Not the hardest class, pretty interesting. She is incredibly patient, probably the most patient person I've ever met. She is also very clear and open to questions. Pretty engaging professor. This is the last day and SHE BROUGHT US CANDY!!!

She is really approachable when it comes to asking questions. She's willing to stay after class as long as anyone needs her to. I didn't do the best in the class, but if you pay attention to what she has to say, then you'll do excellent on the tests. You can tell she has an actual interest in what she's teaching

I LOVE this professor! She is very easy to understand, and if you pay attention to what she says in lecture, the tests will be a breeze. Extremely friendly and you can tell she absolutely loves her job.

Professor Wassenberg is very passionate about ecology. Her tests are mostly multiple choice with a few short answer or interpretations of data. She presents course content very clearly and is always up to date with moodle.

She's great! She loves what she's teaching. As long as you know the material, you'll do fine on her tests.

The exams make up this class: two 40-question multiple choice exams, and a 60-question multiple choice final. Deena is data crazy and aims to maneuver the class in a direction wherein they interpret data all the friggin time. The content seems easy in lecture but is difficult on the exams. Deena is amazingly sweet, though, and interaction may help.

Dr. Wassenberg's lecture notes were well prepared and carefully compiled. She prepared her lecture materials thoroughly and posted them on the course website, so that the students could study using her lecture materials. Making seemingly hard concepts down to earth was her specialty.

Fantastic professor! Lectures were interesting, thought-provoking, engaging. She encourages class participation but unfortunately not many people spoke up in class. Take her class, go to office hours, talk to her. She is great. I learned a TON in her class.

One of my favorite teacher! She is clear in her explanation, and shows a great passion. Shows little to no bias regarding the controversial subjects. She gives us the data and make the assumption for ourselves. Extremely helpful. Be careful to listen to what she says, cause often it is on the test. Just simply awesome.

BIOL 1050 was on of my most enjoyable classes. Wassenberg is super enthusiastic about what she teaches. Work is quite easy, but the class was legitimate; it actually made me enjoy learning! (gasp!) Obviously, she's quite liberal, but won't bombard you with her opinion. Especially for a lib ed requirement, give one of her classes a look.

Deena was awesome! I didn't really like ecology before her class--in fact I almost dreaded it. However she's super enthusiastic and she changed my mind about the subject completely. She's also super helpful. If you can. taker her! She's the best!

Wassenberg was awesome. I already love ecology, but a lot of the kids in CBS are pre-med and couldn't care less... UNTIL Wassenberg started teaching. I know a lot of kids in my group suddenly realized that ecology was pretty cool. Despite having such a huge class I never felt like she didn't care about me personally.

Wassenberg was amazing. Before her class, I was absolutely sure I hated ecology but she managed to change my opinion. Very engaging, interesting lecturer with very fair exams. I highly recommend taking a class with her if possible.

Dr. Wassenberg is not your average professor. She really engages her classes, and she makes the presentations fun. She does not lecture, but presents to you. Her quizzes and exams are relatively easy, too. Please take classes with her. I was undecided on a major, and she made me choose Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior.

Take Foundations with her. Period. She is engaging in her lectures, makes herself very available, and really wants you to do well. Helpful and timely feedback on all projects. Fair tests that truly test what you should have learned from her section.

Deena is a very good teacher. Her classes, although I was not interested in the subject matter, were far from boring. The homework was super easy, and the tests were fairly straightforward. I recommend her if you need a bio with lab credit.

Very fun professor, loves and is interesting in the topic she's teaching. Tends to spend most of the class talking about the fun interesting facts rather than what we are tested on though. Lots of graphs to read and quite a few projects between lab and lecture, but definitely a great teacher to have if fulfilling your biology requirement.

The material in this class was interesting, and for the most part Deena was a good professor. The only problem I had was that lecture focused on examples of applied concepts (looking at studies, real-world occurences, etc.). She whizzed through the slides with actual information on them before anyone had a chance to write it down.

Professor Wassenberg gave fairly easy exams provided you read over her lecture slides a few times. Her project grading was a little more tough, but overall she was a good instructor.

Had a really good time in class. Midterms could be difficult, but the final was very easy if you understood the midterm material. Not too many surprises on the test. Enjoyed class time, though sometimes it became stilted.

I hated science coming into class and I left wanting to study more biology. Biology of sex is SO critical to our everyday life, personal experiences, and the world around us. She helped me whenever I asked even the smallest of questions. We had the other teacher who created the course sub for a week and Deena was infinitely better. Take HER class!

Dr. Wassenberg is by far my favorite prof in CBS! She is very knowledgable about the subject matter, and enthusiastic in her lectures. I would not call her the hardest grader but definitely not an easy A. She makes you work for that better grade. Make sure you religiously read the textbook, take notes, and review her lectures slides before exams.

Deena is definitely the best professor I've had so far. She explains everything really well, is really really nice and her teaching style is innovative and sparks interest. She is one of the most helpful professors and you can tell she loves to help whenever you ask her about anything. Great professor, amazing person.

Took this class for a credit, just for pass/fail, and it was unbelievably easy. The labs are actually fun, I would recommend this class for bio sciences. Applies to real life and you'll actually remember the stuff :)

Deena is very knowledgable and does a good job at teaching certain subjects, many of which are not on the exams, which makes the exams fairly difficult. The labs are awesome and super easy. You won't need the Red Queen book.

Clearly interested in both the material and teaching it. Willing to help students individually. Lectures are interesting and informative. One of the better generals I've taken.

Deena's lectures are pretty amazing. the entire class really surrounds the lectures so don't miss any. This was one of the most interesting and enriching classes I have taken that's not in my major. She is a gifted teacher who seems to care about the students and the process of learning. highly recommended. if you want an A, buy the book

Great professor, always answered any questions I had. Very open-minded and genuinely interested in the topic.

Super nice teacher. She is very understanding and helpful. She expects participation but that is expected from all teachers! You have to participate in the REEF polling activities as they are for points. I would recommend her!

She cares about the material that she teaches. S he'll help you with any of the homework assignments, all you have to do is ask! I didn't even go to office hours, I just asked her after class. She even helped me with technical issues on my laptop that was preventing me from doing one of the assignments. The one thing I hate is all the hard tables

She was honestly a great professor! The class was easy, besides reading the chapters that took awhile, but it was fine, and the class is very informative. I've learned a lot and I'm happy to know it now. I also have a better grasp on reading scientific graphs. She's very inspirational, passionate about what she teaches and is great.

The most caring and thorough professor I've had. Too bad she's not in my department.

I took BIOL 1050 with the lab the class was harder than I thought it would be but still enjoyed it. Deena was very approachable and she provides the powerpoints ahead of time and learning objectives which serve as a great study guide along with a couple of online quizzes that you can review. There is some extra reading.

Great class, great lectures, she makes the class very interactive. Exams are easy if you pay attention in class. Book is not necessarily the most important resource for exams, but make sure you do read so you can do the quizzes. Readings she assigns will also be on the exams.

Deena was a very personable professor. Her lectures were always interesting and she carried a great sense of humor and openness about some of the more awkward topics of discussion in 1003. The midterms are pretty easy if you study from the Learning Objectives posted each week. I did not even touch The Red Queen, no need to purchase the book.

Although I haven't taken another BIOL class at the U, I would argue Deena is probably the best BIOL teacher there is. I had the TA Kate Holzer who was really nice and had great explanations and grading criteria as well. Considering I naturally suck at bio, I actually took away a lot of important life info from this class.

I took this class for an elective and absolutely loved it. Deena is an amazing lecturer and always kept the information as interesting as possible. She does a great job making the awkward topics more comfortable. There is a lot of small group discussions in lecture which I found very helpful. I would 100% recommend this course to everyone!

Dr. Wassenberg is both an amazing lecturer and is extremely nice and caring about her students. If you read the textbook and take a look at her lecture slides before the tests, you should be fine.

While the lectures were a little drawn out and the labs weren't challenging, she was clearly extremely passionate about the environment and has a ton of prior field experience that makes listening to her stories really engaging. Excellent first semester teacher to have. Tips: skim the textbook prior to lecture. listen at lectures. You'll be fine.

Dr. Wassenberg has been one of my favorite professors so far, so much that I completely rearranged my schedule to have her again. If you are struggling with material, she was always available to help you out. There were weekly quizzes to take before class but easy material. Tests were fair. Group work was common. Used Top Hat for participation

Deena's lectures are really engaging to listen to, her stories related to the course material break it up making it easy to pay attention to, and the way the material is presented, it really makes you want to listen. Tophat is used in the class, so you can't really skip but overall 'd say its an easy class.

She was a great professor, and although Environmental Biology was a gen-ed, I loved showing up to class. She truly cares about what she is teaching you and makes class fun.

Deena is great. She genuinely cares about the course material and her students, and her lectures show it. She is funny and engaging, and creates an open and warm learning environment. She is super approachable and is present for each student. The tests are not difficult if you go to class and pay attention.

Deena is great! Her lectures are informative, and valuable. There are readings for every class which can be a lot, but she usually goes over what they talked about. Her tests are average, but it's easy to get a high grade as her learning objectives tell you exactly what to expect, and she is very helpful when it comes to questions.

Deena is a real gem of a professor. She is very passionate about the environment and is easy to listen to. Her class is engaging and I looked forward to lecture every time. Tests are about the usual, if you study enough you will do fine. There is a bit of a curve at the end too, so don't stress too much. Try to take at least one class with Deena!

She is such a sweetheart, and definitely tries to make her lectures very interesting. She ties data and cool studies to all of her information and helps you out with things you dont understand. The learning targets are what is on the exam, and she has practice questions & clickers help too! Assignments are pretty easy. Definitely take her!

Professor Wassenburg was amazing! She truly cared about what she was teaching and she is one of the nicest professors that I've ever had. The class was pretty easy as the power points are all you need to study. It was boring sometimes but I regret not paying attention sometimes because looking back the things I missed were pretty interesting.

Deena is one of my favorite professors of all time. She's both hilarious and really kind to her students. She was an easy grader and there really were no trick questions on the exams.

This might be the easiest "college-level" class I've ever taken. That said, Deena is wonderful. She's caring, approachable, and knows how to incorporate lots of interactive components that make classes engaging, if not always fascinating. A solid choice for a gen. ed. course.

Deena e truly cares about her students and wants them all to succeed. She was responsible for the evolution part of foundations 1 and she did an excellent job. Her portion of the tests was not easy. Do the LRRs. Huge project worth 1/3 of your grade. Quizzes weekly followed w/team quizzes. Lots of reading from the textbook. Attendance is encouraged.

deena is simply the kindest professor (& generally just person) i have met so far at UMN. she deeply cares about not only the subject but also her students & wants nothing more than to see us succeed. she is super helpful in and outside of class and gives really good lectures. she also never makes you feel dumb if you are confused. 10/10 would rec!

Deena was kind, passionate, and had a relatively straightforward class. It's important to go over lecture slides before the test. There are test questions that involve little details from the lectures, so it is important to go to lectures for sure.

She is so kind and accepting of everyone in class. She really cares about how her students feel and even though I was in a 100+ person lecture, I still feel like whenever I asked a question she tried to connect with me and help me as much as she could. She seemed very committed to creating a positive space for her students.

Deena is a great professor, she specifically teaches this class for non-biology majors. Material is well presented and easy to understand, labs are interesting and fun. Overall a great class for a double dipper in Bio and the environment.

Dr. Wassenberg is one of those rare professors that genuinely always comes to lecture with an upbeat attitude and loves interacting with students. She's an absolute sweetheart and was always willing to clarify things during office hours. It is strikingly clear that she is very passionate about the field of biology and loves what she does!

amazing professor & most people are saying this is for people who are not good at science but as much as I loved her, I could not pay attention in class which made me do pass/fail. The info can be interesting but i took the class at 2:30 which made me not pay attention bc I was so ready to be done. also ask her to go over the study guide during OH

ABSOLUTE GEM. Deena really tried to get to know her students, which is so rare with online courses. Was incredibly helpful and guided students towards correct answers. Her feedback allowed us to move towards the right direction with the semester long project. Also constantly reassured students they were capable and to not give up. Super relatable!!

Deena is one of if not the most amazing professor that I have had. She strives to make connections with every person in the class. For a class of over 100 that's a feat. She also gives amazing lectures. She gets you lost in a web of stories during class to the point where it doesn't even feel like a lecture. Love her 10/10 prof.

Professor Wassenberg is really nice and her lectures keep you interested all the way through. I can tell she cares about the students and she's always looking for ways to help students. Biol1003 is an easy A with her as long as you go to the lectures and do the assignments. All of the tests were based on the lectures, so make sure you attend!

Amazing professor and really nice. Lecture slides were close to awful. The tests are made up of material from the lectures, but the slides almost have no words and not everyone wants to rewatch an hour and a half lecture video to remember--so that wasn't fun. The lab is VERY easy and I loved it. Group projects were annoying :/ Easy to get an A!

Deena was an amazing professor. She made the lectures on the ecology portion of the class very interesting and engaging. Exams are a breeze since she posts practice exams that accurately reflect the exam difficulty. A lot of your grade in this course is based on long-term projects, but Deena gave good feedback and really wanted everyone to succeed.

Deena is great and nice to talk to! Biology is biology but she does a good job of making ecology interesting. Weekly quiz. The exams aren't terrible.

Study and you will get good grades on her exams. Her practice exams include a lot of helpful and sufficient information to do good enough on the midterm. She's really nice and approachable. She offers great feedback and includes breaks in her lectures. She makes the 2 hour lecture VERY bearable and of the foundations professors was my favorite.

Professor Wassenberg creates a well thought-out and engaging class, and does so without having the course become overbearing. The professor's knowledge on the subject matter is outstanding, and it's clear that she truly cares about educating those in her classes.

Professor Wassenberg is very passionate and knowledgeable about everything she talked about. The assignments seemed like busy work.When studying for the exam look at her lecture slides and her review questions. The review questions are similar to the ones on the exam and the lecture slides provide a lot of the graphs that will be used on the exam.

Deena was one of the most inspirational professors I have ever had so far at the U of M. I was never too interested in ecology, but Deena made it so interesting with her engaging lectures! She's very accessible outside of class (she replies to emails very quickly!) and it's clear Deena makes it a priority to help students in any way she can.

Deena is an amazing professor. She shows that she cares about you and is willing to dedicate time to helping you, even in a class of over a hundred people. Labs were easy and enjoyable. You work with groups every lecture and lab. I highly recommend taking this class to satisfy your bio requirement. Lots of great information and cool class.

She's one of the best professors I've had. Clear, engaging lectures that are both informative and thought-provoking. The group activities were really interesting and actually pretty fun. Her passion for teaching biology and ecology really rub off on you. Too bad she doesn't teach the full semester, the 2nd half was a disappointment after her.

Dr. Wassenberg was an amazing professor. She was very clear with her expectations and was always ready to answer questions. BIOL2003 is a content-dense class but she made it interesting and allowed us to apply our knowledge by giving us weekly assignments and group projects.

Dr. Wassenberg is super dedicated to her craft. She really enjoys what she teaches and makes sure students understand the material. Exams are pretty hefty and long, make sure to read the textbook and do practice questions. overall, I think her and Abdi make the best teacher duo in the foundations series!

Deena taught with enthusiasm and you could tell she wanted to connect with students even though it was a pretty big class. Provided great feedback on the project! Exams were straightforward and good practice exams were provided. She often opened up extra office hours around exams times or when a the project was due, which was very helpful!

Dr. Wassenberg was fantastic. I don't think I've had any other professor who has connected with students so closely.

Deena is an incredible professor! I've had such a good time in her section of Foundations and I definitely recommend her for anyone looking to take this course!

Deena is like the goat of the foundations courses. She's chill like that and her tests were easy for the most part, be careful of the multiple choice tho, each one is worth 3 points lol. Lots of group work. Just read the book and focus on the big picture and you'll be okay.

Hands down my favorite professor ever. Easy to understand lectures and her tests are also very easy if you put effort in. She's funny and awesome, makes foundations less sucky!

Exams are difficult but she is very willing to help in any way she can. Lectures are big but she makes them feel small, and though there's a lot of participation required, she is very nice and it really isn't as intimidating as other classes. Big portion of grade is based on a long-term project and peer evals, so play nice.

Dr. Wassenberg taught for the ecology half of BIOL2003, and she was amazing. Her passion and enthusiasm for biology have really rubbed off on me. Her exams were very fair and her lectures were a good representation of what was on the exams (for the ecology portion at least). Would 100% recommend!

As a business major this was easily the best bio credit to take. super easy lab that was easy receive an A in. Deena herself was very passionate about the subject and i enjoyed learning about this new topic. The tests averages were Bs and had some difficult questions you may only recall from attending lecture.

Dr. Wassenberg was an incredible professor that clearly has a passion for teaching. She taught the ecology portion of this course, which was less challenging material-wise, but she was very helpful with the long term project, which was much more challenging than the actual content of this portion of the class.

Dr. Wassenberg is a passionate about environmental biology and made sure to include multiple perspectives when teaching this course. She presented the material clearly and was always willing to answer questions both in and outside of class. The class was fairly easy with weekly assignments and exam questions primarily coming from the lectures.

Deena is a really caring professor and wants you to succeed. I definitely recommend being communicative of any needs and asking any questions you have, she is easily accessible.

Dr. Wassenberg is a very caring professor, she makes sure that her students understand the content that is being taught. For this class there is a final group project, and throughout the class there will be updates for this project, during these updates Dr. Wassenberg gave amazing feedback that really helps you understand the content.

Professor Wassenberg is passionate and engaging. Exams are challenging but fair - staying on top of the textbook and using Unstuck ai for practice questions really helps. Her enthusiasm and feedback made this a great class overall.

Dr. Wassenberg is incredibly kind, passionate, caring, respectful, and a great professor. She made the content enjoyable to learn. Exams were fair, not too hard but not too easy. Great professor.

I agree with all the other comments regarding her lectures and feedback. If you do the pre-class prep, lectures are easy and fun. Also loves getting to know her students and interacting one-on-one. The only issue I had was that her grading was weeks behind. Definitely one of the best professors I've had at UMN.

Professor Wassenberg made the ecology portion of Foundations II very engaging and fun. I was able to get one-on-one help from her during in-class activities and at review sessions before exams. She is always happy to answer questions and encourages discussions in class that relate the content to real-world examples that are relevant to students.

Out of the 4 biology teachers I have had in the last 2 semesters, Deena is definitely my favorite. She does a great job explaining, while also caring about feedback and struggles of students. Furthermore, she was very understanding if something went wrong, and made sure everything was fair. The long term project was also very nicely graded.