Mark Baker - University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

Professor: Mark Baker

Department: Biology

College: University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Baker is such a nice prof, but can sometimes come off as a little boring. If you really force yourself to pay attention and listen, he is great at explaining concepts and mechanisms.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1090
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Seems nice but reads straight off slides. Tests are hard.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO1090
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Mark was a great prof, but just a little dull overall. I found that he tried to squeeze a LOT into every lecture, which lead to most people being burned out after about half an hour. He does care a lot about what he teaches and is FAR from the worst out there, plus his dad jokes are always an added bonus :)

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1090
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's very passionate about the subject, but his lectures are extremely boring. Whenever it seemed like he wanted to get more in depth on a topic, he had to stop himself because it was something he teaches in 2040 and wasn't required for 1090 (not his fault, but annoying). Midterm's multiple choice was very hard, written section was easy.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1090
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great Prof but his midterms are hard. Ie. "which of the following are correct" a) 1 of above, b) 2 of above c) 3 of above d) 4 of above e) none of above. Really need to understand concepts.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1090
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Midterm was very fair... let us know a good portion of what was on it. Lectures are a bit boring but very nice guy. Came around during the exam to answer questions... not like other classes.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This is the most boring course I have ever taken; however, Dr. Baker is a very nice man, willing to help. Best way to contact him is by e-mail. He genuinely loves this subject. He won't tell you what's on the exam in class straight forward, but if you listen to the way he talks you can figure it out. His practice problems are essential to passing

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This professor is a good teacher, but I found that in order to truly understand each of his lecture slides I had to go seek help from him during office hours or do a little extra online research based on lecture topics. If you invest a lot (12 hours of focused, non-interrupted study) for the exam, you will be fine. Interesting course.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is very passionate about the material, but the lectures are dry. He taught the second half of the course, and the exam was a bit easier than the midterm. I studied 2 days before the exam and it was fine - just hard and it should be an easy pass.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof taught the 2nd portion of course. Lectures were really boring and in the beginning lectures slides were bad (not really any info. on them). Textbook is useful for his part (not probability genetics). The final was really difficult bc a lot of the questions were focused on insignificant details and not concepts. Despite this, I enjoyed course

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

While he's certainly not Guelph's most lively professor, he does his best to add a bit of comedy here and there. Forgive the man if he's less than enthusiastic, considering the class is glorified high school content, and he's no happier to be there than you are. However, his tests are more than fair. Study, and you'll succeed.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very respectable prof, taking a boring class and trying to get students interested in it. Makes cutefunny jokes that he finds funny. This class will definitely help you with upper year classes, but be sure to pay attention.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Baker is a fantastic prof, he was always super helpful if I needed extra clarification on a subject. While the material itself is dry and pretty unbearable, you have to keep in mind that these are important basics to learn, and will help in the future. His upper year class is fantastic! :)

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof Baker does a good job in trying to get students interested in the basics on MBG2040. While the class material itself is pretty boring, you have to look at the long-term aspects. Prof Baker's upper year class is much more interesting if you can look on the bright side of MBG 2040. Don't get confused, classes should not be easy.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Final was difficult, he decided to focuss on minor details a bit but did provide alot of questions on the key concepts. However when in class feel as if he looks down on his students and always talks about upper year class....

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Exam was totally unfair. He felt it was more important to test us on nitpicky details, rather than key concepts. If an exam is worth 53% of your mark, you'd think key concepts would be a large portion of the exam. I don't understand how someone can study thoroughly for 14 hours and walk out of the exam wondering if you even managed a pass.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Awful course...poorly taught as well. Had absolutely no idea what to expect for the final (which was brutal and yes, I did prepare for it). Very unhelpful as well didn't even have office hours, overall it was a painful experience.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MBG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Awful. Lecture slides are all over the place, which makes it hard to try and use the textbook. Dr. Baker, if you want me to take your fourth year class (which you seem to promote every other lecture), improve your teaching of this introductory course, please.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MBG2000
• 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:

I learnt a lot from this class and my proff, Dr. Baker. Every one seems to be giving him a hard time but maybe it s just that some students dont understand the course. This prof is very knowledgable and wants his students to succeed ! I guarentee you will learn something.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MBG2000
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Enjoyed the class before Baker came along. then it was a struggle to go. he is boring and just reads his boring slides. He dosent do examples that really help with the workbook and constantly tells people to take his upper year course. The upside was atleast he doesnt have an accent.