Karen Hales - Davidson College, Davidson, NC

Professor: Karen Hales

Department: Science

College: Davidson College, Davidson, NC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

A very intelligent, caring professor. However, Dr. Hales is a very, very tough grader. Very hard to earn full marks on anything. She always is willing to help outside of class, but you definitely need to have a grasp on concepts yourself.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• 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:

There was a lot of reading to prepare for each class. There were specific answers she was looking for on exams and marked off if you didn't arrive at the answer. Overall I learned a lot and would recommend for premeds.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Incredibly intelligent teacher that really cares for her students. She's very dedicated to what she teaches and goes into lots of detail on whichever topic she covers. Although she teaches a lot of content all you have to do is show some care too and take good notes and not be afraid to ask her questions. She's more than willing to help.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Very intelligent. If you put the effort in she'll respond to that. Her tests are short answer and make up a good portion of the class. She provides you with a study guide/lab manual for the class which was invaluable in studying for the tests. If you like bio and are thinking pre-med this class won't kill you

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hales was a very picky and tough grader. The class average for exams and lab reports was frequently in the 60-70% range (for the final exam, which was worth 20% of the grade, the class average was 67%). That being said, she is fairly clear during lecture in explaining processes, but you really have to know your stuff.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Hales is an amazing professor. She truly cares about helping her students succeed and is definitely passionate about her teaching--You can tell she truly knows her stuff. With that being said, Hales is an extremely difficult professor--test questions are all essay based. Don't take her if you are not prepared to work.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hales is awesome. You learn so much. Textbook is helpful but not needed bcuz lecture is quite in-depth. There is a diverse arrangement of assignments - means there is a TON of work for the class but test alone will not determine your final grade. You can fail a test and still leave with a B. She curves. A great lecturer and is very helpful.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This class was awesome! She has the burden of cramming so much genetics in such a short time so class can move fast. Book is really just supplementary, for your own pleasure. Test ?s are from lecture. Still, she teaches to teach rather than to test. You will never memorize useless facts. The class was meaningful. I highly recommend her class

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Hales is the best! She is hard and expects a lot from you, but she is fantastic in lecture and brilliant at explaining concepts. She is a tough grader and her tests are all long answer, but she is fair and really wants you to do well. I can't wait to take another class with her! You will learn so much about bio; more detail than any other prof

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Extremely difficult. All of her tests are simply essays...other bio professors aren't like this. Do not take Dr. Hales for 111 unless you are a terrific writer and no other teacher is teaching it that semester

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• 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:

Dr. Hales is amazing. She is not the most entertaining or funny, but she is brilliant. She also obviously loves teaching and puts a tremendous amount of effort into helping students. She is hard, but gives students all the tools they need to succeed in her class.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Very sweet and helpful outside of class, and her lectures are straightforward to understand. Not the most animated, but really knows and cares about what she teaches.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• 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:

This class was amazing! I had absolutely no interest in the material at the beginning, and I ended up loving it! Dr. Hales is a talented scientist and teacher...you can tell that she really enjoys what she's doing. If you know the study guide, tests aren't too bad. Super nice, helpful and understandable. Take her class...she's amazing!!!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

GREAT TEACHER! Best teacher i have had at davidson. You can really tell that she loves teaching and biology. For me, this class confirmed that biology is what i should major in. I never was bored in lecture! However, be prepared to work hard, and go see her in office hours if you dont understand something, she likes to see that you are trying.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO307
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

She is a very boring lecturer. The lab was inopportune to say the least.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This is a GIFTED professor. If science is your interest, then Dr. Hales will help you see and understand scientific thinking. You will discover the value of hard work. She didn't win a teaching award by accident. I think that her passion for teaching really shows. And, she can even make genetics interesting.

Rating # 17

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Very hard, but really nice and you'll learn lots.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIO301
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Picky as in wants you to write a novel for every question. If you aren't very verbose, you might have a hard time getting an A on a test - no matter how much you know. Lab is really time consuming!! Not a fun class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

No Comments

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Tough grader but great class. I am a prospective Bio major and this is the kinda class you want to let you know if you can 'handle' the major or not. I'd say its worth it.