This class is really easy to understand if you go to class. If you don't go to class, you can read the notes right out of the book and be fine. She is really good about clarifying everything. I'm a Philosophy and History major and I did just fine.

This is the best, most organized class ever. Karen was ill for the last few weeks of our class so hopefully she's doing well now because she's an excellent professor.

She was a really good professor. Got kind of boring sometimes, but the tests were easy.

No Comments

This teacher was very easy as long as a complete set of notes was taken...easy to understand!

Kind of easy, a lot like high school biology, lots of notes though, that's pretty much all you do in class and she doesn't take attendance, so just read the book

very simple class. Good teacher. I enjoyed umans and other animals

She is really a pretty good teacher. Her lectures all come from the book, and she explains everything really clearly. I like her class a lot.

She is a good professor, teaches right out of the book. If you attend class and read the book, you will do fine on the tests. Most find it hard because they refuse to go to class. But seriously, just take notes and you will be great, I really liked her.

She is very clear on what needs to be studied and what material will be on the test. If you read and go to class you are golden. If you don't go to class and don't read....then the tests are hard. common sense

She is a very knowledgeable instructor and she is pretty flexible with grading and class work. Her lectures are well organized and she is very prompt with posting notes and grades online. I would highly recommend her for any Biology class.

Great professor. Dr. Raines presents a logical and educational course. She is well organized, knowledgeable and easy to understand. I am not a bio major, but Dr. Raines deserves credit for being a good professor.

If you're looking for an easy science class, this is it. Either read the book, or go to class; both aren't necessary. Otherwise, Professor Raines is prepared, a prompt grader, and knowledeable. She is fair and curves the tests amply. She also seems interested in what she is teaching, which is a bonus. Overall, easy class with a decent professor.

Great professor who knows her stuff. Willing to help explain things to anyone that has questions. This class specifically requires a lot of studying for a 100 level though. But she's nice and enjoys teaching it, so I can manage. Prospective students: If she's giving you an example that's not on the slides, WRITE IT DOWN. Go to class/take notes!

She defiantly knows her stuff. She is a very detailed professor and makes sure you have what you need for the tests and quizzes. I would not recommend missing this class due to the amount of notes that are taken.

For those complaining about her accent, she can't control it. It's natural. Who cares? She's very informative and her study guides are just a guideline to what may be covered in the exams, not everything but mostly everything on the test was on the study guide. Read the textbook, it'll help.

She is a wonderful professor! Not all just notes, but she shows a lot of videos as well! If you use the study guides, and go to class you should do pretty well. She is very smart, and can answer any of your questions! Loved her!

Dr. Raines is a good professor. The class requires effort, but it's not unreasonable for a bio class that has to cover a lot to prepare students for the next level. She gets grades posted very quickly. Also, she's very willing to answer questions at any time.

This is not a 101 course by any stretch of the imagination.

The content of this class is all about memorization of terms and organisms, but Karen really breaks everything down as much as possible to make it easier to remember. Even if you aren't interested in the course content she makes the content relevant, fun, and interesting as possible. I really enjoyed this class and her teaching style.

She idefinitely knows what she is talking about but sometimes it's hard for her to put in a way for students to understand. Sometimes she just reads from her power point slides. Although she is also very willing to help you understand if you go to her office hours. Also, sometimes she put questions on the test that weren't on the study guide.

The amount of work for a 100 level class was substantial. The material was extremely difficult for a freshman biology class.

Her tests are hard but get the online book! This will save your life, the quizzes you get with the online book are the EXACT same questions you'll see on the test. Even if you get the regular book go to the website that is listed in there that has some practice questions that are pretty similar and some are even the same as the tests.

I love not only Karen but the class! Yes the tests are tough but my advice is to get the online etext or connect plus biology. The online book comes with quizzes that will SAVE your life. They prepare you for questions on the test! Lowest test is dropped, no papers. Overall not a hard course if you study well!

There are 3 online quizzes. The tests are tough and require a lot of studying. Get the online text book with practice tests. Top-hat questions in class for a participation grade.

Biology in general is hard if you don't have a knack for it but she is really good at explaining things. She also is very open to working with you after class to make sure that you get it.

I don't know why she isn't rated higher. I took her class last semester and I was amazed with her. She is amazingly intelligent. She knows the answer to EVERYTHING, ask her anything. In the very small chance that she doesn't, she will research it and get back to you on it. If you plan on an easy A or skipping all of the lectures, don't take it.

Hard class because I'm not good at science

Karen Raines is one of my favorite professors this semester. She is very understanding and if you have something in your life going on that's making school hard for you just talk to her at office hours and she is very helpful. The tests are somewhat difficult but study the quizzes you take for the tests.

Difficult 100 level class - Her lectures are long and boring, when I went I fell asleep so I stopped going. Uses Tophat for points but I only had a 27% answering attendance and she gave me a 100. Tests are difficult as they cover SO MUCH info, the online text book will save your grade. I promise. BUY IT.

A great teacher who is not just nice, but makes jokes and gives multiple choice tests!

I didn't buy the textbook and I'm not the best at biology, and I received an 85%. Because I don't like biology, the lectures seemed to drag on. It was not a bad class, and Professor Raines was very nice and knowledgeable.

Professor Raines is an excellent teacher don't get me wrong, but this isn't a easy class. While she clearly knows the topics extremely well, lectures tend to move fast and drag on forever. The tests are not that hard, but you absolutely have to study, at least a week in advance. My advice create a study group and stay committed to working together.

You can tell she really knows her stuff and has a love for biology. Easy class. Karen is a phenomenal lecturer.

Online quizzes! Must go to class for clicker participation. Super nice and really wants to help you. Uses online textbook with online test questions. You get to keep your tests after you take them. THE TESTS ARE MULTIPLE CHOICE!!!!! Even if you aren't a bio major still a great class. Covers a lot of topics.

Takes a boring subject and makes it interesting. I'm amazed at how much she knows. I don't think anyone has asked a question that she doesn't know the answer to. A lot of memorization, but tests are relatively easy. Not very much homework.

She is very interested with the topic and makes it interesting for someone like me who isn't inclined to sciences. She takes time to answer questions in class, and makes up for the time lost and the subjects not taught by just taking them off the exams. Book is definitely used.

If you are taking the BZ 101 class it is not hard and the only thing that she grades you on are the chapter quizzes from the online textbook and the test. If you don't go to class however you will miss a lot of information that she goes in depth about.

There are 4 tests in this course and they are all worth 120 points. The only other points that you can even receive in this class are 3 points per quiz and there are about 20 quizzes and 20 iclicker points. If you are not a good test taker, I do not recommend taking this class

Professor Raines really loves the subject. She's very knowledgeable, funny, and tries to keep students engaged. Lectures are for clicker credit, but you can either not go and just read the textbook and her slides, or you can go to lecture and just do the online modules based on her lecture slides (mostly). You get out what you put in.

Easiest biology course. Karen is extremely knowledgeable and nice. Her exams are easy as long as you study, attend lecture, and do the homework assignments. The course is heavily dependent on lecture and chapters from the textbook. She does iClickers each day so make sure you go for easy points since the only other grades are exams and homework.

Karen is well educated on the subject she teaches. As long as you consistently go to class, you can pass. Most of the clicker questions and material come directly from tests, and she will explain where to find test material that isn't taught in class. Enthusiastic and thorough when explaining questions, but every class is a PowerPoint lecture.

Karen is really nice and wants to help her students. Recommend going to class for iClicker points and points add up.

You need to go to 70% of classes for full iClicker credit. There's a lot of content to memorize. Final grade is based on weekly/biweekly online assignments, 3 exams, participation, and the final. She really likes Kahoots, which are hilarious with 300 people.

First, read the book and do the LearnSmart because it'll give you easy points. Second, I recommend just copying the PPTs into a document and adding any points she gives in class(they usually don't make it to the exam though). Finally, before the exam, do the study guide. It helps a TON. BUT this is a class for BIO MAJORS.

I took this class thinking it would be a completely different subject matter. The description does not match the class-- dont be fooled, this is a basic biology course. But, it's easy enough with some studying and she curves the exams. Not a bad choice if you need a bio credit

Keys to passing: Take the lab inconcurrent with the lecture. It'll make all the big words she uses waay easier to understand. Skim through the homeworks, they're unlimited tries, easy points. Do the practice exams. They are IDENTICAL to the exams and final exam. Easy class if you sit in front and pay attention. She doesn't like excuses, so do right

4 exams throughout the course. Relatively easy if you go to class and do the homework

She knows her stuff and stays on track.

Good teacher grades exams on a curve, allows you to keep the exam questions, grades participation on random clicker polls.

I'm not a bio major, and I don't like bio, but I liked this class. I definitely worked too hard in this class, because I took lots of notes on the online textbook, so you don't need to do that (it helps so much with BZ 111 though). Karen is a great lecturer! You will learn so much from this class if you take good notes and attend her lectures.

Raines teaches a fairly rough course but makes the information pretty clear to understand. Pretty harsh on missed/late assignments, but she states this from the beginning. Do the work (which there's a lot of), ask questions, and study hard for tests.

A really solid professor who cares for her students and gives fair grades.

The only participation needed was for the 3/4 iclicker questions at the end of the lecture, but they were easy to find in the provided notes. There is a lot of reading, but exams were noncumulative so it was a manageable workload. Prof. Raines was very understanding during the pandemic and was able to be somewhat flexible with her students.

i took her class fall of 2020 and it was hybrid so we had the option to go to lecture or not and I did not attend a single lecture. lecture just reiterated the homework material, the homework was two smartbooks a week and if you just do those homeworks you just get it. iclickers were annoying but get a solid gc going for the class and its easy

I took Biology with Professor Raines and it was a great experience. This is a lecture class, but she explains everything very well and the homework assignments also help a lot with understanding the material. She genuinely cares if you are having trouble with something or need her help. Love her so much omg. Great voice too.

Was a great intro class. If you're a science major, you'll love this class with Dr. Raines. She is very knowledgeable and tentative to your learning the material. I would highly recommend doing the homework and smart book questions in a timely manner.

Coming from a non-science major, this class wasn't bad at all. I barely went to the class and was able to pass with a pretty good grades. She posts the lectures the night before and the weekly assignments aren't too long or hard, as long as you skim through it the book. The tests are closed note but if you do the assignments, they aren't too hard.

This is not an easy course, but that's expected given that there's a LOT of material. However, Dr. Raines is organized and knowledgeable. Attend the lectures for exam answers. The practice exams/study guides are useful, even if they're long. The homeworks take a lot of time. Take BZ111 concurrently if possible. Go to LA help sessions if struggling.

The lectures for this class did not cover a lot, so most of the information I got was from the smartbooks, except lectures are important for the quizzes. The tests were fairly easy if you study and there are occasional short answer assignments. Karen knew a lot about what she talked about but the class seemed random.

Proffesor Raines is very knowledgeable. Her lectures are okay. The tests are hard but if you do the review exams you will do well. I do not like the textbook assignments because they take up a lot of time and are hard to understand.

I actually really enjoyed Raines and I was not expecting to. The class has a lot of homework but overall I felt like by completing the homework was enough to secure a good grade in the class. Karen definitely is knowledgable and passionate about her content, but at times I think she might forget a lot of people in the class are taking this as AUCC

Pretty good class, just had to take a bunch of notes, but the prof taught well.

The exams are super easy if you do the practice exams, the assignments in class are important because they are on the exams. I didn't pay much attention in class but it was fun.

The workload in this class is manageable, but it can be a lot of info all at once. GO TO THE REVIEW EXAMS. Also, do the practice exams and keep your previous tests. If you do these three things, you'll do fine in the class. Just make sure you review the notes she posts on canvas for videos, cause they are essential for quizzes and tests.

I didn't mind Karen at all. She was a pretty good teacher. The only thing that really blowed about this class was the McGraw assignments every few days that were worth 5 points. Didn't seem worth it to me since the assignment took 2 hours long. Study hard for the exams.

There is lots of information covered in this class. But I was able to get As on all my exams by going to the sessions hosted by the TAs. they know whats on the test and focus really heavily on only whats on the test. Honestly those sessions were my only form of studying.

So the homework takes a while but its not hard. You can use quizlets and stuff if you need it done quickly. Her lectures arent taught great however shes pretty nice and will work with you. Tests arent that bad but GO TO THE REVIEW SESSIONS + do practice exams. They're a saving grace and will show you everything thats on the test very useful.

This course relies heavily on the textbook. If you really paid attention during the HW then the lecture was all review. There were four tests before the final, but we were allowed to take them home after and see what we got wrong. Half of the questions on the final were from the past tests. Lots of work but easy if you attend lectures and study.