Levine, Elena  

Very hard to follow.

This is a hard class that is way more involved than any GE should ever be. She tests you on your science intelligence and not how much you studied. The amount of time I put into this class was ridiculous and in any other class would have rewarded me with an A and not a B-. Don't fall behind- read everything and go to her office hours and go back over everything since she talks a million miles a minute and you miss everything she says in lecture. SI is a good idea, but avoid it like the plauge if it's Chris.

Dr. Levine is a great teacher who really knows her stuff. She presents all the info on powerpoint slides, and you can buy a lecture outline of the slides. Her tests on the other hand are ridiculously hard. I got D's on the first two tests, but did better in lab, and on the final, so I somehow pulled off a B-. Interesting but not easy!

Dr. Levine is the hardest teacher I have had at poly. It didn't help much that i took the class in the morning, and was extremely boring. She speaks very fast, and if you get behind, then good luck! Her tests are insanely hard and VERY wordy. If you aren't a good test taker - then definetly take a different teacher! The only way you will do well in this class is if you do well in the lab. If you are looking for an easy class, do not take Dr. Levine!

I took BIO thinking that it wouldn't be that difficult. I was wrong. It is an extremely difficult class considering it's an into class for non-majors, and I had to work much harder than I expected. However, if I had to take the class again, there's no doubt that I would take it with Dr. Levine. She's very organized, presents the material clearly, and all her lecture notes are in a lecture manual, which is extremely helpful. You can just take notes in it during the lecture, and be able to study most everything directly from it. Her tests were by no means easy. If you don't study and lot, and don't keep up with the studying throughout the entire quarter, you're screwed. I also strongly suggest going to her office hours as often as possible, and getting questions answered. I found it to be the most helpful way of understanding the material. She also does review sessions before exams, and you learn a ton from going. I highly suggest taking Dr. Levine for any BIO class. She was awesome!

Prof. Levine is amazing. I have never had a prof. that knew the material as well as she did. She went way out of her way to help all of the students with questions and extra office hours. She is a freaking GENIUS. Because of her i have decided to minor in biology. AMAZING TEACHER! Best i have ever had.

from what i've heard of other bio teachers, this is the one to take, her tests were very easy compared to other teachers, all MC, just go to class and pay attention, put in like 3 hours of studying the night before, just kno the basics of the material and ull be fine

Levine is an average professor. Personally I did not like her. She is very smart and knowlegable but is unapproachable because she has no self-confidence. I would not take another class from her. The lab questions are way too hard for a 111 class. Find a better teacher

MU 120 originally was a very simple class but Emma has definelty upped the difficulty. Previously my friends who took it had to fill out a basic notebook and attend a few concerts. Now there are quizzes that require decent studying, attending 4 concerts (no biggie but get on those early), a MASSIVE final project that takes a team of 5 6-8 hours EACH to complete, plus a large final exam. The class used to be super easy but now I spent more time on this than I did some of my major classes. Emma is a great teacher but jesus, this is a GE music course, not a major history class

Dr. Levine was a great teacher to take. Even though she is just a little lady, her knowledge of pretty much everything science relate can be intimidating. But once you get past that she is great. I had her for lab and found her to be most approachable. She does tend to call on people in the class everyday, so be prepared to try to answer questions several times each class period. But I found that ine the small lab class this was quite easy. I highly recommend Dr. Levine for anybiology class, and plan on taking her for another class in the future.

Dr. Levine is a great teacher and she seemingly likes to share her knowledge with students and help the students actually learn. She is very enthusiastic which is a good thing, but she almost knows too much about biology, so it can be intimidating at times. Overall, if you are interested in learning about biology instead of just being interested in passing the class, take Dr. Levine because you will learn a lot.

Keeling or Levine or whatever was a good teacher just something about her completely irked me. She presents information well and clearly and tries to help everyone out as much as possible but people i talked to about her agreed that there was just something annoying about her that's hard to get past in the lectures. We couldn't wait until the lecture was over. I also had her for BIO 100..stupid class. Absolutely hated it and thought it was pointless so I definately don't recomend that you take that class for incoming bio majors. Plus she taught it so besides the class being useless..i had to sit through it with her as the professor.

She's hard. Her tests are wordy. Plus, she talks really fast and I don't understand anything when I catch what she says, so really it doesn't matter. But she's nice. And reasonable. And she tries to help out students. But she's hard. very hard.

elena's a great teacher it's true she talks extremely fast and goes through an insane amount of material even before the final but she always seems willing to help outside of class. she's a very hard worker and she seems to be in her office almost all the time so if you have a quick question she's always willing to help.

she may be smart but she sucks at conveying the information, reading the book isnt enough you need to do some serious work

Keeling (Levine) was scary at first. She knows what she's talking about and she goes all the way to the last minute of lecture, but despite all of that, and that she moves right along and is more difficult than other professors, she's a great prof. During office hours, she'll sit with you as long as you need, and she's very approachable, if not a little awkward. As long as you do the reading, take notes on that, and actually study for the midterms, you'll do fine. There are a few minor assignments and a few 9 point quizzes, but midterms (and the FINAL) count for more. It's not an extremely difficult class, but those 2 hours per unit of study time are absolutely necessary.

I think a lot of people want to whine about Dr. Keeling (Levine) because--surprise!--biology in college is harder than bio in high school. Its a tough subject, but I loved Dr. Keeling. She is so knowledgeable, and her enthusiasm for her subject is really contagious. She moves fast, so it is crucial that you don't miss class, and that you take notes carefully. But the best part is, she really really cares about her students. She will clarify any question you ask, and she is extremely helpful and understanding. The book--it was a life-saver. I read almost every chapter, because sometimes the class moved too fast for me to fully grasp the concepts. After I read a chapter, I completely understood everything. It is not an easy class; however, put in some time and effort and you will be fine.

Dr. Keeling is by far my favorite professor thus far at Cal Poly. She is an excellent lecturer and really presents the material. Some would disagree with me but her lectures made perfect sense. Yes she does go very fast but its not that difficult to be able to follow her lectures and take effective notes. I did not read for this class because she only ever tested of stuff that she said in class. This did end up being most of the stuff covered in the book though. The things she stressed were surprise surprise on the exams. I did work very hard in this class for my grade. You could tell that she really wanted her students to do well. She is a genius!!

Dr. Keeling was had an amazing lecture. she interact with the whole class asking question of what she was lecturing as well as somehow knew every student name. Her test are hard but she really want you to succeed. definately go to her office hour if you have any question or want to review old test because she will help you understand it.

Dr. Keeling is a very good professor, bio 161 is a mere repeat of ap biology in hs, and the material is challenging but she is very effective in teaching molecular processes and course info. She bases her notes off of an available online powerpoint. There are several small hw assignments, 4 or 5 quizzes, 2 exams and a cumulative final. Taking Dr. Keeling!

Dr. Keeling is awesome! I learned a lot over the quarter. Even though the class was 8 in the morning, she has the energy to wake up almost anyone. She also knows everyone\'s names and will call on people at random. Just be sure to be prepared for the tests though; the midterms and final can be hard since they require a through understanding (as in you can see how the process works in multiple ways) of the material covered in lecture AND book, though you might be able to get by with a C without reading most of the book. As for homework and quizzes, they\'re not that bad. I would love to take one of Dr. Keeling\'s classes again later on!

She makes the lectures really interesting and you learn alot in this course. I did not do very well in her class only because I had a hard time figuring out how to study for her tests, which are very hard. If you took AP Bio you will definitly do better in the class. She does not ask the easy questions by any means. If you do not do well on the first exam definitly go speak with her, she is very approachable and loves her subject and encourages students to come speak with her. She would definitly be fun to get to know outside of class. It is crazy she makes the effort to learn everyone\'s names in the 100 person in the first 2 weeks and calls on students throughout the lecture. Go to class, she noices if you aren\'t present and if you bring a friend to class she will call on them, it\'s entertaining.

Dr. Levine is probably the smartest woman I have ever met, she knows SOOO much and she talks really fast in class so try to take good notes. Overall it was a very interesting class, you learn a lot. Just watch out cause the material gets very in-depth. her notes go directly with the book pretty much but in order to really understand it you need to read also. she is a great teacher and tries her best to help you understand the really hard stuff.

Like people have said already, Dr. Levine is a very intelligent professor and she is a great teacher. She is one of the best teachers I've had in my four years here. I took this class to fulfill a GE requirement, and my major is VERY far away from science, but she explains things very thoroughly and makes sure everyone understands it. She is also open to answering questions outside of class. There were two tests, short answer only, a couple short papers in which you have to do a little research, and the final which is just like the midterms. Her tests were straightfoward. This was one of the most interesting classes I have taken with a great teacher- I definitely recommend taking a class with her.

Levine's classes are fast paced are require you to use those famous scientist problem solving skills. She presents her classes as if the students are researchers exploring the subject for the first time. She is a generous grader and offers lots of partial credit if you come close to being right. Her test are mental marythons even if you know and understand the material, and they are the most comprehensive I have ever seen. If you are having problems with anything in the class, ask her she is great during office hours. If you don't ask you'll get nailed because I garuntee her tests are merciless

Dr. Levine is GREAT - everyone should have to take at least one class with her. If she doesn't know it, it doesn't exist. Her lectures are as clear as could be...and, anything you don't understand she will answer and reexplain (using different words than her initial lecture) the concept. She is very intimidating, as anyone who has had her before knows, but she truly is one of the nicest professors on this campus. Her exams are NOT like how she lectures: she likes "how would you test this?" questions in lecture, but she just cares to know if YOU know the material on her exams. Very straight forward - but, make sure you don't have too many units, since Bio 351 is a 5-unit LECTURE class!

Dr. Levine is one of the greatest teachers at Poly. The material is hard and she expects you to know it backwards and forwards. Her lectures follow the book so if you don't understand something you can always look it up later. She also offered saturday study sessions before her tests where she would clear up any troubles you had with the material. Do yourself a favor and take the time and learn from the best.

Dr. Levine is the best professor I have had at poly. Take her if you want to learn. She is VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE and you will learn a lot in her class. She talks really fast during lecture, and everything she says is relevent. So be prepared for writters cramp and brain overload at the end of each lecture. If you don't understand something she will go out of her way to help you. Her tests are tough but fair. She expects you to know and understand the material as well as apply it. Her main goal is for you to leave the class knowing a lot about the subject.

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Dr. Levine is a walking encyclopedia of genetics information--she has the smarts. She teaches well and to the point. Her grading is a bit hard, you need to always study for this class; you never know what to expect on a test!!!

Levine is amazing. Her knowledge for the material is unreal. She is extremely challenging, but I learned more in this class than any other class I have taken at poly. If you just keep up with the reading and her work load, it's definitly mangable. She presents everything very clearly.

Dr. Levine is excellent. She presents the material very clearly but also very quickly, so come to class prepared to take a lot of notes. If you miss class, you'll miss a lot because the things she spends a lot of time on in class will definitely be on the midterms. Her test are very thorough and very long. Her expectations are reasonable if you're willing to put in the time. Just go to class, take notes and read the book. Take advantage of her office hours, she's really good at rephrasing things until its in a way that you can understand. She knows everything there is to know about genetics and maybe even a little bit more.

Amazing. By far one of the best professors I have had at Cal Poly. She is very smart (2 PhDs...) and expects a lot out of her students. She will blow your mind with her ability to answer just about any question on the spot. There usually is no homework, and if she assigns any it is to help you understand the material (small 2-4 point assignments are sometimes due). She also assigns articles to be read that are related to what you are covering. They are loaded with scientific jargon, but the underlying concepts are fascinating. Exams are difficult and truly test your understanding of the material--to succeed you need to go to class, read the chapters, and go over your notes on a daily basis. I feel prepared for any genetics concepts that will come up in more upper division classes. If you really want to master the material and get your money's worth at Poly, take Keeling, you will not regret it!

A decent professor but Dr. Levine's lecture style is ambiguous to say the least. Often she will try to present fundamental (and often complicated) biological concepts like a research question. I have found this to be quite difficult to grasp since students often don't possess enough biology back-knowledge to be able to reason through a complicated (or even simple) biological concept. Dr. Levine's test also incorporate this same problem solving reasoning.

This woman is a genius! Face it, you WILL HAVE Levine if you are a bio major.... She is Dr. Levine-Keeling... so don't get confused. She talks fast and can seriously answer most anything. If you don't get something bug her in office hours, in class, but the best bet is in the down time of lab. She will happily explain the concepts to you from as many angles as possible until she is blue in the face. her tests are hard but so is Cell Bio, so read and be prepared to take a good deal of notes. An A is possible through lots of work (I luckily had physiology paralleling this class so kinda got a review in that lecture... I would not recommend taking both in teh same quarter though). Anyway, yes she might be a feared teacher but after having 1 class with her you will like her for pretty much forcing you to learn (if you want to survive). I'd recommend her for any class. She knows what she is talking about.

This will be short, but if you want to LEARN something in an upper division class, take her Cell Bio course. You will learn more than you think you could (especially due to the volume of notes that you will be taking), but it is worth it. If she says she doesn't know, that probably means no one knows (with regard to genetics or cell biology). Everyone should have to have the "Levine Experience" to see what good instructors are like.

Wow, the woman talks fast! There is so much information in such a short amount of time that I guess she really doesn't have a choice. Great teacher. Great with questions and office hours! She is VERY enthusiastic about cells and wants us all to be just as excited as she is. Which is cool, but it's not gonna happen. Overall, an exellent prof!

I have had better bio teachers. She is smart, and is rarely wrong. Her tests are poorly written. She might as well have told us to, "Write everything you know about the subject of cell bio, and write it extremely fast in this little space". I did well on the tests but it was not a test of my knowledge. It was a test of how fast I could write. Here tests are all essay and short answer. She is a nice lady, but if I cared about my grades, I wouldn't take this class again. There's a lot of info to learn in this class, I wouldn't say the information is hard, but I would say that it's hard to do well on Levine's marathon tests. You must stay on top of the material at all times if you want to do well in this class. Good luck!

by far the most demanding class i have taken at cal poly, yet totally worth it. write FAST on the tests, if you're in the situation where it's hard to decide between writing something you're almost sure is correct or leaving it out, just write it, otherwise you'll risk getting your test back with tons of red marks saying "too vague" but in her handwriting which is IMPOSSIBLE to read. either way, write fast, go to her office hours, spend the time doing extra work on the lab reports, and do not be intimidated by her. she's ridiculously smart and expects you to be too, which can be frustrating at times, but don't let it bother you, she just wants you to prove yourself and live up to your potential. good luck...

Levine-Keeling is one of the best teachers in the Bio Department. Friggin genius! Seriously, she knows biology... and if she doesn't know it, she will look it up and tell you the very next class. For this class you will either have her or Black (also a great proffessor). This class is no walk in the park. You will be working to earn the grade you get. The tests are fair to hard because she tests you on what you know and not buzz words. Know the concepts, explain the processes, and well pretty much memorize your notes since it is all there. Cell bio is a great class, so write fast and write a good deal.

I have a teacher crush on Dr. Keeling. She is amazing. She is very hard and her tests are scary, but if you go into office hours she helps you so much. She never made me feel stupid. She would re-word things until I got them. She knows so much but she doesn't come off that way. She is my favorite.

Keeling is the best teacher I've had in Poly, possibly in my whole life. I had her earlier in the year for Bio 351 (Principles of Genetics) and that's where I fell in love with her teaching style. She is so ridiculously good at laying out the material so perfectly and so clearly that if I didn't know her, I would guess that she was 80 and had been teaching the same course for 50 years. Somehow, her lectures always perfectly followed my thought process. She would present a topic and a question would start to formulate in my mind, but before I could ask it, she would switch to the next slide, which would answer it perfectly. She doesn't give a lot of outside work for lecture (although lab is a lot of work), but when she does, it is 100% relevant. You really do have to come to EVERY class meeting, do the reading, write reading notes,get a study partner, and go to office hours to do well, because her tests are difficult. If you put in the effort, you will get the grade and learn more quality material than you thought was possible in ten weeks. I would suggest, though, to not take two classes from her in the same quarter, unless you want to spend 24/7 studying in the library.

This is the most interesting course I took at Cal Poly. It brings together three years of introductory material and finally at the end of the course you can take a deep sigh and say that you know most all cell-molecular mechanisms behind all the stuff learned in bio 161, MCRO course and Genetics etc. Keeling is possibly the best professor there is on this campus. She is the walking encyclopedia of everything. She knows it all and she is very good at transferring the knowledge on to the students. About the class: never miss a lecture, the detail is all there. Consume your time in the readings. And then study all the mechanisms all the time instead of just reviewing them before the exam. If you are into molecular bio...this is the course to take and Keeling the the women to teach it.

Dr Levine is a teacher that will teach you to think. If you are looking for an easy ride, don't take her class. I would take her class over, because just like with a good movie, you discover things the second time, that you missed before. The tests are difficult, again thinking on your own is required, forget studying terms, if you are not able to put things together, you will fail! Dr Levine is compassionate about her job, ask her anything and she knows her stuff. Very helpful during office hours. Be brave, give her a try, you may surprise yourself.

This was the most amazing class I have ever taken....and I am an ecologist!!!!!

Dr. Levine is amazing! She is quite possible the smartest person I have ever met. Not only that, but she is a great teacher. She engages her students in every way possible. I would highly recommend her as a teacher, in fact, I wish I could take a class with her each and every quarter!

This is the first C I have recieved in my entire life. I hope that says something to all of you out there watching their GPA. Do not take him--this class was a nightmare!