This course is divided into three parts. The first two profs tried to incorporate a sort of model to aid the curriculum.

Dr. Jacobs - Cell Bio
- had a virus model. Seemed irrelevant until after the unit which is kind of unfortunate because understanding was crammed to the end....

Click here to read the entire review

i'd say the easiest part of this course was the exam, especially kajiura's part it was easier than what we learned.
the 1st midterm was really hard. the 2nd was ok.
the labs were ok, but what bothered me was that i was putting in so much time for 1% of my mark!!! like wtf at least chem labs were worth 5%.

Originally Posted by blenicnl

i'd say the easiest part of this course was the exam, especially kajiura's part it was easier than what we learned.
the 1st midterm was really hard. the 2nd was ok.
the labs were ok, but what bothered me was that i was putting in so much time for 1% of my mark!!! like wtf at least chem labs were worth 5%.

Chem labs were worth 3%...

But I agree, the bio labs should have been worth more.

Actually, the bio labs were worth 1.5% each including the prelab.

The formal lab was also worth more, 3.5% each including the prelab.

I think the reason why the labs were weighed so lightly is because we had a lab exam. But the amount of work put into the labs is way more than 1.5%.

Wait, CHEM 1A03 labs are worth only 3% in total? The course review says 15%:S

Originally Posted by lankan_4lif

Wait, CHEM 1A03 labs are worth only 3% in total? The course review says 15%:S

There are 5 chem labs.. each being worth 3%.

Yes, that makes more sense LOL

I was like 3%, thats too small for a chemistry course weight and at university too.

Originally Posted by lankan_4lif

Thanks, you mean BIO 1M03 right?
Ye, I'm going to buy this package: FREEMAN- Biological Science (VOL #1 and #2)(WITH SHORT GUIDE TO WRITING)

Do you know whats in the study guide to biological science, like does it have helpful information?

I know this will no longer be useful for you, but I wanted to give my take on it for future readers.

I bought the study guide and actually found it extremely useful. I probably would've done well without it, but I think it's really good to have. It basically re-summarizes textbook material, and then asks you questions based on it. It's helpful so that you know how to apply the knowledge, as opposed to just memorize it (which is good for those brutal short-answer questions that sometimes pop up - mostly in 1M03).

The study guide is great for Kaijuras part, after that its USELESS. Trust me.

So you should buy it, but only refer to it for Kaijura's part.

Gah. Ok to summarize this course:

Wilson and Kajiura are both very nice, but I got the feeling that this course turned a lot of people off of biology.

We had a high average on the first midterm (~84%). Test 2 was very difficult to make up for it (plus the fact that test 2 covered like 8x more material).

Many of the concepts were review from high school, with some new stuff mixed in. Made it difficult to care about the subject.

The labs were annoying beyond belief. Far too much waiting. Not that I can see them doing anything about it as its the nature of the techniques we were doing.

Lab Notebooks were a pain to keep. Lab exam was relatively easy though, although some questions were annoying i.e., "What was printed on the antibiotic tablets you used in Lab 3", when the TA had placed them in the petri dish and you therefore hadn't seen them too well, or thought to write down this rather arbitrary detail.

Anyways, if you need to take it, or want to take biology courses, man up and take it. You'll survive. I would not recommend it as a course to take for fun, however.

The professors in my opinion were not very good for this course.

Luckily, the textbook is awesome and it saved me - whenever something didn't make sense in class, the textbook was the way to go.

The material is straightforward until the genetics part taught by Dr. Wilson, where it gets a little more intense and confusing but do-able.

The first midterm was disgustingly easy, the second was difficult because they wanted to lower the average. The exam was long, and a little difficult because of Dr. Wilson's questions.

I found this course to be pretty interesting and not overwhelmingly difficult. Our first midterm was pretty easy, but the second was not a walk in the park. Many people found the final exam rather challenging, but I didn't find it all that hard. The only thing about this course that I disliked was the labs -- they aren't hard, but they're long and tedious. One tip I can give anyone who is planning on taking this course is to make sure you study all of the supplementary diagrams that are posted online because they are always tested on!

This was probably my least favourite course in first-year.

There are two professors, Dr. Kajiura and Dr. Wilson. I didn't find either professor to be a particularly effective lecturer, but that can probably be attributed to my lack of interest in most of the applications in the course...

Of the two, I preferred Dr. Kajiura - her lectures were (kind of) worth going to. I didn't bother with Wilson's lectures after the first couple.

The material is technically a grade 12 biology review, but there is a lot more attention paid to detail in both concepts and applications. The textbook is pretty good, and actually sums stuff up in charts decently well.

The first midterm is very easy, and the second was challenging (it wasn't difficult - there was just not very much you could 'figure out', you either knew the answer or you didn't). I didn't find the final to be particularly difficult, but it is quite long.

Took it in:
Fall 2009- thus, a little outdated and I am sort of fuzzy on the details.

Professor
First half- Kajiura

• Great attitude and cares for students
• Notes are beautiful- there are outlines, just fill them in and you are good to go. When reviewing, use these =)
• Watch out for supplementary information that she adds in- may show up on the exam
• Follows the textbook, pay attention to tables and figures she highlights

Second half- Boreham

Boreham's lectures were completely different than Kajiura's.

• Humorous, funny prof- allows no computers or any electronics
• Not as structured as Kajiura’s
• No notes, just gives PPT slides with pictures
• Selects a few pages of textbooks and asks you to "skim" over =)
• Be careful though- likes to ask statistics and little facts (name the disorders with correct spelling) on the test
• BEST part= Guest Lectures. These made the year for me. You get to listen to experts from the field. There was one lecture/ week by guests.
• MUST go to class

Evaluation

Midterm 1 and 2.. 15% each
30 MC, 15 Short Answers… pretty straightforward

Exam...40%
All MC.

Labs and Misc. participation marks:
All labs have prelabs that you must complete online beforehand. Labs seemed to be irrelevant, though they teach you the essential skills. Done in groups, lack of equipment can be frustrating. There was one formal lab, others were informal.

Lab Test… 10%
Based on information you write in your lab notebook during the year. Not as bad as it may seem.

Textbook
Concise summary tables- read only the parts emphasized in the lecture

Overall
I found the material to be interesting, especially Boreham’s part when he talked about the cancer and bought in a diverse range of lecturers.There was lots of Gr.12 review, with some other things added in.

The difficulty of the course depends on the prof. You would be fine with Kajiura’s part as long as you follow her outline. Boreham’s part relied a lot on class attendance. The 2nd term course was very different since they had Wilson.

I took this course Term 2 of 2009-2010. I am good at bio, really, and I like it, it was my favourite subject in high school.

I HATED THIS COURSE.

It is EXTREMELY poorly organized, and I'm shocked to find that it has been poorly organized for a number of years and no one is doing anything about it! The random surveys that we have to complete FOR MARKS are unfair, no one knows when they come out, and half the time the quizzes/pre-lab assignments are only open to half the group.

The labs were interesting, really, but we had a lab tech that didnt know what he was doing - literally, all the other techs came in and TOLD HIM what the lab was about. I learned after the first lab that if I asked him a question the answer was generally wrong and so I avoided asking him anything as much as possible. In addition to this, he expanded on what we needed to do in our ONE FORMAL, GROUP LAB REPORT, and EVERYTHING he told us ended up being wrong, as I found out when I talked to a couple other lab-group members.

IN ADDITION TO THIS, what the heck is up with switching the profs halfway? Like, which genius came up with this? It makes me seriously pissed off, because as a first year you need to deal with the learning style the professor presents to you and adapt it to your own to be able to effectively study with the materials presented to you by the prof. When they switch the prof not only is the prof out of the loop and it takes them a few days to adjust to the way ELM works, apparently, but more often than not the teaching styles and the resources provided are completely different, MAKING THIS HARDEERRRR FOR A FIRST YEAR STUDENT, as if it isnt hard enough already!

We had Kajiura the first term and she had awesome partial notes, which you filled out during class, and then she UPLOADED all the basic info that you were supposed to take during class well before a test. She was very nice when you went to see her for help, and explained things again and again in class if the iClickers showed no one understood, until everyone was on the same page. She was really great, composed, and professional.

Second term we had Wilson. I will warn anyone who is taking this course, do as much as possible to avoid this prof. She spoke condescendingly to the class, and didnt care if half the time the iClicker results were messed up. In the first couple classes I FELT BAD FOR HER being up there, it was like high school all over again where one kid goes up for his class presentation and is so nervous you just wanna pat him on the back and make him feel better - in a prof i find this unacceptable. When I went to her for help, I dont know if it was a bad day or something but she acted like I was a 2 year old and evaded the question I wanted asked... Her exam questions were paragraphs, and after 70 M/C paragraphs you just want it to be over. Half the time you didnt know where the material was coming from because her notes were pictures half the time (ie. of molecules etc. and you were supposed to print those out and write AROUND them, and the molecules are just GENERIC molecules, nothing to do with what we're studying). Sometimes there WAS text on her notes but it was so generic that if you used those as study notes, good luck....

I ABSOLUTELY loathe the switching profs thing. That's all I had to say. Good luck!

Originally Posted by resh.jyoti

I took this course Term 2 of 2009-2010. I am good at bio, really, and I like it, it was my favourite subject in high school.

I HATED THIS COURSE.

It is EXTREMELY poorly organized, and I'm shocked to find that it has been poorly organized for a number of years and no one is doing anything about it! The random surveys that we have to complete FOR MARKS are unfair, no one knows when they come out, and half the time the quizzes/pre-lab assignments are only open to half the group.

The labs were interesting, really, but we had a lab tech that didnt know what he was doing - literally, all the other techs came in and TOLD HIM what the lab was about. I learned after the first lab that if I asked him a question the answer was generally wrong and so I avoided asking him anything as much as possible. In addition to this, he expanded on what we needed to do in our ONE FORMAL, GROUP LAB REPORT, and EVERYTHING he told us ended up being wrong, as I found out when I talked to a couple other lab-group members.

IN ADDITION TO THIS, what the heck is up with switching the profs halfway? Like, which genius came up with this? It makes me seriously pissed off, because as a first year you need to deal with the learning style the professor presents to you and adapt it to your own to be able to effectively study with the materials presented to you by the prof. When they switch the prof not only is the prof out of the loop and it takes them a few days to adjust to the way ELM works, apparently, but more often than not the teaching styles and the resources provided are completely different, MAKING THIS HARDEERRRR FOR A FIRST YEAR STUDENT, as if it isnt hard enough already!

We had Kajiura the first term and she had awesome partial notes, which you filled out during class, and then she UPLOADED all the basic info that you were supposed to take during class well before a test. She was very nice when you went to see her for help, and explained things again and again in class if the iClickers showed no one understood, until everyone was on the same page. She was really great, composed, and professional.

Second term we had Wilson. I will warn anyone who is taking this course, do as much as possible to avoid this prof. She spoke condescendingly to the class, and didnt care if half the time the iClicker results were messed up. In the first couple classes I FELT BAD FOR HER being up there, it was like high school all over again where one kid goes up for his class presentation and is so nervous you just wanna pat him on the back and make him feel better - in a prof i find this unacceptable. When I went to her for help, I dont know if it was a bad day or something but she acted like I was a 2 year old and evaded the question I wanted asked... Her exam questions were paragraphs, and after 70 M/C paragraphs you just want it to be over. Half the time you didnt know where the material was coming from because her notes were pictures half the time (ie. of molecules etc. and you were supposed to print those out and write AROUND them, and the molecules are just GENERIC molecules, nothing to do with what we're studying). Sometimes there WAS text on her notes but it was so generic that if you used those as study notes, good luck....

I ABSOLUTELY loathe the switching profs thing. That's all I had to say. Good luck!

The "random" surveys are worth LESS than 1 percent. And if you pay attention to the announcements they aren't so random.