Donald MacDonald - Langara College, Vancouver, BC

Professor: Donald MacDonald

Department: Biology

College: Langara College, Vancouver, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIO1115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I took the course 1115 and even though thats the course i paid for, all the content he taught was from 1116. he had us do a paper on "your favourite scientist" which was very easy but completely useless. He gave us a poster board project at the end of the year with little to no criteria. He was extremely unfocussed during lectures and condescending

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO1116
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He is the most inspirational teacher I've ever had. Great guy, but a tough class. He is very clear about what you need to know for the tests and exams, and will basically tell you what you need to know. "Here's a list of diagrams, half will be on the test". Reminiscent of Santa Claus.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO1116
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor MacDonald is a funny and laid back teacher. He's been teaching at Langara for a very long time and I have much respect for him. His lectures however was somewhat disorganised and seemed to go through his slides too fast. Luckily he provides access to his slides via D2L. My key advice to you is to remember his diagrams! Plenty of marks!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO1116
• Grade Received: F
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

worst class I've ever taken. worst professor I've ever had.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO1116
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Don is extremely unorganized, he shows up to class at least 15 minutes late. He doesn't follow the format he handed out in the beginning of the semester, he goes off topics to the point where he isn't talking about the lecture anymore. Assigned 2(pointless) last minute projects before finals. Also if you don't know diagrams, you're going to fail.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

the struggle is real on this one. laid back teacher but extremely unorganized. lectures are boring. makes you memorize a ton of diagrams. assigns 2 group projects in the final 2 weeks of the semester. gives out info about the projects very last minute so if you have prior commitments, you are basically dead. avoid this prof.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO1116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!! He should not be allowed to teach anymore. There is not enough space here to list all that is wrong with his teaching/course subject matter. Multiple students over multiple semesters have submitted formal complaints about this prof!!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO1116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

he is the best teacher of biology.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO1115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This guy shouldn't be allowed to teach. Don't miss class because that's when he draws diagrams that are worth 50% of your exams. Most students didn't understand the big concepts b/c they were so focused on learning the diagrams by heart. If you're looking to move forward in Biology, he won't help you build a good foundation necessary for success.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO1115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

All he did was make us memorize diagrams and most of the class failed.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO1115
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

DIAGRAMS!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO1115
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Hardest teacher I've ever had. He made me hate biology. All I learned how to do in his class was how to regurgitate diagrams. Avoid him at all costs.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO1115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Very unorganized, is all over the place during lectures. He didn't make the slides, so he skips over lots of them. Nice guy, but his class is very hard to pass. I wish I had a teacher that gave homework to earn easy points, and detailed what was on the tests. The only way to even KNOW the exam dates is to be in class when he tells you the date!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Donald is a nice teacher. He doesn't ask for many tests,only 1 midterm, final and no presentation. But the things is his writing is so hard to see and his tests are really tough. He always asks for diagrams and definitions but the tough part is the multiple choice. It's like 10 definitions and 10 diagrams but 50 multiple choice questions in total.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIOLOGY1116
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Donald is a very UNORGANIZED instructor. Although he is a nice guy, his way of teaching and course outline is a joke. Speaking of course outline, Don hardly let's students know when things are due, everything is always last minute. Tells students to focus on diagrams, but the multiple choice section is the most difficult part of exams. Not good.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO1115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He is very unorganized. He goes quite slowly in the beginning of the semester, and then speeds through the chapters near the end of the semester. His tests consist of a page of definitions, 3-4 pages of diagrams, and 50 questions of multiple choice (in depth info). He also loves diagrams, which are not that bad, but there are A LOT to memorize.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO1115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Diagrams, diagrams, diagrams! If you can remember all the diagrams given to you then you'll end up with a solid 80-85% on exams. The other 15-20% will depend on how well you can pick up on definitions and concepts.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He has an authoritarian awkward side to him that will send shivers up your spine.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: 1115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Started off great but come test time this course was impossible. The amount he expected from first year bio students was insane. He relied a lot on the students to recreate drawings and diagrams. Very hard marker and the materials he discussed during lecture had little connection to the exam material. Also added an assignment right before the final

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO1115
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great guy! The textbook was useless to me as he does everything from his notes. He puts ALOT of emphasis on diagrams, so if you can put in the effort to memorize them then you're good. Unfortunately, I think he puts too much emphasis on these diagrams and found myself getting lost with the other material because you only have so much time to study!