Joseph Dent - McGill University, Montreal, QC

Professor: Joseph Dent

Department: Biology

College: McGill University, Montreal, QC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOL306
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Smart guy and speaks clearly (unlike most profs I've had) but his lectures are all graphs and images that he explains during class. I personally don't like classes like this as there's no information on the actual slides. Make sure to understand all concepts because literally everything is application. BUY NTC's if you don't take your own notes.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great lecturer, people complain because it isn't as sugar coated and basic as most first year classes.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO112
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Bad lecturer

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Well-prepared and organized lectures. Engages the class with live clicker questions polling.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIOL306
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I thought all the comments for him on this class were excessive. Lots of people just complain after flunking. I went over the class lectures three times. I did the practice questions a minimum of two times. Then the midterm happened. The midterm questions were nothing like the practice ones, that he never actually explains how to solve or apply eqs

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Genetics went from 0 to 100 real quick in this class. I used to like it before I took this course. It was very difficult for me to stay awake in this class and I dreaded watching the lectures. His problems are tough. Do lots of practice if you want a good mark. I got wrecked in his section of the midterm and went ham for the final to save myself.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lot of material but you can teach yourself the concepts. Smart but sub-par instructor exam focuses on application & students ill-prepared. He slayed his students on the midterm and refused to curve it. He gives practice problems before exams but most you've never seen before, and must learn from confusing solutions. Cool info, hard class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Biology itself is a tough course, there is a lot of information. I don't think his tests are fair. He focuses on random parts of the course extensively, won't spend enough time testing you on all the things you've learnt. Question phrasing is really difficult to decipher, questions have different answers based on the way you interpret them.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The overall class itself is fine. The content isn't terribly difficult; HOWEVER literally no practice is given. No bio equivalent to webwork currently exists. Nothing. You are left to your own devices. Nor does it help how access to past exams is a topic he's very willing to avoid. Reasons why? no freaking clue.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

very hard prof who barely mentions concepts in tests...

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dent is an interesting prof, however his grading criterias are unclear and his tests are known to be though. Average on the midterm was 60% and he did not curve it even though most McGill prof try to have a 70% average. For a freshmen course it could be easier.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO112
• 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:

Honestly, one of the most difficult profs. His exam questionslets not talk about it. THEY'RE SO DIFFICULT! Not difficult as in tough, but difficult as in he BARELY, BAAAARREEELLLYYYYY touched on those important concepts in class that he will be testing. Like, what's the point of giving lectures if your exams are going to be set in another world :(

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOL306
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is an extraordinarily smart professor. He is an extremely well-rounded individual in terms of his profound knowledge ranging from linguistics, history and neuroscience, and ties it all together beautifully. Life-changing professor. Other professors' questions in 306 are shallow , whereas his questions require critical thinking. A is doable.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIOL306
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dent is funny and smart! His exams are hard though, and mostly test you on understanding and application, as opposed to memorization. Be sure to have a clear understanding of concepts, and looking up the abstracts/figures of papers cited is helpful. If you have questions, ask him! He's more than happy to help. Other profs test more on memorization.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dent is enthusiastic in class and explains concepts well overall. Questions are answered and notes are provided. He could be more articulate when explaining processes, provide more detail, incorporate more diagrams/animations, and show how to do genetic problems. Tests could be easier in my opinion as the exam averages are low. Do Mastering Bio!!!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Understanding how to do the genetics problems are essential to getting a good grade in his course! Getting an A takes effort, but definitely not impossible. And I also advise you to know the lab section very well since exam questions do test lab information.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIOL306
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE. I have never posted on this site before until I had this prof and took Biol 306. His first midterm was nothing like the practice problems, and his second set on material is just animal model experiment data over and over and over.... stay away!!!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dent is a very clear lecturer, yet does not delve into the concepts as much as he should to prepare the class for his exams. Exams are composed of both very simple memorization questions and very difficult genetic questions that require extensive application of the concepts (probability calculations). DO THE PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIOL112
• 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:

Goes through his notes at a fairly brisk pace while explaining concepts in a fairly clear way. Definitely need to rewatch his lectures and reference the textbook whenever he doesn't explain something clearly. He has many resources and practice questions available and those are highly recommended if you want to do well on the exams.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Worst prof i have ever had!