James Berger - University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Professor: James Berger

Department: Zoology

College: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: SCIE113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He's very organized, but can be very condescending. He's a tough marker especially if your opinions don't match his, however if you talk to him, he'll let you know exactly what he's looking for, but still finds a way to find a flaw in your format/structure. Honestly dreaded this class

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: SCIE113
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Berger is an organized and knowledgeable prof who always plans his lesson carefully. However, as for essay grading, he is inevitably subjective (but meeting him for an inspirational talk is definitely encouraged before or after essay due). The course is participation-oriented so prepare to speak out. He is always available outside class.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: SCIE001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor taught material in a way that was very difficult content wise, but focused on critical thinking and integrating material from the whole course into new topics. Honestly seems a better way to learn the material. Can be hard to get a hold of his style, but if you put in effort, a respectable and knowledgeable professor awaits.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: SCI001
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very condescending. Belittles students when they do not know the answer to questions. Very little instruction during lecture and asks subjective questions that could be up to interpretation but only expects his opinionated answer. Overall not a great atmosphere to learn in.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: SCI001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Absolutely brilliant Professor, as both a teacher and researcher. He is incredibly knowledgeable about his discipline, yet his explanations are very clear to the student while being completely rigourous. As someone who doesn't plan on taking more biology, thank you, Professor Berger, for giving me a final glimpse of the vast ocean of your subject.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: SCI001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

James Berger expects a disproportionate amount of effort from his students relative to the amount of actual in class instruction he performs. He rarely covers topics efficiently in class, and blows off questions when they are asked. He is rude and condescending to students, and feels at liberty to insult them when they approach him for help.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: SCI001
• 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:

This professor was by far the worst professor I have ever had in my entire life. He was extremely condescending and belittled students repeatedly. For someone who loves teaching so much he sure does not show it. His assignments are very pointless and full with excessive work.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: SCIE113
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

It was really hard to get a satisfied mark from his class and to catch what he wanted from us through papers. If you have different opinion with him, he would make you rewrite papers even whole things.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: SCIE113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is a nice friendly guy and is helping but the course has a lot of reading and writing which was sort of hard for me.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: SCIE113
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

When I went to talk to him about my research paper he called my paper lame, which really put me down. And in the end when I handed my research paper in I said thank you to him, and he responded with an "I know"

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: SCIE113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

If you participate, toe the line, and try to improve, this professor is for you! Animated, hilarious, mad-scientist type who clearly has immense experience in many fields of science, and actually honestly cares about students and learning. For feedback, office hours are a must. A sincerely invested prof with a passion for what he does. 10/10

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: SCIE113
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This guy is a boss at what he does! Even though the course was really hard and required real hard work, I enjoyed taking classes with him.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: SCIE001
• Grade Received: INC
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Jim is very helpful and his lectures are very interesting. We don't write our own notes; he has powerpoints posted and we can print them off prior to attending class. ;)

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: SCIE001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He definitely knows his stuff. However, his lectures can be dry if you don't already have some idea what he is talking about. I strongly suggest completing the prereadings, or else you will be completely lost, especially if you are lacking in sleep. But it's not that big of a deal if you don't attend: I was lost for all of second term and did fine.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: SCI001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He has a lot of knowledge but he is very bad at teaching! His lectures are very boring especially if you have no idea what he is talking about and he is not very clear and doesn't answer questions properly. Finally, he goes through slides very quickly! Overall, a relatively bad prof

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: SCI13
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He definitely has a lot of knowledge to share, however he goes through his slides very quickly and can be a bore if you don't understand the material thoroughly.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: SCIE001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Jim gives very clear lectures, but maybe not in a style that everybody is used to. You can tell that he has so much knowledge and experience in his field and he is willing to sit down with students one on one to talk about their assignments or exams. Once you get to know him you'll see that he really cares a lot about his students!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: SCIE001
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Jim's notes were more useful than his class. Everything he said in class was in his notes, except minor details. He did explain and clarify some things in class, but the textbook was just as helpful. But he tries to make it interesting, and he always answers questions. Likes essay questions.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: SCIE113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Very knowledgeable guy! Really friendly and wow, knows his material... It's just that the classes seem a but redundant since the whole essay-writing thing has been done many times before in highschool for me... The course just started so too early to tell... I can't wait to start learning new things though

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took this course online, The notes were vast and detailed. Yes there is group work, yes it is challenging/ time consuming. It's best if you take this course with a friend. Berger is a mad scientist type, meet him in person, instead of the phone!