Maria Crisafi

DO NOT TAKE ANY CLASS WITH HER EVER. EVER. EVER. I had psych stats with her and she is the worst professor I've ever had it was almost unreal. She never was able to explain anything and it was so evident that she had no idea what she was talking about that you couldn't help but pity her. She said on the first day of class that she specializes in developmental psychology but what she really must have beens saying is that she knows absolutely nothing about psychology statistics. She is so incapable of answering questions she would blatantly admit she wouldn't understand what the student was saying and would move on. Sometimes she would avoid asking if we had questions/ going over confusing coursework because she wouldn't be able to answer questions. So we would go on to new material without fully knowing the previous material. All her power points are copied straight from the book that she just reads off. And she goes so fast taking notes is impossible. The only reason i ever went to class ever was to turn in homework that she only graded for completion. Other than that it was the biggest waste of time. she also has the weirdest sense of humor that comes off as rude, sarcastic, and hesitant. I had to learn all the material from the book because words cannot emphasize how little help she was. I scored well above average on all the tests, studied a ridiculous amount, and still end…

She's not that bad. I took her course over the summer and yes, it is DULL, but it's not entirely her fault. She's pretty funny, actually, and her parenting stories break up some boring material. True that she does basically recite what's in the textbook (by reading it off the ppt slides), but part of that is attributable to trying to squeeze a lot of information into a short period. I personally find developmental psych monumentally dull, so I don't blame it on her. And whoever said the text book was more interesting must have had a different book, because the one we used made me want to blind myself to be able to stop reading. The tests were also not that hard, and she offered extra credit because she very obviously wants everyone to do well. She IS, however, pretty disorganized, often forgetting to send us things she'd promised or sending them so late as to almost be useless. In short, the class is not the nightmarish experience the other reviews make it out to be. I wouldn't take it for kicks but if you need it, don't dread it, it'll be fine.

Prof Crisafi is very nice. Her lectures are somewhat boring (though no more so than your average college course)and it often seems that she is not covering much material. For the tests its important to at least skim the reading highlights and know them as well as studying class notes. A lot of material needs to be remembered for exams, but it isn't impossibleas long as you're thourough.

The worst professor I have ever taken! You are left to your own devices to understand & cover the material because she will NOT do it. She is completely disinterested in teaching & could not care less about your learning. However, she will test you on EVERYTHING!

The Devil Wears Eileen Fisher!!! I swear this woman is missing part of her brain. I sat through this class wishing that she would say ONE intelligent thing, but alas, nope! She also taught both lab sections and would change her mind from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning and then ask the Wednesday morning lab to repeat information to Tuesday. This resulted in the such mass confusion that everyone failed their first assignment. The grading rubrics she gave the TAs for the lab were absurd! This is why more than half of the lab students are pass/failing the class. Not only is she a failure as a teacher but she is a failure as a parent as she tells us in class. Her stories detail all of her children's mishaps with the law and otherwise. I feel so badly for her, but seriously.... DO NOT GO NEAR HER!

Very boring lectures, seems to not have any clue of what she is talking about unless she is going on one of her tangents about her children. Lectures were painful due to the fact that she pretty much read straight out of the textbook and was extremely disorganized, but there was a sign in sheet passed around during every class so you had to attend.

Crisafi is something of a contradiction. Her classes generally consist of her detailing some incredibly basic material for 15 minutes or so, then spending the remaining time talking about her family or showing movies that serve little purpose other than to allow you to doze off. However, despite her incredibly kind demeanor, she is a tough grader and does expect you to know the material from the book she 'didn't get a chance to cover' in class. Much of the semester is spent by students giving oral reports for the first half of the class, giving her another opportunity to kick back and relax. I don't mean to sound venomous, she really is nice, but it's somewhat vexing. The class is a relaxing way to spend an hour or two, but does require a lot of reading to figure out what the hell you're supposed to be learning.

I seriously HATED this class with her. The subject was interesting but she made it so dull, I can't emphasize that enough. I guess she is nice, the few times I did try to approach her, she spoke to me like if I was a 2 year old, which was not appreciated. I did well in her first exam, but couldn't take her lectures so I dropped her course. If you need to take Dev.Psych. wait to take it with Nim Tottenham, she rocks!!

I looked forward to getting a bikini wax more than going to her class. She pretty much recited exactly what was in the textbook during her lectures. But honestly, I found the textbook to be more exciting and intellectually stimulating than she was. Also, anyone who has taken a gender class wil probably find her lecture on the differences between boys and girls to be mildly offensive. She takes attendance, so bring your laptop to class and play solitaire. Her two midterms were ridiculously hard, and require you to memorize every minute detail in the textbook. The second midterm was given one week before the final (she obviously thinks that her class is the only one weÂ’re taking). If that wasnÂ’t bad enough, she posted our midterm grades on the blackboard right before we took the final: 3 students got an A, and 9 students failed. You would think a psych professor would know better. And for the record, I got a B+ in her class (just so you know that IÂ’m not a bitter student who got a C). However, I know the majority of the class did not do so well. On the flip side, her final was really easy. She gave us the essay questions that were going to be on the exam a week earlier, so you really only had to prepare the night before the test. Avoid this class if you can.

Professor Crisafi is a really nice woman, but her lectures are a waste of time because everything she says is talked about in the textbook. I wouldn't have gone to class at all if she didn't take attendance and show random videos that were usually mentioned on exams. Read the textbook and use her notes to highlight what's most important, and you will do well on her exams. It's a lot of memorization, but also a lot of common sense... overall, I recommend this as a nice blow off class.