Reviews for BSCI437

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Margaret Scull BSCI437 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/17/2023	Dr. Scull is awesome. I absolutely love that she gives 2 class days before an exam to discuss every day applications of viruses and a jeopardy style review. She is very approachable and always so kind when you ask a question. The lectures are nothing too crazy and it’s obvious from the exam style that she wants the class to succeed. She’s super smart and knowledgeable and is always willing to help. I would highly recommend her for virology!
Margaret Scull BSCI437 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/15/2023	I absolutely love her!! The best professor I've had at this university. She is so sweet and the tests are extremely fair. She is clearly very passionate about the topics and she always is able to clear up confusion and answer questions when asked. If you have a chance to take her, I would 100% recommend.
Margaret Scull BSCI437 Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/28/2023	Love this prof! Really sweet professor and super smart. Very passionate about virology and can teach it well. When I did have some confusion she quickly explained it in office hours and cleared it up. 3 tests out of 50 points, avg is like 85-88% per so no curve. 20 in-class participation points but more than 20 opportunities to get them. Optional virus essay for 5 bonus points. Some other completion points (7.5 points before each test for review stuff). Doesn't record but posts all her slides and is very approachable. Would take her again.
Margaret Scull BSCI437 Anonymous 11/21/2022	Dr. Scull is a great professor! She really cares about virology and making her students understand it! She posts the slides before the class even starts and is very responsive to all of the questions she is asked. She is very nice and funny, and shares stories about her kids (better than any biology professor I have ever had at UMD). She provides easy one minute essay questions that tests your knowledge and allows for easy participation points. No homework, 3 exams, extra credit of a virus of your choosing, and exams are very fair. This is my favorite biology class so far and Dr. Scull contributes to that. My only complaint about the class (not Dr. Scull) is that the class is out of 275 points so getting points off affects your grades a lot but as long as you study the slides, you will be fine. I wouldn't worry about knowing each individual type of virus to a T because she tests on concepts and the overall picture. If you are looking for a higher level biology class, this is definitely one to take.
Margaret Scull BSCI437 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2019	Friendly engaging professor and very fair exams (all free response). Low workload - little to no homework, no projects, one extra credit assignment.
Jonathan Dinman BSCI437 emilyes 11/11/2017	Really enjoyed taking this class. Dinman makes it easy to understand and is very entertaining, often making jokes throughout the class. His exams do not test your ability to memorize, but instead require you to know the main concepts and ideas. Extra credit is also available, plus he curves at the end of the semester. Dinman does not want to punish students that are interesting in virology by making it hard for them to get a good grade; instead, he wants everyone to do well.
Jonathan Dinman BSCI437 soccerdude 12/19/2015	I would like to warn you guys before you take this class. I made my ourumd account today just to write this review. I agree that Dr.Dinman is a cool professor, and sadly that is it. rnrnConsidering myself as 'not a smart kid' but 'a decent average hard working student' (got an A in chem271 with Jason Kahn, B- in orgo and BCHM461&462, A in bsci201&202, A in bsci424..etc), I got a C in this class. And this time I only got a C because of the stupid TA and stupid test structure. rnrnIn my opinion, grading was NOT fair at all because it was super subjective. rnEach midterm was 50pts consisted of approximately 25 questions. He will sometimes ask 3~4 sub questions in one question that still makes up of total 2pts. Well suppose I did not answer one sub question or my answer was somewhat ambiguous ? There you lose 50% of total credit no matter how your other answers were right within that one question.rnrnAs a result, She would take off every single point from every single question based on her inconsistent grading method. Why do i call this inconsistent grading method? Later I found out that my friend and I had identical answers, he did not lose point while I did. WTF? rnrnSince one TA is grades so many exams, she doesnt even remember herself how she was grading to what extent. I was one of the unlucky students who fell a victim of her stupid inconsistency.rnrnOne day I talked to the professor directly, I got a right answer for sure for this one, he looked over it and said "oh yea it looks like you got right, i dont know. TA grades it HA HA Ha " After he lol, he told me its not going to matter because he will curve and statistically one point does not do anything. Well.. Suppose this happens every single question and every single midterm till the end, these 1 point differences can accumulate and produced a letter grade difference. rnrnWatch out if TA does not like you. you cannot ask for regrade either, because thats what makes TA recognize you and she will start grading even harsher next time. rn
Jeffrey DeStefano BSCI437 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/26/2015	This class, which was co-taught with Dr. Kramer, was the best class I've ever taken at this University. It's pretty laid back, and although I agree with the review below that he's not the most engaging lecturer, he adds notes on the bottom of the slides telling you exactly what you need to know, so if you miss a class it's not the end of the world. Despite the fact that there is no curve and you can't drop an exam like other 400 level bio classes, it's not tough to get at least an A- in this class. If you looking for a fun, low-stress upper level bio class to take, definitely take this class.
Jonathan Dinman BSCI437 Expecting an A erika_14 12/20/2013	Great class/professor. Extra credit if you write a paper, attend 32/35 lectures, and get a flu shot. (15 pts total). He gives out about 50% A's. His exams are hard to get used to - he emphasizes concepts and not as much detail. If you get around average or above and do all the extra credits you should get an A-. Material is dense but he really just wants you to know main ideas, so when looking at his lectures, summarize it in your own words and pick out the main point he is trying to emphasize. Definately recommend
Jeffrey DeStefano BSCI437 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/23/2013	He's alright. His powerpoint slides can get a little long and tedious sometimes. He enjoys posting blocks of text in each slide. He is kind of boring while speaking too, but maybe it was just the material (various mechanisms of viral entry and infection). He seems like a genuinely nice guy.
Jonathan Dinman BSCI437 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/03/2013	AMAZING PROFESSOR!!! Learned so much info from theis class and if you put in work, exams are not too bad. Also, he is a fantastic lecturer!
Jonathan Dinman BSCI437 Expecting an A Anonymous Terp 12/19/2008	Great class by an even better lecturer. I was a little hesitant about taking virology because such a class runs the risk of getting bogged down by memorizing endless facts about endless viruses. However, I could not have been more pleasantly surprised. The class is one of the most entertaining I have taken at UMD. Because the class itself is clearly organized and because Dr. Dinman is very confident about his knowledge in virology and is very witty, it turns into a thoroughly enjoyable course. And I feel like I have come out having learned and retained a lot. Grading is generous. Not missing more than three classes gives you 5 points. Writing a short review (1 page) on a classical virology paper gives you 10 points. For a class with three tests worth 50 points each and a final worth 100 points, those extra credit points give a big boost. He even said at the beginning of the semester that around 50% of us would get an A. Dr. Dinman hates pre-med point-pushers, and in designing the course has made it possible to allow students with a real interest in virology to leave with a decent grade without having to fight other students for it. That being said, you do have to learn the material. It's not a fluff class at all. If you get the chance to take this course, I would highly recommend it.
Jonathan Dinman BSCI437 blackdragon 12/18/2007	Oh my god, he gave extra credit for just for attending 32/35 lectures and more extra credit for writing a 5 pg max paper on a journal article. He gives at least 50% of the class A's. In the class basically an 80% is an A because he does not factor the top 10% into the average. The way he organized the course was highly logical. Dinman brings in guests speakers from NIH, FDA, HIV experts, HPV experts to enrich the classroom experience. The lady that lectures on vaccines gave out free shirts! Dinman as a lecturer was the best lecturer i ever had. He comes in with a bright attitude always smiling. In the lecture slides he wants us to learn the concepts first then examples. Whenever there was a slide with one of those complex molecular cascades he says don't memorize this just understand this... attend his reviews even though they are optional and take place during the class time. He gets his ideas for questions to write on the exam from these reviews. 75% of the questions asked on the exam were from the review and the rest were on concepts he repeated like 10 times. Highly suggest taking this class with Dinman