Michael Pacella

This professor has taught: CHEM131, CHEM135

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Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/25/2022	He's very nice and very understanding of the students. He has a lot of resources for you to access and he usually replies immediately when you email him. His lecture style is interesting where you are forced to go to class and learn. He also has videos covering the material as well as he suggests that you read the textbook. I'd say that you would gain more from watching the video lectures as the concepts he chooses to cover will most likely be on the exam (i made the mistake of not watching them before the first exam and did poorly). He is super good at answering questions during class and makes it possible for even those who are shyer to ask questions without being embarrassed (by using learning catalytics). I'd totally recommend this professor but the only downside is that he speaks very slowly and that his voice can be kind of boring (it's okay in the vids because you can speed them up to 1.5 and it sounds like a regular person on 1.25 speed).
Michael Pacella CHEM131 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/21/2022	I have nothing bad to say about Dr. Pacella. His class grades are pretty simple with HW assignments, clicker questions, and exams. You do need to show up to class for participation points, but the class itself is not too boring. His exams can be difficult, but he adjusts the cumulative grade cutoffs accordingly. Dr. Pacella is very easy to contact and will have office hours almost everyday and has a discord server to answer any questions. Dr. Pacella will provide you with past exams and video recorded lectures that will make studying very easy. One of the coolest teachers ever (you can talk to him on just about anything).
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/21/2022	Great professor, he cares about the subject he's teaching which makes lectures more engaging. The video lectures he posts are essential to the class though since they teach you better than reading the book does. Also really generous with partial credit on exams. As long as you put in work in his class you can definitely pass
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/18/2022	Dr. Pacella is a blessing to UMD's chem department. From labs to most lecturers, chem classes and any weed out engineering class like this one is a pain, but Pacella made it great. I went to most classes because there is in class participation but you technically could do that from your room (I do not recommend this because he goes over similar types of questions right before in class). The homework was also easy. The exams were not too bad given that it is a gen chem class (I got a 97, 80, 72 and 72 on the final) and the class averages are SO low that an 85 in the class got me an A. Dr. Pacella is witty, smart, and really really caring and if you need help, he will find a way to help you just don't fall behind and you will be great. It is so easy to fall behind on videos but if you put them on 2x speed or even 1.5x, you can get through them before class and that will definitely put you ahead of the class (most people are lazy, just do above average and you will be fine!).
Michael Pacella CHEM131 Anonymous 05/17/2022	Dr. Pacella is AMAZING! He is the best professor the chemistry department has and his passion for chemistry is evident every class. This was a flipped classroom so the course required a lot of work outside of class, but he did this so we can do practice problems during class. He had office hours every single day and was very accessible! He also held review sessions before a test and would spend upwards of 5 hours on zoom with us and wouldn't end the call until all questions were answered! He is seriously the kindest professor I have met and he actually cares about his students. That being said his exams were very very difficult and you won't get the grade you desire unless you work for it! NEVERTHELESS, TAKE HIM!
Michael Pacella CHEM131 Anonymous 05/13/2022	Dr. Pacella was one of the nicest professors I've had. He's super understanding and very accessible through email or discord. Before each exam, he holds a review session and answers any questions you have, and provides practice exams from past exams. With that being said, the exams themself were very hard. I took the final today and I would say the practice exams weren't reflective of what was on the actual final, which made me want to cry afterward. If you have him, he's not kidding when you have to study 7-9 hours a week, might even be more.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/10/2022	Dr. Pacella is a wonderful professor. He's always helpful in office hours and has video lectures on every chapter that you go over. It's a lot of work to be successful but his exams are fair and he is a kind person. Great professor.
Michael Pacella Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/23/2022	Professor Pacella is understanding, engaging, and willing to get to know you personally. He is an exceptional teacher who presents material in multiple ways, appealing to many learning styles. He has office hours almost every day of the week and is readily available over Discord or email. I strongly recommend taking his class.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/17/2022	Amazing professor. He clearly cares about his students and their success. His lectures are very clear and he is open to answering questions during class. The video lectures which he posts before class asp help greatly. His practice exams and practice problems will help you prepare for the exams adequately. Also, every time I had to email him about an issue he responded quickly. I never liked Chemistry before this class but he made it easy to understand and enjoyable.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting a B- Anonymous 01/08/2022	Despite my relatively low grade compared to most other reviewers here, I cannot recommend Dr. Pacella enough. He is an absolutely wonderful teacher, and curves VERY generously. Just to give you an idea of how well curved the class was, I got a D, F, and D on the 3 midterms, and yet I still got away with a B- in the end. However I did manage to get a B on the final due to a ton of studying so honestly I barely passed that threshold. The class is very difficult. You NEED to read the textbook and watch the video lectures BEFORE class. You may think it is optional, but if you truly want to succeed in this class you will need to use all the resources given to you. I did not do any of this, and as such a I struggled a ton during the class. Do not do the same mistakes I did. As long as you study at least 2 weeks before each test, and study efficiently, while using the textbook, you will do great. This class is hard but Dr Pacella gives you all the resources needed to succeed. Its simply up to you to use them to their full potential.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/07/2022	Dr Pacella is an amazing professor! His lectures go over the slides that he prepares. He makes video lectures of some slides that cover the main content. WATCH THE VIDEO LECTURES BEFORE CLASS! I didn't find the text book super useful. I found the slides much more helpful (maybe personal preference). Not that many people went to discussion, although mine was at 8am. To make the most of discussion, have questions for the TA. If you take that initiative, it can be like private tutoring. Midterms are tough, but the practice tests were very similar to the midterms. Same for final. Study early.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/30/2021	Dr. Pacella is a great professor! This was his first semester teaching CHEM135, but he taught it extremely well. To start, you need to study a LOT. I did decently well on the midterms (A+ on the first, A on the second, A on the third) because I read the textbook. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO READ THE TEXTBOOK!! A lot of questions on the tests will come from material in the textbooks and just reading the textbook will remind you of information you learned throughout the semester. I made flashcards to reinforce concepts for the first midterm, but I don't think that is necessary anymore. Overall, watch the lectures/take notes and read the textbook and you'll be fine.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Anonymous 12/23/2021	Very good professor. Easy to communicate with and is very understanding. Of course, CHEM135 is a decently challenging course and will take a good amount of leg work and preparation. Pacella helps with every exam by providing practice exams that are pretty relatable to the real exam, all you have to do is do the practice exam and know how to approach the problems. His lectures are slowed down and put online and you are supposed to watch them before every class, and he basically zooms through the same slides during in-class lectures. His lectures are pretty straightforward and he is very open to questions and has a positive attitude towards his students. His grading is also very fair and he does give a good amount of points for partial work, but do not forget to write the oxidation states of elements when you get to that chapter, because you will lose full points for not writing it down. Overall, this class is designed to see if you are really about that Engineering life and whether or not you can put in the effort and succeed in a difficult class. It is not a piece of cake and you will have to study a fair amount to be able to get those exam grades up, but if you actually listen to his lectures and do the practice exams, I can almost guarantee a B-/C+ at the bare minimum. If you already have a solid chemistry foundation, then all you have to do is do the practice exams and pay attention to the difficult stuff during lectures and then you will get an A. The class is very similar to AP Chemistry except it's a lot more fast-paced, so if you have taken that class it is very comparable. Anyways, just listen to his lectures and do the practice exams, and you are golden.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2021	Pacella is definitely one of the nicest professors I have ever come across. CHEM135 is supposed to be a nightmare for engineering majors and is often considered a "weed-out course" but after hearing things from friends who have Griffith and comparing her with Pacella, it is clear that Pacella is the way to go. Pros: - There is an insane curve for this class. I did decently well on the first midterm (A) but FAILED the last two midterms (D & E). However, I have an A on my transcript for this class because an 80% was the cutoff for an A letter grade this semester. - Pacella does "clicker questions" through a website called Learning Catalytics and they are easy points to boost your grade. This does mean you have to go to lectures to know when the questions go live. You even get half credit for each question just for participating and submitting an answer. For example, if there were 4 Learning Catalytics questions in a given lecture and you happened to submit an answer for every question but they were all wrong, you would still get a 2/4 for that day. Pacella drops the lowest few Learning Catalytics sessions from your overall grade at the end of the semester. Also, since Pacella is such a nice person, he will frequently announce that a Learning Catalytics session will be fully participation points for some days (ex: after an exam date or after a confusing lecture) - The textbook is online and interactive through Pearson which is helpful. Do NOT fall behind on reading because Pacella will assign chapters to read but it is extremely easy to get away with not reading which becomes a horrible habit. You must purchase the textbook for this class because the online homework comes with the package. - There are weekly online homeworks based on the readings. Pacella drops the lowest to help your grade. - There are 3 midterms and one final. In the case that you do better on the final exam than you did on one of the midterms, your final exam score will replace your lowest midterm exam score. THIS. SAVED. ME. Cons: - Not necessarily a complaint regarding the professor but there is a whole crap ton of material for this class. The curriculum for this class is similar to the content covered in AP Chemistry from high school... Only about 5x as fast. - The midterms are HARD. I often found myself studying for over a week on these exams yet still receiving the scores that I mentioned previously. On the first midterm the class average was a B but that quickly dropped to a class average of a D on the second and third midterms. Our second midterm also had way too many questions to be able to do in 50 minutes. Pacella even sent out an email to the class to apologize for how lengthy it was. However, the curve for the class was adjusted to compensate for this. - Occasionally, it would be difficult to fully understand what Pacella was lecturing about. He is extremely knowledgable and it is possible that he forgets that he is lecturing to a class full of majority freshman students who are learning these concepts for the first time. This is a rare complaint though. Most of the time, his lectures are very informative. - It is pretty easy to pass the class and pull even an A. What would be an E (55%) in another class was considered passing and curved to a (C), based on the curve we were given. (This will most likely change based on how YOUR class performs on midterms). Because of this, I don't know how much I truly retained from this class. Overall, I think Pacella is the way to go for CHEM135. He makes what would be the most atrocious and painful class of your first semester in college a decently fair and doable class.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/21/2021	Pacella was the best professor I have had so far. CHEM135 is a hard course and moves extremely quickly but he gives you a lot of practice. He offers textbook readings, in class participation points for a grade boost, online videos, discord, held office hours all the time, gave exam practice, and held review sessions for every exam. Very approachable professor and will make sure you understand the material. The exams are difficult involving multiple choice questions and very long, difficult word problems but he gives a very generous curve depending on what the class average is. Take a lot of time to study for all exams! All in all you want this professor.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/20/2021	Dr. Pacella is a great teacher who truly cares about his students. I think this was his first year teaching here but he was very professional and good at making the class enjoyable. He has ample resources to making you succeed in the class and won't hesitate to answer any questions you have if you are struggling. I also enjoyed how he gives "engineer specific" questions in his free response questions, it truly shows how thoughtful he is in teaching the course and it's kind of funny.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Anonymous 12/18/2021	I believe that Dr. Pacella's teaching method and appreciation for his students makes him an amazing professor. Generally his tests are fair (although they are pretty difficult) and he gives you a good amount of resources to study with. Anty complaints I've ever had with chemistry revolve more around the curriculm rather than the teacher, and the fact that Dr. Pacella was able to teach such a ridiculous course so well is a testament to his ability. He has his quirks, and sometimes he doesn't explain things the greatest way in lecture, but if you ask questions he makes sure to try and answer them so you understand. Even so, Chem135 is a difficult course, so dont expect a cakewalk. but expect to be supported by a great teacher.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Anonymous 12/18/2021	Great professor. The course itself is very fast, but Pacella takes the time outside of lecture to help anyone who needs it through office hours, discord, and review sessions before exams. He truly cares for each student and I highly recommend him for this course
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/17/2021	Dr. P was the man, hes a great teacher and if you try hard enough you can get an A. His expectations are well laid out.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Anonymous 12/17/2021	Pacella is great and caring and is best possible professor for this course. Hey, whoever gave him a 2 star, youre lying. This must've been a prank right. The person who gave a 2 star probably talks during lectures. Office hours help tremendously and will double your midterm/final exam score if you go to those. He makes you understand concepts that you weren't strong on and had questions with. '
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/16/2021	Dr. Pacella is a great professor, and I will even go to say that he is the best chem 135 professor currently when I am writing this review. He is so helpful and cares about his students. Also if you are an engineering major I highly recommend taking Pacella. Dr. Pacella makes chem 135 manageable if you put in the time and effort into learning the material taught.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Anonymous 12/13/2021	Dr. Pacella is a very nice person and will do his best to help you pass and understand the course. That being said, while the other reviews are raving about his teaching style, I would recommend taking Griffth and avoiding Pacella. His explanations are convoluted and he has a hard time simplifying hard concepts into a vocabulary that students can understand. It is easy to become distracted in lecture when you have to sit there and mentally define every other word. I would be the first to admit that chemistry is not my forte. However, I have spent an insane amount of time studying for this class in hopes of passing. I have to study a month out before every midterm because Dr. Pacella seems to delight in multi-step word problems that are extremely hard and force you to scramble to apply the content in ways you have never tried and you hope will work. Dr. Pacella tries his best to help during office hours and is very accommodating, however, even then he struggles to explain. I feel bad writing this review because he is such a nice person but I feel obliged to give future students a warning that it is not all sunshine and rainbows.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Anonymous 12/13/2021	Amazing teacher that genuinely cares for each and every student. The class itself goes very fast and is difficult but with the resources that Dr. Pacella gives you, it is absolutely passable. That being said, you need to put the time and effort into the course or else you will be behind very quickly. There are textbook readings, video lectures, and in person lectures with in class participation points on the content. If you have any questions, GO TO OFFICE HOURS, Dr. Pacella will talk to you and answer your question(s) until you understand. As well, he will explain a certain subject as many times as necessary. He makes practice exams and give you access to past exams with challenging questions that prepare for every exam. He is a great human being and an even better Professor, I definitely recommend taking him.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Anonymous 12/10/2021	Great teacher for just how hard chemistry is. Explains very well and wants to make sure you learn. If you go to office hours for a question, you will walk out understanding the answer and the topic. Gives a good amount of credit and is a very valid grader. He gives practice problems for each exam that actually relate to the exam, so always do those. Please take him!
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Anonymous 12/09/2021	He is really the best. This man does no wrong. But with that being said one cannot pass this class without investing time to learn the material. I mean lots of time. As long as you're trying, he will 100% be your best bet!
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Anonymous 12/06/2021	The literal Goat, Dr. Pacella is the nicest professor I had freshman year. His explanations are top notch and unmatched. If you have questions, go to office hours and he will definitely help you out. There is so much content in the course that it is important to study on your own before tests. He provides tons of review material. If you put in the work, you will see results on the exams. In regards to the exams, they are some what difficult. They will really challenge your understanding of the topics. Just make sure to study and you will be just fine. (I got his final next week so hopefully all goes well).
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/06/2021	Dr. Pacella did an amazing job teaching with the content he was given in Chem135. I think the video lectures were immensely helpful and that his teaching style was very engaging and easy to follow. He is a great person and a great teacher that covered a hard class pretty well.
Michael Pacella CHEM135 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/06/2021	Amazing Professor, is new but great. You want him. His teaching is good, very understanding and flexible. Does Learning catalytics which help you understand content and is easy grade boost. Midterms are scary and hard but also has a very generous curve.