Grace Spatafora

spatafora is very passionate and knowledgeable and she expects her students to understand the material quickly and more than just memorization. homework was assigned about one a week or every other week, weekly in-person quizzes with multiple choice, truth or false (have to correct the false statements), short essay questions which have you apply the concepts to other scenarios. midterm had the biological concepts and some of her analogies from class. the final had an extra credit portion where you could define terms, explain a concept that was not yet tested, etc. she communicates via email and uploads everything to a shared google drive. all homework assignments are done on paper and turned in outside her office, quizzes are completed on the first day of class of the week, exams are on paper and in-person. she could have incorporated other modes of learning into her class (e.g. small group discussion) as it was always her talking at the class with slightly unorganized slides, thoughts, etc. if you missed class, it would be difficult to catch up without attending office hours as her slideshows usually have a title and images, she explains the material in person by talking (sometimes too fast to keep up with notes) and her must-know information is nowhere to be found digitally. she puts her own notes in a folder on the drive but it is usually uploaded after some time which makes it harder to study for the weekly quizzes. i would have to review the slideshow and watch hours of youtube videos explaining the same material (in a way that made more sense for me) in order to prepare for the exams which in the end did not help much because she does not test the material but the application to other scenarios. spatafora has many roles and is a great & passionate person but her teaching style definitely does not suit everyone.

spatafora is very passionate and knowledgeable and she expects her students to understand the material quickly and more than just memorization. homework was assigned about one a week or every other week, weekly in-person quizzes with multiple choice, truth or false (have to correct the false statements), short essay questions which h …Read more

Spatafora is an incredible prof and I think I would have loved having her if I had any interest in the material at all. Since I don't care about cellular biology, I put very minimal time and energy into the course, and as such, didn't learn much or have fun. That being said, if this is your jam, totally take something with Spatafora, she probably wouldn't be too hard if you like the material.

Spatafora is an incredible prof and I think I would have loved having her if I had any interest in the material at all. Since I don't care about cellular biology, I put very minimal time and energy into the course, and as such, didn't learn much or have fun. That being said, if this is your jam, totally take something with Spatafora, …Read more

This class is challenging. Be prepared to invest a significant amount of time and attend office hours regularly. However, your efforts are usually rewarded, and you'll gain a wealth of knowledge if you take it with Dr. S.