BSCI223 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/19/2025	All I have to say about Buchner is that he might actually be losing his mind (as proven during the Spring 2025 BSCI223 course). If you're taking microbio take it with Tran or at least any semester Buchner isn't teaching. No help reviewing for any of the exams (all 3 of which were wack) and flipped-style lectures that are comprised of 50-minute in-person rambles about measles, HIV, and other unrelated BS. He sucked this semester good luck doing well in this class if you take him
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/16/2025	This is genuinely the first time I have been prompted to write a review for my professor in all my years out of genuine concern for his mental state. The reviews below basically sum up everything about Buchner and his teaching style, so I won’t elaborate too much on that. A lot of busy work and wasted time lecturing about measles and other topics, rather than reviewing concepts and ensuring that students understood what they were learning from his lecture videos. In terms of doing decently in this class, I would try to do as best as you can on the busy work/lab assignments as they make up a good portion of your grade. They were extremely time consuming and felt like a waste of time sometimes that could’ve gone towards actually preparing for exams, but the grading wasn’t too harsh. Also, I would try to remain on top of watching and taking notes on the pre-lecture videos as it was very easy for them to pile up, and there would be multiple videos to watch that were over 30+ minutes sometimes. In terms of exams, one of my regrets was not attending/watching the exam review videos that the TAs posted until the final because these were extremely helpful and often went over the exact concepts tested on the exams. I would also recommend doing the practice exams. If I had spent more time studying for the midterms, I definitely would’ve done better in the class. Labs are also very easy and fun, especially if you have a good TA. They often didn’t consume too much time, I would recommend just reading over the procedure ahead of time. As for the finals themselves, Buchner provides no study guide, past exams, or any material to get an idea of what they will be like. The first exam averages were very low and Buchner refused to curve. The second exam was much better, but I also believe it was written by Tran. As for the final, it wasn’t too bad but it did bring my grade down to a B and I studied much more for it. The only good thing about this class were the TAs who were amazing at explaining and simplifying concepts, providing a general study guide, hosting review sessions, etc. The only reason I’m giving this professor a star is because of how incredible the TAs were, genuinely the best I’ve ever had.
Walker Orr BSCI223 Anonymous 05/16/2025	Not a good TA. Very unapproachable, graded harshly and unfairly, and barely ever knew what was going on. I had him last semester and when we did our presentations in lab, he refused to even turn around and watch them, or put our slides up on the screen. Would not recommend, he made this class so much harder than it needed to be.
Grace Rua BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/16/2025	Grace was the only reason I got through this course, despite Dr. Buchner’s best efforts to be unhelpful, unprofessional, and uncaring. She is a great lecturer who can explain concepts succinctly and in ways that make sense to someone unfamiliar with the topic, and was very accommodating with deadlines. I would highly recommend taking her lab section!
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/16/2025	I don’t even feel like wasting my time trying to review this professor. But I second every grievance that has already been stated. I wanted to chalk up past negative reviews to the occasional bitter student, but I have never encountered a more unprofessional professor who is so profoundly antithetical to the definition of a teacher. To the UTAs, I’m not even religious, but god bless you. You all worked so hard to make sure we succeeded, and I am incredibly grateful for all you did for us this semester. Please take this course with Dr. Tran if possible.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/16/2025	If I could give negative stars I WOULD. This class is alright but the professor is absolute garbage at his job. Ive seen plants more useful than this man. He makes you do his stupid clicker questions that are mostly irrelevant towards what he is trying to teach which im still trying to figure out even after taking his bs final. He rambles in class about his political views and useless information that has nothing to do with microbiology. He obviously made his final exam last minute as it was completely void of anything related to what should have been on it and not only that, he ran out of tests to give students so we had to wait 30 minutes before getting our actual final and beginning. Most unprepared "professor" (if you can even call him that) I've had in my entire life. He is a horrible teacher and I am amazed that he has over 1 star. He says he isn't going to curve anything even though the averages are so low. The 20 year old TA's were better than this man with a degree which is insane. Do not take him if you're actually trying to learn anything related to microbiology, you're better off teaching yourself on YouTube shorts than this trash "teaching". Absolute fool of a professor.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/15/2025	Spring of 2025 was the test run for Dr. Buchner's first semester doing in person microbiology exams, and I think this contributed to why the exams were like /that/. I think Dr. Buchner does know a lot about microbiology, and he is clearly passionate about it. He was nice (at least in my experience, though I have heard from others getting not so nice emails) and some classes were funny. So for that, I will give 2 stars. But, he falls a bit flat when it comes to teaching. I have mixed feelings about the flipped lecture format, because there are some benefits and some downsides to it. However, my biggest gripes with this class was: 1. We were blind when it came to exams. There was 0 preparation when it came to the first exam, besides a heads up on the drawing, and the average was failing. There are no curves (not even a little) despite this. The second exam was prepared for us by some nice TAs. With the final, again, it was prepared for us by some nice TAs. I think the TAs did a lot of the heavy lifting. Props to them, but not to Buchner. I think I did okay on the final (at least above average, just estimating) but it was objectively bad. 2. Sometimes in lecture he went on to ramble about things that did not matter. Oh, and he added bonus content to the exam (stuff about HIV and COVID) which was not in the syllabus whatsoever and was only added because we happened to be a couple classes ahead of schedule. So, instead of using those classes to do a proper review, he just talked about the things he liked. I will admit I do find this stuff interesting, but I believe that being tested on it and wasting valuable class time on it is unfair. Unrelated to Dr Buchner: Lab definitely helped boost my grade. It's very important to have a good lab group for this class. My lab group started off pretty iffy at the beginning and I felt like I was doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but halfway through they started doing more. So whatever. I am likely getting an A-, with a small chance of me keeping my A based on that last exam. Sucks that the final might bring my A down to an A-, but at least an A- is a 3.7. Most of my friends were at A's too, and that final exam knocked some of us down to A minuses. rip
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/15/2025	i do not like saying this but i found this class to be more difficult than my biochem class!! the content is not difficult, but he teaches in a way that overcomplicates each module. as mentioned in the other reviews, he rambles a lot. although the flipped classroom learning style is deemed as a wonderful technique, i do not believe he implements it well as the slides are wordless and half of the information he says is not on them. A lot of the tas even had mentioned how he was not the best at teaching and that the final was hard-- they tried to fight for our grades. very grateful for the tas who taught me most of the content and for my lab group. i had high hopes for him, but they were not met unfortunately.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/15/2025	a joke of a professor. he doesn’t teach, doesn’t provide practice exams, no study guides, no kind of help for exams but he expects you to know everything on them. Like why are STUDENTS the ones who made the final exam practice test, instead of the actual teacher. This guy knows nothing about microbiology and he’s the laziest teacher i’ve ever encountered. DO NOT TAKE HIM. If you can take microbiology somewhere else!
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/15/2025	Like everyone this semester has said, I would give zero stars if it was an option. The recorded lecture videos are outdated and do not explain the content well. In class time was wasted as the prof would ramble on about measles, vaccines and whatever he felt like tbh, instead of going over useful material. Half the clicker questions he just told us to figure out on our own. None of the lab/homework assignments supplemented the material we were actually tested on, not to mention they were sooo many of them. The average was horrible on the first exam (which he refused to even mention) but better on the second only because of the amazing TAs. The final was absolutely traumatizing. He was also not helpful when asking clarification questions, just gave some long winded response that didn't make sense. If I didn't have a great lab group and amazing TAs, I would've dropped this class. Please do yourself a favor and take it in the fall with Tran.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/14/2025	Like the person before me said, If I could give a class 0 stars, I would. The lab is not hard and your assignments are based on completion. However, the learning style for this class is not suitable for the amount we pay to be students here. He uses videos from the pandemic and you spend the entire class either talking about his science interests or doing clicker questions that he does not post the finals answer for. There is absolutely no instruction in class. He provides no study guide, practice exam, no old exams, no review session, or any other preparation to help you prepare for exams. He writes exams a few days before the actual exam so he can never really answer questions about it, neither can the TAs. He is a nice guy, but I hated the way this class operated, but its possible that's a personal problem. Its no longer covid, its time to transition back to regular learning since this class is not listed as a hybrid class.
John Buchner BSCI223 Anonymous 05/13/2025	Would give zero stars if I could. Dr. Buchner is an extremely lazy professor that "teaches" by posting lecture recordings from 2020 containing outdated information. He then rambles in lecture about Measles for the entire time, and giving a few clicker questions. First exam was very difficult given that he gave zero practice problems and did not speak on the exam content in class. He then proceeded to not mention the failing average, and keep yapping on about Measles. Second exam was better thanks to the lovely TAs who made review sessions and practice questions because you would never catch Buchner doing that. THEN he proceeded to zoom through exam 3 content, finishing about 3 lectures ahead of schedule so he decided to lecture about HIV and Covid for the remaining three lectures then tell us it would be on our final exam. Mind you this is nowhere in the syllabus. When I signed up for this class, I expected to learn about Microbiology, but instead we spent over half the time learning about Dr. Buchner's personal biology interests. Take this class during a semester Dr. Tran is teaching if possible!!
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/13/2025	bruh I took this class because I thought the exams were take home (based on previous reviews) but they were not. I felt like I worked really hard in this class but still fell a bit short. I hated the flipped-class style. having to watch 2 hours worth of lecture videos, go to 2 hours of lecture (which were unhelpful for exams), and then 3-4 hours of lab in one week ON TOP OF the insane amount of homework really sucked. the lab was cool though and loved my TA (kari). I think Dr. Buchner could be decent at teaching if he slowed down and restructured the lecture portion. first exam was hard af tho and we do not get any practice problems from him. the TAs and UTAs held this course down fr
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/12/2025	If I could give Buchner a 0 I would. After attending lectures this semester I'm convinced he doesn't actually know anything about microbiology and escaped from some mental facility. He provides outdated and messy videos for the flipped-style lecture and during actual lectures rambles on about random unrelated stuff. Only thing that's nice about this class is the lab section and your TAs.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/09/2025	I learned the most from my TA. She was exceptional and understanding and clarified concepts kinder and better than Dr. Buchner. Honestly, Dr. Buchner was condescending in emails and just assumed students knew all the material. I felt like there was a power imbalance, and it often discouraged me from doing my best in class. He also didn't teach during lectures, he'd crack unprofessional jokes and state facts without reason then move on. All our learning was expected to be done from pre-recorded videos from years ago that contained outdated information and did not always align with the exam content. He also emphasized asking previous students who took the class for exams or notes, which is really unfeasible for a lot of students who don't have this kind of access or connection-making it a severe disadvantage for a vast majority. I liked the content of this class, and I read the textbook for my own personal learning, which is why I can say I learned a good amount of information. But this credit cannot go to Dr. Buchner, it goes to my TA and maybe him providing a nice textbook. An unnecessary amount of assignments, they taught me nothing.
Aiswarya Suriaprakash BSCI223 Expecting an A- userterp 03/25/2025	so amazing. aiswarya is super engaging and applied lecture concepts into the lab. she also gives a brief overview of the lab protocols and certain lab skills (which is relevant for the exams) before the lab sessions. she also hosts and records review sessions before the exam, and generally super helpful. she also checks her emails frequently and is quick at responding. overall, she just wants you to succeed and she's super fun! i'm excited for her to become a professor in the future because any student who has her can consider themselves lucky.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- userterp 03/25/2025	curriculum & lecture: the curriculum is separated into 3 modules, with several small assignments (PAKs) that are graded based on completion. the course subjects were simple enough, and the lecture is flipped, so we are required to watch a series of videos before coming to class. if you can hold yourself accountable for that, this class would be perfect. the lectures themselves were basically reviewing the videos through a bunch of clickers (basically short quizzes graded on completion). while the information itself was interesting, the lecture was okay, the lab was fun. the exams focuses on both the application of lecture materials and lab materials. lab: love, love, loved this lab. my ta, aiswarya, is a godsend for this class. her presentations on the lab procedures and importance of each practice was super informational and entertaining. she's super sweet and understanding, and she keeps the lab really fun. some of it was incredibly hard to perfect (for the lab practical), such as the gram stain, but it wouldn't drop your grade much at all. the group you are with also matters alot because while there are no lab reports, there are several group assignments that must be completed. random complaint but almost 80% of the microscopes were dysfunctional before the midsemester point though. grading: there are several assignments but it's not unmanageable. the grading is reasonable but it takes a lot of time for them to get it in.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/03/2025	Honestly the content material itself wasn’t too difficult, but how the class was taught and tested was horrible. A flipped classroom design where there were probably around 6-10 videos a week with an absurd amount of content that was barely mentioned in class. There was truly no way to prepare for exams because Dr. Tran refused to discuss what would be on the exam, provide a guide, and wouldn’t have the layout of the exam done by the lecture before. The issue was then that the at home videos gave so much information, however there only 15 questions on an 150 point exam. Lecture is solely based on clickr questions, which for me was alright sometimes but other times 20% (of probably a 200+ lecture) would get the question right and she would take that as the class understanding the subject and move on. Lecture was truly a waste of time you were not taught anything really and would rely on students to explain complex topics and not further explain them herself. I personally watched the lecture videos and found them helpful, but I found others did not. Lab was easy because essentially you do the same thing every week and there are no lab reports to be graded. However there are numerous group assignment and presentations, if you have a good group and a good TA these assignments should be easy A’s and are probably the reason I am ending with an A-. Overall just a poorly structured and set up class with a professor who is kind but doesn’t really seem to care about the success of students.
Aiswarya Suriaprakash BSCI223 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/18/2024	Absolutely loved her! She helped me a lot with figuring out what was going on in lab and helped when I didn't understand how lecture concepts applied in lab. She also hosted a review session before each exam that helped me do a complete review. She does a great job explaining lab protocols and making sure that everything is running smoothly. She's very approachable and you'll have a lot of fun in her class!
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/18/2024	I really enjoyed the class content. I absolutely love Microbiology and my GTA and UTA were the GOATs. Dr. Tran is also really nice when you talk to her and approachable about most things except study guides and the flipped classroom. The lab component of the class is very enjoyable and by the end of the class, I was able to get really close to my lab group and to my GTA and UTA. I really loved all the hands on parts. But get ready to practice your streaking and gram stains. They are arguably that hardest part of the lab to master, but very fulfilling once you finally get it! That being said, I did not really like the flipped classroom style but to each their own. I thought coming to lecture was a waste of my time because she records her lectures and completed slides with the clicker questions. I only went to class because that's how she took attendance. I could also be speaking out of bias because I did not want to have to pay for the PointSolutions clicker for just this class. However, I will say that the lecture videos are very informative and I have almost never had to open the textbook for this class unless it was to cite it for the PAKs. You don't really have to pay attention in class unless you sit in the front and want to ask questions since the clickers are graded on completion, not accuracy. There are occasional in person papers that you have to submit, but those are considered bonus points. Her exams are weird to study for because there's no focus but this semester, one of the GTAs hosted review sessions before exam 1 and exam 2 that were recorded and that helped. Exams are no longer open note or online! The final was also cumulative and in person starting this semester! Exam 3 (which is the final) is the hardest because it has an emphasis on Module 3 content but Module 3 is a very dense part of the content and it felt very rushed at the end of the semester. We definitely could have shortened module 1 content and extended module 3 a little bit. But I would say those are all excusable. The worst part of this class and why this class gets 4 stars instead of 5 stars was the busy work. I was taking an 18 credit semester this semester and there was so much busy work every week with assignments that weren't hard but would just take so much time. They weren't even integral to learning, they just felt so unnecessary in the long run. The PAKs? Not graded on accuracy. The discussion boards? Unnecessary research that could have been combined into one assignment. The research boxes? While they were interesting, I feel like they didn't help me too much because I already knew how to read articles. But nonetheless, busy work. I would be working on microbiology assignments even when I had to study for an exam. That's when you know it's too much work. It's an easy class, but if you're fine with busy work and you love microbiology, definitely take it!
Erin Tran BSCI223 Anonymous 12/18/2024	The flipped classroom is actually really nice and helpful if you can hold yourself accountable to watch the videos on time. She has a great way of explaining concepts without overwhelming you with unnecessary information. The videos made it really easy for me to digest the information. Exams were also extremely fair and pretty easy. You just need to go to class and participate in the clicker questions. (I just hate that they made us pay for it lol) Only thing I didn't like about this class was how rushed the labs felt. We were expected to do a lot within a short time and that wasn't it.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/16/2024	I actually liked the flip classroom model! I find it easier to take notes on my own instead of lecture, but to each their own! I feel like a lot of people didn't pay attention in class though, so that's probably why people didn't do so well on the exams since they had the in-class clicker questions. Pay attention!! A lot of people talk about nothing making sense but they were the same ones not watching. The final was pretty weird, no excuses for that. The lab wasn't hard at all, but there is SOOO much busy work. If it weren't for that, this class would be 5 stars.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/14/2024	Dr. Tran is a very kind person and very knowledgeable about her class. I liked listening to her speak which is a shame because she praises the flipped classroom model, which just entirely wasn't for me. Exams were SO difficult. The most shocking thing to me is how I was able to get As in all chem classes I've taken but not this. Still waiting to hear back about rounding up my grade to an A- because I am decimal places away. The lecture videos she posts are years old from Covid, and lecture is based on clicker questions (we had to pay for the subscription out of pocket, btw) which we get participation points for. Lab was extremely fun and my lab group was great, but the amount of busywork was just insane for this not even being part of my major and instead a prerequisite for grad school. Overall the class was fine, super time consuming and difficult. Dr. Tran is cool but DEFINITELY not my favorite.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/14/2024	Dr. Tran is very nice and understanding. She is very approachable and helpful when it comes to answering questions and receiving feedback on assignments or exam questions. Her class was a flipped classroom, which I found to be more work, as you were expected to watch her topic videos before class and actual lecture was just used as a review. I didn't like how we were never given study guides for exams. Additionally, Dr. Tran never indicated what the correct answer to clicker questions was, so if you didn't write it down in class, you'd have to somehow ask her. The lab was not that bad and boosted my grade. While there were a lot of time-consuming assignments, none of them were that difficult and they ended up really helping my grade in the end. While the class is a lot of work to keep up with, Dr. Tran is pretty reasonable. As long as you keep up to date with her videos and complete the lab assignments and projects on time, you should be fine.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/11/2024	I personally think this is a great class and I like how Dr. Tran teaches. She's also super nice, welcoming, and relatable. If you're not a fan of a flipped classroom model then here's your fair warning (I like it). The lectures are more like clicker based "discussions" to practice the concepts in the pre-lecture videos and they are broken up into bursts (5-25 mins) so honestly if you watch a video while eating a meal or like little breaks here and there you don't even need to take notes like that (because going to class is basically studying imo) Dr. Tran explains things pretty simply in the videos and in class and if you don't understand something she's pretty accessible, we picked two office hours as a class and if you still can't make it just email or ask your TA. This class has ALOT of assignments though so be prepared, it's not hard it's just tedious especially the lab presentations. Sometimes the lecture exams and the major lab assignments were kind of stacked back to back but we kind of asked (feedback through survey) to have them spaced out a bit more and Dr. Tran listened and for that second exam, lab assignment combo we were given more time (just communicate). Labs were pretty fun; there are two 2hr time slots but my section rarely ever stayed the entire 2 hours. The exams weren't particularly hard, sometimes the questions were worded oddly and I had to ask my TA for clarification a couple of times. But because of the sheer amount of assignments and points (clicker pts graded on participation, lab participation, bonus points, weekly concept check assignments "PAKs" that are graded on completion) your exam score shouldn't really tank your grade all that much. In conclusion: content is pretty easy, courseload/work is heavy, exams are medium difficulty (clarity), but bc there's so much work it truly is hard to not pass and getting an A is definitely doable.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/07/2024	It looks like I'm the odd one out but I actually loved this class. The labs were fun and none of them went to the 1 hour 50 minute mark. My group was great. I didn't usually watch the videos before class because I'm lazy but it never affected my grade. Clickers are graded for participation. Exams are VERY fair and the exam questions are literally the same as the clicker questions, just worded different. But, if you understand the answer to every clicker question, you will get an A on the exams. Also there are sooo many cushion points in lab if you need a grade booster.
Kendall Opheikens BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/06/2024	Kendall was a great TA, super chill and helpful in lab. Super receptive about fixing grades, we had a discussion about why I answered a test question the way I did and once I explained my reasoning she fixed my grade immediatley. Genuinely wants everyone to get an A in the class. Make sure you clean up your lab bench before you leave or you might get points off. Showed us lots of pics of her cute dog :)
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/05/2024	In the last four years I've taken two chems, two anatomies, two physics, and various other straining courses, and this by far is the worst. The content probably wouldn't be nearly as difficult to learn and understand if Dr. Tran used even half of the time we spend in lecture actually teaching us. She raves about how great the flipped classroom is, but if you were to ask literally anyone in our class you would not hear the same answer. We have to watch videos that are 3 years old and not a single minute of lecture is spent reiterating any material. Every class period is spent doing clicker questions for a participation grade, which the school no longer covers the subscription for, and we are expected to have the same level of understanding as her despite her not really teaching us. Most of class guesses on all of the questions and they are not a good indicator of exam questions. For every exam, Dr. Tran creates multiple versions where everyone had vastly different questions. To top it off, she informed TAs that they were not allowed to give us partial credit for most questions, even parts that were worth 10 points on a 150 point test. Every test had errors and had questions that were very poorly planned and worded. Truly the only reason I can expect to do well in this course is because of my TA Kari and what felt like hundreds of lab assignments. Most weeks we had 2 or 3 time consuming assignments due, in addition to 2 large projects that barely related to the class. We had to come up a gene and cloning strategy to genetically modify bacteria to benefit a cow???? This class has been one of the most time consuming courses ever, especially with two lab sessions a week. It is clear to me that Dr. Tran does not prioritize her students and doesn't really seem to care about how we are doing. She sent out a mid-semester survey for feedback and went over it in class. She proceeded to tell us that she won't be changing anything despite us asking for some change. I truly hated this class.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/03/2024	Took this the first semester that exams were moved to in-person and it was much more work than expected and tests were random and unorganized. No partial credit was given and averages were in the 70s and bsci does not curve. Did not feel like I learned anything because of the flipped classroom design of the course. Dr. Tran seems nice enough but doesn't actually teach us. She uses clicker questions in class which no one follows along with and she moves through them quickly without really explaining much. It feels like she is very disconnected from her students - granted it is a huge lecture hall - but I don't think she knows how much her students don't understand the topics.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/03/2024	Dr. Tran is a big fan of the flipped classroom design - beware. Genuinely everyone I interacted with in this class was always confused and lost during lecture periods. She used clicker questions every class and while they may have supplied decent examples (if you knew what was going on), at least half of the people in the course were just guessing randomly because no one was up to date on the notes. Then again, the clicker questions rarely were up to par with the exam questions which were often random and much harder and no test was reliable since everyone had different questions which was unfair to others. Tests also had multiple errors and no absolutely no partial credit was given which is inexcusable. Then after exams, she would cancel office hours the next week so we could not go talk to her. Overall, it felt like Dr. Tran did not truly care about teaching the class, using prerecorded videos from over 3 years ago instead of teaching us in person, and the time spent in lecture felt random and lost. She boasts about how great the flipped classroom idea is, but this absolutely did not work for the class and it felt like a waste of my time going to class. Also participation is graded through pointsolutions and we basically directly paid for our participation grade (over $1 per 1 point) which is ridiculous, especially since the clicker questions only worked half the time. Also the lab was better than lecture, mostly because of my TA Anna, but SO much busy work and I swear assignments randomly popped up throughout the week that were not there before. There were 4 presentations during lab with 2 large semester projects, and tons of individual and group assignments each. This has been one of the most tedious and annoying classes I have taken in college, and as a senior I've taken anatomy, orgo and physics II before. Can't wait to be done with this class.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/11/2024	Genuinely such a useless class, filled with busy work and obsolete assignments. Dr. Tran is extremely nice, however her flipped class set-up is most definitely not for everyone. The class requires you to learn all of the information on your own and then attend class for mandatory clicker questions, which do not work half of the time. In general, avoid taking this class if your time is valuable to you. If you need to take it, good luck.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/27/2024	Miserable old man. I thought he was nice and chill at first but I was wrong. Accused half the lecture of cheating on homework and exams when everything is open note and we are allowed to use the internet. And when trying to contact him about it he refused to discuss the matter with any of his students due to a "power imbalance". He put all of these students at a risk of receiving an XF in the course or worse only for the honor council to also not understand what the issue was and dismiss the cases after weeks of investigation. Lectures are also waste of time and have nothing to do with exam content. So much busy work and the multiple part at home exams take hours.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/18/2024	Super fun and chill class. The labs are actually really hands on and fun, and you don't really need to know much information from lecture to complete the labs. There is a lot of busy work but the majority of it is jut graded on completion. Exams can be a little tricky but they don't impact your grade too much. If you have a good/chill TA for lab, you should be totally fine! Lecture is flipped classroom style which can be helpful for some, just have a basic idea of what is being taught and you should be fine. Dr. Buchner is really sweet and responds quickly to emails.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/24/2024	This class was easy but had SO much busy work attached to it. It was flipped lectures, except Buchner didn't do anything useful in class and instead read scientific article abstracts out loud during lecture. I would recommend watching the lecture videos, but not actually going to class and just keeping the clickers open during class time (you need to do 2/3 of them every lecture to get participation points). The lab homework and the PAKs are graded for completion. The graded assignments were not difficult, but you have to THOROUGHLY read the rubric. The instructions and the rubric at the bottom sometimes differed and you have to make sure to hit all the requirements to get an A. The exams are multi-part take home ones open for a few days. They test conceptual understanding rather than memorization and take HOURS, so be careful during finals season. I learned a lot more during lab than I did during lecture, mostly because I had an amazing TA. However, you're in the same lab group for the entire semester and do all of your projects with them, so if you get a bad group you're gonna have to do all of the work yourself. If you have the time to dedicate to completing the sheer volume of assignments for this class, then it's an easy A.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/21/2024	This course is very chill and honestly really fun. Dr. Buchner taught lecture while Dr. Tran oversaw lab (although I didn't really interact with Dr. Tran). I really loved this course. Lab is super fun: you get to make friends in lab and do really cool things with microbes. Also, it is cool that lecture and lab are synched together into one class, as lab TAs are helpful for general class content. In terms of lecture, class takes a flipped-classroom approach. You watch Dr. Buchner's online videos and during class go through review-question slides. (Although Dr. Buchner likes to go off-topic with microbiology current events snippets at points). Class is very chill. You can do it in person or on zoom. And you don't need to get the questions right, you just need to provide some sort of an answer for 2/3 of the questions per day. However, the class is not very 'right/wrong' oriented. Most projects are open-ended responses and Dr. Buchner often likes many different multiple choice answers during the class clickers. In terms of workload, it is actually really intense. Between PAKs and homeworks (both graded only on completion), lab reflections, research boxes, and our 'exams' (which I will get to in a minute), it is a lot of work. The 'exams' are very time consuming, although not really exams. You are assigned 5-6 sets of open-ended, multiple choice, and other projects on Canvas that are due in 1 week. So in short, you don't really need to "study" for exams. But when you fall behind on notes, it makes the exams much harder to complete. In terms of resources, definitely don't get the textbook. The videos that Dr. Buchner posts should be more than plenty to help you. Plus, this course is so time demanding that after attempting to watch Dr. Buchner's videos, attend class, and do assignments, there is no use studying out of a textbook, unless you do nothing else during the semester.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/15/2024	He says the classroom is a flipped classroom....it's really not. Rather than doing homework in lecture and learning the content at home, you watch lecture videos at home, do homework at home, and go to class just to go over the homework (it won't tell you correct answers) via clicker questions. It's just busy work honestly. The lab is super cool though and easy as well as long as you get a good TA ofc. Do all the assignments as best you can, make a study group, and you'll do fine in the class. Pretty generous grading by the prof (he grades some assignments himself) and the tas too. The midterms and final are take home and open note but that does make them wayyyy harder so make sure before the midterm/final you have watched all the lecture videos and read over the lab protocols/slides. Overall, not a bad class just a lot of busy work which annoying but not the end of the world.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/11/2024	Take this class with this professor if you are trying to get out of genetics. His labs are so fun and so awesome and amazing, at least in the section I was in. However, there is a insane amount of homework so plan time accordingly.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/08/2024	My only advice to you is to put off this class until you can get a different professor for it. At the beginning of the semester I thought he was cool and chill but oh boy was I wrong. First off, he does not teach in class; he only does clicker questions for assignments we have already done and reads about the bird flu and measles which isn't even relevant to the content we were studying. He expects you to watch videos he made from several years ago to keep up, and there are MANY of these videos. You shouldn't choose him as a professor because towards the end of the semester he sent out reports with LONG lists of names (and I mean LONG, as in pages) accusing people of cheating on a 4 point homework assignment graded for completion, and we were allowed to use the internet and work with others. His excuse was that we "used a similar clover shape" for a protein or "used similar colors and shapes". For context, this was an assignment where he PROVIDED us with a template, and there was only one right answer and a list of things we needed to include, so how would everyones look different?? When peers challenged his accusation to the honor council, even they said that they don't understand what he thinks was cheating, AND noted that he never even provided the template to them or informed them that we all got the same one, which would have changed everything. Now, I've heard he is sending out more accusations to even more people on an exam, and refusing to reply to people's emails due to a "power dynamic issue", he quite literally copied and pasted this response to everyone. I really would like to know how working this out with him directly is more of a imbalance of power than reporting someone to the honor council and risking them getting an XF and expelled or suspended. So, essentially, don't take this class unless you want to spend months proving that you didn't copy just because you drew a red circle on a 4 point homework completion assignment! Sorry not sorry Dr. Buchner, you did this one to yourself. Stop being like that.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/23/2024	I LOVE DR. TRAN, she is so nice and approachable and genuinely a great person. She always answered questions and made lecture fun. Tips, go to lecture, the clicker points will boost ur grade, turn in all the busy work it will also save ur grade. Exams are online and open note but they are hard, she follows a flipped classroom model but if you watch the videos you will understand what is going on for the exam.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 03/26/2024	Def a crap ton of work, a class I would not want to do again, but got the grade I wanted along with many other students
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 02/13/2024	Super chill professor, you don't do much in class besides clickers/point solutions. I gave him 4 stars only because of the insane amount of homework he gives. He typically grades on completion rather than accuracy though and the assignments are relatively easy.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/15/2023	This class is entirely busy work and group work. Good luck if you aren't assigned a group with competent people. Your grade highly depends on your TA as well, as some are stricter with grading than others. As for the lab manual, you have to print out all of the pages prior to lab, and the protocols are very poorly written. The lectures are flipped-classroom style where the actual lectures are pre-recorded videos and the lecture time is more discussion-style. Overall this class is very time-consuming, however, I feel I have barely learned anything in the end.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/11/2023	Dr. Tran is a very helpful and kind professor. She holds office hours every week in which she is more than welcome to answer any questions you might have and she also responds to emails almost instantly. Participation points are based on clickers which you can do from Zoom. The class itself is not too difficult, but the grading is very strict. The workload is a bit heavy and for assessments, you get 6 days to do 5 assignments which could take many hours to complete, they are online + open note. Honestly, your grade depends on whether you can keep up with the assignments and how well you can understand the material and apply it to different concepts.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/10/2023	literally the worst class ever. content wise, if you've taken BSCI222, BSCI330, BSCI410, or BSCI420, this class will be a piece of cake. workload wise, however, this class is absolutely RIDICULOUS. endless assignments due literally every single freaking day, so much busy work. I have not taken a class with 5 homework assignments due every single week since high school, and i'm a senior. be warned: just because the exams are online + open book does NOT mean they are easy. they are broken down into 5 individual assignments, each of which takes HOURS to complete. what's even worse is the day after the exam is due, you still have other assignments due. the labs are fun; the protocols, however, are not user friendly. they need to hire a new prep TA because they were not well prepared for some labs due to shortage of materials, culturing issues, confusions and mix ups. very bizarre and chaotic course. sorry, girl, but some of us have lives outside of this course and cannot be bothered by these dumb assignments.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/07/2023	This class is very boring, the teacher gives long assessments and these assignments are ridiculous. Labs are long and never graded in person, only online assignments that don't even boost up your grade besides 0.5%. They don't care about your other classes and your mental health. I still got that A+ tho and thank you to myself.<3
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 11/02/2023	Prof Tran is soo nice. She is so caring and welcoming. She always is available for office hours too. Her lecture style is mainly focused on participation, but its through the form of clickers. You can also attend class on zoom and participate on clickers too. As long as you turn in the weekly assignments, lab quizzes, and attend lecture either in person or online you should expect an A.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/25/2023	Loved the prof. Super understanding (gave me an extension on a big assignment just cuz I asked) Very down to earth and encourages you to use outside sources and collab with friends. You can zoom into lectures but there is participation credit via turning point questions. But you can miss 3 lectures and still get 25/25 participation points. The lab was super fun and interesting I just got fucked with my TA, Husan T. He is an asshole and also grades way too harsh.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting a P Anonymous 03/15/2023	I am not learning anything in this class. They just flood you with pointless assignment after pointless assignment. It's also screwed with my mental health and made me resent one of my favorite subjects. Instead of a 1-hour exam per week, you're expected to a 20-30 hour assessment that basically forces you to redo all of the classwork you did so far, only with entirely different set-ups, if that makes sense. Then you have a massive report due that constitutes 50% of your grade during the same week the huge assessment is due. Expect to spend 8 hours a week in this class, and that's just the lecture, lab and "discussion". Not counting the endless work you have to do. They also pick apart your grade for the tiniest things, and every instruction is a 3-page word salad with thousands of requirements. It's also very condescending. "Your idea must have real genetics and biochemistry to back it up... nothing from the realm of fantasy or science fiction land." I have seriously never seen instructions like these that insult you, confuse you and overload you at the same time. This class also demands brevity out of you despite dumping walls of text infront of you. I've seriously read an assignment 8 times back and forth for an hour and have lost 20/30 percent of the points for missing one small step. I've also made a single mistake and had that repeatedly docked from my total in the same report. I have to white-knuckle through this class and beg for my efforts to be seen. One day you've spent 8 hours straight doing homework and the minute you look up you drop a letter grade for something that would have been a 1 or 2 pt deduction in any other class. Even in classes I have taken that grade harshly in writing, like psych and english, don't grade your writing as harshly in this class. And to what end? It's a fucking micro class. I just feel like the class expected us to be more immature than we were and simultaneously way more experienced in microbio. I have roommates in the grad school at UMD and they tell me that this class is more ridiculous than what they have to do. Whatever they're trying to do, it's really not working. If you can wait to take this class until a prof that gives exams teaches it, do so. If you can take it at a diff college, do so. If you can put it off until your last semester so it doesn't affect your grad/med school app, do that. Do not take this as an elective no matter how much you care about the subject. Would you take Math115 as an elective? This class is seriously the same way. Do what you can to avoid this class.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/22/2022	Dr. Buchner is a great professor who provides many resources to help you succeed in class. This class is not very difficult content-wise, but the work can be tedious and time-consuming. If you attend lectures and go over the slides, you should be able to get an A or B. Dr. Buchner is a funny professor who is extremely helpful. He goes over assignments and questions in class, and after exams, provides an opportunity for individuals to request their tests to be regarded. If you can provide evidence to back your answer he will give it to you. Buchner likes to relate a lot of the course content to current events, making this class interesting. This class is pretty straightforward, but the workload can be overwhelming sometimes. The class PAKs can take a while to complete depending on the questions. The lab is very simple, but attendance is necessary. In the lab, you follow directions and have a couple of group assignments and presentations, which are pretty simple. Overall the workload in this class can be a lot especially since you have 2 lab sections each week.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/15/2022	easiest bsci class there is, im not even gonna hold you I may end up with an A or very high B in this class and if you ask me what I've learned?????? LOL bruhhh, take this class with a friend and you're good. On your own with no friends? um maybe not so much of an easy A or B for ya but make some in class lol. Buchner is s chill and so sweet as well. Very accessible and willing to help.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/12/2022	I dont need to wait til the end of the semester to give this course a review. If there is any class or set of professors that COULD CARE LESS that you're taking other classes that also require your effort and attention. Its these guys!!!
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/20/2022	Dr. Tran is an amazing and nice professor. She is really clear at explaining things in her videos and lecture. This class may seem like a lot of work but many of the assignments are small and/or done in groups (and completion grades). A lot of the grading is done by the TA. As long as you keep up with the material, you can do well in the class.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/03/2021	Loved taking Buchner's class. He is by far the coolest professor I've had yet. He seems like a very kind and understanding person and makes lots of accommodations due to COVID. His lectures can be helpful because he just goes over questions most students didn't understand. Many bad reviews I've seen said he gives too much busy work which I agree with but MOST of it is participation points. As long as you put in some effort, you will get full points for completion. For exams there are a few parts to it but you also get 1-2 weeks to complete it but some questions can be tricky. Lab was good in person. Very minimal effort. You just have to read directions and follow them. I had an awesome TA and he was very lenient with grading so lab helped bring my grade up. There are a few assignments where you have to present but they are very informal and less than 5 minutes as a group. I had to take this class for my major and was super worried about it but it was pretty straightforward. A good amount of effort but easy A for the most part.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/24/2021	Dr.Tran is an amazing and kind professor. I will admit that the lab assignments were pretty annoying. Dr.Tran's exams are very fair, as long as you attend the lectures and review the material you will succeed on her exams. She also gives extra credit.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/20/2021	Dr. Tran is awesome. She is very knowledgeable and from I have experienced does not read off of slides? She explains concepts very well and you can tell she has enjoys teaching.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 03/31/2021	Not a very engaging professor. You can tell that she likes to read off the slides. However, her exams were fair but lacked clarity and often not provide clear directions when it comes to assigments and projects. In hindsight, the class seemed to be all over the place.
John Buchner BSCI223 Anonymous 12/19/2020	Maybe because the course is online due to COVID, but his way of teaching does not make sense at all and he assigns too many assignments per week. His major assignments (PAKs) are genuinely useless and needs EXTRA (I mean whole new) research just for those assignments. His lecture videos are very brief and not at all detailed, so basically useless for all the assignments. His research box assignments, which we have to read a research article per week and analyze, are way out of our league and not at all related to the course. So, basically I have wasted my semester reading and doing shits that are not even related to the college-level GENERAL microbiology. I don't know who else teaches this course and about their ratings, but DO NOT (I MEAN IT) DO NOT TAKE BUCHNER IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT MICROBIOLOGY.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/22/2020	She was pretty average. The class mostly depends on lab points. The exams she gives are pretty difficult but I've heard they're better than Buchner's. She kept things clear and relatively easy to understand.
Erin Tran BSCI223 Expecting an A- Anonymous 02/28/2019	Has no idea how to teach. All she does is read the slides (everyone in college can read on their own thank you!!!!). Mandatory clicker points so you much show up to hear her read. Nice person, but other than that, pretty bad teacher.
John Buchner BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/06/2019	Buchner makes lectures very interesting and connects material to real-life examples, which made everything easier to understand. It definitely helps to have at least a little background in biology, because a lot of it I've seen before. His first exam was really hard and I failed, but after that, I got As on the second exam and the final. Study the PAK material. His exams are so long and you have to budget your time really well if you want to finish. The lab is a decent amount of work, but it's an easy boost to your grade if you submit everything on time. It's not super hard to get an A in the class, you just have to focus on the bigger concepts when studying. I do recommend Buchner, just be ready to put in the time for a 4 credit class!
Daniel Stein BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/24/2011	well first off there is a 2 to 3% curve in the class. He tells you all semester theres not, but there is. Also stein isn't a bad professor or lecturer. His exams aren't too tough if you do his study guide questions, but the set up of the class especially the lab is atrocious. Alot of times in lab we did not have to correct equipment needed for the lab and even the Tas were confused on what to do. But for steins class all you need is to get like 85 on his two exams and wont he final, as he gives a lot of extra credit (pak points up to two percent increase), and he has two group assignments worth 10% of your grade that it should be easy to get an A in (my group got 99 and 101 and our projects were that good (we also had a good TA)). Also with this class make sure to read each question carefully because alot of it isn't to hard, but can be tricky if you are not reading the questions correctly. Also this class is made alopt easier if you have taken bsci 222 and understand the central dogma. THe entire second exam is the central dogma and if you get it you are guaranteed at least an 85 on it.
Richard Stewart BSCI223 Expecting an A cmstillings 12/25/2010	This class was very easy. Although his lectures are boring and he tends to try very hard to make lectures exciting, they don't really make students want to stay in class. You must go to lecture 20 times at least to get the clicker points. Overall, Stewart is a very good teacher if you listen to what he says. He wants his students to pass so utilize his weekly study questions. If you answer these you will be prepared for the tests. Another great thing Stewart does is posts the final question to each test and a sample test for every test. With these and Koofers tests (which were exactly the same tests we were given this year) it is impossible to not get an A. Good luck in Micro!
Ann Smith BSCI223 Expecting an A genbiomajor 12/23/2010	This class is divided into 3 modules; Dr. Stewart taught the first two modules and Dr. Smith taught the last one. Dr. Smith lectured with more passion, but her slides were not as straightforward as Dr. Stewart's. I studied Dr. Stewart's slides without referencing the textbook, and got A's on the first two exams. However, I had to rely heavily on the textbook to understand the material that Dr. Smith taught since her slides have very little substance to them (as per another reviewer). The labs are pretty fun, and can really boost up your grade. Make sure you keep track of all the assignments and their due dates since there is a lot of busy work. Also, if a problem arises that may interfere with the class, do not hesitate to talk to Dr. Smith. She is very understanding and will work with you to devise a solution.
Ann Smith BSCI223 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/11/2010	Dr. Smith is an amazing professor! She really loves what she is doing, and teaching is evidently her passion. This definitely shines through during her lectures, her way of responding to students' questions, and even in her very well designed (but sometimes poorly supplemented/executed) laboratory exercises. This might sound strange, but Dr. Smith was so sympathetic to student's concerns, that at times she seemed like a second mother (she really is that nice!) In addition, she really has a knack for teaching you everything you need to know about microbiology. She has very fair examinations, and is really great about bumping you up provided you show improvement throughout. Amazing woman.
Daniel Stein BSCI223 Expecting an A AnonymousTwo 05/27/2010	Dr. Stein really wanted us to "understand" a lot of things. His lectures slides were very engaging. I do have to say that his course is a lot of work. He is somewhat approachable, yet I feel that his test seemed unfair at times. He even claimed that "I feel that this was a bad test, since majority of the class got x amount of things wrong." But, if you are up to date with everything, and work hard, hopefully, you will be able to do well in this course. Overall, I thought it was okay, the Module 3 about HIV, and immunology was great :]
Daniel Stein BSCI223 laura22 05/27/2010	Compared to Smith, Stein is a little more difficult. My TA, who took Smith, said the stuff we were learning was harder than what he had learned. That said, Stein really does want his students to learn the material in this course, not just regurgitate the info. He tries to make the information interesting and engages the class through "cool" facts presented at the beginning of each lecture. The book is pretty helpful, so I'd recommend you get it. Also, labs and assignments are actually pretty fun and interesting, but I may be biased because my TA and UTA were awesome. Stein also grades students individually. If he sees you've improved through each exams and do well in labs, he'll definitely bump you up a decent amount.
Daniel Stein BSCI223 Expecting an A zhangsta 05/25/2010	honestly, i didn't learn that much in lecture. found it hard to take notes unless you had a netbook because he teaches off powerpoint slides. all you really have to do to get an A is read the book. the labs were relatively easy and the exams were alright if you keep up with the reading. if you find yourself short a few points of your target grade, dont worry since he'll give out a lot of extra credit towards the end of the course.
Daniel Stein BSCI223 Expecting an A aralchen 05/19/2010	Dr. Stein is actually a very solid and effective teacher. I had a good time in class and overall learned a lot about microbiology. He uses a lot of interesting examples and the last few lectures on STDs were really awesome. Unfortunately, he is NEVER clear about what he wants as an answer on the exam. I'm not exaggerating - this is ABSOLUTELY TRUE: If your answer to a question is correct but does not appear on the answer key, HE WILL MARK IT WRONG! He says it's so everyone is graded fairly, and if you have any concerns about your right answer (that was marked wrong), you can go to his office hours or submit a regrade. This is terribly disrespectful of our time - we don't have time to go chase points we rightfully deserve. Overall, solid teacher but crappy grader.
Daniel Stein BSCI223 Expecting a C aberk 06/17/2009	TERRIBLE COURSE. Besides that fact, Dr. Stein is ok. He tries to make the subject interesting by adding a few fun facts before every lecture...sometimes they actually are cool. If the course wasnt such a mess, i think it would be really very good. The lab+lecture activities due almost on a daily basis are very confusing, but the upside is that they help your grade quite a lot. The reason i say that the course is terrible is because people have no idea when things are due and the dates change constantly...besides that, the course is actually fairly interesting.
Daniel Stein BSCI223 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2009	Dr. Stein is a really good professor. He tries very hard to make this subject fun, by giving assignments that are actually real fun. At the beginning of every class he shows you one of the applications of microbiology and is always fun. He checks attendance using clickers, but he does not grade you on whether or not you got the right answer. His exams are difficult. The final exam is a combination of a 3rd exam (on new material) worth 75%, and a cumulative part worth 25%. The lab section of this class is very fun (you get to make yogurt! and play with bacteria!) The lab questions are not hard, and the lab exams are easy. Overall it is easy to get a B in this class (because the lab grade will boost your grade a LOT!), but getting an A requires a lot of effort. Even then I would still take Dr. Stein because he is a great teacher, he explains things well, he hold review sessions every week, and his assignments are really fun (content-wise).
Ann Smith BSCI223 Expecting an A rbterp 03/08/2009	Dr. Smith was a good teacher. Sometimes it can be a little frustrating b/c her slides don't seem to have a lot of substance to them, but by the end of the course, you will learn a lot! I recommend doing the study questions and going to review sessions to ask about any questions you might not be able to answer. I also recommend looking over the PAKs before the exams. BSCI223 overall is easier than most bio classes but there are a lot of small, kind of busywork assignments. I really liked the lab because you learn a lot of techniques and you are not penalized for mistakes during procedures, so you aren't afraid to try new things.
Ann Smith BSCI223 Anonymous 12/04/2008	Dr. Smith is an effective teacher. Her tests are fair and based off the material she covers in lecture via power point. Some students dislike her because she tends to use gimmicky teaching techniques as were used in middle school (like stories), but I believe this gives her points context and makes them more interesting. Also like middle school, there are lots of small things due all the time and there are many projects. The syllabus is hard to read so it can be difficult to keep track of due dates. Despite the sometimes cheesy projects, overall I'd recommend Dr. Smith.
Daniel Stein BSCI223 Anonymous 01/21/2008	Not a fan. He was not a good teacher, his tests (especially his final which was 12+ pages long) was ridiculously complicated, and he took attendance by clickers each class. Oh, and yes, he was quite boring. The best part of the class was it was close to my dorm so waking up at 7:50 for his 8 AM class was not too shabby. Good luck to any who has to take this class.
Daniel Stein BSCI223 Expecting a B almostdone 12/05/2007	Dr. Stein is a very good professor who gives a very thorough explanation of microbio. Honestly, the hardest part of this class is to just keep track of what assignments are due and to go to class every time. There alot of assignments every week, but in general they are all very easy and dont take up much time. Everything in lab is basically guaranteed to be 100% unless you don't put effort into it. The exams are fair and the best way to be ready is to print the powerpoints before hand and take notes on what he says. Dr. Stein is one of the few teachers imo that actually explains as well as the book. If you can pay attention in class studying for the exam will be 10X less stressful and difficult.
Richard Stewart BSCI223 Expecting an A pinklacepajamas 10/21/2007	Not a very engaging lecturer although he really knows his stuff. He is much more help when you go to his office hours. Sit up closer because he doesn't ever seem to be very loud even when he is miked.

John Buchner
BSCI223

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
05/19/2025

All I have to say about Buchner is that he might actually be losing his mind (as proven during the Spring 2025 BSCI223 course). If you're taking microbio take it with Tran or at least any semester Buchner isn't teaching. No help reviewing for any of the exams (all 3 of which were wack) and flipped-style lectures that are comprised of 50-minute in-person rambles about measles, HIV, and other unrelated BS. He sucked this semester good luck doing well in this class if you take him

John Buchner
BSCI223

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
05/16/2025

This is genuinely the first time I have been prompted to write a review for my professor in all my years out of genuine concern for his mental state. The reviews below basically sum up everything about Buchner and his teaching style, so I won’t elaborate too much on that. A lot of busy work and wasted time lecturing about measles and other topics, rather than reviewing concepts and ensuring that students understood what they were learning from his lecture videos. In terms of doing decently in this class, I would try to do as best as you can on the busy work/lab assignments as they make up a good portion of your grade. They were extremely time consuming and felt like a waste of time sometimes that could’ve gone towards actually preparing for exams, but the grading wasn’t too harsh. Also, I would try to remain on top of watching and taking notes on the pre-lecture videos as it was very easy for them to pile up, and there would be multiple videos to watch that were over 30+ minutes sometimes. In terms of exams, one of my regrets was not attending/watching the exam review videos that the TAs posted until the final because these were extremely helpful and often went over the exact concepts tested on the exams. I would also recommend doing the practice exams. If I had spent more time studying for the midterms, I definitely would’ve done better in the class. Labs are also very easy and fun, especially if you have a good TA. They often didn’t consume too much time, I would recommend just reading over the procedure ahead of time. As for the finals themselves, Buchner provides no study guide, past exams, or any material to get an idea of what they will be like. The first exam averages were very low and Buchner refused to curve. The second exam was much better, but I also believe it was written by Tran. As for the final, it wasn’t too bad but it did bring my grade down to a B and I studied much more for it. The only good thing about this class were the TAs who were amazing at explaining and simplifying concepts, providing a general study guide, hosting review sessions, etc. The only reason I’m giving this professor a star is because of how incredible the TAs were, genuinely the best I’ve ever had.

Walker Orr
BSCI223

Anonymous
05/16/2025

Not a good TA. Very unapproachable, graded harshly and unfairly, and barely ever knew what was going on. I had him last semester and when we did our presentations in lab, he refused to even turn around and watch them, or put our slides up on the screen. Would not recommend, he made this class so much harder than it needed to be.

Grace Rua
BSCI223

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/16/2025

Grace was the only reason I got through this course, despite Dr. Buchner’s best efforts to be unhelpful, unprofessional, and uncaring. She is a great lecturer who can explain concepts succinctly and in ways that make sense to someone unfamiliar with the topic, and was very accommodating with deadlines. I would highly recommend taking her lab section!

John Buchner
BSCI223

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/16/2025

I don’t even feel like wasting my time trying to review this professor. But I second every grievance that has already been stated. I wanted to chalk up past negative reviews to the occasional bitter student, but I have never encountered a more unprofessional professor who is so profoundly antithetical to the definition of a teacher. To the UTAs, I’m not even religious, but god bless you. You all worked so hard to make sure we succeeded, and I am incredibly grateful for all you did for us this semester. Please take this course with Dr. Tran if possible.

John Buchner
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Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/16/2025

If I could give negative stars I WOULD. This class is alright but the professor is absolute garbage at his job. Ive seen plants more useful than this man. He makes you do his stupid clicker questions that are mostly irrelevant towards what he is trying to teach which im still trying to figure out even after taking his bs final. He rambles in class about his political views and useless information that has nothing to do with microbiology. He obviously made his final exam last minute as it was completely void of anything related to what should have been on it and not only that, he ran out of tests to give students so we had to wait 30 minutes before getting our actual final and beginning. Most unprepared "professor" (if you can even call him that) I've had in my entire life. He is a horrible teacher and I am amazed that he has over 1 star. He says he isn't going to curve anything even though the averages are so low. The 20 year old TA's were better than this man with a degree which is insane. Do not take him if you're actually trying to learn anything related to microbiology, you're better off teaching yourself on YouTube shorts than this trash "teaching". Absolute fool of a professor.

John Buchner
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/15/2025

Spring of 2025 was the test run for Dr. Buchner's first semester doing in person microbiology exams, and I think this contributed to why the exams were like /that/. I think Dr. Buchner does know a lot about microbiology, and he is clearly passionate about it. He was nice (at least in my experience, though I have heard from others getting not so nice emails) and some classes were funny. So for that, I will give 2 stars. But, he falls a bit flat when it comes to teaching. I have mixed feelings about the flipped lecture format, because there are some benefits and some downsides to it. However, my biggest gripes with this class was: 1. We were blind when it came to exams. There was 0 preparation when it came to the first exam, besides a heads up on the drawing, and the average was failing. There are no curves (not even a little) despite this. The second exam was prepared for us by some nice TAs. With the final, again, it was prepared for us by some nice TAs. I think the TAs did a lot of the heavy lifting. Props to them, but not to Buchner. I think I did okay on the final (at least above average, just estimating) but it was objectively bad. 2. Sometimes in lecture he went on to ramble about things that did not matter. Oh, and he added bonus content to the exam (stuff about HIV and COVID) which was not in the syllabus whatsoever and was only added because we happened to be a couple classes ahead of schedule. So, instead of using those classes to do a proper review, he just talked about the things he liked. I will admit I do find this stuff interesting, but I believe that being tested on it and wasting valuable class time on it is unfair. Unrelated to Dr Buchner: Lab definitely helped boost my grade. It's very important to have a good lab group for this class. My lab group started off pretty iffy at the beginning and I felt like I was doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but halfway through they started doing more. So whatever. I am likely getting an A-, with a small chance of me keeping my A based on that last exam. Sucks that the final might bring my A down to an A-, but at least an A- is a 3.7. Most of my friends were at A's too, and that final exam knocked some of us down to A minuses. rip

John Buchner
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Expecting a B-
Anonymous
05/15/2025

i do not like saying this but i found this class to be more difficult than my biochem class!! the content is not difficult, but he teaches in a way that overcomplicates each module. as mentioned in the other reviews, he rambles a lot. although the flipped classroom learning style is deemed as a wonderful technique, i do not believe he implements it well as the slides are wordless and half of the information he says is not on them. A lot of the tas even had mentioned how he was not the best at teaching and that the final was hard-- they tried to fight for our grades. very grateful for the tas who taught me most of the content and for my lab group. i had high hopes for him, but they were not met unfortunately.

John Buchner
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Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/15/2025

a joke of a professor. he doesn’t teach, doesn’t provide practice exams, no study guides, no kind of help for exams but he expects you to know everything on them. Like why are STUDENTS the ones who made the final exam practice test, instead of the actual teacher. This guy knows nothing about microbiology and he’s the laziest teacher i’ve ever encountered. DO NOT TAKE HIM. If you can take microbiology somewhere else!

John Buchner
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/15/2025

Like everyone this semester has said, I would give zero stars if it was an option. The recorded lecture videos are outdated and do not explain the content well. In class time was wasted as the prof would ramble on about measles, vaccines and whatever he felt like tbh, instead of going over useful material. Half the clicker questions he just told us to figure out on our own. None of the lab/homework assignments supplemented the material we were actually tested on, not to mention they were sooo many of them. The average was horrible on the first exam (which he refused to even mention) but better on the second only because of the amazing TAs. The final was absolutely traumatizing. He was also not helpful when asking clarification questions, just gave some long winded response that didn't make sense. If I didn't have a great lab group and amazing TAs, I would've dropped this class. Please do yourself a favor and take it in the fall with Tran.

John Buchner
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Expecting a B-
Anonymous
05/14/2025

Like the person before me said, If I could give a class 0 stars, I would. The lab is not hard and your assignments are based on completion. However, the learning style for this class is not suitable for the amount we pay to be students here. He uses videos from the pandemic and you spend the entire class either talking about his science interests or doing clicker questions that he does not post the finals answer for. There is absolutely no instruction in class. He provides no study guide, practice exam, no old exams, no review session, or any other preparation to help you prepare for exams. He writes exams a few days before the actual exam so he can never really answer questions about it, neither can the TAs. He is a nice guy, but I hated the way this class operated, but its possible that's a personal problem. Its no longer covid, its time to transition back to regular learning since this class is not listed as a hybrid class.

John Buchner
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Anonymous
05/13/2025

Would give zero stars if I could. Dr. Buchner is an extremely lazy professor that "teaches" by posting lecture recordings from 2020 containing outdated information. He then rambles in lecture about Measles for the entire time, and giving a few clicker questions. First exam was very difficult given that he gave zero practice problems and did not speak on the exam content in class. He then proceeded to not mention the failing average, and keep yapping on about Measles. Second exam was better thanks to the lovely TAs who made review sessions and practice questions because you would never catch Buchner doing that. THEN he proceeded to zoom through exam 3 content, finishing about 3 lectures ahead of schedule so he decided to lecture about HIV and Covid for the remaining three lectures then tell us it would be on our final exam. Mind you this is nowhere in the syllabus. When I signed up for this class, I expected to learn about Microbiology, but instead we spent over half the time learning about Dr. Buchner's personal biology interests. Take this class during a semester Dr. Tran is teaching if possible!!

John Buchner
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/13/2025

bruh I took this class because I thought the exams were take home (based on previous reviews) but they were not. I felt like I worked really hard in this class but still fell a bit short. I hated the flipped-class style. having to watch 2 hours worth of lecture videos, go to 2 hours of lecture (which were unhelpful for exams), and then 3-4 hours of lab in one week ON TOP OF the insane amount of homework really sucked. the lab was cool though and loved my TA (kari). I think Dr. Buchner could be decent at teaching if he slowed down and restructured the lecture portion. first exam was hard af tho and we do not get any practice problems from him. the TAs and UTAs held this course down fr

John Buchner
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/12/2025

If I could give Buchner a 0 I would. After attending lectures this semester I'm convinced he doesn't actually know anything about microbiology and escaped from some mental facility. He provides outdated and messy videos for the flipped-style lecture and during actual lectures rambles on about random unrelated stuff. Only thing that's nice about this class is the lab section and your TAs.

John Buchner
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/09/2025

I learned the most from my TA. She was exceptional and understanding and clarified concepts kinder and better than Dr. Buchner. Honestly, Dr. Buchner was condescending in emails and just assumed students knew all the material. I felt like there was a power imbalance, and it often discouraged me from doing my best in class. He also didn't teach during lectures, he'd crack unprofessional jokes and state facts without reason then move on. All our learning was expected to be done from pre-recorded videos from years ago that contained outdated information and did not always align with the exam content. He also emphasized asking previous students who took the class for exams or notes, which is really unfeasible for a lot of students who don't have this kind of access or connection-making it a severe disadvantage for a vast majority. I liked the content of this class, and I read the textbook for my own personal learning, which is why I can say I learned a good amount of information. But this credit cannot go to Dr. Buchner, it goes to my TA and maybe him providing a nice textbook. An unnecessary amount of assignments, they taught me nothing.

Aiswarya Suriaprakash
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Expecting an A-
userterp
03/25/2025

so amazing. aiswarya is super engaging and applied lecture concepts into the lab. she also gives a brief overview of the lab protocols and certain lab skills (which is relevant for the exams) before the lab sessions. she also hosts and records review sessions before the exam, and generally super helpful. she also checks her emails frequently and is quick at responding. overall, she just wants you to succeed and she's super fun! i'm excited for her to become a professor in the future because any student who has her can consider themselves lucky.

Erin Tran
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Expecting an A-
userterp
03/25/2025

curriculum & lecture: the curriculum is separated into 3 modules, with several small assignments (PAKs) that are graded based on completion. the course subjects were simple enough, and the lecture is flipped, so we are required to watch a series of videos before coming to class. if you can hold yourself accountable for that, this class would be perfect. the lectures themselves were basically reviewing the videos through a bunch of clickers (basically short quizzes graded on completion). while the information itself was interesting, the lecture was okay, the lab was fun. the exams focuses on both the application of lecture materials and lab materials. lab: love, love, loved this lab. my ta, aiswarya, is a godsend for this class. her presentations on the lab procedures and importance of each practice was super informational and entertaining. she's super sweet and understanding, and she keeps the lab really fun. some of it was incredibly hard to perfect (for the lab practical), such as the gram stain, but it wouldn't drop your grade much at all. the group you are with also matters alot because while there are no lab reports, there are several group assignments that must be completed. random complaint but almost 80% of the microscopes were dysfunctional before the midsemester point though. grading: there are several assignments but it's not unmanageable. the grading is reasonable but it takes a lot of time for them to get it in.

Erin Tran
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
01/03/2025

Honestly the content material itself wasn’t too difficult, but how the class was taught and tested was horrible. A flipped classroom design where there were probably around 6-10 videos a week with an absurd amount of content that was barely mentioned in class. There was truly no way to prepare for exams because Dr. Tran refused to discuss what would be on the exam, provide a guide, and wouldn’t have the layout of the exam done by the lecture before. The issue was then that the at home videos gave so much information, however there only 15 questions on an 150 point exam. Lecture is solely based on clickr questions, which for me was alright sometimes but other times 20% (of probably a 200+ lecture) would get the question right and she would take that as the class understanding the subject and move on. Lecture was truly a waste of time you were not taught anything really and would rely on students to explain complex topics and not further explain them herself. I personally watched the lecture videos and found them helpful, but I found others did not. Lab was easy because essentially you do the same thing every week and there are no lab reports to be graded. However there are numerous group assignment and presentations, if you have a good group and a good TA these assignments should be easy A’s and are probably the reason I am ending with an A-. Overall just a poorly structured and set up class with a professor who is kind but doesn’t really seem to care about the success of students.

Aiswarya Suriaprakash
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Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/18/2024

Absolutely loved her! She helped me a lot with figuring out what was going on in lab and helped when I didn't understand how lecture concepts applied in lab. She also hosted a review session before each exam that helped me do a complete review. She does a great job explaining lab protocols and making sure that everything is running smoothly. She's very approachable and you'll have a lot of fun in her class!

Erin Tran
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Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/18/2024

I really enjoyed the class content. I absolutely love Microbiology and my GTA and UTA were the GOATs. Dr. Tran is also really nice when you talk to her and approachable about most things except study guides and the flipped classroom. The lab component of the class is very enjoyable and by the end of the class, I was able to get really close to my lab group and to my GTA and UTA. I really loved all the hands on parts. But get ready to practice your streaking and gram stains. They are arguably that hardest part of the lab to master, but very fulfilling once you finally get it! That being said, I did not really like the flipped classroom style but to each their own. I thought coming to lecture was a waste of my time because she records her lectures and completed slides with the clicker questions. I only went to class because that's how she took attendance. I could also be speaking out of bias because I did not want to have to pay for the PointSolutions clicker for just this class. However, I will say that the lecture videos are very informative and I have almost never had to open the textbook for this class unless it was to cite it for the PAKs. You don't really have to pay attention in class unless you sit in the front and want to ask questions since the clickers are graded on completion, not accuracy. There are occasional in person papers that you have to submit, but those are considered bonus points. Her exams are weird to study for because there's no focus but this semester, one of the GTAs hosted review sessions before exam 1 and exam 2 that were recorded and that helped. Exams are no longer open note or online! The final was also cumulative and in person starting this semester! Exam 3 (which is the final) is the hardest because it has an emphasis on Module 3 content but Module 3 is a very dense part of the content and it felt very rushed at the end of the semester. We definitely could have shortened module 1 content and extended module 3 a little bit. But I would say those are all excusable. The worst part of this class and why this class gets 4 stars instead of 5 stars was the busy work. I was taking an 18 credit semester this semester and there was so much busy work every week with assignments that weren't hard but would just take so much time. They weren't even integral to learning, they just felt so unnecessary in the long run. The PAKs? Not graded on accuracy. The discussion boards? Unnecessary research that could have been combined into one assignment. The research boxes? While they were interesting, I feel like they didn't help me too much because I already knew how to read articles. But nonetheless, busy work. I would be working on microbiology assignments even when I had to study for an exam. That's when you know it's too much work. It's an easy class, but if you're fine with busy work and you love microbiology, definitely take it!

Erin Tran
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Anonymous
12/18/2024

The flipped classroom is actually really nice and helpful if you can hold yourself accountable to watch the videos on time. She has a great way of explaining concepts without overwhelming you with unnecessary information. The videos made it really easy for me to digest the information. Exams were also extremely fair and pretty easy. You just need to go to class and participate in the clicker questions. (I just hate that they made us pay for it lol) Only thing I didn't like about this class was how rushed the labs felt. We were expected to do a lot within a short time and that wasn't it.

Erin Tran
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/16/2024

I actually liked the flip classroom model! I find it easier to take notes on my own instead of lecture, but to each their own! I feel like a lot of people didn't pay attention in class though, so that's probably why people didn't do so well on the exams since they had the in-class clicker questions. Pay attention!! A lot of people talk about nothing making sense but they were the same ones not watching. The final was pretty weird, no excuses for that. The lab wasn't hard at all, but there is SOOO much busy work. If it weren't for that, this class would be 5 stars.

Erin Tran
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Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/14/2024

Dr. Tran is a very kind person and very knowledgeable about her class. I liked listening to her speak which is a shame because she praises the flipped classroom model, which just entirely wasn't for me. Exams were SO difficult. The most shocking thing to me is how I was able to get As in all chem classes I've taken but not this. Still waiting to hear back about rounding up my grade to an A- because I am decimal places away. The lecture videos she posts are years old from Covid, and lecture is based on clicker questions (we had to pay for the subscription out of pocket, btw) which we get participation points for. Lab was extremely fun and my lab group was great, but the amount of busywork was just insane for this not even being part of my major and instead a prerequisite for grad school. Overall the class was fine, super time consuming and difficult. Dr. Tran is cool but DEFINITELY not my favorite.

Erin Tran
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Expecting a B-
Anonymous
12/14/2024

Dr. Tran is very nice and understanding. She is very approachable and helpful when it comes to answering questions and receiving feedback on assignments or exam questions. Her class was a flipped classroom, which I found to be more work, as you were expected to watch her topic videos before class and actual lecture was just used as a review. I didn't like how we were never given study guides for exams. Additionally, Dr. Tran never indicated what the correct answer to clicker questions was, so if you didn't write it down in class, you'd have to somehow ask her. The lab was not that bad and boosted my grade. While there were a lot of time-consuming assignments, none of them were that difficult and they ended up really helping my grade in the end. While the class is a lot of work to keep up with, Dr. Tran is pretty reasonable. As long as you keep up to date with her videos and complete the lab assignments and projects on time, you should be fine.

Erin Tran
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/11/2024

I personally think this is a great class and I like how Dr. Tran teaches. She's also super nice, welcoming, and relatable. If you're not a fan of a flipped classroom model then here's your fair warning (I like it). The lectures are more like clicker based "discussions" to practice the concepts in the pre-lecture videos and they are broken up into bursts (5-25 mins) so honestly if you watch a video while eating a meal or like little breaks here and there you don't even need to take notes like that (because going to class is basically studying imo) Dr. Tran explains things pretty simply in the videos and in class and if you don't understand something she's pretty accessible, we picked two office hours as a class and if you still can't make it just email or ask your TA. This class has ALOT of assignments though so be prepared, it's not hard it's just tedious especially the lab presentations. Sometimes the lecture exams and the major lab assignments were kind of stacked back to back but we kind of asked (feedback through survey) to have them spaced out a bit more and Dr. Tran listened and for that second exam, lab assignment combo we were given more time (just communicate). Labs were pretty fun; there are two 2hr time slots but my section rarely ever stayed the entire 2 hours. The exams weren't particularly hard, sometimes the questions were worded oddly and I had to ask my TA for clarification a couple of times. But because of the sheer amount of assignments and points (clicker pts graded on participation, lab participation, bonus points, weekly concept check assignments "PAKs" that are graded on completion) your exam score shouldn't really tank your grade all that much. In conclusion: content is pretty easy, courseload/work is heavy, exams are medium difficulty (clarity), but bc there's so much work it truly is hard to not pass and getting an A is definitely doable.

Erin Tran
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Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/07/2024

It looks like I'm the odd one out but I actually loved this class. The labs were fun and none of them went to the 1 hour 50 minute mark. My group was great. I didn't usually watch the videos before class because I'm lazy but it never affected my grade. Clickers are graded for participation. Exams are VERY fair and the exam questions are literally the same as the clicker questions, just worded different. But, if you understand the answer to every clicker question, you will get an A on the exams. Also there are sooo many cushion points in lab if you need a grade booster.

Kendall Opheikens
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Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/06/2024

Kendall was a great TA, super chill and helpful in lab. Super receptive about fixing grades, we had a discussion about why I answered a test question the way I did and once I explained my reasoning she fixed my grade immediatley. Genuinely wants everyone to get an A in the class. Make sure you clean up your lab bench before you leave or you might get points off. Showed us lots of pics of her cute dog :)

Erin Tran
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/05/2024

In the last four years I've taken two chems, two anatomies, two physics, and various other straining courses, and this by far is the worst. The content probably wouldn't be nearly as difficult to learn and understand if Dr. Tran used even half of the time we spend in lecture actually teaching us. She raves about how great the flipped classroom is, but if you were to ask literally anyone in our class you would not hear the same answer. We have to watch videos that are 3 years old and not a single minute of lecture is spent reiterating any material. Every class period is spent doing clicker questions for a participation grade, which the school no longer covers the subscription for, and we are expected to have the same level of understanding as her despite her not really teaching us. Most of class guesses on all of the questions and they are not a good indicator of exam questions. For every exam, Dr. Tran creates multiple versions where everyone had vastly different questions. To top it off, she informed TAs that they were not allowed to give us partial credit for most questions, even parts that were worth 10 points on a 150 point test. Every test had errors and had questions that were very poorly planned and worded. Truly the only reason I can expect to do well in this course is because of my TA Kari and what felt like hundreds of lab assignments. Most weeks we had 2 or 3 time consuming assignments due, in addition to 2 large projects that barely related to the class. We had to come up a gene and cloning strategy to genetically modify bacteria to benefit a cow???? This class has been one of the most time consuming courses ever, especially with two lab sessions a week. It is clear to me that Dr. Tran does not prioritize her students and doesn't really seem to care about how we are doing. She sent out a mid-semester survey for feedback and went over it in class. She proceeded to tell us that she won't be changing anything despite us asking for some change. I truly hated this class.

Erin Tran
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/03/2024

Took this the first semester that exams were moved to in-person and it was much more work than expected and tests were random and unorganized. No partial credit was given and averages were in the 70s and bsci does not curve. Did not feel like I learned anything because of the flipped classroom design of the course. Dr. Tran seems nice enough but doesn't actually teach us. She uses clicker questions in class which no one follows along with and she moves through them quickly without really explaining much. It feels like she is very disconnected from her students - granted it is a huge lecture hall - but I don't think she knows how much her students don't understand the topics.

Erin Tran
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Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/03/2024

Dr. Tran is a big fan of the flipped classroom design - beware. Genuinely everyone I interacted with in this class was always confused and lost during lecture periods. She used clicker questions every class and while they may have supplied decent examples (if you knew what was going on), at least half of the people in the course were just guessing randomly because no one was up to date on the notes. Then again, the clicker questions rarely were up to par with the exam questions which were often random and much harder and no test was reliable since everyone had different questions which was unfair to others. Tests also had multiple errors and no absolutely no partial credit was given which is inexcusable. Then after exams, she would cancel office hours the next week so we could not go talk to her. Overall, it felt like Dr. Tran did not truly care about teaching the class, using prerecorded videos from over 3 years ago instead of teaching us in person, and the time spent in lecture felt random and lost. She boasts about how great the flipped classroom idea is, but this absolutely did not work for the class and it felt like a waste of my time going to class. Also participation is graded through pointsolutions and we basically directly paid for our participation grade (over $1 per 1 point) which is ridiculous, especially since the clicker questions only worked half the time. Also the lab was better than lecture, mostly because of my TA Anna, but SO much busy work and I swear assignments randomly popped up throughout the week that were not there before. There were 4 presentations during lab with 2 large semester projects, and tons of individual and group assignments each. This has been one of the most tedious and annoying classes I have taken in college, and as a senior I've taken anatomy, orgo and physics II before. Can't wait to be done with this class.

Erin Tran
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Expecting an A
Anonymous
10/11/2024

Genuinely such a useless class, filled with busy work and obsolete assignments. Dr. Tran is extremely nice, however her flipped class set-up is most definitely not for everyone. The class requires you to learn all of the information on your own and then attend class for mandatory clicker questions, which do not work half of the time. In general, avoid taking this class if your time is valuable to you. If you need to take it, good luck.

John Buchner
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Expecting an A
Anonymous
08/27/2024

Miserable old man. I thought he was nice and chill at first but I was wrong. Accused half the lecture of cheating on homework and exams when everything is open note and we are allowed to use the internet. And when trying to contact him about it he refused to discuss the matter with any of his students due to a "power imbalance". He put all of these students at a risk of receiving an XF in the course or worse only for the honor council to also not understand what the issue was and dismiss the cases after weeks of investigation. Lectures are also waste of time and have nothing to do with exam content. So much busy work and the multiple part at home exams take hours.

John Buchner
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Expecting an A
Anonymous
06/18/2024

Super fun and chill class. The labs are actually really hands on and fun, and you don't really need to know much information from lecture to complete the labs. There is a lot of busy work but the majority of it is jut graded on completion. Exams can be a little tricky but they don't impact your grade too much. If you have a good/chill TA for lab, you should be totally fine! Lecture is flipped classroom style which can be helpful for some, just have a basic idea of what is being taught and you should be fine. Dr. Buchner is really sweet and responds quickly to emails.

John Buchner
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Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/24/2024

This class was easy but had SO much busy work attached to it. It was flipped lectures, except Buchner didn't do anything useful in class and instead read scientific article abstracts out loud during lecture. I would recommend watching the lecture videos, but not actually going to class and just keeping the clickers open during class time (you need to do 2/3 of them every lecture to get participation points). The lab homework and the PAKs are graded for completion. The graded assignments were not difficult, but you have to THOROUGHLY read the rubric. The instructions and the rubric at the bottom sometimes differed and you have to make sure to hit all the requirements to get an A. The exams are multi-part take home ones open for a few days. They test conceptual understanding rather than memorization and take HOURS, so be careful during finals season. I learned a lot more during lab than I did during lecture, mostly because I had an amazing TA. However, you're in the same lab group for the entire semester and do all of your projects with them, so if you get a bad group you're gonna have to do all of the work yourself. If you have the time to dedicate to completing the sheer volume of assignments for this class, then it's an easy A.

John Buchner
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Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/21/2024

This course is very chill and honestly really fun. Dr. Buchner taught lecture while Dr. Tran oversaw lab (although I didn't really interact with Dr. Tran). I really loved this course. Lab is super fun: you get to make friends in lab and do really cool things with microbes. Also, it is cool that lecture and lab are synched together into one class, as lab TAs are helpful for general class content. In terms of lecture, class takes a flipped-classroom approach. You watch Dr. Buchner's online videos and during class go through review-question slides. (Although Dr. Buchner likes to go off-topic with microbiology current events snippets at points). Class is very chill. You can do it in person or on zoom. And you don't need to get the questions right, you just need to provide some sort of an answer for 2/3 of the questions per day. However, the class is not very 'right/wrong' oriented. Most projects are open-ended responses and Dr. Buchner often likes many different multiple choice answers during the class clickers. In terms of workload, it is actually really intense. Between PAKs and homeworks (both graded only on completion), lab reflections, research boxes, and our 'exams' (which I will get to in a minute), it is a lot of work. The 'exams' are very time consuming, although not really exams. You are assigned 5-6 sets of open-ended, multiple choice, and other projects on Canvas that are due in 1 week. So in short, you don't really need to "study" for exams. But when you fall behind on notes, it makes the exams much harder to complete. In terms of resources, definitely don't get the textbook. The videos that Dr. Buchner posts should be more than plenty to help you. Plus, this course is so time demanding that after attempting to watch Dr. Buchner's videos, attend class, and do assignments, there is no use studying out of a textbook, unless you do nothing else during the semester.

John Buchner
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Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/15/2024

He says the classroom is a flipped classroom....it's really not. Rather than doing homework in lecture and learning the content at home, you watch lecture videos at home, do homework at home, and go to class just to go over the homework (it won't tell you correct answers) via clicker questions. It's just busy work honestly. The lab is super cool though and easy as well as long as you get a good TA ofc. Do all the assignments as best you can, make a study group, and you'll do fine in the class. Pretty generous grading by the prof (he grades some assignments himself) and the tas too. The midterms and final are take home and open note but that does make them wayyyy harder so make sure before the midterm/final you have watched all the lecture videos and read over the lab protocols/slides. Overall, not a bad class just a lot of busy work which annoying but not the end of the world.

John Buchner
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Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/11/2024

Take this class with this professor if you are trying to get out of genetics. His labs are so fun and so awesome and amazing, at least in the section I was in. However, there is a insane amount of homework so plan time accordingly.

John Buchner
BSCI223

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/08/2024

My only advice to you is to put off this class until you can get a different professor for it. At the beginning of the semester I thought he was cool and chill but oh boy was I wrong. First off, he does not teach in class; he only does clicker questions for assignments we have already done and reads about the bird flu and measles which isn't even relevant to the content we were studying. He expects you to watch videos he made from several years ago to keep up, and there are MANY of these videos. You shouldn't choose him as a professor because towards the end of the semester he sent out reports with LONG lists of names (and I mean LONG, as in pages) accusing people of cheating on a 4 point homework assignment graded for completion, and we were allowed to use the internet and work with others. His excuse was that we "used a similar clover shape" for a protein or "used similar colors and shapes". For context, this was an assignment where he PROVIDED us with a template, and there was only one right answer and a list of things we needed to include, so how would everyones look different?? When peers challenged his accusation to the honor council, even they said that they don't understand what he thinks was cheating, AND noted that he never even provided the template to them or informed them that we all got the same one, which would have changed everything. Now, I've heard he is sending out more accusations to even more people on an exam, and refusing to reply to people's emails due to a "power dynamic issue", he quite literally copied and pasted this response to everyone. I really would like to know how working this out with him directly is more of a imbalance of power than reporting someone to the honor council and risking them getting an XF and expelled or suspended. So, essentially, don't take this class unless you want to spend months proving that you didn't copy just because you drew a red circle on a 4 point homework completion assignment! Sorry not sorry Dr. Buchner, you did this one to yourself. Stop being like that.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
04/23/2024

I LOVE DR. TRAN, she is so nice and approachable and genuinely a great person. She always answered questions and made lecture fun. Tips, go to lecture, the clicker points will boost ur grade, turn in all the busy work it will also save ur grade. Exams are online and open note but they are hard, she follows a flipped classroom model but if you watch the videos you will understand what is going on for the exam.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
03/26/2024

Def a crap ton of work, a class I would not want to do again, but got the grade I wanted along with many other students

John Buchner
BSCI223

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
02/13/2024

Super chill professor, you don't do much in class besides clickers/point solutions. I gave him 4 stars only because of the insane amount of homework he gives. He typically grades on completion rather than accuracy though and the assignments are relatively easy.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/15/2023

This class is entirely busy work and group work. Good luck if you aren't assigned a group with competent people. Your grade highly depends on your TA as well, as some are stricter with grading than others. As for the lab manual, you have to print out all of the pages prior to lab, and the protocols are very poorly written. The lectures are flipped-classroom style where the actual lectures are pre-recorded videos and the lecture time is more discussion-style. Overall this class is very time-consuming, however, I feel I have barely learned anything in the end.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/11/2023

Dr. Tran is a very helpful and kind professor. She holds office hours every week in which she is more than welcome to answer any questions you might have and she also responds to emails almost instantly. Participation points are based on clickers which you can do from Zoom. The class itself is not too difficult, but the grading is very strict. The workload is a bit heavy and for assessments, you get 6 days to do 5 assignments which could take many hours to complete, they are online + open note. Honestly, your grade depends on whether you can keep up with the assignments and how well you can understand the material and apply it to different concepts.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/10/2023

literally the worst class ever. content wise, if you've taken BSCI222, BSCI330, BSCI410, or BSCI420, this class will be a piece of cake. workload wise, however, this class is absolutely RIDICULOUS. endless assignments due literally every single freaking day, so much busy work. I have not taken a class with 5 homework assignments due every single week since high school, and i'm a senior. be warned: just because the exams are online + open book does NOT mean they are easy. they are broken down into 5 individual assignments, each of which takes HOURS to complete. what's even worse is the day after the exam is due, you still have other assignments due. the labs are fun; the protocols, however, are not user friendly. they need to hire a new prep TA because they were not well prepared for some labs due to shortage of materials, culturing issues, confusions and mix ups. very bizarre and chaotic course. sorry, girl, but some of us have lives outside of this course and cannot be bothered by these dumb assignments.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/07/2023

This class is very boring, the teacher gives long assessments and these assignments are ridiculous. Labs are long and never graded in person, only online assignments that don't even boost up your grade besides 0.5%. They don't care about your other classes and your mental health. I still got that A+ tho and thank you to myself.<3

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/02/2023

Prof Tran is soo nice. She is so caring and welcoming. She always is available for office hours too. Her lecture style is mainly focused on participation, but its through the form of clickers. You can also attend class on zoom and participate on clickers too. As long as you turn in the weekly assignments, lab quizzes, and attend lecture either in person or online you should expect an A.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/25/2023

Loved the prof. Super understanding (gave me an extension on a big assignment just cuz I asked) Very down to earth and encourages you to use outside sources and collab with friends. You can zoom into lectures but there is participation credit via turning point questions. But you can miss 3 lectures and still get 25/25 participation points. The lab was super fun and interesting I just got fucked with my TA, Husan T. He is an asshole and also grades way too harsh.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting a P
Anonymous
03/15/2023

I am not learning anything in this class. They just flood you with pointless assignment after pointless assignment. It's also screwed with my mental health and made me resent one of my favorite subjects. Instead of a 1-hour exam per week, you're expected to a 20-30 hour assessment that basically forces you to redo all of the classwork you did so far, only with entirely different set-ups, if that makes sense. Then you have a massive report due that constitutes 50% of your grade during the same week the huge assessment is due. Expect to spend 8 hours a week in this class, and that's just the lecture, lab and "discussion". Not counting the endless work you have to do. They also pick apart your grade for the tiniest things, and every instruction is a 3-page word salad with thousands of requirements. It's also very condescending. "Your idea must have real genetics and biochemistry to back it up... nothing from the realm of fantasy or science fiction land." I have seriously never seen instructions like these that insult you, confuse you and overload you at the same time. This class also demands brevity out of you despite dumping walls of text infront of you. I've seriously read an assignment 8 times back and forth for an hour and have lost 20/30 percent of the points for missing one small step. I've also made a single mistake and had that repeatedly docked from my total in the same report. I have to white-knuckle through this class and beg for my efforts to be seen. One day you've spent 8 hours straight doing homework and the minute you look up you drop a letter grade for something that would have been a 1 or 2 pt deduction in any other class. Even in classes I have taken that grade harshly in writing, like psych and english, don't grade your writing as harshly in this class. And to what end? It's a fucking micro class. I just feel like the class expected us to be more immature than we were and simultaneously way more experienced in microbio. I have roommates in the grad school at UMD and they tell me that this class is more ridiculous than what they have to do. Whatever they're trying to do, it's really not working. If you can wait to take this class until a prof that gives exams teaches it, do so. If you can take it at a diff college, do so. If you can put it off until your last semester so it doesn't affect your grad/med school app, do that. Do not take this as an elective no matter how much you care about the subject. Would you take Math115 as an elective? This class is seriously the same way. Do what you can to avoid this class.

John Buchner
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/22/2022

Dr. Buchner is a great professor who provides many resources to help you succeed in class. This class is not very difficult content-wise, but the work can be tedious and time-consuming. If you attend lectures and go over the slides, you should be able to get an A or B. Dr. Buchner is a funny professor who is extremely helpful. He goes over assignments and questions in class, and after exams, provides an opportunity for individuals to request their tests to be regarded. If you can provide evidence to back your answer he will give it to you. Buchner likes to relate a lot of the course content to current events, making this class interesting. This class is pretty straightforward, but the workload can be overwhelming sometimes. The class PAKs can take a while to complete depending on the questions. The lab is very simple, but attendance is necessary. In the lab, you follow directions and have a couple of group assignments and presentations, which are pretty simple. Overall the workload in this class can be a lot especially since you have 2 lab sections each week.

John Buchner
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/15/2022

easiest bsci class there is, im not even gonna hold you I may end up with an A or very high B in this class and if you ask me what I've learned?????? LOL bruhhh, take this class with a friend and you're good. On your own with no friends? um maybe not so much of an easy A or B for ya but make some in class lol. Buchner is s chill and so sweet as well. Very accessible and willing to help.

John Buchner
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
10/12/2022

I dont need to wait til the end of the semester to give this course a review. If there is any class or set of professors that COULD CARE LESS that you're taking other classes that also require your effort and attention. Its these guys!!!

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/20/2022

Dr. Tran is an amazing and nice professor. She is really clear at explaining things in her videos and lecture. This class may seem like a lot of work but many of the assignments are small and/or done in groups (and completion grades). A lot of the grading is done by the TA. As long as you keep up with the material, you can do well in the class.

John Buchner
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/03/2021

Loved taking Buchner's class. He is by far the coolest professor I've had yet. He seems like a very kind and understanding person and makes lots of accommodations due to COVID. His lectures can be helpful because he just goes over questions most students didn't understand. Many bad reviews I've seen said he gives too much busy work which I agree with but MOST of it is participation points. As long as you put in some effort, you will get full points for completion. For exams there are a few parts to it but you also get 1-2 weeks to complete it but some questions can be tricky. Lab was good in person. Very minimal effort. You just have to read directions and follow them. I had an awesome TA and he was very lenient with grading so lab helped bring my grade up. There are a few assignments where you have to present but they are very informal and less than 5 minutes as a group. I had to take this class for my major and was super worried about it but it was pretty straightforward. A good amount of effort but easy A for the most part.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/24/2021

Dr.Tran is an amazing and kind professor. I will admit that the lab assignments were pretty annoying. Dr.Tran's exams are very fair, as long as you attend the lectures and review the material you will succeed on her exams. She also gives extra credit.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/20/2021

Dr. Tran is awesome. She is very knowledgeable and from I have experienced does not read off of slides? She explains concepts very well and you can tell she has enjoys teaching.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
03/31/2021

Not a very engaging professor. You can tell that she likes to read off the slides. However, her exams were fair but lacked clarity and often not provide clear directions when it comes to assigments and projects. In hindsight, the class seemed to be all over the place.

John Buchner
BSCI223

Anonymous
12/19/2020

Maybe because the course is online due to COVID, but his way of teaching does not make sense at all and he assigns too many assignments per week. His major assignments (PAKs) are genuinely useless and needs EXTRA (I mean whole new) research just for those assignments. His lecture videos are very brief and not at all detailed, so basically useless for all the assignments. His research box assignments, which we have to read a research article per week and analyze, are way out of our league and not at all related to the course. So, basically I have wasted my semester reading and doing shits that are not even related to the college-level GENERAL microbiology. I don't know who else teaches this course and about their ratings, but DO NOT (I MEAN IT) DO NOT TAKE BUCHNER IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT MICROBIOLOGY.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/22/2020

She was pretty average. The class mostly depends on lab points. The exams she gives are pretty difficult but I've heard they're better than Buchner's. She kept things clear and relatively easy to understand.

Erin Tran
BSCI223

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
02/28/2019

Has no idea how to teach. All she does is read the slides (everyone in college can read on their own thank you!!!!). Mandatory clicker points so you much show up to hear her read. Nice person, but other than that, pretty bad teacher.

John Buchner
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/06/2019

Buchner makes lectures very interesting and connects material to real-life examples, which made everything easier to understand. It definitely helps to have at least a little background in biology, because a lot of it I've seen before. His first exam was really hard and I failed, but after that, I got As on the second exam and the final. Study the PAK material. His exams are so long and you have to budget your time really well if you want to finish. The lab is a decent amount of work, but it's an easy boost to your grade if you submit everything on time. It's not super hard to get an A in the class, you just have to focus on the bigger concepts when studying. I do recommend Buchner, just be ready to put in the time for a 4 credit class!

Daniel Stein
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/24/2011

well first off there is a 2 to 3% curve in the class. He tells you all semester theres not, but there is. Also stein isn't a bad professor or lecturer. His exams aren't too tough if you do his study guide questions, but the set up of the class especially the lab is atrocious. Alot of times in lab we did not have to correct equipment needed for the lab and even the Tas were confused on what to do. But for steins class all you need is to get like 85 on his two exams and wont he final, as he gives a lot of extra credit (pak points up to two percent increase), and he has two group assignments worth 10% of your grade that it should be easy to get an A in (my group got 99 and 101 and our projects were that good (we also had a good TA)). Also with this class make sure to read each question carefully because alot of it isn't to hard, but can be tricky if you are not reading the questions correctly. Also this class is made alopt easier if you have taken bsci 222 and understand the central dogma. THe entire second exam is the central dogma and if you get it you are guaranteed at least an 85 on it.

Richard Stewart
BSCI223

Expecting an A
cmstillings
12/25/2010

This class was very easy. Although his lectures are boring and he tends to try very hard to make lectures exciting, they don't really make students want to stay in class. You must go to lecture 20 times at least to get the clicker points. Overall, Stewart is a very good teacher if you listen to what he says. He wants his students to pass so utilize his weekly study questions. If you answer these you will be prepared for the tests. Another great thing Stewart does is posts the final question to each test and a sample test for every test. With these and Koofers tests (which were exactly the same tests we were given this year) it is impossible to not get an A. Good luck in Micro!

Ann Smith
BSCI223

Expecting an A
genbiomajor
12/23/2010

This class is divided into 3 modules; Dr. Stewart taught the first two modules and Dr. Smith taught the last one. Dr. Smith lectured with more passion, but her slides were not as straightforward as Dr. Stewart's. I studied Dr. Stewart's slides without referencing the textbook, and got A's on the first two exams. However, I had to rely heavily on the textbook to understand the material that Dr. Smith taught since her slides have very little substance to them (as per another reviewer). The labs are pretty fun, and can really boost up your grade. Make sure you keep track of all the assignments and their due dates since there is a lot of busy work. Also, if a problem arises that may interfere with the class, do not hesitate to talk to Dr. Smith. She is very understanding and will work with you to devise a solution.

Ann Smith
BSCI223

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/11/2010

Dr. Smith is an amazing professor! She really loves what she is doing, and teaching is evidently her passion. This definitely shines through during her lectures, her way of responding to students' questions, and even in her very well designed (but sometimes poorly supplemented/executed) laboratory exercises. This might sound strange, but Dr. Smith was so sympathetic to student's concerns, that at times she seemed like a second mother (she really is that nice!) In addition, she really has a knack for teaching you everything you need to know about microbiology. She has very fair examinations, and is really great about bumping you up provided you show improvement throughout. Amazing woman.

Daniel Stein
BSCI223

Expecting an A
AnonymousTwo
05/27/2010

Dr. Stein really wanted us to "understand" a lot of things. His lectures slides were very engaging. I do have to say that his course is a lot of work. He is somewhat approachable, yet I feel that his test seemed unfair at times. He even claimed that "I feel that this was a bad test, since majority of the class got x amount of things wrong." But, if you are up to date with everything, and work hard, hopefully, you will be able to do well in this course. Overall, I thought it was okay, the Module 3 about HIV, and immunology was great :]

Daniel Stein
BSCI223

laura22
05/27/2010

Compared to Smith, Stein is a little more difficult. My TA, who took Smith, said the stuff we were learning was harder than what he had learned. That said, Stein really does want his students to learn the material in this course, not just regurgitate the info. He tries to make the information interesting and engages the class through "cool" facts presented at the beginning of each lecture. The book is pretty helpful, so I'd recommend you get it. Also, labs and assignments are actually pretty fun and interesting, but I may be biased because my TA and UTA were awesome. Stein also grades students individually. If he sees you've improved through each exams and do well in labs, he'll definitely bump you up a decent amount.

Daniel Stein
BSCI223

Expecting an A
zhangsta
05/25/2010

honestly, i didn't learn that much in lecture. found it hard to take notes unless you had a netbook because he teaches off powerpoint slides. all you really have to do to get an A is read the book. the labs were relatively easy and the exams were alright if you keep up with the reading. if you find yourself short a few points of your target grade, dont worry since he'll give out a lot of extra credit towards the end of the course.

Daniel Stein
BSCI223

Expecting an A
aralchen
05/19/2010

Dr. Stein is actually a very solid and effective teacher. I had a good time in class and overall learned a lot about microbiology. He uses a lot of interesting examples and the last few lectures on STDs were really awesome. Unfortunately, he is NEVER clear about what he wants as an answer on the exam. I'm not exaggerating - this is ABSOLUTELY TRUE: If your answer to a question is correct but does not appear on the answer key, HE WILL MARK IT WRONG! He says it's so everyone is graded fairly, and if you have any concerns about your right answer (that was marked wrong), you can go to his office hours or submit a regrade. This is terribly disrespectful of our time - we don't have time to go chase points we rightfully deserve. Overall, solid teacher but crappy grader.

Daniel Stein
BSCI223

Expecting a C
aberk
06/17/2009

TERRIBLE COURSE. Besides that fact, Dr. Stein is ok. He tries to make the subject interesting by adding a few fun facts before every lecture...sometimes they actually are cool. If the course wasnt such a mess, i think it would be really very good. The lab+lecture activities due almost on a daily basis are very confusing, but the upside is that they help your grade quite a lot. The reason i say that the course is terrible is because people have no idea when things are due and the dates change constantly...besides that, the course is actually fairly interesting.

Daniel Stein
BSCI223

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/16/2009

Dr. Stein is a really good professor. He tries very hard to make this subject fun, by giving assignments that are actually real fun. At the beginning of every class he shows you one of the applications of microbiology and is always fun. He checks attendance using clickers, but he does not grade you on whether or not you got the right answer. His exams are difficult. The final exam is a combination of a 3rd exam (on new material) worth 75%, and a cumulative part worth 25%. The lab section of this class is very fun (you get to make yogurt! and play with bacteria!) The lab questions are not hard, and the lab exams are easy. Overall it is easy to get a B in this class (because the lab grade will boost your grade a LOT!), but getting an A requires a lot of effort. Even then I would still take Dr. Stein because he is a great teacher, he explains things well, he hold review sessions every week, and his assignments are really fun (content-wise).

Ann Smith
BSCI223

Expecting an A
rbterp
03/08/2009

Dr. Smith was a good teacher. Sometimes it can be a little frustrating b/c her slides don't seem to have a lot of substance to them, but by the end of the course, you will learn a lot! I recommend doing the study questions and going to review sessions to ask about any questions you might not be able to answer. I also recommend looking over the PAKs before the exams. BSCI223 overall is easier than most bio classes but there are a lot of small, kind of busywork assignments. I really liked the lab because you learn a lot of techniques and you are not penalized for mistakes during procedures, so you aren't afraid to try new things.

Ann Smith
BSCI223

Anonymous
12/04/2008

Dr. Smith is an effective teacher. Her tests are fair and based off the material she covers in lecture via power point. Some students dislike her because she tends to use gimmicky teaching techniques as were used in middle school (like stories), but I believe this gives her points context and makes them more interesting. Also like middle school, there are lots of small things due all the time and there are many projects. The syllabus is hard to read so it can be difficult to keep track of due dates. Despite the sometimes cheesy projects, overall I'd recommend Dr. Smith.

Daniel Stein
BSCI223

Anonymous
01/21/2008

Not a fan. He was not a good teacher, his tests (especially his final which was 12+ pages long) was ridiculously complicated, and he took attendance by clickers each class. Oh, and yes, he was quite boring. The best part of the class was it was close to my dorm so waking up at 7:50 for his 8 AM class was not too shabby. Good luck to any who has to take this class.

Daniel Stein
BSCI223

Expecting a B
almostdone
12/05/2007

Dr. Stein is a very good professor who gives a very thorough explanation of microbio. Honestly, the hardest part of this class is to just keep track of what assignments are due and to go to class every time. There alot of assignments every week, but in general they are all very easy and dont take up much time. Everything in lab is basically guaranteed to be 100% unless you don't put effort into it. The exams are fair and the best way to be ready is to print the powerpoints before hand and take notes on what he says. Dr. Stein is one of the few teachers imo that actually explains as well as the book. If you can pay attention in class studying for the exam will be 10X less stressful and difficult.

Richard Stewart
BSCI223

Expecting an A
pinklacepajamas
10/21/2007

Not a very engaging lecturer although he really knows his stuff. He is much more help when you go to his office hours. Sit up closer because he doesn't ever seem to be very loud even when he is miked.

Reviews for BSCI223