is the tutorial mandatory?

if so, i have a conflict and i can't take this course :(

It's not mandatory, but I recommend going to them. The TAs went over important concepts from the lectures and took up assignments or tests. They're kind of likely review sessions. I'm not sure if they would change the format of it though, so I would double-check.

(I took it as a night class with Dr. Goldreich, btw)

Originally Posted by Omega_X13

It's not mandatory, but I recommend going to them. The TAs went over important concepts from the lectures and took up assignments or tests. They're kind of likely review sessions. I'm not sure if they would change the format of it though, so I would double-check.

(I took it as a night class with Dr. Goldreich, btw)

could you tell me more about the course and the prof?

he's teaching it again this year

how did you do in the course?

I thought Dr. Goldreich was an excellent prof. He explained things really well, and I was hardly ever bored in the three hours. Sometimes he might go a little fast, but not so fast that you can't take notes. He also shows video clips from time to time, which helps with the understanding of topics.

As for the course itself, you start off with talking about neurons, electric/action potentials, etc...and then you move on to more specifics like vision and auditory. I found the course challenging, but really enjoyable.

We had 7 assignments, and they were worth 15%, which include straight-forward questions and tougher ones. We also had 15% brain teaser exercises that were done during class. You don't need an iClicker or anything; it was just pen and pencil. These were based on concepts that he was just talking about in lecture, and what happenes is that you get 5 min. to work on it yourself, then you get 5 min. to discuss among others (which REALLY helps), and then some more time to finish writing it without talking to others. There's at least one every lecture, and there may be more than one each lecture.

The rest of the marks came from 2 midterms worth 20% each, and a final worth 30%. Tests were multiple choice and short answer, with the multiple choice generally being easier. Short answer questions might include drawing out certain pathways or doing some calculations. We also had to study specific details, such as the speed of action potentials, number of neurons in this part of the nervous system, etc...In fact, there was one page on the exam devoted to knowing all these random numbers, but it wasn't worth as much as others (I think 0.5 marks each).

Even though it was my lowest mark last year, it was still one of my favorite classes. Hope this helps!

With regards for the tutorials, I know some people found them useful, but I know a lot of people didn't go... I never went to tutorials, I didn't find them very helpful... I wouldn't not take the course due to a conflict with the tutorial... if you needed the extra explanations, it might be more useful anyway to go in and speak with the TA's during office hours, where you could ask specific questions (I believe there is two TA's each day that hold office hours)

I had the course with Goldreich too, and thought he was a really good prof... I loved the course overall, but that may just be because I love neuroscience... The multiple choice on his test were really basic (ie. 'what is this', etc) The short answer was more difficult... he liked putting real thinking questions... however they weren't that hard as long as you knew the material well and are a good thinker... and to be honest, I like those questions (I'm getting bored of pure regurgitation on all these tests... I miss the kind of thinking that goes along with taking math and physics tests)... I think the averages on the tests were around 80% and 70% or something... a lot of people found the exam quite diffucult, I would guess the average was in the 60's... but again, if you knew it and understood it well you were fine... anyway, the brain teasers and assignments worth 15% each, probably brought people's marks up... I would guess the overall average was around 77% or something

really good class, take it if you're interested in neuroscience... if not, I guess you probably won't enjoy it

that really helped