Robert Schleihauf

This instructor was essential for us to get our research project in biomechanics completed.

I realized halfway thru the semester however, that instructors make more sense if you treat them like fellow students. For example, <i>of course</i> he is going to try to skip out as early as possible!!!

Still, I think we learned a lot although it could have come out much, much better.

It seems like lots of people resent Dr Schliefhaulf due to the fact that he's one of the few Kinesiology professors at SF State who is actively involved in his field! Think about it--who else has mastered this field as well and is still out there, debating other professors and contributing to the field in such a manner? This man is intelligent, hard-working and skilled enough to create valuble tools such as the KA Software program, and a huge, incredibly student-friendly textbook which was custom written (by himself of course) for SF State students! He produced a huge manual for the KA software, chock full of screenshots and easy to read info. He will sell you the book by himself so you don't get reamed by the bookstore. He will film your project, convert it to BMPs, and do tons of work to make your project easier. Yet all people can do is whine that it's too hard?! Sorry but if you can't use a computer yet, you have far bigger trouble in your life than Kin 485! It's dissapointing to realize that most students instead are concerned with his "monotone voice" and "scary computer jargon"...get over it, this is college, not preschool. You will be lucky to have another professor as experienced and dedicated as Schliehaulf later in your education.

Well, you've got to remember that to a large degree, the quality of the class is in direct porportion to the amount of effort you put out! This instructor will give you a run for the money, and so don't be a lame-o frosh jock who sits there and waits for something exciting to happen! This isn't t.v., this is school.

Dr. Schleihauf knows the subject of biomechanics well, but he isn't very successful in transferring this knowledge to students. I found it very hard to follow his lectures. His voice is monotone and he does get excited about swimming and computers, but not everyone is interested in swimming or computers. He bases grades on homework, the midterm, a project, and the final. His tests were part multiple choice/true-false and essay where you might have to draw in a graph or calculate the answer to a problem. As for the project, most of the class felt lost as to where to start writing the paper.

Dr. Schleihauf is definitely a knowledgeable man in this field, although he is not very good with conveying this information to the student. In spite of all the bad reviews, keep in mind that you may want to take him inspite of all of that, as KIN majors know, he is the only one who teaches quantitative analysis (the next class following biomechanics). That way you'll get an idea of what he expects and how he'll grade. He's a little lenient if you can call that in biomechanics although I don't think that applies in Quantitative. As far as his exams go, they are tough in that sometimes the info. is irrelevant & he definitley includes details you wouldn't think about. His monotone voice doesn't help the boring lecture. Although caution that he does notice who doesn't show up to lecture. He is more helpful and approachable during his office hours though. It's just too bad that he can't convey all his knowledge and enthusiasm to the students.

Dr. Schleihauf is a good man but I must be fair to my fellow kinesiology enthusiasts. He is definitely confusing. Of course if you were his child you would grow up in an atmosphere that would allow you to more easily comprehend his styles of teaching and explanation. So there would be a definite edge. But when one is entering a class where there is a high to superb requirement to be a computer master it becomes quite discouraging. He does try his best to explain but there is too much expected in such little time. The only thing Dr. Schleihauf has to do in order to become useful to us is to not assume that we know the computer inside and out. We are all very new at this and need to be guided with a little bit more caution. :-)

Perhaps some of the other reviews of this instructor are misguided. Many reviews base the respective "bad" review upon how subject matter proposed in his classes will be sadly forgotten, thus providing negligent benefits for those pursuing an occupation in PT or OT. I will not argue this proposed argument, for nobody in the PT field will ever use information like digitizing or analyzing a tennis serve (subject matters within Biomechanics for those in utter confusion as to what I'm rambling about). I will, however, say that a teacher should be given merit on 2 things: 1) A teacher has a keen grasp of the subject and 2) A teacher is fair to all students in the class room. Based on my criteria (and perhaps my criteria may be vehemently disagreed with) Dr. Schleihauf is not only fair, but he is very knowledgable of the subject matter. Granted, the subject matter will have no relevance to my future profession, but hey, mostly all Kinesiology courses are in the same boat. I don't think anyone can argue that. Many Kinesiology courses do absolutely nothing in contributing to valuable information which may help us out in our further educational experiences. This is the fault of the department itself and not one specific individual teacher....

He is a knowledgable man, but an individual could gain so much more from this class if he had better "people" skills. When teaching the material, he would overwhelm us with computer jargon which is not necessary for the class. His tests are fair--cummulative...One could gain so much more from Biomechanics and Quantitative Analysis if only there was a background class on how to look at movement. The papers we write would be more beneficial if we actually knew what we were talking about--and not just regurgitating what he told us to write about. He needs to talk slowly and understand that he is talking to undergrads.

For Kin 325, you need to have computer experience if you want an A in the class. This IS NOT an introductory course. It is very challenging for experienced pc users. But be ready, he goes off in tangents!!!! He will side track topics, will not help students very well, exams have stupid questions...BEWARE! ie what is the font size for 1 inch. My strong recommendation is to take another professor, you can get a better grade from another professor. But if u want to be chanllenged take him. All midterms are cummulative and final is cummulative! BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE!!!!

I totally agree with the last review it is very much on target of how this instructor handles his class. There is WAY too much emphasis placed on a sole software program that most students will never ever ever use again. I would say there are about 90% of the students in the Kinesiology program who are headed toward PT and OT degrees. Kinesiology needs to be a hands on experience. You can't help people perform better in any activity through a computer--while it may be a tool--all PT and OT professionals use their good ole hands. Ditch the software for KIN majors. Reserve it for Research motivated students ONLY!!! It should not be required!! Somewhat interesting but very meaningless and a waste of time.