David Yager

This professor has taught: HONR209O, NACS728Q, NEUR200, NEUR479, PSYC202, PSYC301, PSYC309D, PSYC309U, PSYC401, PSYC407, PSYC414, PSYC468H, PSYC606, PSYC789

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Information	Review
David Yager NEUR200 Expecting a W Anonymous 01/17/2022	hard af don't take it
David Yager NEUR200 Expecting a B- Anonymous 01/15/2022	I came into this course with a lot of Neurology knowledge. Not only did I do so well in all of the review sessions that some students thought I should teach the class (LOL no thanks), but I wrote two very detailed essays on some very complex neurological concepts and still barely scraped by with one A and B's on my papers. That being said, I still got a B- because his tests are ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. I don't mean that they are difficult because the coursework is hard. No, the information is very simple and in fact, it is open note. But the way Dr. Yager writes his questions is extremely frustrating and indirect. The content of the tests are not directly related to the lectures for half the exams with questions about Hamlet, Vampries, random frogs, and three scientists walk into a bar questions - that Dr. Yager erroneously believes to be a better demonstration of knowledge than testing directly over the course material in lecture. He thinks that this is somehow a better test of intelligence or aptitude than directly testing the information she lectures on. I was advised to take this course for a future grad school program and now I have to explain all of this to my future PI and why I got a B- in an intro course that even the TAs said looked ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like their Intro to Neuro course tests/work at other schools. Do yourself a favor and if you're the kind of person that wants an actual, straightforward neuro course, then look elsewhere. I have no idea why this guy is rated as high as he is. I have to wonder if some TAs or whatnot were told to post on here to inflate his rating. Maybe it was the pandemic, and I have no idea how his tests were before but for us the tests were online thru ELMs and I don't know if that is what the difference was. But if you aren't the best test taker for someone who asks confusing, indirect questions a majority of the time, run away!
David Yager NEUR200 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/25/2021	Dr Yager's lectures are incredibly dense and difficult to sit through. The class is purely graded on exams and essays, both of which are hard to score well on. Additionally, I found him to be very disrespectful and unempathetic when I privately met with him to discuss a personal matter that affected my performance/grade. Overall just not a good professor, which is a shame since I really find the course material to be interesting. Please avoid taking him if you can.
David Yager NEUR200 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/21/2021	This class is honestly extremely interesting, however, IT IS THE HARDEST CLASS. the concepts are easy to follow, but his exams are very complex. He really tests you knowledge to apply the concepts learned and the brain's structure. Know what brain regions correspond to what. There are three essays that helpful to boost your grade, but creativity and application IS SO IMPORTANT, and go to the writing center to make sure your grammar/transition sentences/organization are as good as can be. GET BONUS POINTS, there are so many ways. ALSO, do the weekly quizzes, they help prepare you for the exams, and can potentially improve your grade.
David Yager NEUR200 Anonymous 12/17/2021	No. Literally have no idea what he is saying half the time. Nothing in lectures is on the exam. Do not take this.
David Yager NEUR200 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/20/2021	class taken completely online spring 21 This class is not perfect- my main complaint was that the questions on the weekly quizzes are sometimes very specific and vague [but the TAs recognized this on the one quiz it was a big problem and quizzes after that point were better] If you are taking this class you have to take notes and review them. You definitely can't just coast through the quizzes/exams. The exams online were open note/open book/open web but you will not have time to hunt through your notes for every answer if you do not study or at least condense your notes [you hear this a lot but it is especially true in this class] However, the availability of the TAs and Dr. Yager was very great. If you have a question or are unclear on a concept then it is very easy to schedule an appointment with them and they are very diligent about explaining until you understand. Dr. Yager can be vague in his lectures, but the TAs always cleared up the topics I was unclear on [still you definitely have to go if you are unclear on anything] Yager tells you if what he is talking about is not going to be on the exam and everything else can often be summarized with diagrams [that you do have to copy down and study to do well] Additionally, there was a great amount of extra credit in this class and generous curving of exams. As such, I'm rating this class/Yager 5 stars. The support offered in this class was amazing. All in all, not a perfect or easy class, but definitely one that's possible to do well on. (and Yager is hilarious in lecture, which is always fun)
David Yager NEUR200 Anonymous 05/20/2021	I would not recommend this teacher to anyone. Lectures are all online and extremely hard to follow. The weekly quizzes were difficult, and you were tested on small details from hour and a half lectures. Exams were all graded differently by each TA and were unfair 75% of the time. All quizzes are scheduled on non-class days as well. Teacher wants students to make this class their only priority and assumes they have no life outside this class. Stay clear from this class or you will suffer 1 semester because of it.
David Yager PSYC202 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/19/2021	This class is significantly more difficult than you'd think. The weekly quizzes were difficult, confusing, and graded you on only the smallest details of hours-long lectures. I only started doing well on them after watching the lectures directly before the quizzes (which, by the way, were scheduled on a non-class day). Quizzes were worth 30.4% of the grade and the class average was consistently below a 75%. Exams were better, but very long. However, they were heavily curved. Honestly, I feel like I did not retain most of the lecture content because I spent all of my time trying to strategize against the unfair quizzes. The lectures are interesting and the professor seems like an okay dude, but I don't think he helped me understand the concepts very well at all. Maybe he's better in person.
David Yager PSYC202 Anonymous 05/18/2021	This class was very difficult and I would only recommend it to people who have a burning passion for neuroscience. Dr. Yager was a slightly-above-average lecturer, though he was very skilled at making the course interesting. The quizzes and exams tended to be unnecessarily confusing and I wish some more direction could have been given on the essays. I think this class would have been better if I got to take it in-person.
David Yager PSYC301 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 07/09/2020	If you love neuroscience and the brain, you will love this class. Yager is sooooooooo funny. Even if he SOUNDS dry, listen to the words that come out of his mouth; he's hilarious. I was in love with every single topic which motivated me to study my ass off. With all the extra credit, I ended the class with a 101%. Getting a good grade is definitely possible if you study well. Do NOT take this class if you are not interested at all in brain science; it requires a certain level of interest and passion to do well. Yager is super nice and helpful, but do not rely too heavily on email communication. It is best to talk to him right after class, but usually, there is a long line, so I always sat in the front to get to him pretty quickly. This course changed my life and confirmed for me I wanted to do neuroscience. So much love to this man.
David Yager NEUR200 Anonymous 04/29/2020	Nice guy, lectures border on boring but are more coherent than expected.
David Yager PSYC301 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/16/2020	Excellent teacher and fascinating course. It requires an interest and a dedication to do well in this course, but it is rewarding. Dr. Yager is very helpful in such a way that you do receive help or advice, but do not get out of work or a free pass.
David Yager PSYC309U Expecting an A Anonymous 01/31/2020	Dr. Yager is one of the best professors I've ever had. He is genuinely passionate about what he's teaching and actually cares about his students - the couple of times I went to office hours, he asked about my other classes and my plans for the future, not just his class. That being said, this class is NOT easy. Even after taking detailed notes and going to every lecture, I found myself struggling on tests (not because they were unfair, but because there were just so many small details we needed to know). The weekly journals were also kind of a pain and seemed rather unnecessary, especially when they were graded pretty harshly for such small assignments. There is a decent curve, and the things discussed in the class are incredibly interesting, so it is definitely worth taking.
David Yager PSYC301 Expecting an A Anonymous 07/15/2019	I took 301 my first semester at UMD after transferring. Not so smart of me but I had no clue what I was in for. Be prepared to work your ASS OFF. The information is really interesting and I find myself thinking about practical applications of it even after the class ended. I got an A (94) but it did not come without very hard work. I went to every weekly review session with the TA, every review session led by Yager before exams and only missed one lecture throughout the semester. I also studied for 10+ hours (not exaggerating) for each exam. That being said, this class can be really interesting if you are prepared to work hard.
David Yager HONR209O Expecting a B- Anonymous 11/12/2018	While this course is extremely interesting and you will learn a ton, it will not help your GPA in any way. The exams are very difficult to do well on, even with hours of studying. Dr. Yager is not a gentle grader. The tests are all free response, so you have to know the content like the back of your hand, and mind you, the content is based on detailed neurobiology. If you're not into biology, I would steer clear. To succeed in this course, you have to attend every lecture, take precise notes on everything Dr. Yager says (his powerpoints are absolutely barebones), and complete every assignment with 100% effort. There is absolutely no room for slack in this class. Not the honors seminar for you if you want an easy A. That being said, it is a super interesting course, and it is possible to get a good grade if you are on it from the beginning. Dr. Yager is brilliantly smart and presents the content in an engaging way. Definitely a challenging course, but overall I like it.
David Yager PSYC301 Expecting a B+ Testudo17 06/06/2015	Okay, I'd just like to clear the air regarding the Biological Basis of Behavior. This class receives a lot of negative attention that it doesn't receive. I won't lie, this class is VERY challenging and you have to work your ass off if you even want to break a 80%. Yager can be a little dry at times, but overall, I enjoyed going to class. The material is very interesting - then again, I love the brain. With this class, it's very B.S.-geared and not very B.A.-geared; it really depends on what you're trying to do in the psych field, so take that into consideration. He offers extra credit, but lets be real, it doesn't do shit. EC is offered in the form of little weekly lecture quizzes on ELMS that you have unlimited attempts to score a 100% on. If you get a 100, you get 1 extra point on the exam. But in reality, when you only have about 3-5 quizzes per lecture exam (and the exam is already 130+ points), 3-5 extra points don't really make that much of a difference percentage-wise, especially since the quizzes aren't easy. Okay, so the big thing is exams. I swear sometimes he's trying to kill you in these exams, but they're not impossible. Getting an A is doable, but you better know that material like the back of your hand. The good thing about exams is that he drops the lowest score and they're all curved. I got a 85, 63, 84, and a 92 on the final, and that ended up giving me a 88 overall in the class (B+), when in reality, my uncurved grade would probably be a B-. Oh yeah, and your grade is just based on tests. There are no other assignments, but that being said, getting a B in this class is not impossible. Hard, but you can do it if you're motivated and put in the work. You really get the grade you deserve in this class. SOOOOOO takeaway: it's hard, but don't listen to the people that defame Yager and the class in general. Most of these people try to put off studying until the night before and think that they'll pass and then end up failing and/or they're not interested in the material, and misattribute their bad time to bad teaching. It's bullshit. I highly recommend this course for anyone in the B.S. track. It'll really help you in the long run.
David Yager PSYC301 JohnyCumlately 04/04/2014	If you are concerned with getting a good grade, I would suggest taking another professor for this course. I took this class last semester with Dr.Hall and got A's on first two exams before I had to drop course for personal reasons. Was not easy but if you study hard and make sure you know all of the study guide, you should do well. This semester with Yager, I got a very low E on first exam(lol). His material is different and focuses more on what seems like training to become a doctor. I think his tests are unfair with irrelevant or miscellaneous questions. However he is very knowledgeable and very interesting. If you take his class, pay a lot of attention in class and take extremely good notes.
David Yager PSYC407 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/07/2013	This course is the epitome of why the minor is as a whole a useless endeavor that should be avoided for the supplement of actual research ( See the Phenomena of Psyc300 being absolutely useless for teaching research). You'll waste at the average 12 hours of life that you could use for work in a research lab or hwk/real science each week and write lab reports that are in effect glorified narratives of what was conducted in lab. The lab rarely demands an actual understanding of biology and in fact is all about knowing the minimal foundation, going into the lab and doing lab work that is as you guessed it minimalistic. The class teaches basic 'neuroscience techiques' which really are just classic (See: useless) techniques that give you a very minimal understanding of electrophysiology in response to sensory stimuli (This course should be renamed Sensory Neuroscience Lab because there's little behavior actually studied and more principles of supposed circuits firing to supposed ganglians to cause supposed sterotyped behavior that we in majority do not get to see). We use a program (Chart) that is worse than anything on this Earth and generally we can all accept that we learn absolutely nothing in lab other than the pain of learning that we made a massive mistake attempting to finish this minor. And in lecture we are taught what I would call very much minor brush strokes of biology, we genuinely learn a minor amount of the biology of an organism just enough to do the lab but not actually understand the very fundamental information necessary to know anything worthwhile. So in short if you want to take a course where you pretend you've learned something. Go ahead, if you actually want to do neuroscience go join a research lab. I know that if I could go back I wouldn't do this course, it taught me absolutely nothing about neuroscience that I wanted to know. So if I were to break it down into ratings (1 to 5) Professor: 4/5 Materials in lab ( In 301 you're taught all about these magical methods and now you're using metal toothpicks for electrodes) : 1/5 Time Spent efficiently learning: 1/5 Way Course is tested: 1/5 Conclusion: Do something else with your life.
David Yager PSYC301 Expecting an A+ synaptic-gap 07/11/2013	While I will not say that this is an easy course for most students, I had taken a graduate level neuroanatomy before and helped the students in my section with review sessions. Greg is helpful, but he doesn't go over the material a second time and neither Dr.Yager nor Greg will give you hints to memorize things. I still have my notes/review guides if anyone should need them, and if anyone needs any help, feel free to reach me!
David Yager PSYC301 Expecting a C nkiankho 06/10/2013	This man knows what he's talking about. Awesome, interesting class...no doubts about these statements. But if you want an A you better know that material INSIDE AND OUT. Very conceptual course, not detail oriented. His exams are very hard. Koofers helps out a lot, but do not fully depend on it. Usually he uses the same diagrams and short essays as koofers, at least. Going to class and paying attention is a must if you want to fully understand the material. Dont ever underestimate his exams. I made this class my main focus and still received a C. If you enjoy neuroscience or are used to taking courses in the physical sciences, it clearly is much easier. Bottom line: one of the most interesting courses you will ever take, but involves an immense amount of effort. Although i received a C, i do not regret taking this course. Yager is awesome.
David Yager HONR209O Expecting an A Amandafaw 03/26/2012	Dr. Yager is fantastic! This was my favorite honors seminar out of all 5 that I took. It was insanely interesting. It really does change the way you think about sleeping. Yager does a really great job teaching it - he's very relaxed and doesn't bullshit you. He also brought in a real brain for us to look at! Overall I really really loved this class. We had to do one paper about a book but he let us hand it in early if we wanted and he reviewed it for us and gave it back so we could definitely get an A. Dr. Yager is funny, blatantly intelligent, and very sincere. I highly recommend this seminar if you are even remotely interested in the brain or psychology.
David Yager HONR209O Expecting an A David Yang 01/21/2012	Dr. Yager is a great professor, both knowledgeable and engaging. If the class is talkative, then the lectures become very enjoyable to attend. Take this class at your own risk however, for it is very hard to get an A, not so much because the material itself is hard, but because his grading is rather tough. If you dont have exactly what he wants you will lose points...a lot of points. And make sure take good notes and attend every lecture. You can read the light blue book to get a general understanding, but know that whatever extra information you grab from this book will not be worth a thing if you write it as part of an answer on his tests...unless you get it wrong.. then it will cost you points. What Ive learned in this class is just phenomenal and i would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the importance of sleep with many aspects of college life. I have to say.. unlike some other classes.. ex. orgo, calcIII... this class is actually interesting. PS... best thing to do is to just go listen in... learn the stuff... and not fret about getting an unsatisfactory grade.
David Yager HONR209O Expecting a C dreamparticles 12/17/2011	Basically, if you want an easy A, if you're a non-science major, or if you need an honors seminar, I don't recommend taking this class. Typically honors seminars are supposed to kind of be an easy A; not this one. You have to take copious amounts of notes, study hard, and have an intuition for science to get a decent grade. The lectures are fine, a little boring, but the videos and information are interesting enough. Just make sure you take a ton of notes because that's your main study tool. The tests are difficult. They consist of 5-7 questions based on broad topics discussed and repeated in class, but then you have to apply a bunch of details and connect it all to get points on the answers. You definitely need to study for them. There's also the ten page paper which, if you're a good writer and can look past the surface meaning of the book, should be fairly easy to write. The in-class discussions for the weekly papers can be painful. There seemed to be the same 4-5 students talking each week. Conversation is difficult to stimulate because sometimes it seems like no one wants to talk. Overall, this class was difficult, especially for an honors seminar. If you're a science major and are interested in this subject matter, it'll probably be a lot easier for you than it was for me.
David Yager PSYC401 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/10/2011	This was probably the best psychology course I have taken in the department so far. I wanted to review it because there aren't any other reviews. This class is unlike other lab classes where the lab supplements the lecture. Instead, the lecture provides background information, and the main focus is information gained in lab. The labs are 4 hours long, and sometimes they go long - they expect you to stay, so don't plan anything after this lab. The longest lab we had went for 6 hours! At the time it seemed horrible, but I really learned a lot looking back on it. The last lab of the semester is the best one. You get to perform brain surgery on a frog and record neural pulses straight from the optic tectum (part of the brain that integrates visual information). Recording action potentials and other things you learn about in other psychology classes you actually get to do in this course! I would recommend to anyone - just be prepared to do a lengthy lab write-up each week. It truly a science course.
David Yager PSYC301 Anonymous 01/10/2011	For Psyc301 you HAVE to go to class because his slides are just pictures and he just talks for the whole 65 minutes. He is a good lecturer and knows his stuff really well, but as others have said his exams are definitely rough. The multiple choice had an answer choice for a, b, and c, choice d was all of the above and choice e was answer choice a and c. Definitely know everything he puts on the review sheet and try to look at things in the big picture. It's a hard class, but the material is actually really interesting. Also, I would suggest using Terpnotes from bookholders because someone took amazing notes that are very similar to what he teaches now. I heard that is first exam was on koofers too, but I'm not sure if that is true.
David Yager HONR209O Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/15/2010	Professor Yager is very knowledgable and very passionate, but he tends to be a bit boring in his lectures (I dozed off in his class every time except for once). The exams are pretty challenging, but they're fair if you study. Take notes on everything he says, because that's what's tested. And READ THE BOOKS (especially the blue one). I didn't read the books all year, and my friend pointed that there were helpful bullet lists and things like that. Bottom line: Interesting material, very interesting if you're a psych or bio major. Involves a lot for critical thinking. If you're looking for an easy A, look elsewhere. Recommended with caution.
David Yager PSYC301 Anonymous 05/25/2010	Yager was good in the sense that he knew the material well, but he's the type of prof who's only there for his research. He doesn't really care as much as he should for his students. I went to him several times for help and it didn't help at all. His exams are horrible, like they come straight from hell. It doesn't matter if you know everthing he said in class. You HAVE to know extra miscellaneous stuff and have to know how to apply your knowledge to the bigger picture. He really knows his stuff...that's why the exams get so hard. Overall, he's not worth it. He might be able to explain stuff in class, but he won't help you a lot during reviews and the exams are HELL. Don't do it to yourself.
David Yager PSYC301 Expecting a B jrobin 04/19/2010	Dr. Yager is an excellent and knowledgeabe professor! He communicates the information well and makes the class interesting. You MUST attend every lecture though since the tests are extremely hard and lecture based. You have to work really hard to pass this class but it's definitely worth it if you're interested in biopsychology.
David Yager HONR209O Expecting a B Anonymous 01/25/2010	Very interesting class. The material gets better for the last 2/3 of the class. Presentations are difficult to get an A. Exams are not bad but need good notes. As for the essay, he accepts drafts for review, so make good use of that opportunity. Overall, a lot of work, but if you're interested, take the class!
David Yager PSYC301 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/28/2009	Dr. Yager is an excellent professor. He is very knowledgeable in his field and explains concepts very well. He says A LOT in class, so you'll need to be ready to take good notes and write down everything he says, but the book is just supplemental, he never tests on anything from the book that he didn't mention in class. There are 3 tests (you can drop the lowest) and a cumulative final, but there are no papers or other work. Tests require a lot of studying, and you need to be able to expand on what you know. He also holds reviews before exams which are very helpful. Fascinating class, difficult, but very satisfying.
David Yager HONR209O Anonymous 11/30/2009	the professor is a nice enough guy and knowledgable (except for the astonishing amount that he seems not to know things in the field of sleep... which he probably should?) and the class is interesting but definitly an annoyance because of the note taking and the epic paper. it is true if youre not going to be a neuroscientist or whatever and youre looking for an easy A... DONT DO IT.
David Yager HONR209O Expecting a B Anonymous 05/12/2009	Well don't that just say it all.
David Yager HONR209O Expecting a B samiam762 12/20/2008	Warning: If you're an honors student looking for an easy, interesting honors seminar, just stop reading now and go take the multiverse one, or multiple me's. This class was, overall, an interesting class. Sleep was always something interesting to me (both from a scientific standpoint and from an experiential one), and I greatly looked forward to to the class. I soon found out, though, that though the information was definitely interesting, the class was going to be a lot harder than I'd thought. First off, my main gripe is that the class is almost completely-discussion based - he spends every class going over information in his slides, trying to get people involved, but then gives absolutely zero percentage of your grade from participation. Your grade will consist of 40% two midterms, 30% the final, 20% two scientific paper presentations, and 10% a 10-page paper. So first off, the tests. Make sure you take good notes, because if you don't you'll basically be screwed for the midterms, because he'll ask you specific things from the lecture, like 'list all the ways sleep inertia is bad to society' and if you don't list everything, you're screwed. On the tests, make sure you answer everything in bullet format, because it's the fastest, easiest way to answer, and it's what he wants anyway (even if he doesn't specifically tell you). If you answer a question, no matter how much you've written, as long as you write the specific things he's looking for, you get full credit. No matter how much you BS an answer, if you don't include the specific answers he wants, it won't matter. The final was similar format to the tests, you just have a lot more time to do it. Also, he included some extra credit on the final just to boost your grade, but even then, be prepared for B's and C's on the tests, or if you're 'that guy' maybe a low A. For the paper presentations: every week a different group gives a presentation on a scientific paper that he posts online, and everyone will have to do two of these. For this, what he's looking for is basically that you spend 5 minutes max explaining the paper and its outcomes and everything, and that for the next 10-15 minutes the class will be engaged in good discussion on it, thanks to your amazing leadership abilities you are expected to have. Make sure you have friends in the class who you have convinced ahead of time to get involved in the discussion, and whatever you do, don't say anything to try to get the discussion going unless you absolutely have to. If you do that well, you can expect an easy A for that 20%, but if not be ready for B's and B-'s. As for the paper, it's actually 8-10 pages, on one of the books you'll be assigned. There's absolutely no research necessary, and the book it's on is actually a (pretty interesting) novel about this sleep clinic, so you'll basically be writing a literary analysis on it. Do with this what you can, and though you'll have a lot of time to do it, don't push it off or you'll feel the consequences. Overall, I'd say I enjoyed the class (though the lecture style did start to get old), and did learn a lot about an interesting subject I hadn't actually known much about, but I do wish the class had had some sort of a participation grade, because otherwise no one has incentive to participate, and it's the same 3 people taking over and over.