Parham, Nancy  

Proffessor parham was in want of a better term....a hard ass. she gives the impression that she is in the practice of favoritism. the select few students' names that she knows happen to be the ones that like her, so i suggest you dont even open ur mouth in the class

I thought she was a really good teacher. Organized, clear, and presented the material well. Do not under estimate her tests thou, they can be tricky. She grades pretty fairly and only gives straight grades (no plus or minuses). In short, pretty straight foward class.

She writes the hardest multiple choice you've ever taken. If you do all the homework, you will be prepared for the exams. Bring a watch and know when to switch from the multiple choice to the proofs.

I guess I learned the material in the end, but Parham's lectures were often confusing and uninspired. I think that she enjoys her work and is very dedicated, but i just couldn't get into her way of doing things. If you just want the information, plain and simple, then Nancy Parham is a suitable choice.

She has a very good understanding of the material. She comes to class extremely well prepared, she urges students to ask questions. He style of teaching is excellent, you could not open your book the whole quarter - just listen carefully in class and you could get an A. Her midterms are a little on the difficult side but she is a very fair grader. Homework is due every week, it is very helpful and relates directly to the material on the midterms. I would take her again if I could. Remember, she isn't an easy teacher, but a good one.

It's unfortunate that Parham has to teach this class. I honestly believe that no one could possibly make this class interesting. The material is just so dry, and very arguably useless that anyone would have problems with it. Parham does an admirable job of it though. Her lectures are clear, her homework is reasonable, but watch out for the tests. Her multiple choice are by far the most difficult I've ever taken. When you have "more than one of the above, none of the above", and the like, it can get really rough. She'll curve if the class does bad enough. Compared to the other professors that can teach it *cough*Brady*cough*, it's Parham hands down.

She was extremely organized, and the format of the class is very easy to follow. Her tests are moderate to difficult, but she allows a notecard--make sure to get down the definitions, because some questions are taken directly from them.

Parham is a good teacher. Discrete Structures is a very new concept to most students and i think she does a fine job teaching such new material. The tests are very reasonable. Do all the homework and you will be in good standings for tests. Her web page is incredibly helpful. If you have any questions or need any help at all, go to her office hours. She is very willing to help you understand the stuff better.

Her way or the highway. She has trouble explaining some important concepts and asks that you take them for granted. When she cannot explain things she gets frustrated very quickly. Her tests are impossible even if you stufy your ass off. Course is useless anyway.

She has a set way of doing things, and if you attend every lecture and take good notes, you should get an A. Obviously, if I had gone to all of the class sessions, I would have gotten an A. Also, I highly recommend taking this class before taking CSC 103 - it is VERY helpful.

It was my understanding that Nancy Parham was a math instructor, yet she no longer seems to teach any math. The material covered in CSC 141 is supposed to be, as described to me, an "easy" version of MATH248, MATH335, CSC445, and a little of CSC349 all rolled together. I accepted the material she provided until I actually took all of the classes. I can now see how poor of a job she does. However, I suppose all of these poor treatments would be acceptable, except for one. In the end of the course, when she gets to Finite State Automota (ment as an introduction to CSC445). It seems as if she herself does not know what she is teaching. I had to take CSC445 before those "lines and circles" she told us about were finally explained. I would wager that in her time at the Cal Poly CSC department, Nancy Parham has only strengthened the division between Cal Poly Math and Computer Science. This is unfortunate, for it is as ridiculous an idea as trying to strip the math away from Physics or Statistics. So many students walk away from CSC141 with a strong bitterness towards Math, which is sad indeed.

I enjoyed this class and the manner in which it was taught. Parham's lectures were clear and relatively easy to understand. The few things I had trouble with she was happy to help me with during office hours. Homework is relevent but can sometimes take a little time. If you keep up with it and pay attention in class, it's not that tough a course. Tests can be a little tricky with multiple choice answers like "A, B, C, Both A and B, None of the above" etc, but if you know the material they aren't bad. I would recommend Parham for this course.

I felt that the material was not presented very well. She doesn't really explain anything, just reads the information to you. Her tests are confusing, even if you know the material. Overall, I don't think she is that great of a teacher, and I am glad that I am done with her class.

I really liked Mrs. Parham. This is my second time taking the class and i am glad I passed it, but she was very supportive of me both quarters I took it. Her office hours were a lot of help though they are a bit early. The material is very hard but for people just starting to get in to CSC and you either get it immediately or you have to work hard through it. Her lectures are pretty clear though they can get long - winded at times. Her tests are very tricky. She likes to ask "Which one of these is FALSE" alot so do not miss those problems on the test. make sure you double check them.

if you have to take csc 141 for CPE majors this is the best teacher. She goes over the material and has a seperate book for which to study from which is very helpful. Her tests are on exactly what she goes over in the lectures. However if you need to stop to blow your nose during her lectures you will find yourself lost because she moves very quickly. She doesnt recognize when a student has problems in class and the only way to get help is to hit up her office hours. Prefered much better than Brady!

Personally i couldn't stand the material in this class. I was bored to death. But Parham is a very fair teacher. She gets boring in lecture but i couldn't see how she could make this material at all entertaining. If this is a required class for you and if you have to take it, i would recommend taking it from here. She doesn't give you a ton of homework like Brady and her tests aren't to bad. I just didn't put enough time in. If you have a choice between her and any other teacher, chose Parham, you will kick yourself later if you don't.

There's a lot of material to cover but I learned a lot. Doing proofs is probably the worst part of the class because there are so many little details to keep track of. If you have to take this class she is the best professor one could hope for.

Parham is really good at presenting material. The homework isn't that bad (especially when compared to Brady). The class seemed most difficult at first with proofs, but then after that it was pretty easy. The tests aren't that bad, some hand written questions with about 20 multiple choice. Nothing you can't pass.

Parham presents material fairly clearly in class. She does get a bit long-winded and very monotone. She also assigns homework very reflective of what she does on the board. However, her tests don't always reflect that. She gives 3 tests which make up 90% of your grade: 2 mid-terms and a final. Her tests are made up of two parts: work and multiple-choice. She gives you 6-8 problems that you need to work out on paper for her. These are very reflective of the homework and very easily fair questions. Her multiple choice on the other hand test a lot of minutia. They are tricky problems where each answer could be correct. She also asks a lot of "Which is the BEST answer." If it's written in small writing in the book or she made passing reference to it, it's on the test. If you want to learn the material and don't necessarily care about your grade (even though a good grade isn't hard to pull off, you just need to put a good deal of time into it), take Parham. You'll get the information you need down solid. Bottom line: Good lecturer, bad tester. Overall, I'd recommend her.

Parham presents the material well enough, but the homework load is pretty severe - don't wait until Thursday night to start it or you'll be dead by morning. Also, keep on top of her website - the assignments are given out there before she even discusses them in class. Tests weren't incredibly bad - 3 or 4 free-response questions and about 20-25 multiple choice questions. You'll do just fine if you do the homework. I had only two major qualms with this class. First of all, you're vaguely required to attend the lecture or else "Your grade will be dropped one full letter grade." - a quote directly from her syllabus. The concepts are easy enough that you can pick them up from the book and her supplemental book from 2nd Edition. My second qualm is against Discrete Mathematics in general - the bulk of the material in the class isn't applicable to real-world situations. Too many concepts are presented without logical proofs or practical applications, making the homework seem like a waste of time. If you can turn a blind eye towards this and plod through regardless, I can guarantee you'll do well.

Parham is a good teacher she explains everything as if you didnt know anything about anything before you entered this class. The homework load is very very very heavy at least 5 hours per week, and be prepared to have hand cramps after you finish especially if you do it all at one time because there is a lot of writing involved. Her tests arent too bad since they are multiply guess and you get a note card. Also be prepared to do everything step by step the way she wants it or you will be docked points all the time even if it is some word that wouldnt make a difference what so ever in the answer you get.

Parham is a decent teacher. The only thing about the class that's bad besides the boring lecture itself is the homework. She gives tons of it as if her class is the only class that you have work in!!!!! But the thing that bugs the most about the homework is that the problems are so similar that you might as well be doing the same problem over and over again. This also makes it feel like you are doing busy work instead of something you can learn from.

CSC 141 isn't as bad a class as everyone makes it out to be. There's a LOT of homework. I feel bad for all the people who take this and Staley's 109 course at the same time. But otherwise, it's not horrible. Parham's lectures are okay the first few weeks, when it's logic, but when it gets to sets and graph theory, she's lecturing right out of her blue book you have to buy. I stopped taking notes about then. Test's aren't that hard, but a lot of people have trouble with her multiple choice (the questions are mostly "Which is the BEST/WORST answer"). But all-in-all, it's not that hard a class. Just pay attention and do the homework, and you'll do fine. Parham seemed willing to help out if you had problems, so I'd say, if you have to take this course, try taking it with her.

Prof. Parham is a good choice for 141. She lectures well, especially on the earlier chapters. However, towards the end, she reads the books she wrote from 2nd Edition, and I thought those chapters were harder because of it. I do better if I can write notes myself, which is what I would have to do at home after class. Her homework load isn't bad if you keep up with it per chapter, otherwise forget it. Her tests are hard, I thought. The fill-in problems are fair enough, and similar to her examples or the homework, but the multiple choice are the pits. Many times I'd read the question wrong by missing or adding a words and while I'd answer MY question correctly, I'd miss hers. You really have to stay on your toes during her exams because of that, because the subject really seems easy - and then the test isn't. Use your note cards. I didn't do much with them til the final, and that is one thing I would have done differently. Her final was the toughest test by far, there were things she barely covered on it, or that was mentioned in the textbook and not in lecture. Also, while I always finished her tests - I barely finished them and couldn't double-check anything. Overall, I think someone else said it - she is a good lecturer and a horrid testmaker - but a good prof who is straightforward and dedicated. She enjoys what she does. I recommend her.

Prof. Parham really knows her stuff. She explains things very well and grades fairly. She has homework assignments that are due every week that aren't too bad. Her midterms are fair (mostly multiple choice). The final is why I received my grade though. I didn't study very hard for the final. If I did, I would've gotten at least a B. I think that Parham is a very good instructor and may be the best one that teaches CSC 141. So, I would suggest taking her.

Cannot pronounce "sigma" - she thinks it is "signa". Enough said.

HAHA i'm so glad i'm done with this class. This topic sucks big crap. If ur gonna take csc 141 parham is your best shot. Homework is 10%, 1st midterm is 30%, 2nd midterm is 30% and final is 30%. The homework is a pain to do but a lot of it helps for the midterms. Final is freakin hard... I dunno what advice to give you on that one. It doesn't seem like u could really prepare for it. A lot of other people in the class felt the same way after. She does curve the midterms and final though. I got a 66 on my first midterm and that was considered a C. You get notecards for the midterms and a full page of notes for the final. Overall, this class isn't as hard as other people say it is. I really suck at math and I pulled a B, basically like every other class stay on top of the homework, she collects it every friday but don't wait till the last minute to do it. This is the type of class where if you fall behind it is hard to catch up. Good luck.

Good Instructor, boring subject. This is what pretty much describes all. All she taught something I already knew (or I was taking another class at the same time that described the stuff in greater detail). Graph Theory(CPE109), Linear inEqualities(Algebra), probabilities (APStats /Stats321)... are some of the things that were "introduced" in this class. If you are a junior and taking CPE/CSC109, this class should be a piece of cake.

Parham was a great teacher for discrete. She teaches this CSC class as a math class, so you should treat it as one. She clearly explains each concept in great detail, in a way that anyone can understand. The textbook is terrible in explaining things, so she wrote her own reader for every chapter after the first one, and thank God! The homework can get pretty heavy if you wait till the night before to do it. Her exams are pretty easy to get a good grade on, as she lets you use an index card to copy formulas and theorems on. Her final was tough for me only because I didn't have time to review all the concepts we went through in the class. I had a friend fail this class that another prof. was teaching, so I would recommend Parham over any of those other CSC 141 professors.

Nancy did a pretty good job with this class, but there were some problems with her teaching style towards the end of the quarter. I enjoyed her style when we did proofs, but as soon as we got into her 'book', she just read straight out of her book to us. I learned the material, but they were some of the worst lectures I've heard so far. Don't even bother buying the hardback book from the bookstore - we never used it, and it just sat on my shelf for a quarter. Having a common final in her class was pretty bad - 100 students cramned into a lecture hall is not fun.

One word for the course: BORING. One word for this instructor: ANAL. This class gives CSC a bad name. Nancy teaches this class very well because she has been teaching it for 9 years. So she is very set in her ways. Don't bother buying the book becuase she has basically written one for you...it is extremely similar to the book but without all the extra crap. Follow her examples-exactly as she does them-and you should get by just fine. If you try to use anything else besides what she shows you--you are sure to get it wrong. ATTEND EVERY CLASS!! Because if you miss a day, you miss alot..especially her examples. The final is so awful--not the actual final--but the fact that you sit in a crammed room with 150 other of her students and at tiny desks that are sure to give you back and neck pains for a week. Overall, you have to take it...so deal with the crap:)

This class really isn't hard, and its because of nervousness and stupid mistakes that I got a B in this class instead of an A. Nancy really knows her stuff, and is good at explaining all the concepts. However, the lecturers are boring, the text book is worthless, and I couldn't walk straight after I got out of the final. Enough said...

This is a very easy class that requires minimal effort at most. I did all of the HW's (got 100 on most of them) and studied maybe an hour for the midterms at most. If you have the time, put in a little more effort and you can get an easy A. Most of class is spent going over examples, and at times it can get repetative and boring. You also don't really need the text book, as most of the work comes from Parham's book which you also need to buy. Bottom line is: if you need to take this class, parham is pretty easy.

This teacher presented the material fairly well, but it feels like you're in a kindergarden class. The problem is the class becomes very boring and you will stop going. This is why I received a C. Oh, and if you haven't bought the book yet, don't! I didn't open it once. The supplement is all you need.

Parham really knows her stuff and she does a pretty decent job of teaching it too. The only problem is the class is as boring as 30 back-to-back episodes of Mr. Rogers. If you can read her course supplement and understand it, you'l be set for the quarter. Since you have to take the class anyway, she's a good teacher to take it from.

About all I feel like saying about Parham is that she is the lesser of three evils. My friends went through torture with Brady and Nico. Parham is easy as long as you do one thing: Follow her instructions TO THE LETTER. No matter how stupid and menail it is, do it, and it'll bump up your GPA at the end of the quarter. This course was a decent amount of work, but most of it was easy.

Fuck fuck fuck. All i need to say. this teacher is the worst here at cal poly. she give incredibly long homework assignments that cause you to think. THINK! who wants to think? also the tests are even harder. shit, why can't she mellow out. hold on *puff* *puff* mmmm, thats some good shit, anyways, what was i saying, oh yeah....

One word for the course: BORING. One word for this instructor: ANAL. she is very set in her ways. ATTEND EVERY CLASS!! Because if you miss a day, you miss alot..especially her examples. The final is so awful. Overall, you have to take it...so deal with the crap:) She was the reason why I decided to get out of CSC!!! I HATED HER AND THE CLASS AND THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT BY THE TIME I WAS DONE THAT QUARTER!!!!! the worse part, you have no choice but to take her...so, bite the bullet and strap yourself..:)

She has got to be one of the worst teachers I've had. I am a math major. I knew the material mostly. But, what she taught, was wrong! She doesn't even teach the correct facts! Plus, she does it so horribly. I confronted her about it once, and tricked her into agreeing with me. Then she said that if ever I were to do that, she would fail me. So, I tried to do it her way, and she STILL failed me. I had to go to the Math and CSc department heads and they all agreed what I did was perfectly right, and that she was in fact teaching false facts. To make it worse, she makes huge homework assignments, and her tests are horribly written. I tried talking to her about my problems (and I was NICE), and she kicked me out of her office. DON'T TAKE PARHAM!

Everyone who's complaining about this teacher and the class is pretty stupid. I dare any of you to take the class with Brady (which i had last quarter). By the end of the first week, you'll be begging in your knees to have Parham again. This lady does a pretty good job explaining stuff, one thing you HAVE to realize about this class is that THE SUBJECT SUCKS. You can have the best teacher in the entire world and it will still be hard and still be lame and boring. Don't be so harsh on the lady, she's a nice person and seems to genuinely want to help.

I don't think the class would have been so bad except the lecture was so long. At least it wasn't every day. Compared to all the other professors who teach CSC141, though, she's DEFINITELY the best. I studied a TON and still only got a B...that doesn't mean she's hard at all. She pretty much just reads from her own little book she prepares and that's about it. That's the whole lecture. I did find it helpful to go to class though, because some of the stuff is defintely not something that you'd think up on your own. And those DUMB proofs...ugg! Don't get me started! I think the reason the class is so hard is just due to the sheer AMOUNT of concepts they throw at you, and *all* of them you're expected to understand and remember. Can't really avoid that though if it's in the curriculum...Like I said, take her over the other Professors if you want to learn something and not kill yourself doing it. If you have a death wish go ahead - take somebody else.

The best teacher out of what is available.. Not too hard.. but i greatly recommend that you study for the final.. I got a bad grade because i didn't.. make sure you know your proofs, because she is kinda anal about it...

She taught the class Discrete Math, nothing more & nothing less. Parham isn't that bad of a teacher. She taught straight out of her manual (we didn't use the hard cover book at all). If you're bright enough and can self teach yourself, you don't need to show up to class except for test days and the 1st day of course. You can pass your hw to a friend to turn in.

Nancy Parham is a really good teacher, she went as far as writing her own book to clarify the information better than the $80 textbook. I would recommend trying to find someone to borrow the big textbook from for the first couple weeks of class because that is the only time you ever use it. After that, you just use the book she wrote and a seperate pdf file off her website. The homework load was fine, it was never way too long, and is easy. Her tests aren't too difficult, but she did make the second midterm and final more difficult since everyone did so well on the first test. The subject material is dull, but I came out completely understanding the concepts that this class teaches which range from proofs to graph theory to alogrithm analysis.

She is a good instructor. Only thing is that she will keep on going unless you ask questions. Sometimes I feel like she teach too fast. mid term are not that difficult if you study and do the hw she assigned you should be fine. For the final, make sure you review everything including all the formulas (though there are not a lot of formula) especially if she didn't put in the two mid term, it is for sure that it is going to be on the final. The main textbook is absolutely not need for csc 141 except that the blue book that she ask you to buy and two handouts she will ask you to print out from her web site. I like the book that she arranged because it make sure that students have all the required material for the course. Very straight forward teacher. No joke or interesting conversion. OK I lied may be one or two. that's about it. If you are not fully awake at 8 am don't take her class because she will keep teaching and you will not get anything going to the class.

My opinion of Ms. Parham is based on CSC-141 during Fall 2003. The amount of material covered in this class was almost overwhelming! From propositional calculus to set theory to algorithmic complexity to finite state automatons to graph traversal to probability this class has it all! At first I was taking a ton of notes, not something I normally do in a 'math' class. But there was no need, the course notes which are divided between a book by Parham and *.pdf files on the web fully cover all the material. I only needed the textbook (not by Parham) once to grasp a concept (recursion). Her tests, especially the final, were well thought out to really test you on the material. There is no way you could pass these tests by guessing. My one big complaint is that the final was held in an auditorium type classroom, all 3 sections taking the final at once. We were made to fill up *every* seat in a row before she would pass out the final. We were literally elbow to elbow (I'm left handed) to take the final. After turning in the final, I turned around and see that all the students were crammed into about half the seats. Why? Ms. Parham was well prepared, and knowledgeable about the subject matter. The class seemed to go very fast though all the time. It is almost a shame to have to teach so many concepts in such a short time.

Parham was a frustrating teacher. I've been a straight A student all my life until her. Where do I begin? First of all, the textbook she makes you buy is horrible. It's widely known in the field that this book (Johnsonbaugh) is the poorest one, and it shows. I wont expand on that, I'm supposed to be evaluating Parham. In addition to the substandard book that you only use once or twice, she makes you buy, she also makes you buy her "workbook" which is in actuality a poorly designed, overpriced Xerox copy of material that could be found in much MUCH higher quality off the internet. It's incredibly poorly designed, making it literally a *pain* to read through. Everything's done in Times New Roman, 16 point. Ugh. I actually just threw it away to much satisfaction. (Of course, you can't sell back the piece of garbage, not that I'd want anyone else to have to look at it...). Homework load isn't bad, she posts the assignments on her webpage and posts the due dates. Not too bad. However, once you turn it in, you will not get it back until the day before a test and it wont matter anyways because all the homework is just marked "100%", even if you made OBVIOUS mistakes. I know that's the fault of the grader, but Parham needs to do a little quality assurance and make sure we're getting our homework back in a fasion that allows us to *learn* from our mistakes in a reasonable time. We don't pay this school a load of money for them to yap at the class for a few hours a day. In class, she merely parrots her book (can you tell why this class was so frustrating yet?) and reads slides. If we needed someone to read English for us, we wouldn't be at CalPoly, now would we? The midterms are fine, if you've managed to learn anything from her. Like I said, you wont be able to learn anything from your returned homework, so just pray you learned everything correctly. Another frustrating thing is that she misspells elementary words like planar (she spells it "planer". Where do they find these teachers?! The final was just awful. Even though there were twice the number of seats as students in the hall, she makes you sit *literally* elbow to elbow. It was so distracting to have elbows bumping in to me all the time in those cramped little crap seats. Ooof, just thinking about it gives me headaches. It looks like until Brady and Parham finally leave, CPE and CSC majors have no option but to endure this laughable excuse for teaching.

Parham is a minimalist teacher: she believes in getting the point across without any pomp or circumstance. I happen to like this approach: she is professional and knowledgeable about the subject, to be sure. Hey, not every teacher can have you laughing constantly and teach you all about the subject. In all honesty, I

CSC 141 covers a lot of material, so it's hard. The material itself isn't difficult understand, it's just that there's a wide array of stuff that you have to learn that makes the class hard. After taking this class you will understand the "why" behind some math procedures and have an overall better understanding of what logic is when applied to math and computer science. Doctor Parham teaches everything in this course by the ways of lecture, weekly homework, two midterms and a final. The homework is easy, just pay attention in class and you'll come to realize that the stuff being taught is cake. The text book that she has you buy is really only useful for the first chapter (and maybe half of the second) All the stuff you'll REALLY want to read is in the book she wrote and in the two pdf files. She is a very straightforward teacher, which minimizes confusion. Occasionally she will make the class laugh with a few personal anecdotes pertaining to the material. She's very approachable and welcomes questions anytime and everytime a student wants to ask one. She knows there is a lot of material to cover and appropriately paces the homework (she even asked us when the deadline of one of the assignments should be). She cares for the students and at the same time wants them to know the material, that's why she'll answer ANY question(s) you have on the homework, even on the day it's due. Her midterms and final are hard; they demand a lot of memorization. In the end, it's just worth it.

Parham is an EXCELLENT professor! She KNOWS what she's doing, can EXPLAIN it SIMPLY AND TO THE POINT, and is FAIR. What more can you want??!!! The homework load is excessive for the course in general, though a little less than other CSC 141 classes. Her handbook is EXTREMELY HELPFUL so pay attention to that. There is no reason to get less than an A...the only reason I did was because I had trouble memorizing a couple of the equations... Otherwise, the class should be an easy A!!!

csc141 is a tough class because of the sheer amount of material you cover every day, and the homework you have to do. take parham over brady if you get the chance.

PARHAM RULES!!! Parham presents Discrete math very very well. She is very dedicated to helping students understand discrete. She even wrote her own text because the book they give you for the course is so so terrible, DONT BUY IT, I NEVER USED IT AND ITS OVER $100!!!! The book is terrible, check out the reviews at amazon under this ISBN 0130890081. parham does so well, my grade does not reflect her abilities at all, i just didn't try hard enough. I took brady last quarter and regretted it A LOT. Freshmen that are reading this after finishing your first quarter. If you can't get Parham dont take discrete. CPE majors, take cpe 129/169. CSC majors, look at your flowcharts and see if there is any class you can take instead so as to put off csc 141 a quarter and take it in the Spring. If you can't get parham, dont bother, especaiy if you are stuck with brady. Brady is BAD!!! Parham will save you 12 hours of your life a week due to the HW load alone. What would you do with an extra 120 hours of free time over the quarter?

Now that Brady has officially retired (and presumably gone down to Georgia, looking for a soul to steal), Parham is the only teacher for this course, I believe. I originally got a B in the class, which I expected, but she retroactively changed it to an A after finding a grading flaw--that should illustrate just how much she cares about the students. If you're looking for the most entertaining teacher in the school in CSC 141, you will undoubtedly be disappointed. Parham is uber-professional, conveying the abstract course material with ease. The material in this class is, in actuality, not that hard, there is just a lot of it and none of it really relates to the other stuff (which is what discrete means, by the way). I never actually went to office hours, so I wouldn't know how helpful she is there, but she was always able to answer any questions we had quickly and effectively. Be prepared to work a lot for this class (studying here is key), but you will be rewarded if you do. It's damned near impossible to fail. Some gripe about her not giving out + grades, but I think that the disappointment of getting a - grade outweighs the whole plus grade happiness. The midterms are tough, in the sense that the topics are comprehensively covered, but they are fair. In short, you don't really have a choice anymore (luckily for you), so stick with Parham and you might actually enjoy it (anything's possible).

CSC 141 IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN DIFFICULT. But you can not complain about Professor Parham's conveying the information to students. She is really smart, she can explain things well, she can answer your questions efficiently, and she's MUCH EASIER than Brady. People here complain about her maybe becuase CSC 141 is hard and difficult--and it is (unless you LOVE LOGIC AND MATH!). I say to definitely take her becuase she'll definitely prepare you for CPE 103.

Professor Parham--thank goodness Brady is gone! I had her for Fall 2004 and she is above all a great and superb teacher. She knows how to present the material well and she is very intelligent when answering your questions. The material is hard for some people--I, on the other hand, love it! Although Parham is the ONLY teacher you can get--You're lucky to get her than any other CSC 141 teacher in the past. Good luck in CSC 141--just remember to study hard, do your homework, and make flashcards!

Parham is a very good teacher. She presents the facts clearly and concisely, and encourages students to ask questions and learn the material. Her grading system is also good (no pluses or minuses. A 90% should be an 4.0, according to her). She also drops the lowest homework each quarter. Some of the material is difficult, but if you drop by office hours, she is more than happy to help you. You probably don't have a choice on who you will take 141 from, but even if you did, I would recommend Parham.

Nancy's a pretty good teacher. She wrote her own workbook for this class, the material is presented very clearly and simply. Nancy changes the workbook every year because she finds new mistakes in it and adds new content (just as in programs...), so don't bother trying to resell it and don't be afraid to write all over it. The only complaint I have about it is that it costs fucking $23, but this isn't under her control. Thanks El Corral for charging this extra low-stocking fee. The textbook by Johnsonbaugh sucks, but she lets you use the older edition so you can save some money--she puts the page numbers for both texts (For this class, she let us use the 6th and 5th; I've talked to an older student that took Nancy and said she let them use 3rd and 4th.) That was nice of her, I don't expect that many teachers will go to such lengths to save their pupils money. Her grader this quarter gave all 100%s if you completed the homework, and she drops the lowest homework grade. The midterms are not that bad, but the final was tough. She wrote a program that tells you what grade you need on the final to get an A. She also doesn't give +/- grades (this is good). And she let us (optionally) take the final at the time her C and Unix class is scheduled, which was very nice because I could go home earlier and not have to wake up at 7 am. Attend all the lectures and take notes on your workbook and you should do fine. Nancy seems to check Polyratings and improve on her teaching skills. I was disappointed we didn't have time to cover finite state machines, though. I give her an A. P.S. To the evaluator that was bored with this class, maybe you should re-evaluate your choice of major.

Parham is a run of the mill teacher. She does her job, and does it adequately, it's just the material she has to teach is boring as hell. The first half of the quarter is spent on proofs of crap no one cares about. She has you buy two textbooks, one she wrote which is used every day in class and as a study guide, and another hardbound book that is used for homework assignments at the beginning of the quarter, and then never again. The material is not hard at all, but the homework is tedious as hell, and is VERY time consuming. The one nice thing about her grading system is that after the final, the grade you get in the class is the higher between your grade on the final, and your original grade in the class. It didn't effect me, but it gave me hope that I could have gotten an A in the class if I got a 90% on the final. By the way, buy the 5th Edition of the Johnsonbaugh textbook and save 70 bucks...or just don't buy it at all, it's only used a little bit at the beginning, and then never again.

LUCKY!!! If you have this teacher then your set. I mean its no cakewalk, but she is an EXCELLENT professor. She teaches right out of her course book she wrote so all your notes are right there. Her Tests arent too hard as long as you pay attention. But make sure you study for the final, its no breeze. Other than that she clearly explains all the material and you should have no problems.

Prof. Parham is teaching a boring subject, and it would take a professional comedian to spice this stuff up. She's really nice if you don't disrupt class, and the homework/testing which make up your grade require a minimal amount of effort to do well on. I hardly attended class and do the homework, and I've fared pretty well. Just prepare to not be excited about the class.

Parham is an amazing teacher. There are a few rules to live by. She can make the class very enjoyable sometimes. Also, the workbook that you have to buy that she wrote is the bible for CSC 141. The Discrete Math book that is $115 is not worth it. Plus you only get $55 when you return it. Go to Aida's and see if you can get the 5th edition for cheaper as she gives page numbers for both the 5th and 6th edition. You use it for about 7 assignments and usually it is only the warmups on the homework assignment. She will tell you which days are important, which is great so you can plan your "oversleeping" days accordingly. Eventhough i am saying that Parham is a great teacher, i never said that the class was fun. Discrete is a boring class with alot of stuff that makes sense, but no one has told you it before. Just live through it, but Parham does not make it half as bad as other teachers could.

Parham is decent. Unfortunatley, you don't have a choice as she is the only teacher. First, the Discrete Structures book...$10 used on amazon. Don't pay $120 for it. Parham teaches decently but the material is just so dumb. Most of it are things that you learned in 7th grade just elaborated on. I didn't really study too much, just a little before each midterm and I never did homework. The thing that saved me is having a cheat sheet for each test. I definatly recommend it. Just right down important definitions and stuff on a notecard and keep it in ur pocket easily accesible. That way the stupid questions she asked are easily answered. I hope Parham reads this, she goes to so much effort not to let people cheat that it feels good to get away with so much of it. Anyways, I got a C in the class. If you have a D going into the final, dont trip, if you get a better grade on the final then the grade you had going in, your grade becomes whatever you got on the final. So just study a lot for the final. Well, have fun in the most boring class ever! Bye

Okay, whoever wrote the last review will have "cheating" catch up to him and eat on his butt. I'm sorry, girls tend to not cheat and most of the CSC people are males. Idiot! Parham is a teacher who does her job. The material IS dry and there's nothing you can do about it. Make sure you do the homework.

Although her personality may be a little dry at times, Professor Parham is a very good teacher. She makes sure to clearly explain all parts of each section and always points out where there are tricks or common student mistakes. She is also very helpful in responding to homework questions.

Parham taught CSC141 well. I barely went to class so I taught myself out of the workbook and text and still managed to pass the class. Homework is always due but you can always have someone else turn it in for you. Her tests are hard but if you truly study enough, you'll do fine. She encourages participation and for you to ask for help.. so don't be afraid to visit her during her office hour for help!

She was fine as a teacher, graded pretty fairly, class is pretty easy. You can get an A with little work but it is boring as hell. She is nice though, and will baby you through everything. I wouldn't worry about it much.

Parham may seem pretty dull and boring, but overall she's really good at explaining the basic concepts of discrete math and explaining things in office hours if you need her to. The concepts of this class aren't too hard; just study for an hour or two per day and you should be fine. The 2 midterms are pretty basic. If you can pick up a copy of a past midterm, it should be pretty helpful.

Nancy comes from a planet far far away. When she was, her dying father entrusted a magical gem to her, telling her to "reveal the secrets of the gem by educating others in teh way of discrete mathematics." This cryptic message lead Nancy on a journey. She befriended many allies, and fought many foes. There was laughter, and there were hardships. Allies were lost, and there were tears. In the end, she found her way to Cal Poly, where she applied to become a teacher. She awaited approval with anticipation, and was met with glee when she read her acceptance letter. She had a night out on the town. When asked about what she did that night, she replied with "no comment." Nancy is a good teacher, and is also a Jedi apprentice. Highly recommended.

Continuing from the previous and ridiculous evaluation...haha....Nancy is kind of quirky. At first, she comes off like this evil and frozen ice queen. But in reality...she is REALLY nice. She can answer any questions you have. She is truly a teacher that cares about what you understand in that class. Homework is okay. Sometimes, the material was a little bit hard...but she makes time to answer any and all questions the day homework is due. The 2 midterms and final aren't that bad...it just requires that you study. That really killed me on the final...like i knew everything she was asking about...i just couldnt remember all the details she was asking for...i know if i would have studied just a little bit...i would have done grand. So yeah...take her (and not her daughter (if her daughter is still teaching)). She's real nice and its a good class as long as you go to class.

Professor Parham clearly outlines the course material and what you're expected to know for tests. Some of the concepts are challenging, but having taught the course for so long, she knows where students will struggle and knows how to explain things in multiple ways. Most of the problems have a specific format that she wants you to follow. Although sometimes tedious, her specific formats make it easier to understand the material. Homework is typically due about twice a week, but can take up to several hours since you'll be assigned multiple sections. The assignments are all posted online along with the solutions to the odd problems (which definitely helps). She also goes over any homework questions that you have in class the day when it's due. You probably don't need to buy the book since you'll only find yourself referring to her course notes as a much more understandable resource. I definitely recommend taking her for CSC 141 and any other course that she teaches.

Although the concepts covered are not that difficult, they require you to pay very close attention to detail. Don't leave the lecture too confident to do the homework. The homework will uncover these details. She will tell you exactly what topics will be on the midterms and finals. Even though she is not the most interesting lecture, she will arm you with what you need to succeed.

Besides the fact that 141 was the most bullshit, useless class I have ever taken and that Parham is overly boring, she is good at explaining the material. Her tests are curved and homework is very easy. I think she is one of the only profs teaching this course so too bad...

just go to her lecture and do all the hw and u are good to go. only downside is that she does assigns lot of hw but it's really helpful for the tests if u do it.

Ok, Parham is a little weird and super strict, but she really is a good teacher. As long as you show up to class and do the work EXACTLY the way she wants its fine. The subject is super boring but no teacher is going to fix that. She has her own book which is great and the tests really arent that hard. Recommended.

Knows every pitfall, and problem a student will possibly have. Breaks it down into her own work book, and is very clear about everything. Very, very fair.

Computer programming is a subject that very VERY few people understand, and during much of the course I was confused as heck, much like many non computer majors taking the course probably would be. The homework is generally simple, though it does take time. There is one midterm only and one final. The one thing that sets Prof. Parham apart is that she really cares about her students' status in the classes. I was failing the class and just walked out of the classroom with a F on my midterm; but she literally chased me down the corridor after class and and offered her help in office hours. I started going to office hours almost every week, and by the end of the quarter I passed the class with a C+. Programming is difficult and in a 1-hour lecture, it's hard to cover it all. Students who take Prof. Parham, I STRONGLY suggest that you go to her office hours! She may not be able to explain everything in class but go to her office hours and i guarantee you, you will get the material by the time you walk out. Awesome teacher, and if i ever have to take another computer course Prof. Parham would be my first choice.

If your anything other than a Computer Science major I doubt that there is any teachers that can present this material without boring you to sleep. I think that Parham did a fairly decent job however, this material is so boring, even if I tried to take like 400mg of caffenine her lectures would still bore me to sleep. She has several quizes, a mid--term and a final. The mid-term and final are pretty difficult because you have to write out programs. I didn't use the book that she recommended we get and I don't see why you would need to. She is fairly helpful in office hours if you bring her your program too.

Parham's lectures are pretty straight-forward. The only downside is that she grades pretty harsh on the quizzes/midterms. They weren't too difficult, tho. I started off pretty bad with Cs on the quizzes and a D+ on my midterm...i thought i was gonna fail the class. But her midterm only worths 20% (whew), so it wasn't too bad. both quizzes and programs worth 25% each. if she knows that you're trying hard and keep getting better grades on quizzes, then most likely she'll bump up your grade. the final was really easy and she curved her two classes at the very end.

CSC 234 is supposed to be an easy class. Granted, it wasn't too hard, but Nancy Parham did not make it a fun experience. She has her own book and her lecture are the book pages copied onto an overhead. By the end of the quarter I felt like I had only gone to class to learn how to use four different highlighter colors. Assignments were due every Friday and I could find an example within the book on my own that only required a few examples to make the assignment work correctly. She doesn't have very good people skills, if she couldn't understand a question she would tell you to wait after class instead of even trying to clarify. You aren't allowed to utter a sound in the class, she'll tell you all to stop talking. If a student tries to answer another student's question because they get what was asked, she yells at you and makes you be quiet because "that is what she's paid for." There was one midterm that was pretty easy, the final was a little more difficult. And every Friday there were quizzes based off of the assignment/what was learned that week.

I have serious doubts as to Nancy's teaching credentials and her ability to teach a computer science course. Her lecture files (I will provide a link) are 100% copied and pasted from other websites INCLUDING WIKIPEDIA (are any students EVER allowed to use wiki? are they allowed to PLAGIARIZE???). If you think I'm joking, please look over her lecture files and take ANY random quote and copy and paste it in a google search engine. Guaranteed 100% match. Some of the material covered basic knowledge of computers, but the rest was tangential and irrelevant, such as her 2 day lecture on mandatory sterilization for pregnant women addicted to narcotics. As a student paying thousands for a good and proper education, I am appalled at my experience in her class. Any officials reading this, please investigate this situation. Her lecture files can be found at: http://www.omegamath.com/poly/302/lecture.html

I took Nancy Parham because I thought it would make for an easy quarter. Bad mistake. Sure, the class was pretty easy considering I really don't think she has a clue what she is talking about. All of her lecture files and even some of the test questions were copied straight from websites. Obviously to prepare for the class she just Googled a bunch of random topics having to do with computers and copied/pasted all of the information into her lectures. When I was studying for the final I typed one of her quiz questions into Google and I found the same question, word for word, on another website. Coincidence? No. Anyway, Parham is unfair, rude, and has NO people skills. She uses a grader for EVERYTHING except the midterm and final, so grading is VERY inconsistent. She will usually take questions about mistakes the grader made, but when it comes to the few papers she actually grades herself, she feels there is no way she could have possible made a mistake. She might even yell at you if you ask. My class also met at 8 a.m. so it was torture waking up to go to hell. As for the final project, I wouldn't suggest making a video. I know you will be tempted because the grand prize for the best video is that you don't have to take the final, but beware! Her choice is totally subjective and biased. Unless you are a good looking male with a group of equally attractive men, dont even try. She definitely plays favorites. If you are just taking this class for GE area F, take a different class or at the very least take a different instructor. If you absolutely have to take it, good luck. She seems nice at first, but believe me you will soon see the true Nancy Parham.

Though this class has a lot of busy work and the lectures are often confusing, I would still recommend this class if you need to take an F Technology elective. It is a very easy A, if you turn in all the assignments and come to class. There is a short essay due for each class, which you are graded on both for material and clarity. A lot of students complained about getting low scores on these, but I only put in maybe an hour to each one and never received less than a 10 out of 10. I don't think Nancy is rude or inconsiderate, as stated in previous comments, but she is not a people person and I don't blame her for yelling at students who don't treat her with the respect a professor deserves. Bottom line: this class is an easy A and Nancy is sub-par, but that's easy to deal with.

This class was one of the worst experiences I have had at Cal Poly to date. Professor Parham did not seem to understand significant portions of the material she was presenting and when asked to clarify would explain that "another professor designed the class" and that she was simply teaching from his materials. At least one hour of almost every two-hour class was wasted by having the class divide into groups to read the one-page busywork essays that were due every class meeting. After reading each other's essays we would sum up our group's work into three bullet points, which were written on the whiteboard and presented to the rest of the class. We would seriously spend 50% of our class period talking about the 200 word homework essays our classmates wrote. Often the second hour was spent watching a movie while Professor Parham shopped online. Professor Parham is extremely inaccessible as a professor and is also very defensive. When she made a mistake correcting my midterm exam and I asked her about it she became very aggressive, swore at me and threatened to give me a zero on the entire exam. When I tried again after our next class meeting she admitted the error and explained her previous behavior by saying that it is "not a student's place" to have questions about an exam. Overall she is not a nice person and a poor instructor.

She was extraordinarily rude and very unclear on her grading standards. I got an A on the Final Exam, an A on my final project, a C on the midterm and completed every homework assignment and she gave me a C overall and refused to meet with me to speak about it. Avoid her at all costs if you care about your grades or want to learn anything.

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