2.9
Quality3.2
Difficulty18%
Would Retake95
Reviews18%
Would Retake
95
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
26
4
13
3
15
2
19
1
22
What Students Say
“She posts her PowerPoints online”
BIOL4407 - 4.0 rating“They are really hard if you don't study”
BIOL1400 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
38%
Textbook Required
80%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.33 avg changeRatings by Course
3410
5.0
(1)GENEDBIOLOGY
5.0
(1)GENERALBIOLOGY
5.0
(1)VERTZOOEVOLU
5.0
(1)BIO
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIOSECT
5.0
BIOL4430
4.5
3410
4.0
VERTZOO
4.0
BIOL4402
4.0
Reviews (95)
Dr. McDonald's a pretty nice teacher, and her class is fairly easy. She's crazy, though, and not always clear when lecturing. But she offers a good bit of extra credit.
Quizzes everyday. No homework. Boring class.
Very dry teacher. Dosen't take attendence and cancels lab 99% of the time. LOTS of bonus points possible. Take if you want a pretty easy class.
If all you need to do is fill a Gen Ed spot and dont care a flip about Bio and want and easy A; then take this woman.You can get up to 25% of our total grade in bonus pts with online quizzes she has every lecture day. So its possible to make a 65,and if you get all the bonus you would still get an A
Omg, please take this lady. Guaranteed 'A' if you're not a complete bafoon. I haven't been to class in literally 5 weeks and i have a 119% average in her class from online bonus quizzes EVERY DAY. Lab grade is based on attendance and is hella easy.
Going to class and lecture is pointless. Very easy A, offers 125 points of bonus when our total grade is out of 500. Nice lady
No Comments
This class is VERY boring, but an easy easy A. There are bonus quizzes every day and she gives bonus for blood drives. I had a C, but with all of the bonuses I ended up with over 100%. She is crazy and randomly talks about sex, but is really funny. I reccommend taking if you need an easy A.
she sucks at teaching, all she does is tell you what to memorize and then sends you on your way. if you want to memorize entire skeletons for three questions on a 200 pt test then take her.
I would lie it is an easy A, but she made us use these damn clickers. We spend the first two weeks trying to use them in class, and they cost 30 bucks. But if you want an A...take her. Oh we had 250 bonus points, now that it crazy.
This class is so easy! There are bonus quizzes, which the correct answer is 1 everytime!, bonus blood donation, and just more random bonus! She is kinda funny, talking about tree ****, but pretty boring. She exempts from lab finals and you can have enough points to skip the class final!
McDonald is sooo easy!! She gives bonus quizzes everyday, so all you have to do is show up. You can be exempt from the lab final and the class final if you like the grade you have. I had to make a 30 out of 200 on the final to get an A! Take this class!
really cool teacher who connects bio with things going on around you. plus, the bonus points don't hurt either. lol
Really easy class!!! 200 bonus points!! If you have enough bonus points you do not have to take the final.
I love Dr. McDonald. She is quirky, but a lot of fun. You will learn a lot.
I don't really care about Biology, but she is an easy teacher. She will send you way too many emails though.
No Comments
By far the easiest class ever. I had over 200 bonus points. Final isn't comprehensive and 2 multiple choice tests. Lab teacher was cool also.
easiest class I have ever taken in my life
She's not easy.
This teacher is noy good at all anyone who even thinks of taking her is crazy. She teaches as if your a biology major and she doesn't try to help at all. she is crazy DON'T TAKE!!!!
She seems like a pretty nice lady, until you get the first test. Like half of the class dropped after that. A plus is that you get bonus quizzes everyday. You do have to study for those! She says plainly on the syllabus that if you don't study 12 hours a week, you won't have an A. She thinks everyone is a biology major.
Prof. McDonald is what a teacher SHOULD be. She wants her students to succeed. She's always ready to help you make a better grade. She made Biology fun- and I had no interest in this subject before I took her class. Just do the assigned reading and you'll make an A, no problem. Plus you get all of those bonus points at the end of the semester!
YOU DO NOT WANT TO TAKE THIS PROFESSOR. I took her for Gen Ed. Biology in FALL 06'. My class started out with exactly 100 students, and now there is only 35 left in the class. Even my lab instructor said that she was being to tough on us. If you take her, then you are just wasting money. After the first test, you'll HAVE to drop. Take my advice.
I loved her class! She is hard and you have to work your butt off to get a good grade. If you are interested in the subject, take her; otherwise don't waste your time.
She does give out bonus points but not anywhere near as many as some of the earlier posts said, and the bonus quizzes are not easy. I made an A in the class but I studied harder for it than ANY of my upper-division classes, and she got off topic way too much and was not an effective gen-ed teacher. She has great passion, but is not good for gen-ed.
She's a little strange, and hard to hear if you don't sit near the front. You have to read the chapters and I'd suggest doing the CD quizzes. The bonus quizzes every class are easy if you do that, and a lot of the questions on the test are taken from the CD or from the chapter/section questions in the book itself.
She's great!
She is WONDERFUL! Very helpful and a little bit entertaining. She will give you 50 million handouts and send tons of emails. If you buckle down and work hard, an A is definitely possible. She does give bonus!
Too tough. There are easier Gen Ed Biology teachers. Take them instead. Trust me, you will regret taking her.
It is not an easy class, but if you study for it you'll do well. She is very helpful and willing to assist you in any way she can. She gives bonus quizzes every day which help your grade a lot. She also posts the lecture notes online. But you have to take notes and pay attention too. Study ALL the CD questions and book Q's for the test!
No Comments
She talks, no one can hear her. The book comes with a CD that you can use once to get the online version of the book. Really, all of her notes are on WebCT so there's no reason to even get the book. You have to study very hard to even try to pass and the test come from her notes and what she says in class. STAY AWAY!
Terrible. Insane. I could think of a billion insults for this woman. Big waste of time! You will learn nothing! She makes you buy one book but then teaches out of another. She doesn't put notes on WebCT but instead gives you 100,000,000 handouts. Every day seemed as if she just came up with what we were doing that day an hour before. USELESS. She s
sh isn't terrible.. but tough. her outfits are entaining but thats no reason to go. she gives bonus quizzes everyday so you should go. she's pretty weird but very nice. the tests are ridiculously hard i hate it! you have to study for like ever to get an A. it's bull.. she uses really big words i would get a diff teacher for a gen ed if i were you!
Absolutely no point in attending lecture. Avoid at all costs. Makes UCA biology dept. look bad!
Good professor. Loves what she teaches and i kind of liked this class. Hard but come on this is college after all. Is always willing to help you, if you need clarity!
She loves what she teaches, and that makes you care about it. Tests are hard. Lots of bonus offered.
She is GREAT! She is very helpful and will help you any time you need it-she practically lives at UCA. Her class is hard, but it is not too bad if you do the work. Absolutely would take her again. Appearence a little odd, but personality is golden!
Here's the deal: It's all about the Bonus. Some professors give a small amount of bonus, but Dr. McDonald gives an enormous amount of bonus. And that is what makes up for the voluminous amount of material you have to know for the exams. You will have a folder full of handouts and a lot to memorize for each test, but again the bonus makes up for it.
Knows her stuff. Appearance is odd but she's not teaching fashion. Gives bonus quizzes that are way too easy. Won't regret taking her.
Honestly, the worst teacher on this campus. Sweet lady but her tests are impossible to do good on. It's almost entirely from lecture which she just says off the top of her head. Bonus quizzes before every class, which are your only hope. Beware!
Quirky. Dresses funny. Teaches from PPT. She is willing to help outside of class. Gives daily "bonus" quizes that have the potential to boost your grade a whole letter. You don't have to go but the quizes help. Tests are harder & gives bonus then too! Gives a break halfway through class. Don't leave she may give a "Super Bonus" quiz! I liked her!
She was really bad about rambling and her lectures were super boring. I fell asleep almost everyday. If you had to take her, I wouldnt suggest her 8 am class, you might as well just stay in bed. Notes are on the internet. Bonus quizes. She makes weird jokes about sex, pot, and anything else you can think of. Shes nice though, just not very exciting
Ornithology is actually a good class even if you don't have a real interest in birds. Her lectures are kind of boring and she tends to ramble, but you need to go because she gives bonus quizzes daily that help you temendously! She posts her PowerPoints online. You have to go on field trips & keep a journal of birds that you see. Don't put this off!
She was a great teacher. If you ask questions she will help you until you understand it. She relies a lot on her GA but she makes sure they know what they are talking about. Her class can be boring sometimes but she tells you exactly what will be on the test.
It is true that she can ramble a bit and because she's soft spoken and very even tempered her lectures have the potential to sen you to sleep but overall I really liked her. She's always very helpful and you will be rewarded for showing up to class on a reqular basis even though she doesn't require it.
All her tests are 200 points and 50 multiple choice questions. They are really hard if you don't study. She tells you what materials to study. Every day she gives a 5 point bonus quiz. By showing up and taking the quiz everyday it raised me a letter grade. She is always in her office, even on the weekends. Very boring lecture.
Great teacher that cares! If she see that you're trying she will always be willing to help...loved her.
Super hard class. Was not in class that often and it was hard to learn the material when she wasnt there to teach us it. Tests are really hard and we didnt have much to study from because she jumped around alot in her lectures.
I love her so much. She is a nice lady and teacher; especially, she is good to international student based on your attitude to the class. I recommend her for who wanna get great grade.
She is the perfect example of what a professor should be v like. She knows her material well and is enthusiastic about it. The material is a little hard and boring but she is really helpful if you ask. Exams are majority open response. Show up to class for bonus quizzes. They will help out a lot. I would take every class she teaches.
I had to drop this course. If you're a person who needs a study guide to pass a test I'd reconsider her.
She is very enthusiastic. She will keep you all lab. She covers A LOT of material and tests are difficult but she does offer a lot of bonus to help. Her lectures are very boring but I would take her again
Test were tough. She jumps around a lot. She's very quit when she talks. You can't really write write that much down from lecture because she goes all over the place most of the time
Dr. McDonald was an awesome mammalogy professor. She is pretty disorganized and mixes up what she says a lot, which at first drove me crazy, but she is super understanding and only wants to make sure her students are learning. Use her test prep guides before the test and GET ALL BONUS POSSIBLE and you will easily get an A.
Dr. McDonald is very passionate about Biology. She can be scatter-brained and the lectures are usually pretty boring. The tests are actually pretty hard, but she gives tons of bonus. Seriously. No reason not to make an A.
I had this class at 8am, so it was pretty hard to follow, but her lectures are boring. She goes back and forth during the lectures, so it's hard to know what's what. The tests are pretty difficult, but do the homework, do well in lab, do every bonus assignment, and you should be fine.
I took this class at 8am and it's an interesting course, however the tests are very difficult and the lectures are sometimes hard to follow considering some of the spoken lecture can be possibly used as test questions. If you have any learning disabilities I wouldn't advise this course, However the bonus's are great and she's very understanding.
Dr. McDonald is a nice lady but very scattered and the lectures are boring. She is hard to hear sometimes and is just all over the place. There is online homework and the test are pretty hard. It's hard to study for the test because you never know what will be on them. The only thing that saved my grade was lab, which is easy.
Dr. McDonald is an interesting character, definitely. Beware of her tests. Anything and everything will be on them and they are hard. Read over the readings, in-class notes, and homework to study. Lab can save your grade. Thankfully she gives out bonus. She has a bonus quiz every class and tells you exactly what's on it.
Professor McDonald has hard tests but gives extra credit every class. Little things and examples she says in class will be on the test. Mostly received Bs on tests but had a very high A after extra credit. She is super caring and is very approachable if you have any problems or trouble.
go to class! every class there are bonus quizzes that SAVED my grades. tests are very difficult and come from material, mastering biology, and her extra comments on the material in class. make notecards and read chapters and parts of chapters she assigns. very likable and encourages office hours. is pretty scattered and has trouble with blackboard.
Dr. McDonald is a very sweet lady, but her class is very hard to do well in if you do not put the time into it. I suggest to you to ALWAYS read the reading assignments, and to listen to what she says to study for the test. I failed the first two tests, but after that I made quizlets of everything she said to study and ended up passing my tests.
Although she is nice, she needs to update her lecture style. Lectures are just really long, boring, and sometimes hard to follow. Showing up to class on time is important because she has a bonus quiz every class that is due within 5 minutes of class starting. They usually have passwords so you have to be there. Tests are a bit hard as well.
Be prepared to study for hours and hours outside of class and still fail the tests. Her lectures are all over the place, and she doesn't make it clear what you need to know and what you don't. She assigns homework just about every day and it takes so long to complete. Also, she comes to class a few minutes late every day (yes, even on test days).
This class was the hardest one Ive ever taken. To be fair, Im not good at science, but Ive always gotten better grades than a C, and I know I got one because of the tests. I dont know anyone who got an A on one of her tests, they are extremely hard. You can get a few bonus points every class but only if you know the material.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND TAKING THIS PROFESSOR. I AM A STRAIGHT A STUDENT AND I MADE DS ON EVERY SINGLE TEST. I CHANGED THE WAY I STUDIED AND STILL FAILED. I STUDIED THE MATERIAL SHE TOLD US TO GO OVER(WHICH COMES FROM 7 DIFFERENT PLACES- HER LECTURE, NOTES, QUIZES, REVIEWS, LINKS, VIDEOS) JUST FOR IT TO NOT BE ON THE TEST.
Her tests are extremely difficult!! She put questions that she does not cover on the test. Its not always the student. If a teacher sees majority of the class failing then that should tell a lot about their teaching method. I also had to correct her about mistakes on the test. If I did not point it out, it would have been counted against me.
Her lectures are all over the place. Do not take her if you cannot handle making Ds on every single test. I advise you to take another professor. Her teaching style is not it. For a non-biology major, this course felt like it was taught on a higher level. I understood the topics but her tests are based on whatever she feels like putting on it.
The way her exams are written make the material seem more difficult that it actually is. She tests you on things mentioned in class rather than directly from the text and notes.
Honestly one of my worst professors. We had "pop quizzes" at the END of class everyday in which she would hold us over even though a lot of people had classes after. She assigned so much on Mastering Biology and acted like we didn't have any other classes. Terrible, confusing, lectures too. If you value your sanity just don't. 0/10.
I've never taken the time to rate a professor, however for this course I will make an exception. For reference, I'm a 3.7 GPA student. This professor is by far the most unorganized, most ridiculous professor I've had yet (I'm a senior). Insane amount of material per exam and you better believe it will be the smallest details in the text. DONT TAKE!
Relatively boring lectures, but extra credit before almost every one if you've read the day's required material. Multiple choice tests. Kinda tough class, but I believe she recognizes it, as most of us got curved up by the end of it.
Had her for CVA, I would advise not to take her if u do not wish to murder your GPA. I am an A student, but damn! that class was TOO difficult. Although I made an A in the class, but it took me days of sleepless nights& hard work. Materials too complex and disorganized. Textbook is mandatory, tests are so difficult. Literally the hardest class ever
Horrible teacher. Failed over half the class for cheating when a ton of us did not. She does not understand technology and got upset when you asked a question that she deemed stupid. Would never take her again. Lectures were not significant at all to what was on the exams, yet lectures were mandatory. Pop quizzes almost every day we had class.
DISORGANIZED. Concepts are not hard, but she makes everything unnecessarily difficult. Had quiz the second day. Expects you to watch both lab section recordings. Sometimes 9+ hours worth of outside videos/documentaries. Punished whole class for other students cheating. Test over the smallest details. Must read all articles linked in lecture slides
No matter what anyone says, shes the best professor at UCA. What she expects out of you is clear at the beginning of the semester. While she does expect a lot out of you its all manageable. She gives a lot of bonus so be ready to learn that! She tells you exactly what on tests and quizzes! You will not regret taking her for any class she offers!
Very disorganized, very textbook heavy, tests over small, insignificant details. Rambles on during lecture and is unclear. Piles on material a couple nights before tests. Hours and hours of studying and still made a D or C on every test. Easy lab quizzes, bonus opportunities.
Sweet lady, HARD class. Quizzes every class (5 pts) LONG lab reports only (10pts) & exams are SO hard. Semester long project that is fun but TONS of work! Not clear what will be on exams & tested over stuff she said in lecture, once, 3 weeks ago. She rambles & is the most disorganized professor ever. TONS of bonus that will save ur grade tho!
Rambles during lectures and gets easily off track. Goes over something once during lectures and expects you to know everything. The class should be a basic biology class but Is rather taught that you have prior knowledge. Class is out of 1000 points so LOTS of assignments.
Lectures are recorded. I recommend this class online and professor McDonald is truly a caring and easy-going professor if you actually care about your grade. Lots of homework on Mastering Biology and studying can take hours, but just study the notes, slides, and textbook and you're good to go, all multiple choice and not that hard. I recommend.
Very Old school style teacher, her way or no way. Not very savvy with electronics which makes it tough to get the information from her, which ultimately end up getting blamed for her mistakes. Very confusing and decieving tests that seem like they are designed to trap and confuse students. Probably good class for bio majors not for core.
Honestly this is the worst professor I've had. Everyone I know, including myself, have failed every one of her exams. That is more of a reflection on her than anything. She is very quiet and fails to explain the content in a way that everyone will understand. There have been multiple times that things on the test were not in lecture or textbook.
Ornithology was overall a fun class, but boy oh boy do you have to do some work outside of class. She requires you to log 100+ (originally 200) unique species of bird over the semester and attend 2, 2-hour long "outside of lab" labs. Stay on top of the field-journal! She also offers LOTS of extra-credit (enough to bump you a full letter grade).
Practice exams are the same as the actual exam! Pretty easy to fall through, don't have to be in class !
I enjoyed taking Dr. McDonald for Vertebrate Zoology. She can tend to be scattered at times during lectures and labs. As long as you do the practice exams, you'll do fine on the exams. There are 7 exams, including the final, but you can drop 1. Labs are easy. There are quizzes almost every class and lots of bonus opportunities.
Very difficult to stay engaged and she's awfully quiet. Practice tests and homework are exactly like exams, but she will gloss over something once in lecture and expect you to memorize it for the exam. Most homework assignments will range from an hour to two in terms of getting it done which can get overwhelming with other assmts. LECTURE HEAVY!!!
This class is for non-bio majors, but the course material and length of assignments/exams would have you think otherwise. She makes exams over super little nit picky things that she maybe talked about once during the lecture (one exam grade lowered by 5 questions about seaweed that were not on the practice test). 3 hour hmwrk assignments. Dont take
She will say one thing during lecture and expect you to remember everything. She is kinda all over the place at times, and will get off track easily. She will say random things that don't matter for the exam. She does give you a practice exam and she records her lectures, which is helpful.
Honestly, This might be the worst instructor I've ever had. She talks VERY quietly during her lectures, glosses over material that is on the exam, posts hours and hours of homework. She just reads from the slide and will add some random detail that seems like a tangent, but it will either have nothing to do with the unit or it will be on the exam.
Overall she is disorganized and scatter brained but for the most part she knows what she is talking about (esp. birds). Across the entire class I learned little and memorized a lot. There was a lot of content to study for exams but all exams were multiple choice (one did have ~200 questions). Labs were disorganized and poorly planned. Overall: mid
multiple homework assignments a week that take hours to do each, exams are 90% what she says in lecture but you can't hear her ever. Lab was very planned and fun but lecture was skimmed over and went on random tangents
Only good thing is that the daily work can like outweigh the tests, but the homework takes SO LONG… she always says random crap in lectures and then puts it on exams so if you're fine with a B then take this class but there's probably better professors
Very lecture heavy, lots of Mcgraw hill assingments. She does give a decent amount of extra credit but you must be in class the day she gives it. She does live stream the lectures so if you are sick or cant make it to class you can still have your attendence counted. She is old and speaks quitely so lectures are hard to hear.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
38%
Textbook Required
80%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.33 avg changeRatings by Course
3410
5.0
(1)GENEDBIOLOGY
5.0
(1)GENERALBIOLOGY
5.0
(1)VERTZOOEVOLU
5.0
(1)BIO
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIOSECT
5.0
BIOL4430
4.5
3410
4.0
VERTZOO
4.0
BIOL4402
4.0