2.6
Quality3.4
Difficulty63%
Would Retake135
Reviews63%
Would Retake
135
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
135 total ratings5
21
4
23
3
26
2
25
1
40
What Students Say
“Terrible professor, terrible communication, insensitive and poor lecture structure and content”
BIOL4030 - 1.0 rating“Absolutely intolerable”
6021 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
64%
Textbook Required
85%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.04 avg changeRatings by Course
BIOLOGY
5.0
(1)BIO
5.0
(1)BIOL4020
4.5
(4)BIOL2060
3.3
(16)2060
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIO20601010
5.0
BIO1410
5.0
BIOL4030
4.1
1010
4.0
6021
4.0
Reviews (134)
EASY tests... they seem hard, but he's a generous marker!!!
always available for help when I needed it
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very easy, lots of examples that are similar to the tests, always around to help
the class has a fast pace he does exalpin things clearly, has cats in his exampl
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Teaching skill, knowledge and confidence lacking but easy course and ok prof
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A KOOOOOLLL TEACHER!! he is really cool and very easy going.....says that tests are usually from his notes/ lectures..pay ATTENTION to his lectures.. rather attend lecture then reading the book..and lec are neva boring!..very cute personality!
Good Teacher, very good lecture notes. Pretty fun in class too. Tricky test, but fair...
funny prof, kinda spaced out though and contradicts his slides during lectures. But overall pretty good.
He reminds me of a big teddy bear, you just want to hug him to death. Very nice professor, always willing to help. Uses personal examples to demonstrate facts and explain biological processes. He rocks!
In class, he makes the lectures fun and is always bouncing around. If it comes to approaching him for something that was marked wrong, forget about it!
Good teacher but tests are tricky.
He is so nice! "So far, so good?" He always cares us to make sure we are understand. But the final is hard.
he is really a good bio professor......
Very distracting to watch...tests are tricky. Also he tends not to know the answers to many questions asked in class. Lectures tend to be quite boring and feel very long.
I guess he felt the need to be impossible on the final exam since those questions were ridiculous (2003/2004). He relies too much on the expertise of the "great" Farshad. Course material was easy, and yet the exam reflected little of what was
Not a bad prof. He sometimes spends too much time emphasizing not so important information. Make sure you attend all lectures and the peer tutorials. you can find all that you need on the website whether it be your mark or all the lecture notes
Says the word "umm" too many times during the lesctures. The number of times he said "umm" was recorded during a lecture. He said on average 3 "umms" per minute. Tests are very tricky.
Worst teacher!! His tests are so tricky and forget about talking to him at his office. He's rude and won't even look up from his desk!
Donaldson is quite eccentric but he really knows the course material quite well. His test questions are not too challening but he does try to make you think. If you ever need help ro have a problem he's good about it. He's not as bad as some say.
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he's boring, a little unusual and is rigid. avoid if possible!!!
A really nice guy. His tests are not hard if you do his assgned problems. Also don't bother buying the text book because he has all of his own notes.
Just because people don't want to pay attention to lectures gives them no right to criticize him. He actually explains everything very well if you pay attention to him. DNA replication seemed like a piece of cake really!
OK, he's actually not a bad professor. His lecture notes were actually quite good at the beginning of term but gotten worse later on in the DNA and RNA chapters. Wat the HELL!!
Very hard course. Don't take it unless you really have to.
His notes are thought through well and he takes time going through them in a lecture. He never rushes through the material and that makes it very easy to follow the lecture. I am looking forwart to taking another class with him!
He's a big sweetie, and he knows his stuff! Funny, too, if you're listening. I think the only problem is that he lets people get away with a lot of stuff in the lectures. Anyhow, if you study, his tests aren't bad at all.
Watch out for his tests. He will give you questions that you never looked at in class. They are not even in the textbook. Good luck!
too inexperienced for teaching, should be kept cooped up in a lab somewhere not in a lecture hall
very very helpful guy and ok he doesn't teach like a pro but do you really care when the tests are reasonalby easy?!
hum...hum...hum..oh yeah..oh no..hi hi hi...hum..rhrahrrs...ok..that's wut logan donaldson does during lectures..interestin' hein!
Cool, but the tests are can be tricky. Watch out
He is too inexperienced.It doesn't matter if you study hard for the test cause you cannot do well on his tests. His first test was too difficult for this course ;the class average was 44% and when we asked him why he designed such a hard exam he answered "was it as hard as your chemistry exam?" !!
too hard
I'm glad we're almost done with him...only 3 lectures left... I hated him before the test, I hate him even more now...
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ugh what can i say??!!!! he is a nice a guy, but he doesnt teach well and his test was extremely hard and confusing :(
hardcore tests, doesnt know lots of stuff. Useless lectures. Just print his notes and ur good
Yeah, he does stumble a little when lecturing, but he knows his stuff and his lecture notes are very good. His tests are also quite reasonable --- don't know about the guy who talked about the 44% average, b/c in the two years he's taught the course, the average on his tests have been around 65%.
No Comments
this is my favorite class this semester, mostly because of the prof. He is very enthusiastic about teaching, and goes at a good pace. I had him last year for BIOL 1010, and he is always entertaining to watch (even if it's not intentional) keep up the good work!
It looks like he is not too enthusiastic about teaching and his lectures are BORING!! But the test was ok, harder than the one from the previous year but it'still possible to pass....and he gave five percent to everyone's mark to raise the avrg to 65%. Fair enough...
he has no idea about statistic(bio2060), very hard tests, cann't find the best word to describe him.
He almost always made mistakes in his lectures and jumped around topics, making note taking very difficult. However, because of the 'cheat sheet' for midterms and finals things were much easier to handle. His online notes are better than his lecture. Also, that 5% bonus assign. was VERY generous.
It's never good when a prof has to take like 6 questions off your midterm cuz they were ambiguous or just plain wrong. He is a really nice guy but comes across as very unconfident so everyone just talks all class. He needs to be more solid on what he says cuz his confusion can confuse you.
I think a big problem with his style of teaching is that when he explains things on the board, he doesn't stop to explain them, or write them down. And, since it's quite frequent, people just dont digest it. Nice guy, though.
please dont waste you're money, and time with this guy, take it with some one els, he should not teach. it's just wrong.
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has a problem with writing things on the board can never really see what he's writing and speaks very low so it's kinda hard to hear him. His test was alright and gave extra marks to bellcurve average. Doesn't explain things with much detail but overall was an ok lecturer.
It's a shame there are Profs like him around. A true disgrace to York. Make sure he's not your course director! Hopefully the Science Dept will realize this and put an end to his teaching. Talk to people who took his class before enrolling. BEWARE!!!!!
I took BIOL 1010 with him and he wasn't too bad. This kind of course you just have study the notes and textbook to get an A. He may not be the best, but if your a good student you'll do well.
Hes a real nice, funny guy- he just shouldnt be teaching. His tests are impossible, altho your best bet is to study his notes primarily, and then the text as reference. most of the questions come from the powerpoint.
Worst one ever! Shame on YORK for having such an uneducated prof.. He shouldn't teach at all..
i am absolutly speachless.worst prof ever existed.
On his midterm he did not put correct choices for at least 4 multiple choice questions..He is not organized and that makes the lectures useless. Just read his lectures/book and you'll do fine.
i realy want to know why we pay for such instructors that we dont learn anything from them. shame on york for having him and such .....
OH....MY...GOD!!! This class was so damn boring! I regretted having to spend 45 precious minutes of my life to listen to him lecture us. He's very educated, and sometimes helpful. BUT, he's not very interesting to listen to. AND PLUS, he speaks low, unclearly, and utters the word "um" too many times. Tests were OK, exam was killer!
worst prof! so unorganized has no clue what to do, jumps around too much so you get easily distracted. what's with the chalk always covering his back?
No Comments
Hoooolllyyy! I would advice ppl planning on taking this course not to take it with him, save yourselves and dont fall into the same pit we did. He is nice and gives you advices about your future career if spoken to one-to-one but he is a bad teacher.
His lectures are incredibly confusing...even when you have the powerpoint notes right in front of you. I found that teaching myself the material was my best bet and basically went to lectures so i wouldn't feel guilty for not going.
he seemed like he didnt really know what he was talking about - nice guy though - tons of errors on first midterm
Awful prof! I'm just wondering why he is still @ york!
at first I thought his class will be easy specially with all those lecture notes posted on the web.but the thing is his notes make you even more confusin & atleast there is 1, 2 mistakes in every single page of his notes! Whenever he is NOT ABLE to solve a problem he simply says: FORGET IT,IT WONT BE ON EXAM rather than teaching u the right answer.
decent prof, tho he took back his words on certain things, he forgets his own words! faught with him constantly. pray that u dont have to deal with him on a personal level, or ask for any favors. ugh!
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Seems like a very nice guy, but is actually a jerk. Lectures are disorganized, boring, and incomprehnsible. The book is a better teacher. This guy is really bizarre.
If you're forced into taking this class with him for the Bio thesis, word of caution, he seems nice and friendly but if people talk during a seminar, he'll take away 10% from everyone's final mark. He really enjoys to see us do bad.
this prof is a nice guy but not much helpful. Despite of people's comments that he is not clear and his notes are unorganised, it is not true. I found his notes and his lectures very helpful for the test and for those who did not go to his lectures, too bad, they missed a lot.
he is a good prof !
This prof. is the biggest full I ever seen. Doesn’t know anything besides the staff he encounters in his lab. He made several mistakes in the midterm and with provided evidence didn’t want to correct them. Avoid this b*** if you can.Moreover,he claims he is a good biochemist- that's a lie!!!
Refused to correct mistakes on midterm, although he initially gave credit for alternative answers. Then he took the points back, then gave them back again ... and then took them back AGAIN! This guy is a jerk.
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I've had him as a prof twice, for 1010 and 3100. i did not like his teaching or his attitude in either class. Especially so in 3100. He is mean and he assumes that an honors student knows everything which is idiotic. He is a tough marker too and his standards are just too high. Overall, he doesnt look like someone who enjoys his teaching experience
Outwardly, he's friendly and bubbly, but he's really mean and cold. Doesn't care about his students. He constantly threatened to make the midterm hard because some people were talking. Dr. Anafi is so much more genuinely nice. I hope I never had to take a class with this weirdo again.
geez, i don't know why people compare this guy as better than anafi! donaldson is nice... just needs some lessons on teaching. but then again, he doesn't NEED it as he's not meant to be a teacher. he's just a lecturer! give him a break!
Totally confusing!! I hated going to his lectures. He doesn't appear to know what he's talking about, and if you approach him one-on-one, he's incredibly rude. Exam was pretty easy, but the lectures were torture!!
well he obviously doesn't enjoy teaching much but on the bright side he can speak english and teach what he is suppose to teach... Anafai on the other hand seems to enjoy teaching but can not teach!
His lectures are quite boring, I don't argue with that. But the test was easy (relatively) and when I got my answers shifted on the scantron for the next test with Anafi, he(L.Donaldson) fixed it even though the shift was in the very end and it changed my mark by just 5%.
his material is okay, but he can be moody and rude. at least he can speak english.
No Comments
he is very moody! his mood will be affected by how the class is behaving which will affect the difficulty level of the midterm. He is rude and arrogant, i would not want another course with him
I don't think this proff was that bad! I liked him and think i did fairly well in his class! Used 6th edition bio txt buk, brand new condition n selling it for $40, let know if uré interested (also i rarely attended lectures in his class!)
this prof is really bad
-Not knowledgeable at all; forgets basic concepts (he once spent a minute trying to remember the number of protons in oxygen) -Always said that he wouldn't ask anything specific or difficult on the exam (because he himself didn't know it), but on the exam, put questions designed to fail us -Speaks in a monotone, squeaky voice, and snorts often
An amazing professor. He has a great webpage, checkout the donaldson section at www.yorku.ca/biol1010. He updates the blog for every class, so it's a great recap. Reviews as we go along. The exam was harder than expected, but it was a great for stimulation. Give yourself a full week to study for the exam. 50% of my bio1010 is done! Good luck!
he acts like a small child. he holds grudges. has a very harsh tone. his exams are rediculous they dont test knowledge they test luck. good at lectures but horrible examiner. if u like to skrew ur gpa take his course
One minute he's happy and dancing around, next minute he's ripping his mic off saying "Fine, I'm done teaching". He lies about what is on the exam. The exam questions are ambiguous, but afterwards he removes so many questions you can still get an A. He says inaccurate things, like only A+ students are "the ones who will become the professionals."
Great lecturer.Unfortunately lectures are given on an extremely basic level,while the exam is extremely difficult,as well as having many ambiguous questions.dont expect an A+ in this course unless you're super smart +hard working.Major mood swings-question his testing/teaching methods and he will go apoplectic. Take it when hes not course director
he sucks.. his temper is that of a kid
He did his best to make the material interesting and infuse the concepts with exciting bits from today's research. A bit disorganized, making it difficult to take notes. To do well on the course: read textbook throughout the semester (i.e. not in two days before the exam) and take advantage of all the practice questions he provides.
Very emotional. Rude. Not knowledgable in basic biochemistry. Why is SCH4U a prerequisite and not SBI4U? 4 professors, 4 units, 2 examinations...where are the tests and quizes? He took a minute to count electrons in oxygen atom and still got it wrong...and he also teaches STATS for biologists? Someone spam this site and he got emo on the BIOL blog.
He is interested in teaching and shares his research with class. goes over stuff very quickly which makes it hard to understand.
If you get the material you'll be okay. I noticed he doesn't really explain things too well and does some weird things. Kind of unbalanced. You can still get an A if you go to class and study. His exams are reasonable enough.
Good Professor...not the best at giving lectures but after all you cannot except to be spoon fed in a University course esp. Biology. Work hard, READ THE TEXTBOOK AND KNOW IT WELL, and practice the questions he provides. Do not procrastinate and use time management. You will surely get an A+ as I did. Of course you have to be a little smart.
He was a pretty nice professor and seemed like he had an interest in what he was teaching. His test was easy and if you read and know the material, it's an easy A.
he teaches insanely easy stuff in class but asks insanely difficult questions in exams!he spent 70% of the classes covering materials from highschool chemistry but then he decided he didnt want to test us on that! he's also very impolite in answering emails! avoid him if u can.
Exam was pretty good but with a few tricky questions ... make sure you properly read the textbook & his slides, and you'll have an easy A.
sometimes i wonder if he knows what he's teaching. he so unclear about his lectures and they are so useless.
If you did bio 12 you are good to go. Read the slides and complimentary notes, in class he tells you what is the important stuff, nothing fancy. don't over complicate yourself. in test look for best answer , not exact answer.
funny guy. made us laugh.
Biol 1010 He gives good, detailed notes. His lectures are okey, sometimes he spend long time explaining not so important things. His exam is okey and if you read his notes and refer some more from the book, you will be fine. But I was surprised to find out that he is rude in emails, he seems a polite guy.
rumor has it that hes geeting promoted to tenure professor....i dont think he should, hes a bad proffesor, goes on of crazy useless tangents, and constantly uses pymol (changes colors, etc etc and wastes alot of time)overall this course was easy, elementary gr 12 bio...but the proff sucked :P
I took Genomics and it was mixed feeling. to be honest, he teaches extremely easy stuff and his exams are hard. His teaching methods are so just OK! Overall, he does bring innovative stuff but also expects ALOT from you to know on you own
easy class, didn't love his teaching style though. he's a little hard to follow because of how often he goes off on a tangent or says 'um' several times a min. I didn't hate it, but don't have many positive things to say about it either.
HE IS THE WORST PROF AT YORK, HE DOESN;T KNOW HOW TO TEACH. HE SHOULDN'T BE TEACHING STATISTICS. ALL STUDENTS IN HIS CLASS WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT HIS TEACHING STYLE AND QUESTIONS ON THE EXAM. THE 70% FINAL EXAM WAS AWFUL.
worst professor in York
Great guy! Very knowledgeable and helpful, very easy material; he would spend as much time as needed to explain and work through problems - IFF YOU SHOW GENUINE INTEREST AND ARE WILLING TO WORK HARD! No play no pay, but if you are diligent, he appreciates and recognizes it.
Worst prof of all time tests seem easy but are horribly written, has a whiney attitude
On his blog, he wrote this exam mark breakdown: "There are 39 questions worth 1 mark. There are 5 questions worth 23 marks." Yet there were no 23 mark questions. Either he can't write, or he can't do math. Either way, it's worrisome that he is the only biostats professor at York.
He is very knowledgeable and helpful, if you ask for it and if you want to LEARN. If you're a slacker that wants to be tested from ppts and textbooks and are aminig for a Carribean med school I strongly suggest you avoid him.
Take his proteomics class in the summer and go to lectures, review those before the tests and you will get an A. test consist of what he was saying in class. Hard to deal with as a person but very possible to get a very good mark at least in summer semester.
On an unrelated note: Unless you have been exposed to statistics, don't take this course! I made that mistake and did terrible :(. anyways the textbook is not needed he posts everything. He is ok at teaching and his tests are...fair but me and... a few others do try to avoid him as much as possible
Absolutely intolerable. He is very aggressive, inconsiderate and unapproachable. Forget asking him questions ABOUT ANYTHING right now because he has no interest in answering them. He does not provide any guidance on assignments; he assigns them and gives a due date and that is all. It is up to you to correctly guess what he is grading. Stay away.
Tests poorly written, readings are not explained - need it to do well. Whiney attitude yes.
Biggest mistake of my life. Should have taken pop ecology, took a chance on this topic, and regret it to this day. Terrible professor, terrible communication, insensitive and poor lecture structure and content. Still don't see anything relevant or any true connections to the random stuff he threw together.
Professor Donaldson was one of the best profs I had when I was at York. As you can tell from some of the comments here, he is not an easy grader, however it is well worth it as I felt as though I got a lot out of his class.
He has a great personality, responds to emails fast and has a great sense of humor. Though midterms cam be pretty hard
Dr Donaldson is a real gem. He responds all emails very quickly and he is always willing to offer extra help if needed. His slides aren't the best, they are a bit disorganized and takes you a couple of sessions to get used to his style. Just take good notes, try to understands the concepts and know how to use the techniques and you'll get an A+.
What he tests.. is not necessarily what you might assume. Midterm class average was a C
Worst professor I've had until now. Lecture slides are not very clear, most of them have only photos and no real information. There are no notes or textbook to study. The final exam is 60%. Exams are way too difficult. Most of the questions are not even taught in class. Expects you to remember huge chemical structures and draw them for exams.
Avoid taking any class with him. Do whatever you can not to take anyyy class with him. 0 care towards students, no textbook, extremely poor slides with no information whatsoever, pointless lectures and most importantly extremely tough midterms that are not related to what he lectures in class. You can take as much notes as you can its useless.
Best prof I've ever had at York. He made me fall in absolute love with genomics. He teaches awesome/innovative content and makes it very interesting. Great lecturer, is funny and makes class extremely enjoyable. The tests are very straightforward (directly from lectures/articles). This class made me feel like this bio degree was finally worth it.
Overall okay class. The lectures are definitely worth going to since his slides are often just pictures. If you attend lectures, read the papers associated with lectures, and know what's going on, its very possible to get an A+. The test material are all based on the readings or lectures.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
64%
Textbook Required
85%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.04 avg changeRatings by Course
BIOLOGY
5.0
(1)BIO
5.0
(1)BIOL4020
4.5
(4)BIOL2060
3.3
(16)2060
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIO20601010
5.0
BIO1410
5.0
BIOL4030
4.1
1010
4.0
6021
4.0