Laura is great. She stresses her key points in class, so you know what to expect on the tests. She is a little cheesy but it's endearing. She makes the class easy by trying to engage the students and having concept questions in class. Take Bio with her and you'll get a good grade.

Professor Almstead stesses important key points, she will say that class attendance is not mandatory but it's worth 10% of your grade so it kind of is. Exams are easier than Miller, and she makes sure that you are well prepared.

Laura is seriously the love of my life. She's so cute and totally loves her job/life. She's an amazing professor, and if you go to class, fill out the study guide and go the review sessions there is no reason not to get an A. If you have the opportunity to take her you absolutely should. You will LOVE her!!!

Laura is a great professor, but a disappointing grader. She love her class, however, the exams are not that easy.And she is good at asking tricky questions. Good lecturer. It's not that easy to get A, but it's not hard to get B or C.

Really enjoyable and fun course. I really liked the lectures and I found the presentation of material to be very well thought out and informative. The material isn't easy, nor are the tests, but they are very well written and representative of the material covered in class.

This class was pretty fun and I learned a lot but .... too much powerpoint. Also sapling the online homework is the absolute worst. last exam and final were brutally hard. stay on top of things and you will do well.

Professor Almstead is SO sweet and helpful, but SUCH a hard grader on exams. If you attend all of the lectures, the material is much more manageable for the exams. Definitely requires a lot of study time and class attendance!

Laura Almstead is such a sweet woman but such an annoying professor. She really cares, and will take the time with you outside of class. For me this did not make up for the confusion she caused me with the bio-chem material. She had a way of making simple concepts seem very difficult. I think she needs more food.

Professor Almstead is a brilliant professor. I was dreading this class and it's not hard if you pay attention during class. She has great analogies to help you understand and is really there for the students if they need help. Her exams are much easier than the evil Sapling homework. I wish I could take more classes with her.

Almstead clearly loves Biology and puts a lot of effort into her teaching, with organized powerpoints, iClicker questions, study guides and teaching strategies. However, her teaching was not always clear for many in the class, myself included. Exam wording was occasionally confusing. Another brilliant professor with only average teaching ability.

I was dreading this class all summer because of all the horrible reviews on here, but I am SO glad I stuck with it. Professor Almstead is amazing! She's so passionate about biology, and she does her very best to make things clear to the students. The exams aren't easy, but its all material covered in her lectures.

Almstead was an excellent professor. She is extremely qualified and fluent in the material she teaches, and she wants you to love biology as much as she does. Her lectures sometimes drag on, but she does her best. She takes the time to write up detailed study guides for each exam, and leads her own review sessions for students.

I took this class in Fall 2014 and I was nervous about it from the reviews but I'm so glad I took this class. As long as you go to class take good notes and review the slides and review questions before you take the test there is no excuse for not getting an A. She tries to keep everyone engaged and has funny metaphors for everything!

Almstead has a particular teaching style that is difficult at first, however when studying the class is well laid out. The tests are difficult, and geared towards application of the material however there are a lot of fluff grades to boost your grade. I found her class helpful in learning how to think through application problems .

Laura is a good lecturer, and is interested in what she is teaching. Her test question wording sometimes makes the test difficult. But overall not an extremely hard class.

Professor Almstead is very helpful and truly wants her students to succeed. She is willing to meet outside of class and set up times if her office hours don't work for you. She is really professional and good at her job. I wish I could fit another class with her in my schedule.

Dr. Almstead is young and a new professor which is pretty evident by her enthusiasm. She's a really good lecturer, and goes above and beyond to make sure her students understand the material. She has a cold exterior but once you get over that she's one of the most caring professors at UVM. Definitely take this class with her.

Literally she is so nice, and really helpful. Her tests are not easy, but she gives you all the tools to pass, and the help after when you don't.

Really tough class made a little easier and a lot more bearable by Laura!! Shes the best! Make sure to go to class as much as possible for the iclicker questions and if you actually want to understand the material

Laura is one of the best professors I have had by a long shot. She is very understanding. She gives so much material and exercises to help you study for the exams. DO THE AFTER LECTURE QUESTIONS!! They help so much with the exams. She seems like she's a hardass but she really just wants you to succeed and will help you as much as she can. Ask Q's.

Very enthusiastic about the subject material. Her homework and iclicker questions can be confusing sometimes but its nothing impossible. Very helpful with review sessions and nothing on the tests is out of left field.

Laura is a really nice person who wants everyone to do well. The exams were tough, but fair: they required a lot of application rather than memorization. I thought the class was pretty easy as she assigns follow up questions and reading to every lecture which really help if you don't understand what she's getting at in class. very helpful.

Dr. Almstead is one of the brightest and most engaged professors at UVM. It is a unique combination for her to be so smart and also so devoted to helping her students learn the material rather than being absorbed in her own research.

Shes awesome. Professor Almstead wants you to succeed in this class and offers many resources, including generous office hours and comprehensive but clear lectures. Nice that she teaches concepts and leaves super-specific details for later classes -- gives the student a good foundation of biology. Definitely take this class if you can.

Professor Almstead is the most caring and helpful professor I have ever had at UVM. She is a great lecturer and presents the material in an interesting and very understandable manner. Exams are not bad but her wording sometimes leads to confusion. Nonetheless, if you pay attention, ask q's, DO THE LECTURE Q's after each lecture, you will do great!

Professor Almstead was a fantastic teacher! She is so well organized and goes slowly enough to explain concepts thoroughly. Plus, if you don't understand something in class she has office hours, tons of videos to help, and the sections in the textbook clearly labeled on the website so you can find them.

This class isn't easy, you definitely need to put the extra time in but Almstead is a really great lecturer and she provides you with all the resources you could possibly need to do well in this class. She makes lecture slides to help take notes in the class so I would def recommend using these, they are so helpful!!

Dr. Almstead really cares about the students and the materials, and tries to make things clear and engaging. She's busy but always has office hours and review sessions before each exam. Just show up, ALWAYS bring your I-clicker, do the homeworks, and study off of the lecture slides and homework Q's and you'll be fine. Lab is super easy.

Dr. Almstead provides a clear syllabus and sticks to it. Exams are a little challenging, but well managed with completion of Mastering Bio homework (and repeated practice if necessary) as well as the end of lecture follow-up questions. Master those concepts and you'll perform well.

She definitely was the first teacher to ever help me figure out a subject and have an academic breakthrough on topics I thought I'd never fully understand. Review sessions are helpful in general but I would never miss those. Literally just one hour.

Laura did a great job during lecture this semester. She moves quickly so I would recommend putting together a study group before exams. Lots of note-taking but I think that she is a great professor.

She's a good lecturer and presenter, but she talks very fast. Get ready to take lots of notes and still feel underprepared for her questions. The only person who could easily answer all her questions in class already has a degree in biology. She has high expectations to say the least. Pretty annoying and stupid labs though.

I had BIOL 001 and 002 with Professor Almstead; she's passionate about what she teaches, but the lectures are a little dry sometimes. Her exams aren't too tough as long as you do the readings and take decent notes. She's also super sweet and can help outside of class if needed

Professor Almstead was a delight. I took the summer intensive BIO001 class and it was amazing. The lectures were well organized and easy to understand. Attending class and paying attention is important, but she was always will to help if you didn't understand something. I wish I could have taken more classes with her.

Prof. Almstead is great! She is very knowledgable on what she is teaching and is really dedicated to helping students- she is accessible outside of class and responds to emails quickly. I wish that I had the opportunity to take more classes with her!

Professor Almstead LOVES this class so much and that makes the class more interesting. The work for the class was comprised of weekly quizzes (based on class notes), reading questions, and labs which were fun and straightforward. She cares about the students and makes a huge effort, she gave us tons of candies/baked goods she makes which are good.

Professor Almstead is great! Super charismatic and very approachable. Study the homework problems and review your notes and you should do great! She definitely is not trying to trick you, which I appreciated. Highly recommend!

Great professor, definitely ask her questions, very quick at response. Textbook is not needed and need to pay attention during lectures. Pearson may word things confusing but if you do the f/u questions, you'll do well in class!

Professor Almstead is awesome! I took BIOL001 over the summer and it was great! She is a very organized professor and it really helps you stay on top of things. I also took BIOL001 during the regular semester, and if I had to choose one course I would recommend BIOL002. Her classes are very reasonable and I felt like I learned a lot!

Professor Almstead clearly loves teaching and loves biology. I HATE science, but she made everything so understandable. Definitely come to class because she uses a lot of iClicker questions. I did not crack open the textbook once, don't even bother getting it- if you come to class you will understand the topics and she posts the slides as well.

I loved her class! She was so friendly and made an effort to get to know me personally despite it being a huge lecture! Overall, very enjoyable! Definitely lecture heavy and her tests are difficult but if you study and do the homework you will do fine!

I really loved this class. It's clear that Professor Almstead loves biology and cares about her students. The material can sometimes be tricky, and the lectures as fast-paced, but the slides are always posted on blackboard and the tests aren't bad at all. If anything, the homework is harder than the exams! P.S... You don't need the textbook!

Professor Almstead is clearly enthusiastic about biology and does her best to share that enthusiasm with her students. While the tests can often be confusing, most of the concepts are easy to grasp and well explained by her in lecture. As long as you attend class and do a little exam prep you'll have a pretty good time.

Great teacher who was very kind and wanted her students to succeed. Also encourages students to come to office hours and will give you help if you ask. Some of her lectures can be a little confusing so make sure you come to class and pay attention.

Professor Almstead comes to class so prepared every time which is amazing. Her bio class was pretty easy as someone who took AP Bio in high school, but I still enjoyed the class because of how engaging her lectures and materials are. You won't need the textbook she doesn' t put anything not covered in class on tests.

Fun class to take for your science/lab requirement. Weekly homeworks and 4 total tests (the last being cumulative). Interesting but fast-paced lectures, and iClicker questions that boost your grade make attendance pretty mandatory.

Professor Almstead is wonderful! I always struggled with bio in high school, but she explains topics and concepts thoroughly and makes class very interesting. She always comes to class prepared and her slides are informative. She supports students, is accessible during office hours, supplies helpful study materials and answers emails promptly.

Prof. Almstead was great! Her lectures were fast-paced, but they were clear, and she made the material easy to understand. She provided so many great study resources, and the weekly homeworks were great practice for exams. She is also a super caring and kind person who wants you to succeed!

Professor Almstead was an amazing instructor for BIO1400. She moves quickly through lectures, but covers a lot of valuable information. She posts slides after class so it is easy to go back and review/fill in your notes. Exams are challenging but definitely doable if you study. She is easily accessible and her office hours are especially helpful.

Professor Almstead is a really caring professor. The class is very lecture heavy and it is a very hard topic, but she makes sure to be accessible outside of class and she is very respectful to her students. You have to pay close attention and work very hard, she does not make it "easy" but she is very supportive.

I had a good time in Almstead's class. She assigns 1 hw a week and didn't have quizzes (although that is covered by labs). She goes through the material quickly, but there is a lot to cover. The follow-up questions are super helpful when studying for the exams. Be prepared to take a lot of notes; I took over 120 pages of typed notes from lectures!

Prof Almstead is obviously a very caring professor who really wants her students to do well. The class is challenging and lectures are fast-paced, but I found office hours and her review sessions before tests to be helpful.

I really like Professor Almstead, she's clearly passionate about the subject, very approachable, and her love for biology really shines through. That said, it's a STEM class, so be prepared to put in some effort. The downside is the labs, they're so boring

The lectures were fast but helpful. I liked her class but if you hate bio you're obviously not going to love it. Exam questions are similar to ones you go over in class and she's very direct about what's going to be on the exams. The review sessions and textbook to not be super helpful but the study guides, lectures, and office hours were good!

Very enthusiastic and involved during lectures. Evidently cares about her students. Participation is measured using iClicker; some extra credit is available periodically. The course is definitely difficult, but manageable regarding workload. There are many opportunities outside of class to supplement learning. Overall, clearly caring and invested.

Class was lecture heavy and there was a lack of exam prep outside of stuff we weren't already provided but she cares and the labs were really good. Highly recommend this professor.

Laura Almstead is a very straightforward professor with very clear grading criteria. She is one of my favorite professors at UVM and is super accessible outside of class. Typically, the lectures are pretty content dense, but there is nothing on the exams that isn't covered in class

Good professor, answers quickly to emails, but the exam can be worded in a tricky way. A lot of Icklicker points.

Prof Almstead is polarizing IMO, but she is awesome. Clear grading will help you outside of class. The lecture slides make a lot of sense and are on the exam, labs are also pretty enjoyable. The class is fairly challenging but Almstead is goated and would take every class with her if I could

Very kind and helpful

Her class is very well structured and

Professor Almstead is the best professor I have had at UVM. She is incredibly passionate and cares greatly about her students. Her grading criteria is clear and the assignments are pretty easy, but you need to be thorough when completing them. Her class was super fun, she includes fun facts in the lectures and brings in snacks for the class often.

i have her for Introduction to Biochemistry (NFS2183) and love her! she's super accommodating and teaches the material well. the class has 11 quizzes, one gets dropped. however, if you're not happy with your quiz score at the end of the semester, you can take the final. the final can't hurt you though, she takes whichever grade is higher!

Dr. Almstead is a fantastic teacher who makes introductory biology extremely accessible for her students. Not too much homework, exams are relatively simple, and if you pay attention in lectures and do the follow up questions, you'll do well in the class

All around the best lecturer I've had so far. Lectures include well-made slideshows, relevant YouTube videos (like Hank Green and TedEd), group discussion, individual activities, case studies, etc. Many study materials provided, and though exams are challenging, they are very fair and accurate to the material that was emphasized.

Prof. Almstead is a sweet person. It is a difficult class, and she knows that, so she wants kids to go to the SI sessions and her office hours. If you can take it with her instead of one of the other professors who just use her slides, DO IT. Be aware, if you take this class, you NEED to study and KNOW the material to do really well.

Professor Almstead does a great job breaking down complicated topics and boiling them down to what we need to know about them. Her tests are realistic to what is taught in the course, and as long as you study, you should be able to get a good grade on them. She is very kind and approachable, and I would definitely recommend her for this course.

BIOL1400 was a super content heavy class. definitely learned a lot but you have to keep up with the content. if you take this class go to the SI sessions!!! they are so helpful they brought my test grades up so much once i started going