3.0
Quality3.7
Difficulty21%
Would Retake88
Reviews21%
Would Retake
88
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
25
4
16
3
12
2
19
1
16
What Students Say
“TL;DR good guy, boring and hard”
BIOL1103 - 2.0 rating“The class was mainly tough due it being all multiple choice”
BIOL1103 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
46%
Textbook Required
44%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.90 avg changeRatings by Course
1103
5.0
(1)BIO1007
5.0
(1)BIO101
5.0
(2)BIOL4202
5.0
(1)BIO1001
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
10113
5.0
BIOL4301
5.0
BIO1001
5.0
BIO1103
5.0
BIOL2104
4.4
Reviews (88)
Great teacher. Knows his stuff....Cant speak though...fills thinking time with ahhs umms and such noises as, "dadddoooochaaaaddddaaaaa, gentics." Dont ask him a question without expecting to here him groan and studder for a good 15 seconds befor
<person before me> YOU SAID IT RIGHT! I can't stand the studdering...you almost take it down as a note accidentally coz he does it so often...ummmmmmmm okay? <-- he does that often too! WHAHAHA. Want his exams to be slightly easier.
Nice guy, enthusiastic about material
nice guy, knows his stuff, and he's fair. You just got to go to the lectures and listen.
Give the guy a break - he studders, but he still answers the questions as best he can ... willingly and helpfully. I loved this class, and as long as you're willing to go to class and TRY, you'll do fine. He's a good prof - one of the top I had this year.
Worst professor ever! Never showed up to a single office hour, even when I had an appointment. Makes things way more complicated when they could be said much simpler.
Tends to talk too advanced for the course, especially when it involves bacteriophages and DNA synthesis, but other than that he will help you find a way when you see no way in sight.
It was easy if you kept up with the reading. I fell behind for a week and it sounded like he was talking about something totally different. He does talk about multiple things at once which can get a little complicated but he does provide all his slides.
Lectures are boring, you don't need to go to a single one... just read his notes and the textbook and his tests will be simple.
the lecturer, Ian, is ok but the lab coordinator....mike....he sucks and is so mean....dont suggest to take in fall term, as the lab is so tough....!!
Not that great. Fills his slides with pictures to avoid writing it out in words. Multiple choice exams suck because he's too lazy to mark. And if you can piece together what he's trying to say through all this ummm's and ahhh's , you might have a chance...
I fell asleep during EVERY single lecture. His monotone voice was very soothing. I had the best naps of my life in that class. And I came out with an A+....probably due to luck!
Yes he STUTTERS, but he umms & ahhs a lot too. I had some really great naps in that class, everything was perfect for falling asleep...Theater A is so comfartable! His notes weren't great, his tests were okay, I had Joan so the labs were okay, although the TAs were pretty bad. Don't get behind in the reading, cuz there's too much!
TOOO BORING, and HARD
Okay, he wins the world prize for most boring voice in the world. It will throw you into 40 winks immediately. Listening to a whole sentence can be very difficult. Nice guy though, and will help you readily during office hours. Exams often had ambiguous answers to questions, so study well for them, and read EACH option before deciding right answer.
I could get 24 hours of sleep and drink coffee before this class and still fall asleep because of his MONOTONE voice. And he never completes a sentence without stuttering with UHHs or AHHs. *rubs hands* But his notes are quite useful, even though it doesnt help with his hard and long multiple choice exams. Good luck with Lambert.
Good Prof, knows what he's talking about, can be boring at times but his notes are organized and complete, and he prepares you for his exams which are pretty fair...all you gotta do is go to his classes as boring as they may be
Slept alot in this class, never got less than an A on a test, lab was a bit harsh. Excellent Internet notes. Good overall prof. Enjoy the studdering and constant hand rubbing, and voice cracking.
One of the best professors I have ever had!
hes ok
Open-door policy; very helpful, willing to clarify. Exams pleasantly tricky. Shapes lectures around his areas of specialization. The course became very enjoyable once we hit genetics. Thanks to Iain, I've come to really appreciate biology.
he is the best teacher i've ever had. couldnt ask for better.
not a bad prof. enjoyes the course...except for the lab exam!
best prof.. really cares abt students and does his best to help them. the lab part was a little tough though. recommendation take this course, u will really enjoy it
Quirky and endearing. Very enthusiastic. Stimulating lectures and tests.
Dr. Lambert is a very intelligent professor and seems very knowledgeable in the area of genetics. He is quite helpful. If you go to class and listen and be interactive you will do well. Yes the hand rubbing and umms are a bit much sometimes.
He made the subject so interesting. I'm very glad that he taught my first bio class cause he is very good at communicating with students and knoweledgeable.
I thought he was one of theworst teachers ever. HE is really not fair, he'll act like he's listening to you but totally prove that he hasn't been!!! MONOTONE voice would make you sleep soo much in class!
I liked his class. He makes very funny comments about the biology content. If you read the textbook and study you should do fine. All multiple choice.
It is difficult to see when Dr. Lambert teaches a first year class but he is a brilliant scientis. His research and papers are incredible. He works as an editor, the Chair of the Biology Department, and an active researcher and professor. You should consider yourself lucky to learn from him.
BORINGGGGGG!! The class bores me to death. Sometimes i wonder why i even go to the class. He does not say anything different than what's in the book. Pointless to go to the tutorials could just stay home and read EXACTLY what would be said in class.
Not a bad prof. He explains things well... The Auditorium we were in had low lighting and very comfy chairs, so it was probably a struggle for him to keep us interested. His slides arent bad, but they arent good either. The textbook used though, was amazing, so not a problem there :)
Really good prof. He's tough but he's brilliant. He's always available to help you, but he wont give you a good grade unless you work for it. Very fair, and he's pretty good looking for an older man.
He was extremely helpful outside of the classroom, and I found his voice to be quite soothing, contrary to what others might have to say. He seems very intelligent, and impressed me on several occasions by showing respect for subjects outside of biology. He gave several novel recommendations to the class. It was wonderful to be in his class.
Very good prof!, he explains more difficult concepts very well and his slides are very useful, would love to have him as a prof again
not very good, does not explain well and tests were very unfair and hard
Very dry and uninteresting. Also, expects students to regurgitate very specific, unimportant details on exams without warning.
Overall a good prof. At times hard to follow regarding certain concepts such as DNA replication and so on. You would really have to do your readings consistently in his class to keep up. He was very helpful when approached for questions however.
Great Professor and provided a great intro into Biology & Genetics. Always available for extra help/questions/review. Probably the hardest multiple choice exams I've written at Uni-level but ensures you understand the concepts.
I really enjoyed Lambert's class and I learned a lot. He wasn't the easiest prof but he was great at explaining concepts and answering questions. Definitely one of my favourite profs!
He's funny and his lectures were easy to understand
Great prof, very knowledgeable in the field! Midterms and exams are VERY difficult, however, he wants to ensure that you know the material. Attend class, do your readings, study, go to PASS if it's still available and the class should be easy.
This prof thinks that students in class are doctors by making the hardest exam iv'e ever seen in my life. In the final exam there were 80 multiple choices and i studied hard for it, finally i couldnt answer a question that i can say its the right answer 100%, u cant say that in his exams
This class was very interesting and I learned a lot. However, the prof is probably the worst I've ever had in terms of feedback. I handed in numerous essays, did many presentations, a couple tests and a final and NOT ONCE did we get assignment graded. We just got a letter grade at the end. Does not answer emails.
Tests and Exams are very difficult, and include very specific unimportant details rather then focusing on the big picture. Does not respond to emails very quickly and very poor at giving feedback. His lectures are all over the place and his delivery of the material is very boring and difficult to listen to.
Great prof. Tests are fair if you study and attend class. He explains very well in an interesting way. Highly recommend this class!!!
Dr. Lambert is a really good lecturer, at least for note-taking. He makes a lot of pauses and speaks rather slowly, which allows you to capture some details that later show up on the test. He's also quite funny and likes interaction in his lectures. Overall, great prof! Knows a lot and is passionate about biology, you can tell.
If you have the chance to take his course, DO IT! If you are interested in biology, he is the most wonderful person to listen to! He gets super excited about what he is teaching (especially when talking about beer... or poo... ), which makes the class more interesting. PLUS HE CURVES MARKS!!!
Dr Lambert is a good professor but lacks the ability to convey core concepts well. His voice is monotone and his midterms are hard as he expects the students to know minute details that he spoke little about. He uses umm and uh a lot as though hes not sure of what he is saying which makes it very difficult to follow. TL;DR good guy, boring and hard
Doctor Lambert is an excellent teacher. Don't hesitate to ask him for help if you are having trouble understanding some of the concepts because there is going to be a lot of information and it will pile on very quickly. Midterms are not easy, but manageable if you study. I found the assigned text book to be pretty useful.
Midterms and Exam are tough and focused on random subjects discussed in class.
Great prof.
Really nice guys who just totally loves biology. He is always willing to help you and asks if everyone understands before moving to a new topic. Tests are multiple choice and are tough, you really have to study hard!
You absolutely have to read the textbook otherwise the PPs won't be enough. You not only have to know the core details about concepts,but you have to understand ALL the peripheral material. Pure memorization also doesn't work, you need understand the material as his exams will ask you lengthy questions with many details! Work hard and you get an A+
The class was mainly tough due it being all multiple choice! Lambert is knowledgeable but midterms/exam are harsh. Prepare to study hard if you want to pass.
He's very enthusiastic about what he teaches, which is appreciated. Tests are all multiple choice.
Super enthusiastic guy but ridiculous application questions for first year on midterms/exams. He also says "uhhh" too much in lecture and it's super distracting. He is also the type to put up slides that aren't in your slides.
He wasn't too good with explaining a concept. Usually, he would just read whatever was on the slide and not really explain it further. The tests are hard because he asks questions about topics that were barely discussed in class. You have to put in work to pass this class. Watch explanation videos or read because his lectures don't really help.
He has a good interaction with students and posts lectures as soon as they are made. But monotoned and brutal grader on midterms and exams.
Iain had a tendency to read the course material off of his slide and didn't add much detail to the lecture. Questions that were asked were either partially answered, or deferred because "we will get to that later" which really affected my ability to understand the course information.
The Mastering Biology assignments aren't for credit but DO THEM ANYWAY. People complained so much about his midterms but a lot of questions were taken verbatim from the Mastering Bio stuff. Would also recommend watching the lectures online at 1.5x speed because he tends to speak slowly. Not a fan of his slides, they're very pic/chart heavy.
Iain was extemely dull and boring to listen to as a lecturer. However, I put it many hours to study, since I had a difficuly time grasping while in class. The midterms and exam were brutal and despite studying for days on end, I struggled for my mark. Although he says the textbook is optional, I found it very useful for concepts he couldn't teach.
Honestly loved how excited he got about some of the concepts. Do readings and pre-lecture quizzes on Mastering Bio to get the most out of the lecture. He pulls his questions right out of the textbook quizzes and mastering bio. He did make simple things sort of confusing, but reading the textbook reinforces them; study his lectures and textbook q's!
Was a poor teacher in that he didnt give clear objectives for the tests. Only realising after taking the midterms and exams that it is very based on the textbook as well as his tutorials! I failed both misterms and got seriously lucky on the final
Iain is the best Bio prof I had (and I'm a 4th year in Biology). He really wants everyone to succeed, and it always available if you need help. Very passionate about Biology, (and beer apparently). Highly recommend if you want to actually learn something useful.
I took grade 12 bio (Ontario) and I found that had to teach myself a lot of the material required for the assessment pieces. There was very little covered in the lectures that I hadn't covered in grade 12, but the exams covered primarily new material. I found him to be a fair marker but the textbook is definitely your best friend.
Ian is a good teacher and works hard to explain things... SO go to class! He really wants his student to do well, and is good at explain gin how to do well. He is very clear what goes on tests and how we are graded, and often removes questions after the test if he feels that he didn't teach well on the subject. Accent is adorable.
Lambert tries really hard and seems like a really nice guy. Unfortunately, he talks so slow it is impossible to stay focussed in his lectures. His slides are super confusing and basically if you want to pass, read the whole textbook and do all the textbook and mastering genetics problems. If this class isn't mandatory you should NEVER TAKE IT.
Awesome guy and very friendly. Occasionally makes things more complicated than they need to be but is overall a fantastic prof and incredibly knowledgeable about the subject matter. If I can make biology a career, I'd like to be a biologist like him. Attending class is useful, you can learn the stuff from the text but tests pertain to lectures.
Iain is a wonderful person, but in my experience (my 2nd course w him) he has extremely challenging assessments. The CLASS average for our midterms was 44 and 46. It also seemed as though he was completely unaware of the difficulty level of the online assignments and tests. Please note that Iain tests on subjects very briefly covered in class.
Consisted of 2 midterms and final which were all multiple choice. Found the lecture content to be quote-unquote from the text. Do not like the way he organizes his lectures. Some questions were taken from MasteringBiology. Found his questions to be somewhat difficult. Would strongly recommend following along with textbook.
DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT TAKE BIOL 2104 with him. If you wanna have the hardest tests on earth thrown at your face then take his class otherwise you're better off taking the course somewhere else. The class average for the first midterm was a solid 44% and that of second midterm was 46%.
DONT DO IT, JUST DO IT. Especially NOT WITH IAN
Avoid at all costs (he's a nice guy though). Midterms and exam extremely difficult even if you think you've prepared really well. He offered extra assignments to boost peoples marks after then midterms because the grades were so low. Take these Bio classes with a different prof and save yourself. Again he's a great person though!
The WORST prof ever. Everything he tells you to study, do the exact opposite cause thats what his tests are. Midterm average were in the 40s and he doesn't take any blame for it. Pulls questions out of nowhere and doesn't test stuff that we talked about for multiple lectures
Exam material does not reflect what is learned in class at all. All questions are application so you have to understand whats going on. Lots of questions on very minor details too that are never covered in class.
Was always misleading in lectures about information and questions that would be on the midterms and the exam. Many questions based off of concepts not even covered in class. In lectures, he explained content in a way that made it sound more complicated than it really was, talks in a monotone voice at half the speed of a normal person.
seems good as a person, ok in terms of marking and midterms, but his lectures are messy, long, and packed with barely explained important concepts that it gets very hard to follow up with him. try to avoid if you can.
Really rough class, very mundane teaching style- hard to focus on lessons. His material was all of the place for what the tests and assignments reflected. For both midterms the class did so poorly that there redues in the form of online worksheets. This was his first year teaching genetics and it could not get much worse, I'd avoid this prof
Iain is a nice guy, however, he's the worst prof I've had. He doesn't explain the material well at all and focuses heavily on things that don't end up on midterms or assignments. The only way to do even moderately well in this course is to read the whole textbook ahead of time so you understand material that he wont or barely covers. 50%midterm avg
he genuinely wants you to do well and gives as much opportunity to do so. best thing you can do for yourself in this class is to show up and participate. if you don't understand something then asking him questions will really help. the textbook helps too when understanding lectures. his midterms are reasonable.
The class average for the second midterm was a 55%, if that doesn't tell you something I don't know what will. Really nice guy to talk to but lectures are all over the place and the midterms contain questions that are really tough and were not really taught very well in class. The textbook is the only thing that is helping me pass this class.
the worst and his exams are hardddddddd and were not really taught very well in class
He's definitely a smart guy and knows a lot about what he's talking about, but he overcomplicated every lecture. Not to mention his midterms and exam were ridiculously hard. Also he uses pre-lecture and post-lecture slides so get ready to download a billion lectures
Though Iain does give a lot of opportunities for extra marks such as assignments and online quizzes, they are difficult and take some time. It is unclear for what is of focus on midterms and the final, which makes it difficult to know what material to study. He does care about you doing well, but I found it hard to follow his explanations.
Awesome professor! Many exam questions are from MasterGentics and lecture slides.
Meh, content was hard and he wasn't the best at teaching it. Both midterm avgs were mid/high 50s, which he said was the highest in the last few years lol. Labs save your grade, and luckily he offers a "redo" on CUlearn where you can get up to an extra 11% on your midterm grade which was nice. But, why not just make them easier in the 1st place?
Interesting prof but tests were incrediblly hard. First midterm average was 55% for class and he said that's his highest yet. 2nd midterm is cumulative from first midterm material as well. Labs are interesting and you can tell he is super interested in his research and his students but extremely hard class.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
46%
Textbook Required
44%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.90 avg changeRatings by Course
1103
5.0
(1)BIO1007
5.0
(1)BIO101
5.0
(2)BIOL4202
5.0
(1)BIO1001
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
10113
5.0
BIOL4301
5.0
BIO1001
5.0
BIO1103
5.0
BIOL2104
4.4