Nice professor, has a lot of uta's w/ meetings everyday. Records the lectures and posts them on Canvas along w/ the presentations and the textbook. Gives a LOT of material in class and sometimes it's very hard to catch up. Studying for this class was very HARD due to all the topics and subtopics we had to learn. She gave an exam like every month.

Dr. S is an amazing professor. I feel like I learned so much from her. Her exams are a fair assessment of the material. She's a wonderful lecturer and is good at keeping you engaged. Has many outside-the-class resources as well.

- Reads off PPTs - Top Hat questions - 4 exams but drop lowest grade - Rec hw and quizzes - Very nice

Very nice, you can tell she cares about her students. Tests are worth 80% of your grade in total (you can drop one) and there's almost no homework. The tests are also pretty tough though if you don't have nearly everything memorized, which can be tough if you're not good at memorizing like I was at the beginning of the year.

Dr. S is adorable. She is kind and caring and truly wants you to succeed. She does rely completely on the slides during lectures, so it's easiest to make notes on the slides. Her exams are a little difficult in terms of random nuances added in here and there, but she makes up for it by dropping one of the exams and lots of other extra points.

I wish she had a Bio 2 for the Spring because I would 100% take a class with her again. Many office hours and UTAs so she was always there for help. Made presentations with basically everything you need to know for the tests, so as long as you take notes and study the slides you will do fine. Grading was also fair with a dropped exam and homework

I absolutely loved Dr. Steenkiste. Her exams were very specific and a lot of memorization was required but the exams could be worse. She is very accessible for office hours and will try her hardest to help her students pick up on a topic.

Dr. S is so so sweet. She genuinely cares for her students and is enthusiastic about biology. She holds many office hours and has many UTAs who host office hours as well.

Very nice person and a great professor. Only grades came from 4 exams. Taught from tophat and presentations. Exams are not very difficult as long as you pay attention.

Dr. S teaches entirely off of a slideshow that has pretty simple information on it. Her exams require a lot of application of the material that isn't explained well on the slides. She does offer a lot of help outside of lecture which is great and her practice questions on macmillan are often on the exams. Overall, a boring class but Dr. S is nice!

I loved Dr. S! She is a great teacher and was very accessible outside of class. The information was pretty straight forward. I never took a bio class before and I felt super prepared before each exam. There are at least 1 office hour a day with either her or a UTA. The UTAs were also very helpful!

She is very nice and passionate about biology. Lectures from slides that have simple info, but the tests are mostly application. If you understand slides, you are set. Macmillan textbook questions are very helpful and are used for exam questions sometimes. TopHat questions count toward participation so have a friend who tells ans to you, easy 100.

I loved this class, especially as an intro bio course. Coming from AP Bio, I had a solid understanding of the subject, but even if I was brand new, I think I could have done just as well. Tests are made with the info from lectures, so taking good notes and studying hard correlates to good grades, and doing the practice questions definitely helps.

Amazing choice for a Bio 1 professor! Has 4 exams (one of which can be dropped) and a final. There are other small grades for class participation and worksheets. Lectures are engaging and she explains things well. Office hours are extremely helpful, and she is so friendly! If you go to class and study a little, it's very easy to get an A.

She deserves more 5 star ratings. She is just a good professor and genuinely cares about her students. She has so many office hours and does a good job in explaining topics. I would definitely take her again. Her lectures were kinda boring but the topics were pretty easy to understand.

I took microbio with prof Steenkiste and she was the best! Available outside of class and is more than willing to help her students. Boring lectures sometimes, but i love how excited she got about some topics. Would highly recommend for microbiology. Test are fair, mainly based off the lecture slides.

I had Dr. Steenkiste for microbiology; she's very interested in what she teaches, which made lecture interesting. Grade was based mostly on the exams, with weekly low-weighted homeworks. She said no curves but gave points back on exams if average was low. She's also a fun person, so I definitely recommend taking her.

Dr S was great for Bio 1! She is incredibly kind and caring, and has tons of availability outside of class. She explains things well and her course has a reasonable amount of work. The course has 5 quizzes, one of which can be dropped, and an optional final quiz.

She is a human who cares about you a lot. Take her. She uses memes too.

Steenkiste is an easy a if you make the effort to really understand the content she teaches. If you understand the slides and the achieve problems, and also read and takes notes from the textbook, she is incredibly manageable. Tests were fair and didn't contain anything unexpected, also sometimes contains achieve questions from the textbook.

This is Patrick S. Steenkiste was a STELLAR professor. Problem is, I never showed up to class. I just ate through class and never showed up, but that was my own bad (I was hungry). I hope to one day take a bio course that teaches me the biology of Raising Canes and every other fast food joint in Oakland. TAKE STEENKISTE!

Very sweet professor, has clear grading criteria, gives backs points on quizzes if average was low, overall study the material and you will be fine, I would take her class again

absolute baddie. love of my life. many study sessions and review material. very good lecturer. such a good person outside of class too. wish I came to more office hours--she's very sweet and accommodating. exams weren't very hard either. did not need to read the textbook (but it helps) bc her lectures were that good.

She is one of the best people I have ever met in Pitt. She is such a sweetheart. She has lots of office hours and will always be willing to help you out! Her lectures are very direct and she assigns a lot of achieve questions (hint: they help A LOT)

Dr. S is amazing. I retook her for bio 1 and am so grateful she was my professor. So clear and kind and while her exams were difficult she was always there to help and was incredibly caring. I would fr wife this women up if given the chance she is amazing I would fs take her class again.

Dr. S is so kind and I am so glad she was my professor for bio 1. Tests are hard but she makes them bearable (do her achieve questions). Dr. S makes bio seem fun, she uses memes and is happy to explain things if you don't understand.

Fantastic and passionate professor, really cares about what she is teaching and her students. Open note exams make things very manageable and she is very approachable for any sort of questions.

Dr. S is a great professor when it comes to teaching and being nice, but she is not accommodating, so do not expect her to give you days off unless it is a religious holiday or you have a dean's letter, she also is not accommodating to tech issues in which tophat glitches out sometimes and she takes off points. But other than that she's great!

Clear and fair expectations consistently, keeps us informed, and is so understanding of external life situations. Workload, content, and exams were completely fair, engaging, and interesting. We thought critically with questions throughout class. She is a great professor, and I'll specially arrange my schedule to take another class with her.

Love Dr. S! Her class is not easy, and you need to study. Active recall got me an A. Her tests are super fair and no trick questions, she genuinely wants everyone to do well. If you put in the time and work, you will pass. Uses Top Hat and her recitation activities are very helpful! If you are lazy, don't expect to do well. Very accessible.

She was a very good professor. The exams were easy as long as you study and do optional achieve questions. She is very sweet and approachable. In-class top hat questions were part of your grade, but attendance wasn't technically mandatory.

Dr. Steenkiste is an amazing professor! She is very caring and easy to contact outside of the classroom. She is very passionate about what she is teaching and cares for her students. As long as you study the slides and ask questions you will pass the class. Very kind I loved her, I would 100% take her again!!

Dr. Steenkiste is a great choice for Microbiology! She is kind, intelligent, and she cares a lot about her students. She also understands that we as college students are busy and makes the class digestible with zero busywork. Grades are based on small homework assignments and 6 small quizzes with one drop. Overall, great professor!

Absolutely loved Dr Steenkiste, both as a person and in her teaching style. She has very well made slide shows for her lectures. I thought she explained everything very well in lecture. Her recitations had relevant activities that did help me understand tricky concepts.

Probably one of the best bio 1 professors at Pitt! I absolutely loved her, If you have the chance, TAKE HER! I was terrible at Biology in high school and hated it, but Dr. S' lectures made me love the subject. 4 exams, final is optional and, if taken, replaces lowest exam score. Very straightforward, everything on the slides is fair game for exams!

Dr. S is a caring and good professor for Bio 1. The class was easy, composed of four exams + an optional final (the lowest gets dropped). I took AP bio in HS and found this course to be super easy and the achieve practice questions helped a lot before exams. Take her!!

She was a great microbiology teacher! I thought she presented the info in easy-to-digest ways, and she posted her slides after for easy reference. I took this as an elective for my bio major at the same time as orgo 1, and overall, it was great. It was interesting but not too difficult or time-consuming, so most of my study time was for orgo.

For having no foundation in Bio (non-STEM major, didn't take Bio in high school, Prof. Steenkiste was great! She gives very understandable lectures with lots of practice questions (use Achieve/recitation materials to study). However, she is not accommodating when it comes to missing assignments or exams (even in severe, documented circumstances).

Absolutely loved Dr. S, all of her lectures were extremely organized and she provides a lot of opportunities to ensure understanding. She explains all concepts very thoughtfully and effectively and wants you to succeed. Definitely utilize achieve questions and review material often because exams cover almost everything.

She's great! Her tests are super easy and they follow the lecture material almost word for word. She posts her lectures on canvas so if you know all that material you'll be fine of the test. Recitation homework and activities are super easy and also go along with the lectures. She's also very very sweet.

Dr. S was a really great professor! All of her lectures were really easy to understand, her tests weren't too bad (she re-used a lot of test questions from top hat and achieve), and she's genuinely a nice person. If you go to class, take good notes, and study a few days before each test, you will be totally fine!

I loved Professor Steenkiste! I have never been confident in biology, and her teaching style made it much easier for me to understand and succeed in this class. We had four exams and an optional final. The lectures included a lot of information, but the stuff on the tests were exactly what was on the slides. I would definitely recommend her!

I love Professor Steenkiste she is a diva and I wish she could teach me every semester of bio for my whole degree. My queen forever and I hope I have her again. But on a serious note she really does teach well and I loved her class very much. Make sure you do the optional achieve questions to prep for tests and you'll be just fine.

Very easy class if you've taken AP Bio. She is a very nice lady and gives you opportunities for pts w/ hw and attendance. Tests are relatively fair and it's not too hard to get a high grade on them if you study the slides she posts on Top Hat and make sure you understand the concepts. Final is optional so you won't have to take it if you do well.

Dr. Steenkiste was the best professor I've had all year. There are 4 exams total, and one final optional exam that replaces your lowest exam score. She gives out extra credit during the semester. Her class was not that difficult if you show up to class and everything on the exam is on her lectures. If you pay attention it is an easy A.

Love this woman, even when I got frustrated with the class I couldn't even get mad because I knew it was being taught by an absolute queen. She's very strict with deadlines but she does everything she can for you to succeed. Understand the achieve questions and you'll do good on exams.

I loved Dr. S!!! I didn't take AP Bio in high school, but I found this class easy. She is sweet and very willing to explain things, and she makes an effort to make the class fun. Her tests are easy to study for; the Achieve questions and supplemental worksheets on Top Hat are very helpful. She also makes her slides and lectures available online.

Dr. Steenkiste is a very nice professor. She tries to make everything as simple as possible. I didn't take AP Bio in high school so it was kind of hard for me, but I passed. I think if I had any other professor I would have failed.

So nice and caring. Her TAs have multiple office hours every day and are very knowledgeable. The achieve questions are so helpful for preparing for the exams. She will bump the lowest exam grade. No curve on exams, but they are very straight-forward. Attendance is based off of Tophat questions.

Dr. S was awesome! All the content she included in her exams could be learned from the slides. While the textbook is a helpful introduction to the lecture, she does not draw directly from the textbook. All exams are multiple-choice, about 36-38 questions with one bonus question at the end. Do ALL the achieve questions, some appear on the exam.

Such an amazing professor, couldn't ask for anything more. There are 4 exams with an optional final so that you can drop your lowest exam grade. She is very accessible in office hours and will answer any questions you have. 100% recommend her for bio 1

definitely a tough class, but as long as you study for exams and do the homework/recitation activities, you will be fine. dr.s is super clear in her lectures and wants you to do well.

4 exams, each worth 17%, the rest is mostly easy points for HW/tophat/etc.This class requires studying but it only was a headache because I took it simultaneously with chem, the latter was worse. Dr. Steenkiste made my bio experience great. She is so caring and kept her word that she would be there for us. She's super nice & funny in rec too!

She makes lectures really fun! I studied for most of my exams last minute and still did pretty well. All the information on the tests is on the slides, so you don't have to attend as long as you get the attendance code for the TopHat. Very sweet and caring!

Great professor. Tests are 68% of your grade, so definitely study. It's not the end of the world if you fail one, as the optional final can replace your lowest grade. You have to study to pass. She also gives extra credit and is overall very kind.

Dr. S was awesome! Exams account for 68% of your grade; the rest are attendance, TopHat, and recitation assignments. Exams are 36-38 multiple-choice questions and always had some questions from Achieve. All content came directly from the slides. Dr. S is so sweet and considerate, TAKE HER!

Professor is super nice and cares about all her students!! As long as you follow the lecture slides, the tests are not that bad. 4 exams and an optional final. Recitation HW every week (like 10Q's) except week after test

Exam questions often came from achieve, in class questions, and top hat recitation assignments so make sure you know those. Each exam is worth 17%(4) and the rest of the grades should be a 100%. There is an optional final that can replace your lowest score that is pretty easy.

Dr. S was a great bio 1 professor! Explained concepts very clearly and the amount of work was reasonable. Exams count for the majority of your grade but you can take an optional final to replace one grade.

Dr. S was amazing for bio, and an amazing person! She was clear cut and her exams were more than fair. If you took AP Bio, this class will be a breeze. She is so accessible and kind outside of class and her UTAs were just as helpful. Highly recommend!!

Great professor as a first-year student enrolled in Bio 1. Weekly recitation worksheets and TopHat credit. Optional Final. Fair exams that were similar to lecture slides. Lots of outside resources (Achieve Practice Problems, review sessions, weekly review worksheets) that also helped me succeed. Take Dr. S if you can!

Super nice and has very clear lectures, information is very straight to the point. As long as you attend lecture and take notes, and study you should be okay. Attendance in mandatory, but lectures are also recorded to look over. 4 exams and 1 final, and you can drop 1 of the 5.

If I have the chance to take her again, I would sign up in a heartbeat. She genuinely cares about your success and her lectures are easy to follow. Attendance is taken every lecture and recitation. Exams are short and very manageable if you study. Overall have nothing but good things to say about her, she is very passionate about what she teaches!

Love her for microbio. Clear expectations, exams are all very fair and she doesn't teach you more than you need to know. 5 exams (no cumulative final!!) with 1 exam drop. Random tophat attendances at lecture and little hw assignments that are free points. She's also very caring and sweet! Def take her :)

BIO 0110 Her classes are very straightforward, the material is hard but her teaching is very detailed and easy to understand. She records lectures and posts them on canvas, and there are so many UTA office hours to go to. Honestly the best class ever. If you put in the effort, you'll easily get an A.

Liesje is a great choice for bio 1. She obviously loves biology which helps make her lectures interesting. Class is based off 4 exams and an optional final along with participation and recitation activities. The tests aren't that hard and she gives opportunities to get a point or two back on the test. Highly recommend.

When I tell you she is the sweetest and most chill prof i mean itt! I did not take ap bio in hs but still passed simply because of her tophat slides, and she teaches so that you understand rather than memorize! However, my only thing is I wish she had more office hours, cause it was difficult to find time to ask for help. TAKE HER PLEASEEE

There are four exams and an optional final that if you get a higher score you could drop one of your exams. Also, there is an optional exam wrapper than can get you two percent back on each exam. Her questions are direct and are usually very similar to the textbook practice questions. She is easily reachable and has so many office hours.

She goes beyond reading straight off of lecture slides to help you actually understand what's going on. Such a sweet person. As long as you pay attention in lecture and do the recitation assignments you can get a good grade in the class without having to do a lot of extra studying.

Could not recommend her enough for Bio one. Pay attention in lecture, take notes, and do all of the participation points and weekly hw and you should be good. I studied max 4-5 hours for each exam and have gotten all A's. She also lets you drop your lowest exam if you have a bad score.

Very nice professor as she cares about her students. Her lectures are very easy to follow and her tests aren't hard if you study for them, but you could probably squeak by with a B or C if you don't study.

She was so sweet and easy going and a GREAT teacher. Her lectures were very informative and notes were easy to take. The tests were also very straight forward and easy. If you study the lecture slides and do the recitation homework you'll get an A+. I loved her!!!

She is the best!!! She has such good lectures, and I felt like the information was easy to digest, and studying was easy since the slides were so good. It's 5 exams, 1 drop, and points built in for homework and attendance. This is easily the best option for a microbio section!!

She is very nice! You have to go to class for attendance grade, and I would recommend it anyway! Lots of practice questions and the MACMILLINS are VERY helpful. Textbook available but her slides cover everything. She is very passionate about Biology and makes you passionate as well! Love her!! Take her for Bio 1!!

The best bio 1 teacher. Attendance is top hat questions that you can do at home. Super sweet and not hard if you actually study for exams. Lowest score gets dropped if you take the final!

So sweet and amazing, this class is easier than AP Bio. She introduces basic bio concepts in a simple way and takes time to give us examples. I see how this class can be difficult for people who have never taken Bio before or only attend the lectures and don't put in the work outside of class, but she really gives people the resources to succeed.

Lectures can be long and exams are challenging but she is a very good teacher and is able to prepare you for the exams. She is always able to answer students questions when they have any.

AMAZING professor! I came into college having not taken biology since freshman year of high school, and she made understanding topics so easy and clear. There are 4 exams, which your grade depends heavily on so study up. They aren't too difficult and you get the chance to drop the lowest score by taking her optional final. Take her!

Dr. S is such an amazing bio 1 prof and she truly wants you to succeed! I didn't do too well on my first exam bc I didn't know how to study, but for the other 3 exams I got 95 and above for all! I ended up dropping my lowest exam grade w/ the optional final which helped me so much. Study her slides in depth and do the achieve practice to prepare

She is very sweet, helps students, and her exams are fair.

Give this woman a raise!!! She deserves it. Literally the best professor ever and tries to make class as fun as possible.

i enjoyed this class! Her lectures are enjoyable (i would recommend ipad or typing notes). Her tests are doable if you study and pay attention and the final is optional and replaces lowest. she gives opportunities for 1-2 points back on exams. She cares for her students, makes help accessible and is easy to reach out to.

def one of the best bio professors offered. 4 exams, in class questions, recitation homework and activity weekly but not that much work. The in class tophat questions are every class but she doesn't take attendance on tophat so you can just do them from your dorm. exams arent too bad, just have to study application, and you can get 2 points ec.

Probably the easiest STEM class I will ever take at Pitt. I didn't have to take any notes during class and just reviewed the lecture slides a day or two before the exam. Has to be the easiest Bio 1 professor. Even if you do mess up on an exam, you get one retake.

Dr. S really knew how to keep the class engaged. There were 4 tests and an optional final if you want to drop a test or missed one. I would love to take her again, you can tell she is very passionate about biology and teaching. Her tests were very fair and she gave a lot of practice. Would highly recommend her to anyone taking Biology I!

Amazing Professor. I got an A- and that was completely my own fault. You can easily get an A+ in this course if you go through the recorded lecture + The Macmillian Archive Problems (They are really similar to the problems that come on the test). There are small things in the lectures she talks about that usually comes up for Extra Credit on test.

Dr. S is caring and wants you to succeed, however her lectures are just her reading off a PowerPoint. Make sure to still attend lecture to get TopHat participation points. Class was not difficult just make sure to memorize whatever was on the slides and you'll be fine.

Dr. S was caring and made biology easy to understand, as long as you look over the slides before exams you should do decently well. She has 4 exams and 1 drop, then a optional final to boost your grade. Overall great professor

Amazing professor tbh. Easily the best biology choice out of them all, as you can see I got an A- but really if you put in the effort early on and use proper active recall methods you can get an A. 68% test 32% homeworks/tophats/recitation activites, go to lectures and recitations as thats how u fill the 32%. Achieve is meh, take notes use blurting

She is very kind and engaging. The test questions are straightforward, easier than AP Bio. You can easily read from her slides & do well without any extra info. For participation, just pay attention during class & answer the TopHat questions. No quizzes during recitation, just quick assignments. Extra credit is also available during & after exams.

Steenkiste is an amazing professor. She explains content clearly in lecture using metaphors and examples to help understand. If you show up to both lecture and recitation and pay attention you can pass her class very easily. She is also open to helping and is very available for any questions. Super easy class for bio 1, I barely had to study.