The grade is 10% homework, 20% lab, and 70% exams (5 exams, 14% each). Our exams were slightly curved but this apparently isn't always the case (depends on class averages). There was also extra credit summing to at least a 1% boost of the final grade.

The homework was on Pearson. It was generally easy and honestly helpful but you only have so many attempts which is annoying. Most people get very close to 100% in this category per Dave.

Labs were super useless, although fun if you have a fun group. I also had an incredibly chill lab TA. Everyone in my lab section probably got 100% but I've heard stories of people with non-chill TAs having to work for a good lab grade. For us, there was no work for lab outside of class (except brief readings which nobody did).

Since exams were 70% of the course grade, I'll talk about this the most. I was able to get an A+ in the course without high school AP/IB bio because I figured out how to do well on the exams. Here's what worked for me:

- Attending lectures in person and taking light notes, really just trying to focus on what Dave's saying (some people were ferociously taking notes and I can imagine you would miss a lot of important details). Then after the next class I would go back and listen to the recording from the previous one (e.g. lecture on Monday, lecture on Wednesday, relisten to Monday lecture on Thursday, Friday lecture, relisten to Wednesday lecture on Saturday, and so on). I took more extensive notes this pass AND wrote study questions for myself based on the learning objectives. I basically tried to put myself in Dave's shoes as I wrote these questions and tried to "trick" my future self. Then, the week of the exam, I would (sometimes) go back and answer these. I think the exercise of making the questions was more impactful than going back and actually answering them, if I'm being honest.
- Triple or quadruple checking my exams. I would finish in 30-40 minutes and then carefully read over every single question and every single answer choice at least twice. Dave's questions aren't necessarily meant to trick us (although sometimes I thought they were), but they are written in a way that required nuanced analysis. I was always one of the last people to leave my exam hall but it was well worth it, and I would catch many mistakes each time.
- Other smaller tips: 1) don't be distracted during lecture. It sounds simple but I would see people doing absolutely everything but paying attention. Kids would come to class on scroll on reels the entire time. Like I said, Dave's questions require nuanced analysis, so getting a "big picture" idea isn't always suficient, you need to hear the details. 2) Don't quizlet the mastering bios. I know its incredibly tempting but they actually helped me learn the content a lot. However, unfortunately you only get so many attempts so be careful. 3) This goes against Dave's advice, but I did not read the textbook before class (or ever) after exam 1. I thought it was better to use that time to rewatch every lecture. You could do both, but the exam is only based on lecture content so I thought the textbook content was frankly a waste of brain space.

This class ruined my semester. As a fourth year going into it with a 4.0, and having taken multiple other advances stem courses here, I BARELY managed a B-. Kittleson is very nice, and obviously intelligent, but his exams are completely designed to trick you. Instead of testing you on the content of the unit, you are stuck trying to understand what his question is even asking. Furthermore, 90% of the class cheated on every single exam by opening extra tabs or going to the bathroom and looking things up. Extremely frustrating course, but I'm thankful it's over and I survived.

Everything about this class is super easy EXCEPT for the exams, which unfortunately count for 70% of your grade. Dave says that you need to know exactly what is written in the learning objectives, but this is a bit misleading: the learning objectives are often broad and you need to know everything he talked about relating to that learning objective (not just what that objective is explicitly saying).

Most of the questions in the exams aren't too hard as long as you remember what you're suppose to remember -- but there's always 5 questions or so that really stumped me, and missing 5 questions can easily bring your grade down. My advice is to start EARLY and do the memorizing in advance so that you can focus on the finer details when the exam approaches. There's hardly any work during non-exam weeks, so take that time to study in advance.

Also, I think the amount/frequency of the exams kind of sucks because you hardly have time to get really interested/curious about a topic, or explore related topics that aren't part of the learning objectives, which makes this course a lot less interesting than it could be. Don't let that deter you from continuing with biology, though!

For context I am not a bio major, and I never took ap bio in high school. For me, this class is extremely challenging. While Prof. Kittleson is incredibly nice and passionate, his lessons fundamentally require you to have a solid base understanding of biology. I did not have this, so to me every lecture was gibberish. Every test i studied for 10+ hours with elaborate study guides and review exercises- each time I got between a 70-75, and I CELEBRATED. The labs are easy, the homework is meh. My understanding is that if you took ap/ib bio this class is not bad at all. If you’re like me and did not do this, it is really, really hard.

Dave is an incredibly geniuine and kind professor. He's a great lecturer, though he tends to use very specific examples in class which can be hard to follow. To combat this, it's best to understand all of the lecture material BEFORE lecture as much as possible by reading the textbook, watching YouTube videos, etc. It's also important to attend lectures in person because he only makes audio recordings, so when you listen back to them its difficult to determine what exactly he's talking about on the slides. I wouldn't say the content is what makes this class difficult, rather, its the way Dave makes his exams. The wording of the questions tend to be very tricky and they are HEAVILY application based, so you can't get away with memorizing everything, you must have a conceptual understanding of it. I was never able to break an 85 on his exams even after attending office hours consistently and studying strategically. His exams are objectively difficult. I would highly recommend attending his office hours every week even if you don't have questions because he gives useful examples and demonstrations that weren't given in lecture. He also gives a good amount of extra credit throughout the course that can help you reach the next letter grade if you're close to it, but don't anticipate it to make some significant difference. Do not take this class if you don't have to--it is time consuming and frustrating. If it's a requirement for you, my best advice is to ask questions as much as possible in office hours. He kindly answers them and you can ask for clarification at any point. Try your best to absorb as much content as possible prior to lecture and do not fall behind! Although Dave's exams are hard, they are still doable if you put in the work. Dave is reasonable and always has his student's best interests in mind, don't be afraid to ask for help. #tCFF23

YOU CAN GET AN A, coming from someone who got an A.

Background:
I am a 2nd year who took this class and took AP Biology my senior year of HS, so about 4/5 topics were somewhat familiar. Dave explains all of these concepts so much better than my HS teacher did. A lot of these reviews and grades are coming from 1st years who I don't think were really ready for a college level class, so don't be scared!

Course Overview:
-5 exams, all non cumulative (70%, often curved a tad)
-Lab (20%)
-HW (10%)
-Offers +1% for PollEverywhere, up to 1% (depending on how many responses) for course evaluations, and a extra point for things every now and then

How to get an A:
Homework
-Kinda hate Dave for this, but every attempt on MasteringBio you lose a point, so don't be afraid to double check your answers

Lab
-Lab was kinda pointless expect during genetics
-Check everything with your TA - they're so nice!

Studying
-Go to DAVES office hours - he makes the exams so he knows exactly what you need to know
-Focus on the learning objectives (and ask Dave to explain them to you if confused)
-I rewatched every single lecture, because you often miss things, and for this class, it's important you write down everything because there's a chance it could be on the exam
-Save your time, when looking at the textbook focus on the images and videos
-Ask yourself what if questions: "What would happen if this stopped working?", "What's the point of this?", because Dave likes to ask those questions on the exams
-Know every concept conceptually but also associate it with a certain image

NOTE: You will probably do bad on Exam 1 (I did), but take that as a learning point and realize where you went wrong studying/preparing/test taking. I did that and go >90s on every exam. Also, Dave is willing to help you succeed! He is there to help be your sherpa and talking things out.

As someone who didn't take AP Biology in high school, this class was pretty challenging and time-consuming for me. Kittlesen is really nice - he's approachable in and out of class and is receptive to answering questions/emails but he assumes that people have a strong background in biology. His lecture slideshows are basically just pictures/diagrams and in lecture, he explains the processes and related concepts in detail that it can be overwhelming if you don't have a strong foundation in biology. His exams are the ones that get people the most - some questions in the exams are basically paragraphs of text where it can be difficult to find out what concept he wants you to apply on the question. Other questions are also confusing + vague and can refer back to activities you did in lab.
My tips for this class: the exam learning objectives he gives out are going to be your savior in the course, as he's going to ask questions related to them. Also make sure you understand the learning objectives to the T, since the questions he likes to put are application based (ex: what happens if x gene is removed from y). What I did is made an extensive study guide with learning objectives and used my notes to fill them out. I also made sure to find friends who knew the content better than I did and try to explain it to them. Make sure to also ask "what if" questions, since it really makes you apply the concepts you learn to hypothetical situations which is what Kittlesen likes to put on his exams. This course is pretty difficult and can be a pre-med weed-out course but if you can survive, you can survive the upper-level bio/harder pre-med classes. #tCFF23

I came into this class with a passion for biology and wanting to major in it and left with a hatred. Professor Kittlesen designs the course to have 5 exams in which are worth over 70% of your grade. This would not have been an issue if he didn't make the exams almost impossible to pass. I would spend over around 15 hours a week studying for these exams and still did not do well. He is not sympathetic and does not want his students to pass. I ended with a 79.98 and he refused to bump me 0.02 to a B- so I ended with a C+. Labs are not bad at all, though, I was the only student in my lab group that continued with Bio (the rest dropped pre-med due to Bio 2100). DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU GOT CREDIT. I rarely know anyone that ended with an A- or A.

I found Kittlesen's lectures very interesting and engaging - the topic themselves are pretty fascinating even if you aren't someone who's super interested in biology. As for how to succeed - the way to do well on Kittlesen's tests is to make sure you are not just using rote memorization, but actually thinking about how to apply the information. If you know the facts and can use logic to deduce conclusions, you will be absolutely fine. The tests are not meant to trick you unless you don't understand the actual way that something works. I didn't do the readings before class and I hadn't taken AP bio, but I did the readings before each exam and always did quite well. I would also recommend talking about the concepts with a friend like he suggests. Overall, you shouldn't be scared of this course - it's easy to do well if you are willing to apply information rather than just regurgitate it.

#tCFS24

Kittlesen is a great professor! He genuinely cares about his students and makes lectures entertaining and enjoyable. Reading the textbook is unnecessary as everything on the exams is solely lecture based. Kittlesen's lecture slides are mostly pictures so you really need to focus and take notes during lecture. He does record the lecture, but it is only an audio recording. An additional benefit in attending lectures is poll everywhere which he offers an extra credit point for participation. There are Mastering Bio assignments after every lecture that typically take about 20-30 minutes. This is pretty much the only form of homework outside of class. Labs can be confusing, but in my experience the TAs were happy to guide us through. My lab group got out 1-2 hours early every week. There are no prelab or postlab assignments as homework. I would suggest reading the lab overview before showing up for lab. This will help you move quicker and hopefully get out early. Exams are easy if you review all the lecture content before hand. Drawing out all the biological processes for each unit exam on a whiteboard helped me feel prepared. If you have taken AP Bio most of the topics should be familiar. Exams are closed notes so you do need to memorize the content, however he directly draws out what you need to know and what you don't. All exams (including the final) are unit exams and not cumulative.

In summary, this is a great introductory course and I suggest taking it even if you get transfer credit for AP Bio. I wish I had gotten to know Kittlesen better. If you are able to, go to Kittlesen's office hours and take his COLA class. He is a great connection as head of the biology department and for recommendations.