AI Rate Professor

Physics & Planetary Sciences

Donald Sparks

PHYSICS101 · ASTRO3 · PHYSICS66 · ASTRONOMY · PHYSICS6 · PHY3415 · AST104 · ASTRO101 · PHY101 · PHI3415 · ASTR3 · PHYSICS102 · PHYS06 · PHYS6 · PHY06 · PHYS006 · ASTRONOMY1 · PHY6 · PHYSICS10 · PHY102 · 36 lifetime ratings

AI rating
24/100
RMP rating
2.4/5
Take again
100%
Difficulty
4.0

The decision

unless you already know the material well and .

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerConfusing LecturesHeavy Hard HomeworkHarsh GraderStrict AttendancePolarizing Humor
  • Many students say and forces self-teaching from the book and .
  • Tests are frequently called very hard while and .
  • A minority find him funny, insightful, or helpful, but the .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

22/100

Comments , and heavy work; easy As are rare without strong prior physics skill.

All evidence is in-person; there are no online reviews.

Is the course easy?

BrainBurner

18/100

Students call physics with him extremely hard, poorly explained, and far more difficult than comparable courses.

Difficulty is high across physics and many astronomy sections in person.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

12/100

Reviews repeatedly mention roll call, seating charts, penalties for lateness or missed hours, and forced board work.

.

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

24/100

Despite sparse formal take-again data, the dominant .

Recommendation tone is overwhelmingly negative in the in-person record.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Harsh

22/100

Students report , and little ; a few call the scale fair only if all work is done.

Format shift

In-person only.

Workload

Overwhelming

16/100

Hours of , and board problems are common complaints for full-time students.

Format shift

In-person only.

Teaching experience

Poor

28/100

Many say he does not explain, gives vague answers, or ridicules questions, though some like his jokes and demos.

Format shift

In-person only; older and newer reviews both include strong negatives.

Assessment method

Balanced

55/100

, and difficult exams rather than one single assessment type.

Format shift

In-person only.

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

36 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person physics and astronomy students mostly , and strict attendance, with a minority praising humor or demos.

Main concern

Unclear teaching plus hard tests and .

What students said

“ class. Barely lectures.”
PHYSICS6
“ but not how to use them... . AVOID!”
PHYS006
“You will . Run for the exits for your own GPA's sake!”
PHYS06

Remote format

Online

0 reviews

Low confidence

No stored summary is available for this format.

Main concern

No main concern is stored for this format.

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are repeatedly described as hard or brutal, with concept focus and little student-friendly proctoring detail.

Hard ExamsConcept-Heavy TestsFormulas on Board SometimesLecture Right Before Tests

Assessment risk

Strict

28/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and concept-heavy; some say formulas are on the board, others say exams feel unfair or poorly aligned.

Hard TestsConcept FocusHomework-Linked ExamsLast-Minute Lecturing
“ .”
PHYSICS102
“ but he does put the formulas on the board.”
PHYS06

Online

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“ class. Barely lectures.”

Voice snapshots generated from 36 in-person reviews, highlighting hard teaching and heavy workload themes. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

28/100

“Does not know how to teach.”

🚫

24/100

“ class.”

📚

20/100

“You will have to learn everything yourself from the book.”

⏱️ Workload Overload

16/100

“You will . Run for the exits for your own GPA's sake!”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • Barely lectures
  • He cracks some funny jokes, but that's the only good thing about him.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • . AVOID!
  • .

Theme 3

📋

  • Takes roll every class
  • Has a seating chart and
  • You will .

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

36

Recent reviews read by the AI

36

Lifetime ratings

82/100

Evidence confidence

Thirty-six in-person reviews over many years consistently describe hard, unclear teaching despite some positive outliers.

Inside 36 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 55
4 out of 55
3 out of 57
2 out of 59
1 out of 510

Course coverage

PHYSICS64 reviews
ASTRONOMY3 reviews
PHYS063 reviews
PHYS63 reviews
PHYSICS1013 reviews
Show 17 more courses
ASTRO32 reviews
PHYS0062 reviews
PHYSICS662 reviews
1011021 review
2201 review
AST1041 review
ASTR31 review
ASTRO1011 review
ASTRONOMY11 review
PHI34151 review
PHY061 review
PHY1011 review
PHY1021 review
PHY34151 review
PHY61 review
PHYSICS101 review
PHYSICS1021 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

3 reported outcomes

A range

2

A 2

B range

0

No reported values

C range

0

No reported values

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

1

Not_Sure_Yet 1