3.1
Quality4.0
Difficulty51%
Would Retake119
Reviews51%
Would Retake
119
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
27
4
26
3
21
2
18
1
27
What Students Say
“Very unlikely to achieve an A but it can be possible”
BIOL197 - 2.0 rating“I ended up greatly enjoying the class' content”
BIOL486 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.05 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO486
5.0
(2)BIOL191
5.0
(1)BIOL433
5.0
(1)BIOL486
4.3
(12)BIO191A
3.6
(17)Difficulty by Course
BIO197
4.5
BIOL304
4.5
BIOL197
4.2
BIOL189
4.1
197A
4.0
Reviews (119)
Took for Animal Behavior, tends to spend a long time on topics, but clearly explains himself and will try his best to clear up confusion. Has a groups lead weekly discussions on articles related to lecture. Can tell he is very passionate about what he teaches and shares his own research as well. Good professor, especially if you are an EEB student
I took his class because of the pre-professional ecology requirement thinking it would just be an uninteresting throw away at 8:30 that I could skip if I wanted to. I ended up greatly enjoying the class' content. The class is interesting and not too difficult if you go consistently. Dr. Choate explains everything very well and is always helpful.
I heard he was one of the new BIO 189 teachers. There were times where he messed up on explaining some things. It was difficult for me to get a decent score on the exams. He says its fair game because your power points, launch pad quizzes, and learning curve are the "study guide". I wish he made a study guide because it would have been easier.
The first 2 sections for his 189 class are sometimes very confusing and he has a hard way of explaining complex matters such as cell respiration and photosynthesis but once you get past that and start into evolution he is brilliant because this is his area of expertise.
I am currently in this class (2 weeks left) and Dr. Choate is not the best Professor. He can be confusing, his lectures are all over the place, and his exams are difficult. Personally, Dr. Choate is a very nice man, but he does not explain biology well. He also does not give study guides.
Lectures on things not in the book, tests are extremely difficult and he does not prepare you at all for them.
Bio 189 is not as easy class. It has a ton of information. I would not blame the difficulty all on Dr. Choate. When asked he did do his best to answer questions during lecture and always promoted outside resources. A lot of your success in this class revolves around how much effort you put into it. Also, study his power points not the book.
The professor is nice, but the class structure sucks. It wouldn't be as bad if they curved... My suggestion? Every point counts. Go to SI tutoring, not the library kind. (They are always eating or texting and don't seem motivated to help). Do not take online lab because the videos are awful and you won't have a clue what to do on your lab final.
Very good professor. He tells you how to get a A in the class and it's up to you if you want to do it. He tells you what the test is based off of, and what to study. Alot of kids found the class hard, and blamed it on the professor, but those kids were just lazy. The class has tough concepts, but if you study them you'll realize how simple they are
Bio 189 is a difficult class - lots of information to fit into 1 semester. It is very possible to get an A, but you have to put in work for it. Don't expect to show up to lecture, study for an hour for exams and get a good grade. Choate is a great, enthusiastic professor &is always willing to help! but students are lazy and blame him for bad grades
Currently taking him for 189. People are giving him bad reviews because they are dumb and don't pay attention. The class is hard, but that is not the professors fault. Its a lot of information crammed into one semester. Show up, take notes and take advantage of all the UNLV tutoring opportunities and you'll do fine. Dr. Choate is a great guy.
Dr. Choate is a great professor, and the class itself is structured well. There are 10 randomly assigned groups in class in which you prepare a discussion based on articles listed in the syllabus, and each group presents at random (meaning you HAVE to be prepared every week). Tests are MC/SA, participation with notecards so attendance is required!
No study guide for the final. The study guides for the tests are too broad for the in depth material he puts in his tests. PowerPoints are soo confusing. Only rely on the textbook to learn. Teaching yourself majority of the time. SI IS YOUR SAVIOR. Take advantage of that.
Dr. Choate is an excellent professor. He is knowledgeable on the subject considering his whole thesis was on animal behavior, and Dr. Choate does a great job of teaching it. Information he wants you to know for the exam is straight forward. Honestly studied 4 hours for each test and pulled 94% on both. Take him. He's a nice guy as well.
Dr Choate is a very caring and knowledgable teacher. Do not miss class. Alot of what he wants you to understand is in lectures. You will need lecture notes and book to pass the class. Make sure you make an A in Lab. It is 30% overall grade in Bio 189 which will help you. Most of the students will drop Bio 189 and retake. All it takes is dedication
He is a great prof. Explains what he is looking for. Is available for office hours. The only way you could get a bad grade is if you skip class. It's not high school anymore kids... Don't miss a class and minimal studying will get you a good grade
Great professor. Lectures are clear and thoughtful. Encourages student feedback/discussion. Be prepared to write small questions/comments, analyze research papers, and do a short group presentation. Exams are multiple choice and short answer. Really pay attention to the main topic of the weekly research papers.
Professor Choate is one of the most amazing professors UNLV has to offer. He is passionate about what he does and makes sure that the class learns. His tests are not very easy, you have to be good at applying multiple concepts into one whole idea and be able to distinguish what is right and wrong. Overall, this class was so much fun.
Easily the best bio professor I've had at UNLV. His class isn't easy and you'll really have to study the details, but you'll learn a great deal. He's friendly, reasonable, approachable, and extremely knowledgeable about the material. Just FYI, you can get by with his lectures and powerpoints and skip the textbook - you'll still learn just as much.
Great professor. Only dumb, unmotivated students think he is tough. Really cares about students' success and sacrifices his time to help. Even scheduled an optional 2-hour review for the final. If you're not going to try, you won't do well in his class-just dropout.
Dr. Choate's class was difficult but only because the criteria is over a broad range of subjects. He is accessible outside of class and really wants his students to succeed. He's a very knowledgeable guy and makes jokes during lectures sometimes. Be ready to work for your grade.
Dr. Choate is passionate about what he does and that shows in lecture! Do the online videos before the test and make sure to go to class to get note card credit, it adds up. His tests can be worded a bit funny, just ask him to explain. He's very nice and approachable. I barely used the book. Tests are more conceptual vs specific details.
Dr. Choate is extremely motivated and tries to explain the concepts of biology to his students but he makes too much of an effort at doing this. He spends too much time on 1 chapter. I know some teachers don't provide a study guide for an exam but Dr. Choate provided one three days before the exam. The finished study guide was thirty-one pages.
There's so much content in this course, but he covers it all. Although he covers all material required, he does speed through lectures. He is very clear on grading and the standards for his class. He does iclicker questions practically every class and that counts towards your grade.
He tends to go off topic and focus on irreverent parts of the lesson. Then since there is a lot of content he speeds through the rest, not fully explaining the important concepts. His tests are pure memorization and sometimes there's stuff on there that wasn't even mentioned in class (or in the textbook). Half the class is asleep during lectures.
Dr. Choate is definitely willing to help outside of class, but he goes off topic too much in lectures and he does not emphasize upon important concepts. The tests are extremely difficult and tricky. Half is memorization but you must be able to apply concepts, and it is hard when he doesn't emphasize on which concepts to focus on.
Tests are tricky. Very bad lecture class he goes off topic all of the time. Most of the time you're teaching yourself. Many people are complaining about the same things and I barely know anyone doing well in this class.
Dr. Choate will help you if you go to his office hours, but his lectures are very boring, out of topic at times, and he provides study guides but only a day before the exam. Iclickers for participation! REALLY tricky test questions, you really have to read and think closely. Get ready to study and self-teach.
Dr. Choate is a very funny and caring professor. He likes to explain subjects into deeper detail when a student asks a question during lecture, however this can really stray off topic and causes his lessons to fall behind schedule. His tests are conceptually tricky and you really have to understand the main ideas behind each question.
When I took him, it was his first semester teaching Biol197. The class is lecture heavy and he can easily go off on tangents and get distracted on student questions. The majority of your grade is made up of 2 tests, the final, and your lab grade. Honestly learned more in lab class. Study guides are from the textbook and don't match the test at all.
Lectures were too slow and we fell behind in the beginning of the semester and then we spend the rest of the semester speeding through material. Tests involve more details than concepts. You'll need iClicker or Reef. Get the textbook only if you feel you need it, all exam content are on slides.
Choate is one of the most amazing people Ive met, but this class was not good. Choate came from teaching upper divison courses, where the topics are more specified, so the test questions are more detailed. He made his tests just as detailed when this class covered a broad spectrum of material. Curve does not help. Teach yourself from the book.
He goes off topic and doesnt talk about the important concepts. The curve was only about 6%, but that isnt enough to accommodate the low lecture+lab grades. The study guides are useless, so you have to teach yourself. Its somewhat possible to get an A, but definitely a stretch, especially since the lecture and lab are completely different.
We fell behind in the beginning of the semester which caused for speeding through the rest of the semester. The class covers general outlines and topics but his tests are detailed and difficult, so if you don't understand the main concept then good luck on the tests. Only two tests, lab grade, participation, and the final account for your grade
Prof. Choate was very knowledgeable and you can see that by the way he lectures. Bio 197 has a lot of material so it can be a little difficult. His test are tough. You really need to have a clear understanding of the material to get an A on his tests. He does curve all the tests and the final overall grades.
This was the hardest class ever because there is way too much information to cover. Choate did his best and really tried to make the subject interesting, but with over 200 slides to go over for one 60 question exam, it is impossible to know everything. There are iclicker questions every class for points. Good luck, you will need it.
Go to class and you will pass. Go to office hours and get hints for exams. His one on one time is priceless for this class. He also updates his students via email for open research positions. Joining this class will open up opportunities for you that you do not often get from other teachers. Amazing and interesting lectures! TAKE HIM!
Has the worse time management I've ever seen in a professor--goes over time 5-10 min EVERY class. His exams are mostly free-response and he doesn't sufficiently prepare you for them. There are so, so many articles to read as well. I took this class because I heard it was an easy A, but beware!!! I would never take another class with him again.
He has time management issues and focuses too much time on discussions based on papers we have to read. Those discussions cut severely into lecture time. I took this class out of interest in the field., and the way he structured the class made it very hard to enjoy, even when this is an area of interest for me. I dropped his 486 in the fall
Very unlikely to achieve an A but it can be possible. Mandatory attendance for participation point along with weekly online quizzes. Lectures are generic and do not help with material on the exams. Exams are very detailed and study guides do not help. Exams are curved but you need to study to do even remotely well in them. Would not recommend.
Let me tell you! I just finished taking my bio 197 final. Says "this" won't be on the test, "this" shows up on the test! Grades mostly rely on those 3 big tests. Good luck!
This is a hard class - esp for first years. It is lecture heavy. You have to go to class (iclicker points), but if you actually study the ppts & lectures you will be okay. You can't not pay attention and not study and still expect to do well. He applied the curve at the end. He is awesome, but you obviously have to work for it.
Prof. Choate is a really smart and respected professor. His lectures are interesting and most tangents come from his experience as a wildlife Ecologist. He takes Clicker points for attendance. His Exams are pretty difficult but not too bad if you attend every class and study the online website. Study hard and don't skip class and you'll be okay.
This class was great for anyone who likes environmental science. It's obvious that Dr. Choate cares a lot about the subject matter. That being said, I could barely stay awake during these lectures. He takes attendance daily through iclicker, and assigns a large number of online quizzes. Pay attention to due dates. Use the online textbook.
Dr. Choate is very nice and passionate about the subject he teaches. His biggest flaw is that he gets off topic during the review sessions and during the lectures with student questions on things irrelevant to the material that is being learned in the class. The material isn't too difficult as long as you study. The SI leader makes things easier.
- Focus during the lectures - tests are mainly lecture content - go to class
Choate loves Animal Behavior which shows in Endocrinology class because 90% of the examples he gives are AB related and not endo. I would not recommend him to anyone. Paper discussions led by randomized groups every week. He grades very harsh and does not give much guidance as to what he expects. He talks fast so record lectures or you won't pass
Great and nice professor. Memorize the lectures and you'll do fine on the tests. There is a group presentation.
Very difficult grader, but doesn't give much guidance as to his expectations. Takes a very long time (two+ weeks) to grade for a class that is not that big. His lecture style is tangent heavy and most examples are related to animal behavior, not endo. Randomized grouping for projects. Uses TopHat in class to harshly grade novelty of your questions.
Lectures as he says are "clear as mud." No clear, concise explanations. Frequently holds class up to 5 minutes past time even when checking the time. Has a TA grade everything. Grading is harsh and subjective. Material is really interesting, take the class if offered with someone else.
His lectures are really interesting and tells pertinent stories. You can tell he is passionate about this subject. His exams can be difficult and are in a way conceptual, not straight out of the powerpoint, but definitely based off the powerpoint. I managed to finish the entire semester of homework all in the first week. Enjoyable class overall
Most bio teachers have lectures and test that have no correlation what so ever. David actually makes test that are from what he says and from the powerpoint. He also makes jokes that makes the class more involved. Some of his questions from the test may be confusing at times but not that bad.
Gives good lectures, a real stickler for small things.
The class was definitely difficult, but Dr. Choate spent a lot of time trying to come up with relatable examples to explain the material. These didn't always work, but his effort was certainly noticed and appreciated. Very friendly and helpful, especially during his office hours. My class had a 9% curve at the end of the semester. He's a great guy.
Definitely go to office hours once in a while. There were a few times he expected the class to have a firm grasp of certain topics because it was covered in his animal behavior class but anyone who hadn't taken that class thought that that material wasn't as important because of how quickly he went through it then it ended up being heavily tested.
Dr. Choate is a top quality professor who very obviosly knows his stuff. Lectures (which are actually pretty entertaining) are absolutely necessary to attend or you will be completely lost, due to the fact that the book is very unhelpful and complicated. Also, there is also iClicker attendance. Not the easiest class, but great if you want to learn.
Dr. Choate's exams are keen on the examples he uses during lecture. He sometimes implies what will be on the exam during the review session. The concepts themselves have tons of vocabulary so it may take time. Pretty cool how the last chapters relate back to the first few chapters. Overall really entertaining and positive attitude about teaching!
Eh could be better could be worse. Just memorize everything from the powerpoints and past iclicker questions and youll be fine. Lectures were boring. You have to do a participation quiz before class and iclicker during. Hes very great to talk to for feedback on what you got wrong on past tests. Oh also, theres a pretty big curve for the final.
Syllabus ain't lying about a heavy workload for 197. You need to be active in lecture, stay atop quizzes/study guides, READ the book, come to office hrs/SI sessions. Lab % will help you achieve whatever grade you're shooting for. NEED to be prepared for exams. Choate is quite helpful and knowledgable. Look forward to having him again.
The material itself is pretty easy since it's an introductory course. He tests on small details AND the bigger picture so understand what you're studying. Classmates said the book is helpful but I didn't have it and did just fine. Dr. Choate cares a lot, and is very accessible and helpful outside of class. Easier than most upper div. bio classes.
I enjoyed having Dr. Choate. You can tell from his lectures that he's very passionate about what he teaches. I mainly just studied his powerpoint slides and did fine. Doing well in lab also really helped my grade. His final was a bit difficult, but just put time in to study the material and you'll be fine. His curve at the end helped a lot too.
I would give a 0, but I had to give a 1. You know a professor is bad when well over half the class fails his class. He is an absolutely horrible professor who has no direction in his lectures or his tests. I would strongly recommend you do NOT take this class with this professor unless you don't want to learn and want to fail a class.
Two tests in - half the class failed them each time. I'm getting by - study his lecture PowerPoints and iClicker questions. Attendance graded by the iClicker questions. Lab helps, make sure to stay on top of the online homework/quizzes. Large class, tests are usually 60 questions (SA included). His teaching comes straight off of the lecture slides
Two exams in and already more than half the class are failing and the exam scores from the first to the second haven't improved. He is really passionate and loves biology and that makes his lectures more interesting but you really have to pay attention to the tiny things he says in passing because those are on the exams.
Not sure what everyone is complaining about. He gives good lectures, sometimes talks a little fast but if you're actively participating and listening, you shouldn't be doing bad. For many students, BIOL 197 is hard as you usually don't have much of a bio background before taking this class (other than 196), but he is a pretty good professor.
He may seem nice during lectures towards the start of the semester, but do not let that fool you. His exams are brutal and the majority of the class does terrible. He falls so far behind on lecture and doesnt cover all the chapters, but he still includes those chapters on his exam! His exams are also 50% trick questions. Do NOT take him.
you actually understand what he is teaching in the beginning of class but once he sees that he only has little time left, he talks super fast and expects students to understand what he is saying.
He goes overtime almost every class and makes us listen to him rush through slides 5-10 minutes past lecture. His exams are complicated to the extreme and his concept blueprints are the dumbest things ever and are of literally no use. I am a straight A+ student and got C's on all his exams. Exams are all conceptual and extremely tricky. AVOID HIM!
He is the WORST professor I have ever had! He gets so sidetracked and falls behind in lecture. He does not cover all the material that is on the exam. In fact, for our second exam he tested us on a whole chapter that he did not even touch because he was so behind!!!!!! What kind of professor does that?????? Do not take him, he sets you up to fail.
He may of been better at teaching in the past based on his old reviews on this platform, but now I would be surprised if he gets any praise. Most of the material that are on his exams are strictly only your responsibility. He is always behind, and will literally tell you that "this chapter is on you to learn." Your GPA will take a hit for sure...
UNLV should have spent their money hiring a clown instead of this guy! AVOID HIM! He is a horrible biology teacher! He will test you on things that he never lectured about!! The class was AWFUL and the majority of the class would fail. He also didnt care that so many students were failing! WORST PROFESSOR I HAVE EVER TAKEN.
One of the worst professors I've come by. Literally had most of the class failing exams and barely curved the class in the end. Definitely sets students up to fail with trick questions on exams.
His exams have trick questions and the majority of the class will fail. My class average for the second exam was a 59% and he said that meant the questions were doing what they were supposed to... I love Biology but he has almost ruined it for me. He is the worst professor I have had and does not care at all if his students fail
UNLV screwed up by hiring this fool. He gives out so much homework and quizes its ridiculous. He is ALWAYS behind in lectures, and if we don't complete chapters in class, the students are responsible for independent study AND THE MATERIAL THAT WE NEVER WENT OVER ARE ON THE EXAMS. the class average was always D/F's on all the exams. Avoid his guy.
He explained things clearly and gives good examples, but was rarely on track. We ended up having to cancel our last 2 chapters because he didn't have time to go over them before the final. His exams are quite hard, even if you study well. He eventually curved the final, even though he said he wouldn't. He was good, just not great.
He really cares about Animal Behavior and knows his stuff. He mainly went off the book. Topics included endocrinology, dispersal, anti-predator defense, foraging, sexual selection, habitat selection, learning, etc. Lots of work and it didn't feel like there was enough time for his tests IMO. Pretty interesting class and I'd probably have him again.
Lectures are fast and full of detail. Finish exam study guides at least a week in advance, record and scribe lecture-small, passing details matter. Class requires high memorization & study time. Few points outside of exams. Avoid his class if possible. Nice man, but class is unreasonable. I usually earn A's in science classes, with much less work.
I enjoyed the content of this course but hated the exams/lectures. We were constantly behind in lectures and he would talk about off-topic material. When we got the harder chapters we were out of time so he rushed through them. Every exam was an average failing grade. Pay close attention to EVERYTHING he says because it will show up on exams.
terrible. just terrible
Hes an okay teacher at best, but bio is hard enough to where how good a professor is doesn't really help much and being a meh professor definitely takes a toll. The tests are so difficult the first test averaged a 50%, but then again these bio classes are just weeding kids out of the major so. But there really isn't another good teacher to take..
I have taken Dr. Choate for 2 courses. His classes are full of detail, which is just the reality of Biology courses. His grading is not based solely on tests. I have gone to his office hours many times to go over a topic. He always answers my q.s and recommends more study tools. Bio is hard and takes hard work. He does not dumb anything down.
The class is doable, but he does look for specific responses/answers in the assignments and exams. He is a bit of a picky grader. I did learn a lot from this class and his lectures were nicely structured. I did not do the study guides, instead I read the parts of the textbook that corresponded to lecture, which matched up pretty well.
The best advice I can give you is to AVOID HIM. He loves to trick his students on exams and he doesn't care whether or not his students fail. His study guides are so specific and sometimes it's hard to find answers from the textbook. Worst thing was that he posted the studyguides a day before the exam.. He's also looks for specific answers on exams
took Dr. Choate for the second time and he was a good teacher, although sometimes he does talk fast. Based on how he talks about certain topics we tackle in class, you can tell that he is passionate about animals and conservation. He also thinks about the well-being of his students and very understandable.
WARNING! Do not take unless you love to read/write essays for at least 30+ hours/week. Very picky grader! Lots of writing/reading/studying and must be very detailed. This class is a lot of work! He is old-school so the tests are mainly short answer that require lots of writing & very few multiple choice questions, w/ not enough time. NOT AN EASY A!
Dr. Choate has a true passion for animals and it shows in this class. It's hard but if you study and get everything done on time you shouldn't have a problem. His class was super organized online for hybrid due to the pandemic and made himself available when you needed him. I would suggest joining office hours and the S.I meetings for extra help!
Choate is PASSIONATE. This is his field of study and he wants you to know everything. His tests were tricky and the class average for all of them was around 50%. You have to truly learn and understand the material. I was the only one at most of his exam reviews, so that should tell you why most people did poorly. You have to work for your grade.
His lectures can be vague sometimes but expects detailed knowledge on his exams. There are presentations twice a month (you only present once) and you have to buy a membership ($25) for the discussion posts after each lecture. I feel like he was condescending but laughed it off most of the time. Definitely thinks his class is top priority.
Dr. Choate is one of the best professors Ive had at UNLV. His Animal Behavior class is very interesting and fun at the same time. The exams can be challenging, but there is a group project and a lot of homework to help boost your grade. I am taking a class with Dr. Choate again next semester!
Choate is very educated on the information and gives clear & different ways to approach material when asked questions. You know whats expected of you from the beginning of class and everything is organized and easy to access. Attendance isnt mandatory but random quizzes. Material isnt easy so be prepared to study. Tests are curved and EC opp.
I had Choate for endocrinology and animal behavior, and he's a great professor! His classes definitely aren't easy and there's A LOT of work, but if you put in the effort to show up to class, take notes, do the homework, and study for exams, then you'll do great. He's really passionate about what he teaches, and I loved his lectures.
He's passionate about this topic& talks a lot so he never manages to finish what we need and goes off schedule/crams. Lots of reading with peer reviewed papers, and you present 1 as a group. Exams are mostly short answer, if you focus in class they're okay. There's 1 critique about a paper, go to office hours for feedback, he's very helpful
He's a great professor, obviously passionate and knowledgeable about biology. Lots of homework though, pre and post lecture assignments 1/2 a week (about an hour each), iclicker for attendance in class, 3 exams and a cumulative final. He's always available for office hours and is an overall nice guy so take advantage of that.
Dr. Choate is a man of CULTURE. He has a sense of humor and an engaging personality. He provides study guides that are lowkey more in depth than his exams, thus it works as a very good and efficient way to study for the exams. Very smart and eager to answer questions from students. He loves when students engage with each other. TAKE HIS CLASS!
Some people enjoy being challenged
This class was homework heavy. Professor Choate expects things to be answered correctly. There are 10 13-page articles that need to be read and are discussed in class as a group project but you only present one. After this semester I can say I will not be taking one of his classes ever again. Do not take this during the summer.
You are paying this professor to just read off the book. He has no teaching technique. He doesn't explain anything when it comes to concepts and magically expects you to apply them. He works his exams in a weird way that becomes confusing often. You study for hours, teach yourself concepts, and sometimes that even isn't enough to pass this class.
Exam questions were very difficult and often confusing contrasted to material taught in class. He requires you to know specific information even if it wasn't mentioned in class. You can study all day and night and still not pass this class. Expectations versus what he actually teaches are complete opposites. no teaching style, he reads from slides.
If you do not attend lectures, you will miss things he puts on the test. He speeds through hard concepts and doesn't post videos of his lectures for review and studying. His answers to questions are.. interesting- they aren't straight forward. The class is hard but through hard work you'll do good. just be ready to lose sleep!
Lecture attendance is mandatory, but the professor speeds through concepts. Pre-lecture assignments help you understand material prior to lectures, but some post-lecture questions are unrelated to content. Highly suggest familiarizing yourself with key terms and diagrams on your own time. The professor is kind and easy to approach.
If you have a hard time with reading comprehension than this class will be difficult. The test questions were very hard for me, the majority struggled thru. In class questions are nothing like the exams. I would recommend recording lecture bc there is so much info. He gives some extra credit. Be ready to study bc this class is intense & hard!!
Study hard and attend lecture. If you need help, attend office hrs
This class is very much a continuation of 190. I would say his teaching style is similar to Utz. He did have a study guide/ lecture guide and the best way to study would be to fill out the study guide as he lectures. He will answer questions in the guide that isn't in the textbook.
Exams are based on the notes he gives us, which are very in detail and don't miss any important notes that you'll need for the exam. Dr. Choate is very knowledgeable and able to answer questions if you have any. In-class assignments, study guides, and SI sessions have been very helpful. Would definitely take him again, but put time into the class.
Dr. Choate is probably one of the most pretentious professors I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing. He truly thinks he is God's gift to ecology. He is smart and knows his literature, but YAWNNNN! Get a personality dude! He wishes he was one of the greats so he shits on students all day long. Good luck!
Lectures over time. Beginning unit is terrible, so be patient with urself. He's an ecology guy, remember that for unit 3. Attend SI. Makes simple things complicated. Can be kind of rude. Mandatory iClicker 4 attendance. He knows his stuff, so attend Off Hrs. Study off HIS slides, memorize as much info as u can for diagrams/processes.
Yes, his courses are difficult, but he lectures the best out of any other biology professor. He truly cares about the content and uses great examples to relate the content. There are discussion papers you have to read about every other week and work that needs to be submitted every Friday. He has been my favorite professor in my college career.
Attaining an A in Dr. Choate's class is achievable. Do not slack on reviewing lectures or coming to class. His tests are pretty straightforward. He has one extra credit opportunity that saved my grade. It boosted one exam by 10 points and helped to bump me up a letter grade.
Super pretentious! Will constantly make comments like, "You guys need to experience more things in life" because no one has been to "x" national park. He has an ego so much so that he will call out students at random who he thinks aren't engaged. Overall a weird dude. Read to textbook, make flashcards, and study slides and you can do ok.
He's Organized. Gives extra credit. There's a slight curve. Took it over the summer. The same amount of work is given just as much a regular semester. When in doubt, pay attention to everything in red on his slides!
Choat isn't that bad of a professor. He makes jokes and tries his best with lectures. A couple things to note the average number of slides is about 40-60. Each test covers about 5-6 lectures. The tests aren't bad if you know how to study. Highly recommend not even bothering with the book, just focus on the slides and you'll get an A.
Dr. Choate is a good professor & tries to make the class interactive. He has a lot of assignments but they serve as a buffer for exam scores. Weekly online posts, 1 group presentation, & 10 notecards (based on research articles). Didn't use the textbook and his exams are based off his slides. He is available after class and happy to help students.
Attend lectures and review notes diligently. Dr. Choate's exams are straightforward if you stay on top of the material. unstuck ai was a lifesaver for practice questions and study prep. Overall, a challenging but manageable course.
very test-heavy class, q's are super specific, so if you don't know the material, good luck T_T. He is not really a grade curver or lenient in any way really. Also dont expect to see what you missed on exams because he will never tell you! He may require spiritual fulfillment in his life. Love organismal bio tho!
BOY. lemme tell you something... this class is going to make you wish you got hit by a car on the way just so you can skip his class...buddy OHH buddy, When you walk out of that exam and look at your friend and yall dont say a word... just binge eat... I got into skincare as a 21 year old man because i needed to relax... yeah dont take him man...
Funny guy who makes some pretty boring topics actually pretty interesting. Very helpful but the overall class is tough, you'll have to study and memorize a crap ton in a short a while. But if you put in the effort and show up to class it's not bad at all.
This class is moderately difficult. This is because the content can be hard to grasp directly from slide content and lectures. He is trying his best though :) I do think it would have been way easier if there wasn't so much jargon. Tiny curve on exams. Don't expect extra credit or freebies.
he's not even as bad as the other reviews made him seem. you do have to put in the work and hours to learning the material instead of cramming a weekend before which i didn't start doing till the end, but hes a great teacher and it's an interesting course. and his jokes hit sometimes
funny guy and really good at explaining bio topics, also willing to spend time with you 1 on 1. i enjoyed his style and the class tho it was a lot of memorization and lecture heavy. tests are straightforward(no curveballs) and he gives points back
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
0%
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