BIOL 2100

I loved this course, I found Dave to be a phenomenal teacher. The tests were not on textbook material so I didn’t open the textbook at all and I was fairly successful throughout the course. The only real issue I took with the course as a whole was that the lab section kind of dragged and many of the labs felt like time wasters (things like arts and crafts and escape room that all took hours). #tCFF23

Professor Kittlesen is a good lecturer. He makes lecture engaging and interesting, which helps with actually remembering the material he’s taught. The exams can be kind of tough, but if you go to class and study, you’ll be okay. Make sure to study for exams, as they are most of what makes up your grade. Lab is boring and honestly kind of useless. I didn’t learn a single thing in lab. It is, however, a good grade buffer between the exams. Make sure to do the homework, as that gives an easy opportunity to bring your grade up. This semester he gave a good amount of extra credit, which really came in handy. I got a B in the course, but an A is totally possible if you put in the work for it.

Overall, this class is taught pretty well even if it is pretty difficult, especially in the beginning when you're getting used to the course. Professor Kittlesen is a phenomenal instructor, and quite clearly lays out the knowledge you need to be expected to know come exams, but you similarly need to listen, study, and review accordingly to make sure you perform well.

In terms of exams, Kittlesen changed his original policy of having 6 exams and allowing us to drop one in favor of only 5 exams with more extra credit opportunities starting with Fall 2023. This might very well mean you'll start off with a really low score on your first exam like I did because you're not yet used to how his exams are somewhat tricky with their questions. But even then, I found that what worked best for me was to take proper notes in all his lectures, then make a Google doc with all the learning objectives for the upcoming exam and try writing out and explaining each one. If you took good notes already, this should only take a few hours, but will do wonders in helping you recognize which areas you need to review more as well as training you to understand the concepts in the way in which Kittlesen wants you to for the exam. While you're reviewing, though, make sure to draw out all the relevant diagrams and processes as much as you can, because his exams pretty much require you to be able to have a mental image of how the systems work and how they're manipulated in the wake of certain changes so you can then determine the right answer.

In terms of his lectures, you should definitely attend every lecture in person if possible. He didn't mention it in detail for us until the very end, but the Poll Everywhere questions he has you do in class will be added as extra credit to your final grade, which is determined solely on completion. For this semester, he decided to give everyone 100% completion because a lot of students faced a lot of technical difficulties, but that may not be the case in the future, so make sure to attend in person and do the questions whenever possible. It may not be much, but a 100% completion grade for us meant an extra 1% boost to our overall course grade, so it can definitely make a difference.

You should also try to do your best to get as close to 100% in your MasteringBiology homework assignments, so take your time answering them. He also gives out a few extra credit homework assignments at the very end of the semester, which I highly suggest you complete as that can very well bring an original homework grade of around 90% up to a full 100%.

In regards to labs, they're not that difficult overall, so just make sure to do your best to complete everything as best as you can.

Tl;dr: Professor Kittlesen is a great instructor, and you can study well for his tricky exams by making sure you can explain and know everything on the learning objectives for an upcoming exam. Always attend the lectures in-person as much as you can, and make sure you take any extra-credit opportunity possible, including homework and in-lecture questions.

I hope this helps, and good luck to anyone who plans on taking the course!

Kittlesen is a great professor! He genuinely cares about his students and makes lectures entertaining and enjoyable. Reading the textbook is unnecessary as everything on the exams is solely lecture based. Kittlesen's lecture slides are mostly pictures so you really need to focus and take notes during lecture. He does record the lecture, but it is only an audio recording. An additional benefit in attending lectures is poll everywhere which he offers an extra credit point for participation. There are Mastering Bio assignments after every lecture that typically take about 20-30 minutes. This is pretty much the only form of homework outside of class. Labs can be confusing, but in my experience the TAs were happy to guide us through. My lab group got out 1-2 hours early every week. There are no prelab or postlab assignments as homework. I would suggest reading the lab overview before showing up for lab. This will help you move quicker and hopefully get out early. Exams are easy if you review all the lecture content before hand. Drawing out all the biological processes for each unit exam on a whiteboard helped me feel prepared. If you have taken AP Bio most of the topics should be familiar. Exams are closed notes so you do need to memorize the content, however he directly draws out what you need to know and what you don't. All exams (including the final) are unit exams and not cumulative.

In summary, this is a great introductory course and I suggest taking it even if you get transfer credit for AP Bio. I wish I had gotten to know Kittlesen better. If you are able to, go to Kittlesen's office hours and take his COLA class. He is a great connection as head of the biology department and for recommendations.

I found Kittlesen's lectures very interesting and engaging - the topic themselves are pretty fascinating even if you aren't someone who's super interested in biology. As for how to succeed - the way to do well on Kittlesen's tests is to make sure you are not just using rote memorization, but actually thinking about how to apply the information. If you know the facts and can use logic to deduce conclusions, you will be absolutely fine. The tests are not meant to trick you unless you don't understand the actual way that something works. I didn't do the readings before class and I hadn't taken AP bio, but I did the readings before each exam and always did quite well. I would also recommend talking about the concepts with a friend like he suggests. Overall, you shouldn't be scared of this course - it's easy to do well if you are willing to apply information rather than just regurgitate it.

#tCFS24

I came into this class with a passion for biology and wanting to major in it and left with a hatred. Professor Kittlesen designs the course to have 5 exams in which are worth over 70% of your grade. This would not have been an issue if he didn't make the exams almost impossible to pass. I would spend over around 15 hours a week studying for these exams and still did not do well. He is not sympathetic and does not want his students to pass. I ended with a 79.98 and he refused to bump me 0.02 to a B- so I ended with a C+. Labs are not bad at all, though, I was the only student in my lab group that continued with Bio (the rest dropped pre-med due to Bio 2100). DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU GOT CREDIT. I rarely know anyone that ended with an A- or A.

As someone who didn't take AP Biology in high school, this class was pretty challenging and time-consuming for me. Kittlesen is really nice - he's approachable in and out of class and is receptive to answering questions/emails but he assumes that people have a strong background in biology. His lecture slideshows are basically just pictures/diagrams and in lecture, he explains the processes and related concepts in detail that it can be overwhelming if you don't have a strong foundation in biology. His exams are the ones that get people the most - some questions in the exams are basically paragraphs of text where it can be difficult to find out what concept he wants you to apply on the question. Other questions are also confusing + vague and can refer back to activities you did in lab.
My tips for this class: the exam learning objectives he gives out are going to be your savior in the course, as he's going to ask questions related to them. Also make sure you understand the learning objectives to the T, since the questions he likes to put are application based (ex: what happens if x gene is removed from y). What I did is made an extensive study guide with learning objectives and used my notes to fill them out. I also made sure to find friends who knew the content better than I did and try to explain it to them. Make sure to also ask "what if" questions, since it really makes you apply the concepts you learn to hypothetical situations which is what Kittlesen likes to put on his exams. This course is pretty difficult and can be a pre-med weed-out course but if you can survive, you can survive the upper-level bio/harder pre-med classes. #tCFF23

YOU CAN GET AN A, coming from someone who got an A.

Background:
I am a 2nd year who took this class and took AP Biology my senior year of HS, so about 4/5 topics were somewhat familiar. Dave explains all of these concepts so much better than my HS teacher did. A lot of these reviews and grades are coming from 1st years who I don't think were really ready for a college level class, so don't be scared!

Course Overview:
-5 exams, all non cumulative (70%, often curved a tad)
-Lab (20%)
-HW (10%)
-Offers +1% for PollEverywhere, up to 1% (depending on how many responses) for course evaluations, and a extra point for things every now and then

How to get an A:
Homework
-Kinda hate Dave for this, but every attempt on MasteringBio you lose a point, so don't be afraid to double check your answers

Lab
-Lab was kinda pointless expect during genetics
-Check everything with your TA - they're so nice!

Studying
-Go to DAVES office hours - he makes the exams so he knows exactly what you need to know
-Focus on the learning objectives (and ask Dave to explain them to you if confused)
-I rewatched every single lecture, because you often miss things, and for this class, it's important you write down everything because there's a chance it could be on the exam
-Save your time, when looking at the textbook focus on the images and videos
-Ask yourself what if questions: "What would happen if this stopped working?", "What's the point of this?", because Dave likes to ask those questions on the exams
-Know every concept conceptually but also associate it with a certain image

NOTE: You will probably do bad on Exam 1 (I did), but take that as a learning point and realize where you went wrong studying/preparing/test taking. I did that and go >90s on every exam. Also, Dave is willing to help you succeed! He is there to help be your sherpa and talking things out.

Dave is an incredibly geniuine and kind professor. He's a great lecturer, though he tends to use very specific examples in class which can be hard to follow. To combat this, it's best to understand all of the lecture material BEFORE lecture as much as possible by reading the textbook, watching YouTube videos, etc. It's also important to attend lectures in person because he only makes audio recordings, so when you listen back to them its difficult to determine what exactly he's talking about on the slides. I wouldn't say the content is what makes this class difficult, rather, its the way Dave makes his exams. The wording of the questions tend to be very tricky and they are HEAVILY application based, so you can't get away with memorizing everything, you must have a conceptual understanding of it. I was never able to break an 85 on his exams even after attending office hours consistently and studying strategically. His exams are objectively difficult. I would highly recommend attending his office hours every week even if you don't have questions because he gives useful examples and demonstrations that weren't given in lecture. He also gives a good amount of extra credit throughout the course that can help you reach the next letter grade if you're close to it, but don't anticipate it to make some significant difference. Do not take this class if you don't have to--it is time consuming and frustrating. If it's a requirement for you, my best advice is to ask questions as much as possible in office hours. He kindly answers them and you can ask for clarification at any point. Try your best to absorb as much content as possible prior to lecture and do not fall behind! Although Dave's exams are hard, they are still doable if you put in the work. Dave is reasonable and always has his student's best interests in mind, don't be afraid to ask for help. #tCFF23

For context I am not a bio major, and I never took ap bio in high school. For me, this class is extremely challenging. While Prof. Kittleson is incredibly nice and passionate, his lessons fundamentally require you to have a solid base understanding of biology. I did not have this, so to me every lecture was gibberish. Every test i studied for 10+ hours with elaborate study guides and review exercises- each time I got between a 70-75, and I CELEBRATED. The labs are easy, the homework is meh. My understanding is that if you took ap/ib bio this class is not bad at all. If you’re like me and did not do this, it is really, really hard.