Okie dokie, I'm a first year Kinesiology student, and I'm forced to take this course, and it is the best course that I've ever been forced to take. No question.

You start with Dr. Parise, who is far and away my favorite prof I've had this semester. You start with embryology and...

Click here to read the entire review

KRan's post at the top gives you an idea

Fall 2008:

Terminology and the Body plan
Embryology and Development
Tissues
Nervous System
Membrane Potential
Brain and Cranial Nerves
Brain Gross anatomy
Spinal Cord and Spinal Nerves
Special Senses
Autonomic Nervous System
Bone Gross Anatomy
Joints
Bone Physiology
Muscle anatomy

That's the order it was taught in last year. Dr Parise taught up to Tissues and Dr Macdonald taught the rest of the semester (Parise teaches more of 1AA3).

Ah, so Parise teaches 3 topics and MacDonald teaches the rest of the topics. Damn, I heard Parise is a lot better than MacDonald.

What are the topics for KIN 1YY3/1AA3 if you don't mind, KRan?

KIN 1AA3/1YY3 Course Schedule, Winter 2009:

Heart Anatomy
Blood
Blood Vessels
Cardiovascular physiology
Respiratory system
Digestive system
Renal System
Male reproductive
Female Reproductive
Endocrine system

Parise did Respiratory system onwards. Macdonald is still a good prof, it's just that Parise is so amazing that in comparison she isn't as good. She's very approachable and had her office hours at the Bymac at the gym, which made it informal and easy to go talk to her.

And because I know you'll ask this next, here are the labs from 1AA3:

1. Pig Heart Dissection
2. Cardiovascular Physiology and Blood Analysis (pulse, blood pressure, ECG, blood typing)
3. Respiratory System (spirometry, patient simulator)
4. Gastrointestinal System
5. Renal and Reproductive Systems (urinalysis)

The things in brackets are interactive elements of the lab, the rest is reinforcing learning and looking at specimens.

Thanks so much KRan, your a big help. Which did you find easier: 1A03 or 1AA3.
KIN 1AA3/1YY3 is so much more interesting in my opinion so its probably going to be easier for me.

I second that, thanks a bunch KRan! They both sound really interesting. I would think 1Y031A03 is easier, just because it's more basic that 1YY3/1AA3 =]

It's really hard for me to compare the two courses, because my semesters were so different from each other. In second semester last year, I missed 2 1/2 weeks of school for skating competitions (1 week in January, 3 days in February and 1 week in March), so I spent most of the semester playing catch up. For that reason, I didn't enjoy 1AA3 as much, because I would usually miss the first week on a system, and then spend the next week confused in class because I didn't know what Parise was talking about. The weekly tests would cover material I hadn't been there for, and it just added stress I didn't need.

I LOVED 1A03 though. The autonomic nervous system is pretty dry IMO, but musculoskeletal anatomy was my favourite part of both semesters. (And in 2nd year there's a whole Kin course on musculoskeletal anatomy!!)

Sounds amazing! Can't thank you enough for all the information! I love the 2nd year in courses as well, some of them are really interesting! Thanks again! =]

I just found out that there were weekly tests on Friday from 8:30-12:30, but I have classes all morning.... Is there anyway to fix this?

Does your schedule have a KIN 1Y03 tutorial on Friday mornings? That would be when you write your test. It's only a 20 minute test, and you'll find out exactly when you write it in your first class.

Originally Posted by KRan

Does your schedule have a KIN 1Y03 tutorial on Friday mornings? That would be when you write your test. It's only a 20 minute test, and you'll find out exactly when you write it in your first class.

Oh I get it now lol. So I write the weekly tests during the tutorials? yeah I'm going into Kinesiology I so it's 1A03... but I was worried because I was taking physical activity epidemiology, chem 1A03, calculus, and then kin 1A03 tutorial from 8:30-12:30 and none of the classes could really be moved or else there would be conflicts.

Thanks alot!

There isn't actually an Anatomy "tutorial", like there is in Chem or Bio for example. Each hour is split into 3 20-min timeslots and you go in to a computer lab and write a quiz on WebCT.

This has probably been my favorite course so far, yet at the same time I wanted to throw my notebook and text out the window and never deal with it again. If you have a choice to take it, here are some pros and cons:

Pro:
The profs: Both are pretty good. Some people don't like MacDonald, but honestly she's nowhere near as bad as some people make her out to be, in fact I think she's quite good.
The material: In my humble opinion, its probably the most interesting stuff that can be learned. But the human body fascinates me, so to each their own.
The weekly tests: Help you keep on track.
The labs: You get to really understand what the heck you've learnt about in lectures.

Cons:
The material: It's a lot to learn, and its easy to get caught up in it.
The weekly tests: Some weeks these are not fun to do at all, and you'll end up winging it. Plus they haven't been able to find a way that you can go online and see what you did wrong after the test.
The online lectures: They are long and you often have to keep reversing them to hear what she says and to write it down. Also, they always seem to come on weeks when lab information is on the test, making studying that week more difficult.
The exam: 60% of your final mark. Nuff said.

All in all its a good course though. Put in the work and double digit grades are easily in reach.