Historical instructor

HELEN BLACKWELL

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.97/5 from 62 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

CHEM 343
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor goes into the specific mechanisms for each reaction which is nice but not always helpful. Grading rubrics are extremely specific and can be harsh.
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CHEM 343
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
This was my second time taking Ochem, and the first time I crashed and burned. Blackwell made it easy to get back on my feet and keep on learning. Excellent Teacher, I'd take her for sure.
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CHEM 343
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Such a great professor! Makes organic chemistry really interesting and does a really thorough job at working through the material at a reasonable pace and providing lots of practice! She is also really clear about her expectations! She made Chem 343 a very positive experience!
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CHEM 343
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Dr. Blackwell is a solid ochem professor, one who isn't talked about much. She really cares about her students and explains topics quite well. I felt like Sapling problem sets didn't convey the difficult material well compared to the exams though. Her lectures are quite interesting actually.
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CHEM 343
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor Blackwell is one of the best professors I have ever had. She does an amazing job explaining the "why behind everything which helps decrease the amount of memorizing in the course. She is extremely clear in lecture. Overall, she is amazing and I highly recommend taking Ochem with her.
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CHEM 343
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Overall pretty good prof. However, lectures are very fast-paced. The second half of the semester seemed rushed and we went through a ton of mechanisms very quickly. The class became more about memorizing mechanisms than actually learning about what was happening. Just do lots of mechanism practice for exam 3 and the final and it will be okay.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with HELEN BLACKWELL

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026CHEM 343Organic Chemistry I
Spring 2026CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2026CHEM 701Responsible Conduct of Research in the Chemical Sciences
Spring 2026CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Spring 2026CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Spring 2026CHEM 990Research
Fall 2025BIOCHEM/CHEM 945Seminar-chemical Biology (advanced)
Fall 2025CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2025CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Fall 2025CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Fall 2025CHEM 990Research
Spring 2025CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2025CHEM 701Responsible Conduct of Research in the Chemical Sciences
Spring 2025CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Spring 2025CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Spring 2025CHEM 990Research
Fall 2024BIOCHEM/CHEM 945Seminar-chemical Biology (advanced)
Fall 2024CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2024CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Fall 2024CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Fall 2024CHEM 990Research
Spring 2024CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2024CHEM 701Responsible Conduct of Research in the Chemical Sciences
Spring 2024CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Spring 2024CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Spring 2024CHEM 990Research
Fall 2023BIOCHEM/CHEM 945Seminar-chemical Biology (advanced)
Fall 2023CHEM 299Directed Study
Fall 2023CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2023CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Fall 2023CHEM 901Seminar-teaching of Chemistry
Fall 2023CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Fall 2023CHEM 990Research
Spring 2023BIOCHEM/CHEM 945Seminar-chemical Biology (advanced)
Spring 2023CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2023CHEM 701Responsible Conduct of Research in the Chemical Sciences
Spring 2023CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Spring 2023CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Spring 2023CHEM 990Research
Fall 2022CHEM 299Directed Study
Fall 2022CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2022CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Fall 2022CHEM 901Seminar-teaching of Chemistry
Fall 2022CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Fall 2022CHEM 990Research
Spring 2022BIOCHEM/CHEM 945Seminar-chemical Biology (advanced)
Spring 2022CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Spring 2022CHEM 990Research
Fall 2021CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Fall 2021CHEM 990Research
Fall 2020CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2020CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Fall 2020CHEM 990Research
Spring 2020BIOCHEM/CHEM 945Seminar-chemical Biology (advanced)
Spring 2020CHEM 343Organic Chemistry I
Spring 2020CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2020CHEM 890Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface
Spring 2020CHEM 990Research
Fall 2019CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2019CHEM 990Research
Spring 2019BIOCHEM/CHEM 945Seminar-chemical Biology (advanced)
Spring 2019CHEM 299Directed Study
Spring 2019CHEM 343Organic Chemistry I
Spring 2019CHEM 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2019CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2019CHEM 990Research
Fall 2018CHEM 299Directed Study
Fall 2018CHEM 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2018CHEM 990Research
Spring 2018BIOCHEM/CHEM 945Seminar-chemical Biology (advanced)
Spring 2018CHEM 343Organic Chemistry I
Spring 2018CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2018CHEM 990Research
Fall 2017CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2017CHEM 990Research
Spring 2017CHEM 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2017CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2017CHEM 990Research
Fall 2016CHEM 299Directed Study
Fall 2016CHEM 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2016CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2016CHEM 990Research
Spring 2016CHEM 299Directed Study
Spring 2016CHEM 343Organic Chemistry I
Spring 2016CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2016CHEM 990Research
Fall 2015CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2015CHEM 990Research
Spring 2015CHEM 343Organic Chemistry I
Spring 2015CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2015CHEM 990Research
Fall 2014CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2014CHEM 343Organic Chemistry I
Spring 2014CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2014CHEM 990Research
Fall 2013CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2013CHEM 990Research
Spring 2013CHEM 299Directed Study
Spring 2013CHEM 343Organic Chemistry I
Spring 2013CHEM 990Research

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance 
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