Cell Biology and Genetics

This course was a relatively basic intro to bio. I didn't really like the teaching style, which in my opinion relied too heavily on readings that were never really covered or even mentioned in lecture. However, all grading was on completion and that made the stress level much lower, which was very nice.

This course was very well-paced and taught in an effective manner. Professor Erik was very understanding of assignments being turned it late and also was a great help when it came to explaining the assignments

Greg is awesome. He is funny and super knowledgeable. This course was set up in a way that was helpful for my learning. The increased emphasis on effort over correctness made me more excited to learn. I also loved the biologist profile project.

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

Dr. S is insanely smart and very passionate about the content of the course, but also expects a lot of her students and moves quickly. The lecture portion of the course is split into 4 components: homework, quizzes, the midterm, and the final. Textbook readings are included in the syllabus but are not required; I did them all but I was one of few who even looked at the textbook. The homework is challenging but is intended to be, so office hours and your peers are a great resource. Quizzes and exams focus equally on understanding the concepts and being able to apply them; paying attention and showing up to class is CRUCIAL because she talks through the content and says what you need to know as opposed to reading from the slides (they're honestly not very helpful on their own). Grading is tough but fair, and she's willing to answer questions on quizzes/exams. One thing to know is that she's crazy busy, so trying to schedule time to meet with her will be a challenge but I highly encourage it: she wants to see you succeed but has to know that you care. Overall, she's a tough professor but a privilege to learn from, and you'll leave this class with a solid foundation for upper level biology courses.

Dr. S is insanely smart and very passionate about the content of the course, but also expects a lot of her students and moves quickly. The lecture portion of the course is split into 4 components: homework, quizzes, the midterm, and the final. Textbook readings are included in the syllabus but are not required; I did them all but I w …Read more

If you want to enjoy cellular biology and not be stressed out of your mind, Professor Emily Putnam is the solution. She's a "get-the-big-idea" person, so studying for the course is centered around the large and central concepts, instead of all the nitty-gritty details, like memorizing the amino acid names (which I've heard is part of Professor Spritzer's class). She's also really nice and chill, as long as you show up to class. This isn't the kind of class you can skip, as one day missed is half a letter grade deducted from your final grade, unless you do make up work. Also don't show up late, respect her, and she'll respect you!

If you want to enjoy cellular biology and not be stressed out of your mind, Professor Emily Putnam is the solution. She's a "get-the-big-idea" person, so studying for the course is centered around the large and central concepts, instead of all the nitty-gritty details, like memorizing the amino acid names (which I've heard is part of …Read more

Putnam is a great professor. Exams were untimed and really straightforward. She is not trying to stump you and wants you to do well in the class. And you can earn points back. Her expectations for all assignments are pretty clearly outlined. The readings, if you do them, can take some time, but exams are based on class material, so the reading can be more of an aid if you are confused after the lecture. Classes are lecture-based, but there are also a lot of opportunities to turn and talk to people around you. I would say the main thing that she cares about is attendance and being on time. It keeps you accountable, but if you miss class, there is additional work.

Putnam is a great professor. Exams were untimed and really straightforward. She is not trying to stump you and wants you to do well in the class. And you can earn points back. Her expectations for all assignments are pretty clearly outlined. The readings, if you do them, can take some time, but exams are based on class material, so t …Read more

Spatafora is incredibly intelligent and too smart to be teaching this class. I came in with no background in biology whatsoever. I worked every day for multiple hours to understand the content. I attended every TA hour offered and still struggled. She expects you to have such a strong foundation and understanding of the material that you can apply it to something that you've never seen before. This class is the hardest class I've ever taken, and I believe that I passed this class so I can do anything. You need to be present and pay attention to 100% of her lectures. Everything that she says is fair game for an exam. If you came into the class with a strong background it biology, I'm sure it would be easier. This class taught me a lot. I feel very comfortable talking about cellular biology in other contexts, especially with my notes and I learned a lot but it wasn't worth the amount that I struggled.

Spatafora is incredibly intelligent and too smart to be teaching this class. I came in with no background in biology whatsoever. I worked every day for multiple hours to understand the content. I attended every TA hour offered and still struggled. She expects you to have such a strong foundation and understanding of the material that …Read more

Dr. Spatafora is an extremely intelligent and passionate professor. She makes lectures very entertaining for students by providing examples for biological processes. Her teaching styles is very animated and I found lectures enjoyable. Quizzes and Exams were definitely challenging, however I found it to be very effective for long term memory of concepts. I spent a lot of time and effort on this course, but it was definitely worth it as this is the foundation for my major. Dr. S. is a very kind woman and I recommend her if you are passionate about biology!

Dr. Spatafora is an extremely intelligent and passionate professor. She makes lectures very entertaining for students by providing examples for biological processes. Her teaching styles is very animated and I found lectures enjoyable. Quizzes and Exams were definitely challenging, however I found it to be very effective for long term …Read more

I had prof. Swafford but they don't seem to have an option here for him!!!!! Great guy and super accommodating, extremely passionate and would do many fun activities like creating personal buttons or 3D print adorable things for us. He allows you to re-do any assignment to get a better grade for full points and is just overall a great professor with a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm. I highly recommend a course with him. I hope he doesn't lose his new teacher spark, and he was so understanding of students' needs.

I had prof. Swafford but they don't seem to have an option here for him!!!!! Great guy and super accommodating, extremely passionate and would do many fun activities like creating personal buttons or 3D print adorable things for us. He allows you to re-do any assignment to get a better grade for full points and is just overall a grea …Read more

Professor Spatafora is very intelligent and passionate about biology, however, I felt that this course was taught in a confusing manner with very hard assessments. The quizzes, which took up the first 15 minutes of class, often were very confusing and hard to answer as they seemed to go over small things that were mentioned in class. If you do end up missing a class, you will be pretty behind, as her slides are only a picture and a caption most of the time, with the meat of the information being explained verbally. For the midterm and final, I studied extensively for long hours, but felt more relieved once seeing the questions. For most of the course, I was very confused on what I should be focused on, and very limited office hours and confusing TA's did not make the experience easier.

Professor Spatafora is very intelligent and passionate about biology, however, I felt that this course was taught in a confusing manner with very hard assessments. The quizzes, which took up the first 15 minutes of class, often were very confusing and hard to answer as they seemed to go over small things that were mentioned in class. …Read more

I enjoyed Professor Spatafora's cell bio class. I thought that the bi-weekly quizzes actually made me learn the material. The lectures were a little slow, but were effective in transmitting material. As a whole, I think that people rate it more difficult than it actually is!

Greg is a great lecturer, bringing everyone into the fold and creating a collaborative environment where asking questions is encouraged. The class has no exams, and getting a 100% overall in the course should be pretty easy to do, as long as you turn everything in on time and put in effort.

Professor Solhaug takes an "effort-based" approach to grading, which means correctness is not a factor, and you will succeed in the class as long as you put your best foot forward. The lectures are engaging, and the weekly group work is an effective way to solidify course concepts.

This course starts off reviewing a lot of basic highschool biology concepts but the speed and difficulty ramps up quickly. I think it is important to review older chapters as the class progresses to keep a relative understanding of how everything connects to each other. Overall, this course was very challenging but you will learn a lot and the Emily Putnam is a good lecturer with helpful insight into doing both learning and doing well in the actual papers and exams.

This course starts off reviewing a lot of basic highschool biology concepts but the speed and difficulty ramps up quickly. I think it is important to review older chapters as the class progresses to keep a relative understanding of how everything connects to each other. Overall, this course was very challenging but you will learn a l …Read more

Putnam's teaching style is great. Her exams and homework problems pushes you to articulate the concepts learned in your own words, helping you better comprehend the different topics. Her exam questions are straight forward, as long as you review the lecture notes and readings you should be fine. She seems extremely passionate when it comes to teaching and is very willing to answer student questions, even if the question is slightly beyond the scope of what is taught in class.

Putnam's teaching style is great. Her exams and homework problems pushes you to articulate the concepts learned in your own words, helping you better comprehend the different topics. Her exam questions are straight forward, as long as you review the lecture notes and readings you should be fine. She seems extremely passionate when it …Read more

I really enjoyed this class and felt that professor Spatafora's method of teaching was very interesting. She is very enthusiastic about the course material and is good about being accommodating to student's needs. Would definitely recommend this class, especially if you've taken AP Bio or AP Chem, it will be a pretty easy A.

I really enjoyed this class with Professor Spritzer. His lectures were very clear and he was always open to answering questions. The exams were somewhat difficult but just required a lot of memorization. Overall I really enjoyed this course and would take it again.

This class was very memorization heavy. The material was in the slides, and that is what ended up on the exams. Professor Spritzer was extremely knowledgeable and fair on exams. I am taking another course with him now and the breadth of his knowledge is impressive. This class taught me how to get through memorization based classes and do well, but it took time. There were also some fun discussions we had that were very prevalent to our outside world.

This class was very memorization heavy. The material was in the slides, and that is what ended up on the exams. Professor Spritzer was extremely knowledgeable and fair on exams. I am taking another course with him now and the breadth of his knowledge is impressive. This class taught me how to get through memorization based classes an …Read more

Cell biology covers a lot of content that would be tedious if we had to study off the textbook, but Professor Spritzer's lectures covered essentially everything we needed to know on the exams. He highlighted all of the main ideas and explained each topic very well. Labs were not bad, but also did not feel entirely relevant to the lecture content.

Professor Spritzer was passionate and engaged with students. His lecture slides were clear and especially useful when studying for exams. The exams were fairly graded and organised based on lecture slides. Labs were straightforward and very useful for building up lab report writing skills.

Dr. Spatafora is extremely knowledgable about the subjects she teaches, which translates. However, this is not a class you can give half effort in -- to succeed on her exams you need to have an extremely in depth knowledge of the material so you can answer her application questions. She is really hard, but if you utilize the TAs and use the homeworks as learning and studying opportunities, you will do well!

Dr. Spatafora is extremely knowledgable about the subjects she teaches, which translates. However, this is not a class you can give half effort in -- to succeed on her exams you need to have an extremely in depth knowledge of the material so you can answer her application questions. She is really hard, but if you utilize the TAs and …Read more

Personally, this course was incredibly interesting, but Prof Spatafora's teaching style is not for everyone. I was lucky to have had a good understanding in general of most of the topics covered, so i had an easier time understanding her lectures, but without a foundational understanding of biology, it is really difficult to interpret her slides and to understand what she is trying to teach. She is incredibly kind though and the TAs are pretty helpful, but I would not take this class lightly.

Personally, this course was incredibly interesting, but Prof Spatafora's teaching style is not for everyone. I was lucky to have had a good understanding in general of most of the topics covered, so i had an easier time understanding her lectures, but without a foundational understanding of biology, it is really difficult to interpre …Read more

I really enjoyed cell bio with Mark Spritzer! While the exams can be dense and are entirely based on memorization, I always knew exactly what to expect and I really appreciated that. Professor Spritzer is very nice and understanding and I would definitely take a class with him again.

Professor Putnam is amazing. She is super sweet and very passionate about the material. She really cares about her students and is very helpful if you reach out to her. I personally liked her teaching style because I was able to recall what we learned. Her exams were quite easy, if you pay attention in class, take notes and understand the big picture you are chilling.

Spatafora is a great lecturer, however she does expect you to memorize everything she says. She is extremely enthusiastic but her tests/quizzes are very hard. She will give you a 30% wrapper which is helpful, but I would recommend taking it with a different professor if you want to do well in the class.

Professor Putnam excelled at making this class accessible to all disciplines of biology without bogging students down with unnecessary details. The focus was on grasping and applying the big concepts of the course, without being expected to learn every single thing about every concept. I would definitely take this class with Putnam if you want an easier, but still fulfilling, experience.

Professor Putnam excelled at making this class accessible to all disciplines of biology without bogging students down with unnecessary details. The focus was on grasping and applying the big concepts of the course, without being expected to learn every single thing about every concept. I would definitely take this class with Putnam i …Read more

I took this class for my pre-med requirements but I really enjoyed it. As long as you put in time and effort you will do just fine in this class as it is all memorization based. All the classes are lecture based and he provides guided notes which are helpful. Spritzer was great because I feel like retained the knowledge while not be overly stressed.

Spatafora is very knowledgeable but her quizzes and exams are set up in a way that you have to know very specific details in order to do well. She's a tough grader and it seems like she tries to trick people, especially with multiple choice questions. Homework assignments every other week are better for actually showing your knowledge and understanding of the course concepts. All that being said, I've learned a lot and have retained what I've learned very well.

Spatafora is very knowledgeable but her quizzes and exams are set up in a way that you have to know very specific details in order to do well. She's a tough grader and it seems like she tries to trick people, especially with multiple choice questions. Homework assignments every other week are better for actually showing your knowledg …Read more

For this course, I felt like I had to really keep up with the readings every night in order to make sure I could have a good understanding of what was going on in class and in the lab. But once I started doing the readings, the labs were very interesting and it was easier to be invested in the work.

I really enjoyed cell bio with Spatafora! She has very expectations for her students and you must know and understand the content well in order to get a good grade in her class but she was a very clear and effective lecturer and had lots of quizzes and homeworks that I found to be super helpful in improving my understanding. She was also really great at explaining things in office hours providing lots of examples to make sure the information stuck! I think she gets a bad rap because you cannot succeed unless you truly understand and know the small details of the content, but there are lots of ways to get there and I learned a lot from her!

I really enjoyed cell bio with Spatafora! She has very expectations for her students and you must know and understand the content well in order to get a good grade in her class but she was a very clear and effective lecturer and had lots of quizzes and homeworks that I found to be super helpful in improving my understanding. She was …Read more

Pask is very enthusiastic about teaching and communicates topics very well. There are a lot of assignments, but grading is effort based, so as long as you do the reading, pay attention to lectures, and put in effort, you'll be fine.

I consider myself to be a good student. Prior to this class, I had a 4.0 GPA. I had gotten A's in multiple chemistry classes with ease and I thought that I would be able to handle this class. Spatafora and DeSimone the two most condescending, cruel, and unhelpful teachers I have had in my lifetime -- and I don't say that lightly! In fact, they are the only teachers IN MY LIFE that I have had issues with. I was in the hospital and neither would let me reschedule my midterm nor get an extension on my lab report. DeSimone even made me cry in class after she suggested that if I hadn't missed a lab to be in the hospital I might have done better on a quiz. Spatafora's tests, quizzes, and homeworks were near impossible at times. She grades INCREDIBLY HARSHLY. I would study for 6+ hours before each short 15 min in class quiz and I still could not do better than an 80%. Please avoid these professors. They absolutely ruined my semester and made me feel so so stupid.

I consider myself to be a good student. Prior to this class, I had a 4.0 GPA. I had gotten A's in multiple chemistry classes with ease and I thought that I would be able to handle this class. Spatafora and DeSimone the two most condescending, cruel, and unhelpful teachers I have had in my lifetime -- and I don't say that lightly! In …Read more

I enjoyed this course because it was a good review of a lot of the content in AP bio. It helped me familiarize myself with a lot of the material after not taking bio for a long time. Prof Ward is also super nice and super engaging.

I really enjoyed Putnam. She wants everyone to learn the material and do well. She is very clear about what she expects you to know on the exams. She provides ways to make up for missed classes and get points back on exams and problem sets.

Spatafora is an extremely kind and enthusiastic professor who has extensive knowledge about cellular biology. That being said, she almost exclusively teaches very high level courses and as a result, this already difficult class is taught literally at a 300 level instead of as an intro level class. There’s an obscene amount of information we need to know that is only increased because of Spatafora’s knowledge and enthusiasm on the subject. Overall the Spatafora is a brilliant person but so out of touch on how to teach an introductory level class. I feel I would have learned substantially more with a different teacher and would have had less stress and a better end grade.

Spatafora is an extremely kind and enthusiastic professor who has extensive knowledge about cellular biology. That being said, she almost exclusively teaches very high level courses and as a result, this already difficult class is taught literally at a 300 level instead of as an intro level class. There’s an obscene amount of informa …Read more

This was one of my favorite classes. I thought it was going to be terribly hard but it actually was not. Professor Putnam makes the class super engaging. The labs take up the most time for sure, especially the lab reports, but there are only a few of them.

Professor Spatafora is extremely knowledgeable and extremely passionate about biology. She is also a very effective teacher and makes good use of videos to explain things when she cannot. With that said, she also has extremely high expectations for her students, and grades accordingly. Her class and exams are not for the faint of heart, particularly if you don't have a lot of experience in biology, but I would recommend her class nonetheless because of all the content you learn.

Professor Spatafora is extremely knowledgeable and extremely passionate about biology. She is also a very effective teacher and makes good use of videos to explain things when she cannot. With that said, she also has extremely high expectations for her students, and grades accordingly. Her class and exams are not for the faint of hea …Read more

Pask is awesome! Absolutely loved this class and learned a lot in a very chill and low stress environment. Will definitely be taking more classes with him in the future. The effort-based grading system was an extremely refreshing take on the typical STEM class at Midd. 10/10 would recommend

While the course was very difficult and you had to have very good attention to detail, I feel like I came away having learned a lot. Spatafora created difficult tests, but she was enthusiastic about the material.

This was the hardest class I have ever taken. Although professor Spatafora was incredibly knowledgable and taught me a lot, the amount of stress I was under this semester because of this class was not worth it. I have never seen exam questions so convoluted and challenging and it felt like I was always being tricked. Studying for the MCAT will be much easier now but I'm not sure its worth it. Professor Spatafora would be a much better professor for an upper level bio class.

This was the hardest class I have ever taken. Although professor Spatafora was incredibly knowledgable and taught me a lot, the amount of stress I was under this semester because of this class was not worth it. I have never seen exam questions so convoluted and challenging and it felt like I was always being tricked. Studying for the …Read more

Class was very exam heavy and relied on a lot of memorization. You're given a sheet with the notes from the lecture and expected to memorize everything on there for the exams. The good thing was nothing unexpected was on the exams.

Professor Putnam was a great teacher for beginners in the STEM field. I think she put a lot of effort into making sure that students were up to date and didn't fall behind and her exams reflected the material we were taught in class.

I found the course to be very fast past. This included Marks teaching style. It felt like he was sprinting through lecture to get all the material in. This made it hard to keep up. Overall, for anyone who is smart this class won't be to bad.

This course was a worksheet-based class meaning that we were split into groups, and we had to work on a worksheet with the help of TAs. The Prof only commented on the word document, and there was hardly any teaching on her part besides having to watch video-lectures before coming to class. The TAs were doing the professor's job, which was odd. The readings and tests were durable.

Previously known as "cell hell", this class with Emily is engaging and laid back! Participation is part of your grade, so you have to be in class but otherwise, there are no worries. Everything is effort-based grading so its pretty laidback. Lab could sometimes still be stressful though.

Professor Spatafora's Cell Biology class was very challenging. It is very hard to get a good grade in her class. She grades the homework strictly and her exams are also very difficult. Granted, Professor Spatafora is incredibly smart and is really passionate about the material that she is teaching. However, this is not a class to take if you have other heavy work/class load. You will need to study a lot for the exams if you want to do well on them. I personally found her class very discouraging. However, if you work hard, the grade will work out in the end as lab is 50% of the grade.

Professor Spatafora's Cell Biology class was very challenging. It is very hard to get a good grade in her class. She grades the homework strictly and her exams are also very difficult. Granted, Professor Spatafora is incredibly smart and is really passionate about the material that she is teaching. However, this is not a class to tak …Read more

Spatafora is a great biologist but not a great teacher, especially for an entry level biology class. She goes into an excrutiating amount of detail about every little thing which is not only extremely overwhelming but it inflates the amount of material in the class. She also does not take into account student feedback about her exams. They're extremely difficult and she is unable to prepare her students well enough to face the challenge of her exams. She, does, however offer test corrections but that only adds to the amount of time and effort dedicated to the class with little gain.

Spatafora is a great biologist but not a great teacher, especially for an entry level biology class. She goes into an excrutiating amount of detail about every little thing which is not only extremely overwhelming but it inflates the amount of material in the class. She also does not take into account student feedback about her exams …Read more

Over the semester, I have not been able to understand why people call it "cell hell". With Professor Putnam, it is the complete opposite. She is great at teaching, and I love her structure of the class. You do readings that are easy to understand, and tiny warmups before class on Canvas - then after the lecture, you do an "exit ticket" - which is write three main points of the lecture on a piece of paper from memory and hand it in to Professor Putnam. She has made me actually enjoy biology, when I disliked it in high school.

Over the semester, I have not been able to understand why people call it "cell hell". With Professor Putnam, it is the complete opposite. She is great at teaching, and I love her structure of the class. You do readings that are easy to understand, and tiny warmups before class on Canvas - then after the lecture, you do an "exit ticke …Read more

Professor Combelles is extremely nice and accommodating, but this class was not structured well. There were no lectures and all learning was done through the textbook and pre-recorded videos. In class, we would work in teams on worksheets and peer leaders would go around the class and help if needed. The class is effort-based, but it is difficult to actually learn the material. This style of learning was not effective for me.

Professor Combelles is extremely nice and accommodating, but this class was not structured well. There were no lectures and all learning was done through the textbook and pre-recorded videos. In class, we would work in teams on worksheets and peer leaders would go around the class and help if needed. The class is effort-based, but it …Read more

Emily is a great professor and explains everything very thoroughly and clearly. The course moves slowly and is very easy- you don't really have to study for exams and problem sets take no longer than 30 mins. Lab is super tedious and feels like a waste of time because a very large portion of it is practicing pipetting and learning literal elementary level math, but Lauren Ash is a super nice instructor and very easy. I've heard Putnam and Ash are far superior and much easier than alternatives (like Spatafora or DeSimone).

Emily is a great professor and explains everything very thoroughly and clearly. The course moves slowly and is very easy- you don't really have to study for exams and problem sets take no longer than 30 mins. Lab is super tedious and feels like a waste of time because a very large portion of it is practicing pipetting and learning li …Read more

I thought that Spritzer was great at explaining concepts, but the amount of material that you need to know for the exams is totally unreasonable. At times, I felt like I was just memorizing the material without actually understanding it. I did well in the course because the tests are all memorization, so it's easy to do well if this type of class structure works for you, however, it was frustrating at times and I feel like I could've gotten more out of the course. There's a lot of busywork, but most of the quizzes and papers required do contribute to the learning from lecture, which is helpful.

I thought that Spritzer was great at explaining concepts, but the amount of material that you need to know for the exams is totally unreasonable. At times, I felt like I was just memorizing the material without actually understanding it. I did well in the course because the tests are all memorization, so it's easy to do well if this …Read more

I really liked this course and this professor. He is very accommodating and we let anyone take the exam on their own time up until a little over a day later. He is a great professor and very interesting. The class is exam based with a heavy portion of class being the lab which is almost like a separate class. The class itself wasn’t very hard but the lab is definitely challenging.

Greg is an incredible professor. His class is graded on effort, so you only get out what you put in. If you want to read nothing that is fine, but you will learn so much by doing the readings and putting all of your effort into the material. You do group work once a week and have lecture the other 2 days. You have a problem set every other week that takes maybe an hour and a reading response on the opposite weeks that take only 30 ish minutes. Super fun class and Greg is amazing-- I could not recommend more!

Greg is an incredible professor. His class is graded on effort, so you only get out what you put in. If you want to read nothing that is fine, but you will learn so much by doing the readings and putting all of your effort into the material. You do group work once a week and have lecture the other 2 days. You have a problem set ev …Read more

I enjoyed Professor Spritzer's lecture style and the style of his exams. While there was a lot of material to memorize, I felt I was prepared for every exam. He was very thorough and I learned a great deal in this course.

There is no doubt that Prof. Combelles is extremely passionate and enthusiastic about biology, which makes it fun to interact with her about topics. As someone who didn't love AP bio but who did love a biotech course I took in high school, I actually really liked how I could tell I was learning and being pushed to understand things in class. However, aside from saying hi to us every class and walking around the room a bit, I saw/heard very little from her during the actual class times. The course set-up is: (out of class) readings, notes, quiz/"warm up," and then video "mini-lectures," and then (in class) group work on a worksheet with your learning team. I understand that she wants collaborative learning in class where we can ask questions and try to puzzle things out with each other, however, I think that it would have been much improved if maybe one day was her lecturing while the other day was group work, since I feel like I've barely gotten to learn anything from her while actually in class. That being said, she leaves EXTREMELY detailed and thoughtful feedback on every assignment and is also a very sweet and caring professor, and her feedback is really very valuable (I don't know how she has time for it all). If you're good at independently-driven learning you'll probably be okay with this course, but if not, I think you'd be better off with a more traditional-style bio course (i.e. Spritzer).

There is no doubt that Prof. Combelles is extremely passionate and enthusiastic about biology, which makes it fun to interact with her about topics. As someone who didn't love AP bio but who did love a biotech course I took in high school, I actually really liked how I could tell I was learning and being pushed to understand things i …Read more

Professor Combelles uses a flipped classroom model which is extremely difficult to use entirely efficiently. She does it well, but I wish that she would be more clear on what exactly she expects us to get from the readings while we are taking notes or studying. Classes are entirely comprised of group work which can be helpful as long as you get a decent group. The TAs are helpful and Combelles is always around if you have questions. The exam grades are almost completely based on your own effort and takeaways from the class, but they can take quite a while. She is definitely a caring and passionate professor, I just feel like the flipped model could use some extra fine-tuning.

Professor Combelles uses a flipped classroom model which is extremely difficult to use entirely efficiently. She does it well, but I wish that she would be more clear on what exactly she expects us to get from the readings while we are taking notes or studying. Classes are entirely comprised of group work which can be helpful as long …Read more

Taking this class with Prof Putnam was enjoyable and I would again. You have a reading before each class and an effort based pre-class warmup and exit ticket (at the end of each class). Exams are straightforwards and easy. She offers corrections on exams and problem sets. Participate in class and do the reading and you will be fine. Be sure to pay attention in class because she verbalizes a lot of the information rather than writing it in the slides.

Taking this class with Prof Putnam was enjoyable and I would again. You have a reading before each class and an effort based pre-class warmup and exit ticket (at the end of each class). Exams are straightforwards and easy. She offers corrections on exams and problem sets. Participate in class and do the reading and you will be fine. …Read more

The amount of memorization that is needed for these exams is totally unreasonable. This does not facilitate understanding but rather just your skills to memorize everything said in the lecture. You can totally not comprehend any of the concepts but as long as you've memorized all the fancy words than you can still pass the exams. The lectures are relatively well structured and he gives you printed out slides to write on which was very helpful, the exams are just unreasonable though. This class is making me reconsidering a bio major.

The amount of memorization that is needed for these exams is totally unreasonable. This does not facilitate understanding but rather just your skills to memorize everything said in the lecture. You can totally not comprehend any of the concepts but as long as you've memorized all the fancy words than you can still pass the exams. The …Read more

I took this course as a pre-requisite for my major, I'm interested in biology which helped a lot with taking this class however it was fast-paced and there was a lot of content to memorize. Spritzers tests are straightforward, and everything you need to know for them is on the slides

This course was a very useful introduction to biology as a biochemistry major and covered a vast range of topics. Exams were fair and expectations were straightforward. Required material and understanding was made very clear in lectures on pre printed lecture slides.

Professor Spritzer is such a nice, enthusiastic, and accommodating person. There were overall 4 exams, but in the first two of them, you could earn 30 percent of your grades back if you reviewed and answered correctly. Weekly we have around 2 chapter quizzes and one study question, but this made me not lose track of what I am doing. It was great to see him, and I hope to take his course next time.

Professor Spritzer is such a nice, enthusiastic, and accommodating person. There were overall 4 exams, but in the first two of them, you could earn 30 percent of your grades back if you reviewed and answered correctly. Weekly we have around 2 chapter quizzes and one study question, but this made me not lose track of what I am doing. …Read more

This is a very basic intro to biology class, if you did well in AP biology then this course will be very easy. If you are pre-med I highly recommend pairing this course with Chem 104 because they will balance each other out and give you the opportunity to adjust to a double lab course load. Emily is a very slow teacher and tends to go over the basics of the course however if you read the textbook then you will find the course much more rewarding. If you have never taken a biology course before this will be a great way to ease yourself into STEM

This is a very basic intro to biology class, if you did well in AP biology then this course will be very easy. If you are pre-med I highly recommend pairing this course with Chem 104 because they will balance each other out and give you the opportunity to adjust to a double lab course load. Emily is a very slow teacher and tends to g …Read more

A lot of outside of class work but as long as you keep up with everything and work with your class team and TA during the lecture period, you'll do fine. Combelles is super sweet and definitely loves the material so she will help you understand through whatever means necessary.

Professor Ward is great. His lectures are engaging. The exams are on Canvas and you can earn points back for test corrections. The course is quite interesting. His slides were very minimalist, so you definitely want to take good notes in class because there is not much to refer back to on the slides. Professor Ward is super helpful, and if you don't get something will explain it in a different way.

Professor Ward is great. His lectures are engaging. The exams are on Canvas and you can earn points back for test corrections. The course is quite interesting. His slides were very minimalist, so you definitely want to take good notes in class because there is not much to refer back to on the slides. Professor Ward is super helpful, …Read more

Professor Spritzer is a great professor. He’s very passionate about biology and it’s reflected through his lectures. The exams are not difficult you just need to memorize the entire slides. Although this is a lot of information, you always know what to expect from the exam, which I love. We have two canvas quizzes almost every week, they just consist of four multiple choice questions. There are also two short paper we write on research articles he provides.

Professor Spritzer is a great professor. He’s very passionate about biology and it’s reflected through his lectures. The exams are not difficult you just need to memorize the entire slides. Although this is a lot of information, you always know what to expect from the exam, which I love. We have two canvas quizzes almost every week, …Read more

Catherine teaches the course in a discussion-based format where you watch the lecture videos before class and work with a group during class times to cement understanding. I loved the class, this teaching style really worked for me. The exams were difficult but are set up in 2 phases where the first is the actual exam and the second is opportunity for corrections and deeper understanding.

Catherine teaches the course in a discussion-based format where you watch the lecture videos before class and work with a group during class times to cement understanding. I loved the class, this teaching style really worked for me. The exams were difficult but are set up in 2 phases where the first is the actual exam and the second …Read more

Cell Biology is a tough subject to teach really well, since there is so much memorization for each exam. Spritzer is well versed in all of the material and he prepares you for each exam well with the lecture powerpoints. A lot of the memorization and concepts are up to the student to perfect though. There are also some study questions and mini-exams online that can contain tricky questions, so it is best to take notes on everything possible in the class, and to actually do the textbook readings.

Cell Biology is a tough subject to teach really well, since there is so much memorization for each exam. Spritzer is well versed in all of the material and he prepares you for each exam well with the lecture powerpoints. A lot of the memorization and concepts are up to the student to perfect though. There are also some study question …Read more

Professor Pask was a great professor--his style in accepting that test/exams aren't a good measure of learning really helped me to focus on understanding the material, rather than memorizing for my grade. In being able to focus like that, I have learned and internalized so much more about cell biology, and there's a lot of vocabulary! Doing work in groups frequently allowed me the space to talk about my understanding, to teach and learn from my peers as well.

Professor Pask was a great professor--his style in accepting that test/exams aren't a good measure of learning really helped me to focus on understanding the material, rather than memorizing for my grade. In being able to focus like that, I have learned and internalized so much more about cell biology, and there's a lot of vocabulary …Read more

The exams were very memorization based but not too hard and Professor Spritzer gave a lot of partial credit. Lectures are very organized and go over exactly what will be on the exams. As long as you understand and study the lecture material the class is very fair.

Overall, the class was very fast-paced. Professor Spritzer would jump between content, and it made it difficult to follow along if you got confused at any point. He is very passionate about Biology but sometimes it felt as though we were speed running through the class, and everyone would be lost. The class was very exam-heavy and relied on a lot of memorization. You're given a sheet with the notes from the lecture, which helps you follow along. Be prepared to memorize everything on there for the exams. The good thing was that nothing unexpected was on the exams. Although if you didn't understand a concept or have it completely memorized, it would definitely have an impact on your grade. He is not the most approachable person, especially for a first year, which made it a bit intimidating to ask questions or receive help when needed. Overall, for anyone smart, this class won't be too bad.

Overall, the class was very fast-paced. Professor Spritzer would jump between content, and it made it difficult to follow along if you got confused at any point. He is very passionate about Biology but sometimes it felt as though we were speed running through the class, and everyone would be lost. The class was very exam-heavy and re …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

I loved taking a course with professor Ward. He was one of if not the most accommodating professors I've had. All around great guy. Tests were definitely on the harder side and I would recommend spending more time on readings to prepare but he makes his best effort to curve grades and fairly evaluate everyone. Loved Jeremy!

I had a great experience with Professor Putnam. I was intimidated to take this class, but she made my experience very valuable. She was willing to work the pace of her students. There were no exams but there were constant assignments to test our knowledge, so I really felt like I was learning for myself instead of learning just to cram to memorize.

Professor Combelles follows a teaching style founded on intrinsic motivation and curiosity, which is something that I can appreciate. For BIOL0145, she puts students into teams and, basically, our "lecture" is just a small group discussion over the content. It's nice because we can focus on specific topics, but at times, I felt like I was depending more on the TAs than Combelles herself. But overall, a really good class that had great resources and test set ups.

Professor Combelles follows a teaching style founded on intrinsic motivation and curiosity, which is something that I can appreciate. For BIOL0145, she puts students into teams and, basically, our "lecture" is just a small group discussion over the content. It's nice because we can focus on specific topics, but at times, I felt like …Read more

I enjoyed taking this course with Professor Spritzer. Exams were pretty difficult and contained a lot of memorized information, but the class in general was super interesting. He really tries to incorporate the voices of the students into the lectures. Discussions are interesting too. Nice and enthusiastic professor but lots of memorization.

I feel like it is relatively easy to get a decent grade in this class, as it is graded by effort. But, it is hard to learn material in this course as it is a flipped classroom model and you essentially teach yourself the material from readings and pre recoded lectures. The course material is very dense and I personally did not retain much information from learning this way.

I enjoyed my cell biology and genetics experience with Professor Spritzer. The class was extremely lecture-based, and everything that was on the exams was pretty much taken right from his lecture slides. Exams are tough and are mostly memorization. Basically, you need to memorize definitions, processes, etc. and write as much as you can on the exams. There is not a lot of outside homework in the class. There are short Canvas quizzes every week about information in the textbook, but otherwise, you don't really need to read the textbook in order to succeed in his class. Professor Spritzer's expectations are very clear, and he is a very nice person.

I enjoyed my cell biology and genetics experience with Professor Spritzer. The class was extremely lecture-based, and everything that was on the exams was pretty much taken right from his lecture slides. Exams are tough and are mostly memorization. Basically, you need to memorize definitions, processes, etc. and write as much as you …Read more

I really liked this class with Professor Putnam. she is very clear in her lectures and will look things up and get back to us if there are questions that she doesn't know the answer to. She is very accommodating of student needs and understanding. the content itself was not that hard, but you should do the readings to ensure you know everything before class. It was a lot of time mostly because of the lab section, but that is to be expected with lab courses and the labs themselves are super interesting.

I really liked this class with Professor Putnam. she is very clear in her lectures and will look things up and get back to us if there are questions that she doesn't know the answer to. She is very accommodating of student needs and understanding. the content itself was not that hard, but you should do the readings to ensure you know …Read more

Greg is a fantastic professor. He uses effort-based grading, so as long as you do the work in a meaningful way, you get full credit. He's super chill and understanding, and he doesn't give exams. I also took the lab with Lauren Ash, and she is very sweet. If you're gonna take Cell Bio, I highly recommend you take it with Greg!

If you like memorization then this course is for you! Every class is the same- a dreary lecture where Spritzer reads off a powerpoint slide. The good news about his exams is that you won't get any surprises. The bad news is that if you aren't able to memorize everything (EVERYTHING) that he says in lecture, then you're screwed.

I felt that this course was a great introduction to biology at the college level, and a good refresher on material taught in high school. Their was a decent amount of information to learn and go over, but at the same time none of the concepts in and of themselves were too difficult. Just make sure to learn whats on the slides, and get the keywords and concepts committed to memory. Also a very interesting subject.

I felt that this course was a great introduction to biology at the college level, and a good refresher on material taught in high school. Their was a decent amount of information to learn and go over, but at the same time none of the concepts in and of themselves were too difficult. Just make sure to learn whats on the slides, and ge …Read more

Prof Ward is a great lecturer, making the material feel relevant to potential career paths you may not be aware of. This is arguably more important than learning about material like the cell cycle, especially if you've already taken a cell bio course previously. Prof Ward is super respectful of your time and great to chat with!

Professor Spritzer expects a lot from his students, but if you’re good at memorizing facts and small details, you’ll be fine in his courses. His exams were almost completely memory based; if you memorized his PowerPoints, you did well on the exam. I found lab to be more difficult and more time consuming than lecture, so be prepared for it feeling like 2 separate courses.

I really liked the structure of this class, but it's definiteley an acquired taste. It's kind of a flipped model class where where you watch lectures before class and do just group work in class. If you aren't prepared for class, the class is useless. It makes it hard to do anything but put LOTS of work into the class to make it worthwhile. However, when you do put work in, it's super useful and awesome and good. Combelles is an incredible person and professor and gives endless comments. She obviously puts a lot of intentional work into the class.

I really liked the structure of this class, but it's definiteley an acquired taste. It's kind of a flipped model class where where you watch lectures before class and do just group work in class. If you aren't prepared for class, the class is useless. It makes it hard to do anything but put LOTS of work into the class to make it wor …Read more

Combelles was a very hands off professor for this course. The class consisted of mostly small group work and the TAs really carried the class. I wish there was more lecture in-person or instruction from the professor rather than group work where concepts were not always clarified. However, the material was very straightforward and it definitely helps you adjust from memorization of concepts to a higher level of understanding. Exams are self-graded and time consuming as you have to provide written corrections if you missed a learning goal. The course sets you up well for future physiology classes. The lab also was low stress and there is lots of feedback and additional help if necessary.

Combelles was a very hands off professor for this course. The class consisted of mostly small group work and the TAs really carried the class. I wish there was more lecture in-person or instruction from the professor rather than group work where concepts were not always clarified. However, the material was very straightforward and it …Read more

Super cool group style learning. I feel I learned much more than I would have in a traditional lecture style class. There is definitely less time with the professor than a typical class, so office and TA hours can be extremely useful.

This was a weird one for me. Yes, the lecture was completely effort based (including tests), which made it stress free. But sometimes to really learn material you need a little bit of pressure, and looking back on Cell Bio I really feel like I didn’t get all that I could have out of it. Yes, part of that’s on me, but also I really never saw Combelles because the lecture was flipped - all lectures were pre-recorded and we just did problems in class. I appreciate the new approach to teaching in an effort to alleviate stress but I simple feel like a traditional, in person lecture would have been more engaging especially seeing as Combelles seemed wonderful when she was present.

This was a weird one for me. Yes, the lecture was completely effort based (including tests), which made it stress free. But sometimes to really learn material you need a little bit of pressure, and looking back on Cell Bio I really feel like I didn’t get all that I could have out of it. Yes, part of that’s on me, but also I really ne …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.

Professor Spritzer is a fantastic teacher, and lectures were always engaging. He provides good feedback on the short papers. The exams do require a bit of memorization, but if you understanding the readings the exams will come easy to you.

Professor Pask is Amazing! I would recommend him strongly. I was mentally struggling during the course and he was so accommodating. I regret many of my decisions, but taking this course with professor pask was a good choice.

This course wasn't too hard, but Professor Combelles's teaching style made it very difficult to learn anything. Class time was spent working in groups answering questions, but I feel as though it did not give me a good foundation in biology.

Professor Pask is an amazing instructor and is so nice. He creates an environment that encourages you to learn while also making it so you are not intimidated by new concepts. He has an obvious love for the topic and is so helpful in office hours or if you having any questions/concerns.

Greg made a "scary" class enjoyable, fun, and anything but scary. I thought that his alternative teaching style and passion for the subject was clear and I had a great overall experience. If you are going to take Cell Bio, take it with Greg.

Combelles was very kind and accommodating. The style of the class is irregular though. You do all the learning beforehand and put your work into practice. It is beneficial if you have taken AP Biology before though.

He was the best great course; definitely take it if you can. No exams all semester. Two or three homework a week and reading. The class is engaging and not stressful. Best experience with cell biology.

This was an extremely strange course. Combelles does not use lecture-style classes. Rather, most of the learning is done outside of class and class time is used to discuss the readings and short lecture videos Combelles posts tocanvas.

The course largely relied on lectures and reading for learning. There were no exams, as he used ungrading methods for the course. There were wednesday group work sessions every week for this course. Highly recommend taking this course with Greg.

Professor Spatafora is extremely smart and knowledgeable about Cellular biology but she takes it to the extreme. She explains everything very fast and expects you to piece it together on your own and in many cases confused me more during office hours.

Great professor. Draws on the applicability of learned content. Exams are difficult but fair; his grading (especially for the written portions of exams) is chill, almost easy. Do the readings and you will have a pleasant experience in this course.

There are a lot of readings for that class. Prof ward is a very nice guy and he wants everyone to succeed. Tests are hard but they are take home. There is no homework for that class but I would def do the readings

Professor Ward is the best. He makes the nitty gritty material super engaging and will also help you with life guidance and advising even if he isn't your advisor. Go to his office hours to make a personal connection and I'm sure you will benefit.

Hardest class I have ever taken. Requirement to know pointless, arbitrary material of unimportant biological processes that are only explained in lecture and not found anywhere else. Exams were extremely challenging and predatory. Do not take.

This class wasn't very hard, especially because there were no exams. However, I wasn't the biggest fan of Putnam's teaching style. Lectures are very discussion based and I felt like too much time was spent on discussion instead of her teaching us the material.

Class lectures were super interesting but had little relevancy to the actual material on the exams. Better off reading the book than attending lecture. Exams were fair and consisted of multiple choice and short answer sections. Super friendly guy who knows his stuff.