Ouellette, Michelle  

Basically she just teaches straight out of the book so there's no reason to go to class except that she has class participation points that you have to go to class for which she probably added because nobody ever went to class because they didn't have to. The online homework is dumb and it doesn't work very well. My roommate and I used to have "astro homework time" where I would basically sit there and yell and cuss at the computer for an hour while everyone sat and laughed at my frustration. that was probably the highlight of the class for me. but she's still very understanding and approachable.

I really didn't like her class. It may have been because it was at 8 in the morning, but her lectures just dragged on and were full of just definitions and things we had already read in the book. I didn't find anything she said to be interesting, and the reason I took the class was because I had an interest in the subject. The homework was online homework, and was quite difficult. You had to search for the answer because it wasn't based on ideas you would remember. The tests were loosely based on the homework, and hardly anything I took notes on was on a test. I wouldn't recomend this teacher, I heard about a lot of other classes actually doing interesting experiments and looking at the stars rather than being bored in a classroom.

Professor Ouellette is a nice lady. She is. But her teaching skills belong in a 4th grade classroom. If you want to feel like you\'re back in elementary school and not competent or mature enough to sit through a college lecture, take this class. There are daily tutorials out of a workbook, which just add to the 4th grade atmosphere, and her weekly quizzes contain questions designed to trick you and test your memory of the smallest details she MIGHT have mentioned in class. Oh, and also, she dresses entirely inappropriately for being a college professor. One time she wore a see-through shirt and displayed her white bra to the class, and she often exposes her midriff. I\'ll give her credit for trying to get to know her students individually, but there is a point where you need your professor to be your professor. In every way she is unfit for the college classroom so if you miss feeling like a child, enroll in her class. And don\'t forget to bring your crayons and lunch box to class every day for your gold star.

This class isn\'t too bad. You have to study for the quizzes and tests because there\'s a lot of material. Astronomy is pretty interesting though, so it\'s not completely boring. Professor Ouellette does treat the class like a bunch of 5th graders and she has worn some pretty inappropriate outfits (ie: see-through shirts and shirts that show her midriff). Overall it\'s a pretty good class, just don\'t expect to be treated like a college student.

Michelle Ouellette = FAIL. She is unprofessional and these people are right when they say she dresses inappropriate. Her fashion sense is heinous. Her midriff shows daily and we saw her bra approximately 5 times throughout the quarter. Once excessive cleavage. Her teaching abilities would thrive in the 5th grade. She has a way of making her students feel incompetent and I always felt silly sitting there listening to her talk to us like children. She talks weird too. What a waste of time.

Dr. O was way more helpful than my lecture teacher. I wish I had taken her for recitation as well. She presents material very clearly and helps you out with problems by teaching you how to solve them, not just giving you the answer.

I had Dr. Oullette for both PHYS 132 and 133. It was her second quarter teaching when I had her for 132. I chose a different teacher for 133 but ended up having her again. She had trouble answering questions that students would ask, and most of the time responded in a way that was more confusing than helpful. If you have her class between two other blocks of class, the participation points are nice since you'll be there anyway. However, I had 132 pretty late, so having to show up to get those participation points was kind of a drag, especially since her lectures were pretty much straight from the book. Her tests seemed a bit random to me (despite doing all of the assigned homework and showing up to every class) but I'm sure she'll get better with it as time goes on. There were questions that were pretty open for interpretation, but you were graded based on putting down what she wanted to hear, which made them trickier than they should have been. She had two midterms and a final, along with a quiz every week that there wasn't a test. The quizzes were pretty straightforward and easy. I did alright on her tests, thought I did horribly on the 132 final, and ended up getting a B+ somehow. Her class definitely isn't hard to pass, but I didn't come out feeling like I learned a whole lot.

Ouellette is pretty chill. I had taken 133 the previous quarter and thought 132 was much easier. Michelle's grading scheme was very favorable to students (see reviews below) and she curved a lot at the end of the quarter as well. In other words, she isn't out to get you like some teachers seem to be. I went to every class but you probably don't have to if you keep up with the reading and the homework. The only complaint I have about this class is that she uses Mastering Physics for homework, which can take a lot of time. Her tests are difficult and aren't necessarily like any of the homework problems you did but the EASY weekly quizzes as well as homework, lab, and other grading categories will help to keep your grade high even if you do horrible on one of the midterms. Take her if you can.

Lets see... The only possible complaint about this class would be mastering physics, I'd think it to be nearly impossible without the solution manual. I was able to get an A in the class, but I worked way harder than I did in 141. The lab was a pain, and only once did a lab reflect in lecture (she actually took a workbook problem some kid asked how to do in lab and put it on the midterm). Her exams were fair, she gave a good amount of partial credit when you clearly showed your work... Actually... The second midterm only had four questions, three were similar to homework, but one was pretty out there... I'm still not sure what the question asked........ Overall, I'd take her again in a heartbeat.

A BITCH!

Really lacking on most examples. For example when going over the doppler effect she didn\'t link it to how a truck goes WEEEEOOOOOOO when it passes you. I lost a lot of points over the quarter because she wrote a few equations incorrectly on the board and when everyone in the class asked why they got the questions wrong on the quiz she just said that we must have all written the equations incorrectly in our notes. Nice teacher, but she is horrible at explaining things

I thought the material she presented was very straight-forward, she gave clear examples in class of what was going to be on the test. As long as you pay attention during lectures and do the homework carefully, you will not have a problem with this class. The two most important things you need to remember are to be detailed on your homework and tests, and go to her office hours because she will help you out there and let you know if things are on the test

Michelle is awesome, i\'ve had her for 1 lecture and 2 labs now. Her class is set up so that you actually have to do the homework to do well, and the work load isn\'t bad at all. So people that complain that it\'s hard obveously didn\'t do the work. One of the nicest people I have ever met and is extremely helpful in office hours and in lab. Almost impossible to get below a C, just show a little effort on the homeworks and she will know that your trying. Would recommend her for any class. And the people that complain about how she dresses need to grow up, she\'s hot, in her 20\'s and teaches intro level physics. She doesn\'t teach rocket science so get over it.

I agree with the previous post...no engineering/physics/science major should really be getting anything lower than a C with her if you\'re giving it an honest effort. I took physics with her my freshman year and found her to be a good and fair professor. She\'s a cool individual and is easy going and approachable in her office hours. And also, I don\'t remember the last time anyone complained about the way a hot professor dressed. Sure, maybe some of us momentarily let our minds drift to the little bit of skin we saw when she wrote high on the board. But honestly, who the hell cares? It made me want to come to class and pay attention. She makes business attire look good...kind of an analogy to Renee Walker in season 7 of 24 or Agent Scully from the X-Files lol.

She is definitely a must have here at Poly. She made the lectures as interesting as they can be considering the content and if anyone had any difficulties she would make sure everyone was on the same page. The midterms and final weren't too bad. If you knew what you were doing with the hw then the tests were straight forward. I had a C+/B- average going into the final and managed to get a B+ in the class. So the curve helps quite a bit. She's also really helpful in office hours. Overall, a great professor.

I had Dr. Ouellette for PHYS 132 and 133 a year ago, and thought she was a great professor. She's a relatively new professor, and it was nice having someone who's still young and energetic in the classroom. Her classes are set up so your grade doesn't completely fall onto your midterms and final which definitely helps. Another component of your grade in addition to the tests and lab is in-class participation, so it does help your grade to show up to class. Her lectures are pretty straightforward, although some people may feel the lectures are somewhat regurgitated from the book. She is very helpful in office hours and will do her best to make sure you understand the material. Another plus is that she uses blackboard to post answers to quizzes and tests, along with supplemental handouts. As for her tests, they're very fair if you have done all the homework on her syllabus. Although sometimes she'll throw in a question that will require you to pull some material from PHYS 141, but that's not asking much since 141 is a prerequisite. Overall, Dr. Ouellette is a really good professor that everyone should seriously consider when choosing their physics classes.

I would not take her if you can help it. Her homework/quizzes/tests are pretty difficult. She doesn't do many examples in class. She also flirts with everyone in the class and it's really annoying/waste of time.

cute as fuck

Had her about 3 years ago as a Freshman for 132 and 133 during her first year here teaching, but never got around to giving her a review on Polyratings until now. I really enjoyed having her for the majority of my engineering physics classes...very nice, always enthusiastic, and pleasant to talk to in office hours. Although it seemed she just lectured from the book too much sometimes. She is not extremely difficult nor easy. Her class will require an honest effort to learn the material, but that should never discourage anyone to avoid a professor. She gives out fair exams and sets up the class so that your grade is not extremely weighed on exams alone. It would be very hard to get anything below a C range grade with her if you did all the work... As a bonus, she always showed up to class looking professional and definitely is one of the most attractive professors here at Cal Poly. I would recommend her for any class.

I agree with the previous post...no engineering/physics/science major should really be getting anything lower than a C with her if you\'re giving it an honest effort. I took physics with her my freshman year and found her to be a good and fair professor. She\'s cool individual and is easy going and approachable in her office hours. And also, I don\'t remember the last time anyone complained about the way a hot professor dressed. Sure, maybe some of the men in my class sometimes let our minds drift momentarily in lecture when we saw a little bit of skin when she reached up to write something on the board. But honestly, who the hell cares? It made me want to come to class and pay attention. She makes business attire look good...kind of an analogy to Renee Walker in season 7 of 24 or Agent Scully from the X-Files lol.

I typically don't come on here to rate on Polyratings, but I felt compelled to after seeing Michelle no longer listed as part of the Cal Poly Physics faculty anymore. From our last conversation, she was looking to obtain a tenure-track position and would most likely be moving onto greener pastures after the 09-10' school year. I'm glad she did. I took her for the engineering physics series as a freshman. She's easily one of my favorite teachers I've had here. Easily approachable, made most of the material clear in lecture, and just an all around nice person. Some students would ask her borderline "stupid" questions about the class in her office hours, but she would still take time to clarify material without being condescending like a lot of other profs would do. Very fair grading policy and sets her class up so that doing the homework would really help you out. Homework was worth a good amount of your grade, making the exams not as heavily weighing on your overall grade. Tests were also fair...a bit challenging but nothing terrible if I remember correctly. When it came to labs, she never nitpicked and made sure it never ran the full 3 hours (unlike Neil Fleishon...who is a bonafide prick by the way). A lot of times after I was done asking my questions in office hours, if no one else was waiting their turn, she would ask how everything else was going for me and took time to chat about non-school related stuff. That really made an impression on me. A good number of profs can't wait to get rid of their office hour visitors or will try to answer your question while going back and forth to their computer monitors. Even after completing the engineering physics series, I would stop by her office once or twice a quarter as a 3rd or 4th year just to say hello and breifly chat. I'll be graduating from Cal Poly this coming June, and I can honestly say I've had my share of both good and bad profs during my 5 years here. Michelle, along with a few others, remind me that there are still good teachers out there. P.S. Like one previous poster said in response to others about her attire...who the hell cares? She's young, hot, and teaches physics. Haha.

This prof is like a grad student trying to teach... yet failing miserably. She is moody and doesnt lecture well at all. She likes to have you work through the problem yourself and then never give you an answer or lecture on the material. She gets way ahead of herself and does pointless experiments in class. Grades very hard on simple things like homework and doesnt have a specific grading scheme. She likes to take points off when she deems fit, or depending if she likes you or not. Take another teacher!!!

Michelle is probably the most enthusiastic teacher ive had in my life. shes always smiling when she comes to class and it was really refreshing to see that there are still teachers out there who love to teach. your grade is made up online homework (10%), workbook homework and in-class work (10%), 3 midterms (55%-lowest one counts as 15% while others are 20%), and a final (25%). With that said, i must say that the class itself is not taught well at all. pretty much every day in the class, all we would do is watch her do demos to show us graphs of velocities and accelerations and etc etc etc. it was cool to see, but she never thoroughly taught us the material from the book which we were expected to know for tests. i really recommend going into office hours to get help if you need it (which i never did). she is very willing to help out her students and she usually gives a study session a day before each test. the curve in this class is sweeeeeeeeet!!! she makes the average a C+, which makes the class almost impossible to fail. I had a 60% going into the final and came out with a C-. From what I've heard, a lot of the other physics teachers in the department are crap, so i guess i do recommend michelle b/c of her awesome grading scheme and attitude toward her students. really get help if you need it, but don't expect to learn everything from what she goes over in class.

Wonderful!!! There is a bit of a workload, pre-classs exercises, weekly quizzes, and homework. But they do help cushion your grade (about 20% of your overall grade is assignments that are graded for completion) You do need to scan the text before class, it will really help you understand as she doesn't do many examples during lecture. She is very approachable and helpful during office hours. Her tests and quizzes are fair. Test problems are generally the same as homework problems. Overall she is one of my favorite professors here.

Prof cried today.... What a weirdo hahahah get a grip of your life.