Great prof! Excellent course! However, low class averages.

excellent prof, good online notes, but very hard exams

No Comments

His notes were ok- he really likes Star Trek.

hardest. exams. EVER.

Hard exams, nice guy. Loves Drosophila.

exceedingly hard exams, but an interesting prof... still those exams were absolutely killer

Get to know this prof!! Like everyone has mentioned his exams are killer but fair if you spend the time to understand the details he gives you. One of the few classes that tests you for what you can apply rather than memorize.

What an awesome prof! I thought his exam was kind of fun! He focuses on applications, not details. Seems very enthusiastic about teaching!

Profs who give out candy when you ask good questions are always welcome

He was an awesome prof. Great exams! Very helpful! He was extremely organized and prepared for class. You call tell he loves to teach!

My favorite prof, he is very smart, very kind and helpful (he takes time to answer ALL questions, even if they have already been asked), and his exams are great because they ask what we have learned, not what we have memorized.

Great prof. Interesting. Terrific notes! Actually focuses on knowledge that is applicable to real life, instead of useless theoretical information. Exams weren't that bad... just make sure that you understand material instead of just memorizing.

John Locke was an awesome prof! He was extremely helpful and entertaining. His notes were excellent and it seemed like he really was enthusiastic about teaching. I learned a lot from his class and his exams were awesome - he didn't care how much you could memorize, but how much you could understand!

He's pretty good. Teaches very well, makes class fun and interesting, seems to genuinely care about students

No Comments

I thought he was absolutely an amazing prof. However my friend didnt think so. Exams are easy if you do all the practice exams he gives you and understand them. SO SO SO much better than allen good. He is experienced and knows how to teach.

Dr. Locke is one of the best genetics profs in the dept. I had him last year for 207 and I thought he was really good. Notes are clear and if you understand and don't memorize-you'll do fine. For those of you that don't like the amount of detail- don't take anymore genetics, b/c that is what it is!

Dr. Locke is a good prof. His teaching is decent, he answers every question from students in class and offers his help (outside of class) whenever needed. His exams really test your problem solving skills which makes them tough. The lab for this class, however, is horrible!!

Dr. Locke is a great professor. I heard that he was supposed to be really hard, but the exams weren't bad.

Great guy, tried to make class fun, got me interested in genetics for sure. Tailors classes to his students. Very thorough on concepts and exams tough but fair. Great prof.

I really liked this class. He does some inclass demonstrations that help get tough concepts across. The Midterm wasn't really that bad (know how to draw the different structures properly!) Really nice guy!

Very fair prof. Do his sample exams! Same types of questions, different numbers. Go to workshop, do all of his problem from the text and read his notes before you get to class. He's a madman flipping his overheads so you have to keep up.Blind memorization won't get you an A in this class, do practise questions, and then find some more to do.

Midterm is a bit time constrained, but the final was much better. Do the practice problems and workshops, and you'll be fine. Dr. Locke is a very good lecturer, very clear, especially if you do the workshop problems.

Awesome prof. that actually made genetics enjoyable. DO THE SAMPLE EXAMS and ask him about any questions you don't understand because those questions will be the ones that come up on your midterm and final. Also, make sure you can do the workshop problems.

Very good prof. Tests are hard but fair. Is pretty helpful when you go to him but know your stuff and be ready to answer questions from him.

Do the practice midterms and finals on his website! He reuses a lot of questions. As well, he does use workshop questions on his exams so if you know how to do all the above, you're fine. The lab turned me off genetics though, I did enjoy the lecture material.

Locke is a great prof. He seems to genuinely care whether or not his students understand the material, even though it's a difficult course. He's a bit jumpy, but he explains everything clearly. Do the practice exams!

PRACTICE EXAMS!!! I dont think that can be stressed enough with this guy. He re-uses alot of questions from the practice midterms and finals posted on his website. The answers, however, are not posted...so ask him if you dont understand. Also, go to class! His notes are very brief and confusing, you have to add to them as he explains concepts

do old exams, half of the questions were complete repeats, letters and #s were the same in the 3-point cross. notes are pretty good- it's what tests are based on. fine teacher in all

kinda bipolar - somedays during office hrs, he'd be really happy or extremely impatient/irritated w/ students. No hope for you if you only read the notes and do the text Qs. Must do HIS practice exams b/c Qs. are totally diff. Good prof but i wouldn't say he's great.

No Comments

He was a decent prof who tried to make genetics fun. For such dry material i think he did a good job. The notes don't help much though and don't bother doing the practise questions from the textbook. You should go to the workshops and do ALL of his practise exams because some of the questions are the exact same! Overall, good prof!

He is a fair prof. just attending lectures aren't enough, you have to try and work out the past exam questions, he is very helpful during office hours (only if you come prepared, don't try to ask questions if you haven't tried working it out). very friendly, and probably one of the best prof in the biol 207 department. Though the labs are boring

Dr. Locke is a great prof. I had no interest or knowledge of genetics prior to this class and I got a great mark, and was very interested in what he had to say. He had a lot of interesting examples of concepts, and if you pay close attention he really does make sense. Go to class and do his practice exams, you should do fine!!

Dr. Locke was an incredible instructor. He always answered my e-mail questions quickly and gave very understandable explanations for concepts I didn't quite understand. He's passionate about his field and his enthusiasm shines through in his lectures. He made me love genetics, and I transferred into genet specialization thanks in part to him.

i thought he was pretty good. his exams are exactly the same as previous years, or quite similar. go through all of the previous exams you can because he likes to reuse questions. i had good experiences with contacting him and he was usually helpful for me.

Very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Very accessible to ask questions of, and very helpful.

He's an enthusiastic professor who loves his subject. Some people really get genetics, and others really don't. In this class, the curve helps you A LOT. I think the midterm average was around 54! DO THE PRACTICE EXAMS. As others have said, the lac operon genotype +/- thing he never really explains well.

He definitely knows what he is talking about, but sometimes he goes over concepts so insanely fast that by the time you realize you didn't understand half of what he said, he is already done another topic. Exams are very similar to practice except he always changes one little thing that makes the question about 10x harder. Definitely not easy exams

Knowledgeable prof but not very approachable and goes through concepts really quickly. Work through his practice exams and be prepared to solve problems on his tests as opposed to regurgitating information. Course material is interesting so that helps. Also had a lot of microphone trouble during lectures - I think it was the beard!

Wonderful prof! He sometimes explains things in a round'about way, but if you follow in the text book it won't hang you up. Practice midterms were a lot like the real one... but the practice finals were quite different. Excellent prof if you take the time to learn.

talks very very fast but notes are all on line! he is very helpful during office hours! but is always late for an appointment! test are hard so study and know how to apply what is taught in class... tests are fair

Good prof. Goes very fast, his writing is messy but the notes are online. Doesn't baby you, expects you to know it, and if you do not know it to go get help. Tests are hard but fair, questions match those that are assigned from textbook. Hard class, but do-able if you have the will to do well

Tests focus mainly on problem solving (no M/C Q's), which may be difficult for some people to adjust to. Midterm marks were low and the final exam was difficult. Make sure to do the practice exams! That being said, take advantage of his office hours and ask him as many questions as you possibly can!

Dr. Locke was a nice man but his class was extremely hard! Exams were brutal. Almost no one finished the final in less than 3 hours and i suspect that the class average will be very low. Thank god for the curve.

He's a great prof who is very helpful in person. The 2 midterms were difficult but very fair if you knew the lecture material. However, his final was the hardest exam I've written out of my 25 courses so far. Questions out of left field that I had NO idea how to answer, that made no sense! I felt sick til I got my grade--an A+...All hail the curve!

I actually found Dr. Locke quite interesting and a good prof. He gave us what we needed to know for exams, yes difficult, but if you do the practice exams he gives, you can be well prepared.

Dr. Locke is an OK professor, his exams are very difficult, but they are on concepts in class and the curve can help you. Anytime I approached him he was happy to help, and made concepts clearer than he did in the lecture

Overall a good professor. Sometimes his explanations are a bit confusing but the notes were well written and all posted online. His notes are all theory and his tests are all problems. If you memorize his practice tests online, the tests are no problem!

Overall great prof. His online notes are comprehensive so just bring a highlighter and a few coloured pens to class with the notes. The Key to doing good in his exams and class is to do all the practice exams. DO EVERY SINGLE ONE. Very helpful if you go to his office.

Overall great professor. His open door office policy is very helpful and his notes are clear for the most part. Good transition class into more advanced genetics.

One of the most approachable and helpful profs I've had. His notes are a little hard to follow at times but he is always available to answer questions and seems very enthusiastic too. His exams are fair as long as you study the material.

I'm not sure what everyone seems to be complaining about. His notes are a bit vague but the textbook does solidify the material. He genuinely cares about his students and is always willing to help. His practice exams are very, very similar to his midterms/final. If you want an easy, straightforward A.. Get him as a prof.

Very nice and approachable. Replies to emails quickly with detailed answers. He really tries hard to make the material interesting. Love the videos and class demos! (Got all the candies in one class, thank you!) Probably the best prof I've ever had. He's very caring. He really wants us to do well, exam questions come straight from practise exams.

Sorry but he's definitely one of the most unclear profs I've ever had. I feel like if you don't know the material beforehand, you won't understand at all. That being said, his tests are like 99% identical to the past midterms/finals he posts (like seriously). Class is confusing as he scribbles on his notes, but just study past tests and you're good

Posts notes before hand and you must do a 5 question quiz to access the notes. This doesn't really matter though since you get 5 tries and best mark counts. Sometimes notes are unclear if you skip class but if you pay attention everything makes perfect sense. Tests are 99.9% identical to the previous ones. Didn't even open the (free) textbook.

Dr. Locke is the best biology prof I've ever had. He's a really nice guy and he values understanding the material over being able to crack a super tough exam. I. e. his exams have been the same for the last 14 years and he lets you see all of them. He looks like Santa and has given out free candy more than once.

Favourite prof I've ever had, super enthusiastic, and tests are identical to old exams

Overall a pretty good professor, not outstanding but very fair. His notes can be a bit confusing but lectures clarify what you need to know. Exams are similar to old ones but can still be difficult. Really nice guy and obviously loves genetics. Looks like Santa too

His notes are clear and everything is written out, but his in class explanation aren't that great. His exams are IDENTICAL to the practice, which I thought was a good thing at first, but then realized that the class is curved, so getting an A meant getting over 95% . Kind of wish I took Harrington instead.

Dr. Locke is awesome. There are two midterms, a final, and online open book quizzes. If you pay attention and do your work, you will do very well in this class. Dr. Locke was very engaging, and I really enjoyed his classes. Also our final was Star Wars themed this year, so that makes him hands down the greatest prof I've ever had!!

This is a hard course, but if you have to take it, take it with Locke. Hes a clear lecturer and his notes are very detailed. GO TO THE PAL SESSIONS!! Saved my life. If you show up to every class and pay attention youll be fine. Only study his practice exams, his real exams are identical to the practice ones, literally sets you up to pass.

By far my favourite professor this semester. Very passionate about the topics and very helpful outside of class. Tests very similar to practice exams study concepts as all tests are written. 2 midterms 1 final (loved the final - star wars based genetics test Yes Please!!!!) Tries very hard to make the lectures engaging and interesting.

Great prof! Has an interesting "old man" sense of humour, and is really helpful during his office hours. His midterms are quite tricky, but the curve makes it so that an 80% is an A+. What's great is that he has his own FREE condensed textbook online that helps clarify any concept briefly covered in class.

Locke is a solid professor, his lectures are good and he takes time each class to answer questions, plus his exams are almost exactly like the practice ones! Thing with 207 is you go to the lectures to understand the material, but you go to PAL sessions to know the application, which is crucial for the exams. So - GO TO PAL!

Probably the most straightforward A in a heavy science course that you can get. This man is a gem-- the last 3rd of the course was kind of a mess but if you understand the previous tests, you're SERIOUSLY golden. That's all I ended up doing for the final. He's also pretty funny. It's a tough course but PAL helps and the textbook's free!

One of my best bio profs! Always willing to help students outside of class. and he paces the class so students understand the content. The exams are really fair as long as you do the practice finals and review the PAL questions. I hated bio 207 but Locke was a gem!

Biol 207 is a hard course, but if you have to take it, take it with Locke. His notes are very detailed, eventually you figure out what's important and what isn't. He gives PLENTY of practice exams though, and there are no surprises on his actual exams. ALWAYS go to PAL, it saves you so much studying and shows you how to apply concepts for the exams

Man is a literal gem. His practice midterms/finals were almost identical to the real things. However, COME TO CLASS!! His slides are detailed but his explanations are super helpful. Bio 207 is a hard course, but taking it w/ Locke is probably the best thing you can do.

Dr. Locke is extremely knowledgable on the material and is honestly a wonderful person. He can be a tough grader because he's a little particular, but he gets grades back really fast. He's always accessible and willing to answer any question, and will explain it until you understand it completely. Also, make sure you go to the PAL sessions!

Amazing! The course is hard, but he explains it very well, has great notes and cares about your success. He answers all questions before moving on, and is very accessible outside of class. The exams are tough, but he posts multiple practice exams with answer keys that are VERY similar to the real exam so do them and you're fine!