<p>Hi to all those who've taken Bio 13 in the past. Could you share your advice on how to perform well in this class? I've heard it's unnecessarily difficult- but there's a new professor teaching and coordinating this year. Can anyone elaborate? </p>
<p>Bump? Help, anyone??</p>
<p>It’s not that the class is difficult. The tests try to confuse students for no reason. My son had a hard time with it. He said it wasn’t the material it was the confusing tests. He even tried to go to a Professor after one of the tests with trying to understand why certain questions were graded the way they were and the professor didn’t know the answer himself. My son was frustrated the whole semester with Bio 13. But there were some kids that got 100s on all tests. He did manage to pull out an A- in the end but it was a miracle. He was ready to drop the class few days before the final. He thought ORGO was a piece of cake compared to Bio 13
From what I understand from him the knowledge needed for the class is not that extensive. He knew most of it from his AP class. But he tended to over analyze the questions on the tests and thought that they were deeper then they were. And that got him in trouble. So it’s almost like the less you know the better if that makes any sense.
You’re saying that there is a new professor coordinating the class. I truly hope that he fixes the process because I think it’s not a very well run course and not fair to the kids. </p>
<p>So how did he manage an A- if those exams were so difficult. The new prof is a woman named Koegel, if it’s any help. </p>
<p>@theNDhopeful44, momworried mentioned before that there were 4 prof teaching this class. You know there is only one prof teaching this time? Is she the first time to teach this class?</p>
<p>I’m just a tuition paying parent but can offer second hand comments if it helps…I think that everyone has a different perspective based on their respective background. My son took the class and it was difficult. He did not have an extensive bio foundation (some do some don’t as a freshman). Part of that could be that he was a freshman and part is the material. He also played a varsity sport. I gathered that the material is understandable but the tests really tested concepts, not just regurgitation. He averaged a B and learned a lot. </p>
<p>Yes, this is her first time teaching the class and she is the only professor teaching it. I spoke briefly with Carol Baffi-Dugan, Tufts’s premed advisor, and she said it will undoubtedly be a different experience. </p>
<p>Different teachers have different teaching styles and different students have different learning styles resulting in wide range of different classroom experiences - even in the same classroom. </p>
<p>I don’t know who the previous BIO13 professors were, but some teachers try to get the students to understand and apply the material rather than just memorize it. This tends to make it more challenging for students who are used to “learning” by memorization and some can perceive it as “unfair”. Sometimes, when the professor is testing to see if the student can apply their knowledge of a subject in a manner different than the manner covered in class, the student thinks the professor is trying to “trick” them.</p>
<p>The students who do well in these types of environments tend to be the students who learn by trying to figure out the implications of the information they are presented with and how they can apply it to the real world.</p>
<p>Susan Koegel seems to like the teaching aspect of her job and received good ratings in another course that she taught, so there is a reasonable chance that the classroom experience will not only be different, but positive.</p>
<p><a href=“Faculty | Department of Biology”>Faculty | Department of Biology;
<a href=“http://provost.tufts.edu/celt/faculty-spotlight-dr-susan-koegel/”>http://provost.tufts.edu/celt/faculty-spotlight-dr-susan-koegel/</a>
<a href=“Susan Koegel at Tufts University | Rate My Professors”>Susan Koegel at Tufts University | Rate My Professors;
<p>It’s great that they changed the teaching format of this class. When there are 4 different instructors it doesn’t give the student time to get used to teaching and testing style of the professor. My son would get a 100 on one test and then barely pass the next one. And there were no quizzes to boost your grade. Just 4 tests, final, and lab grades</p>
<p>I guess for me it’s worrisome because bio 13 is by far the most important class I’m taking this semester, and the entire bio 13/bio 14 sequence is important because it will determine my sophomore science GPA and my eligibility for the Early Assurance Program. That’s been a goal of mine since I started last year, and I don’t want to jeopardize my chances for that (and med school later on, generally) because of mediocre performance. </p>