BIOL 1050

Prof. Adler is a really nice guy and he is a fair grader, but his tests are confusing and are not an accurate depiction of the lecture material. That being said, extra reading may be necessary. Make sure to bring your clicker to class to earn participation points, pay attention, and try to be engaged. I took this class to fulfill the science requirement for the College and I really regret it, because I'm not interested in this field at all. If you're like me and you hate science, try to find a different class to take because this one was boring. There were moments when I found the information interesting but then Prof. Adler would throw in a bunch of random science facts that completely confused me.

An ok class. Not hard, memorizing is essential for the tests, and it helps to read the textbook so that you know the vocab which makes understanding lectures easier. It's an easy class that fulfills a math/science requirement.

Easy class. Sometimes it's interesting, and sometimes it's boring, but you'll definitely learn something. Read the power points, and attend class to be successful. All the tests are take home, and he drops the lowest one. Participation is just iClicker questions in class. He usually tries to give as much extra credit as he can.

Adler is a horrible professor. His lectures are very disorganized, and the material on the tests has nothing to do with what you spend the majority of the time on in class. Also, if you do not have a strong background in Biology and Chemistry, you will not understand most of the material. Although the class is advertised as for non-science majors, I do not understand how someone without an extensive science background would be able to figure out the questions on the test. I would not recommend this class to anyone.

This class is worth taking if you're looking for a fairly easy science requirement. Professor Adler is very nice and gives lots of opportunity for extra credit and participation. He also grades fairly and drops the lowest exam grade (there are 5). All the information you need is on the power points that he lectures on in class. Even though it's not the most riveting material, it is fairly easy and the professor is nice.

This is perhaps one of the most boring classes ever, but the last few weeks of information are fairly interesting. Adler is a sweet guy who does his best in making presentations and helping students understand the material. However, his tests always had 4 super tricky questions that did not correlate to the simplicity of the class. I recommend this class only if you are a non-bio major who needs to fulfill science requirements. Also, DO NOT buy the textbook. It is called "Genetics for Dummies" and is completely useless. I don't see why it is even allowed to be a textbook at UVA...

I took this class to fill my science requirement, and it ended up being a pretty easy and interesting class. Reading is assigned occasionally, but the material from the book isn't on tests, I stopped reading by the 3rd test or so. There are 5 tests on collab, and the lowest grade is dropped; all the test materials come from lectures. The rest of the grade comes from participation, which can be done by answering clicker questions or giving optional presentations. That being said, I also loved Professor Adler, I thought he was great. He really loves the subject and was an interesting lecturer. I hate science, but I overall really enjoyed this class.

I took this class mainly because I wanted 3 more credits in my schedule, and it was the only interesting looking one that fit time-wise. I didn't hate the class, but I also can't say that it was my favorite. The material in the first half of the class was a little bit dry, but by the last several weeks, I thought the interest level picked up. However, I really liked Professor Adler. I thought he was very knowledgeable about the material and was very encouraging of us asking and answering questions in class. He gives participation points for asking and answering questions, as well as volunteering to give presentations on articles he assigned us to read. If I'm being honest, I opened the book for the class (which is "Genetics for Dummies") once in the first week of class and never read it after and did just fine. The only reading you should really do is the popular media articles that he assigns with each section, because questions from those can show up on tests. There is one group project halfway through the class, which is super easy and graded for completion. Overall, I thought Professor Adler was great, and the actual content of the course was average. Definitely would recommend for an easy science/gen-ed filler.

I took this class mainly to determine if I still had an interest in genetics without taking the actual hardcore genetics class. Not a bad class, but not the best. Professor Adler can be boring at times, but he is also very nice and funny and he knows the information well. He encourages questions and seems to really want his students to learn. Tests weren't too difficult, but they were relatively short (25 questions) so if you missed three questions, you're automatically at a B. However, he drops the lowest test grade and curves to the class average. Recommend if you're looking for a genetics class with limited work.

I enjoyed this class, I found the topic interesting and it wasn't too hard. Dr. Adler uses a powerpoint each class and he posts them online so you don't always have to go at all. However, before a test there is a practice exam with clicker questions that is graded on participation. There are also clicker questions sporadically during a couple of the lectures. Although it was just powerpoints, I enjoyed his teaching and the tests (all take-home) weren't too bad after reviewing his notes. There are occasional readings, articles and the "Genetics for Dummies" book, but you don't really need to read the book and maybe not even the articles but they are good reads. There are one or two graded assignments and besides tests really nothing else. Very manageable and I would recommend.