BIOL 2010

So easy. Went to none of the lectures and got an A. Easy prereq (Dave is the man)

It is very important to really understand (not just memorize) the material in order to do well on tests.

There is a lot of reading, but the textbook is very good.

The tests rely mostly on lecture material, but Professor Kittleson's lectures are mostly explanations of confusing textbook concepts.

The pre-class assignments are important and meant to help (both grade-wise and content-wise).

Going to Kittleson's office hours is VERY helpful!

The TA Friday review sessions were NOT helpful--oftentimes they made the content more confusing. If you have questions I recommend attending professor office hours instead of the Friday review sessions.

Dave is awesome. He is so energetic. THERE'S A CURVE. Don't go to Friday review sessions. They don't help. Readings can be a lot sometimes, but they don't pile up because you have to do the readings to complete the pre-class assignments. Readings can also be confusing from time to time, but Kittlesen explains it while during class. With that being said, lecture makes a lot more sense if you actually do the reading.

Don't zone out during class. You're probably going to miss that one important sentence, and the rest of class isn't going to make any sense. This has happened to me a couple times.

I loved Kittlesen but barely scraped by with a C. DO NOT take this class unless you need it for your major (looking at you, premed). Lectures tended to not be that useful because he would analyze some obscure case that seemed to be not very related to the textbook, which was what the content for most of the exams tested on. There was pre-class before nearly every class with reading assigned for each pre-class. 4 exams, and bonus iClicker (component for participation and component for correctness). The exams were very hard and you could tell certain questions were designed to trip you up. The best way to study is to print out all the pre-class assignments for the chapters he's testing on.

Extremely hard class but definitely manageable because I ended up with a A. Make sure to do all the reading and go to every lecture because his tests combine both of them. Study for his tests and understand the concepts because they can be tricky. Also, discussion sections were pointless so don't worry about missing them.

This is a tough course, but if you keep up with the reading, do the preclass assignments, and go to lecture to get iClicker points you should be fine. I got Cs and Bs on every test, but there's a generous curve and I got a B for the semester. You really do need to understand the material, not just memorize information. Friday review sessions are pointless.
I really did enjoy Kittlesen's passion for this subject! He's a funny and sweet guy and he made lecture fairly interesting with stories and demonstrations.

If you have to take General Bio for your major, then this is a pretty okay class. Kittlesen is a really great professor and makes lectures really fun (which is good because they are NECESSARY to go to!)! Again, go to lectures because they really help clear things up and sometimes the exams cover things that are in lectures that aren't in the textbook. He gives online assessments with each textbook reading that you can work on with other classmates and are also open book, so they really help boost your grade. His exams can be difficult depending on the topic and because his questions can be a bit tricky, but reading the textbook and going over lecture notes will really help prepare you. His office hours are kind of conference-style where it's him with a lot of other students around a table, so those are great to go to if you have specific questions. Also, he curves each exam and is pretty fair about it.

I learned a lot from this class and got an A but to get this you have to put in a lot of work. I went to office hours, read the book, took really good class notes, and studied a week in advance. I would recommend staying on top of your work in this class and going to class. He is a great lecturer!

If you are not required to take this class, please don't take this. This class is intended to weed out pre-med students. Don't be fooled by the difficulty of midterms, you will face Hell for your final exam if you underestimate the finals. Try to read your textbook carefully.

Kittlesen. Is. Awesome. He is so enthusiastic about his teaching method and he has so many demonstrations and examples to help you figure out what's going on. Be warned, however, that you MUST attend lecture - his exams have material from lecture. Make sure you can take notes fast because he talks at light speed. The subject material is amazingly fun and interesting; this class inspired me to be a bio major. The midterms are relatively straightforward if you keep up with readings and notes, but beware of the final; despite whatever Kittlesen says it IS cumulative. There are reading questions that will either help or kill your grade, so try to keep up with the readings; the rest of your grade is based on exams. Kittlesen does curve, but not by much.