own. She made this semester unbearable for me, and I cannot wait to never need to interact with her ever again. I always try to find the goodness in each of my professors, but I cannot find any in her. She has unreasonably high expectations for everyone around her, and she is constantly nasty for no reason.

Shanna Pearson
PLCY306

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/10/2024

simply DO NOT take this class with her. being a college student is hard enough but having her as a professor makes it worse. never experienced a professor like her before. harsh grader, harsh professor, inconsiderate, insatiable. does not know what a rough draft is and grades it as though it is the final paper. please, if you can take any other professor, save yourself and do so. goodluck!

Shanna Pearson
PLCY306

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/06/2024

Dr. Pearson is undoubtedly smart, knowledgeable, and clearly accomplished. However, she is not a good professor. Throughout the semester, there were moments when I felt belittled by her demeanor. She often presented herself in a way that made me and other students feel as though she didn’t care about our feedback regarding assignment grading or class organization. When I emailed her for clarification on assignments, her responses were often unnecessarily rude, adding to the stress of completing the work. Although she did provide answers, the tone and approach made the process feel frustrating and discouraging. Every time I felt like I was making progress in the class, something would happen to knock me back down. While Dr. Pearson is a kind person, she sometimes came across as viewing herself as morally and academically superior simply because she is the professor and we are the students. While I understand that a certain dynamic exists in the student-teacher relationship, repeatedly experiencing this attitude during lectures was disheartening. It made me feel as though nothing I did was good enough and that voicing concerns was pointless, as she seemed unwilling to accept criticism or advice. If I could give her a 0/5 I would. I have never had so much frustration with a policy professor but I truly felt that the way she taught this class made the students feel more like children than college students.

Shanna Pearson
PLCY306

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/05/2024

Dr. Pearson is undeniably a well-accomplished and knowledgeable researcher; unfortunately, she is not very good at being a professor. She is disconnected from what it means to be a college student. The course has two semester-long group projects that run congruently, which is very taxing and, at times, confusing. The entire class is centered around group work, meaning that there is no opportunity to earn a grade without the impact of another person. Dr. Pearson is also weirdly obsessed with catching students using AI. Multiple times throughout the semester, she used class time to rant about artificial intelligence and accused students of being cheaters with no substantial proof. In class discussions, Dr. Pearson is rude and degrading, putting down students who make points she disagrees with. I can confidently say I would have preferred to take this class with any other professor in the School of Public Policy.

Shanna Pearson
PLCY306

Anonymous
11/26/2024

Way too much busy work and insane expectations for students who have hectic schedules and many other classes. No remorse or empathy is shown to students. I see the benefit of this class and have learned a lot however, its just not a good/productive environment.

Shanna Pearson
PLCY306

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
11/07/2024

never once have I had a policy professor who doesn't seem to care about there students the way professor pearson does. when i sit in the class i try to hold back tears the whole hour and 15 minutes. God forbid some one asks a question that she may not agree with, the answer is some sort of half assed, rude, ignorant response. Followed by some laughter if the answer is wrong. Don't get me started on the major assignments, the harsh feedback does not leave room for improvement but rather makes you feel like and actual idiot. I understand we are here to learn but being disrecptpful is not something that I thought a policy professor could be. She would rather stand in front of the class flaunting her work (don't even ask me what she did because I genuinely have not clue) than helping student understand where they fell short and help them to improve. Giving comments like "your wrong" or "i dont care about this" are words I dont think should come out of any professors mouth. if you have the opportunity to not take this class with pearson, take the opportunity. She lacks any support for students emotions and wellbeing and will continue to put them down due to the fact that she has a "degree" and seems to "know more" than any student in her classroom.

Shanna Pearson
PLCY306

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
11/04/2024

She is rude, inconsiderate, and one of the least collaborative professors I have ever had. While the workload is bearable, that isn't really the problem. The content is important and I can see how research will be applied towards our later degree. Her teaching it makes me want to ram my head into my handwritten notebook (no technology in class). She talks down to every student who comes to see her or participates in class. When students go to her with a complaint, she ignores their complaint entirely and instead just says something along the lines of it is what it is. There's been multiple instances in class when a student will raise their hand and point out how something she said or is doing makes them uncomfortable, and rather than apologizing, she doubles down on what she said, citing that it was just "misinterpreted". I really don't know how talking down about how everyone in the class feels unsafe is misinterpreted. I know a couple peers who talked to her directly and she outright ignored their comments. I highly, highly recommend taking a class where the professor wants you to succeed. She treats us as if we are stupid and regularly compares between her two classes. I don't know anyone that feels that support from her. If you are reading this, Professor Pearson, laughing something off doesn't make what you just said outright mean. I hate how little value she sees in us, it is disappointing to experience. Every policy professor I have had has acknowledged that their students are smart and capable and will go onto impressive, impactful. From her, I get: give up hope. If you do have to take her, go in knowing that her standards are set internally and she won't really share what they are in a communicative way. You will probably not meet them. No one does. Also, she makes her students print out our homework and buy 100 dollar textbooks that are used for three weeks. As a public policy professor in a school whose motto is "Do Good", I hope you see how discriminatory and inconsiderate that is.

Shanna Pearson
PLCY306

Expecting a B
Anonymous
11/30/2023

She is a nice lady, but a terrible professor. Do not recommend. The course is so boring, even though 306 is supposed to be interesting, and the whole course was basically repeating the same topics and themes. She makes you do readings that are insanely long and time-consuming, just to lecture on the same material in class. On top of that, there is no tech allowed in class, and you have to print everything out, which is so unreasonable for a reading and writing-heavy class. The class is so boring, and you never really know much of what you are learning, since it really doesn't stick. She also grades really harshly, and most of the heavy grading assignments are at the end of the semester. Lots of work. And she gives pop reading quizzes, so you literally have to handwrite or print notes for those super long readings. While shes a nice professor, and tries to make the class good, its just not. Take another 306 course that has an interesting topic that you are meant to learn. I normally always get above A's, but for this class, I am not surprised to get lower than a B+. Since all the heavy grading is at the end, you cant really bring your grade up. It just goes down.

Shanna Pearson
PLCY306

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
11/28/2023

She is what the French would call "les incompetents." Has no idea how to run a class and just rambles on about the exact same thing for class. She does pop quizzes that she says are to grade for overall comprehension but they are actually about tiny obscure details of the readings. She grades them how she would like to see the questions answered and not off of the objective truth. Puts trick questions in the quizzes. Gives unclear and pointless assignments. The readings have been slightly different versions of the same material all semester but you have to read it and take notes just for the quizzes. The class she taught was completely different from the one listed on Testudo. Everything has to be turned in on paper in class which is absurd as we live in the 21st century. Spent the first 5 minutes of class saying how she was sympathetic that we were so stressed and then laughed when she handed out a pop quiz. The class is fine with her just generally pretty pointless and could learn everything she "teaches" in about an hour of googling research methods. If you want to learn take someone else.

Curtis Valentine
PLCY306

nochampagnejustproblem
11/11/2022

This man is the worst professor and person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting or interacting with. He assigned a major assignment on Rosh Hashanah when half of the class was absent due to the holiday. He is condescending, mansplains everything and I'm convinced he only went into teaching because he loves the sound of his own voice. I have not learned anything from this course other than the fact that I no longer want to be a public policy major. He focuses on education policy and has made me despise school. I dream of being hit by a UMD bus on my way to class so that I can miss it. There is no greater joy I can imagine in this world than the day that he finally retires or has a student put him in his place. If you want to be talked down to and have everything you say be completely ignored unless you are either 1. agreeing with him or 2. a boy, then take his class. If not then AVOID!!!!!

Reviews for PLCY306