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great job on dry subject matter. can expect at least a couple laughs a lecture

great prof, nice guy

good prof. moved to quickly through the material. exam was fair.

Nice prof, good notes, good review sessions. Some people didn't like his pacing, but I thought it was a nice for a change. Come on now, we've learned all this stuff in high school, quit whining like you've never seen the material.

awesome prof!

Fair and easy exam. Hilarious when said "frickin' ox-phos [oxidative phosphorylation]". A little bit slow on the pacing, but satisfactory nonetheless. All those who say otherwise must be social science majors.

I thought his pacing was great and he tried to tell jokes to make the class more interesting. Can't blame the guy for trying. Notes were very clear and exam was very fair.

i think i like him more than haffie... his notes are very helpful, but i don't like the fact that you cannot ask questions in class. this course overall is driving me nuts. i found so many problems with the exam. like bad wording, more than one correct answer, etc. its obvious it was last minute

much better than Haffie. He's a really cool guy, and he's an American so I get along with him fine. I like the fact that you can't ask questions in class, because it distracts him from what he needs to do.

His format of notes is excellent, i wish every prof did them like that. Exam was fair, and he made content that could easily be vexing and dry work pretty well.

Maxwell has very good lectures. He is very clear with concepts and I find the material that he teaches to be very interesting. The demos that he performs in class are also interesting and helpful. He is MUCH better than Haffie. Although I find Haffie is more approachable than Maxwell.

Best bio professor. Huge difference between his notes and Haffies. I studied the same for both his exam and Haffie's the result was a difference of over 20%. I can only make one conclusion: the way he teaches is over 20% more effective than Haffie's style. We need more profs like Maxwell.

Awesome prof. People think he's not approachable because they haven't tried. Maxwell showed me his lab and talked about his research. Haffie is a completely different prof that needs a completely different strategy to do well in. Maxwell - read the notes. Haffie - study excessively + BOOK!

Maxwell is awesome. I worked in his lab for two years, and he's a great guy to work for too. Very smart, effective proff, and great notes!

Maxwell is awesome. A top prof for first year Biology. Knows what he is talking about and is very helpful if you seek him out.

Great prof, very clear, very smart. Exams are fair. You can't complain.

Makes class A LOT more interesting than the other profs in Bio 22...good notes, clear in his teaching, and makes most material very understandable to students. My highest exam mark in the course was on his section.

Maxwell is sooo amazing, loves it! An excellent lecturer and researcher you can't go wrong with this guy! :)

Liked him until I heard him at the NCB tim hortons talking to another prof about how stupid his bio 022 class was :(

Good guy and easy exams

pretty good prof

Amazing teacher...period

good guy. My highest mark was in his section!

Overall, Dr. Maxwell was one of my better prof's this year. He tried to make classes interesting and he was successful (at least to me) in doing that. His exam was also pretty fair too.

Phenominal, Just phenominal. Possibly my best professor this year.

THE BEST BIO TEACHER YOU CAN GET!!! He is so organized, so concise... heaven on earth! haha

Was clear in the material you had to know. Lecture slides very concise. I enjoyed going to his lectures. He also has pretty good taste in music.

Great guy - made going to class so worth it. Extremely interesting and funny.

My favourite part of the course was Maxwell's section and consequently I also got my highest exam mark on his exam (Biochemistry). His notes are ultra-concise, incredibly clear and he has a great sense of humour. Awesome prof!

Loved his sense of humor... Maxwell is always clear and to the point in his lectures! A great prof!

most straight-forward prof. not easy b/c he does test you, but the material is the difficult part here, not the prof. universities need more profs like this guy.

Great teacher. Very clear and manages to cover lots of material in every class. The exam is hard, but very fair. He makes sure to emphasize what's important in class.

Great prof. Tells you absolutely everything you need to know in the lectures.

Such a good prof! Funny, and tells you exactly what you need to know!

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Funny...excellent teaching style (my notes were fantastic)

Maxwell is such a smart guy honestly I walked out of every lecture ACTUALLY understanding what was going on... he made things make sense! best first year bio prof!

Excellent teacher. Notes were very organized. Lectures were interesting. Examples were relavent. Exam was straight from his notes and were fair.

Exam questions are from lecture notes. Not memorization but understanding concepts and being able to apply them. Great guy, funny, helpful. Don't bother with the txt cause he's all lecture notes. Makes plants interesting when plants themselves suck :) lol

I used to hate Bio in high school, but he made me love going to Bio lectures. Very funny and speaks clearly and at a perfect rate. Makes complicated theories understandable and is VERY clear about what will be tested on exams. Excellent prof!

Funny, notes were great, spoke with clarity and excitement. Classes themselves were actually interesting.

very funny, enthusiastic and helpful

This guy is my world! Hes an amazing prof thats just full of awesomeness! He even tells you exactly what to know from your notes and to highlight it for the exam.. how easy can it get?His exams are fair because they make you think and apply rather than vomit all your knowledge onto a piece of paper.Anyone who opposes Maxwell should go die in a hole

the prof that kept me sane during 023, you could almost say that he balanced out the incompetence of fenton and the hardness of Haffie :D, made me actually want to come to class once in a while

Maxwell is a great balance between Haffie & Fenton. His material is quite easy to understand and he's very helpful outside of class too. Gotta love his awkward random comments while he gives people time to write/type what he says. Also, he has an awesome taste in music..I definitely downloaded almost everything he played before his lectures!

Hes freakinn amazing... the only reason worth coming to biology...he made bio funny and interesting and totally understandable...his exam questions are totally fair and are from his lectures..n hes super hot !!!

LOVED him! He's the reason I passed bio.

I loved Maxwell! He was very funny, concise, and interesting. His exams we tough but fair and he kept you interested in class. He was very helpful about answering questions on WebCT. Overall a great prof.

awsomeness

Maxwell is an exceptional biology teacher. His lectures are far superior to Haffie's confusing and abysmal lectures. Maxwell is what you want in a biology teacher - makes the lectures simple, eliminates useless/un-necessary facts and is very percise. Too bad he didn't teach all of Bio otherwise Bio would be a sensational class rather than just "ok"

Denis was the man! He was the reason to come to class! Exam material was completely fair and he prepared us fully well for it. He had a certain pizazz about him while teaching, he kept you interested for more the next class!

Maxwell was an amazing professor, one could not ask for a more interesting and dedicated professor. That said, don't ask dumb questions with him for there are dumb questions and should you ask them, be prepared to be embarrassed.

Great!

freakkin amazing

I had a hard time grasping some concepts in class, but when I saw him in person, he was extremely helpful and even had a great sence of humour!

One of the best first year profs. I actually looked forward to bio classes, opposed to finding excuses not to go to Haffie. You can always expect a few good laughs during his class. Like Haffie though, to do well, you need to understand the material and apply your knowledge, opposed to memorization

intelligent, humorous, organized, everyone talks about how entertaining AND how good of a teacher he is around the campus.

Amazing amazing prof!!! He was one of the most interesting and funny profs I had at Western. I'm now at Waterloo and taking biology courses here made me realize how wonderful Maxwell was! Though I did think his exam questions were harder than Haffie's, but they are pretty straight forward. Honestly, just listen and take good notes, you'll do fine!

Great prof, goes a bit quickly at times, talks at warp-speed, but lectures are available on-line, so you just have to go back and watch them again. VERY fair evaluations, albeit they do involve a good deal of critical thinking and not just rote memorization

Incredible prof! Doesn't make you memorize useless details just need an overall understanding. Lectures are interesting, easy to follow and you usually get in a laugh or two. Does talk at light speed though and isn't too helpful. Don't ask a stupid question because with him there is such a thing. But overall he is amazing!

Maxwell is by far my favourite prof this year. Organized, good at explaining concepts and absolutely hilarious! good music taste too:)

awesome...nuff said

Generally a great prof, I learned a lot in his class. He keeps lectures fun and interesting, but still includes tons of info. I particularly liked that his lectures pretty much covered all the material you needed to know for the exams.

good sense of humor, you can tell he was the nerdy music kid in his teens and thats why you love him! exams are not only about memorization but about understanding the concepts and being able to apply them. slides are concise and accurate with no useless info. overall great prof!

Awesome Prof! Go to his lecture because 90% of the exam material comes from them. Test yourself by going through the textbook questions and the past exams. Really funny guy so keeps the lectures interesting!

Great teacher/lecturer!

Hes really great at explaining things. I love his lectures they are concise and to the point. He will tell you if some little info is not relevant. He has a sense of humour which makes the class pretty fun too.

Awesome prof! His lectures are great and he gets to the point. He has a great sense of humor and his tests are fair. Overall, great guy.

Excellent prof, lectures are entertaining

Love him

His lectures are all over the place, making note-taking pretty ridiculous. This course is notorious for stupidly-written exams before 2008 and starting again 2012/13. I'd have a 99% average without this course. 85% on all their exams,because they don't test the material, they test how well you can see through writing-tricks and ambiguous questions.

Maxwell's a good dude. In his lectures he tends to blabber about some irrevelant things, and triest to make class is standup routine. His exams are full of tricks, in order to nail you on insignificant details. The guy is really nice in person--and seems to care about his students.

best prof ever!!!

LOVE HIM! By far my favorite prof at Western! You can tell he loves what he is doing. Also funny and really helpful!

Great Professor, I did a lot better in his class because I visited him at his office hours, I highly recommend that. His exams are okay just like Haffie's. Read the textbook, he wrote it so he gets everything from the textbook! You will get a 90% or higher if you read the textbook and study it before class!ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS

Hilarious guy... very clear in his explanations, fun lectures -Also his twitter account is great... -Tests are easier than Haffie's but still challenging enough so that you actually learn something.

Maxwell is such a funny guy and he made the lectures so much more entertaining! If you studied well for the exams they were no tricks!

He's funny! Also, if you ask him questions after lecture, he's very clear and thorough in responding but only to the extent that you need to know info for this course. Aka he won't spend 20 minutes waxing hypothetical with you. Focuses on helping the students struggling rather than those trying to go from 85 to 90, which is a sweet philosophy.

Overall, great prof. Made lectures exciting and funny. Gave clear understandings of what he wanted us to know and understand. Would definitely take another one of his classes.

He's my funniest first year prof, and that's saying something. Makes you interested. Really helpful. Does a nice job, like Haffie, of loving the material.

Amazing, and inspirational prof, best prof in my first year at western.

Maxwell is to this date one of my favourite profs, made first year more relaxing and entertaining. The dynamic between him and haffie is hilarious. Felt very encouraged to participate/ask questions. Great guy (hates dentists)

I don't think I'll ever understand how this man made photosythesis and cellular respiration fun and interesting, but he somehow managed to do it. I really loved going to his lectures!

Loved taking this guys class. His lectures are funny, straightforward and interesting. His exams are straightforward. Fav prof ive had no doubt

I love him!! He made bio really fun. Him and Haffie together was fun, I never missed a lecture.

Maxwell & Haffie are hilarious together. Readings and lectures testable. Readings give basic, broad understanding while lectures usually go into detail of certain parts. Most lectures also posted online. Highly recommend re-watching them to gain full understanding. His lectures are really funny.

Maxwell is passionate and explains concepts in multiple ways in order for you to fully understand the content. Uploaded archived videos saved me and their tests genuinely have everything to do with the lecture content and some of the textbook. Haffie and Maxwell make western great

Denis is great. Super clear outcomes on what hell test you on that he completely covers in lecture. Do no pre-reading but listen during class and I think you could still do fine. A lot of people prefer Haffie but I find Maxwell has a much better pace and organization to his lectures. Going to search for him in future courses.

Great prof, funny guy

I had him for second semester Bio and really liked him. His part of the exam was fair and he makes lectures very interesting and fun.

His lectures are the one's I looked forward to most

Maxwell was a really great prof. Working alongside Haffie, Maxwell makes class funny, and although the material can be dry at times, he designs his lectures so that they make sense. I found his exam questions to be a mix of both memorization and application, so his exams were pretty fair; sometimes tricky, but very fair. He was a great professor!

Good lectures and a funny prof. Talks too slow in the lecture recordings

He's a good prof. Explains things very well and is approachable. He could talk a bit faster in lectures, though.

Prof. Maxwell was overall a great professor. His lectures were enjoyable and interesting, and his questions on exams were a fair representation of what was taught. I enjoyed Maxwell's lectures, and would recommend him to other students.

PROS: Gut-splitting humor, makes you WANT to come to class, good at "building a narrative" to not only regurgitate why certain biological processes are but how they came to be, which resonates with my learning style. CONS: exams are (a) based 90% on lecture content and (b) tricky wording with a lot of specifics. Focus lectures  you'll do great!

favourite prof. really liked the way he lectured. didn't focus on nitty gritty details as much as he wanted you to understand the big picture. gives very clear learning outcomes that make the exams easy

such a fun and organized prof. his lectures are really informative. only look at the textbook if he tells you to or if you dont understand a certain topic. his exams are really easy if you understand the lectures. he's also hilarious and he cares and asks questions in class. would 100% take again

He care about his students

Prof Maxwell sticks to his words and does not bring content outside of the lectures on the exam. He helps you see the big picture of processes and his slides are organized. He does not care that much about class avg, so he does not make a hard final if the midterm avg was high. He is so funny in his lectures and makes you wanna come to class.

Ok hear me out: in the beginning I wasn't used to Prof Maxwell's lectures. He would pause often and make random jokes out of nowhere. After a while, it kind of grew on me. He pauses a lot because he's thinking of the next point he wants to deliver. I like that he doesn't beat around the bush and tells you what he wants you to know for the exam asap

Favourite professor I've had in all my undergrad. Really made the course interesting and enjoyable! He explains material in detail and really shows you the bigger picture. Exams are easy if you watch the lectures because they are 100% lecture based. Hilarious prof and you'll regret not taking this course!

actually cares about his students, and values understanding over memorization.

maxwell is on god my favourite prof, an absolute king, his lectures tell you exactly what you need to know and the speed is PERFECT if you want it sped up you can take the extra two seconds to speed it up, and in the middle of his lectures he cracks random jokes that make me WHEEZE, so just trust, you want him as your prof JUST TRUST

I LOVE MAXWELL, he is by far the best prof I have. At the start of the semester I didn't know how to feel ab him but as time goes on it gets better &better! His lectures are long but he actually teaches and goes over important details. He makes his lectures funny which is so great and engaging especially during the online classes that are so boring

by far the best prof i've had during my first year. He makes his lecture videos fun and easy to understand and livens it up with jokes which in my case help me with recall. His quizzes really do reflect what he taught so there are no surprises when it comes to midterms. Hands down the best bio prof for first year bio!!

An exception to the horrible online experience provided by Western. Lectures are very well explained, interesting, and actually worth watching. All tested content is mentioned. Brought me up from a low 60s in first sem to 90s so far this term. Maxwell seems like the only prof that puts effort into teaching online and cares for students.

ProfMax is the best prof I've had in online learning. He's very engaging, giving us Qs to answer in the forum to actually learn the material & not memorize, and he's a super funny dude, I actually laugh to his jokes in the videos. He's clearly passionate about his field. His quizzes and tests are fair. If I can take his class again, I 100% would.

I love his lectures! I find myself very engaged, as he makes jokes related to the content. Although some people think he talks slow, I like the pace, because I dont feel stressed watching the lectures. His way of teaching resonates with me and I feel I absorb the content fairly well! 10/10!

Love the lectures! Makes the content very engaging to students with funny comments and related examples with a good pace. Test is relevant to material. Would definitely take this class again. Great guy:)

Professor Maxwell is an enjoyable teacher to listen to. I took the Biology 1002B course online due to the pandemic so things may be different in person, but his lectures are designed for you to understand the content rather than just memorize it. He speaks slowly so I sped up his lectures for time reasons, but his lectures were engaging otherwise!

In my opinion, the best science prof in all of first year. He was funny, straight to the point and seemed to care about how well we did. I, being the king of procrastination, watched his lectures at 3x speed and still did well.

I really like prof max, im going to remember him for years, I can tell he tries to make his concepts easy to understand but academic profs are not the best at explaining to newbie undergrads and things get lost in translation. Sometimes he repeats something important A LOT but I sril cant understand it because of the lack of explaination.

He's truly a gem and will rest the best bio prof, compared to the others.

I barely showed up to the class, I did all the lectures the day before the quizzes and tests and still did well. Also, he was pretty understanding when I sent him emails regarding personal problems. I will say , he does talk very slowly, and he expects you to research some things and learn them on your own during the first few lectures.

A lot of people complain he talks slow but honestly, I find that much better than profs speaking quickly. He simplified the material down to only the important concepts while still keeping in the right amount of detail. Despite some of his questions being really specific, if you watched the lectures you would do amazing. LOVE MAXWELL SM

Maxwell is a funny guy. Made the most boring subject of bio (ugh plants, sorry denis) more enjoyable.

Maxwell is the goat. He can take a complex subject and make it digestible and easy to understand. He is hilarious and his positivity is infectious. He made me love Biology more than I already did. I am so grateful to have had him as a prof and I will not forget him.

he is amazingggg

Dr. Maxwell is literally the best. Though he talks slow, he really dives deep into the material and explains everything well. He will tell you directly the best ways to study for the course and what he expects from you. He has high standards but I can guarantee he'll bring up to those standards. His office hours are also very helpful.

funny guy!

Dr. Maxwell has pretty good (but long) lectures; the slides themselves aren't amazing but he elaborates on them a lot. His owl quizzes reflect exam difficulty but his questions are very difficult. The course structure for his part isn't amazing; he introduces an application (chlamys) and then creates a foundation instead of the other way around.

Long videos but explains slowly - which is perfect for watching and taking notes during videos. Much more interesting content in 1002 too!

One of my fav first year profs, and my fav bio prof! He focuses on understanding and applying concepts in biology, rather than memorizing. Really tests your critical thinking, which should be done more often in biology. He has difficult test questions, but they are fair -- if you summarize his lectures well, you will do great. Highly recommend!

He is very nice and tries his best to help students who are struggling with the lecture material. Cell bio in the summer is wayyy easier than during the year. Highly recommend!

He's chill

This prof is FRRRR goated ong. One lecture in and I knew this course was gonna be amazing!!

I am not exaggerating at all when I say that Denis Maxwell's lectures are the only things that bring me any joy in life. I leave in tears: euphoric, inspired, and with a whole new outlook on life. He is my favourite human.

Professor Maxwell is magical. You can really tell that he cares about his students and is doing everything possible to help us succeed. His lectures are fascinating and he does his best to make sure the outcomes are clear and we know what will be on exams and quizzes. Sad he's not our prof anymore :(

Tough

You REALLY need to pay attention to his lectures. His quizzes and exam questions are pretty hard but if you pay attention to lectures you should be ok. Funny guy, very chaotic.

HANDS DOWN the most hilarious prof ever. just be smart and study honestly

I actually cant believe that I am giving Maxwell a 5 but he actually deserves it. Tough prof with high expectations but he brings you up to his level! Get ready to learn his ways and complete that "Mental Floss".

Lectures are challenging in the best way, he really forces you to make connections and actually think instead of being spoon-fed the content which is so common in biology. If you pay close attention in lectures and focus on the outcomes, his tests aren't that hard. Hilarious guy and inspiring prof, I felt like I was actually growing as a student.

I really enjoyed his lectures and I thought his exam questions were fair. Make sure you understand the content after lectures, go to office hours to ask questions, regularly review the material, and do practice exams if you want to succeed. The textbook isn't necessary and you could just do the readings in the library whenever they are assigned.

funny, well spoken. I personally did not attend lectures, instead I watched the videos so I could go at my own pace and take good notes. easy to do well if you put in the effort to understand the material.

10/10 recommend for anyone looking for an upper year biology course to take. He focuses on making sure you understand the content, rather than tiny details. Because of this he is specific with his grading but if you go to class you'll be good. Don't base your opinion on him from 1002 - I did and was dreading the class but its now my favourite!

Absolute icon. Hilarious guy. Great music taste. Allegedly very problematic. He breaks the annoying stereotype that biology is just easy memorization. His questions aren't actually that hard though, you just need to extrapolate and think. He, along with Dr Sharan, are one of the few professors who can actually teach.

Awesome and chill prof (and act. hilarious) but when it comes down to business you have to know your sht. His lectures focus on big ideas and you have to know how to connect dots. Like picking up on stuff he mentions and spend time like elaborating on it, which takes time. If you love learning like that, you'll love this prof.

Great prof. His lecture style is particularly good for anyone using an Ipad, lots of room to write on the notes. He's funny and engaging, but you have to know the material or the exams won't go well. He gives you everything you need to know in lecture, but it is tough and takes time. You need to study hard to do well.

Maxwell is a great professor. He makes lectures interesting, and is a funny dude. I will say, in terms of finals and midterms, his questions are pretty application based, and even go back to basic Biology that you may of forgotten. His outcomes prepare you well, and he is straight forward with his content. Doesn't add extra things to complicate it.

Great Prof if you have ADHD, keeps you on track due to informative lectures mixed with humor to keep you on task!

Seems hard at first, but eventually, everything connects. Funny guy.

Best prof I have ever had. Show up to his hilarious lectures and you will learn to love Chlamydomonas and everything biology!

Professor Maxwell makes lectures engaging with his quirky humor. While his exams can be challenging, applying concepts learned in class and using resources like Unstuck study can help prepare. Overall, an informative and memorable course.

Really good professor, lectures are easy and he is a funny guy. dont listen to the salty snowflakes in the comment section.

I took this course a year ago, and the professor was amazing—very funny and explains concepts well. I enjoyed his classes, but his teaching style was both helpful and frustrating. He expects students to go beyond the slides for deeper understanding, which is useful, but it's hard to know when to stop, making it a bit overwhelming at times.

People hate him or love him. I personally had a great experience in his class. His lectures might seem a little bit confusing at first but when you go back and watch the video lectures, he is very thorough in his explanation. His exams are difficult but there's no reason you shouldn't do well if you rewatch the lectures.

Love this dude.

Maxwell is the goat

Not sure why he's so divisive amongst people especially considering that "creepy" is a heavy accusation that is not at all true about him. Most definitely crude but that's just his sense of humor and I enjoyed his lectures. Beware he is a much more difficult test writer than Sharan or Macshack though.

ProfMax was great! His lectures prepared us well, and they were always recorded and posted. He's a very funny guy, made lectures fun & was nice to talk to as well. I like that he gave people time to finish jotting down notes after he says a lot. The only con is that lectures were sometimes a bit all over the place – but, all in all, a great prof.

He made Biology very fun. Sometimes his explanations would be more confusing than useful, but asking for clarification always helped. So long as you attend, or watch back lectures, you'll do great!

Took the class this semester, one of my favourite classes in my undergrad! Class and the lab is very engaging and chill! One of those professors who actually does lectures and simply not read slides or as you to memorize, but understand it! Lecture slides are 12 slides max and goes through it thoroughly (nothing like 2601 and 2483 slides).