1.8
Quality4.6
Difficulty35%
Would Retake97
Reviews35%
Would Retake
97
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
1
4
7
3
16
2
30
1
43
What Students Say
“Crap teacher who can't explain to you anything”
BIO118 - 2.0 rating“She has to read from the textbook in class to teach you and she often says incorrect things”
BIO118 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
65%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.19 avg changeRatings by Course
480I
4.0
(1)BIOL480I
4.0
(1)BIOL480
4.0
(1)118
2.3
(6)BIOL118
1.9
(31)Difficulty by Course
118
5.0
BIO117
5.0
BIO118
4.7
BIOL118
4.4
480I
4.0
Reviews (97)
She tries to make the class interesting, but at the end of the day all she really does in lecture is read the PowerPoint slides and the tests are very detailed and difficult. She thinks a test average of 69 is "good" and doesn't need to be curved. Maybe it's because memorizing stuff doesn't come easily to me, and I'm better at learning concepts.
She is a nice lady and tries hard, I think, but the class is so difficult. We practically do an entire chapter per hour-long lecture. Her voice is irritating too. Very difficult class.
She seemed nice enough, but there was too much material to cover and she rushed through it. Definitely not the type of professor who should teach a big lecture. She didn't seem to know how to handle the lecturing part of it and her tests were absolutely brutal.
Lawless is an AMAZING professor. Sure the class is hard and you have a lot to cover (about 10 chapters per test) but she does a great job teaching. She tries really hard to help everyone understand it better and goes slower when u tell her to slow down. Believe me, after having Horwath, Lawless is an angel. Read the textbook and you'll do well
Unorganized, unclear. Contradicts herself and the textbook. Tests follow lecture pretty well. Treats class like children, will not slow down and does not give out notes or allow copying of her notes.
My most important suggestion to students in professor lawless' class is: READ THE BOOK. Second: spend more time studying than complaining. Jeanne is a difficult professor (and at times a little unclear), but if you come prepared for class, you will get a lot of it (since it becomes more of a discussion) than if you are clueless.
She is a horrible professor. She reads off the lecture slides and teaches herself the material as she is reading it. She takes these long pauses to understand what she read and doesn't explain it properly. Just..read the textbook. Asking her questions is hard as well because she'll say "it's in your textbook."
Awful professor. Treats her class like children. It's a waste of time to go to her lectures, since all she does is read over the textbook. Thousands of dollars ruined on her class that I'll never be getting back.
She's a nice person, but not a great teacher. Lectures are useless. If you want to get through you need to read the textbook. The tests are very difficult with averages between 50-60. She definitely wants to help you, but she can get distracted pretty easily.
lectures are useless when it comes to the test. she literally reads off the powerpoints from the company that makes the textbook. The tests are impossible, people are happy to get 75, and that sucks
Dr. Lawless is a nice woman, but not a very good teacher. Her lectures are boring and straight from the textbook, but you still have to go, as there are occasional pop quizzes. Sometimes it seems like she's treating us like middle schoolers during lecture. The tests are challenging but not impossible. Also, she is relatively accessible for help.
Come to class because of the popped quiz when her lecture is purely soporific. Tests are insane with 9-10 chapters to learn. Each chapter consists of tons of terminologies that you JUST HAVE TO MEMORIZE either way. A strong must-ignore. Take it with someone else as possible as you can. If you have to, buy an entirely new textbook with a key.
Professor Lawless despite her incredible knowledge on the subjects presented in biology she has no ability in teaching the course or knowing how to provide correct study tools to the student
Impossible tests and class average is 55-60 at most. I love biology but this teacher gives MCATS not tests.
Everyone already hit the nail on the head with their comments. READ THE TEXTBOOK. The textbook serves as your teacher the whole class. Occasional pop quizzes in lecture. Mastering Biology (homework) can be a nuisance but it definitely is helpful. If possible avoid the class.
Professor Lawless is by far the worst professor I have ever had. She claims to base her exams on applying yourself rather than memorization but then goes to include questions that require you to memorize the whole textbook front to back in order to get correct. Very unpleasant experience
THE WORST TEACHER. CANNOT BE EXPLAINED IN WORDS!
Siriously not a great teacher. Just bad. Find a tutor, go to a study group, or be best friends with a bio major. Even then its hard as heck. Good luck.
For those are not Bio major and seeking GenEd for Lab requirement, avoid at all cost. A couple of words to those are about to take her class, "I feel bad for you guys."
She is a sweet lady but her lectures are next to useless. She mumbles word for word off the Powerpoint with no enthusiasm whatsoever. She often wastes class time by asking arbitrary questions that no one knows the answer to, and then doesn't even explain what the answer is. She does not know the material well. Tests are very hard.
She is the horrible professor that I have ever met!!!
Literally the worst professor I've ever had. Don't waste your time at lecture. Live, eat, and sleep with your textbook and maybe you can get a 80 on a test! Which is great considering the averages are 55.
If you want a social life do not even think of taking this class. I studied for a test for 50 hours and got a 48. Terrible at explaining anything, expects a huge amount of prior bio knowledge from us even though thats the reason why we're in the class.. just don't take this with her. Do yourself a favor and save your tears
Prof. Lawless believes that her class is the only one that matters. She assigned 3+ hours of MasteringBiology assignments twice a week which proved useless to prepare us for her lengthy and difficult exams. She read off the Powerpoint in lecture and failed to educate or engage the class. This class drained time and hurt other grades. Awful prof.
She's a nice enough woman, but and awful teacher. None of the material is her own, she teaches straight from the slides, and is incapable of controlling a room. I really like science but hated this class. The tests were pretty hard, but there was a good curve at the end of the class. If you need bio 118 you can suffer through it, but otherwise skip
Lawless has a great knowledge in the subject, but she is terrible at teaching. Her lectures were super boring. She isn't great at helping students. Her exams made me cry. I was disappointed I took this class. Wish BU had offered some better professors. Do not take this class, lab TA was not that great either. I REPEAT: Do Not Take This Class!!!
Awful. Avoid if possible but if you must take the class the book is your only hope. Since everyone does a bad job she has to put a decent curve. Never had class averages so low before.
Super confusing lecture notes
Do not take this class
Day 4. Microphone problems. First 25 minutes of class wasted. 50 students left before she started teaching. I have suspicions that the teacher was replaced by an alien. She has been unable to teach us biology for the past 3 days. Requesting backup or extraction. Urgent.
Dr. Lawless has good intentions but she is not a good teacher. She cannot explain ideas well, nor does she try. Her knowledge is great but her communication is not. Don't take this class unless you must, and if you have to read the book extensively and take very detailed notes. Lectures are pointless. She doesn't go further into anything.
I really want to like this professor, but I can't. She's a great person and can help you a ton if you approach her, but her lectures are absolutely worthless, especially relative to her tests. She reads off the slides, providing you with mostly basic information but in her tests she expects you to apply concepts her lectures never explains. Avoid.
TERRIBLE
Here's the thing. Lawless is a nice person and does care about her students, but she does not teach to the level she tests and it is frustrating. My advice is to read the textbook while focusing on the outline in notes. Also do as many practice questions as possible. Time consuming but it really helps!
Lawless is an incredibly kind and caring professor -- which is why it's such a shame that she's an incredibly ineffective lecturer. Worship the textbook and you should make it out okay.
Awful. She's boring, she basically lectures from the textbook adding a few little things. She expects you to spend about 15 additional hours a week on outside homework, lab work & studying in order to do well. Its a hard subject and she is probably the worst professor to try to learn from.
You do both the learning&homework alone, be prepared to put your other classes on the backburner. Youll learn everything from the textbook in your spare time so you can do the pre-lecture homework, then go to lecture and hear her teach you everything you already know because you had to learn it by yourself to do the homework. Lectures are useless.
This class might as well be online for all the help she gives you. You could completely eliminate the lecture portion and the class would literally be the same because you teach yourself all the material. Her tests are worded very poorly and are extremely confusing. Class test averages are very low but she doesn't curve until the end.
Have to go to lectures for pop quizzes. Her lecture notes are powerpoints, and just awkwardly bulleted versions of sentences from the textbook. Read the textbook and do the blue questions. Tests are horribly confusing and poorly worded. Sometimes, there is no hope.
Worst professor I've had at Binghamton by a long shot. She makes her powerpoints word for word off of the textbook and simply reads them. If questions are present it's unlikely she knows how to explain it clearly. Tests are way above the level of the text whereas lectures are below the text. She's a nutritionist and is lost trying to teach bio. GL
The class went about as well as the general economic state of Detroit. (Lawless is a nice lady for the most part and knows alot about Nutrition, but this was a Cellular Biology Class and she didn't know the material herself, read directly from the textbook, and tested way above the level she taught. Avoid this course if you don't need it.)
She is a nice person but a horrible professor. Tests are hard and her lectures are unhelpful.
- Doesn't teach up to her tests - Very specific exam questions (definition based + confusing wording) - Lectures are not helpful + But she gives popquizzes as attendance - Txtbook is your friend; do not abandon it! And keep up w chapters - Go to your LAB GRAD TA's they are awesome! - Check up w Lawless for concerns (Office hrs are recorded)
Terrible. Professor Lawless certainly knows a lot about the subject but fails to deliver it in an effective way. Her lecture consist of her reading off of a useless powerpoint slide which has nothing to do with what's on the tests, which are impossible. Reading the textbook is a must in order to pass. Pop quizzes so go to class. Avoid if possible.
tests are insanely hard but there is a great curve at the end even though she doesn't tell you this. don't recommend her.
Terrible professor. Her lectures are boring and dont teach you anything, the only reason for going is the pop quizzes. she does curve a lot in the end, which is good, but still it's hard to get an A. You MUST read the textbook thoroughly, that is the only thing that'll get you through the course
Worst professor ever. I have her right now and we have a 14 chapter exam next week, it's been four weeks of school. She is a terrible teacher. I feel bad for anyone majoring in bio at Binghamton.
I didn't learn a thing in class, only went because she likes to give pop quizzes. She gives loads of reading and homework after every lecture. The textbook was my savior.
Crap teacher who can't explain to you anything. Tests are based on your application of the material you learn, which is something that you do not practice. If you want an A then be ready to study at least 3 hours per day.
To the people saying Lawless is a demon, that's over the top. She's a nice person. She just can't teach. She's pretty much a horrible lecturer. But do go to class as she stresses some points which she'll put on the test. GO TO HER OFFICE HOURS. She is always there and willing to help and she's more clear outside of lecture. Keep up with reading.
not so good
Just an awful professor all in all
A rough class
Rough class, Hardest teacher I have ever had.
Dr. Lawless is an extremely nice lady and is always willing to help out her students, if you come to her and are nice about it. Her problem is she can't lecture the material well at all. The textbook will become your best friend, so expect to study that for hours and hours if you even want to think about doing well. At least there's a big curve.
Nice enough person but this class was extremely hard. You need to basically memorize the entire textbook.
She has to read from the textbook in class to teach you and she often says incorrect things.
Honestly a terrible professor. Memorize the textbook and you will still struggle. I put all my time and energy in this class and didn't even get the grade I was hoping for.
Would not recommend to anyone. Read the textbook, went to lecture and tutoring and completed all assignments and labs and was still very disappointed with how little I learned and the grade I received. Nice lady, but terrible at teaching a large lecture and assigns lots of time consuming, mandatory assignments.
No, avoid. If you don't know if you're pre-med DON'T START HERE. She'll tank your GPA. She reads the power points like questions, and is inept. Avoid, hope for her to move or something. Idk, I hope she leads a long happy life avoiding the teaching profession.
Look, I've been here for two weeks and I already know how this is going to end. She says things that are blatantly wrong in lecture, words questions incredibly unclearly, tests far and away above the level of the textbook. She's a NIGHTMARE. I pray to God I somehow get an A, but that ain't looking too likely.
The worst professor at binghamton. I heard it from others before taking the class but thought they were joking. She is the worst and makes the class suck up ALL your time. Her syllabus covers a chapter each lecture yet as the year goes on she falls farther behind yet expects you to still know all the material. Learn to love that horrible textbook.
Dr. Lawless is perhaps the worst teacher at Binghamton. Her inability to keep up with a changing curriculum is displayed through her lectures. When asked questions, she responds "um" and proceeds to find a slide on the topic, and when she can't find a slide says to read the textbook! This teacher does not know what she is talking about at all.
She is a terrible, terrible, terrible professor. If you want to do good you will literally have to memorize the textbook. Ask a question in class and she will either snap at you or tell you to read the textbook. Avoid this class if you can or wait till she's gone.
Worst professor at Binghamton University. Expects you to read the entire textbook and memorize every small detail. Tests are difficult with extremely specific and unclear questions. If you ask her a question in class, she flips through the textbook for 5 minutes and tells you where you can find the answer. Does not care about students, whatsoever.
This class was horrific. Lawless was horrific. The lectures are so pointless but you still need to go because she gives pop quizzes. You need to buy like 5 different online resources which she assigns a lot of homework on, and NONE of it has to do with anything on the tests which are impossible. The textbook is the only thing you will learn from.
people bash her a lot but she really knows what shes talking about its just that she is directly from a laboratory and is not as experienced as a lecturer if you go to her office shes willing to help shes knowledgeable and polite as one may expect it isn't easy and she cant teach every little thing you'll have to read the text book
Probably a smart person, but you wouldn't know it from her lectures. Very difficult to get a good grade.
Not good. She appears to be very uneducated in regards to the topic she teaches. When asked to answer a question by a student, she struggles over 50% of the time to do so. Avoid this teacher at all costs as she can simultaneously teach you nothing and destroy your gpa if you are not 120% ready. If you can't, then prepare to learn on your own w txtb
By far the worst teacher I have ever had in my life. Tests are ridiculous and have almost nothing to do with the lectures. The only reason to even go to lectures is because she gives pop quizzes. Awful, awful professor. If you don't need this class for your major don't take it. Have fun memorizing every word of the textbook.
Terrible at presenting the lecture material and has no idea what she's teaching. Avoid her. She expects too much for the level she's teaching at. She spends her time incoherently babbling during lecture and contradicting herself on basic material. If you ask her something more comprehensive she can't answer and tells you to refer to the book.
Has no concept of what she's teaching. Teaches at a high school level. Class is pointless except you have to go to class or you loose participation points which are 6% of your grade. There is a big curve but the class isn't worth the stress. If you don't study the material vigorously you'll get the same grade as not studying.
Put in all your time to get a B+. i don't know why she's teaching at a college level rather than high school.
The textbook is the most important part of this class. I don't think lawless is terrible but she could definitely put in more effort to make her lessons clearer. She does so much material in one lecture, so as long as you keep up you'll be fine. Labs aren't too bad. Her exams have some confusing questions. Just hope the curve is good.
The ratings here don't give Professor Lawless a fair chance. I have gone to her office hours. She literally spent 1/2 an hour with me going over 1 question. The course covers lots of chapters - she doesn't have the time to explain EVERY SINGLE detail. It's your job to get the basics down - she just clarifies the process during her 1 hour lecture.
Honestly the worst professor on campus. She does not come across as intelligent and needs to read off of her computer or notes the whole time. She is rude when you try to ask a question saying: "I don't have time for this, read the syllabus" Avoid taking this class-it would be worth taking a summer course somewhere else.
She is the most ineffective professor I have had. She is often unable to answer any questions, and repeatedly answers with "Look in your textbook, we don't have time." This is not an easy class whatsoever. Bring your textbook to class and ignore her. Go to class just for the LC points. She is very effective at spending an hour teaching nothing.
Class is pointless, tests are hard and barely teaches anything. need to outline the textbook in order to learn anything in this class.
I loved learning about the material on my own, but Lawless made it unbearable to sit through the lectures. She was completely unhelpful and spends more time talking about how she doesn't have time to answer our questions in class than she does actually teaching us. It helps to read the chapters before the lecture.
Lawless is very nice lady with a good personality, and a passion for biology. But she is extremely inefficient, and often says that we have so much material to learn, but then makes no progress during class. She read straight from the textbook, and mislabeled diagrams. Its too easy to know all of the material in the course but still not do well.
Dr. Lawless cares for the students that get to know her. She is a genuinely nice lady, but she does have a difficult time teaching this course. She is a smart lady, but she does not always make the material easy to understand, and she never covers all of the material on the tests. In order to do well, you must, I mean MUST, read the textbook.
The course was a class-driven seminar, so it's a very different setup from the extremely difficult to teach 118. In this small setting, she's engaging, passionate, supportive, and curious about what the students want to get out of the class. 118 is an impossible class to teach. Lawless is a good one.
After BIOL 118, I expected to have a really hard time with Lawless in BIOL 480I. However, after taking this class, my view of her changed. It was a great class. She was a great teacher. She got me interested in the class and got me to be interested in topics outside the class. I wish she could teach classes other than BIOL 118. She knows her stuff!
She's always willing to schedule meetings outside of class and office hours if you need help. Class lectures are what you make of them. I didn't go often and on the rare occasion I did, I didn't pay attention but my friend went every time and took twenty page notes so you do you. Her tests honestly weren't all that hard, they just covered a lot.
She was just an awful, awful teacher. She was unable to convey the topic well and reading the textbook is a must. She barely covered stuff on the test in class. She made herself available outside of class, but just wasn't helpful
Take her diet, genes, and culture seminar! Lawless is great with small classes, and had lots of insight into the course material. Highly recommend for bio and bio anthro majors!
She is the absolute WORST lecturer I have ever had. Goes on and on about a simple topic for an entire lecture, ignoring most of each chapter which you have to know all of for the test. Lectures are pointless other than the fact that she gives pop "quizzes". Textbook will be your best friend!
True that she's an awful lecturer (she doesn't seem familiar with the material she's teaching and often reads from the textbook), BUT go to her office hour and she'll sit down with you and try her best. She is an ineffective teacher but if you put in YOUR OWN WORK the tools are available for you to do fine.
The textbook is your best friend for this class- lectures will only cover the basic concepts and will skip the higher level material that you'll actually be tested on. While she is available during office hours she won't answer any questions in lecture so don't bother asking.
I did not find this class impossible like most people say, but I didn't excel either. She is the worst lecturer on this planet. Should never teach anything. Lectures are completely useless, except for if she still does in class online questions. So unorganized, she "reviews" material in class that is so simple and easy. LIVE BY THE TEXTBOOK.
Lawless is not a bad professor. She is very passionate about the material and willing to help, although a little disconnected and has a difficulty understanding that some students just don't understand. The book is your bible! Read it word for word and study the homework questions! It is a very difficult weed-out style course.
If I did not take AP Biology in high school, I would have failed this class. Her lectures focus on irrelevant details and her test questions are worded very poorly. Not only that, but she is not accessible or approachable. I went to office hours before the final and she was very rude and rushed me out despite showing up an hour late with no warning
If you study and read the textbook you will do fine. I didn't take AP bio in high school and the class wasn't terribly hard. Tip: study the homework questions.
She's since moved to another school, but the semester when I took 118 was hellish. Very nice lady, but taught only the most basic material from high school level bio and then tested on higher concepts with questions that often had multiple (or zero) right answers.
Learning catalytics, lots of material, and the textbook. She writes a lot of diagrams on the board which you need to know. She tests you on what she covers in lecture so you need to go. Lab in 118 is WAY easier than 117. If you know the material in the textbook you will be fine. Don't need to do extra. Lots of mastering biology HW questions.
People complain because she didn't teach the material well, but if you read the textbook and take notes you will do well. It's all self-teaching, but totally doable. If you'r planning on taking biochemistry (another self-taught class) here, this is a good way to prepare your study methods.
Less than 1/2 the students showed up to lectures since they were useless so tried to use pop quizzes to punish, sorry, "encourage" students into showing up. Weren't allowed to take quiz if showed up 1 minute late. Rarely had actual answers to student questions, "look in the book". Gave misinformation to questions and denied it couple times. 1/10
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
65%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.19 avg changeRatings by Course
480I
4.0
(1)BIOL480I
4.0
(1)BIOL480
4.0
(1)118
2.3
(6)BIOL118
1.9
(31)Difficulty by Course
118
5.0
BIO117
5.0
BIO118
4.7
BIOL118
4.4
480I
4.0