3.0
Quality2.9
Difficulty43%
Would Retake127
Reviews43%
Would Retake
127
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
24
4
18
3
36
2
29
1
20
What Students Say
“She was probably the best BIO 101 professor who is not a complete bore”
BIOL101 - 5.0 rating“My grade dropped fast once I started her class the first test I took with her I got a 50%”
BIO101 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
79%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.72 avg changeRatings by Course
BIOLOGY101
5.0
(2)BIOL152
3.7
(6)BIO320
3.4
(8)BIOL101
3.3
(27)BIO201
3.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
BIOL320
4.0
BIO201
3.5
BIOL152
3.3
BIO152
3.2
BIOL201
3.0
Reviews (127)
With this being Dr. Beecher's first semester at VCU, she is still trying to feel things out. Her tests were all multiple choice, many of the Qs came from past quizzes or power points. If you read the text, its an easy A. We never quite got through all the 152 material. However, she is a very lenient and is very open to suggestions for improvement.
Really nice lady, but I honestly don't learn much in the lectures. The homework and textbook are where I learned the content. 4 big tests are the bulk of the grade, but she drops the lowest one.
In the class that I took (Fall 2017) she would either drop your lowest test grade OR your participation at the end of the semester. So I guess you could say attendance was optional. She read right from her powerpoint (Tophat) slides which weren't very good. Just read the book instead and you'll do good on tests.
Shes a new teacher coming from a high school setting, so try to be lenient. Bring a comic book if you can, it does gets boring occasionally.
If you read the material and actually study you'll get an A - its not that hard of a course nor is the material if you're proactively working. I didn't read much of the text nor did I study and I got a B - although I did go to every lecture and actively listen and take notes- you could probs get away w/out going to class and just studying the text
She's very nice and is understanding with her students. HOWEVER... She's not the best professor. Her teaching is unclear at times and she is a very quiet person so sometimes its hard to hear her. Almost every test had material on it that she did not prepare the students well for. She's caring but not a good professor in my opinion.
Okay, so it was Dr. Beecher's first semester at VCU when I had her for BIOL 101 in the fall semester of 2017, so she was understandably a little off in the beginning. However, she quickly hit her stride and became one of my favorite professors! She even wrote my recommendation letters for the Nursing School and the Honors College! Overall, A+ class
Okay so she's by far one of my favorite professors at VCU. You can tell that she's really passionate about what she's teaching and tries to interract with her students. She's really laidback and will sometimes cancel class to give us the opportunity to catch up on biobeyond. SI sessions are really helpful too.
Tests for this class are mixed with some online and some in class, she ends up dropping your lowest test grade at the end of the semester. Attendance is taken through TopHat each class. There are online assignments through BioBeyond which is a very tedious program that can become annoying at times. She however is a very sweet professor who cares.
She is very sweet but she is not good at explaining information. She is very disorganized. And I never understood her during lectures she talks about one thing and then talks about something out of the blue.
She's definitely by far one of the sweetest teachers I've had, however, she's not the best at explaining things. I just show up to get the attendance code and then work on biobeyond during the lecture. She can be very confusing at times which is why I just read of the textbook before the read.
This semester in particular (Fall 18) 3/4 of her tests were online. Although they were online they weren't easy to find online so I recommend taking notes from the BioBeyond modules. Attendance isn't necessary as long as you still keep up with your TopHat. She isn't very good at teaching so staying home is recommended.
Prof Beecher Is THE SWEETEST lady, HOWEVER lectures are to the very last millisecond of class time& instead of test heavy it should say BIOBeyond heavy, I would legit go in and just work on my BioB b/c its so much in that we have to do, super sweet but some days i sat in class and thought to myself what the hell? this has nothing to do w. BIO.
Beecher was really nice, funny, and caring, but when it came to actually teaching she was kinda all over the place. If you just show up here and there and do online exams with friends youll get a B. I would've gotten an A but there was an online portion that a lot of people waited til last day to do it. She'll give a work day sometimes and its good
Dr. Beecher was a very good professor. I'm awful at sciences and I passed with a high B. She takes attendance every class and is very lecture heavy. The material was easy and 3/4 exams were online. If you're not strong at bio or just need this class as a pre-req, definitely take Dr. Beecher's section!
She's a nice and genuinely loves biology. However, her lectures are dry. she literally just reads from textbook slides. Her tests are difficult, even with studying and reading the text. The first exam was online, but she waited 2 days until the 2nd exam to let the class know it would be in class so many people were less prepared. wouldn't recommend
She was very quirky and told a lot of dad jokes. She was probably the best BIO 101 professor who is not a complete bore. She provides a FREE online textbook, and uses online simulations to teach instead of a bunch of worksheets ( most of them were pretty fun). Also, some of her tests are ONLINE!
Sierra is a sweet lady but poor professor. She only does lectures but gets side-tracked very easily and talks about irrelevant things most of the time. Tests are hardly related to the things she talks about in class and the online homework that is required is the most uneccessary thing I have ever done and takes so much time to complete.
Dr. Beecher knows what she is talking about & is good at explaining concepts, despite other reviews. She is indecisive about HW & how she will assign the tests, but this means she is open to suggestions and is lenient (perhaps too much). Sadly, be prepared for ppl in the class to mock her & try to take advantage of her bc she is cute & sweet
Although a nice, down-to-earth lady, she is impossible to follow in lectures and goes off on tangents. You basically have to meet with some source outside of class to not fail. I would not recommend unless willing to teach yourself the entire course. Minimum homework assignments.
Beecher is literally the sweetest person. some exams were online, super easy and you shouldnt fail them. Pay attention in lecture but take minimum notes, lecture slides are available on top hat after class. She is full of information and will answer any questions you have. you will definitely have to purchase BioBeyond ($40), brings grade up!
If you do the work you will pretty mush get an A. I never pay attention to lectures and the lowest I've gotten on a test was a B. You will take 4 exams and she drops the lowest one. Super easy class and very nice teacher.
Such an amazing professor. She's very. passionate about what she teaches which makes her lectures easy to understand. She gives the class MANY chances for extra credit, especially on the first exam.
Loved Beecher, super nice lady. However, it is hard to follow the class content at times. Tests are hard, even with studying class material. You have an online simulation that is so tedious to do and it oftentimes has nothing to do with what is being taught. 4 tests, some of which will be online. Gives a study guide and offers study sessions.
She's a very nice lady, but I'm not paying for friends. If you don't show up to class-- although attendance is mandatory, it won't really matter because you can't follow her lectures to begin with. She goes off on tangents and basically only talks about what interests her. BioBeyond is required but pointless. It doesn't help with course content.
Shes a nice person but her lectures are boring and kind of all over the place. Overall the class is an easy A as long as you show up and get your attendance points, do the Biobeyond, and most of her exams are online and curved(a little)
She is a really nice person but not meant to teach a bio 101 class. She has powerpoints made up of mostly pics and doesn't really teach you the material. She bases most of her class off of the program BIObeyond which is literally pointless. Tophat attendance mandatory. Your grade is from completing Biobeyond, attendance, and the 4 tests. drops 1.
She has pointless in class activities, literally her slides don't really help. They do, but don't because she bases her tests off of bio beyond which is barely even bio101 material. Its all graphs and simulations, there was even some chemistry involved at some point. I get everyone teaches different but i rather be given material straight up.
She is nice but her test is very hard and very short and times. She does not teach and her test is nothing what teaches. BioBeyond isnt help, DONT TAKE HER CLASS!!!!
The professor is really nice but I stopped going mid-semester because I feel like I can learn the same information at home. I would only show up at the end of class to get the tophat attendance code and I usually did the questions at home. She has 4 exams in the class and drops the lowest one. 3/4 exams were online during class time.
She's a VERY sweet lady but I will admit her class was hard to follow. 3/4 exams were online and when the class average was low she gave use extra credit quizzes to make up points. Doing BioBeyond and having a high Tophat score will really help bring up your grade if you aren't good at tests. They're also usually based off of Biobeyond questions.
We had an online interaction assignment with 8 units that was a part of our final grade. It was very time consuming, but it was the only homework we had and we had several weeks to complete it. Most of her tests were online and outside of the classroom. Her lectures were very hard to follow, the online assignments helped a lot on the tests.
Professor Beecher is so sweet, I loved her! She is a pushover when it comes to homework deadlines. For homework we only had to do 8 online modules on a platform called BioBeyond (answers on quizlet). You just need to kinda know the material or go to SI. 4 tests alternate from online to in-class where she drops the lowest one. Tophat attendence.
She is a super nice lady but her lectures notes are not super useful. Highly reccomend taking notes from textbook and from bio beyond. Bio beyond is worth a good amount of your grade so do it!!!
What even is her job? I take her Quant Bio class. Nothing absolutely nothing is anything in this class. Pre-recorded emails copy-pasted from other professors teaching class.
Professor Beecher was the sweetest! Easiest class my entire semester. She does this Biobeyond program that was a little annoying to fill out, but other than that, it is an easy A class. Tophat attendance is done so be in the area. Her lectures are not super interesting, but she is so nice I did not really care. Take her:)
Professor Beecher can be notoriously known as an airhead but she was one of my best professors. She took attendance and despite having lectures with hundreds of students, she would always respond to individual emails and on one occasion even reached out to me on an assignment I submitted. She gives you a free textbook PDF!!
Beecher is a very sweet professor. Her syllabus is very clear and has a good schedule for completing assignments. As long as you do the biobeyond and study for exams, then your grade should be good.
she is so so nice and understanding and definitely will respond to you regarding any question outside of class. However, the online lectures are extremely slow, she is a very slow talker. I dont know if this is like an online thing she is not used to, but I could barely learn because of that. must study other than lecture videos
She's okay. The quizzes are 2-4 questions per lecture which is annoying so they really won't boost your grade but it's the fact that the lectures are 45 minutes to an hour long with only few quiz questions. Biobeyond is a huge chunk of your grade so do the best of your ability to do well on it. Study and find a tutor if needed and attend SI.
Prof. Beecher is a good professor, I just think that her class asynchronously was a little tough. Definitely keep up with both BioBeyond and lectures, and TAKE NOTES! They are all pretty crucial for your grade. Overall not too bad at all.
There are no lectures, only crash course videos. What am I paying to be here for? the quizzes are so poorly worded that the difficulty comes from understanding what the question is asking, not the question being hard itself. the textbook only approach makes an already dry subject impenetrable. This class is like chewing sand and asking for more.
she constantly rambles about random subjects, some having nothing to do with the unit. after being given the study guide for an upcoming exam, i realize that she hasnt actually taught us anything that we will be tested on. you are not allowed to use notes for the exam either, so youre set up for failure when taking this class.
Professor Beecher isn't a horrible, she's just very slow at talking so good luck trying to pay attention. She often gets sidetracked from the lectures, so I learned more from the Biobeyond she assigned/quizlets I found instead of her actual lectures. She's a very kind and caring teacher though, just make sure to do well on tests and biobeyond.
I love her enthusiasm.
So I thinks she's a cool person but maybe not the best professor. She talks soooooo fast and sometimes it's hard to keep up. The corse work wasn't too bad because it was just things learned from high school bio. But yeah if you don't go to class then good luck. She will post slides on top hat but you cant understand them without her input.
I really like Professor Beecher as a person, I appreciated her excitement for what she was teaching, but her teaching style just wasnt really for me. I did most of the class online through tophat because I found the lectures somewhat hard to understand. Workload was very manageable, make sure you do biobeyond because its half your grade !!
I feel Ms. Beecher gets judged really harshly by students who would rather rant than put in effort. In her syllabus she labels what chapters of the textbook you should read each week and what biobeyond to do. As long as you follow this and attend her lectures you'll be more than fine. A lot of instruction comes from the textbook- don't skip it.
Dr. Beecher is a very good professor. She wants you to do well and even gives extra credit. Attend lectures because she explains concepts very well. STUDY FOR EXAMS! Her exams aren't too difficult but you will not do well unless you study. Homework is 50% of your grade, so stay on top of it and you will no doubt do well.
Very nice and easy professor. Only hw is on BioBeyond and you have plenty time to do it. She also opened it back up near the end of the semester to let us get more points. Exams are all multiple choice and she drops the lowest one. Lectures can be boring but overall pretty good class.
Overall Professor Beecher was a good teacher to have for BIO 101. As long as you study the notes she gives you, you'll get a good grade. Tests are very straightforward and doesn't try to include trick questions or ones that are too difficult or confusing.
Currently sitting in her class before our exam in two days and she's showing us pictures of grass even though no one understands the concepts for the test. She likes plants and animals so that's what she talks about and you have to study on your own with the study guides.
While professor Beecher is a very nice person, her lectures feel like a waste of time. She rambles about random things and you can't go back and look at the lectures because they are just pictures from the textbook. She does give helpful study guides, but you realize that majority of the stuff she doesn't go over. only homework is biobeyond.
Although I attended almost every single lecture, I did not learn one singular thing from Beecher. She seems like a great person, but she is a terrible teacher. She had to curve every exam because our class average was always in the 60-70% range. I always get a B+ or higher in my classes but I almost failed hers. DO NOT TAKE WITH BEECHER.
Her grading system is weird
I think Professor Beecher gets a lot of unfair criticism, she has to teach classes of upwards 300 students and the amount of people who ditch her class after the first ten minutes is crazy disrespectful. She tries to be relatable but she is super understanding and is willing to work with you if you need any help, she also offers SI sessions.
Dr.Beecher is a super kind woman, but her method of teaching is very hard to learn from. She doesn't assign any homework besides Bio Beyond, which can be very tedious and tiring to get through. Her tests are pretty hard, but she does offer study guides beforehand. I wouldn't take BIO 101 with her unless you have background knowledge of Bio already.
Professor Beecher is a super nice person and is always willing to help, however, her teaching style is very confusing. She gives extra credit opportunities but biobeyond makes up most of your grade and it is very tedious to complete. Her exams are pretty hard and contain material that was barely covered in the lecture.
Professor Beecher's lectures are useless. Her slides consists of pictures from the textbook so even if she remembers to post the slides on Top Hat, you still don't know what's going on. Her tests are worded weird but her study guides kinda help so make sure to review them. You will need to do a lot of self teaching in her class. She rambles a lot.
Professor Beecher is very kind but her class was chaos. She had no due dates except for the exams. She also locks your grade. Her exams were difficult because she didn't cover most of what was on it. Take notes on tophat and her slides and maybe you'll pass. She assumes you know what she's talking about, but she was confusing. Would not recommend!
Would not recommend. 1hr and 30mins felt like 3. Tests were super confusing and not at all like the lectures (were hard to follow) and the study guides. Takes attendance through top hat but is not mandatory. Homework is BioBeyond which takes a long time but easy to do.
Pretty easy class. The class is weighted 10% attendance, 30% on the online textbook, and 60% tests, with your lowest test score being dropped. As long as you do decent on tests, and complete the online textbook, you should pass fairly easily.
Very easy class. Just do the homework, read the assigned texts (which is free) on the syllabus, and attend the lectures. Professor Beecher was also relatively generous in giving homework extensions.
Beecher is my favorite teacher at VCU! You can tell without a doubt she loves what she is teaching! As long as you take notes in class you will pass. Most of your grades are tests(one gets dropped though), and the rest is online quizzes and participation/attendance points through tophat. With minor revision of textbook and notes you get an A.
Professor Beecher is a blessing! She's so caring of all of her students. I took her seed bio class and it was so fun. Labs were interesting, lectures were long, but easily understandable. Exams are straight from the powerpoint. No homework except for lab notebook. I would 100% take her again!
Prof. Beecher is a good professor. Teaching wise she tends to ramble on about topics quite a bit during lectures. Nevertheless, her tests and quizzes are very straightforward. Reading the textbook is key in this class!!! She is very helpful in answering questions and you can tell that she loves what she teaches!
I had beecher for biology of seed plant. It was a very interesting class. 4 credit lab and lecture. Lecture was really heavy, but exam questions came right out of powerpoints. Labs were all fun. Overall I enjoyed this class, 100% would take again.
what she talked about during lecture only covered a few questions on her tests. overall not my favorite but as long as you skim over the textbook and maybe take some notes you should pass. she was passionate and caring and wanted you to pass
Professor Beecher is easily one of the best professors I've had at VCU! Her biol of seed plant class was the most unique class I took since it was a mix of lectures and super hands on labs. Lectures can be long, but it's not bad. Exams were exactly like the power points, and the labs were easy. Lab notebook and the final project were the most work.
This class was all lecture based, however, she posts the slides beforehand, so attendance was not mandatory. Dr. Beecher is so accommodating, she made the final online. If you read the textbook and study the slides, the tests are straightforward; which is worth 80% . It is clear that she wants you to pass the class with the best grade possible.
Originally I took Bio101 with a different prof. and then they switched me to Dr. Beecher. I learned way more from her free bio textbook than I ever did from her lectures. She basically follows the textbook in a more convoluted and boring way. She is friendly and a good person I just do not vibe with her. Her exams were confusing as well.
What can I even say. Professor Beecher is a very sweet woman but she can't teach to save her life; the lectures are extremely difficult to follow because she goes off on tangents and never gets back on topic. The tests are all over the place and the average was never higher than 60% . If you struggle with learning by yourself don't take this it.
Originally had Dr. Merk. Beecher is a wonderful person, but her teaching style does not work. She had a test recently and the "easiest question" almost everyone in the class got wrong. The SI Leader is necessary to feel like I am going to pass. Get Merk if you can.
Beecher is a very kind person, but her teaching style is not good at all. BioBeyond is online homework which is 30% of our grade and it's very durable. The exams are very confusing and they work 60% of our grade so I would say definitely did well on the biobeyond.I would definitely take another professor if you can!
She was a very sweet lady but not a good teacher. Her lectures are long and not informational. The tests are hard because you don't actually learn, most students got C's on their tests. Bio beyond and tests are your only grades.
She's a great person but learning in her classes can get really challenging with the size. She grades attendance but truthfully you could get away without that grade. Looking over her study guides will give you a passing grade. You can tell she loves what she teaches but the class size makes it hard to really grasp. She's great but biobeyond.. nope
My grade dropped fast once I started her class the first test I took with her I got a 50%. Most of the things we learn in class are not even on the test and the things that are she goes over so briefly. She gives out top hats in class and most of the time nobody even knows the answers. Be ready to teach yourself because she is not going to do it.
Beecher's class is okay. Study for the exams - complete study guides and make quizlets. Exam questions can be confusing so attend lecture, she gives most of the answers and made our last exam online and open note. Nice lady, but lectures can get boring.
She is a lovely lady who thinks a class of 100+ people want to participate in a discussion. It is like she is trying to crowd-hype biology. Her lectures turn from a presentation to a free textbook and then gives a quiz question on it. Attendance is needed and her presentation does not make too much sense. Go to SI sessions.
Lectures are long, but the information goes straight from the PowerPoints directly into the exam. Hardest assignment of the course is the lab notebook, but you have all semester to work on it and she will give you feedback if you ask for it along the way. This really helped me know what she expected. She is very kind and easy to talk to!
Skip lecture & go to the library. Class size is huge & she also doesnt teach... she reads the slideshows. You have to study and teach yourself to get a good grade. Her tests arent hard but you cant get by just attending class you have to study. she grades tophat based on accuracy. Shes nice and doesnt give too much hw. Does offer xtra credit.
Get ready to teach yourself all the material, especially if you aren't good with bio. Lectures are useless. Slides are pics copy & pasted from the textbook, no explanations of anything. She expects people to know what she's talking about, but most don't. Her study guide is usually the test, but also just a list of terms, no explanation. Go to SI!
Honestly speaking, I never attended classes as I never learned in the lectures I did attend. If you take her, I would recommend simply taking notes from the textbook and going to class to get the points. She is a nice woman, just not a great lecturer.
She was so kind! Not the best at lecturing but I do think she gives enough resources for students to learn better outside of the lectures. Definitely taught myself. She drops your lowest test score. She gives extensions, you just have to talk to her. I was not a fan of her or her class at all at first, but it's just something to get used to.
do not count on her to read your emails and do not count on her to stay on track during her lectures. class was basically free though
She is passionate but her lectures are all over the place. The class was a waste of time, I stopped going and I still got an ok grade. She randomly started creating homework on canvas at the end of the semester because she needed more grades to put in. She is all over the place and it is hard to follow along. Absolutely not tech savvy at all.
Dr. Beecher is a very sweet woman and definitely passionate about biology, however, her way of teaching wasn't my favorite. Her slides were mostly just pictures so you had to listen to her, but she would ramble a lot which made that difficult. Only homework was BioBeyond, but you really need to stay on top of that throughout the course.
Not recommended for Quantitative Biology. No access to grades throughout the semester; you must calculate them yourself. Even at the semester's end, the instructor didn't respond when I requested my final percentage. Assignments weren't helpful, grading was strict, and had a strict late assignment policy. Overall, her class was disorganized.
It's clear that she is a professor who loves her job and the information that she teaches; however, the course lacks structure. For the most part, you teach yourself everything, and you must do things outside of just lectures, the way that I was able to pass with such ease was by going to SI sessions. Paying attention in lectures is also crucial!!!
Beecher's lectures weren't useful to me at all. Her lecture style was hard for me to follow as she goes over side information about the unit instead of going over the important, main information with the class. Her exams consist of a lot of information from BioBeyond than textbook information, so make sure you do and understand them.
You won't be able to see your grade until it's submitted to the portal for midterms and finals. All assignments are on BioBeyond and she does not put those scores on Canvas. It is so important to do BioBeyonds. If you fail 2 exams but do all of the BioBeyonds you'll still be able to get a B. Very nice lady, but you have to teach yourself.
Attendance is mandatory and she has graded questions that are answered in the lecture to go along with the lecture. Lectures themselves are very hard to follow. But she is definitely a caring person in general. p.s- she locks grades. you will not be able to see your overall class grade during any point in the semester.
Just an average professor. Lectures get boring because it's just her talking with us taking notes. Still a very nice person though.
It doesn't matter who you take for BIOL200, the layouts are all the same with you self-teaching from the textbook. Dr. Beecher does offer walkthroughs, extra credit, and guidance over email! Her tests are straightforward, use multiple attempts, and often from the book. She has the grade calculator off, so you have to calculate your grade yourself.
She is super passionate about what she teaches, but her lectures are essentially just her reading from the textbook. She doesn't give lots of homework, but she does grade attendance. If you study and show up, you should be fine. She has five exams, including the final, which can be taken online and dropped. Only con is the grade calculator is off.
Dr. Sierra Beecher is really nice, caring and is there to help but I really did not like her teaching. I learned absolutely nothing in her lectures. You sit for an hour and 15 just listening to her reading off the textbook so even if you pay attention you still won't get anything out of it. She makes you find a lot of information in the textbook.
Dr. Beecher is super caring and willing to help outside of class. However, her lectures are just her reading the textbook and she was not very consistent with being on pace throughout the semester. She ended up dropping an exam because she was not caught up on reviewing the material. Also does not show the grade calculator in canvas.
She gives too much work, and the "bio beyonds" she assigns takes a big toll on your grade. Also there are some surprise quizzes.
Do not miss an exam! It does not matter if you just got into a car accident or have been in and out of the hospital, she does not care. It is inexcusable to miss an exam!
Really nice lady, but as a teacher I could not stand her. She lectured way too much on incredibly irrelevant topics and made the content extremely difficult to learn. Towards the end, she was very hard to reach via email and did not provide much help during office hours.
She's literally the funniest and sweetest lady ever, but I think she forgets she's teaching a 101 class LOL. The wording on her tests were always so complicated and the lecture material + study guide were almost no help half the time. She often puts her tophat questions on her tests, though. So i'd ss and study those!!
Prof. Beecher was a nice lady with a few quirks, one being that it seemed like she didn't always remember she was a professor and would just ramble and get distracted. She uses Tophat but doesn't seem to care if it doesn't work on your side. She drops the lowest exam and most of her quizzes she'll give you the direct answer in class.
Lectures were harder to follow and somewhat painful to sit through (don't take it during peak nap hour), often unsure what I should know/write down for exams. Exam questions were confusing, however, 2/4 were offered online and open-note, including the final. Lots of easy assignments to buffer exam grades, but ATTENDANCE MATTERS A LOT.
Guys, people be hating on Dr. Beecher but I loved her. She was an amazing professor and genuinely cared. She made jokes during her lectures and she was very bubbly during class. Her tests were pretty easy and the study guides helped a lot. Make sure to listen during class and participate on tophat!
Honestly take her class, it's a joke and very easy to… and everyone knows it. Just get your attendance code and leave and get your work done.
Dr. Beecher was great for me at least. While she often goes on tangents & exam answers/study guides are unclear, she is easy to talk to about any questions you have, & her SI sessions were helpful as well. She has a clear passion for Biology and science as a whole, & I highly recommend taking her class if you feel a similarly about those topics!
Beecher's lectures can be hit-or-miss, but staying engaged and using resources like unstuck AI alongside the textbook helped me succeed in this class. While unstructured at times, the content was manageable with the right approach.
Unorganized and rarely taught lectures properly. Constantly off-topic and rude when students asked for help. Little guidance and hard to follow. Only saving grace is being allowed to use lab notebooks on exams and correct mistakes. You pass, but don't expect to actually learn. Would not recommend. You will most likely be teaching yourself!
I cannot tell you a single thing that I learned, other than how a professor's disorganization can have serious impacts on a class. Most people failed the tests and the labs made no sense. Hits you with attitude when you ask a question. Even the plants were confused and wanted to leave. 0/10 would not recommend.
Disorganized class with vague instructions and poor communication. Instructor was dismissive, unhelpful, and expected prior plant knowledge. Questions were often ignored or met with attitude. The course lacked structure and support, making it frustrating and hard to learn. Would not recommend if you like classes that are structured and organized.
She's a good teacher, lectures can get long since you just sit while she talks at you. Tests were fine, but sometimes the questions could be a little vague. Bonus questions will bring your grade up tho. If people are blaming her for Fs/Ds, it's because they have 0 attendance and wouldn't look at a textbook if you threw it in their faces.
She's very kind and is obviously passionate about teaching biology, but her lectures lack structure and are all over the place. It's extremely difficult to follow. The exams also have things that were never covered in class and study guides are barely any help. The only reason I was able to do somewhat well is because I took APBio in high school.
This class was the most boring class I have ever had to take. She just read off the slides and went on random tangents at times. I would encourage finding someone else before her if you don't learn effectively by someone just talking at you.
As many others have said, she's not bad or anything, she's just boring. Her lectures feel too long and repetitive, and half of the content on the exams aren't even in the notes. However, she does definitely try to make it a good experience, she just gets really wrapped up in the current topic. Just make sure you go to class and read the textbook.
Chose her because the other online asynchronous professor had bad reviews on Rate My Professors. I studied for the first exam and got an A using Pearson+ worksheets from the Learn feature. They helped a lot for exams 1 and 2 but were less useful later. I didn't really take notes or study. She drops the lowest exam, and the final is online.
She's not good, but she's also not bad. Her lectures are very boring, almost repetitive, and there are quizzes every now and then. Sometimes, whatever she teaches isn't even on the test. It's better to read the textbook.
I struggled in this class and cried bc of the lab notebook/exams. It's very content and project-heavy. There's alot to remember and self-teach. The lack of structure during labs was confusing and stressful. Dr.Beecher herself is nice. She wants her students to get undergrad research exp, and she was lenient on grading+reopened stuff multiple times.
If you're looking for an easy upper level biology or lab this is probably not it, as it is structured as a research class. Final exam was open book and she allowed us to earn points back on second exam. She is a lenient grader and genuinely cares that you do well. Most people did poorly on the lab practical and exams and still ended up with a B
She just reads off slides and doesn't prep us for tests, which are 80% of our grade. Quizzes & Tophats don't match the exams, she won't return tests to review mistakes. Rarely replies to emails. Had uploading issues and when I gave proof I did the work on time, she still refused it, multiple ppl had the same issue. Stressful and frustrating class.
Not as difficult as 151, but still challenging if you don't pay attention during the lectures.
Well, she's a really sweet professor and obviously passionate about the topics that she teaches. However, her tests really go tangent on the topics it's supposed to be on, questions can be confusing and often times you probably won't know what you made mistake on. But there's extra credits and she really do want everyone to pass towards the end.
Good person, not a good professor. She's all over the place, and incredibly unorganized. We had a test scheduled in 2 days and she changed it to a project because she “didn't have enough time to make the exam”. Also, note that exams are 80% of your final grade, 5 total and lowest gets dropped.
She's not a bad person just not a great professor. Sitting through an hour and 15 minute lecture of her just reading off the slides is painful. She's very kind and answers questions, just not my learning style. Also, 80% of your grade is exams and her exams are pretty tough and I felt like the textbook/lectures didn't really prepare you for them
Do not take Dr. Beecher for BIO 352 and BIO 101. Her exams were way too hard and it was nothing like what I saw in the lectures. She doesn't know of how to connect with students. Take Professor Hill for BIO 152 for the fall semester since she is more passionate about teaching the course and allows to have a cheat sheet and retake up to 2 exams.
Just show up for class and you're good. Not many opportunities for missing class. Exams are not too difficult, but you have to listen to what she says sometimes, because some exam material won't be from the slides or the book. She's very nice and helpful though
She's such a sweetheart but don't take her, she doesn't teach at all. Like at all. I retained 0% of what that class what about. She yaps and makes jokes within lectures that makes them entertaining but half what she teaches never really lines up to what's on the exams. Even the study guides she gives you.
Dr. Beecher is a very kind and funny professor who is passionate about bio. However, she's not the best at teaching/transmitting info from her -> student and exam questions are confusing/poorly worded and may not line up with content. If you self-study/take responsibility for your education, you'll be fine!
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
79%
Textbook Required
0%
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Predicted Grade
B+
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BIOLOGY101
5.0
(2)BIOL152
3.7
(6)BIO320
3.4
(8)BIOL101
3.3
(27)BIO201
3.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
BIOL320
4.0
BIO201
3.5
BIOL152
3.3
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3.2
BIOL201
3.0