Comments

Prof is a straight up bitch fr. Have a question? Well get ready to get roasted. I don't know why they keep hags like this around. Let's be real, nobody is interested in sea cucumbers. Lab is awful, the midterm is pretty decent, but the final is horrendous.

Advice

Avoid at all cost.

Comments

Professor is rude and never answers your question. Lab professor is biased and gives EXTREMELY HARD lab exam questions. Class average was low around 48%.

Advice

Very interesting, but will ruin your life. I got a B and I studied my butt off every day!!

Comments

Difficult course. Lab is extremely challenging as it is pure memorization Prof comes across as rude. Notes not posted online

Advice

Study every day

Comments

The professor is extremely condensing and rude. She belittles you for asking a question and will never give you the response you need to learn or understand. Exams are too long, there were no instructions from either prof before the final started. No examples of how she wanted her answers . Her short answer questions were longer than the actual long answer questions. If she doesn’t go over things in class/she is behind it will still be on the exam, because in her words the notes are there

Advice

Take the 2210 if you can and stay away from this professor.

Comments

A very interesting course, but Hann sapps the entire joy out of the course and replaces it with hatred toward the prof. The lecture material was equal to or harder than Chordates, but the lab section was much easier as it followed with the lecture much more (no muscles or skeletons!)

Advice

Go to class every day (take detailed notes) and rewrite all notes based on their systems (locomotion, feeding/digestion, nervous etc) to prepare for the comparative exams. For the lab - lots of studying, and use your TAs

Comments

The course is interesting and you learn lots of cool facts, and I thought the midterm was extremely fair and marking was generous on the long answers, but the average was low 50's. It's a lot of memorization but the exams are mostly comparative. Lab exam is also tough, but that's expected. Fast forward to the final.... Went in with an A+, and expect a C+ or B now. Be prepared to know the most minute details from pre-midterm and hope you don't get screwed this hard when you take it.

Advice

Don't ask questions during class because 90% of the time, Hann will chew you out and embarrass you in front of the rest of the class.

Comments

Course itself is fairly interesting and you learn some cool stuff, BUT the prof is very rude, not willing to answer any questions you may have, and does not test fairly. Raw memorization in this class and lab. Lab averages are roughly in the low 50's (Joy Stacey makes them so what can you expect). Would not recommend this class unless you absolutely need it.

Advice

Memorize literally every single word you read in this class. If I were you, I'd run in the other direction from this class

Comments

If anyone wants to make a formal complaint, I suggest you do it. The dean will take it into account and look at all the prof evaluations so if the prof is trying to get a promotions, funding , etc and such this will affect their outcome. This prof clearly needs a swift reality check. This is not how students need to be treated. We are paying for this shit education by this prof. Very condensing and belittles students. This is our money being put at a prof who is not following uofm policies.

Advice

Get lots of people to file a formal complaint, and take chordates. She will be rude, condensing , mean , belittle , ignore anything you ask. She will never answe a question. She does not put the grading scheme to uofm grading system. She will not give you your final mark if you ask, you have to go calculate it yourself.

Comments

Course and lab are super interesting but would not recommend taking it unless it's needed. It is pure memorization and lab average was 53%. Midterm was hard but very similar to past examples

Advice

Go to BUGS and look at past exams for examples. Study ALOT if you want a good mark

Comments

Worst course I have ever taken. The prof is very rude and condensing towards students. You will never get an answer if you ask a question. She will make you feel stupid for asking a question. She provided no sample exams and there are no answers given for her exams. And don’t even try asking why you got a thing wrong you will not get an answer just that is in your notes. She will not take your exams to remark. She will not provide you your final mark if you ask.

Advice

Take chordates, or do not take this course if it is with this professor.

Comments

After seeing others description I felt I needed to share my experience with this course and Professor. I was a sponsored indigenous student and because of this during the midterm I had to get signatures from all my professors. I had a D after the midterm and had the exam in my hand when I went to speak to her after class. She was incredibly rude and would not sign my form unless I came to her office hours because "She couldn't verify my grade" even though I literally had the exam in my hands.

Advice

If you don't have to take this course, avoid it. Her final exam was nothing like the midterm. I have never in all my university career (I have a BSc and a BEd) had to take a final where each multiple choice was worth 3 marks each with some questions have an A to M options.

Comments

This class is very interesting but there is alot of material to know and specific details that must be met. Hann is a straight up teacher and gives you all the information to do well

Advice

if you are taking this class you need to know all the details since the exams are long answers and know the difference between species. People complain about not doing well problem did not study or know how to study properly for these kind of written exams. This is a hard class but doctor hann is a good prof and clear with what she wants you to know.

Comments

Yes, Brenda Hann is VERY strict with her note copyright and did get angry at student who kept taking a picture. English is my second language so I asked her many questions at the end of the class to confirm my understanding. She understood and explained all my questions well. Also, lab exams are all made by TA. Joyce Stacey confirms and re-adjust if it's unfairly hard (I heard it from herself).

Advice

1. If you don't want to memorize all the names of bone in whatsoever, take this course! (Over chordates, lol) 2. DO NOT TAKE A PICTURE OF NOTES IN CLASS! There's NO exception. (if she just skims, it's not that important) 3. Practice comparison of each phylum! > Lots of comparative questions in long answers 4. GO OVER THE OLD MIDTERM! (you can get those at BUGS) > Found so many SAME questions 5. Study the heck out for the Lab... Pure memorization

Comments

It is a tough course, yes, but completely doable if you study hard, early, and often. Brenda is a good speaker, but doesn't like to answer questions in a nice way. The lab is tough, but not as hard as chordates (its still a Stacey lab, so you know what to expect)

Advice

Not as useful a prerequisite as chordates, but lets you take parsitiology! Keep up to date in the class, and stay organized.

Comments

Honestly, this isn't a bad course if you put in the work for it. I was expecting it to be alot worse (based on reviews from here) but the final and midterm for the lecture portion is very fair, shes not trying to trick you at all, just alot stuff to writing down. Theres a lab midterm and final, presentation, 500 word essay, and lecture midterm and final.

Advice

For studying for the lab, know fine details. For the lecture portion, know general ideas.

Comments

Terrible, absolutely ridiculous marking, they mark so hard it's embarrassing for the faculty of science. This is the first SCIENCE class I've ever taken that marks for spelling, are you crazy we have auto-correct nowadays. This class seems patronizing and it's almost like the class is treated like imbeciles. Interesting stuff but man, be prepared for ridiculous marking. Actually unfair marking.

Advice

None

Comments

Prof is so rude to individual students and seems like she just wants everyone to do poorly... Since the Lab was online this term it was pretty chill and helped with my understanding of the class a lot, it also boosts your grade as the lab exams were open book.

Advice

Pay attention to fine details as she tests a lot of things she talks about.. her notes are kinda disorganized so I would suggest rewriting them... good luck!!

Comments

The prof for lectures only posts very minimal notes and no figures from her slides. Midterm and final are all written short and long answer questions involving mostly comparisons between phyla, major concepts, cycles. Expect to be writing until the last minute for exams if you aren't a fast writer. Lab is a whole other course. Quizzes at end of every lab, online every week for lab, midterm, final, written assignment, and presentation.

Advice

Make sure to attend lectures to get all the notes form her slides and what she says. The textbook is helpful for review and figures because she doesn't post any. For the lab, making little reviews with pictures really helps. None of the material is that hard, you just need to study a lot to do well, but a good grade is certainly achievable. I've seen some really bad reviews about Joy for this course and I don't think they're quite accurate, I found that she was only ever very nice.

Comments

Prof is extremely rude to her students and tries to shut them off if someone tries to ask a question. She is not at all helpful to her students and does not care if students pass or fail in her course.

Advice

Pay attention in her lectures as she asks very specific questions.

Comments

Tough course, and seems like lots of people had a tough time with the prof. Course notes on UM learn are half of what is shown and given in class, so you really need to go to the class. I was so incredibly lost when it came to the lab and did terribly (50% ish), it’s almost like a second course, but I did well enough in the lecture to end with an upper A.

Advice

Absolute best game plan is: 1) Go to class and take the notes. She doesn’t go too fast. Some courses are fine if you don’t go to lecture, but going is probably the easiest way to get the info. 2) if you have questions the textbook likely has an answer (in case you don’t wanna ask her based in other reviews here) 3) use ANKI for this class. Flashcards system that takes a little while to learn and you need some dedication to make it useful. Watch some YouTube videos and learn it, it will help!!

Comments

Overall interesting course, doable if you're willing to put in lots of effort (especially with the lab). 2 lab exams, 1 lab assignment, 1 midterm, 1 final.

Advice

Slides are posted online, however you must attend class as most processes and elaboration are explained orally in class. The slides alone won't get you anywhere. Sometimes keeping up with the pace in class can be challenging but just write as she talks. Keeping up with lecture notes in general isn't too bad, however if you need that A/A+, I would suggest studying the lab manual every day (almost anything in there is testable).

Comments

although the prof is very knowledgeable, shes horrible. Never answers the question, not willing to help. even during a pandemic she was making our lives miserable with her shitty attitude and her dumb questions. She "doesnt believe in multiple choices" so she uses oddly stated questions with many possible answers. very vague. no partial marks. needless to say its a shitty course. mostly because of the prof since the material is potentially interesting.

Advice

stay on top of your material and try to make summary sheets for each phylum. it will help in drawing links between organisms. focus on small details for the quizzes since she loves to be very specific. pray

Comments

Fall 2022 The worst course I've ever taken. The lab is deserving of an extra 3 credit hours for the amount of work and time required. The lecture is fairly general but most of the lab info is not applicable to lecture exams. Course breakdown is an 8% lab midterm, 10% lab final, 8% lab assignment and a few percent towards post-lab quizzes (weekly) and lab iclickers (weekly). The lecture consists of a 25% midterm and a 40% final.

Advice

Study everyday and do the labelling of the lab images prior to lab. Expect to do poorly otherwise. Don't buy the textbook.

Comments

Took this class fall 2021. Brenda Hann is a fantastic Professor. She is a bit opinionated at times but over all she is extremely good at explanations and goes over difficult concepts multiple times. She is always open to answering questions. As long as you stay up to date with the notes (I made cue cards for each phylum) you will be more than fine in this class.

Advice

Study Hard and attend the lectures!

Comments

I thought it was a really interesting course, which is why I chose it over chordates (I think that was the right decision). If you're a bio major, this class comes in handy for other classes.

Advice

None