2.5
Quality3.6
Difficulty100%
Would Retake84
Reviews100%
Would Retake
84
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
11
4
14
3
17
2
20
1
22
What Students Say
“Great prof, has a Phd from Princeton”
BISC101 - 5.0 rating“as long as u did ur reading, u can get A+ easily”
BSC101 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
0%
Textbook Required
75%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.77 avg changeRatings by Course
BSC101
5.0
(1)BISC475
5.0
(1)BISC371
4.7
(3)BSIC101
4.0
(1)BISC101
2.6
(54)Difficulty by Course
BISC
5.0
BISC100
4.0
PHYS101
4.0
BISC475
4.0
BIO101
3.9
Reviews (84)
FUNNY! Must have patience
umm....watch out for the sneeze!
Problems with spelling
lots of material in the course but knows what he's talking about. kind, and endearing! great for a 100-level class.
"err..." "umm...." "aahhh-chooo" -> frequently heard those in class. very unorganized and lots of spelling errors. i think it's his first year teaching.
unorganized, slow, covers unimportant material
This guy just reads of overheads, had the flu or something the whole semester, and taught me NOTHING. Thank god the textbook was there...
He has this weird sneeze/cough that sounds like hes making the sound of one of those kid guns. He is so unclear.. but his tests are pretty easy
He's okay. Not bad as a prof, but a little more organization on his part would be nice.
Wow, what can I say? I only attended half the lectures...and the ones I did go to I slept through. His tests cause me to seriously doubt his intelligence as they were all vague and didn't really test on the material.
Not the best lecturer in the world. If you read the book and don't go to any lectures you can probably do well. The final was easy!
um ... his lectures r very unclear and very dis-organize. He cough and sneeze around every 3-4 words he said ... so it is very hard to understand what he is saying. The test r very easy if u did study~
No Comments
No Comments
This teacher is VERY unclear and somewhat confusing - he tends to jump from topic to topic, never quite finishing a full thought or explanation. He does seem to have a pernament flu - constantly coughing, sneezing and "ahem"ing. The text was a g
dis is aweful!!! being in class equals = listening to unclear english with his oocasional SARS cough and sneeze + ugly unreadable handwriting. fav quote from him "i won't go into details, just read the book urself" flashes overhead for 5secs.
Very nice person.
alrite teaching wise , funniest proff
I really dunno how he got to be a prof.. He doesn't know how to teach and always does these stupid mistakes during lectures.. The worst things is.. HE TRIES TO BE CUTE!~ ew...
I wish he would go back to sweden. This guy sounds like an Ikea commercial, and his notes are so unorganized a really wonder if its worth going to lectures. Probably better off to just study from the text.
Worst prof I've ever had. He should have stayed at Princeton.
typical day i his class: "umm *ahem* the *breathe* apical meristem...me-ry-sem...whoops...forgot an e...merystem...oh wait that's an i...meristem..okay" Basically, READ THE BOOK. no need to go to lectures if u read. REALLY. NO NEED. but go to your labs, and maybe tutorials. in lectures, u learn NADA
Even though his lecture style is sometimes hard to follow, I think he does care that his student's learn. This is very rare among SFU profs. This guy is good compared to Albright...
I think other students are too hard on him. These personal attacks on his origin and health are not cool.
you guys are mean....he's a nice person even though hes a bad teacher.
sure, he's a nice person. definitely cares and tries. but do you learn anything in his class that's not out of the book? no. I didn't pay tuition to meet nice profs. You study the damn book, you'll ace the test (or at least fall above the curve). Definitely one of the worst profs I've ever had.
Very nice person - does seem to really care about the students; however he isn't very good at communicating with the class and although he seems very knowledgeable, he has trouble getting the point across.
He is the most brutal prof around, near death at any moment. He has totally turned me off of biology and I can't believe he got this position. I didn't pay tuitition to meet nice profs but to learn material and be interested. He is brutal.
He's an easy going guy, but his constant cough and weird noises turn people off of biology. He knows his stuff, but cannot communicate that well with people so it's very difficult. Midterm was alrightm, read the text average was 58%
This prof is weird. what is with the sniffling and snorting.. i let my mom listen online and she was even grossed out. i think this might have had an effect on my grade.
He's nice, but unclear. Keep up with the readings and you'll understand him in lectures. But pretty much read the textbook to prep for exams. To do well in his exams, you have to know your stuff pretty well.. cuz you're gonna be pressed for time.
True, he does cough and what not a lot. But he is a really nice guy and totally willing to help you. There is a lot of material in the course and I guess he just can't talk fast enough and cover all the material that he is supposed to. So he tells you to just do the readings.
This prof is horrible, you can never understand what he's talking about and he never seems to know how to communicate what he's talking about. Plus his exams are really hard. If you liked bio before this class, you won't after.
okay..so he researches slime moulds..i think thats why he coughs so much..he has the mould virus :0!!!hmmm lectured sucked...he tried to make them funny but umm ..it didn't work..i laughed cuz i felt bad...shuda paid more attention to him when he didn't cough tho cuz the final was HARD
I totally agree with what the person below said about paying tuition to receive an excellent education, not be "taught" by this fool.
I love this man.
his lectures are boring, but his midterms/exams were fair enough. you can basically just read the textbook and learn the stuff yourself and still do well on the exams.
If you get this stupid man as your proff drop the class while you still can.
basically , just refer to the txtbk and GO TO TUTORIAL , cox he doesnt teach @ all , it doesnt hurt u to skip his classes.
an ok prof. is very smart but has trouble communicating the ideas to the class. tutorials will save you in this class cuz his tests are hard, definately require lots of writing and thought. He coughed a lot during lecture so that was kind of gross.
this guy doesn't teach. I think he's one of the guys that just want to make our life harder.
I am in his class right now. I used to love biology but he is making me hate it. He is a Horrible professor. He is so annoying. The textbooke is your only hope.
His notes r very good, although its pact with soo much infomation, but very disorientated. His lectures are not very interesting, and only through the labs will you fully understand what the heck Palsson's been talking about a week ago. Overall, hes a nice & intelligent man. He seems to know what he's talking about, but the caughing gets in the way
Lecture notes are a good overview of the textbook, but his lectures are extremely dull and his coughing makes it difficult to understand him.
Has difficulty communicating w/ class. Coughing & drooling get in the way. Very boring & notes aren't all that helpfull. Basically once again it's a self-teach class. Midterm was very hard (wants uber specific & detailed paragraph answers, clearly not enough time) but the final was not too bad.
he's a really nice teacher and he tries to communicate with the class, but he has a lung condition! come on, leave him alone guys! its not his fault.
Treats students like they're in high school. Not a good lecturer. Read the textbook and go to tutorials they're more helpful.
good course, although difficult, but Palsson is kinda hard to understand at times
No Comments
Difficult class, but if you do the work you will be alright. Prof. is OK. Lectures a little boring. The tests, both mid term and final were quite hard.
This course wasn't that bad if you went and stayed for the lectures. As incentive he gave the specifics of the final's content, like you had to know the function of the kidneys. As to his coughing, he has a lung condition, how shallow/immature are you to attack him on that? Read the powerpoint notes, & go to tutorials that's all you need.
Workload: MT and final (written), 2lab MT (MC). Exams were quite long and the textbook was a large help. Lab exams were scaled but lecture exams were not. [~]
so much material. His midterms were long~~~! and his final was hard~~! I think he knew what he was talking about in lectures...but he's too boring he'll put you to sleep. I used to love bio, but now...not anymore.
He was the worse prof I have ever met at SFU. He coughs like deres no tomorrow and all he does it show u slides for 10 seconds and tells u to go home and read the book. Might as well skip lectures and go home to drill your book.
took this class back in fall '05. his cough is super annoying (try fisherman's friends?) and he kinda sucks at explaining a lot of stuff, and a few stuff really good at explaining, but overall, try to AVOID taking a class with him T_T.. his coughing will drive you nuts...
shouldve dropped out when i had the chance...midterm was brutal- average=48%. As for the labs, the midterm is a KILLER- labs take up a lot of time,you need to be self motivated to actually go since theyre not mandatory. Reading overload, use the CD it's really helpful. Lectures are pretty mcuh useless, he just reads the slides.
He is very unclear. He basically flies through one chapter or even more within a 50 minute lecture. Read the textbook and know the stuff inside out. Don't depend on his notes, those are just outlines. READ THE TEXTBOOK and know the stuff inside out otherise, there is not way to pass this course. Midterm class average 48%...dunno about the final...
Horrible professor, at the beginning of the semester he said the avg would be a C/C+, but after the midterm he accused everyone of cheating and the avg was made a D/F for the final grades... avoid taking it with him if you can. iClicker questions are the only reason for going to lecture
Simply the worst prof I have ever had at SFU. The class is very boring, he has no intrest in the material he is teaching and his notes are useless. The only reason for attending lecture is for clicker marks. Know the textbook! His notes are not covered on the tests! He has asthma which causes him to cough like there is no tomorrow. Tests = fair.
Very unclear with explanations, you WILL need to depend on your textbook. Exam questions were sometimes vague. Exams were also long and lots of details needed. Try not to take it with him as the prof.
I found his lectures to be very dry and that he had significant difficulty in communicating what he knew. Since his notes were so vague though, the textbook was the reinforcement for every chapter. However, if you really understand the concepts, then the exams should fly by.
Took this in Fall 2007... first of all, there is no way that ANY prof can cover all the material in this course in lecture, so it's your own responsibility to go home and read the textbook. His notes are helpful, as they are overview / summaries of the material and are great to study from. The tests are fair, and based on the textbook readings.
So boring and computer disabled
Though he isn't the most articulate teacher I've known, he's quite helpful when you take the initiative and ask for the help. Office hours are very beneficial, and he's got a sense of humour. A note: BISC 101 is a tough course, no matter who the prof. Read the book, go to office hours.
Loved him as a professor. Really knows his stuff and keeps lectures simple and organized. Tough exams but all questions are fair game. More concerned with getting you to understand the material as opposed to just memorizing the textbook. Loved the course
Great prof, a very difficult course 2 teach for anyone, stop being so hard on the man. Coughing didnt bother me at all some ppl will just keep railing on that, dont understand why. read the chapter before coming to class and review the material at his lectures and the tutorials.Point.Blank.PERIOD
he gotta wake up when he is lecturing.he seems to be very distracted in lectures as once he pointed out that humans have 3 kidneys! overall though, he is a very nice man, he is helpful and passionate about the work he does.i got an A- in his class.i couldnt tell you much about the quality of his teaching as bio 101 is a 2st yr course and not tough
Excellent prof. Text reading is crucial to passing. This is not an "easy A." If you do all assigned reading, attend labs, and take notes, you'll receive a good mark. People complaining of low marks weren't reading the book (I asked around). Some exam questions were straight from the book! The text is your friend. Exams and marking are very fair.
Terrible, cannot answer any questions. VERY VERY VERY boring lectures
very bad prof, can't understand what he says all the time because he speaks in an alien language. also, he doesn't know what he is teaching about all the time and cannot answer my questions. IMO, he is the definition of a bad professor.
Palsson is an incredibly horrible teacher. He is a pathetic excuse of a teacher and shows no genuine interest. He can't present the material at all and he coughs every few seconds. He is incredibly ignorant and allows only 50 min to write a midterm which was terribly hard. He will change your views on bio drastically. Don't take this course at all.
I think his class is not that bad. The midterm was not as hard as people are saying it was.Some of the questions were exactly the weekly questions we do every week for tutorial. Maybe people should just stop relying so much on the prof and actually read their textbook and do some self studying.
A bit inconsistent at times, but definitely knows what he's talking about and confidently answers any questions. You'll have to work hard on your own and READ THE TEXT BOOK because it's a lot of material. The midterm was very long (no time to think) but fair -- understand the concepts (tutorials are a big help). His cough doesn't bother me at all.
VERY hard to understand, mumbled alot and covered completely useless information. His lectures were the most boring I've ever been to. But, his TA's were excellent and helped immensely
Terrible, boring and incomprehensible. His lectures are USELESS. I went in to get a question cleared up which was on the midterm, and he couldn't answer it. He asked me what my TA said!!! :o AVOID PLASSON AT ALL COST
Try to avoid taking the BISC 101 with him. His midterm was so hard and the time was not enough, which he admitted after that. Very low avg. You can still pass the course but not with a very satisfying grade...
Simply awful.
best prof at SFU
Great prof, has a Phd from Princeton
as long as u did ur reading, u can get A+ easily
I had to learn new math skills but Dr Palsson explained the new math at a slow pace so I eventually mastered those skills and realized how important they are in biological research that where models are becoming more important. Dr Palsson is wants to help and is generally accessible, but make sure you do the homework or you may fall behind.
Dr. Palsson's lectures are original, interesting, and well-organized. He clearly cares about the success of his students and is very accommodating to their requests.
This class was relatively easy. Lectures and slides were available early in the week. Very time-consuming; consisted of 2 (1 hour each) recorded lectures a week + 1 hour of live discussion that you could go for participation marks. Overall, Dr. Palsson was very approachable and clearly explained the course material and his expectations.
One of the best professors I have ever had. Compassionate, wholesome, and passionate about what he teaches. The course was 3 hours of total lecture content per week, weekly quizzes and 50 minute synchronous discussion; no readings. Very responsive and loves engaging with his students. Midterm was crazy easy, final was harder with 83MC and 23SA.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
0%
Textbook Required
75%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.77 avg changeRatings by Course
BSC101
5.0
(1)BISC475
5.0
(1)BISC371
4.7
(3)BSIC101
4.0
(1)BISC101
2.6
(54)Difficulty by Course
BISC
5.0
BISC100
4.0
PHYS101
4.0
BISC475
4.0
BIO101
3.9