Brook Gardner was an ok lecturer. I think some people are too hard on the way that she teaches, I found that I enjoyed the style of lecturing and was able to access many resources outside the class that would help in the course. The tests were difficult but very doable. She is very accessible and has great TA's. You need to use your resources well
She went through some slides pretty quickly, but I liked her sense of humor and how she didn't make the class feel like JUST pure tests. As a transfer student and comparing her to other courses I've taken this year, I definitely miss her side formats, teaching style, and her TAs.
This is a hard course. Gardner doesn't always explain the slides clearly in lecture, so make sure to go to TA sections.
She was alright. Lectures were quite fast paced, but there was plenty of resources to practice with. I thought the exams were very fair and straightforward on its own (with 1 page cheatsheet allowed) but I agree with the others that some of FRQ's were too open ended. Not very accessible during office hours.
She has a very arbitrary and vague grading criteria that makes getting a good grade on tests very difficult. She is also not willing to work with you on situations. It is difficult to see what she is going to test on and for the final what she emphasized during the entire class was not on the test.
Worst professor I have taken in my ENTIRE college career. Easily the worst lecturer. Slides were sparse for information. Spews surface level facts on every topic without explaining any underlying concepts. Trivia multiple choice questions, random & arbitrary grading criteria on free response. Doesn't answer questions asked during lecture. AVOID.
Professor is nice and enthusiastic. TA is very useful and willing to help you. I love TA in this class. However, exam is hard. You have to know clearly every concepts and apply them in lab. You have to know lab techniques. Homework, Quiz, Practice Exam is useless because Exam is completely different. She gives you 1 page cheat sheet, but it useless
My GOAT. He is very clear about exactly what you need to know to do well. Use the discussion board!
Easy A. Tests based around problem sets and they were pretty easy. Weird thing was they had a deadline for hw, but gave no penalty for late hw. You got less points if you turned it in on time than if you turned it in late by copying the answer key. Slides by themselves are meh; but he annotates them in the vids and was super well organized imo.
Lectures are a little confusing but tests are pretty simple if you lock in to your problem sets and understand them well! Best thing about Richardson is that he records his lectures AND office hours - he's always looking to be accessible for students that need help. Great prof
One of the best classes I have taken in the biology dept. His lectures might seem confusing (especially at first), but it all comes together when solving the problem set and discussion section worksheets. He answers any questions from the PS and WS through online forums. Understanding those problems is the code to performing well on the exams.
Great guy. Not exactly the best lectures, but the discussion and homework practice make it clear what you should understand. Ask for help and you'll get it. Put in the effort and the class will be extremely doable, fun even.
Professor Richardson is by far the best teacher on the MCDB department, he made his class easy to follow and explain the concepts in the most clear and organized way. He is very engaged with his students and helps you understand, definitely go to office hours and sections and understand the problem sets. Would definitely take him again!
Richardson is one of the best professors ive ever had. He has a forum where he answers all kinds of questions all throughout the quarter. He truly wants his students to learn and succeed. He changed the grading distribution and completely dropped a midterm halfway through the quarter if it would benefit your grade. I can't say enough good things.
I made an entire rate my professor account just for the guy. Easily one of the most goated professors in the MCDB Department. So compassionate and so caring for his students. If you take the class, you will learn a lot. Just a 10/10 professor.
Richardson makes a difficult subject as doable as possible and tries to make it palatable to everyone. This is the first class that's gotten me excited about my major bc Richardson teaches class topics in the context of biotech and medical applications. Good lecturer, approachable and helpful in OH and on the class forum, reasonable exams.
Richardson spent so much time answering students' questions on forum off his normal lecture time. Tests problems are questions from his practice problem set and no trick questions. One thing to note is that his lectures are not the most interesting thing ever.
The exams are basically impossible to do well on b/c they're open-ended & you're expected to hit certain points that are not clear. You can know the material super well & still get C's on the exams because they're graded so specifically. Also, super lab technique heavy which was so hard bc a lot of us had never even stepped foot in a lab (COVID).
Gardner is an ok professor at best. Her exams are extremely long and basically undoable. She either has a difficult time answering questions in class or she just doesn't answer them at all. Really inexperienced and doesn't seem to care much about teaching. There are many more professors out there that listen to feedback and care.
MCDB 108A is a difficult class by design, and I think Brooke did a great job explaining concepts through her lectures. However, a lot of her lectures are filled with lab techniques and research that she may have conducted. Usually, you aren't tested on those details though! Brooke's tests are fair, and it's clear she cares for her students.
The entire class Is based on lab techniques, assays and overall research strategies. She makes the class feel almost like a lab class without the lab experience.Tests are all based on lab EXPERIENCE which the class doesn't have. The only reason I would take her again is b/c she is literally the only teacher that offers this class, ridiculous!
She's v. intelligent in her field of work & she did a lot to help boost our grades b/c her exams are tough! But most of lecture content was comprised of lab techniques and assays and a whole bunch of other stuff that she uses in her research. You're required to know all of that on top of biochem content. Get ready to apply knowledge, not memorize.
Professor Gardner is a good teacher and you can tell that she cares about her students. The tests are very conceptual and are not at all learn-and-regurgitate type exams. All in all, scoring low on the exams was frustrating but I appreciate the easy-A additional assignments that she assigned to help even out my grade. Just make sure you attend OH's
Richardson is honestly one of the greatest professors I had---and I had a lot of them! He focuses heavily on the lectures, and his exams were extremely fair. He literally will tell you if it is a trick question or not on the exam and I love that! He also was extremely accommodating during the pandemic transition, and made his expectations clear.
