Okay, whoever said that you only get good grades in her class if you're one of her favorites CLEARLY has not worked in that class. Sure, she treats them nicely when they're walking down the halls, but you can't fudge actual quiz grades or lab reports. I've seen "favored" students bomb their lab reports that she grades herself, and I've seen people who hate her get A's in the class, so please don't belittle other people's hard work only because you haven't pulled off a spectacular grade yourself.



Overall, I think Dr. Duwel is a great teacher. She doesn't pull any surprises on quizzes or the final, and her class definitely has improved my lab techniques (pipetting especially). If I had to take the class again, I would definitely take her. I have heard nightmares about the TA's, how some of them never actually teach the material for the quizzes, and then the students fail miserably since it's too difficult to figure it out yourself. Honestly, this class was the first real college class I've taken at Drexel.

Pros: Duwel is intelligent and cares about her students. Feel free to confront her for help, but don't ask stupid questions or something she just answered because she will not take it nicely.

Cons: Sometimes she sounds unenthusiastic, but she finds a way of convincing you any work she assigns in necessary or at least beneficial

She really does care about the students, even though she might seem unncessarily strict at times. You really need to pay attention in class to do well though. Take a lot of notes. Ask her if you need extra help; she's pretty approachable. If you're BS/MD, she's really nice.

She really knows her stuff! She will prepare you well before an exam, and might even hold a review session, in which she will go over all of the information that will be on the exam and any possible extra credit questions.

The labs are somewhat enjoyable, but the workload is absolutely ridiculous for classes you practically get no credit for.



The 4 18-20 page lab reports you will have to do for both classes are completely unnecessary. In no other labs will you have to do reports this large, dense, and detailed. They'll make you want to rip your hair out. And if you have bad lab partners you'll be doing double or possibility triple the work to make up for their half-ass'ery.



"Quizzes" should be changed to "Exams" because that's exactly what they are. They are filled with all short answer questions that are ridiculously hard unless you know every word of the powerpoints. Don't pay attention to how the syllabus states they'll have multiple choice questions because that's a lie. If you don't answer a question with every little detail, you get points off. They aren't worth much of your grade alone, but if you fail all of them, you're only screwing yourself over.



The TAs are kinda bad. The ones that have ran both classes seem very bored, disoriented, and uninterested. The more questions you ask, the more you're treated like a retarded person. Dr. Duwel NEVER shows up for any of the labs so these horrible TAs basically have to do everything. And when she does, she's there for 5 seconds, yells at the class, and then leaves. Blink and you miss her pretty much. She is impossible to find for help too, and is a pretty difficult woman to deal with. You basically have to suck up to her in order for her to like you, and if she doesn't she'll talk to you with this smirk attitude Any and all problems with both these classes are all because of her.

Seriously, Dr. Duwel is an amazing teacher! She wants her students to get the most out of her classes, so she makes them a little difficult, but in the end, it's worth it (if you're here to learn, that is).

Don't take her if you want an easy A.

The first time I had her I was a freshman and I thought I knew what I was doing. Honestly, my lab partner and I spent hours in her office and she answered every question we had and explained everything thoroughly. She really cares. She would stay after until like 7 o'clock on Fridays just so we could do the lab report in front of her and she could give us immediate feedback. After having her for two quarters, I am certain she tremendously helped improve my ability to write lab reports. And I got A's in both of her classes.



Some of you guys have to understand that Duwel has a lot to do and she's in charge of a lot. She can't always be following us around wondering if we need help and if we're lost. It's our job to find her/email her if we need help and don't understand something. And asking for help the day of or even the day before an exam is just stupid.



So, yes, her classes are hard, but then again, most people who take her classes are bio majors and want to go to med school..and that's really hard. So you need to just suck it up and work your ass off because in the end it's worth it and you'll get the grade you deserve.

Sure, she gives a little extra work, but if you have a good group, then it won't be too stressful. Definitely don't procrastinate in these classes, though, since staying up until 5 AM the day a lab report is due isn't the most fun thing in the world.



BIO 219 was easier than BIO 215 by far, especially since the entire class had just one experiment that was expanded upon throughout the term. BIO 215 just piled on different types of lab techniques, and you don't get to understand the material as thoroughly.



Dr. Duwel is overall a very good professor, and since she makes the quizzes for all the course sections, it's definitely a benefit to be in her class. Her quizzes and final exam are straightforward. If she doesn't mention anything in her lectures, then it won't be on the quiz.



Basically, the key requirements for the course are to not procrastinate with the lab reports and to study HER notes. I guarantee an A.

I had to endure this pain in freshman year when she was lecturign for bio 114, it was the populations of bacteria or soemthing; at any rate, her work load was immense, and i foudn her slide shows to be utterly pointless and dull. at this point in my college career i have come to expect little effort from teachers in terms of lecturing style and enthusiasm. as a freshman i was appalled by the wortk load, the brash manner in which she spoke to her students and the shear monotany of her slide shows. in the end i recieved a B for her course. this wa due to an A in lab. i hear they have changed the whole system of EBE making labs worth less than 50% as they use to; im interested to know.

Professor Duwel suffers from criticism based on extreme short-sightedness. Students who hate her tend to be those who hate doing work and learning. She gets a lot of crap, and I'll tell you exactly where this comes from.



She is an excellent teacher whose goal is simply to teach the students quality, truthful, up-to-date material. (This also reflects her position in the Bio department.)



If you hate doing work to help propel your education, you will probably hate her as well. However, if you realize the reason you're in college in the first place and value a quality education, you will definitely value her classes.

Dr. Duwel is a great teacher! I found that out of every quarter I have been at Drexel, I learned the most from her class. Sure, the "quizzes" are more like exams, but she tests in a way for application and really nails the information into your head. For once, I actually understood what was going out behind the lab at not just blindly following the protocol. My skills in both performing experiments and writing lab reports have developed hugely from the high expectations she has of us. Dr. Duwel's class is hard, but not impossible. If you adapt to what she wants and try to do better, you will definitely do well.

Cons: This course is 2.5 credits of pure torture! The quizes are insanely hard and very detail oriented and the lab reports are challenging as well so chose your group members wisely and prepare to spend tons of time on this course!

Duwel did not teach this course, the TA's did so I can not give a review on her but the course itself. Group work consists of 70 % which leaves 30 % on you. Choose your group members wisely! Lab reports and notebooks count heavily so definitely pour effort into it! The 30 % is geared towards quizes and the final. Go to the review for the final and you will do fine.

Pros: Pretty interesting course. LOTS of writing required and lab reports are graded hard. There is extra credit on a 3 or the 4 quizzes that can boost your grade significantly. My advice is that you choose a good lab group because the work load on writing the repors is heavy. As long as you pay attention and understand what is going on in lab you should pass with an A.

Cons: You may never see Dr. Duwel because TAs teach the course.



LOTS of writing since it is a writing intensive course.



In my opinion, it is too much work for only 2.5 credits

Her classes are do-able, but she is really no help. I took two of her lab classes, and she was never there. The TA had no idea what to do, and Duwel has no office hours. So basically you just have to wait until she decides to waltz into the lab once every few weeks if you have a question. Some of the quiz questions came out of thin air. Once she emailed the material two hours before the quiz, which most students didn't get to see due to other courses. Just hope you get a good TA.

Dr. Duwell really knows her topic of microbiology. The coursework is not easy, but if you do the assignments and study, you can do well.

Her lectures were not mandatory, but she gives extra credit and can actually be interesting about the diseases (or at least for me it was).

Lab is a significant part of your grade and you get a lot of stuff done in the 2 hour time slot.

Overall, she's really knowledgable in her field and expects dedication from her students!

Dr. Duwel's class was tough. There was a lot of work and the tests were pretty hard. However, she did present the class with several extra credit opportunities and allowed us to do test corrections to get back half the points we missed. She seemed to genuinely care about her students in the lab, and was surprisingly nice and friendly. The bottom line is, there's a lot of work with her, but you'll actually learn a lot if you put the effort in.

I really liked Dr. Duwel as a teacher. The people who complain she is hard are lazy, because if you do the work and keep up, you will do fine. I learned a ton in this class, and I thought the lectures were interesting and engaging, even if it was 8 in the morning. I took the microbiology for health professions, and this class will give you a lot of insight to the field if you want it to. Great teacher, would definitely retake.

Everyone who hates her only hates her because they aren't willing to put the amount of work and time into the course to do well. She's a very sweet woman and very willing to work with you. She offers tons of extra credit. The work load is very heavy, but you know what to expect from the start. Do the review sheets, go to review sessions and put a genuine effort and you will do well.

I had Dr. Duwel for bio 206 and i heard terrible things about her. however she is a really good teacher and nice person. the class is not unreasonable at all. make sure to do the homework, they're almost exactly the same as the tests. there isn't that much work, people just get lazy and are used to things being super easy.

Dr. Duwel's lectures are extremely boring. She doesn't explain many things that she puts into her slide shows. Basically, her slide shows are copies from the text, so there's really no need to go to lecture.But she does help when exam time comes around. She is easier to understand when you speak to her on a one-to-one basis

Dr. Duwel is a great professor. She requires a LOT of work but if you do it you do well in the class. Her homework is indicative of the test, so do it. SHe is a really nice person who cares about the students and really tries to help students pass when they do the work. I would love to take more classes with her