PIC 10a isn't available in the dropdown box, but this review is for that course.

In regards to the TA comments below, I feel people should be aware that this is the same TA who wrote abusive comments on students' exams, and couldn't be bothered coming into class the three weeks leading up to the exam. He obviously has some sort of personal vendetta against Professor Barbaro, though I can't imagine why.

As for the class its self, I found the lectures interesting, and Professor Barbaro was both helpful and insightful during office hours. She was even willing to schedule additional appointments with me outside of office hours when I needed extra help.

It seemed like the majority of students complaining about the exams were the ones who never bothered coming to class. This is college, you have to put the work in in order to get grades. Those of you making personal attacks may have done better in the class if you'd showed up and paid attention rather than wasting time on Facebook.

My friends and I did well in this class, and definitely recommend this professor.

I was a TA for Alethea's PIC 10a and agree with the general sentiment expressed in these comments. During this class, which is intended to be a gentle introduction to the basics of programming, she made the following questionable decisions:

--Spent three weeks worth of homework assignments on C++ string member functions. This serves no purpose other than boring students with syntax and takes time away from teaching programming concepts.

--Spent two weeks worth of homework on Horstman's graphics library. This esoteric library isn't even part of the language and should not make up one fifth of the course material in an introductory programming class.

--Was not in attendance for both midterms. If what the previous reviews say about her exams is true then this is horribly irresponsible. While grading/proctoring her midterms there were ambiguous questions and typos that were hard to deal with without her.

--Gave the students assignments she had trouble helping with. For example, when asked "How do we capitalize all the letters in a string?" her answer to the class was "Uh, just look it up on the internet." For me, the TA, this led to headaches in the PIC lab.

--Failed to devote enough time to standard material (ie arrays/vectors/functions) and tried to cram it all into the last part of the class.

Undergrads, please do not take her programming classes. Or, if you have no choice, please do not take her teaching seriously as it is likely a poor representation of the material she claims to be covering.

Grad students, if you end up getting assigned as her TA, be prepared for some of the most ridiculously misunderstood programming you've ever seen. I have TA'ed eleven sections of pic 10 since I've been here and never had students more confused than when I TA'ed for Alethea Barbaro.

I had Barbaro for PIC 10B, which was not a selectable option. However, if you are considering taking these rather simple programming classes (PIC 10A, 10B) with Barbaro, don't. Frankly, I don't know if she is that intelligent. Her lectures are extremely unorganized both in structure and in logic. She never understands anyone's questions because she barely understands what's going on. Half the time other kids in class are the ones to answer the questions. There is little point in going to lecture, as she barely covers any material. She goes absurdly slow and makes many mistakes along the way.