[BIOL 0140]
Ecology and Evolution

Rate This Class

Professor: Allen, D.

Value of Course / Overall Score

Not Much (22.2%
Average (44.4%)
Valuable (33.3%)

Material

Friendly (22.2%)
Average (55.6%)
Competitive (22.2%)

Class Atmosphere

Boring (37.5%)
Average (50%)
Fascinating (12.5%)

Prep Time Needed

1-2hr (0%)
3-5hr (33.3%)
6-8hr (66.7%)
9-11hr (0%)
12+ hr (0%)

Grade Weighting

Harder (44.4%)
Average (0%)
Easier (55.6%)

Adequate Assistance

Yes (100%)
No (0%)

Would Recommend Class

Yes (55.6%)
No (44.4%)

Evaluation Comments for Allen, D.

  1. LECTURE: Allen is the biggest sweetheart ever! His lectures are slightly above average, but I'm sure many people will find the material dull. Personally, I found the material to be incredibly interesting. He uses Clicker Questions (students answer multiple choice questions in class on their laptops or smartphones) which are easy enough if you know the material and they count for a very large portion of the lecture grade. I have had some trouble understanding certain difficult class materials, but Allen was very good about making himself available and he was very helpful with his explanations. Definitely see him during office hours. Do the homeworks to be prepared for class, but to prep for exams you only need to review in-class material, but make sure you know everything used in the Powerpoints. His exams are really decent and he is pretty clear about what you should understand and memorize. This class is not for everyone, but if you enjoy biology I would definitely recommend it. *Note: Essentials of Ecology by Townsend sucks balls, but The Tangled Bank (Evolution textbook) by Zimmer is beautiful and really quite interesting. LAB: Backus is excited about her biology and it makes the subject quite enjoyable. Some of the first few labs are spent outdoors collecting data and a number of people complained about that. As others have mentioned, she is a stickler for directions. If you can, have work done early and go to her with specific questions to make sure you work is as good as it can be. If you go to her office hours, you can really get ahead. Also the TA's can be helpful and are available quite often.
  2. This is not a slam review; I just want to be honest. I believe Dave was teaching this class for the first time in Fall 2013, so he may have improved; nevertheless, I found his lecture style ponderous and lacking in confidence. He made very little effort to bring those dry diagrams to life with real world applications and facts. This ended up being the sort of class that was so mind-numbingly boring that I checked out and dragged myself to class every day. Partially my fault...but really a shame. The evolution text is far superior to the ecology text, by the way. I found the lab much more engaging, and Backus is not as tough as people make her out to be; she is just a stickler for following directions, so read those handouts carefully! She is looking for independent thinking, so feel free to come up with your own theories in the discussion section of the reports.
  3. Dave in a really awesome professor. He's patient and always takes the time to stop and ask if everyone understands the lecture. Often I would just blurt out a question and not even raise my hand, and he has no problem with that. He puts a lot of time into designing the slides for his lectures (so make sure you study them!). He is also all about understanding concepts and applying them, rather than memorizing from the textbook. This is why his tests are a bit hard. I did poorly on the first exam, but after that I figured out what he wanted and did well. If you want to take this class, take it with Prof. Allen.
  4. This class was okay, but certainly not the most interesting. Prof. Allen's standards were unclear and the class was pretty boring, but it was not very much work and easier than the lab section!
  5. Dave was an amazing professor. I really appreciated him because he was available for a lot of his office hours. I really like his teaching style, but I hated the clicker questions. Lab is no joke! The lab can make or break your grade.
  6. If you have to take it Allen is not so bad. There are easy grade boosters, like the clicker questions. You do not even really have to do the reading to get them right. Basically for showing up to class you can get a higher grade. The lecture is pretty boring, and the reading is easy to skim through. The tests are fine, make sure to study all of the random graphs in his power point that he barely mentions and also all of the random formulas that he never shows you how to use. Those appear on all the tests because he was a math major and loves equations and graphs. The lab is not that bad. Get it done early and have a TA help you. Also get nurok for the lab.
  7. Eco Evo is a pre-med requirement, the only reason I took this class. The material is very boring and readings are mundane. Test were poorly worded and not straight forward at all. I did fine on them, but was shocked at how low my final grade was. I do not recommend this class - probably the worst I have taken at Middlebury.
  8. Requirement for premed. Get out of the way as soon as possible.
  9. It's a fun class but the lab is a grade killer, at least with Backus.

INSTRUCTIONS : Click class or professor names to see scores, Click to submit your own review.

All classes taught by Allen, D. :

All professors who teach this class:


Evaluate this course

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

My Evaluation of Ecology and Evolution by Allen, D.


1 Value of course and concepts to overall education:
2 Did you find the material presented ...
3 Overall class atmosphere:
4 Hours per week spent preparing for class:
5 Were your grades deserving of your efforts?
6 Professor or assistants were available to help, if needed:
7 Would you take another class with this professor?
8Would you recommend this class to a friend: