Mala Fernando - Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Professor: Mala Fernando

Department: Biology

College: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Mala is very friendly. She is 100% approachable all the time. However she isn't the best at lecturing. Her lectures are all over the place and aren't very cohesive. The positive side of this is that the exams are based on the lecture slides. The lab sucks, it's hard and the midterm average was 50%. Make up the marks during the lecture part. GL!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Mala is one of my favourite profs, but this course was hard. The amount of information is overwhelming and Mala sometimes wants specific answers that you can't always predict. Textbook helped at lot to bring everything from the lectures together. Labs were fun, but lab exams were intense. You need more time than usual to dedicate to this course.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BISC100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Gives extremely hard exams

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really good prof! talks a lot during labs but really cares about the subject and her students. I would recommend taking her absolutely! It will be hard, but it's biology so it's going to be a little work heavy no matter what

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Mala is one of the best profs at sfu. She truly cares about her students and will explain concepts clearly during her office hours. READ AND REREAD her lecture slides for the quizzes. Overall if you try you have nothing to worry about. the labs were kind of tedious, but the lectures were not bad. Mala has a good sense of humor.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

She is one of my favorite prof in SFU. She is kind, thoughtful, and really cares students a lot. Going to her office hour really helps a lot so be sure to go to her office hour !! She wants her students to do well and be interest in plants. Although there are a lot of things to do, you will be enjoying it :) Textbook is definitely required.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

It is easy to get a good mark if you put any sort of effort in. Lowish grades come from people who don't know what meiosis is (witnessed on someone's quiz)! Her verbal explanations can be disorganized - but it's easy to put it together as she provides SO much material in lab and her lecture slides just for you to understand basic concepts.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Took BISC337(Plant Bio) with Mala. There was no cohesiveness in lectures, and ended up making everything really confusing. Would refrain from explaining key concepts because we'd be "studying them more later", but when said "later" came, would skip it over as we'd already gone over it .

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BISC100
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Mala is one of the best Profs I've ever had She is though let students to think critically is very helpfu. Very inspirational Love to take more classes from her

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BISC100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I found Mala to be a dedicated and inspiring instructor. She cares about how students learn and explores different ways of teaching. While she would run into technical issues frequently, her lectures were engaging and I looked forward to them! I had zero problems with her accent. If you don't pay attention and you don't work hard, you'll struggle.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BISC100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I just took BISC 100 with Mala. She's a nice person, she's approachable, and she seems to have a positive attitude most of the time. However SFU doesn't pay her to be a nice person. I would say she is not a good prof. She made simple topics confusing, she was unorganized, and she did a horrible job at preparing us for the exams.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very interesting bit hard to follow her accent but very friendly. Great one to one so use her office hrs or reviews. Very funny and friendly.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She has a pretty heavy accent however if you attend the lectures and listen to the podcast it is easy to follow. Very helpful. Never leave the lab. If things are unclear in the lecture always can ask at the lecture or office hrs. Gives reviews for labs and lecture. Those are very helpful. I'd take another class with her for sure.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Best biology prof I've ever had at SFU. Makes sure that everyone knows what's important and what's not. Reiterates things to help us memorize things easier. Easily approachable and will make sure you understand the concept. Tries to make class fun and encourages people to think instead of regurgitating. Inspired me to transfer into forestry.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• 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: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Avoid at all costs if you can. If not, rely on the textbook and go to class... but don't expect her to explain anything well. She's helpful in lab and I would recommend her help over the TAs as she is the one making exams. A TONNE of work.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BISC100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Mala has definitely been an inspiration! She is just so passionate about what she does, and that motivated me! She has an accent that might make the lecture harder to understand, but her helpfulness and passion make up for that! Definitely one of the best professors I've ever had! Highly recommend her class!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BISC100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The best prof I have had at SFU by far. She is very knowledgable and passionate in the field of biology with a great sense of humour. Her exams are very true to the textbook material and you will get a lot out of her lectures. The difficult of the course is not hard but not easy. A+ quality PHD prof, take her if you to get the most out of bio.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr Fernando is by far the most helpful prof that I've had at SFU. She tells you how to answer biology questions intelligently, focuses on conceptual learning, and how to achieve success in the sciences. Plant Bio is a 4 credit course and requires a lot of work,however, if you like plants and work hard. You will excel!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst instructor I've had at SFU. Horribly disorganized, rude when students are confused, and the whole course is focused on memorizing reference material. I have an A average and worked twice as hard as normal for a B.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BISC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I really do not recommend taking a class with Mala. She is lovely and passionate but as a teacher... difficult, complicated, disorganized, confusing, & demanding. I love plant bio but I have often regretted taking it with Mala. If you want to succeed be prepared to work extremely hard. Go to class, read the textbook & manual, you might be okay.