John Chang - University of Alberta

Professor: John Chang

Department: TBD

College: University of Alberta

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL343
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I wasn't a fan of Dr. Chang's teaching style until I got used to how he tests. His notes are extremely detailed and informative but contain a lot of irrelevant filler material, so you have to be able to recognize the important points and weed out the rest. Don't let the paper scare you, he provides good feedback and didn't mark too harshly!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL343
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Definitely a nice guy but a terrible professor. this course was one of the hardest courses I've taken in my degree! For the final, I had to go over 700 powerpoint slides that were just walls of texts and everything is fair game on his exams so you need to memorize every single line from his notes in order to do well. Paper was graded harshly too!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL242
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He may seem intimidating but responds to email really quick. Won't answer your questions directly though (he'll reply with another question to make you think). Lectures are heavy and has ppt with many, many details so come to class to get some sense from it.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL242
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Changs portion of the final will be difficult no matter how much you study for it. Other than that, hes very knowledgeable and he cares about his students, so dont be afraid to bring up questions and/or concerns via email or office hours!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL344
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Chang is one of the most passive aggressive profs, esp over email, I've ever met. If you're able to, don't communicate with him over email-- only in person (he's much nicer that way). He expects you to know all the material he's taught you, but doesn't expect you to memorize tiny details. But you have to know everything.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL242
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Monotone in lectures, and doesn't emphasize what you actually need to know. Extraordinarily hard final with material I'm confident that we did not learn

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL343
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He definitely cares about students and wants you to succeed. He's pretty accommodating for office hours and responds to emails fast. He's a little monotone so sometimes hard to pay attention to, but he explains things well. Also, I really liked the way he gave us feedback on the term paper before we handed it in; it ended up boosting my mark a lot

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL344
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Chang is wonderful. He is very helpful if you have questions and has a lot of experience teaching. If you put in the effort, you are sure to do well. You can really tell he cares about students and he even brought us candy on halloween

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Everything he says in lecture is important so pay attention.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Awful prof. Goes too fast through the material, mumbles, doesn't explain clearly and doesn't elborate on anything. The test was way too hard, and not because I didn't know the material, but because his questions either: addressed things we didn't learn, didn't make sense (improper english/spelling) or the MC options made no sense and were confusing

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

John was very knowledgable about everything he taught, and loves class participation and questions. His diagrams on the slides can be extremely confusing, but he'll explain them fully in class if you're there. A bit monotone, and hard to pay attention at times. But overall, exams weren't bad. They just make you second guess your original answer.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL343
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Seriously know his endocrinology, like everyone said. You really have to get in there and ask specific specific specific questions if you need help - he will NOT "tutor" you. To do well in the course you must review after almost every lecture, memorize everything and word vomit it all on the 100% written exams. Nice, smart guy. But tough.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL343
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

John is slightly awkward, but he knows endocrinology like the back of his hand. The exams are entirely written and require you to reproduce as much information as you can for the long-answer portions. Notes include a lot of filler material (e.g. receptor names, synthesis pathways) so if you're good at streamlined studying, you can ace it.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL343
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This prof really knows his stuff when it comes to endocrinology. If you don't understand something in class he is very helpful over email and in person. His exams are tough, they are all written. But if you study properly and really know your stuff you will do good. Attendance will help your understanding. Likes to give extra marks on exams.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ZOOLOGY242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Amazing prof he explained concepts amazingly and really knows his stuff, you have to attend class and write down everything he says especially as he is going through is annimations or things will not make sense. There is alot of detail but he tells you exactly what he expects you to know. His tests are hard, more tricky with wording then anything.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL343
• 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:

John is a very smart guy. He obviously knows the material very well and sometimes he goes over your head with explanations. If you ask for clarification he is more than willing to sort things out. I enjoyed this class even though it was a lot of material. PS the paper is a lot more intimidating that it really is.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL343
• 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:

Had John for a few classes. Really friendly and enthusiastic, so talking with him will definitely help you out. That being said, large volume of material to know, and often tests seemingly inconsequential points. When studying for his Final, definitely suggest listing all functions for each hormone. Overall, interesting class and good prof.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL242
• 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:

His notes and lectures were fine but his exams were awful and did not test what he taught. I was so frustrated with this class cause I was so excited for it. Loved the material but the profs made me want to slit my wrists.Study hard for those labs though!!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

John was a fantastic lecturer. His diagrams weren't too bad if you went to class and took 15 minutes afterwards to go over them. His exam was BRUTAL though. I didn't miss a single class and wrote down almost everything the man said, and didn't even recognize some of the words that were on the exam. If the Mackenzie-Change duo are teaching, AVOID!!

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL242
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Chang deserves way more credit than previously given. Great lecturer, incredibly knowledgeable and he definitely knows his stuff. His diagrams are overwhelming at first, but you MUST attend lecture and it'll be clear . Exams are tricky as they make you doubt your initial answers. Overall, a good prof. Study hard and consistently to do well.