Dorothy C. Piontkowski

Prof. Piontkowski teaches Psycholinguistics fairly well. Although it is one of my more boring classes, a lot of the material discussed in lecture is informative. Like others have stated, she uses the chalkboard for a good period of the class time, drawing diagrams, important notes to jot down, etc. (Though, you'd have to be sitting close to the front to read it!) In my opinion, the course is tough; the best advice would be to read the chapters before hand (advice you should put to use in every class, really). Overall, her lectures are a summary of the particular chapter, and she manages to throw in a few examples from life experience (e.g. stories about her grandson when talking about language acquisition). Take good notes, because she lets you use a cheat sheet for the tests, including 4 cheat sheets for the final. We've been fortunate to have great TA's that gave us more than enough preparation for the final while Prof. Piontkowski was gone. ;o)

edit: The critical paper she assigns is fairly easy--only one page, and a summary/review of an article of your choice (relevant to Psycholinguistics) from a scholarly journal. It is worth one test grade and should be a cinch as long as you follow the structure. This paper, on top of the final, can EASILY boost your grade.

GREAT!!!!!Piontkowski is great. She definetly knows what she is talking about. Every single class was a new experience. She is never boring. I learned so much in her class. It is true, this is a hard class and her tests are not easy. They are very complicated so you definitely cannot miss her classes. It is a very challenging class, and I would recomend to anyone. Piontkowski I had a lot fun!!!

Dr. Piontkowski: Now there’s a Teacher! She is both a star and the cat’s pajamas and a very hard worker with a good sense of humor. Psycholinguistics can be difficult and this professor does everything in her power to convey the subject matter in a way that students can grasp. Dr. Piontkowski’s professionalism, humor, and innate teaching ability, make her one of the finest instructors in the SFSU Psychology department.

An expert communicator, Dr. Piontkowski makes good eye contact, and if interrupted when you are speaking with her, she gets right back to you and completes your answer.

Additionally, she had an outstanding TA the semester I took her course. He took notes at each lecture; at exam time he created a thorough study guide for us and gave two pre-exam classes.

The comfort level Dr. Piontkowski creates for her students at exam time is remarkable. She kids us to dispel our tensions, and she allows cheatsheets. Exam scores are returned to us by the following class meeting, reflecting score, letter grade, and cumulative points. After returning the exams, she and her TA made themselves completely available to go over any relevant test questions.

In order to keep up with Dr. Piontkowski’s pace (and she is a racehorse at the blackboard, often lecturing as she writes) it is imperative to keep up with her reading assignments. She has a lot of material to cover and she does it exactly once—unless you ask questions, which she encourages.

Initially, I was intimidated by this course but I took a risk and was met more than halfway. Remember, this is an upper division course requiring considerable discipline on the part of the student. Dr. Piontkowski does her utmost to support her students in a professional manner.

She is one of the best professors I've had at SFSU (besides Dr. Spencer). Her lectures are interesting and whatever she writes on the board will make sense IF YOU DO THE READING BEFOREHAND. You have to read. There's no way to get a good grade in this class without reading the required texts. Another tip- sit in the front row. You won't understand her writing if you don't. All in all, I love her class!

Piontkowski is eloquent and she knows her subject. Her only problem is that she doesn't know how to use a chalkboard. She spends the class drawing little pictures and arrows on top of arrows. You can get an A as long as you take notes based on what she says, not what she draws. Everything on the board is pointless.

I truly enjoyed her class. She is knowledgable about the material she teaches and is opened to new ideas and communication. She also had numerous guest speakers throughout the community come and talk to our class about issues related to our major. I found this extremely helpful and interesting. I emailed her over the semester with various questions and she responded curtiously and promptly. She is one of the best teachers I have ever had.

Dr. Piontkowski is a great teacher. She's tough but I learned a lot. Because of her, I changed my major to Psychology!

She is the best professor I have ever taken so far at this college and one of the best teachers I have had in my life. The best dresser to boot. So far I have never seen her wear the same outfit twice. She teaches with the intent of making this somewhat confusing subject easier to digest. She is a very approachable and good-humored professor, and will help simplfy this class for you. She lectures out of the book like another reviewer has mentioned, and she does let you use "cheat" sheats. However, it isn't going to be an easy course, and it is true that the book is full of gobbledegook; but you can't hold a waiter at a restaurant responsible if you are served bland food. She'll serve you psycholinguistic a la mode!

I absolutely love Professor Piontkowski. She brings so much knowledge to the subject and her lectures are interesting. She makes me want to change my major to psychology because her love for the subject is unbelievable. Her multiple choice exams are a bit difficult but the review sessions she has the day before the exam helps a lot. Additionally, she is a fair grader (if there's such a word) and is a joy to converse with. She makes such a great role model for women, too!

Dr. Piontkowski's lectures are interesting if you understand the topic, otherwise, they seem to be an obscure morass of jargon. It's much easier to follow along if you read the assigned chapters (even skimming helps) before the lecture. If you do so and take good notes, you won't need to study the textbook for exams at all. As the semester continues, the course material becomes more frustrating and sounds more and more like psychobabble handwaving. Some of the theory-spouting bozos make Freud sound rigorous. Just hang with it because her exams are all multiple choice plus she lets you have a crib sheet. The final is cumulative, but you get three crib sheets for it. She requires a paper, but it's a snap. You can write a well-researched paper or you can spout your views and experiences on whatever nonsense will fit in 5 to 7 pages.

YAWN. Don't bother buying the book..she lectures straight out of it. Go to class and sit there and take the tests and you'll get a B. We had three guys go, each of us took a day and we swapped notes. All of us got a B. She's no sweat, but I didn't learn a whole lot.

Challenging! interesting! Different! Extremely hard tests! i loved her and the subject; she has a non-conventional way of teaching; she forces you to think analytically and abstractly; after her class you will never think the same about language; her tests are different even if they are multiple choice. By the way, she is a great role model for females who wants to pursue psych as a career

Dr. Piontkowski is an absolutely wonderful. She is interesting as a lecturer, understanding as a person, and fascinating as a professor. Sure, her class won't be the easiest you've ever taken. But it's the one worth time, and the one you will get a lot out of. The lectures are clear and to the point, the tests are straightforward. If you are taking school seriously, this is the class to enroll in, and Dr. Piontkowski is the best teacher for general psychology.

I had Dr. Piontkowski several years ago for the general psychology class. I sat in the front. I got an A and thought her lectures were intelligent and appropriately tuned to the level of the class. She is very dynamic and interesting, interspersing important information with illustrative stories. I remember the tests as fairly straightforward multiple choice exams that were easy to pass if you attend the lectures and do the basic reading. This was one of the first classes I took at State, and I was very encouraged by it. State can be overwhelming, but Dr. Piontkowski had tons of energy and enthusiasm to share with us. She told us that she got her Ph.D. at Stanford while raising 4 children. I think she is pretty inspiring. I don't think she should be held responsible for the absurd overcrowding at State, as the the reviewer before me does.