2.5
Quality4.1
Difficulty33%
Would Retake179
Reviews33%
Would Retake
179
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
38
4
18
3
17
2
20
1
86
What Students Say
“In terms of her kindness and organization, youre correct that shes great”
BIO1140 - 1.0 rating“Avoid this prof if you can, especially if it's online”
BIO1140 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
30%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.15 avg changeRatings by Course
BIM4920
5.0
(1)BIO114
5.0
(1)BCH3170
4.5
(2)BIO3170
4.0
(21)BIO1140
2.2
(151)Difficulty by Course
BIO11140
5.0
BIO11400
5.0
BIO1140
4.2
BIO3170
3.7
BCH3170
3.5
Reviews (179)
Other than Chapleau, Pettit is the best bio prof at uottawa. super nice and caring. midterms were a bit tricky, but final was more than fair. molecular bio's content was heavy, but pettit made it enjoyable. you can tell she tries her best and really wants everyone to do well. super helpful during office hours. make sure to also do the participation
Can't go wrong with this prof. Lectures are clear and makes sure theres no ambiguity in her explanations of concepts. Midterms are fair reflective of the material taught during the course. Probably the best bio prof I've had so far.
Insane workload. Online Biolingo quizzes 5 times a week. Labs every other week, although not her fault. Marked attendance. Several in class pop quizzes throughout semester. 3 brutal, legit brutal, exams. Her expectations are completely absurd. Seems like a really nice person but avoid if you can, you will be working on something for her everyday.
This class is literally just a review of grade 12 bio. Her midterms and final were pretty easy. She gives a lot of easy marks. 15% is just participation and attendance and she can give you a maximum of 2% added to your final grade as a bonus. Just go to class on the days that there are in class activities, since she records all the lectures.
Good prof overall. This class has alot of free marks, 15% attendance & participation. The prof is a little too monotone for my taste but gets the main points across. If you do all the participation and do well on the final then this class is an easy A as the midterms can be dropped to 5% each. Beware the bio lab exam.
Dr. Petit seems like a nice person but she's not a great prof. Her exams are super hard and marked unfairly, its either her way or the highway when it comes to her marking. Her lectures do not appropriately depict the material on the exams its almost as if she's trying to make you fail and throw you off. She's a boring lecturer with no expression.
Was not my favorite prof but she isn't that bad. Saw someone here say something about pop quizzes? lol, there were literally ALL participation marks. That being said her exams and midterms ARE REALLY HARD! but overall she's a nice woman and does try her best to make the course as interactive as possible (not easy with a 400 person lecture hall)
AMAZING professor! Hard material but she presents it in a straight forward way. Gives opportunities for extra marks through in-class participation and bonus question on the final. No textbook required only her notes! No surprises on exams if you put in the time to study.
Go to class, participate to quiz, Biolingo, echo360 and you will get extra points and good practice for exams. Interactive course, lots of in class opportunity to consolidate your knowledge. This course has a lot of content but is manageable. Dr Pettit is an excellent teacher, her English is easy to understand, she's always available to help.
Considering this was her first time teaching the course, not bad. Lots of participation/free marks which saved my mark in the end. She goes through everything very slowly and thoroughly. A lot was gr12 review but make sure you keep up with the material/slides as she goes, and even read ahead if you can. She really does care about your success.
Im writing this because Im letting you all know my experience. Im retaking her class, because I almost failed it, however this is not her doing. Shes great, and teaches well, its up to you as a student to make sure you do the work. Midterms and exams are HARD, but easy if you practice. Know everything she says. And ace the extra credits.
I LOVED Dr. Petit! She is so smart and tries her very best to make concepts interesting and digestible. She has no problem going backwards and ensuring everyone is caught up. Fair marker, but exam questions can be contextually vague or misleading. For example, she looks for specific answers for ambiguous questions. Overall 9.5/10 loved her!
She explains things well, even though the class is kind of boring, her slides suffice, no need for tons of notes, you can just listen in class, add a few extra things here and there, and you'll be fine. 2 in-class group activities were a waste of time, and echo260 or wtv is for participation marks. I would say it's an easy A- , A and A+ doable.
She's pretty great. She loves to be present and answer questions, and talk to everyone in the class. If her classes are recorded its a very efficient study way to listen back and take notes, everything she says can be examined and I just memorized everything. lot of material but she explains it well
Graded by a few things which makes it hard to do well. Lots of information, too much something very heavy on material. Midterms are long, no time to check over answers. Multiple choice questions and options are long and confusing. So much theoretical concept yet they are not being tested on. midterm is long and confusing. I hope the final is good.
She did a fantastic job at teaching the material, mol bio in general is very hard for many students and her lectures were very easy to understand. Her midterms are hard because you need to know the material very well (memorizing is key)and she has a pretty tough marking scheme. All the questions come directly from the lectures and she is super fair
I have no clue what the rater on November 28, 2019 is talking about, the midterms were not confusing at all and literally tested from the slide you just have to understand the concept. Her multiple choice asks application based questions which you should expect in 3rd year university. She's the definition of a good professor. Soothing voice too.
While molecular bio was a really difficult course for me, I enjoyed going to Dr. Petit's lectures. While the material would sometimes go over my head, her method of solving practice problems with the class helped me tremendously. Also, she posted various practice problems that were helpful. Prepare to work hard for your mark in this class
Clear prof no surprises. Gives learning objectives and practice questions. If you know those, you're good. LOTS of memorization, but it's not hard stuff. Lectures are recorded, which is helpful, but be careful she has in class participation, sometimes you hand in a paper, usually ECHO. Participation boosts. Suggested readings are short and helpful.
Great prof, shes easy to an extent as long as you put in the effort to actually understand whats going on and you read the questions very carefully. That being said; she can be a very boring and slow talker sometimes but overall very enjoyable. Honestly would take her again, hands down. 7.5/10
Professor Pettit knows how to engage students even at 8:30 in the morning! She uses so many interactive features in her teaching and is always available to answer questions. Anyone not getting the mark they want in this class simply did not do the work, as she provides ample information and her exams are fair.
She's an okay prof but her expectations are really high. This makes the material that she tests us on pretty hard as we had to know everything off the slides. She also does a lot of group activities and interactive activities which I personally found a waste of my time. The participation is easy marks but that's the only thing easy that she gives.
Great! All you have to do is really understand the powerpoints and you're fine! Really tests critical thinking so exams aren't just reciting information you've memorized.
The thing about Dr Pettit is that she teaches us like we're in grade 9 but tests us like we're experts. That being said she is a good teacher and she knows how to teach. Don't bother buying the textbook for this class, it isn't mandatory and you won't use it. Participation is graded so it's a good grade booster if you do most of the echo360 quizzes
really hard class, if you dont go you wont do well so i suggest you go. also do the extra textbook readings. short answer section of the midterms are tricky
Great Prof! She really emphasizes on topics and cares about the success of her students. Her exams are fair as long as you really understand the content rather than memorize (it is more application based). It is all grade 12 biology so it is review. I recommend studying well in advance, to ensure concepts are understood extremely well to get an A+.
If theses reviews where based on the prof they would all be 5/5, she is a great teacher and is very clear in what material needs to be learnt, has multiple resources for students to study. The course can be challenging but she definitely makes it much simpler with her organization and gives great practice midterms.
She's is a really nice prof who explains the material very well. She provides a lot of resources to help you understand. There's lots of participation activities which are easy marks. Her midterms and final are not that easy though. The questions prompt you to think outside the box and you need to know the material well.
I liked this prof very much as a person, but no matter how much I studied for her tests I didn't get the results I wanted. Her questions on tests are very long and sometimes unclear, but throughout the pandemic she was very helpful and was always willing to talk to students.
Great professor, very nice, explains very well. Very approchable and great communcation skills. Good at explaining. Effective use of time and makes her students comfortable. Tips: Rewatch videos, participate in class, understand slides, attend study groups, read book for more knowledge. M/C questions are hard. Understand the lesson and practice!!
Goes through material very fast, and lots of it. If you enjoy learning on your own and memorizing a boatload of facts, then this is the class for you.
Dr. Petit wants to see her students succeed. You still need to put in the work to get a good grade. Always do the in class participation options as they are a good grade booster. I actually loved Dr. Petit's teaching style. She engages with you during lecture and has a live class chat where you can anonymously ask questions during the lecture.
Such a stellar prof! Slides are super clear, lots of visuals and extra resources provided along with sample tests. Lecture is good pace, lots of participation points. Id say she teaches and pulls off teaching like a high school teacher which made her really approachable. Did review classes. Would take her again in a heartbeat. Wow (Winter 2020)
This is the kind of professor that will change whether you have an A+ or not. Super understanding, very flexible, very available to talk to, all around good person. She teaches a hard class so dont expect things to be given to you, but she is extremely clear with her expectations.
Shes truly a great prof with clear expectations. Her lectures online are split up into short segments which keep you engaged. Exams are like a case study, it seems intimidating at first but if you know your stuff, it really isnt bad. Theres a lot of assignments, practice problems, and quizzes, but its just to help ur grade. :)
One of the easiest professors in a first year science class. You just need to know what's on her slides (there is not much content by the way). It's all highschool review, and literally like 30% of the course is free marks. Lab is kind of annoying, but she has no control over that. She is a very accommodating and understanding prof as well.
Such an amazing prof, and very kind! Although there are a lot of assignments and practice quizzes, they're really helpful to understand the material and you only have to complete a fraction of them to get full marks. Although all the lectures are asynchronous, they are extremely clear, and she uses scheduled class time for optional Q&As.
This prof is the WORST. Literally I am taking a third year cell bio class and it is taught better 100 times better than her class. In addition, she is really inconsistent with her marking. I wanted my midterm remarked because the TA missed a page of marking to do on my midterm and she penalized me and took off marks to get it re graded.
Personally not a big fan of inverse classroom, but she tried hard to make it work. Her first midterm was extremely ambiguous but she took students' feedbacks and improved her second midterm, so I give credit for that. Only thing I did not like is how she actually takes off marks when you hand in a remarking request because it's more work for her...
Had her for both intro to cell bio and molecular bio. She is nice and approachable. Midterms are fair and gives out lots of participation marks. The finals for both classes are very hard so watch out for that!
One of the best profs in the transition to online learning. Her asynchronous lecture videos were extremely clear and well-explained. She posted them on YouTube so you could speed up/slow down to many different settings. Truly cares about her students and their learning, and puts in twice the effort to make the class accommodating + accessible.
Dr Pettit led my biomed seminar course this semester. The transition to online was really smooth and she encouraged everyone to participate in discussions. She gave fair, clear and constructive advice and criticism after my presentation and was generous with grading. I looked forward to the weekly calls with her. Would take again!
She's so organized that it's impossible to not know what to do and when (for online learning). She is a wonderful lady, gives clear explanations, and really cares about her students. The exams are all take-homes too (u have 24h to complete). If you gotta take bio, take it with her for sure!
What a gem Dr. Pettit has been during this crazy Covid-19 mess. Molecular Biology is quite a heavy subject but she made things clear and fun! Take her if you can and are willing to work well (so keep up with class material and study adequately). You will be rewarded accordingly.
Okay prof. Flipped classroom style during COVID which wasn't too bad but this class takes a LOT of work (many quizzes, group projects, assignments, problem sets etc). Her midterms were demanding and all application based, we had multiple days to do it but it was pretty hard. There was an optional bonus assignment that takes 5% off of lowest mark.
This is an awful prof. She is so inconsistent with her marking and gives absolutely no feedback so you will have no idea where you went wrong. She will take marks off for no reason even if your answer matches the marking scheme. She is exactly the kind of prof that makes online school so difficult. Really disappointed.
Dr. Pettit is incredibly organized. I absolutely love her weekly summaries and the checklist she makes for her students. You can tell she cares for her students and is passionate about what she does. However, I found that her midterm and assignments were unfair. I felt like they were too difficult compared to what we were learning in class.
Dr. Pettit is a very nice lady and it does seem like she genuinely wants you to do well. However, she makes tests application based and incredibly difficult. They are worth a big chunk of your mark and don't really reflect the material learned in class. The labs are worth 25% though so that can help boost your mark.
If you enjoy listening to hundreds of hours of videos on concepts that are never taught « in class », sign up with this prof. Expect 30 hours of self teaching every week. The exams do not reflect the material that « is presented » in this course. Exam Case studies for first year students are ridiculous and unfair.
If prof were rated by how nice she is and how well she explains things then she'd be a five star... sadly the assignments she makes and her exams are terrible. Our class average for the first exam was a 60.4%... this is not appropriate in a class of hard-working, smart (mostly biomed) students. the TAs are the hardest, worst markers. DO NOT TAKE.
There is no point in going to her lectures because none of the stuff she teaches will be on her midterms. Midterm questions are very random and it doesn't help that her TAs are very strict. Also, her assignments are tough. I wish there is another prof for this class but there isn't:(
The exams and midterms have nothing to do with what you learned in class, and are loosely tied to the material at best.
This might have been the worst professor i have taken in my life. Get ready to be screwed over in exams. She gives you 24 hour tests and says that it should only take 1-2 hours but actually take over 24 hours easily. Most of what is on the exams are not even taught in class. This professor is soo bad and honestly, i recommend taking it someone else
Our evaluations do not reflect what she taught. She's quite nice, but the exams are unfair and the marking is way too harsh. I suggest taking another prof if possible.
we're learning about cancer in this class rn, but what's really cancerous is this class. the prof designed the worst possible midterm to reflect her course content. class avg was 60%.
she's quite nice, though if you want a good grade, avoid this class with Dr Pettit as the assignments/exams reflect not what we learned in class, neither what is taught in her office hours. unfortunate to have such a terribly run class for such a kind lady. nothing against her as an EDUCATOR, more so the unfair graded work. time to covert my grade!
Horrible prof. Midterm does not reflect course content. No need to watch the recorded lectures since you aren't even tested on the materials anyways. Avoid her at all costs if you care about your education and marks
Midterms do not test your understanding of course content as there are no questions actually relating to what has been studied. Rather, these midterms will test how much money you are willing to spend on chegg and other services which can do the work for you. I fail to see a world in which the midterm can be completed using what was "taught".
She's a decent teacher and organizes her material in a way that is really easy to understand. However, the problem lies in the grading of midterms and assignments. Although I found the midterm to be relatively fair but still low avg (60) I found the assignment to be extremely unfair, (Ex: losing 50% for something that was not even specified.
nice teacher, brutal midterm.
DONT TAKE THIS PROF! Her midterms are not based on what was taught. You can do the midterm without reading any of the notes and still get the same grade as someone who did... The class average is a 60% and we all STEM... make that make sense. If you ask her for help she says no because she has too many students but she also has TA's and gets paid..
Pettit is a nice person and her lectures are easy to follow. However, her midterms are extremely difficult and do not correlate to the lecture component whatsoever. Her assignment explanation was also different to the marking scheme that the TA used to mark so we lost lots of points for no reason.
very very very unfair midterm. i would advise against taking this prof if you would like to earn a decent grade, though if your intent is simply to learn and you don't care about your grades then i would suggest you take this prof as she is still a great teacher and very nice, just a horrific marker and makes exams that don't reflect what is taught
she is horrible. run for your lives. Midterms are long and don't reflect the course material. don't take it with her
The midterm was extremely tough, and I personally don't think it reflected what we learnt very well. I didn't find the synchronous lectures to be helpful either as you are basically learning all the lessons through videos on your own time. The prof seems like a very nice person, but what we were tested on was far too complex. Would not recommend!
So, prof is genuinely a lovely person. She is very kind and has interactive live lectures once a week. But the material we learned did nothing to help us on the midterm. It was take home, but a case study thing and class avg was 60. It was really quite terrible. It feels like there is no point in learning the material for exams... hope it changes
Heres the thing, I barely listened during the lectures; on midterm (which was a case study)I got an 88 (well above average). The tests dont directly reflect the material but force you to really think outside the box, this is because they dont want people cheating on basic multiple choice. Dr Pettit is so sweet and doesnt deserve the hate.
Not goood
worst experience in uni so far
Taking this course online, midterms do not reflect class learned material whatsoever. Very unfair
Dr Pettit is a very nice person im sure, but her midterms are abysmally bad. I can not stress how unbelievably terrible these midterms are. She calls them application but next to nothing relates to course content. She responds to all questions with "You have been provided enough context". DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE IF YOU ARE DOING ONLINE SCHOOL!!!!!
I don't understand why she bothered asking for feedback about the first midterm because the second one is just as bad. She said it should take about 90 minutes. I think she forgot to write x20 beside it because wtf. This is actually ridiculous. The class average last time was 60. Listen to your students because most of them struggling.
ive never wanted to cry more. prof seems nice but midterms are not. my mental health has been obliterated :(
she's nice, her exams aren't :(
I'd give her 0/5 if I could. Exams are ridiculously difficult & don't reflect the material that was "taught" (she doesn't actually give her own lectures). Class average 60%. She teaches us like we're high schoolers, but assumes we have a PhD in Cell Biology during exams. If she actually gave bonus points then it wouldn't be so awful. SEND HELP :(
if you care about your GPA then run away from dr. pettit, she will absolutely DESTROY your GPA as evidenced by the 60% average on her midterm, and she does not care at all that she is harming the mental health of her students by making them stress unnecessarily on her exams. she says her exams should take 90 minutes, YEAH RIGHT.
She's a truly nice human being, but sadly a terrible prof. She's so nice I feel bad leaving a 1 star, but our exams r so unfair and so poorly reflect what we're taught, that I have to leave this as a warning. Do NOT take if you care about your grades. Good educator & teacher, poor professor and grader. Hope this helps! Sincerely, struggling student
She is a really nice professor, although her midterms do not reflect anything that is taught in her lectures/class. Claims that the midterms should only take a few hours to complete despite it taking almost the full 24 hours to complete it. This class is a GPA destroyer.
Kinda sad she's the only prof for this class ��avoid if you can and if u care abt your grades.
Man idk what we did to her but it must've been bad for her to want to screw us over this badly with these past 2 midterms. whatever we did to you pettit please tell us so you don't screw us over with the final exam too
There's literally no point in studying because her take home exams don't reflect the course content. Avoid this prof if you can, especially if it's online. The use of Smart Biology to teach a whole unit is ridiculous. You're getting paid to teach us so YOU give the lectures yourself. I'm tired to teaching myself everything virtually.
The worst course I have ever taken. Midterms not based on course material, discourage studying and encourage cheating. Videos recorded on toaster from a landfill with sound so low you need to connect a concert speaker to your computer and put your eardrum on it to hear a whisper. Take this class if you want to lower your IQ
She is a great teacher and organizes her material well. But, her midterms are extremely hard and take an incredibly long time. I understood the material well and had actively studied for a week before it; the midterm took me 5 hours to only really be sure of only 50% of my answers. Safe to say this class obliterated my motivation for uni moving on.
WORST PROF. I studied for countless hours but her midterms were not even close to an accurate reflection of what she teaches. I got lucky and did well on the first midterm, second one was another story. Lazy, unresponsive, and does not care for your success. AVOID if you respect yourself.
You couldnt find a worse prof if you want good grades. The course is easy but the profs marking scheme makes it GPA suicide. Stay away!!!!! youve been warned...
Dr. Pettit cares and it shows in her lectures and her treatment of students. However concerning assignments and midterms it can be quite brutal as attending the lectures becomes irrelevant as a much greater understanding is required then what is taught. As a first year course this is extreme and shows with her midterm averages (so far) in low 60s.
She is good and kind at heart with a very supporting nature, however, she makes midterms and finals all applied which makes it harder to pass if you go without reviewing your notes and slides. For times like COVID, its a little frustrating for having more applied exams. On the whole, if you keep up with your work you'll do well.
The best teacher I've ever had. Really like the take home exams. Allows a new way to think. Overall, awesome experience.
horrible
If I could give less than 1 I would. The content in cell biology is not that hard to teach or understand, but this prof has to make everything 10x harder than it has to be. Making everything "asynchronous" is just an excuse not to do your job and she makes these impossible exams that do not represent anything we have to learn by ourselves.
She is really sweet but the online format is honestly really terrible. The exams do not represent whats taught in the course. She teaches well but the midterms are a mess.
Dr. Pettit is a really nice person, but I would not recommend taking BIO1140 online with her. The content seems straightforward, however, the midterms are all application questions with little to no examples or practice problems similar provided. To her credit, she does provide a flexible grading scheme and the quizzes/assignments are mark boosters
twas' the night before the final and all thru our section, not a creature was confident, lost without a direction. all our grades have been low, and boy did we care, in hope that Dr. Pettit doesn't leave us a scare. For I am now done this class, I send my prayers to you future students, Godspeed and blessed is thy soul should you pass.
We have our final today and to be honest I feel like I understand every concept and am well prepared. However, based on the midterms I know that this doesn't matter, I could know the material inside out and understand everything and still fail the final. The tests are so application based and do not reflect the material, would not recommend online
Everyone is saying Dr. Pettit is rly nice, and while I agree, it is useless how nice a prof is if they don't care about the students' wellbeing or listen to our concerns. Her exams are brutal. We barely have to use any of our knowledge bc her application questions are way more advanced than anything we learned. If you can avoid her, DO IT.
Horrible online professor. She made our exams SO much more difficult than needed. All questions were application based further than the scope of this course. In comparison to her finals from previous in person years, shes been BRUTAL with us! Her answer key was also INSANELY specific it was impossible to get anything right! AVOID THIS PROFESSOR
Im sorry but I cannot even explain how much stress, anxiety, and heartache this class has caused me. Compared to her in-person midterms, the online ones are so unbelievably difficult. Please avoid her if you can. I literally want to cry everyday because of how difficult it is. This class dropped my gpa so much. I cannot stress how much I hated it.
Horrible class! I have loved biology but due to this year i am not enjoying it . Her midterms and exam was very hard... she suggests that we finish within 90 minutes but nope takes about 15hrs plus. She is a nice prof but the midterms would ruin you!
She is the worse professor ever. Probably the least accommodating one. Her take home exams are brutal. Just give us a proctored one you lazy caillou. Shes so lazy she's giving us hard open book ones so she doesn't have to sit around and Procter us and then she makes her open exams impossible to do, the exams never reflect the material.
Well we got the final at 12:30. It's 7:00 still not done of course. should only take 3 hours though!!! absolute garbage prof. Avoid her class like the plague if you dont want to destroy your average.
horrible.
This class is kinda really awful all around. the midterms have nothing to do with the class material and since they're take-home exams and they're open book, the answers are basically impossible to find or think of. If you can avoid this prof, do it.
this class has literally ruined my motivation and confidence for university this semester and makes me never want to take another bio class again. at this point with this exam, and Covid, and online, dropping out is looking pretty good lol
This Prof as a person can be very sweet and offers many options that tries to ensure that you receive your best possible mark. However, although her content is unbelievably easy to understand (and was likely taught in grade 12 Bio) her midterms/exams are unreasonably difficult and barely relate to what she teaches upfront. Don't recommend taking.
Future Biology students: Ever think that these rate my prof ratings are over-exaggerated? Dramatic? Or plain lies? THIS IS NOT THE CASE FOR THIS ONE! Everything you read here is 100% the truth and nothing else but the truth so help me god. You're giving your money to a person that gets wet dreams of students failing exams and BEGGING for her mercy
LOL I would literally rather do anything else in the whole world than have to write any more of her exams/midterms. Its pure aids, most random scenarios pulled out of her arse that will have 1 familiar word u learned about but no clue what the question is even saying. Normally i don't blame profs for bad marks but are we all just dumb? ion think so
Exams have little to nothing to do with course work. Spend countless hours on midterms after studying. She is a nice person but I think she should change her method of evaluation. The answer keys are extremely specific and often unrelated to what we learned.
im so sad that Pettit will no longer be teaching at uOttawa next year as she will only be teaching at Carleton. im not sad because I will miss her, im sad because the future students will not have to deal with her brutal exams and its unfair that we had to deal with them this year :( SHE IS HORRIBLE AND THE EXAMS ARE TOO HARD FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS!
This course was extremely hard the midterms and final exam were beyond difficult. Although they were take-home I have never had a more difficult time writing an exam. These exams were so hard as they did not relate to our notes from class at all. I will be lucky if I even pass the course.
Tests dont reflect course material. The difference in level of difficulty between assignments, quizzes, and activities compared to the exams is ridiculous.
I was upset after my midterm and showed the marked test to two of my friends, both have a BSc. in bio and one is also a second year medical student. Both said it was ridiculously hard and they that they wouldn't have known how to answer anything. If a medical student cannot make sense of her midterm how is it fair to give it to a first year class?
Weve complained heavily about both midterms and prof did not even care to change anything about it in the final. Never struggled this much in a course in my entire lifetime, my family was even concerned about how long I was working on the final for that was only supposed to take 3 hours yeah right, 3 hours maybe if you have a phd in biology
Absolutely garbage, her lectures and videos have nothing to do with the midterms and exams. Completely unrelated. Worst class and worst prof Ive ever taken. Avoid her at all costs.
She's nice and I found the material easier than grade 12 bio... but the absolutely catastrophic midterms and exam are incredibly detailed where it is almost impossible to complete it in the suggested time (add at least 3 hours to it) The material taught was nowhere near as detailed as the exams. Happy I survived. Future students: I wish you luck
never in my life have i been so compelled to leave a review for some1. her take home tests take atleast 2x the time suggested and are not remotely similar to the content taught.
I will preface this by saying I took BIO1140 two years ago before COVID-19. With that said I did take BCH3170 this year during the pandemic and I firmly believe that the negative reviews recently given are unjustified. Dr. Pettit is a lovely person and always makes time for students. She promptly replies to emails and addresses problems.
Dr. Pettit has received a lot of extremely unfair feedback from some first years. I took both BCH3170 and BIO1140 with her and found her to be a lovely, deeply caring, and fantastic prof. I have not always liked every single thing in her courses but she takes feedback and addresses it quickly. If you have a choice for a course pick Dr. Pettit.
I took this class last year when we moved to online learning. Throughout the term, Dr Pettit was clear in her teaching, fair in her assessments, and designed her course to allow students to succeed. I don't think the recent reviews are fair, as I always found her kind and willing to listen to student feedback. She is a great prof.
Everyone saying that they took her bio1140 class before the pandemic, it has completely changed. She told us that she was changing the midterms to make them more application based and this year was the result. People saying the midterms are easy are the the ones who get 90+ in every class. If you are not super smart this course will destroy you.
To the upper-years who had Pettit outside of this online semester: while your experience may have been different, Pettit has neither been accommodating nor understanding when it comes to the online exams she has administered in S2 21. In terms of her kindness and organization, youre correct that shes great. But, the recent exams are 100% unfair.
Dr Pettit has a very organized class and it is clear that she puts effort into her teaching. She has synchronous sessions each week which are helpful to practice application style ques. Even though the midterms took a fair amount of time and really made you think, I found them to be doable. Quizzes, assignments and labs are great grade boosters.
Best class this semester! I'm glad I took it with her!
Best class I've had this year. She made online learning very easy to do
Very easy class! I thought it was an elective lol
People who have taken the class prior to COVID-19 and have come back to write a review are weird. You had your time and it might have been great but people change... clearly considering now Dr. Pettits exams are pulled out of left field. You knew her then, not now! Though, I do not agree with personal attacks, she is nice and a great lecturer.
The excessive difficulty in exams to combat cheaters is not justified. Makes things for us students unnecessarily hard. One of the hardest exams I have taken. Lectures and notes did not prepare us well. I think this has taken a toll on most students' mental health.
To the upperyear students saying that everyone complaining is just stupid: 1. Dr Pettit has changed her evaluation format since you had her 2. Were in a pandemic a bit of compassion would be nice 3. A lot of us are doing this completely alone and feel isolated 4. With a 95 average in HS and deans list in first sem, I can say that final was brutal.
her style of teaching and organization is VERY effective, her execution in midterms is not, however.
hard prof unreasonable midterms
so riddle me this: i study immensely, making sure to know the material like the back of my hand only to get the test and not know how to do anything this lady put on the test?? if you havent taken bio1140 this year you have no place to speak on whether or not the sentiments of students towards the tests are justified. please go take a nap��
Some of the comments about Dr. Pettit made here I found madly harsh. She was accessible outside of class every week and made many accommodations available such as taking 7% off midterms if exam was better and unlimited time for quizzes. Definitely, the midterms and exams were my main concern causing stress and content outside of class material.
Dr pettit has made me lose all love for biology. Her course has single handedly made my mental health go down the drain. Her exams are extremely difficult, far from what we are taught. The content we learn is highschool level but the exams are for PhDs. Dr pettit does not care for her students and always brushes off any concerns we bring up
Dr. Petit is a nice person and is very organized with her lectures this class would have been enjoyable if her midterms and final exams were reasonable. The content of the exam was so unnecessarily brutal and had no correlation to what she actually taught. She said it should only take 3hrs but in reality it took 10+ hrs wouldn't recommend her class
Easiest class I have ever taken!
Exams take over 8 hrs to complete. Better to have them closed book and proctored than the current system. Hopefully the prof fixes this.
A very difficult 1st year course. Course is fun and interesting, however, prof Pettit makes exams very hard. Many questions are out of syllabus.
Such a fun class! Lectures were asynchronous and midterms and exam were fair. Just study the slides and apply them to the questions. It's an easy A+ class! I really appreciate her youtube lectures because they made the concepts very simple and interesting
Midterms were extremely hard and didnt reflect the course content. Literally will bring down your gpa.
Although I had a high GPA last semester, I felt so helpless in this class. No amount of studying will prepare you for the midterms/exam. The midterm&exam content was so far from the course content I can say I was never confident with ANY of my answers&I basically kissed the ground when I found out I passed. Cant believe Im paying tuition for this
Absolutely unfair exams, its not the first year level exam. She is nice her self but when it comes to exams and grading, she is the worst. People that are giving her good feedback, its very suspicious. From what I know, her exams very ridiculous
Don't bother studying for her exams because none of the lecture slides will be there.
One of the most logical and fair professors I've had. She's very attentive; she will never make you feel overwhelmed nor left out, unless you want her to. I usually zone out very easily during lectures and I've never done so during hers. The labs were fun. Study, ask questions if you're confused, and you can't fail.
Easily the best professor I've had this year. Exams contain no surprises, lectures are interesting and professor is cheerful and clear. Watch the lecture videos, pay attention to everything, and do your assignments, and you'll do well. I loved this class, but would take any course if taught by Dr. Pettit!!
5/5 would recommend. She is the type of prof that makes you want to take a certain course simply because she's teaching it. Great lecturer, crystal clear expectations for assignments and exams, good lecture slides, and very fair. Read the slides, annotate them, and participate in the synchronous lectures and you'll have nothing to complain about :)
Her lectures and exam slides are pretty good and she is even available outside class for help. BUT when it comes to exams her class is just not it. She very much so copies questions from Ivy League status schools' open courses which are not at all for first year peeps. The grading is just so bad. she expects us to answer her questions word to word.
I don't know how people found this class hard. It is a very easy class in biomed. You would have to have single digit IQ in order to find it difficult. I think the uOttawa is letting people from "special" programs in highschool. I think it's sad that so called "smart" premeds are having a hard time in an introductory bio class.
Truthfully, these ratings are getting out of hand. We all have our own experiences and opinions towards this class. This is my second time taking the course (first time prior to the pandemic) and I found it to be more difficult online. Dr. Pettit is a caring and kind prof, but her midterms/exams are not a reflection of the course content.
Best class during this pandemic winter semester!!
An actual bird course! Very rare in biomed lol
Study and it'll be an easy A+. Don't study and you'll end up like these salty brainless garbage. Don't trust these bad ratings.
okay, Im a good student and did well in this class. but dont believe these people saying it was a bird course. pettit is one of the best lecturers ive had. that being said, i feel like the tests our class was given were very unfair. previous years had normal concept questions, but these application tests were much more difficult and stressful.
Honestly, everyone has different experiences per course and a lot of us are left feeling unhappy as we worked hard and had exams that we could never possibly do good on because they do not reflect what we have learnt. Although Prof Pettit is very nice and helpful her exams are what have made everyone angry.
She is nice but that is all the positive feedback I can provide. Her lectures are incredibly easy and straightforward, yet exam time arrives and you feel stuck. We studied for weeks on end yet with the majority failing it is safe to say that this is not our fault. Please avoid her she is an incredibly tough grader and exams don't reflect lectures
Prof is a very nice person, very understanding and clearly cares about students! She structured the course and organized it for us which was very helpful, and she gave us a lot of good material with flexible deadlines. The only downfall is that we had take home exams that were complicated, graded extremely hard, and not very related to material.
The difference between homework/assignments and her tests is completely unfair. She is using questions meant for graduate students in a 1st year course. she gives no care towards the mental well being for her students and will use her authoritative power against any student as well the faculty is 100% behind her and gives no regards for students.
She's a nice person, but her tests are way too hard. Her exams are very cryptic "application" based, have little to do with class material, and unclear as how to answer. You have to answer in a very specific way (sometimes very detailed and others overly simplified) and the TAs grade very tough. I did the best on the exam I prepared the least for.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. The other commenters aren't exaggerating. Your GPA will drop significantly if you take Pettit's class. No matter how hard you study, you won't succeed on midterms/exams. Nothing you "learn" in class will be on the exams and Pettit is a ruthless prof. My condolences if you have to take this course.
The application exams were not difficult but required more thought than I expected for a first year course. Good all around
I would not recommend at all. I dedicated more time to this class than my four other classes combined and still barely got by. What's even worse is that we have had the same concerns since the first midterm and she hasn't bothered making any adjustments. Save your GPA - stay away.
You can get a decent mark but you will have to spend copious time on this course. Course content does not prepare you for exams and the specific grading criteria feels like they have no interest in helping students succeed. Any reweighting she claims to do is useless as the final was harder than both midterms combined. DO NOT TAKE THIS PROF!!
Shes super nice and tries to be engaging but The midterms and exam have nothing to do with the course content dont even bother reading it. Tests have the most random questions you will ever see. No matter how hard you try this class will ruin your gpa. Avoid her at all costs.
The exams barely reflect the material learned throughout the course. Taken out of context and makes it difficult to understand what youre expected to write on exams.
Ok, I got a pretty good grade. But I really had to work for it. This class was so hard. I mean, the lectures were fine, but I totally felt bamboozled during the tests. You really had to have a super specific answer. Honestly, I wish the tests weren't take home and just tested us on regular stuff. She is definitely one of the nicest profs tho!
She is a very caring professor, very accessible, knowledgeable, and her lecture style suits me. BUT you do have to put in HOURS of work. The open-book exams are extremely tough and can catch freshman off-guard, because it's not about memorising facts. You have to think outside the box. Outside of the room even. Google and office hour r your friend.
Avoid her at all costs. This course will reck your GPA. Material on the midterms and finals barely reflects what was taught in class. Not to mention the exams are marked incredibly tough. Lab, topic quizzes and assignments are the only reason I did okay. Paid $700 for her to put links to Amoeba sisters to eat up lecture time. Just don't take it!!
I did not do terrible in the course but The online midterms/exams are take home and very difficult. She will say it takes max 2-3 hours but in reality it takes 8+ hours for most students. Based on the amount of effort you put in just to get a decent grade its best to take another prof for online. Class just brings stress and lowers the GPA.
Fantastic person and prof, genuinely cares about her students. Lots of assignments/methods of evaluation, but you can easily get an A+ in class if you just cover all the content. Take-home exams were looong but she provides you with all the info and practice to ace them. Also had her for BIO1140 (thought she was ok) & loved her much more in BIO3170
I am in 4th year now and I took this class with her when I was in 1st year. I thought she was very good and the class was a very easy A! I recommend her :)
I'm not going to repeat what everyone is saying about her tests/final because it's true what they're saying. She tried everything else to lower our stress except for those tests. Good lectures, flexibility, many evaluation categories, etc. However, it's extremely frustrating as students not being heard by the prof about possible improvements.
The final exam really messed up my grade in the course. I truly wish midterms + exam were just done on bright space since it made everything much harder.
She's a VERY hard marker and doesn't have any understanding towards missing a deadline - even by seconds. Exams are not based on her slideshows so you really need to read the extra material. You need to spend HOURS on this course to get a good mark, posts a ton of material per topic and exams take 8+ hrs. I would avoid taking her class if possible.
switched to engineering because of this class lol
I took this class last winter. It was pretty easy, to be honest.
Great teacher! She was really understanding and listened to our feedback on the exams and the workload.
The worst prof ever. Avoid her if you want a good grade.
probably one of the worst classes I've ever taken. She teaches us one thing and her exams are a million times harder. Might as well not have learned anything from her at all.
Lectures are heavy but she's really great at explaining concepts, and she really cares about her students' success. She is always available to answer questions.
All I can say is that this is one of the worst profs I have ever had. Would mark me wrong not because my answer is incorrect rather because it did not match exactly what she wanted (which was very infuriating). She should not be allowed to teach and should be under review as I am not alone in my struggles. Avoid at all costs!!!
The professor has a specific approach, but engaging with it pays off. Attend lectures, read the free textbook, and use resources like Unstuck study to prep - great way to earn a solid grade.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
30%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.15 avg changeRatings by Course
BIM4920
5.0
(1)BIO114
5.0
(1)BCH3170
4.5
(2)BIO3170
4.0
(21)BIO1140
2.2
(151)Difficulty by Course
BIO11140
5.0
BIO11400
5.0
BIO1140
4.2
BIO3170
3.7
BCH3170
3.5