great in helping out in lab

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Goes pretty fast in class, doesn't tolerate any talking whatsoever

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good prof! kind of an odd guy but he explains things really well and doesn't ask tricky questions on exam!

This guy is the key to passing 203. Very helpful, kind, and knowledgable.

I really liked Doug and had a great summer in this class. Fair marker and fun guy. I'd recommend him

Doug Smith is awsome! But just like all science folk he's true to his nerd roots and that means no slacking off or chating in class.

Dr. Smith is extremely knowledgeable. He's easy to talk to and answers questions well. His teaching techniques are outdated and boring but that's the worst of it.

Great prof, lectures can get a little boring, but he doesn't talk too quickly which really helps for the note taking. Exams are fair, and generally he explains things well. Would recommend taking his class.

Yay for Doug! He is an awesome teacher, very helpful, with a good sense of humor, too. His tests are very fair but he expects you to work for you grades (understandable).

good teacher

He taught only some sections for this course. He didn't have notes online, but talked slow enought to take notes, and emphasized important points. All around decent prof.

He actually does post notes online now, however you have to show up because he leaves a bunch of blanks to fill in during the lecture (he has it posted word for word what the blanks are, you dont have to make them yourself) Overall good prof, i would recommend him

great prof, if you want to learn the material well, he is the one

He knows his stuff and he will explain it to you, its just so boring. He doesnt tolerate talking in class, he'll tell you to go to Treats or Browsers. You have to know your sutff for his exams, I found his final one of the hardest exams I have written. Nice guy just needs to put more enthusiasm into his teaching.

Smith is a good prof, and his Bio 120 class was the easiest of the 08 year by far. He only tests off of his notes, but for god's sake --> READ THE TEXT. His notes are a guide but you will not understand anything if you do not supplement with the text. Otherwise its a walk in the park.

Great prof. Very clear, and super knowledgeable. Incredibly approachable and just an all-around nice guy. The booth labs for this class were INTENSE, but I actually liked them a lot, thanks to him.

Had Smith for a night class, extremely boring. I would suggest NEVER sign up for a night class with him. I found his notes very good when it came to studying though. Midterm was fair. Final was rather easy.

Dr. Smith is a great prof he knows what he's talking about and his notes are very helpful when studying for exams and his exams are pretty straight forward. I have had him for 2 of my classes and 2 labs and he has been the best prof.

He made the notes easy to study from. Final wasn't too bad. Overall a decent prof.

Also had a night class with him and it was a LONG 3 hours even with a 10min break every hour...but his notes are gold when it comes to exams but you have to show up to class in order to get them completed (they are fill in the blank powerpoint slides)Overall good prof.

He made up for the horrible first half of the semester. His notes are superb and make you come to class to fill them in. His section of the exam was great and he makes it very straight-forward. Excellent prof!

Uses fill in the blank power point notes so if you want a complete set of notes you must attend class or make frients quickly. His exams are hard. He expects you to know all the tiny details not the general overview. All his exam Q's come from the notes. Wasn't a horrible prof but not my favorite either.

DOUG IS AMAZING! take his class!

Dr.Smith is a wonderful prof. The best out of all the bio profs teaching. Yes he may monotone - but he has golden notes - that save you from reading the txt. His tests are fair - if you study his notes well enough you can easily ace them. The only challenge is keeping up with reviewing his notes after class. It's easy to leave them for later.

Great Prof. Classes may be boring, but he has wonderful notes. Study = Good marks. Bio121 has TONS of memorization. Make sure to review his notes OVER&OVER. For his section don't bother getting the txt. - he tests based on his notes.

I had Doug last year for BIO 120 and he remains my favorite professor at the U of S. Like others have said, his notes are golden - you won't get better notes from a professor - and he knows the material impressively well. His exams are extremely fair and if you study his notes you will do well. He even curved the final marks up. A great, great prof

I LOVE HIS NOTES! Fill in the blank slides. He speaks crystal clear english (thank god)and is always willing to answer a question after class. He really knows his stuff, however he is pretty dry to listen to. He did make reference to his Ag Bag Drag days once though, completely capturing the attention of the class. Over all- recommended

I've had Doug for both 120 and 121. He goes into more detail than the other first year profs as far as I know. His multiple choice is decent if you really know your stuff, but if you rely on guessing or deduction you WILL fail. Make sure you know all those details in the Krebs cycle for 120, and read the whole lab manual before his 121 midterm.

His notes and teaching methods are good, but if you need to email him, forget it. He usually sends one word answers with no details or anything. Also, he likes to post the next day's notes (that you NEED to bring to class) at about 10 PM the night before. That can be a little inconvenient. Other than that, he's okay!

Smith is by far the best first year bio prof. His notes are ridiculously comprehensive. His lectures, while dry, focus only on the material you need to learn. He is not perfect. Some of his notes are wordy, and his lecture style does not easily allow for participation. But the clarity of his lectures + amazing notes = very good mark if you study.

Dr. Smith is a good prof. He's always willing to answer students questions before and after class, much appreciated in a large class. His lectures are dull though and very hard to stay focused in. If biology isn't you forte, I suggest not taking this class with him. However, that does't go without saying that he's a great prof who knows his stuff.

Going to Doug's class wouldn't be necessary (reads off slides) but his slides are fill in the blank and answers aren't obvious out of textbook. His lectures are dull and his voice is quite monotone. He knows what he's talking about but that didn't always keep my attention (coffee did). Final exam questions were awesome and straightforward.

Can get pretty boring but knows his stuff. He at least tries to make a few jokes but usually butchers them. Very intelligent. Did not tolerate any talking in lecture. Notes are fill in the blank. Final was easy enough although content was rushed near the end of the course and was still tested heavily on final.

Good prof, his notes are fill in the blanks and his tests are fair. Shows videos which make class more interesting

Tests are fair because he takes everything right from the notes. This guy is a nazi when it comes to people talking in his lectures though.

I've had Doug for bio 120 and 121 and I like him. His lectures are pretty dry, but he is a genuinely good guy, and does his best to spice lectures up with jokes (even though they are usually butchered or overused). Notes are fill in the blank power points and tests are based solely on the notes. My favourite bio prof I've had so far.

Fair prof. Tests you on lecture material. All notes are fill in the blanks. Study the notes and you'll do fine. Over all good prof

His test was fair, but tested on small details from lecture slides. The textbook readings he assigned aligned directly with his lecture material, so reading them wasn't really necessary. Explains things well and definitely knows his bio, but lectures were dry

Great Prof, He is a cute old guy who really knows his biology. He tries really hard to make sure you understand, and although his lectures aren't "fun" you learn a lot. His jokes make me laugh at least. Good Prof overall.

i like this prof

One of the best at the U of S. Very good teacher and very helpful with answering question, although EXTREMELY chatty if you ever approach him after or outside of class. It's very clear he loves bio and wants his students to share this!

Nice older guy with a subtle, dry sense of humor. He obviously likes teaching and bio. Attend lectures. His slides are very good. Lectures can sometimes be a bit dry. Exams are straightforward, straight from notes, and you can get 90-100 as long as you study and know the detail. Buying text is a waste of money for this class. I would recommend him.

Exams (1 midterm, 1 final) were straightforward, all multiple choice, taken directly from his lecture slides. Slides are all fill-in-the-blank, so there is NO guess work. The catch: All told, there were 640 pages of said notes. A little excessive for a first year, comprehensive final, but overall Dr. Smith takes an easy to understand approach.

Very good and friendly prof! He really knows his stuff. There is a lot of notes to study but they were fill in the blank which I really liked.

Wonderful professor who loves helping students out. His notes are fantastic and are the only material you need to study to ace the exam. There is much content, but it's easily managed if you stay on track. Would recommend him to anyone who is looking for a prof that doesn't try to make information more complicated than it needs to be.

He's clear and easy to understand and his notes are great (they are fill in the blank so go to class). However he just stands at the front, half-turned away from you and just reads and explains the slides. He doesn't make class overly interesting so class drags on sometimes (but I don't like bio so I'm bias). Tests are fair, nice guy.

I had trouble focusing in Dr. Smith's lectures as he could speak relatively monotone and didn't stray much from reading the slide material. That being said, he was very clear and easy to understand. His notes were thorough (fill in the blank) and contained all info needed for the final exam. He was approachable, and available for outside help.

Notes are simply fill in the blank, but there ARE a lot of them. Try to bring your laptop and fill out the blanks by computer instead of printing the notes because it's a LOT of paper and ink. Tests are fine. You only need to study the notes, no extra material. Should be a hard class but Doug makes it simple.

Great prof, funny, to the point and helpful outside of class. Tests are fair The lab is kind of hard

Speaks in a monotone voice making it hard to find interest in the subject. Kind of rude when you ask a question and not very helpful for answers. Bring a laptop to fill in the notes, unless you can afford all the paper and ink required for the slides! Then again, that's just my experience.

Talks very monotone but is very clear and repetitive on the important stuff. Exam material was all from his notes, as he told us it would be, so it was nice not to have to go through and try to memorize the whole text book.

Notes are fill in the blank so you need to show up, even if the lectures are a little dry. There are lots of slides to memorize but the tests are fair. Overall he makes the class fairly straight forward and simple.

Lectures are boring, though Doug's humour can liven it up every once in a while. All the information you need for exams is provided in fill in the blank power point slides, so do not buy the textbook or study anything else. And you must go to class to get the notes. Not the most interesting professor but he makes a harder class very simple.

Very dry sense of humour. Don't need the textbook whatsoever - all relevant notes are fill-in-the-blank slides. Ensure you understand the material on the slides and you will do well. Beware, he likes to go on tangents mid-lecture. This puts the class behind, which gets made up by rushing through slides right before midterms and exams.

Course was mandatory and I am not a huge fan of bio in general. Lectures seemed a bit all over the place, were quite dull, and the content is not that interesting. However, though slightly monotone and distracted, Doug is an awesome guy with a "dad" sense of humour--entertaining. Test questions are straight from the lectures (fill in the blanks).

Bad: fill-in-the-blank slides (can't miss a class), sometimes condescending, struggles to answer questions beyond what's on his slides, and adds little to what's on his powerpoints. Good: his slides are comprehensive (which ultimately saves a lot of your time) and he is a good guy in person. Very straightforward exams.

He is a very straightforward professor. His lectures were somewhat boring, just the usual skeleton notes, but he said everything as is. He speaks in a somewhat monotone way, so he is easy to understand. He's also an avid basketball fan.

Lectures were dry but clear cut. They had a more uniform structure to them. At the end of the term though he rushed really bad to get through the material, which made the last bit really confusing. While the fill in the blanks was nice, it often became a wait for the next blank, text friends while waiting because he was so monotonous.

Dr. Smith isn't the most dynamic lecturer, but he is able to teach his subject clearly. His skeleton notes make coming to class essential but make the final a piece of cake. He is approachable to students outside of class and really seems to care about their learning.

Very detailed and precise lectures and note. If you pay attention and recap the notes you'll have no trouble doing well in his class.

He is a good professor, if you have any questions he almost always has an answer. Very knowledgeable, lectures could get boring and overall he is a pretty average prof but there could be a lot worse.

Clear and concise. Excellent biology prof.

Dr. Smith is the best biology prof I have had! The lectures he posts online are very short and to the point (I can finish the whole week by 10am on a Monday morning) yet he still carefully explains the topics. He is a slow talker so it is best to listen to him on 1.5x speed. He is passionate about what he teaches and doesn't pile give excess work.

I really liked Smith. My one issue with him was that he talked veeerryy quickly about some super complicated topics which made me super frustrated and I never really grasped the concept. But most other times he talked at a good pace and gave tons of examples of what he was talking about.

Great prof but the course itself was tough

The course I took was very hard (only 15 days). The lectures Smith gave were very helpful. Many were timed perfectly so I would learn a bit of what I was going to learn in the lab the next day. Smith was very nice and tried very hard to explain things when we asked. Always attend the lectures! He is not tech savvy and forgets to turn his mic on.

Dr Smith has fill in the blank slides which are quite dense with information. Always summarize when you study material, and really know the molecular genetics and bioenergetics section of the course! He can be monotone (reads off slides), but if you pay attention, you'll find that he says everything you need to know to do well on the final.