Jeffrey Parsells-johnson

This professor has taught: SOCY100, SOCY105, SOCY200, SOCY224, SOCY463

Sort By:

Information	Review
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY100 Anonymous 11/29/2023	First of all, I've gotta start by saying that Dr. PJ is a really, really nice guy. If you're reading this, Dr. PJ, which I know you probably will be at some point... please know that this is not a dig at you as a person. You are an awesome dude and I wish you the best. I did not enjoy this class at all. I took this class because I saw it was online and heck, it was a 100-level gen-ed in sociology, a field known for being mostly fluff. What could go wrong? The problems with this course are a result of two main things: unclear expectations/guidelines on assignments and ridiculous grading. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. There were four big papers in this class which were essentially the biggest part of the grade aside from the final project. No example papers were provided for any of these, and the guidelines were vague. A rubric was provided, but it was cryptic and esoteric for no reason. It would say things like, "The paper POPS with conceptual scaffolding." Dude... just say that you want to see good connection to course concepts. The most ridiculous part of the rubric, however, is that 10% of your grade for each paper depends on if your paper "gleams with sociological imagination." The syllabus even admitted that the "gleam" part of the rubric is pretty subjective. I hated the papers so much. I don't think I've ever procrastinated on an assignment more in my life than I did on these papers. It was so hard to even start writing because I didn't know what was expected of me. The one thing I did appreciate is that Dr. PJ had a "best by" policy for due dates, which meant that assignment due dates were more suggestions rather than actual hard deadlines. Dr. PJ, if you're reading this, your class could be so much better if you would just provide an example paper for the assignments and grade more fairly. This is college so I understand expectations should be high even for a 100-level sociology course, but students can't do well if they don't know what is expected of them. I have a sibling who took SOCY100 so I know that this is not what other SOCY100 classes here look like.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY200 Expecting a B- Anonymous 10/21/2023	Dr. PJ is really enthusiastic about the topics but does not explain them in a good way. He tries to explain complex concepts with other complex concepts that also make no sense. This class consists of lectures, take-home tests, 3 critical thinking papers and weekly class participation that is about a paragraph response to a prompt he gives in the lecture (so you have to go). The critical thinking papers have a rubric but it is not clear and he is a very harsh grader. Easy class if you are very perceptive to what he says in class and the take-home tests are super easy.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY463 Expecting an A Anonymous 09/13/2023	nice professor, do the readings, lenient with deadlines, really helpful in office hours
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY224 Expecting an A- Anonymous 08/22/2023	Nice guy but weird grading
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY224 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/02/2023	great professor, very lenient with deadlines and flexible with classes.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY224 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/20/2023	Good teaching, very funny. Workload is manageable and easy. Classes are straightforward and interesting. If you come to class, the class will be very easy.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 02/28/2023	This was first GenEd that I thought was overly drawn out with excessive and harshly graded work, this professor is too broad on his expectations for assignments in class and will make it seem like an assignment until you see a poor grade for an assignment you worked hard on. If you want a class that you deliberately want to waste your precious time with then go ahead, but if you make the right option, do not take this class with him. He does have a kind and understanding persona, but for the sake of your grade, there are better options. Also take in consideration I do not write reviews for these classes/ professors and taking the time to do this should speak volumes on how you should avoid this course with this professor.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY100 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/25/2023	Dr. PJ seems like a nice guy who's trying his best. Unfortunately, his best just isn't good. This man does not know how to explain concepts in a clear and easy to understand way. He'll define an incredibly abstract concept we haven't learned by connecting it to other equally abstract concepts we haven't learned. He'll spend an entire class doing a deep dive of a concept but won't define it until the end. He'll casually mention the theories of random sociologists as if we should know them. All that would probably work if he was just teaching grad students, but he never should have been put in charge of an introductory class. I feel like I should comment on the harsh grading debate, since everyone else is. Dr. PJ's inability to explain things extends to assignment directions. He'll devote an entire class period to explaining an assignment in some complicated way, but won't post a simple rubric half the time. When he does, it includes phrases like "pops with conceptual scaffolding" (uses connected class concepts) or "gleams with sociological imagination" (literally just a point for vibes). I usually did well on the assignments, but I would spend hours before each big assignment gathering all the different rubrics and expectations from different places and writing them out so I understood it, then doing a huge pre-write for the essay with the class concepts I was going to include. I got good grades from him, but I shouldn't have had to put in that much work to get them. Also, the class was set up so Dr. PJ would grade half the students and the TA would grade the other half. My final assignment was graded by the TA (Danielle Koonce) instead of Dr. PJ and randomly had 15% taken off with no explanation, so some of the harsh grading mentioned here could have just been the TA.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/24/2022	The only people who said he doesn’t grade harsh definitely wants to be teachers pet LOL. Worst professor ever. Grades harsh and refuses to admit his rubric and feedback are ridiculously unclear. Unresponsive through email. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE UNLESS YOU WANT EXTRA STRESS!!!!!
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/19/2022	To whoever said "A lot of people think that he grades harshly, but frankly, that's not entirely true." Yes, it is. I have spent hours upon hours across several days working on his assignments only for him to give me a mediocre grade. I'm not the greatest writer ever, but I have never gotten worse grades on writing assignments than I have in this class. Absolutely insane standards for a 100 level course.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY100 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/16/2022	Was super chill and down to earth but his grading standards and expectations for students are ridiculously high. This class was designed for introductory-level sociology and as a 100-level class, I felt like I was back in my 300-level class with the standards and expectations. Not an easy A, you have to work for it. His rubrics (if he has one, sometimes he doesn't) can be somewhat unclear and one of the points is if it wow'ed him. However, he drops your worst grades for certain assignments which can be great. He's also pretty forgiving with deadlines (as long as you ask for an extension), especially for STEM majors since he understands the struggle. I think he'd feel a lot more comfortable with a higher-level class because it's clear he's passionate about sociology, but the introductory class just doesn't seem to fit his standards and expectations.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting an A- kitkaty 12/13/2022	Honestly not an evil professor, very accommodating to extensions and deadlines. Nice and engaging lectures. However, like all the previous reviews mentioned he grades harshly for a 100-level class so do not expect an easy A class which many do for SOCY. I would not recommend taking him unless you're interested in sociology discussions or is a sociology major (the majority of my class were not).
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/12/2022	A lot of people think that he grades harshly, but frankly, that's not entirely true. He expects specific things in his grading scheme, and doesn't have much lenience in definitions, applications of concepts, or otherwise. Yes, that is something that I would expect to see in a higher level sociology class than SOCY105, but I think he makes up for this. He is completely willing to work with you if you need extensions for one reason or another. Being an electrical engineering major, it would happen more often than not that a paper would be due within a day or two of an exam in one of my major requirement courses, and since he has a Bachelor's degree in math, he understands what that courseload is like. Additionally, he is a very knowledgeable person who does a remarkable job at keeping politics out of the classroom as much as possible, given this class could be easily turned into a propaganda fest, one way or another. I enjoyed his approach to teaching, and really enjoyed his envolvement of the classroom in discussions about the course material. Ultimately this class was NOT the easy A I was expecting it to be, rather quite the contrary, and I would not recommend it for anyone who only wants the easy A. Anyone who has an interest in sociology would absolutely do right to take this class, especially with Dr. PJ, and I would highly recommend him as a professor for other classes. His expectations are high but to be honest, welcome to college. This isn't high school anymore, and since I have experience with the UMD math department, I know what harsh grading looks like and this isn't it.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/11/2022	Too much work
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Anonymous 12/10/2022	Grades harsh, respond once a month. Way too much work for a 100-level
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/09/2022	Harsh grader and unresponsive to emails and comments. Do not take unless you Loveee sociology.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/09/2022	Please do not take this class if you need it for a prereq or expect a 100-level type class. He’s nice, and clearly knows a lot about sociology. However, he expects a LOT OF WORK for a 100-level class and rambles a lot during lectures. It’s incredibly draining. He grades so so so harsh for a normally “easy” class, with his rubrics being incredibly unclear. Even tho prof leaves feedback, his standards are high and requires you to be deeply interested in sociology. The average for most of our writing assignments were C-! Attendance is mandatory. There are 5 big papers and then a BIG PODCAST at the end- however he takes 3 weeks to grade a paper so by the time I knew how bad the class was it was too late to drop out.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/06/2022	Professor Parsells-Johnson is a very interesting and knowledgable professor and he knows how to keep a classroom engaged. He also is understanding when it comes to deadlines and will always be willing to work with you if you need an extension. However, even though this is a 100 level class be prepared for the grading to be very harsh and more like to that of an upper level class than its 100 level designation. And although he does give extensive feedback, I would not recommend this class if you do not have more than an elementary level understanding of sociology or see this class as easier to get an A in, as even if you put in the work to obtain a better understanding of sociology in the class you most likely will not end up with an A, but an A- or B+.