This course was definitely not easy, but if you go to lectures consistently and pay attention then you should be fine. The annoying thing about this class is that the exams are way harder it seems than the information you learn in class. I would suggest reading the textbook more as I didn't really do that, but maybe it will help explain the harder concepts that are sometimes glossed over in lectures. ALSO... make sure you do the mastering biology homework on time! The homework is around 10% of your grade and it is really easy to forget about them sometimes.
#tCFS24

Your exam grade is 70% of your final grade, so doing well on them is imperative. To do well on the exams take 8-10 hours the week before the exam to MEMORIZE THE SLIDES! I'm bad at biology, but consistently got 92-94% on the exams by memorizing all the slide info. You also need to be able to connect the info. The first test is probably the easiest, the second test is the hardest, and test three and four are in between.

The second biggest portion of your grade is lab, and this grade really just depends on your lab TA. My group just asked our TA non-stop questions, and she would give us hints to guide us on the right track, but like I said, it really depends on your TA.

The smallest portion of your grade is mastering bio questions. There are a ton of textbook specific questions (i.e. things that weren't covered in lecture) and as someone who never read the text book I generally ended up checking my answers with Quizlet. This was really helpful, and helped me learn without needing to read the textbook (lol).

STUDY FOR EVERY EXAM EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN DROP A TEST GRADE

This class will have you question how you get questions wrong, even though you studied the entire week leading up to the test. If you are taking this class for premed, I recommend going over the material beforehand, as Manson teaches in a very unorganized fashion. Many aspects of this class involve test-taking skills and pure luck. For example, walking out of the second test I thought I was going to get mid 60%, however, I got a score of 80%. The last test before the final, I was confident in getting a 95+%, and received a 77%. I knew far more about the test I got a worse score on, yet the tests do not reflect that. Keep in mind this is coming from someone who received a high B+ in this class. Biology may not be my strong suit, but there is no reason for the test questions to be as difficult as they are (especially in an introductory class). #tCFS24

This class is genuinely so much better than the 2100 analogue. Here's the structure - exactly like 2100, but:
1. Lectures 3x a week. GO TO LECTURE and transcribe the slides and any explanatory comments from Manson into your notes. Don't worry terribly much if you miss her comments as they aren't often tested.
2. Lab 1x a week. They suck, no two ways about it - just do your work, try your best, and ask the TAs for help if you need it. They will help you.
3. Exams 5x a semester, but only 4 count. People love to complain about this class, but here's a secret: just take your notes (that you copied from the slides) and transcribe them EXACTLY into a flashcard deck. Then drill them for however long it takes you to memorize the content. Do the practice exam she posts 3 or 4 times to solidify your understanding. You can use Mastering to study if you want. Doing this for maybe three days ahead of each exams got me 97s on all three I've taken, and hopefully on the fourth. (and if you do well enough, you don't have to take the final!)
I wasn't terribly interested in the material, but Manson manages to make it interesting and she clearly loves what she's talking about. Just show up, put the time into studying on exam week, and you'll be totally fine! I can't say it's a stellar class, but you won't hate it. #tCFS24

Dr. Manson means well, but I did not learn well from her at all. Material seems straightforward during the lecture until you get to the test, and she manages to throw you for a loop. She often has to correct questions because multiple of the options could be true or others had no right answer at all. Her wording is horrendous and is often the reason students miss questions. All bio majors have to take this class, so here are my tips as someone who got an A-, not an A.
- Go to the lecture. She records them, but participation is extra credit, and every point helps. After class, rewatch the lecture at least twice in preparation for tests and discuss the lecture and reading content with friends to make sure you have it down.
- If you are confused about a topic, don't ask her. Read the textbook or ask a TA. She made concepts more confusing than they needed to be.
- During the neuron and brain unit, DON'T GO TO CLASS. Teach yourself the material. She has no idea how to teach this topic. My neurobio friends had to reteach it all to me after class due to the extreme amount of factually incorrect information Manson gave.
- Reason out all multiple choice options during tests by writing out on a piece of scrap paper why answer choices could or couldn't work. That helps keep your mind active during long computer tests and makes you less likely to make careless mistakes.

Jessamyn was pretty great in my opinion. People call her the 2200 equivalent of Dave in 2100, but I feel like her class was much more manageable. Evolutionary biology is more comprehensible for me than microbiology, so I was able to achieve an A in this class. By doing the readings and paying attention in lectures, it's pretty easy to do well in this class.

If you have taken the first semester of Bio with Kittlesen, expect about the same level of work and class expectations. If you haven't, then here's the run-down. I barely read the textbook, only here and there for clarification for homework review and exam review. Although, you do need to purchase the textbook because of the online homework. Manson's homework is usually straightforward. They typically follow the lecture, so as long as you take sufficient notes in class, you'll be able to answer the homework without having to read the textbook. Her homework tends to be short. There's very few extra credit opportunities: a self-reflection form on test performance and PollEverywhere questions. Her PollEverywhere questions are only participation, not accuracy, so participate in them. There's usually a short pre-lab quiz and most labs did not last the full time. Be careful when taking the tests, as she tends to have tricky wording. Draw phylogenetic trees and flow charts to help with studying. She's an enjoyable professor.

Manson is an enthusiastic professor. She is a good lecturer, but often the lectures feel like a more surface-level approach to the information and then it comes at you from nowhere on the exam. That being said, it's doable to get an A in this class. I would download her powerpoint that she would post on collab before class and write directly on them. A lot of people in the lecture just re-type her powerpoints, but I found that if I had the basic info and wrote out the additional stuff she was saying, I would learn more and be more prepared for exams.

Exams are definitely challenging in this class, but that's something you can't avoid. We would spend hours in the library during the week leading up to them. However, you get to drop your lowest, and I was determined not to take the final (you can drop the final if you are satisfied with your other 4 exam grades), so I worked my butt off to do well.

Manson offers poll everywhere questions, and I suggest you do them all/most of them because you get 1% back on your final grade (which bumped me from 93-94!). She also offers an exam wrapper, where you answer a survey about an exam for ANOTHER 1% on your grade. PLEASE take these opportunities because you will be happy in the end.

I never read the textbook once in this class. You don't really need to. Her lectures cover most of it but you have to pay attention because much of the info comes from her mouth and isn't written on the slides. The lab period meets once a week for this class, and it usually took 45 mins -1.5 hours, so it wasn't too bad. However, it is graded normally (not the M/NYM chem lab system), so try to do really well as a group on your post labs so that you can have a grade cushion (lab is 20% of your final BIOL 2200 grade). There are quizzes before each lab and they are open assignments. Make sure to do well on these to also boost your grade.

Finally, mastering bio is 10% of your grade, so do your best. You are allowed to collab with classmates for it, so definitely do that. You want all the credit you can get before exams. With that being said, I know a lot of people who did amazing on exams, and a lot of people who did terribly. Work hard and you can get an A.

This class was not bad, and I enjoyed it. Personally, I found Dave's class (BIOL 2100) to be harder. However, I know a lot of people who did fine in 2100 but struggled here. Manson is really nice and approachable. Her class is interesting and unlike Dave, she does put information on her slides instead of just pictures or very minimum info. Her class is also very accessible with Zoom links, so you can attend virtually if you are sick. One thing I will say is that her exam questions can be VERY badly written, but she understands this and offers various sources of help to clarify like having a zoom link accessible during the exam so you can go and ask questions. She also has post-exam review sessions where you can bring up specific questions that you found questionable on the exams, and she does give points back to the entire class before she releases grades on questions she knows she worded weirdly etc.

I ended with an A in the class and here are my tips below:
1) TEXTBOOK: Get into the habit of reading the textbook before every class (it may not be 100% necessary, but I always found it helpful to have that info before going into lecture and it can help on some exam questions to have that extra info). Her lectures seem to be straight out of the textbook, but it will help your memory and you will better understand things in class which minimizes the time you spend outside on it. This skill will also help in your higher-level STEM classes. To prevent spending unnecessary time, I suggest waiting until she posts the ppt for the lecture and seeing which things she focuses on and guide your reading from that.
2) I would go to class and take notes beside her slides. RIGHT AFTER on the same day, I would make my notes into questions and thus, quizlets.
3) Get as many points as you can on mastering and try hard on every lab assignment. Lab can seem useless at times especially because lab is not tested on, but it can be interesting and ofc has the power to tank your grade. BTW this class follows the 70% Exams, 20% Lab, 10% Mastering, and then Poll Everywhere Bonus.

Preparing for Exams:
-I made so many charts and trees/concept maps. It helped A LOT. Make charts (once you get into material for exam 2/exam 3) comparing the different types of organisms (ex. Plants, Animals, Fungi, Prokaryotes etc) and then you can make another for the type of plants or types of animals etc. Make trees as you need and you can easily base it on her phylogenetic trees.
-Making sure that I made my study material (quizlets) as I went, I would start studying them about a week and a half before because memorization and application is key in this class. I also found making mnemonics helpful for remembering specific characteristics of organisms.
-Day before or two days before: I did the dynamic study modules on mastering and her practice exam to see where I had any gaps. If I had any gaps, I would go through my quizlets again or go to office hours.

*The final for us was cumulative but optional, so make sure to do well on the first four exams, so you can get out of the final! But if you do need to take the final, no big deal, the charts that I suggest making will GREATLY help you!

TLDR: read the textbook, make notes into questions and use active recall, do DSM + her practice exam, make charts/trees, and get as many points as possible on other assignments!

I hope this helps, good luck :)

I really like the professor and the lectures. The reading can be very heavy at times, so try to get ahead when it is light. Take brief notes on reading if you're have time, and definitely take notes during lecture. Since the course covers some specific topics (ie. plan reproduction cycle) there's a lot of specific vocabulary that you'll need to know, so read the notes before lectures if you have the time because it does make a big difference in what you'll get out of the lecture (and tests are difficult and specific). My only issue with this course was the lab section. Your grade will vary greatly based on your TA because some grade easy for minimal effort and some give B+ to basically everyone. This can heavily drag down your grade, but there is not really anything you can do to control it.