Mirayda Torres - Avila
Biology - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (all campuses)
2.2
Quality4.1
Difficulty33%
Would Retake156
Reviews33%
Would Retake
156
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
17
4
14
3
20
2
51
1
54
What Students Say
“If there is one thing I learned from this class, was that Tacos were the only thing that seemed of importance, I came to learned about different varieties of tacos, how to use them effectively in the use of digestion, and I probably have heard the term ''Taco'' MORE THAN I EVER HEARD IN MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE THANK YOU AND TACO”
BIOL1406 - 2.0 rating“weekly tests are taken from the power points, lecture”
BIOL140101 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
12%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.73 avg changeRatings by Course
2401
5.0
(1)BIO2403
5.0
(2)ANATOMY
4.0
(1)BIOL2401
4.0
(2)BIO2401
3.3
(15)Difficulty by Course
0805395695
5.0
BIOLOGY1
5.0
BIO1
5.0
BIOL1
5.0
ANA1
5.0
Reviews (156)
Class can get boring since all she does is look through the ppt. She has a VERY marked accent, not always easy to understand her so sit in front. Knows her stuff, if you know Spanish look for her outside the classroom and you can communicate better with her. STUDY A FREAKING LOT!! I would advise to read on your own. Still, she's very helpful!
Her class is hard and attendance is mandatory. buy the book because you're basically learning on your own. no review for any of her exams . theres quizzes every friday over a chapter she's gone 2 slides over. if you can take someone else, ANYONE else, do it !
Do not take this class with her. She complains that she doesn't understand how we don't know things because they are "basic," although this is the information we are taking the class to learn. She's very unclear and inconsistent in her teaching methods, and she contradicts herself a lot. My best advice would be to stay away from this class.
She has good intentions, and he is very nice, but She has a very strong accent. Her teaching is very inconsistent and her tests are very hard. She does not teach or explain anything, she just reads the slides super fast.I highly suggest you take a different professor.
lacks empathy, sympathy, can't teach for a person who claims to have a PHD she clearly forgot to take some speech classes cause even a highs cool freshman knows not to read off a slide. Very conceited believes that since she has a phd on bio everyone is stupid for not knowing the basic. doesn't gives a review hands out quizzes every freaking friday
No matter how long & early you study, you will fail her tests. The book & notes don't help. Quizzes are online and easy. She doesn't understand why the majority fails and blames it on you for not studying hard enough, even though you studied her Powerpoints and the book a week before. If there's another professor teaching this, take them. Not her.
She has a very marked accent so it is really difficult to understand her most of the time. Even if you study a lot, it is still very difficult to get an A on her test. Her lectures are mainly over the powerpoints so class does get a little bit repetitive. But she is very helpful when it comes to extra credit.
This professor made me hate biology. You need the book because you will be practically be teaching yourself. If I could go back I'd take this class with ANYONE else. She insists that she's being "lenient" but she doesn't know the meaning of the word. She makes the class way harder then it has to be. DO NOT TAKE HER! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
I enjoyed taking this teacher, the reason why everybody is trashing her is because they are lazy and expect their grades to fall from the sky. She is a very respectful teacher, she does point out in the beginning of the semester that you will have to learn the material on yourself, she will clarify if anything is needed.
Very nice professor and cares about her students.Her class isn't that hard at all.didn't pay much attention in lecture and was still able to pass with an A.Just need to be able to do the study guides and you'll be fine..Anatomy is a tough subject as it is,so there' isn't much to expect.
Dr. Torres is such a nice professor. She has a Mexican accent so its a little hard to understand her if you do not speak Spanish. Very long powerpoint lectures. 4 multiple choice exams and a final. Her class was pretty tough but her study guides helped some what. Good professor but too much information in the powerpoints to absorb all at once.
VERY helpful. available @ office hrs n by email w/ quick reply. great personality. has heavy accent fr Caribbean so not always crystal. mastering is done. exams are not concepts n application (like gunn) just read ppts n maybe quick look at mastering questions. attendance by clicker.
very nice but extremely unorganized. if your looking for an easy A good luck you will fail this class if you dont study.she gives 4 exams and a final they are easy if u study her ppt. i got an A in this class it is not impossible but extremely difficult!!!DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS if you plan to take this course during fall or spring i suggest summer
She is nice and always willing to help, some people complain about her accent, but she has gotten a lot better. Do not take if you do not want to read. Overall she is a good prefessor.
GROUP homework and Mastering A&P , if you get As on those and study the day before you should be fine. One thing is the lecture, boring.
This class was really a walk in the park, getting an A is not impossible the only thing is to actually do your work and not sit back and expect the professor to do all the work for you. She is really nice and willing to help, she throws A LOT of xtra credit. Tests are online so its easy to cheat but trust me, DONT! The final is a killer so watch it
She's tough, her class is tough, her tests are the worst! you really need to study in order to pass her tests. There is online assignments & group homeworks.
Nice Lady. Has a thick accent but its only a matter of getting used to. She makes a lot of bad jokes & gets off topic a lot. Lecture can be boring. The group & online hw are easy ( thank God for quizlet).The exams are hard so study in advance, not just the day before. Attending SI sessions can bring up your grade.
Cons: Difficult to understand, annoying group homework assignments, disrupts class for people who aren't paying attention, heavy connect homework loads, makes poor attempts to get class involved, mandatory attendance (even though you will probably rely on the textbook). Pros: Easy online exams Steer clear of this professor.
Only reads off ppts, doesnt go into detail, no study guides for tests, read all chapters you will be tested on and pray you remember everything cause you arent told what you will be tested on, halfway in semester and still isnt sure how to assign group projects, mispronounces a lot of words, difficult to understand, dont take if youre not smart
Although she is a very smart person, I don't believe she is a very good teacher. She has a bit of an accent, but not very hard to understand. During class, expect to be bored. She talks the whole time, and only reads from powerpoints. Her tests are mostly online but there are a few in class. But I found that the tests were unrelated to powerpoints.
Took her in summer. I retook the class so i know about 75% of the material and i can say she isnt good at explaining. Confusing even to me but mostly bc she has accent and not too good english. But she gives tons of extra credit via study guides vocabulary. You will do Mastering homework use clicker, A&P book. She is friendly. Got an A+.
I took her for summer. Has a Puerto Rican accent that's easy to understand if you are familiar with Spanish, but if you are not it may be hard to understand her. She's very friendly, helpful, and makes puns about science. Her lecture are a tad boring, but she gives extra credit homework. I really liked her as a person, and she is very pretty.
study read ahead of time, she has a horrible accent, barely understandable. prepare to sit in her class and get drowsy and bored. do mastering homework and do well in that, attendance is graded, get an A in lab-- pass all tests and attend SI sessions, but do not rely on that. SI isn't that good either. your final grade will be all your effort.
you are on your own. you sit in her class without understanding a single word because of her thick accent. she reads from the powerpoint. not even a 'good' teacher. read study the book to do all mastering homework. tests are in the powerpoint GOOD LUCK if you're in her class. you have a choice, take the class with a different instructor.
VERY HEAVY THICK ACCENT, needs to learn how to speak in public. weekly tests are taken from the power points, lecture. read chapter but focus more on the power points. if you ask her a question that's in the book &she hasn't mentioned it in class nor in her power points she gets defensive and says ' i did not talk about that!' need infos GOOGLE it!
she indeed has a very heavy thick accent, mispronounces english words. read from power points. 5 tests but drops 1 lowest. attendance is graded. Online homework--mastering thats also graded. She tends to go off topic, mentions soda and taco almost everyday of class, guess her way to connect with her students. gives extra credits
Took bio 1 Summer 2015, I solely relied on my text book. Did all hard work to get a decent grade. Don't expect to learn from the in-class lecture.
I was overwhelmed by thee amount of informations given at such a short amount of time. She tries to help students by giving extra credits and SI tutorial sessions. Read and study the book. Do well in lab. Expect difficult tests.
read the book cover to cover. she assigns a lot of work. good luck or should i say tough luck?
She is not an effective teacher. Need to learn how to speak in public. Articulate properly, learn the American English language, right, correct and proper diction, articulatory phonetics. Can't even explain, elaborate or expound on certain topics. A gave extra credits that's the good bit there really. Don't take her class during summer
I was seated at the back and had a hard time hearing her, couldn't understand her. She has an accent, not a good teacher. Had to stay and sit there for the attendance credits but would rather leave and study elsewhere. you will be practically teaching yourself. Read and study hard.
If you want to pass and not learn much or nothing at all, take her. But if you're a pre med student or someone who wants to excel in your career, who wants to learn, and have the informations/ knowledge and have a good foundation in your studies choose some one else. She is not a good teacher. Observe how she Is.
She reads straight from powerpoints, lecture becomes redundant. Really a waste of time she doesn't explain well enough nor knows how to answer questions. Too bookish, sounds too scripted. Bad diction. Heavy ugly accent. I should have listened to the reviews here.
Her class is too much work! She doesn't know how to teach let alone speak proper English. Awful accent! Ugh!
A lot failed her class. Too much work for such a short amount of time. It felt half baked and forced. We all felt miserable in her class lectures, forced to stay and sit there just for the attendance points. Could have studied or rested. Be warned. Choose someone else!
Took her summer class, We were 5 in lab group. Only 1 made it. I made it because I persevered even if I was struggling. Not because of the teachers but because I did all I could. She can speak in different languages as long as the test and homework are in English I will make it. Know that you can't expect any encouragement from her or any one.
Still had the chance, so I tapped out. Would rather wait another semester and take it with someone else just to be sure I'd absorb, learn and earn that grade I need. Laugh out loud! Glad I did! I know what's excellent and what's mediocre. No need to read between the lines you all. Simpler terms. Simple life, don't make it complicated.
On our first day of class, she said don't email her regarding how one can get good grades, because she will ignore it. She won't reply back. I approached her on the 2nd week hoping I'll get clarifications on a certain topic and she gave me a side glance continued to give me this demeaning look. She laughed at me and made hurtful comments.
don' ever question or contradict her. She's more concerned about ratings because she mentions it every week, not a good instructor. Relied so much on her power points and online homework as if that short amount of time is adequate for students to remember all informations for the tests. A lot of students walked out everyday no respect at all
I approached her to try and ask for help but she was very dismissive and appeared visibly annoyed & exasperated, she told me to figure it out on my own. Then another asked her regarding the upcoming test and she just looked at the person and looked at me and smirked! If that doesn't burn you! I've lost all interest! Felt so hurt & embarrassed :(
She relies too much in the online homework because she couldn't speak clearly or properly, she left out all the important informations and they're all in the online homeworks. Useles and a waste of time money and effort. Buy the textbook, read study on your own and get an A in the lab. Print out the lectures study that.
Took A & P summer class, it was intense. Short amount of time. Exhausting and disappointing because we didn't get enough time to study and imbibe all informations and the lectures were no help at all. You sit there feeling like you've wasted your time. Sad but true, A lot of people failed her class.
Several of us approached her after class dismissal and she gave out an exasperated sigh, obviously irritated, annoyed by all the questions. I took one look on her face and I decided to just leave. I felt confused, and disheartened. Regretted getting in her class
Won't accommodate you if you go to her and ask for help or guidance, I went to her asked how I can do the homeworks told me to determine or find out on my own. It wasn't true when she said email or visit her in the office, was just a ploy to appear nice and friendly.
Get the book. Do online homework. Don't miss class. Attend SI sessions for extra credits and added inputs. Know that you can't rely on her, she won't help out if you ask her regarding the lectures or upcoming tests! She said read the book! That's in the book! Have you read the book?
For obvious reasons you can't record her lectures. Don't expect to learn anything beyond that's written in the book. Too bookish. Can't explain correctly. Doesn't give added informations, or good positive feedback. Confusing and frustrating to be in that class.
You need the textbook for the online homework. Print out the power point lectures, do the vocabulary and study guides. SI sessions tutorials are added extra hours on you. She gives a lot of work, piles it sky high because she doesn't want to do that in class. Study study and don't rely on anybody not even from her
take someone else. i was struggling to pass her tests, you won't know what appears on the tests. she gave vocabulary, study guides and online homework's but nothing appeared in the weekly tests. she won't give out any help or encouragements or reviews prior to the tests. you need the textbook for the online homework registration
doesn't know how to teach at all! we couldn't understand her. mispronounces words, can't speak correct english words, grammatically incorrect. my classmates would often pass the time repeating every mispronounced words she said. even during lab class they would do that and have a good laugh, but mood would change when we get to her lecture class
made a very interesting subject way harder than its supposed to be. before the final exam i came up to her to ask about a particular subject matter gave me a condescending look, glared while speaking down at me, said its all in the book. if i haven't mentioned it in the lecture then its not going to come out on the test then dismissed me. snooty!
people were enticed by the extra credits she gave but in reality those were extra work piled on us. still more than half failed her class. she can't speak well, let alone be an effective instructor. the text book is a life saver,
A lot of people flunked her class. Tests weren't taken from the study guides she gave. People spent tons of hours studying the materials given but tests didn't come from those. When we asked her regarding these, she was very angry at us
just read the book before coming to class, easier that way. do online homework and never miss class because those are graded. with just one class you'll be neck deep with loads of work so be prepared
A & P 1 early Summer online homework via mastering, which literally contains all the essential bits of the subject matter, those weren't tackled nor mentioned in the in-class lectures. weekly tests were pretty much guess work, we didn't know exactly what was coming up, she never gave reviews at all. random test questions. choose someone else
Very little amount of time to really learn and familiarize with the course, I don't think it's fair to do it in such a fast- paced, rushed and very limited amount of time. Both the lab and lecture felt rushed and half done. It made it quiet exhausting physically, mentally and psychologically and also the terrible accent. What is she talking about?
Enjoyed and learned a lot from the lab works but didn't at all from the lectures. She didn't know how to explain or give additional informations. Not a good teacher at all. JustMake sure you buy the text book it's all there, you can do it on your own. Weekly tests during Wednesday's or Thursday's
Not a good or effective instructor. Even if you have the text book and your doing good in the lab there's no aayrance you'll pass with the grade you want/ need. It's all haphazard, the test questions were random there's no systematic way of doing it. I had excellent instructor in bio before and I'm going to that class. CHOOSE ANOTHER!
She's only nice to those who are doing good in her class, those who gets high grades in her tests but awfully mean to those who are struggling & doing poorly. She doesn't know how to teach, makes it way harder than it is by piling tons of homework, & extra work on you. Weekly tests aren't found in the study guides FYI. Very rude gives nasty looks!
JUST PAY ATTENTION AND GET YOUR WORK IN ON TIME IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU, GET TO KNOW HER. SHE WILL HELP.
She's not as terrible as everyone is painting her out to be. If you care enough to ask for help, she will try to break it down for you. She's funny so lectures aren't boring. The bad thing is that tests are difficult, and even going to SIs don't help much. READ THE POWER POINTS. Ask for help on what you don't understand from them.
Funny way of speaking and mispronouncing words. Unable to explain and give specific examples. Gives a lot of work for such a limited amount of time. Towards the end of the semester, she became rude, paranoid and angry at us. Rearranged seats prior to the tests.
She assigned a lot of work and reading materials which never can up in the weekly tests. Vocab and study guide questions were asked to be submitted for extra credit points but she said several times in-class that she regretted saying that. Doesn't care whether you're struggling or barely making it.
First day of class, she mentioned she will ignore emails of anyone asking for her help! She seemed unapproachable and cold. We could barely hearwhat she was saying . She has a very thick accent which makes it harder to understand if you're seated at the farthest back.
Save yourself from extra work. There's is always someone who can effectively teach biology subjects way better than her. With less time spent doing the extra work but those doesn't appear on the weekly tests. All jumbled up informations. She doesn't know how to teach or let alone choose what's essential in the subject matter.
Attendance is graded. So you don't have a choice but sit in her class. Read memorize the book because she says it's all int the book-- in all big higher case letters! Good luck! Ask your seat mate, classmates but be wary to ask her, cause she gets very defensive and nasty. I've had that from her many times. She can't even explain well
I asked her for help, she just gave me an annoyed look. 2 of my classmates were with me, 1 asked about the upcoming test, she gave her a more annoyed look, turned as if to walk away and proceeded to talk to another teacher loudly saying that she had a previous class as if telling us to back off coz she's exhausted and won't help. no help there
Very hard weekly tests. Incomprehensible accent. Lab TA was always talking to other TAs while in class, talking about personal issues & was absent for 1 week, replaced by substitute TAs. SI tutor arrived late halfway during the course, she speaks very fast & follows every instructions from Avila. 'Twas a very tough summer 5-week course.
She's okay. I took her for Biological Communications, which felt more like a Speech class because of presentations and paper, but she made it alright. We were only in class mostly for the first half of the semester, and the rest was on your own researching/writing. Basically gave away A's if you put in effort. Will learn professionalism!!!!
I received an A in the class, yes I showed up for attendance 90% time which is mandatory i worked for it and you should too Her lectures aren't too hard but study and you can get a good grade She hands out homework on a weekly basis and research papers She's very helpful, its college, you're not being babied but if you need the help ask
Anatomy is a tough class but she tried to simplify it for us. I took her in the summer which is tougher than during the semester and still got an A. She tries to give help to those who deserve it. As long as you GO TO CLASS and keep up with studying you will do fine.
Vey thick & heavy accent. She makes it harder than its supposed to be, instead of only teaching the important, most essential parts of the lecture. Tests are very difficult. passed her class because I persevered but the in-class lecture was awfully dragging, boring, exhausting. we'd rather be somewhere to read and study.
I took her for summer II, A&P 1. Attendace is mandatory. She's really helpful. Tests are hard, read the powerponts with the textbook, and do the vocabulary. She's a good teacher!
Attendance is mandatory and graded, no choice but to sit there and wait until it is done. Would rather go elsewhere read the book, powerpoints than be in that room. Vocabulary and study guides are not in the tests, but for extra credits only. Online homeworks graded! I will never ever take her classes again
Thick accent, yes! Saying what she teaches is what you sow is partially true. And yes, she is all over the place, doesn't know to choose only the important aspects of the subject matter, she's all over the place and just goes on and on. Gives a lot for a very short amount of time to read, study, grasp the informations.
Dr. Torres-Avila isn't as bad as they make her seem here on rate my professor. I was scared to take her because of it but she's actually very approachable. There is A LOT of HW on mastering AP so make sure to make time. Her way of explaining A&P isn't good, I had to read the book and listen to youtube videos on the material. Not an easy A
wouldn't recommend her. take someone else. there are better lecturers in biology classes, anatomy & physiology classes. they do not give too much work, and only chooses the most essential parts of the subjects. the informations will stick to your memory without feeling overly drained, stressed and pressured.
Took Ana & Physio 1 with her it was tough. She reads straight from the power points. Can't explain well. You'll be basically learning on your own. Online mastering homework that's graded, test didn't come from the study guides or vocabulary guides she gave. Don't take this class during summer. Wait to do it during Spring or Fall.
She is not as scary as people paint her to be. She does have a hard accent and it's hard to understand her at times. She doesn't explain things well so I see how this could be a problem for A&P. She does assign a lot and it's busy work really. Class was dumb and she forces you to do research on what she likes. boring class really.
she just reads straight from the PPS, and it seems telegraphic. hard, heavy and very thick accent that is difficult to decipher when U are seated at the farthest back. unable to explain well. attendance is graded. overall, not a good teacher.
She reads straight from the power points which is really bad because you're coming to lecture for something u can do yourself. Doesn't explain things well and her accent is hard to understand. You basically learn on your own. Online mastering homework, test didn't come from the study guides or vocabulary guides she gave. Wouldn't recommend at all.
Can't explain well. Can't cite examples either. She just reads from her PPS. Heavy & very thick accent, difficult to understand at times. Tests are hard. gets really annoyed if U turn and ask your seatmeate what she said or the things that weren't clear to you. gets offended, spiteful if U ask her for clarifications on test questions
She's very helpful, but just make sure you do your part as well.
I took her for A&P and she was an amazing teacher, she gives extra credit and she tries to help you as much as possible. Its not an easy class but if you study the power-points you should pass with a good letter grade.
Took A& P summer class with her, she's not a good teacher. Reads PPS and talks with heavy accent. We can barely understand her. I was distracted coz the students behind me kept repeating her mispronounced words. Lots of HW to do. Take the class during regular semesters, you get to choose a better teacher.
Avoid her honestly, her test are very difficult. She says to follow the powerpoint, but they don't help at all on her tests. I also thought there was way too many chapters for one test!
reads straight from power points, it seems as if she hasn't memorized nor know the subject matter by heart. speaks with a very distinct heavy accent which is very difficult to understand, mispronounces a lot of English words. tests comes from PPS but you definitely need the textbook to understand PPS, to do online homework, do vocab & study guide
asked her about test question i couldn't understand, i was confused, very tired when we took the test. gave me a very angry look,clenched her jaw she was so angry at me for approaching her. after that, i went straight to SI tutoring, she went there, looked at all of us,singled me out with her angry eyes, told TA not to give review for the next test
Gives a lot of homework. Lectures come from PowerPoints which she just reads in class, can't explain well, can't give specific examples or added informations. Very bookish and talks with very heavy accent. How would you feel if you go to class and lecturer busts stands there reading her PowerPoint when you can do it yourself? I mean hello!??
All she really did was read off the powerpoints and some details, but her accent was so heavy it was really hard to understand. Even though she says to just study the slides, YOU MUST READ THE BOOK TOO! All of the test questions are specific details for the book, not very helpful. A lot of homework must be done, and it doesn't help for the test.
She just Reads straight from her powerpoints. Talks with a very thick, heavy accent which is really difficult to understand! She doesn't know how to teach at all! Seriously! DO NOT take her classes! Her tests are difficult and definitely need to get the book, read beforehand, do not just rely on her powerpoints. It's pointless going to her class!
She literally reads off the PowerPoints word-by-word during lectures which is something I certainly did not like about her. If she wouldn't of given attendance points then I wouldn't of had gone to class because I can just stay at home and read the powerpoints on my own. But other than that, she is a kind lady who knows the material well.
Dr. Torres Avila is such a great professor, shes cares alot about her students.I dont know why everyone is saying negative stuff, you're in college & any science class you take is Expected to be difficult if you don't do your part. Read the book, take notes and don't miss class. If you need help, go to her office hrs, she's really nice & will help!
I had such a great experience with Dr. Torres-Avila for Bio 1 that I signed up with her for Bio 2. I suggest printing out the ppts and writing notes on them as she goes through them. If you have any questions, her office is always open and she has been nice about helping me. She does have an accent, but you get used to it after a couple lectures.
An excellent instructor that makes you work and learn. If many students do not like her is because they only want to get an easy A or B or they hate to study. The instructor knows biology and cares.
If there is one thing I learned from this class, was that Tacos were the only thing that seemed of importance, I came to learned about different varieties of tacos, how to use them effectively in the use of digestion, and I probably have heard the term ''Taco'' MORE THAN I EVER HEARD IN MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE THANK YOU AND TACO.
I took this professor the first year she started teaching. Not going to lie, it was a workload... BUT she helped me out the entire course because she knew I cared about my grade. Over the years her workload has improved, and so has her teaching. I took her for Bio Comm my last year and she was so much fun!! She is very lenient because she cares!
She's a very good teacher & could tell that she cared about her students. She also pushes you to do better as well as go to her office in you don't understand something. I didn't have to take the final because I did ok on the other tests since she drops one test for you.
Great professor, you just need to work for your grade.
I took her Summer I (Anatomy and physiology pt 1) and she is absolutely AMAZING professor! She wants her students to pass and will do everything possible to help you pass the class. This is a hard class so you do have to study A LOT. I would recommend her to any one wanting to take this course. Study those power points! Very pretty also.
She was such a great professor. You do have to study and work hard but honestly she actually cares about you. She's so helpful and she answers all questions you have just to make sure everyone's on the same page. Do your easy homework and extra credit and you will pass. 10/10 would recommend!
Dr Torres is an awesome professor, I have taken her for several science classes and have always came out well rounded in each subject. I highly recommend her, she is very caring and helpful, and to this day still remembers me and says hi when I see her. Honestly all the resource are available to pass, you just have to take initiative in doing it.
Study. Go to SI. Do extra credit. Go to office hour if you have a question. Easy A.
Honestly don't know why some people are saying such means things about her. She is super nice, caring, and smart. Yes, she has an accent but your in the valley so everyone's grandma has an accent. Deal with it and sit in the front if you have too. She give extra credit and test are based off of power points. Literally no one should fail this class.
She was a genuinely caring person. I didn't really learn from the lectures. Study the PowerPoints, study the vocabulary for each chapter, and do any extra credit.
Really Heavy accent. She Reads her Powerpoints in class Tests comes from It . She gives Lots of homeworks. You have to Read and learn on your own. Go to SI sessions for extra help.
Easy A. Her tests are very easy all you have to do is study the powerpoints and actually pay attention in class. She does have an accent, but it is understandable. She gives extra credit. Drops lowest test grade. She really does care about her students and tries her best to teach the material. Great professor.
She's very sweet and nice but her tests are basically just memorizing a bunch of things on the powerpoints. She seems like she cares but it's so hard to get an A on any of the tests
Took her in summer 1 2017,Amazing professor she has motivated me. Take advantage that she lets you see what u did wrong in your exams. Her lectures are not boring.
I like Dr. Torres-Ayala b/c she's kind of funny and tries hard to keep students engaged, but she's also kind of a hot mess. She's disorganized and her tests are strange. I don't know how else to describe it. I feel like she cares about the students, but I'm super organized and care a lot about structure and she was a little all over the place.
Super nice and funny. She really wants to help everyone out but you have to put in the effort. 4 exams and final but drops lowest exam grade including the final. The online exam is the hardest so study. Tests are based off the PowerPoints. Gives some extra credit. I honestly really enjoyed her class but had to work for the A.
Explaining could be improved Tests dont coincide with study guide Lecture heavy PowerPoints have little detail Exams are rigorous
Her lectures dont really matter. Print out the pps for each chapter and youll do fine. Homeworks long and tedious. Tests are simple, passable. Read the pps prior to any tests.
Confused by her ratings here. She was amazing! And I am a slow learner. Homework is due before the exams and you can literally google and get 100s. As for power points, she uses them heavily but breaks them down so you actually learn the material. 4 tests + final, can drop lowest grade so final is optional if you're satisfied with your grade.
She is very charismatic, energetic, and sweet. However, the lectures wont help to be honest. I stopped attending her lectures since she goes off topic alot. I ended up teaching myself. Her tests are not hard, just reviews the powerpoints. Wouldn't recommend it if you really want to learn. 4 exams, 1 final, which drops your lowest grade.
I personally did not learn with her lectures. However, I got an A because I studied her power-points. Her tests are very straight forward and easy if you put the time to study for the course. She is a very nice lady, she does not put questions that can not be answered without pp (having the book is for better understanding, but not necessary).
Her test is all based on the power points, the book will help you understand but you have to really study the pps for a better grade. The homework is super long you may have to start ahead. I had to spend my most time studying for this class.
Get ready to review a lot of information that will not be on the test. Carefully read your chapters because all the minimal information will be on the tests. This professor made me want to rethink going to school. Two thumbs down.
I will usually give a shot at teachers who say are hard cause usually they tend to not be so hard. WORST MISTAKE IVE DONE, as many say on here the lectures are pointless dont even attend them at all you would have to would be to REALLY read in specific the powerpoints. Shes good as a person but her tests cover nothing you go over in lecture.
I didn't really pay attention in class and would study her powerpoints the night before and usually got an A. She is understanding and gives extra points on tests. She also drops the lowest test. Her class is easy and she has an accent but it isn't very difficult to understand. If you study her powerpoints well then you'll get an A or a high B.
DO NOT take any class that she teaches. I had her for two semesters in a row for Bio I and Bio II. She is a very sweet person but her lectures will confuse you even more. Whatever she lectures about during class will rarely come out in the exams. You have to study the ppts she gives but they have tons of information on them. NOT WORTH IT.
Ill do you a favor, just don't take this prof. so many other could probably do better IF you do end up with her, the recipe to an A is to read the powerpoints day in and day out. As long a you do so, the exams will be fairly ok to deal with, but her lectures are useless. plain and simple. no point in going to class.
Dr. Torres is one of the greatest professors there are. Her exams are based on powerpoints so as long as you study them should be easy A. She has an good vibe and makes lectures interesting. Her homeworks are time-consuming. She's a sweet heart.
Attending class is pointless. She just reads off the powerpoints. Though shes a great person, I wish she would change her way of teaching.
Dr. Avila is a good teacher. She does have an accent but is understandable. She really wants to help students succeed but you have to work too. She drops the lowest test grade and gives extra credit.
I hated this class so much. All she does is read the powerpoints. Does not explain well. Exams are hard. Tons of online homework that does not help at all. Save yourself and your GPA and do not take this professor.
I had her for Bio 1/Bio 2. Her lectures are boring and useless (reads off the slides and sometimes gets distracted). She assigns a lot of time-consuming homework. Her exams are hard and have badly worded questions. I did get an A but everything I learned I taught myself. Avoid her class if possible.
She's very caring and nice, but she doesn't teach well. Assigns way too much unnecessary and time-consuming homework. If you do take her class make sure to review the PowerPoint notes that she bases her tests off of. Don't bother with her lectures.
She's a nice lady but her class is BORING. She gets distracted and talks about unnecessary things. Class is not mandatory but sometimes she gives extra credit in the class as participation points. She drops 1 test grade and 4 homework grades. YOU HAVE TO BUY THE ACCESS CODE FOR HER CLASS. A lot of homework.
Her lectures are absolutely useless. She assigns SmartBooks which take 1 hour each and are completely pointless. Her PowerPoints have numerous spelling mistakes, and at times are indecipherable.
I had professor avila for both bio I and II. her lectures are worthless as she just reads off of the powerpoints she provides. her class is very boring, but she does give extra credit if she is feeling generous, and she drops one test grade at the end of the semester. the class is easy if you put in the work and read the textbook. lots of homework
Professor Torres is really nice and answers emails really fast. Her class is asynchronous so no lectures but she does post videos and powerpoints. You mostly learn by the powerpoints and doing the smartbooks. I would say she is fair.
She makes you buy the access code to the smart book which you have a bunch of work to do from. YOU NEED TO READ A LOT!!! she does give some extra credit cuz trust me you'll need it. She relies to emails fast. Her quizzes don't make much sense; you will be looking at the question for a longgg time to figure out what she means.
Professor Torres is a nice person, but her way of teaching is not so good. She mainly used power point that were very long and very detailed. Her exams were SUPER hard and they were off 5 chapters each. She didn't give reviews which was worse so you didn't know what to expect or study. Assignments are all 100's which is the only reason I passed. :(
DO NOT TAKE HER! Online classhorrible. She uses a program to generate test questions, so her questions have absolutely NOTHING to do with what was taught in lecture. She gives out hw assignments that do not align at all with what is tested. Yes, she is nice and knows her stuff. Tests are over 6 ch. (way too much to memorize for 1 exam)!
Absolute worst teacher ever! We get assigned HW every week with it being of no relevance on exams. The whole course rides on 3 major exams, and each exam covers 6 giant chapters at a time. Group projects are basically "draw and color this diagram", unless you have a photographic memory there's no way to retain everything tested on. Set up to fail.
I have never gone out of my way to give a professor a bad rating on here but im making an exception to warn future students that plan on taking this course. Each exam goes over about 6 different chapters at a time which is an absolute mess & the 20 different smartbook assignments barely help due to the exams asking extremely specific questions.
Homework has no relevance to the tests, and the tests go over 6 chapters which is way too much information. You have to study the power points, but the power points are very long and the tests ask very specific questions. The research articles and smart books are not helpful at all and take hours usually.
I took her this past spring semester and was not happy with her lack of flexibility. There was a big storm that happened in the beginning of class, all while we were in a pandemic, and for the whole semester she only offered to drop two homework assignments while the rest of the exams and attendance grades still counted.
I took her Fall 2019 and spring 2020 for gen bio 1 and 2. Got an A and then a B. She did not give us many extra credit opportunities when we switched online, she is not a good lecturer so even worse online. She basically just reads off the powerpoint, assigns a lot of smart book homework which takes hours to do. If anything Bio lab taught me more.
I don't know how to say this nicely, but she sucks on lecturing. If you have the chance on taking someone else do it! Her tests are based on 6 chapters which there is no way of retaining a lot of info. She spaces out and starts talking about other things. DONT TAKE HER. You are paying to teach yourself. She makes it harder than what it already is.
Take other professor(taking her for labc). Shes extreme when taking tests, tougher professor I've ever had. Gives lots of homework from lab manual (25dls)instructions are not clear, gives wrong pages to do homework, you have to guess. Lots of content to learn, memorize lots of definitions. Takes forever grading, so you don't know your grade.
Lots of hw, and never grades. if you are not passing the class you wouldn't know until she posts grades for assignments, her tests are heavy. (must do 360, showing head to elbow in-camera, and your lap for the test, also show you turn off your phone. lots of labeling, choose another professor. difficult bc of hw, takes a lot of your time
Be prepared to teach yourself from powerpoints only and jove videos and to never know what to study for exams and fail. Please find another professor.
Didn't like this professor very much. Homework was easy but very time-consuming and felt pointless. Exams are awful but don't have much weightage on your final grade so you can pass with all Fs on the exams.
You'll teach yourself. She ALWAYS messes up on quizzes, activities (not sure on exams). The activities are just wrong and when you place the correct answer it just marks it as wrong, and she only tells you to figure it out when the assignment is the one that is WRONG. If you have a low grade, it will most likely be because of her mistakes...
PowerPoints are very helpful, easy homework (smartbooks) but time consuming, other homework assignments are easy, lots of group work if you do COIL, tests are hard (study ahead!), very lecture based she just reads off of the PowerPoints, lots of extra credit opportunities, pretty lenient with due dates if you communicate with her.
Dr. Torres as a person is nice but she does not teach well. She brushes over important topics so you are left self-learning the majority of the time. The homework is for completion and is very time consuming and does correlate with material tested. Tests are extremely hard but if you have questions she does reply to her emails fast.
This class is not as hard as people make it out to be. She's not the best at lecturing but she's a relatively easy grader and gives a lot of extra credit opportunities. I didn't learn very much and still managed to pass with a B. There's homework every week that take at least 1-2 hours to complete but they are extremely easy to do.
Asynchronous class. Answers emails fast & thankfully works with u if u have any problems. Easy grader. extra credit is offered. As mentioned before there are errors on lab assignments and quizzes. 1 quiz and several assignments are given on weekly basis, even on exam week. Very time consuming course. Personally I do not recommend! Take another prof
DO NOT TAKE HER. Exams 45%, quizzes 5%, homework 10%, lab 25%, project 10% and discussions 5%. Exams are extremely tough, and with webcam. She is a tough grader and makes many mistakes on quizzes which costs you your grade. The project is you growing a plant. The lab is very time consuming (many assignments). She stressed me out for no reason.
Great teacher that loves to talk about plants. Exams are challenging but are manageable if you study. I had to work for my A. Extra credit is given if no one in the class gets an A on an exam. She cares for you and will help you succeed.
She does not give good lectures, make sure you use the PowerPoint she gives you and if your lucky she will put the Panopto lectures on blackboard. Sometimes she forgets to put in a week work of pdf textbook and PowerPoints so remind her if you take her. Shes overall nice and returns your emails but ask whats on her exams to study the right things
Tests were extremely hard. Labs were open ended and fill in the blank.
Avoid taking this class, her lectures just make you clueless on the topic. She goes off topic during her lectures and it makes ZERO SENSE. Her exams are based on the Powerpoints but the Powerpoints are 60 sides plus sides and they have tons of information. This class is passable however its not aceable.
don't...
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