The lecture was REALLY boring. He has you do some in class stuff maybe once a week so you should go to lecture. The only other stuff was a quiz on angel about once a week with 10-18 questions you can look up in the book. Not too hard. I have 4.0 the two exams with just studying those quiz questions. Not bad at all.

What everybody is saying about Dr. Dyer's class being a challenge is right. You will have to put in work to do well (oh no! not effort!), you will have to read the book (heaven forbid you should have to do reading that corresponds with the lecture material), and most of all you will need to be interested in the subject. I went into this class with a very large interest in the subject of animal behavior, and I wanted to learn. The desire to learn will be important for most students if you want to do well. I don't know what his teaching style was in the past but Dr. Dyer is not boring like everybody says. He throws in some jokes, and actually has a nice sense of humor. He just knows his stuff, and it shows in his lectures. So again, if you aren't interested in the subject it will be hard to do well. I loved this class. Dr. Dyer is an extremely knowledgeable and helpful man.

Dyer is an interesting professor, he is fairly intelligent with his material, however, the first two tests are hard as hell - however because most people do so poorly he gives a curve on each test and then an overall curve in the class. You don't need to pay attention in class really, but there are in class graded assignments which sucks because otherwise you really wouldn't have to go. just make sure you understand the power points which he posts online. My advice is if you go to class don't write down the power points write down little stuff he says. The first two tests are hard as hell and you probably won't do well on them at all, but the last one which isn't cumultative, so there's no final is easy. I did average on the first one, bombed the 2nd, and did real well on the 3rd and somehow ended up with a 4.0, so yeah I guess that's the formula

He isn't the most exciting lecturer but he isn't boring for the most part. He covers the material well though and he tries to make it interesting. He makes a lot of jokes and tries to relate it to things people are probably familiar with. He doesn't want to fail people and is really helpful with answering questions. He does give back points on the exams if enough people miss the question. You must do the reading to do well but the reading is interesting and compliments the lecture well.Personally I never found the exams very hard, I studies an hour or two the day before and haven't had any trouble 4.0 them. If you understand the concepts and have paid attention to the experiments you can easily figure out most of the things on the exam. The topics covered are pretty interesting, at least if you are interested in the subject and want to learn.

I literally slept through most of the lectures (I only went in the first place because he has these annoying little in class assignments that are worth 25% of your grade) and studied my ass off the night before exams and managed a 4.0. As a former science major I will say that his exams are incredibly in depth and hard to do well on but be curves them because he really does want his students to end up with good grades. He has his funny moments where he has the whole class laughing but thats usually just because the rest of the lecture is so dull that the slightest humor seems hilarious. Horrible at replying to emails and quite disorganized at times but overall, if you plan on going to class, and are willing to put in some effort, I would recommend him.

I had him and got a 3.5 as a Freshman. The grades come 30% from each exam which are not cumulative and 10% from really easy in class assignments that are just used as a random check of attendance throughout the course, so just go to class for that extra ten percent help. My experience with him was pretty good. We had a great honors option on animal cognitive abilities for an extra hour a week with about ten students and it was really interesting. The regular lectures were really interesting too, but the exams don't just go off of the lectures, there is information taken from the book as well. He gave out the previous years exam before each of the exams, but didn't give you the answers to it.

fred c. dyer is alright, but definitly not a favorite. his class is pretty straight forward with grading, it's only 3 tests and in class assignments. however, his class is the most boring class ever. his lectures are boring and dull, and he just rambles on about nothing for the whole period. i either slept or did the cross word puzzles from the state news every class. he has in class assignments at random, and since they make up a good chunk of your grade, you have to go to every class. his tests are really tricky, the wording gets so ridiculous sometimes. if you can get another teacher, i'd definitly advise it. but if you're stuck with him, you still have hope to do well

The students who say Dr. Dyer is a bad lecturer or is boring, or is not enthusiastic enough about what he teaches, probably only say that because they themselves are not interested in what he teaches. He shows everything in an evolutionary light, and I'm into that stuff, so I thought it was fascinating. He really does teach incredibly interesting stuff, and I learned so much more about evolution and its everyday applications to both humans and animals than I had ever learned before. It's cool because it's not a usual science class where you just memorize cold hard facts and take tests on them. You actually discuss thories of science and so on. It was my fav class.

Professor Dyer is wonderful. His lectures go off of powerpoints that he puts online, and he is very forward about what he expects for the exam. There are only three exams, with the third being the final; it's not even cumulative. Going to class is very beneficial, not only because he only lectures relevant material [ if it's in the book but he didn't lecture it, it's not on the exam ], but because he sometimes collects in class assignments that he guides. They're ten percent of your grade, but it's mostly just for attendance purposes, they're not difficult. On top of all of this, Dyer is hilarious, and just a genuinely nice person. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this class. Yes, it is difficult, and yes, the book and reading are absolutely required in order to get a good grade. I honestly wish I would have kept up with the assigned readings, rather than reading six chapters the week of the exam. The book is extremely interesting and I would have liked to have more time to understand what I was reading, rather than just memorizing it. I recommend this class and professor for anyone who is interested in animals at all. Just definitely do the reading, and try to attend as many lectures as possible, as sometimes you turn things in (not sure where those factored into the grades).

The class is boring as all hell, but Dr. Dyer obviously loves what he does, which makes it slightly more bearable. The exams are tricky, but a decent number of questions come from the "sample questions" he posts on Angel before every exam, so definitely make sure to study those. It also definitely helps that his lectures follow the book pretty closely, so if you are totally lost, keeping up with the reading will really help. Also, every now and then he gives little in-class assignments, which can help to boost your grade.



Overall, he seems like a nice enough guy, but this class will definitely take some work - not an easy 4.0!

Personally i am not that interested in science but never had trouble in excelling at it before. I took this class because i thought it would be a nice introductory science class. However, that is certainly not the case. I do not doubt that Professor Dyer knows his information; however, he is horrible at presenting material. Advice: go to class (in class graded assignments), there are 3 exams (no comprehensive final) do well. The exams are multiple choice and worded very poorly. Also he is extremley boring, probably 1/4 of the class took notes, everyone else messed around on their lap top or slept.

Dr. Dyer is very knowledgeable concerning biology. Realize that ISB 202 is going to be a class on evolutionary biology and such. I learned a lot through the semester, and would advise you to go to the lectures. There are in class assignments that are worth points as well as lectures that, if you pay attention, will teach you everything you need to know. Just try to wrap your mind around the concepts of the lectures, not the facts. That should help you work out the harder test questions.

I did not use my book after the first exam and still got a 4.0. It is not necessary if you attend class.

The tests were very difficult and wordy. I studied my butt off and got at 63% and a 66% on the first two exams. Lectures are incredibly boring and do not follow the course description at all. You also have to go to all of the classes because he has random inclass assignments which are 25% of your grade. He takes forever to respond to emails (if he ever does) and it takes him forever to get test grades back to you. My opinion, GET OUT while you still can, it is not worth all of the stress.



If you are stuck in this class, there is some hope, he does curve.

Alright, in terms of difficulty, yes, this class can in fact start out as being a bit difficult if you don't know* what his teaching/testing style is. However, once you figure out that zoology is all common sense and to just memorize examples that you can use on the exam, it's cake. As far as Dyer himself goes, the man loves zoology--it's obvious...and you can tell he gets excited about what he teaches, so that makes you appreciate what you're learning more... however, there is the small problem of his actual voice putting people to sleep...it just happens...

He is probably one of the most boring professors I have ever had. I never fall asleep in class yet I could barely make it through a single class without dozing off. His lectures are pretty good and interesting but the exams (which is pretty much the only thing your grade is based on) are based on the textbook, so basically you're doing the amount of work for two classes. I put hours and hours into studying for this class and my grade definitely didnt reflect the amount of time and effort I put into this class...

His teaching methods are not that great, considering he could care less about the material taught in the class. He is more into zoology stuff, so he really probably hates teaching this class. The good thing is the whole class is on a curve so the highest grade is a 4.0 and so down. You really dont have to go to class alot but there are in class assignments that count toward your grade. Overall you might want to find another prof. unless your into learning most of the material outside of class

Dr. Dyer is a very good teacher. He must enjoy teaching this subject because he is very knowledgeable, and teaches the material in a very informative way.

He also bumped my grade from a 3.0 to a 3.5, because I sent him an email telling him he graded something of mine wrong, (which he did).

Only issue I have with him, is that he is impossible to get a hold of with email! Either he doesn't respond, or it takes a couple weeks.

However, I would still recommend him, he is really cool.

Monica Lewinsky is to Bill Clinton what Fred Dyer is to Charles Darwin.



He looks like Stephen Colbert but surely lacks in the sense of humor category.



If Darwin's theory of Evolution were a man, Dyer would be requesting domestic partnership benefits from MSU.



Overall, Freddy gets a 3.0. He has the potential and TV-personality look to be a 4.0 prof., but lacks the humor I find to be refreshing.



Buzzing flies are to wanton boys what ISB 202 is to my daily schedule.

I HATE THIS GUY!!! He is the most unorganized person ever and never answers any of his emails. His lectures are boring, but you get to sleep in them and he doesnt care. You could go to class late for like the last 1/2 hour and still get 100 on in class participation. There are only 3 exams, but he seems to make them harder than ever! Even though he says that he is going to make the test "straight forward" he lies!! Get out of this class if you have him!!!