Review:
Any student interested in pursuing a biology major or anyone that even has a strong interest in biology, should take this course. It covers basically the same material that is covered in a high school AP Biology course, but the way in which the material is taught and tested is unique. In high school, most teachers will just have you memorize the material, and then produce it again on the test. This course asks you to learn the material well enough to apply it to a new situation. The emphasis is not on memorization but understanding. Because of this, the course is frustrating in the beginning, and for some people all the way through.

If you take this course, don't expect an A. It's very possible to get an A, but don't expect it. Take the course to learn the material and use it in a different way than you have before. Even if you have an AP credit, you should take this course, if not for the lectures than for the lab. The lab is great for applying the material you learn in the lectures.

Here are some tips I have for surviving Bio 13. READ THE BOOK!!! You don't need to read it more than once, but make sure you do read it, and pay attention to the figures. GO TO LECTURES!!! Even if the entire lecture can be read in the book, going to the lecture at least ensures you are spending an hour thinking about biology. The lecture supplement is very important as well. Make sure you read it, and think about the questions it poses. What I found most helpful in getting through this course was looking at tests from previous years. These can give you a sense of what kinds of questions will be asked and how they will be asked. Finally, relax and don't over study for the tests. It's better the be well rested when taking these exams, then the have stayed up all night trying to memorize every last detail.

I really did enjoy this course, and I learned a lot. It is a good experience to go through.

Workload:
There is a lot of reading for this course, but it is definitely manageable. My suggestion would be to read the material before the lecture, and try not to fall behind, because it can pile up. When the genetics sections comes up, there are a lot of practice problems. DO THEM! They are very helpful.

As far as the lab, there is a lot of work. Expect it to be like a separate class. Don't wait till the night before to do a lab report, and read the lab materials before the lab so you can understand what you are doing, and get out of lab faster.

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Ross Feldberg | BIO013L - CELLS & ORGANISMS W/LAB | Biology

2005-12-08

Review:
Ross Feldberg over the 40 years?? that he has taught this class has definitely lost touch with his students. Although he is a good lecturer, he has no concern for his student or his/her progress. During office hours he is very up tight and pressed for time, the only time he smiles is when students have him sign the Add-drop forms. I got literally yelled at, during a session with him. Worst professor I have had here at Tufts. I did well in the class not because of Feldberg but by reading and doing a lot of practice problems. If you?re not a bio major or do not need this course I would never take it.

Workload:
The class is very straight forward, lectures are on the most basic, empirical info but then the exams force you to analyze the information and interpret the data, difficult when you are not prepared for it.

professor rating: | course rating: | major: Chemistry

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Ross Feldberg | BIO013 - CELLS & ORGANISMS | Biology

2005-11-29

Review:
He really knows his stuff, and he expects you to know it too. And asking questions in lecture seems a good way to be humiliated in class. Outside class, he is not the most polite person either. His favorite thing seems to be asking you to apply the material on the tests. Doesn?t sound hard, until you realize that we cover so much material in a rather short amount of time and you never get to practice it before he asks you to apply it on one of the 3 tests. The class is also huge, and you're just a face in the crowd.

Workload:
This course covers soooo much material, almost a chapter a lecture it seems. There?s no homework, so you don't get to practice the material before the tests, which are quite difficult.

professor rating: | course rating: | major: OTHER

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Ross Feldberg | BIO097WW - Contemporary Biosocial Problems | Biology

2005-01-16

Review:
This class is admittedly Feldberg's chance to teach topics he is interested in that he cannot cover in his other courses. The small class size and conversation-based format made this class one of my favorites ever at Tufts. It's supposed to be a writing workshop class, so there are a bunch of writing exercises, some silly, some useful, but there's never any use of writing fellows? So I'm not entirely sure how it's Writing Workshop. Paper grading was fair, Feldberg was pretty accessible and open to talking about any problems people had with their grades. Blackboard comments end up being graded, which he did not inform us of at the beginning of class, screwing some of us over. Overall, you learn a LOT in this class, and it's both interesting and pertinent. I highly recommend taking this if you're premed or a bio major and interested in the social implications of science.

Workload:
Some weeks, there was a LOT of reading piled on top of projects or paper assignments. But you get a lot of advance warning. There are 2 papers and a final paper in this class, and biweekly Blackboard postings on the readings, in addition to in class writing assignments.

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Ross Feldberg | BIO013 - CELLS & ORGANISMS | Biology

2005-01-09

Review:
I was not a big fan of Feldberg. Definitely seemed to encourage dropping the class if you weren't having success. He is good when it comes to answering questions, especially those posted on blackboard. The class is definitely about understanding every single thing covered in class.. not memorization. This is not an easy class and should be taken very seriously.

Workload:
A pretty good amount of reading, definitely make sure to stay on top of it, like reading before each lecture and that should help. The exams are hard and ask very detailed questions which is derived from the courses philosophy of having an overall total understanding of how everything works. Curve really helps.

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Ross Feldberg | BIO013 - CELLS & ORGANISMS | Biology

2005-01-01

Review:
Just because you do well in the other premed classes doesn't mean that you will in this one. You HAVE to attend class and you HAVE to make sure you understand every concept and even more because they put questions on the tests that make you think outside of what they have taught you

Workload:
A lot of work. Read CAREFULLY!!!! and if you need to go to ARC and get a tutor...they will help to make you think outside of what the text says so that you better understand the material and can handle the tests. I did horrible on the first test but improved steadily and it showed in my grade that they took into consideration my dedication and progress

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Ross Feldberg | BIO013 - CELLS & ORGANISMS | Biology

2004-12-30

Review:
Admittedly, this is a challenging course ? but this is Tufts, it should be more difficult than high school AP biology. The professors that teach this course seem to get many negative comments, but if students were attending this class (the room seemed pretty empty on most days), and listened to what is said in lecture (the profs take many exam questions from lecture material/not from the textbook), they would actually learn something! Dr. F. and his crew taught a great intro. course ? and held many review sessions and office hours...the help was there if you needed it...

Workload:
Labs were boring...and too much work with too little instruction. This class is hard - but nothing like ORGO!

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Ross Feldberg | BIO013 - CELLS & ORGANISMS | Biology

2004-12-20

Review:
If you are taking Bio13 to learn to think like a biologist, the class is excellent. If you are hoping to simply memorize facts without understanding them, then this course is not for you. You should leave the class with a basic understanding about how the different concepts discussed in the class were discovered.

Workload:
I received an A in the course without doing more work than I do for my other classes, but I had to attend lecture regularly and pay attention in order to understand the material. If you had a decent high school bio background, you shouldn't have much memorizing to do, but make sure you understand the facts and don't just memorize them.

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Ross Feldberg | BIO016 - BIOSCI CHALLENGE SEMINAR | Biology

2004-04-14

Review:
Professor Feldberg is very laid back and actually fun in this course. It?s a great bio course to take because its pass/fail, there are no exam/quizzes, not that much reading, and there is only one final project at the end. He also brings in a speaker every other week, so that?s good for people who want to learn more about the current research that?s going on. There are great discussions, too!

Workload:
Very little, since it is pass/fail. This semester, we read an interesting book on parasites. We only had to read two chapters every two weeks.

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Ross Feldberg | BIO013 - CELLS & ORGANISMS | Biology

2004-04-14

Review:
Dr. Feldberg is only concerned with the student's progress if the student himself/herself is concerned. He is quite helpful at office hours, but don't expect him to spit information out for you. He'll ask questions during office hours that will get you thinking.....and sometimes, it appears on the exams so....GO TO OFFICE HOURS!

Workload:
Crazyness....just crazzzy. You basically have to read the text line by line and understand it to do well on the exams. Just listening to the lectures are not enough. Wayyy more work than an ordinary bio class.

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Ross Feldberg | BIO013 - CELLS & ORGANISMS | Biology

2004-04-11

Review:
There is no other way to put it. This course is a weedout course and it sucks. However there are a lot of cool upper level courses that you have to have taken BIO 13/14 to get though. So stick with it. It's worth it at the end.

Workload:
Lots of work.

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