Robert Latta - Dalhousie University

Professor: Robert Latta

Department: TBD

College: Dalhousie University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Incredibly tough and unfair marker, is not reasonable when it comes to marking - your answers have to be specific to what he wants not to the actual knowledge of the class. Super boring and posts way too many slides at once, all the information is overwhelming.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2040
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Latta was a solid professor. I found his lectures were sometimes a little flat and boring, but you can tell he really loves what he's teaching. He's a very kind man who always answers emails and questions (and more than just a two-word answer). If you understand the concepts and don't try to memorize, you'll do well.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIOL3044
• 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:

He's a really great prof if you pay attention and are interested in the content. This was my first class taken with him and I really enjoyed his lectures. There are weekly assignments that get you to practice on the concepts from the week before and are not complicated, exams are fair but he can be a bit of a tough marker on written work.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2040
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Latta isn't bad, I think the majority are used to less lecture-heavy courses whereas Latta depends on his slides and will quiz/test you from his lectures mainly so the textbook is very much ignored. I loved the class, and he is VERY understanding especially if you tell him in advance that you're swamped by other courses. Care, and he will.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIOL1030
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Not very interesting. Lectures are slideshows. Midterms are difficult while the exam is a little bit less so. He is nice and always willing to answer questions and adjust schedules to make it easier on the students. One can study the course through just his slides and not going to class. Labs were not fun.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2040
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Guy seems funny enough until you get him mad... Watched him curse out some random IT guy in front of an entire lecture hall then dismiss the class. 0 respect.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2040
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Amazing prof and always willing to help. He's a little quirky, makes funny anecdotes in class, and explains things very clearly. Exams required lots of writing, so you need to know your stuff, but go to class, and you will be fine. Loved his class, definitely one of my favourite profs at Dal.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Latta is great! I really don't understand where the comments about him being unclear or disorganized are coming from. I learned from his lectures. I thought he took his time, and tried to engage the students.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2040
• 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:

Great prof, corky guy. interesting class, used lots of examples with he based midterm/final exam on question. Go to class, he would give a "quick quiz" throughout the lecture which were very similar to the final. Important to understand content because his exam is written and not multiple choice. he give a checklists of concepts for exams

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2040
• 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:

Really nice Prof and he can help you to understand materials in this course. Highly recommended for this course.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIOL3044
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I loved this class! One of the few upper year bio's not based on memorization. You have to think and problem solve, which I find much more interesting. Also he's extremely helpful and approachable! Excellent class.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2060
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Worst prof! His lecture are so disorganized and slides just have completely irrelevant information on them! Basically just read your textbook because lectures are boring and extremely hard to take notes in. Brutal

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOL3044
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great Prof, really enjoyed his class (ecological genetics). He used lots of good examples and welcomed questions after or during class. Assignments fairly easy, midterm and final were same style as the assignments. I just don't know why people complain about having to take notes and study in his classes...isn't that common sense?

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor. A little dull, but the correlation of aphid behaviour can only be made so interesting. Lots of in-class examples, notes are good. Labs are fair and interesting and do a good job of illustrating principles. Midterm was very fair; he gives a checklist that shows what will be on it!

Rating # 15

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Really smart guy who teaches relatively hard-to-grasp concepts. Difficult to take notes because of his teaching style, but not impossible. He speaks really clearly and explains things beautifully. My advice is to listen to a concept...write when he's finished talking. The people who complain about Latta are the ones that want an easy mark.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2060
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He was a really good prof lecture wise, however, when it came to the exams it was a total mess. His material from class didn't coinside with the lectures too well.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: 20603041
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

ya he's ok. taking notes is a necessity. and i got punked on his mid-term and i don't think he's too bad. try studying ya'll.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: INTROECOLOGY
• 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:

I don't know why everyone gripes about Latta. As long as you take notes and study them, you'll do okay. Ecology isn't the easiest sbject to pick out which points are actually important and which are extraneous. Just ask questions and you'll be alright. And stop picking on Latta.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2060
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

average prof, his exam was very fair, and he was a million times better than the other ecology prof I had

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIOL3041
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I think that Dr. Latta is a fantastic prof. Population genetics is a really difficult topic to teach in both a simplistic and engaging manner - so I think he did a very good job, all things considered.