Tests count for a large portion of your grade, so study hard in this class!

Very funny. Is really really into rocks. If you are not into rocks, this will drive you nuts.

Great amount of information. Bernie provides a good outline for each chapter and is very fair in terms of grading. I find the information very relevant and personally interesting. I enjoyed this class and learned a great deal.

It is so nice to find a teacher that feels so passionate about the subject he is teaching. He really knows what he is talking about and made me open my eyes to my surroundings. I would recommend him to everyone. Great Guy!!!

He's the funniest geology teacher. He makes jokes that I don't think he intends to make. He's really tough though but not in the way where you can't do well... you just have to put in a lot of effort and show it. Come to class with a full belly becuase he likes to use a lot of food analogies.

Show up to class, pay attention, read the book, do your homework, get an A.

Great teacher...Class starts off pretty hard, but gets funner and easier, he's pretty open with his expectations. The people who bagged on him are most likely morons, or simply unteachable.

anyone who doesn't like bernie is insane! he is awesome...i didn't care about learning geology but he is so silly & enthusiastic i loved it...take him!!!

Awesome and funny.

I do not like this class. His tests are impossibly hard, and things we discuss in class relate very little to what he tests on. I found it really hard to relate this class to things I will need to know in real life. Grades are based mostly on 3 lecture tests, and 2 essays. and 1 fieldtrip, hiking on a sunday.

If you think bernie's tests are hard then you did not study for them. They are not easy but his study guides are awsome. Plus he talks about drinking beer. How could you not like him. He is one of the best teachers at WCC.

Bernie is a teacher who is completely passionate about his subject. He is by far one of the best teachers at Whatcom. The person below who says that he "preaches" is a dumb****. HE TEACHES SCIENCE for crying out loud, and he is damn good at it. His tests are challenging, but more than fair. I wish I could take more of his classes.

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Very fun class, even if it is three hours long and at night... any prof who's life ambition is to go snowboarding on an erupting volcano gets an A+ in my book! Helpful hint - if you get bored, keep yourself entertained by counting the number of times he says things like "awlllright" and write down quotes of funky things he says!

He's great. He takes a difficult and possibly mind-numbing suject (for some people) and makes it interesting. Every friend I've had who has taken his class has enjoyed it too.

TAKE THIS CLASS!!! Bernie is extremely approachable, highly knowledgeable, and very interesting. He will ALWAYS take the time to make sure you understand concepts, explains what is expected of you, ect. Make sure you do the homework, it will always be beneficial to you. The field trip is well worth it too! I would take ANY course from Bernie.

Bernie is so freaking rad. he has the funniest analogies that make the concepts easy to understand. You need to be in reasonably good shape for his class cause when you're in the field he flies down the trail. He gives a ton of work. the Key is to take good notes in class and in the field and refer to them often.

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Very intelligent man, good teacher and a lot to say. Helpful. He was rude to several individuals in my class, though, and used the F-bomb DIRECTED at the class one day, never apologized or anything. Interesting class, mostly likeable guy, but proceed with caution.

The overall experience I had in this class was very good. I enjoyed Bernie's instruction and the material we went over. The class was fairly easy to keep up with if you do the work and show up in class. Bernie is very nice and extremely funny... but... as the whole class knows, he can also be mean. I don't regret taking the class at all.

Bernie is not a bad teacher, the people who think he is are probably lazy students not willing to put in the work for a good grade. Do the homework assignments, the points add up.He is sarcastic but actually pretty nice. BUT you will have to work hard to do well, THATS life, get over it cry babies....

As hard as he makes you work, he works equally hard to facilitate LEARNING!

Great teacher! Didn't get so hot a grade, but I learned a lot anyway. Definitely worth taking a science class with him if you have to take one. Gives plenty of opportunities to earn credit, lots of homework but not too much. Tests seemed a bit left field sometimes. He's a bit awkward in regular conversation, in science topics he's amazing.

I love this class, it is fun and interesting. Bernie is super patient with all of our questions and he always hangs out after class to discuss any geology questions you have. This class has made me more aware of my geological surroundings more than ever and I am always thinking about what I am seeing now. I would encourage you to take his class.

Helps if you enjoy the material but a great prof.

Difficult class, you really need to love rocks to get a good grade.

Great Teacher! Makes you work hard but makes everything accessible and makes sure you have every possible resource in the world to help. You must give his classes everything you have so there are no free rides or easy grades but everything he teaches is understandable and thourough plus entertaining I thought.

Super fun & interesting class!

Great teacher. He gives a lot of homework but it isn't hard and is really helpful for exams. Very interesting and very enjoyable. Attendance isn't mandatory but its very helpful.

Great teacher! Lots of homework but it isn't hard and it really helps with the exams. Bernie cares and gives a lot of effort. Really interesting. It's work but its fun. Strongly recommended.

I can honestly say that at this point, Bernie has been my best professor. He's passionate about Geology and made it interesting to me. There are a lot of homework assignments which take a little time but aren't hard. Stay on top of the work and the tests will be easy. Exceptional instruction.

Bernie has a real personal interest in geology which made the class that much better. He made clear what would be asked on the two tests. There were a few writing assignments and the grading was focused more on scientific content rather than writing skill. It was a great class. Many important topics covered like climate change and sustainability.

Great instructor. Passionate about the material. Very excited to share his knowledge and really forces you to use critical thinking skills throughout the course, regardless of which class you may be taking of his. Definitely recommend taking any of his classes.

Bernie is pretty awesome, could strike an awkward impression at first but he is so entertaining and keeps the class interested the entire time. Yes, long lectures get boring but only happen like three times throughout the quarter. Easy stuff and really interesting! How often does a class like that come along??

This class has a lot of assignments and textbook reading. I had to be on my game to keep up. The toughest part of the course is before the midterm. I felt Bernie did a good job of teaching the material, but you have to read the book to get everything that will be on the tests.

If you are looking for an easy class, he is not your guy, but if you want to learn a TON, then he's totally your teacher. He works you daily, but loves what he teaches, makes it fun, and his super deep voice makes everything he says more interesting. :)

Good teacher, very kind

This is NOT a lecture based class, so if you want the answers handed to you, you're out of luck. However, he is REALLY helpful if you take the time to actually ask him questions, rather than complain about it the whole time, like my classmates did. Follow the rules and it's fine; its not a difficult class as long as you put the effort into it.

GREAT professor. Very difficult, doesn't give you answers. This means you actually learn. Not the prof to take for an easy credit, but I ended up changing my major because of him, so maybe try it.

Such a funny teacher. This is a good class to take to know if you want to keep taking more geology classes or not. If you do all of the activities and stuff then you should get a good grade. Do ALL BONUS ASSIGNMENTS, they come in handy at the end.

Funny, sometimes abrasive or crass, teacher who has goofy analogies and wants to see his students succeed as long as they put in the effort. He's one of those "must-take" teacher at Whatcom.

I really enjoyed Bernie; he is quirky, and you can tell he has a good heart. The workload for geo 101 can get intensive at times, but his curriculum did an AWESOME job at wrapping everything together by the end of the course. The concepts aren't hard at all, and it provides a very interesting lab on the formation of Western Washington. :)

Awesome teacher, good opportunity to learn more about geology in a very discussion-based way. Field trip alone is the biggest reason to take the class.

The class is very fast paced when it is supposed to be directed towards beginning students. That being said he makes the experiments fun and it makes you want to learn

Bernie will inspire you to want learn more about geology then you've ever been inspired to do so before. I fell in love with rocks in this class and it is because of how passionate Bernie is about them. He's one of those professors that you hope you can live up to the expectations of. He is fair and the field trips are a blast.

I loved having Bernie as a teacher! He explains concepts really well. His lectures are interesting and interactive. He is really caring and nice. He makes it really easy to get a really good grade as long as you go to class and do all the reading and assignments. He also gives tons of extra credit and has an amazing field trip on the Bham coast!

Great, fast paced class with lots of homework but totally worth it! Bernie is so funny, helpful, and passionate about what he teaches. I was blindsided by how much I loved the material and he made it even better because of how passionate he is. The field trip is so much fun, a great way to experience the PNW and learn about it at the same time!

Bernie is a bit intimidating at first because he comes across as somewhat stern, but he is such a nice guy with a passion for geology and teaching! He's very willing to help you and explain things to you IF YOU COME TO HIM for help. Don't expect to just goof off in this class and get an A. Lot's of challenging assignments and tests, effort matters!

He is acknolegable in geography that makes the hikes way more interesting. You will learn how to read the hiking map which is important for a hiking person. He is easy and understanding

DO ALL OF THE EXTRA CREDIT! He assigns a lot of homework. The extra credit bumped my overall scores. I pretty much bombed all of the tests. Without the extra credit I wouldnt have gotten an A. He shows videos in class and then gives a pop quiz. PAY ATTENTION! This is more of a lab course. Create a study group the first week. Hes quirky but fun.

I really loved Bernie, he was very knowledgeable about geology and would always answer any random questions I had about things, even if they were off topic. His class can be hard if you're not willing to really be participating in also and asking questions. There were a lot of papers, which I didn't like but overall, I found the class interesting.

Bernie can be totally misunderstood by most students. He has a deep voice and serious persona that can be intimidating, but you are guaranteed to learn a lot from this class if you GO TO HIM. His passion for Geology is his strength and his weakness, as a result, giving too much homework. Grading criteria could use some work. Just a different style.

I took this class over the summer, and after reading his reviews I was worried. But I loved his class. He was not hard, you just have to read and follow through. He was kind, and really worked with you on grading. If I did something wrong he would give plenty of time to correct and redo so he could give you the better grade.

This teacher gives individual feedback on assignments and really wants you to grow academically. He gives a balanced amount of work and if you do it, you will learn the content and pass the class. I took the class online during the pandemic and he made virtual field trips for us that were interesting. I enjoyed his class.

He is a very caring professor but his class is a lot of work. In the 3 module you have 4 presentations to read, 2 quizzes, 1 exam, 2 labs, and an assignment. You WILL learn a lot (you have to survive) but its certainly not for those looking for an easy A. He is a good teacher but just be prepared.

I thoroughly enjoyed being in Bernie's class! It's very clear that he is exceptionally knowledgeable about geology. This class was super chill. calm lectures and a few fun, hands on labs with a handful of homework that was not very intense, but was still very useful. He's a really nice guy with a great sense of humor too.

I took Dougan over 20 years ago. Not an easy A. I loved what we learned. I loved Sucia Island and learning about the geology and finding fossils. Even though I got a C in this class (one of 2 ever), it was one of my favorite classes; I've even told my kids about this class. If you love learning about the earth and local geology, take this class.