2.7
Quality3.5
Difficulty45%
Would Retake98
Reviews45%
Would Retake
98
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
6
4
23
3
26
2
25
1
18
What Students Say
“obsessed with fruit flies”
BIO1130 - 3.0 rating“Avoid this professor at all costs”
BIO1130 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
33%
Textbook Required
8%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.46 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO4158
4.0
(1)BIO4921
4.0
(1)BIO3119
3.6
(8)113O
3.0
(1)BIO1130
2.6
(87)Difficulty by Course
BIO4158
4.0
113O
4.0
BIO1130
3.6
BIO4921
3.0
BIO3119
2.8
Reviews (98)
Genuinely nice guy. Assignments/exams are reasonable. Talks fast!
This course is fairly boring but relatively easy to do well in if you're good at math. He speaks WAY too quickly and mechanically so that lectures sometimes become very long. He is always available for help and doesn't intimidate like some professors do.
Great Prof, fairly easy to do well in his class! Speaks fast, but mostly reads off slides so going to class isn't necessary. 6 assignments that are worth 5% each so a great grade booster! Good guy.
Goes fast during lectures but overall not bad. I found the marking could have been more flexible, especially for the theory-type questions so an easy A class but maybe not for an A+. The assignments are actually very helpful and keeps you from falling too behind so make sure to put the effort into understanding them.
Dr. Rundle's lectures can be tough to follow but his slides are amazing so review on your own time. Exam questions are generally reflective of the lectures. Course itself gets a bit info heavy at the end and you need to understand the theory and the math. Problem sets are good grade boosters and only one midterm. Good science course good prof.
Get a good group for assignments. Assignments save you. Final exam was hard since half of it was made of conceptual questions about the theory. Practice final he posted was not reflective of the actual. Make sure you understand the theory that he teaches, not just how to do the calculation questions. This course was NOT an easy baby course.
Really reasonable, and a great guy all around. Sure, he talks fast during lectures, but he often says the same thing several times. Easy assignments are worth a lot, and you can easily predict the theory-type questions that are on the final exam. Great course!
He is ok but it really annoyed me how he never wrote down how to solve problems but just talked about it as if students will get everything he says. He also doesn't post solutions for assignments or midterms. You have to go to class to see where you went wrong, but again, he goes over the math questions without actually writing down the solutions.
Very dull and monotone (probably doesnt help that its online). Doesnt make lectures engaging. Overall average professor. Makes his tests extremely difficult.
Good professor. However, his exams are very difficult. Sucks to work so hard spending countless hours getting good grades on his homework (40% of final grade), only to have a class average of C at the midterm.
this professor gives the hardest exams and the worst explanations for answers. if you wanna fail a class, then take this. he marks the exams completely different than how he explains things in class. we have not gotten a class average higher than 40% this semester, he blames us for the low average and doesn't consider him or the marking scheme.
Probably best to avoid. Lectures are fine, pretty clear but very long. Midterm was impossible, class average was a fail. Overall, very tough quizzes and midterm so avoid if you can.
I used to HATE learning about evolution. Professor Rundle's lectures are extremely interesting, tests are very true to the lectures/textbook content.
Overhated,He is definitely hard but you just have to make sure you put in the time to understand the concepts (like all classes) since this class is basically 100% concept-based. He was nice enough to take away hard questions from the midterm, boosting everyone's mark and making it possible to achieve a 121%, which would count to your final average
Hard professor. It is his first time teaching bio1130 and used to teach 3rd and 4th year classes, so maybe that is why. The average on the midterm was 39%, but after removing some questions, the average became a 55%. So the average was literally a fail. His lects are very slow and monotone, so play at 1.5x. I personally avoid him at all costs.
His midterm was too hard, and its difficult to understand his way of explaining concepts in lectures because he uses a lot of big and complicated vocabulary.
Prof. Rundle is a nice guy, but his evaluations are hard. The midterm average was brutal so he removed some of the harder questions which boosted everyone's mark (average changed from 39 to 55). He makes the tests concept-based instead of memorization since it's open book, so focus more on understanding and applying concepts instead of memorizing.
Professor Rundle is a really good professor who cares about his students. Midterms are fair but difficult and mostly based on readings. He will bell curve if the average is too low which makes it possible to achieve a 121%.
Professor teaches at a general level, expects 1 st year students to answer exams with a Masters level analysis for his long answer questions. Take this class else where, with a letter of permission from the university. It doesn't make sense that any student who studied should only get 50%. Class average is 39% no interest in producing winners!
If you want to risk killing your gpa go for it. A baptism of fire awaits you. The prof will give you exams to destroy you. Prepare well. It's gonna be brutal. Class average is almost always raised because many students cant even pass the class. The prof needs to learn that 1st years are novice. Many of my friends dropped out because of this prof.
Lectures are decent however, evaluations are horrible. How can an exam be open book but the midterm class average is below 40%?????? Somehow it's the student's fault hopefully the faculty sees the averages and never lets him teach this course again. Might as well not study because nothing you covered will be on the exam.
Honestly, Dr. Rundle is accessible outside of class, but his lectures were not interesting and his voice was monotoned, I could barely focus. His exams were OKAY, but I never got above 70 even though I get straight As in other class (and BIO in HS). Im sorry, but youre better off with another prof, like Delcourt or something. Hes kind though!!!
Avoid this professor at all costs. His midterms are outrageously difficult compared to the material covered in lectures. He removed questions on these exams that he determined to be "too challenging", but even with that, the class average was below passing. I wish I had dropped this class earlier in the semester. Absolutely terrible.
He seemed nice but his lectures were so monotone and hard to focus in. The tests were all open book but required so much more thinking so it was definitely hard.
I don't really know where to start with this class. I am an A-average student and it looks like I will finish this class with a D. All I can say is if you have a class size of 1300 students and the average is below 40%, you are not fit to teach.
watch your lectures as they come out and you'll be fine. hard to know what to expect on the exams.
He is quite a good teacher (only taught half the course, the other half by Delcourt), and he cares about his student. The only downside was his lectures were quite long and monotone. If you do not study, read the textbook, or think analytically, you will not do great on the exam as they are knowledge/thinking-based questions.
Only had him for 1/2 the semester, he was good though. If you understand the concepts (and can apply them) you will be fine. A lot of my friends who usually average A's failed the midterms though - don't just memorize. Other than that a good prof, bit monotonous but if you speed up to 1.5 it's better.
Dr. Rundle explained things pretty well and was accessible via email or the class discussion thread. He was very monotonous though. Material seemed okay until the exam, the exams were challenging and really made you think and just take a good guess.
Prof. Rundle is very nice and he gives good feedback. But his lectures are very long and boring, they are copy-paste of the textbook and I honestly would rather study from the textbook than listen to the videos. his tests are MC with short answers and they are very confusing and hard to answer, they're all trick answers. evolution is not my thing.
His lectures are extremely monotonous and because we are online the tests and exam were open-book. However, he took this to use more application based questions, which is fine but did not prepare us for the questions that were extremely hard and resulted in the majority of the class doing poorly and having to remove questions from tests.
This prof was awful at the beginning. His lectures were extremely long and boring. I didn't understand most of the topics mentioned in the lectures. As the semester progressed, his lectured became clearer to me (idk if I was putting more effort in or not). I don't think I would recommend him. Read the textbook readings and review topics on slides.
Pretty fair overall, just make sure that you really understand the concepts in depth because his questions (even though majority were multiple choice) are pretty complex. Make sure you watch the lectures & take good notes, but reading the textbook is optional / for extra understanding. No homework or assignments, just exams and 5% worth of quizzes.
Rundle isn't a bad prof. People just aren't used to open book exams, which is fine. He spends lots of time explaining case studies (useful since lots of his exam questions are modeled off case studies). Voice is a little monotone (disclaimer: they're prerecorded lectures), but EXTREMELY helpful in office hours. Smart guy, would take again.
Honestly, I don't know why people dislike him. As a student with a heavy workload, I thought his class was of equal difficulty to all the my other science courses. He just expects you to actually understand the concepts, which is the same as ANP or MAT. He was always willing to answer my emails and had great examples in his lectures. Great prof!
his bio1130 papers are super tough, and he didn't even post proper lectures and his exams are from nowhere, if you can then just drop the course, very tough grader
WORK HARD ON LABS. Making sure i did well on labs brought my grade from a B/B+ to an A- (was one percent way from an A). I did average on the midterms and finals (either B/B+). Make sure you take notes from the slides AND watch the lectures and take detailed notes. PAY ATTENTION TO THE EXAMPLES, those are important! don't fall behind!
Tbh, I don't understand why so many people are downgrading him like this. The lecture videos are monotonous but the concepts are conveyed clearly. There were quizzes that only took up 5% that already gave heads-up for those application questions. Not a good idea to come into the course and thinks this is an easy A.
A really straight forward Prof overall. His lectures are based from his slides, and completing/understanding the learning outcomes are very helpful for the evaluations. He's a really nice guy who wants to share his love and interest for biology and I respect that. :D
Good professor, questions on exams help you become a better scientist, to think about concepts rather than memorizing. A very good tip is, start his exams from the bottom, trust me; while your mind is still fresh with ideas do the word problems, then move on to the multiple choice.
Lectures are a little long and dry but he explains concepts very clearly. Many people complained about his long answer test questions, which were application based since the course was open book. I would recommend reading/re-reading his test questions slowly and carefully as he very clearly outlines exactly what he is looking for in your answer.
Prof. Rundle is clearly very knowledgable in his field, and he seems to be connected with current research in the evolutionary biology community. His lectures (online recorded) are long and difficult to complete in one day. His speaking style is not for me, and I find it hard to do more than one lecture a day (If you cram it will not end well!).
Tough grader. Would not recommend at all.
Posted 2-3 lectures worth of videos for us to watch per week and used one lecture period as practice, wayyy too heavy a workload. Grades very hard, must write exactly what he has in the answer key. Not very engaging and takes long pauses while talking and uses lots of 'ums' which can be difficult to follow.
Lectures were asynchronous, which was nice but could be long; not everything said in them was essential. He offered practice sessions which were really nice because the questions for them were similar to those on quizzes and midterms. Can be a bit boring at times which makes it a struggle at times to focus on what the message he is trying to convey
He does asynch lectures, but will make them longer, so when you should only have 2 lectures of bio a week, he will make it 3 lectures. His videos are long to watch and honestly its rlly easy to get behind. He seems passionate about what he teaches but synch lectures wouldve been nicer to watch. His tests are relatively easy as long as u study.
This was by far one of the worst professors I have ever had. His video lectures are incredibly long (I'm talking 3 hours+), and he's a very tough grader. Would never have him again if I could choose.
He reuses old recorded lectures from covid that are way too long for a single lecture (3+ hours). He offers one of the lecture slots in person to do practice questions, but you still have a recorded lecture to watch in that time slot. It works out to be way too much time spent on one class each week.
Rundle used prerecorded videos instead of lectures that were okay to understand, but were way too long. It ended up being 3 hours of lecture per week, and one help session as well. He also goes off on many tangents, explaining things using complex examples that are not pertinent to the course. Understanding is a must for the short answer questions.
Very specific about the wording of your answer for short answer questions. The test questions are also worded in a confusing way, almost as if they want you to get even more confused.
He did a hybrid format this year which I didn't mind but I am not great at paying attention to lecture videos. He has practice Qs that are very useful. Study the learning goals because they are used for exam Qs. Sometimes he can be hard to follow.
Reuses lecture videos where he speaks in a very monotonous voice and slow pace, but explains things really well (try not to fall asleep - that's how you fall behind, I learned that the hard way haha).
Many hours of lectures on youtube which were really content heavy and sometimes had information that were of little importance. Loved the x2 speed and captions - highly recommend (he speaks slow). Sometimes the wording of a concept explained could be confusing but not impossible to figure out. Cramming isn't a vibe, learn throughout the course.
If he ever sees this: I did not sign up for a hybrid class. With BIO1130, don't trust them when they say there is minimal memorization. I didn't know the half-life of potassium (a random detail) and got a stupid amount of points off. The midterms are out of very few points, and they want you to apply your knowledge exactly how they would.
Reads word for word off of the slides and does not explain well at all. Lecture content was only available online.
Very long recorded lectures. Helpful practice questions but difficult exams.
Lecture content was online and lecture time slots were used for practice problems which were helpful. I reccomend using anki and finding extra practice problems from textbooks. Like all courses the prof gives you the tools to succeed, people complain because they dont work hard enough and it shows at the end of the term.
online videos very boring hard to focus and learn... no enthusiasm except when he's talking about his own research. Nice guy but tests marked harder than they should be.
I had professor Rundle for my 4th year Seminar courses. He is an extremely brilliant mind and does a good job of getting his point through. He can be a little direct at times, but it is never mean spirited. More than fair grader.
Had him online (fall 2021). Nice dude but not that great of a prof. Kinda monotone and boring. Read off ppts. Tests were tricky with strict marking schemes.
He is probably one of the best evolutionary biologists in Canada with an insane amount of research experience. His ratings are most likely not an accurate reflection of his teaching skills because it's a bunch of first-year students who don't really know what they are really doing and haven't adapted to university because it's not a free A+.
Very good lecture slides Fair grading Easy to follow along Not very approachable
clearly loves his work and is great at what he does but not a great lecturer. often reads directly off the slide and spends a ton of time on stuff that doesn't matter that much. slides are great though and the course site in general is very well organized. midterms also randomly test trivial stuff (on midterm 2 we were asked about a specific rock)
obsessed with fruit flies.
this guy is so boring, his lectures are the worst I literally fall asleep in his classes. His exam questions are extremely hard as well
Tests: 5/10 Lecs: 8/10 Study materials: 2/10 Pros: - Rundle is a good presenter and is passionate. - Lessons are well planned. Cons: - Rundle gives very little help outside of class. - Marks are based on whether your answers contain certain phrases. - Questions are often convoluted and use ALL of the terms mentioned in class. Do the practice Qs.
he failed me by 1% i had a 49, they are just so strcit on grading, and lectures are horrible and so boring
His midterms are usually out of only a few points, so if you get 1 mark off on one of the questions, your mark drops down quite a bit. The TAs are unforgiving in marking the midterms, so measure your words carefully. Other than that I just didn't like his style and demeanor when teaching, especially when trying to disprove the existence of God.
Read every single word in every single slide.
Very slow lectures. If this course wasn't mandatory I would've dropped it.
snooooozzzeee
Prof. Rundle sets you up for success; he provides previous midterms for practice, attaches extra practice questions to each 'topic' and explains things thoroughly. I've heard people say his lectures feel long, which isn't false, but they are interesting enough - he has a nice lecture style.
Unless you have a doctorate in biology, there isn't much chance you will score very high in this class. Rundle is a decorated expert and grades like one, so does the TAs. Far from an easy pass. Exam questions are extremely convoluted and do not give you any partial marks. Unless you have the absolute perfect answer, your scores will drop quick.
He grades by key words/ sentences. Lectures are like watching paint dry. Biology was my favourite subject... Safe to say he made it boring.
I read the other reviews before taking the midterm and it caused so much unnecessary worry. You just have to meet the learning objectives and study the slides. Use flashcards. It's a lot of material but it's way more doable and structured than what people here are saying. Knowledgable guy but I did find his focus on religion a bit strange.
BIO1130 is not the most interesting class, but with Prof. Rundle, it's a bit of a snooze fest. He tends to read off the slides, and doesn't bring a lot of energy to his lectures. His tests are hard, even considering the course content, and his marking is extremely strict. It is a survivable class, but if there is another option, take it.
The biology content aspect of the course was fine. Exams and midterms seem easy enough, but the TAs are hard markers and most points are given based on keywords. Lectures were heavy and lots of memorization needed. Lectures were boring, hard to stay awake sometimes lol. He basically read off the slides the whole time. Prof is a nice person tho.
Terrible slides with too many information. Loves talking about flies, hard to listen to.
Genuinely the slides were so much and he never made and effort to clearly explain what he was teaching it was all rambling and the grading scheme is so specific it's hard to get the points
Lectures were so boring I almost feel asleep. Although try to pay attention or else ur screwed lol. Midterm and final were very specific and content heavy. Do ur best to attend lectures and office hours as topics during the lecture don't make sense. The man loves fruit flies.
As a person, Rundle is a great! It's very obvious he is extremely passionate about his work. This could be year one me talking, but I found the assessments from Rundle to be terrible. Don't bother explaining concepts as you won't get any partial marks. He is looking for keywords and that is it. Labs are a free A and Delcourt's half is much easier.
Rundle is a good professor that certainly does not deserve such a low rating. People say that lectures are boring, but they can be really interesting + easy to follow if you actually pay attention. Midterms/final are graded very hard on keywords, so write in pen so you can get a regrade. Overall, a passionate guy who really loves fruit flies!
His lectures are so boring and it was impossible to stay awake during them. He just reads off the slides and is kinda rude when people try to ask questions. The exams are impossible to get a good mark cause the grading scheme is so specific and you have to use the exactly key words to get any marks
Rundle truly isn't as bad as others on RMP say. He is your average professor who basically just lectures. He's passionate about the topics and he is one of the best ecologists in Canada too. Granted, his lectures can be slightly dull but it's university. Want an A? try to stay focused in the lectures and keep up with the material. use keywords!!
So passionate! Midterms were very fair. Loved his portion of the course.
He's so boring no one goes to his lectures, everyone just ends up watching the recordings at 2x in their own time. His midterms are generally hard for anyone that hasn't properly sat down and hardcore studied, so don't expect to just breeze through this course. Just do rlly well in the lab to make up for the midterms.
He was ok. Not the worst but not the best. He talks a little fast but understandable The lectures were a little dry Exams a bit hard The best part tho, he posts recorded lectures on bright space
Terrible prof. So boring and monotone - basically stuck infront of his computer reading his notes and struggles to speak abut topics when away from screen. Makes general language very difficult on midterms which makes the question hard to understand on its own. TAs mark SO hard- never giving out partial marks. No one ik did good
I did not like that man
Prof Rundle isn't the worst, although he does his job, he is super monotone and boring, it's not necessarily entirely his fault but his personality is just lacking in my opinion. Compared to the other profs who taught the same course, he was the worst. Uses fancy vocab, doesn't explain it, just reads slides and moves quick. Study and you'll be ok.
He mentioned day one how he hopes you can't get by just with the slides... you can.
Seriously guys, most of the content are just high school material. Just spend more time learn rather than complain.
not a terrible prof, lectures were a snooze fest, midterm was fine and he gives outside study material. likes fruit flies
His lectures are so painfully boring and dull. He doesn't seem prepared or even care about the lectures. He cant speak without looking at his computer and reading his notes. He tries to speak naturally but ends up stuttering and blanking. His answer keys are crazy specific and will even remove marks for incorrect answers.
Rundle's slides are text-heavy and difficult to study. He relies on them to teach his lectures, as he reads them instead of explaining concepts. He doesn't provide much practice material and expects us to remember specific details for the midterm. While he does have flaws, this prof is overhated, as he genuinely provides the tools to succeed.
I think he's a bit overhated, he's not THAT bad, he just tends to read and elaborate on the slides rather than explain. I thought his tone was fine but I know a lot of people found him boring and fell asleep in his class. His grading criteria is SUPER strict and he is very anti-creationist so he tends to incorporate atheism into every lecture.
Id rather get violently tortured over doing this class again.
Professor Rundle's portion of this course was quite hard. He tends to read off of his slides, which are crowded with information. Going into this course, find a study method that works for you. Even after studying, I felt underprepared - but I loved Prof. Delcourt's portion! He is such an engaging prof and his midterm was much easier!
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
33%
Textbook Required
8%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.46 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO4158
4.0
(1)BIO4921
4.0
(1)BIO3119
3.6
(8)113O
3.0
(1)BIO1130
2.6
(87)Difficulty by Course
BIO4158
4.0
113O
4.0
BIO1130
3.6
BIO4921
3.0
BIO3119
2.8