FOR CHEM14AE SPRING 2020: From the pandemic to the recent tension affecting our lives and communities, this quarter has been particularly challenging for all of us. While many professors have adjusted their courses and attitudes to fit the obstacles many students are currently facing, few have been as kind and accommodating as Dr. Casey. There is no other class that students are taking in which the instructional team rejoices in class memes, offers office hours on the weekend, struggles with balloons for our education’s sake and understands, uplifts and encourages all of us to succeed. When I look back on how much we’ve learned over the past quarter, we have done an exceptional amount of learning thanks to the dedication of the instructional team. It is sometimes easy to forget, but at the bare core, professors and TAs do not have a specific obligation to care deeply about student wellbeing or pay an extraordinary amount of detail in creating intentional and meaningful coursework, especially for an online pilot class during a turbulent time in our society! However, Dr. Casey and the TAs/LAs have gone above and beyond in purposefully and passionately fulfilling those additional duties this quarter, all while cultivating a positive environment during class. Dr. Casey mentioned some time during the quarter that in the best case scenario, she hoped that all of us would end the class thinking chemistry is fun. Well, after Chem14AE with her, I’m glad to say that chemistry is fun (most of the time)! Although I personally really like the quarter system, this is one of the few times I actually wish we were on the semester system. This class has been my favorite class I have taken at UCLA so far, and I’m actually sad that it is coming to an end so soon. I’ll miss reading everyone’s responses to the opening question, writing sassy responses on the lab worksheets with my team and feeling just a little more happiness in the world when Dr. Casey’s face lights up in fascination from chiweenies, carrots and random chemistry facts. It even gave me the final push to switch my major to something chem-related. What happens in this course truly is the best of UCLA, and why I love going to this school so much. I recommend everyone take this class with her.

During a normal quarter, the grade breakdown may be as follows (could change in the future):
Surveys 5 points (1%)
Homework 50 points (10%)
Clicker Questions 40 points (8%) <--you have more than enough opportunities to earn these 40 points
Pre-Discussion Quizlet 45 points (9%) <--lowest one is dropped
Learn Before Lecture 45 points (9%) <--lowest one is dropped
Discussion Worksheets 90 points (18%) <--was made out of 80 points this quarter, there were nine worksheets worth 90 points, you can miss up to 10 points to still get full credit, collaborative with lab group+LA, includes reflections
Calibrated Peer Review 30 points (6%) <--was replaced with a group essay this quarter, not too bad, 500-600 words!
Quizzes 45 points (9%) <--solitary, timed, closed book/note, lowest quiz is dropped
Midterm 50 points (10%) <--collaborative with lab group, open book/note, timed
Final Exam 100 points (20%) <--was replaced with a cumulative discussion worksheet this quarter due to academic senate, collaborative with the lab group and class, open book/note, not timed
Total 500 points (There are extra credit opportunities provided as well.)

This class heavily relies on group work. You'll come to love it and your team. During discussion sections, LAs are placed with teams of four to guide you through the worksheets. This class can be challenging at times if you do not have a strong chemistry foundation, but there is a huge support system and is extremely rewarding. This class covers way more material than the regular Chem14 series but will prepare you for later courses in the series. However, you won't be spending endless hours on weekly assignments, all of which are extremely useful for coming to lecture prepared and doing well in the class. There are less weekly homework assignments than a typical science class because there is an additional hour added to discussions, which might seem terrible on the surface, but you'd rather suffer through the material with help from peers, LAs, TAs and the professor than by yourself late at night. Everything is very intentional and meaningful in this class. You MUST attend lecture. Classes are not recorded. However, you will enjoy coming to class. It's actually fun (even though we were online)! The instructional team does EVERYTHING in its power to try to help you succeed. Don't cut yourself short by not taking advantage of the resources (office hours, study lounges, LA workshops, videos, piazza discussion forum, etc.) they provide. I wish I would have known how amazing this class was going to be (I had zero clue going in), so I could have savored every moment. Good luck!

REVIEW FOR SPRING 2020 CHEMAE: Really not sure why there are negative reviews for Professor Casey because she is truly one of the most helpful and caring professors I've had here at UCLA. Chemistry in general is difficult but she breaks it down into much simpler topics for us to understand. If you have the oppurtunity to take the AE class, I would HIGHLY recommend it. Though there is "extra" class time, the extra discussion time is really essential to developing accurate conclusions and properly learning the material. You can think of it as less time needed for studying as you are essentially reviewing the material during discussion. Anyways, if anything I'd highly recommend that you take Casey for Chem14, as the grading is pretty lenient and you can still get an A in the class after a low grade on one either the midterm or final.

To put it simply: an absolutely amazing professor. Although CHEM14A with her covered a lot more material than with other professors, I do not regret taking this class with her. Dr. Casey gave amazing lectures and did everything in her power to give her students the opportunity to succeed. Her midterms and final were extremely fair, the homework is optional (but you should definitely do all of the homework), and her office hours were the most helpful office hours I've ever been to at UCLA. If Dr. Casey teaches CHEM14A again, do yourself a favor and take the class with her; you will leave her class with a newfound appreciation for chemistry and a strong foundation for the rest of the chemistry series here at UCLA.

I would highly recommend this class. Even though it was during a six-week summer session, the class was very understandable thanks to Dr. Casey's in-depth explanations. Definitely go to her office hours, Casey is very approachable and wants you to succeed. The exams are challenging but fair. We also had a group final exam during discussion, which was more difficult, and your grade in that is dependent on the ability of your group. The textbook is confusing, so I would recommend going over the discussion worksheets and slides to better understand the content.

Casey is an absolute sweetheart. She jointly taught with Prado and Caram for our 14A class when our original professor bounced unexpectedly. There were kinda two camps of students: those that had taken AP Chem and seen 90% of what we were doing and those that this was completely new to. I was of the former, and, because of it, didn't have to do much work. The class used iclicker points based partially on if you were correct , but there are enough opportunities that you could probably never be right and still get full points. There's homework but it is not collected and I didn't find it or the book helpful in the slightest so I never utilized those. There were weekly quizzes that were awful for the first two because the time crunch was impossible, but after students voiced their concerns our instructors were completely receptive and adapted the remaining quizzes; they were then pretty easy. The midterms were a mixed bag: one had a low D average and the other had a mid B average (made easier to compensate for the first one). I got a 90% and 94% on the midterms, but then got an 81% on my final. Because we had lost the first week, the ending was kinda crammed so the final focused on a concept that I knew I didn't really understand all that well. The average was a 70%. The class was ultimately curved a couple percentage points in our favor I believe, because my raw score was an A- and I received an A. Honestly if you're worried about 14A, don't be. It's entirely do-able as long as you maintain responsibility for understanding the material. Casey is a fantastic lecturer, easily able to explain concepts at their simplest level and build it up slowly so anyone can understand. She's funny and warm and never makes anyone feel unwelcome or shut down. She is also so in-tune with her students and can sense confusion without anyone even saying anything and adapts the course in response. I would take her again in a heartbeat.

Dr. Casey is my absolute favorite person on this whole planet. She is the kindest human being that you will ever meet. She is incredibly intelligent and knows everything there is to know about chemistry. If you don't understand a topic, go to office hours and she will walk you through it until you know it like the back of your hand. She genuinely cares about learning and isn't out to tank your grade. Get to know her! She gives off mom vibes! It's so comforting when youre a depressed freshman to know that there's a professor that actually cares about you and knows your name. I got lucky with her! She wasn't supposed to teach 14A this quarter but something happened to my professor and she was thrown into teaching it on day 3 of first week. I LOVE HER!!! TAKE HER!!! THANK ME LATER

I do not like chemistry and I don't like Dr. Casey even more. She made me cry and want to drop UCLA my first quarter here. I do not recommend her. I do not recommend Chem 14A either. Pick a different major.

This class was SO frustrating for me. As a student who is not a natural at chemistry, I knew I had to work 5x harder than the average student to achieve the same grade. However, despite going to office hours, scheduling private meetings, and studying for hours, I just couldn't get do well on her exams. Her questions are confusing and meant to trip you up, which as an incoming freshman is not conducive to a positive first quarter experience. Her class had me questioning my major and if I even deserved to go to UCLA. Her lecture style is pretty boring and her slides don't have nearly enough detail. I wanted to like her and this class but I just felt like she wanted me and the other students in her class to fail to prove her toughness as a professor. Honestly if you can take another professor for 14A I would genuinely recommend it.

i enjoyed chem 14A w prof Casey. She uploads all the lecture slides a day before class, which is really awesome. imo the homework problems don't help that much with tests but are rly similar to the quizzes. Dr. Casey is super nice and approachable, and i loved taking her class. She also gives out clicker points, group finals, discussion points, surveys, etc. which helps a lot w the grade!! take her if u can!!

I had Dr. Casey along with Dr. Caram and Dr. Prado, and I feel that both Dr. Prado and Dr. Casey really made me appreciate Chemistry. They were both very approachable and would answer all of my million questions during office hours. The coursework itself consists of reviewing material that will be on the quizzes and doing the recommended homework. I would 100% recommend this professor for Chem 14A.