Allison, Jeffrey 3 Recommendations

He does not require the book, but suggests you get some intro chemistry text book just for reference, which has been useful at times. His classes are fun and a little engaging. Test come right from the notes, which he doesn't print out; but he does use the chalkboard (actually a whiteboard) a lot for notes: Notes - writes out major points and key definitions, making sure everyone has a good chance to copy the information and then gives lots of examples. The lab is fun though it doesn't really go along with the lecture, BUT that's okay: Dr. Allison seems to have such a firm grasp on the subject, that he was able to take the department requirements and the material from the books and really make them his own. He arranged the material in a way that makes sense. And he relates it to real life interesting and/or funny stories. Did I mention his class is fun? Also I have observed him being very available to students who need extra help.

Professor Allison is a great professor. He lectures very well (i.e. I never fall asleep in class). He's really funny too and throws in a lot of stories from his past chem lab experiences that are relevant to the lecture. He actually teaches chemistry, by which I mean, he doesn't just make you memorize a bunch of stuff, he actually tries to get you to understand the concepts you are learning. This class requires a good deal of time spent studying outside of class, but if you are able to successfully complete and understand all of the homework problems from the textbook then you should do pretty well on the exams. The three midterm exams are administered in the testing center, which is made available to students for roughly a week. These tests are untimed, so you can take up to 8 hours if you want. The final is given during class. A molecular model set is allowed for these tests and is definitely a good investment for this class in general.