While the Biology I took was meant for non-Bio majors, she Brickman took the course very seriously. She included case studies to try and make the topics more relevant for everyone, but by doing so only made it harder. Many test questions were directly from her lectures which were sometimes difficult to follow because of her need to rush through everything in order to get it all in. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND HER, unless you're a Biology major, this class is unnecessary. I currently have an A in the class, so this isn't someone writing a response in spite, I am being as truthful as I can be.

Pros: Easy..sorta. Otherwise, none.

Cons: Brickman is an idiot. Her class is terrible and ineffective. I felt like I was in the second grade. I hated every second of it because her material was absolutely, stupidly simple, but she made it so difficult with extra crap (homework, activities, BS) that had to be turned in. She also has a clicker percentage as like 10% of the grade. Except her lectures are so terrible and useless, so it's the biggest waste of life ever. Her other class (same level--1103) had a completely different curriculum that involved group tests? We had group projects. Fail.

This was an awful class. I NEVER paid attention in class. NOT ONCE. Her classes are long and boring with powerpoints on the most useless information ever. Her tests included about... 25% of material covered in class.



If you are so unfortunate to have her: just do the online assignments, and make sure you look up all the answers and sort of read why they are right, and you'll be completely fine. In fact, don't even worry about knowing what you're answering. Just get most-ish right to get the points. Seriously. Every test asked if flour was a carb. And if a website selling a product was a reliable source (I'm really not kidding--every one). If you can put peanut butter on your toes, you can pass all the tests with A's. If you don't have toes, you can still pass. Just watch out for all the extra, awful assignments that come with the class. But don't fret too much. Most people fail all the tests (how? They must not even have peanut butter), don't come to get attendance, don't do the assignments, and still get B's because at the end she curves the final grade so even manatees (who don't have toes or peanut butter) can pass.

Pros: Tests aren't too unbearable.

Fun lectures.

Podcasts of lectures.

Lot's of opportunity for extra credit.

Cons: Pointless homework assignments with one attempt that she doesn't know how to fix.

Not a bad class. The only thing i didn't like about it is the pre-class assessments. Also you get to choose a group to be in at the beginning of the semester and you take group tests with that group. This is good and all if you have smarter people than you in the group but in my case I am the smartest and I had no one to rely on to know the answers that I was unsure of. Basically, choose your group wisely.

Pros: Excellent teacher that provides many connections between the reak world and what we are learning; cares about students and grades; group tests; short tests

Cons: Difficult exam questions; Lecture doesn't always coincide with exam; attendence clicker questions

Ms. Brickman is the best teacher I've had at UGA so far. She really cares about her students and their grades and makes an effort to demonstrate why what we are learning in biology is important in the reak world. She is big on drawing connections to real-life experiences. The exams are short (15 questions) which can be helpful or hurtful. The group test portion is helpful to the overall exam grades. The clicker questions can be annoying but they are only for participation, not accuracy. Overall, I highly recommend Brickman for this course.

Pros: Very fair teacher

Awards a lot of extra credit

Will explain anything you are confused about

Knows what she is talking about and how to teach

Cons: Her teaching powerpoints can be very wordy at times because they are stories that she is using as opposed to just teaching the lesson.

Assessments are very difficult.

Brickman is a great teacher. The tests are sometimes difficult, but they can be extremely easy if you study. Her assessments are much harder than her tests are. She is an extremely fair grader; especially with all of the chances of extra credit she gives.

Pros: The projects were really interesting and there were a ton of opportunities for extra credit. I learned a lot and she made the classes fun and engaging. I rarely watched the clock in that class.

Cons: Her grading system is weird. It's out of 400 points and you get points for doing more than half of the pre-class assessments. Each extra one you did was like getting 5 extra points on your tests so by the time of the final I only needed 10 points on the final for a 100 in the class. It was good, but didn't accurately reflect how much you did or didn't know

I liked Brickman as a teacher, but her group note system SUCKS! Half of the group is prompt and on time while the other half never does what they are suppose to do and this aspect is like 17% of your final grade. You also don't have enough time to take your own notes and have to rely on the 'winning'group's notes. But over all she is an excellent teacher and I learned a ton.

Good teacher. Annoying online quizzes. Also you have to share notes and you get graded on your notes and on if you did a good response to someone elses notes.

You can get an A in this class. It is not an easy A however. You do have to study. I would suggest to print out the power points before class and take notes on them. Also before test day listen to her podcasts, they are really helpful!! I never payed attention in class, spent the entire day before studying and would do ok on the tests. She does put some ridiculous questions on the test however. They are 15 questions. Right after you take a personal test, you take the exact same test with your "group". Getting a good group is key to having a higher grade. She uses clickers, so attendance is vital to grade as well. She does assessments online that you have to complete before every class. Try to get a hundred on every one, because you only have to get 15 points total from them, but any more counts as bonus.

Pros: Brickman didn't actually teach my class except for about 3 lectures, the TA's mostly taught it. A few pointers: do the online elc quizzes (easy), attend class to get clicker points, and actually study for the tests. The tests aren't too bad if you study, but sometimes they got a little detailed. They were only 15 questions each, multiple choice. OH and after the individual test, you get to take a group test. So choose your group wisely.

Cons: Tests were sometimes detailed so that made them a little harder. It sucks you have to attend class to get clicker attendance points. One of the TA's who taught my class had a MISERABLE accent. But Brickman doesn't have one. She taught other 1103 classes, but not mine (don't know why).

Pros: She presents the information in a way that is understandable and easy to comprehend. She is always open to questions and is willing to work with you if you have any issues. Also, you get a 100 for attendance if you only attend 80% of the classes so that's helpful as well. She gives lots of extra credit homework which allows you to boost your grade a couple points towards the end of the semester.

Cons: Though the information seems easy while you are in class, some of the test questions were much more difficult. Also, there are 6 tests, but one of them gets dropped so that's always good. Overall, not that hard of a class but studying is a necessity.

Pros: Smart and witty

Makes biology interesting for non-science people

Cons: Questions on tests can be tricky

Look out for group work drama

I got an A- in her class my freshman year. She does a good job of trying to keep hundreds of students in a lecture class engaged. I hope I have as good a sense of style when I'm however old she is.



Tests are two part - 1 individual, 1 group, with your individual score counting for twice as much. She drops your lowest test grade, and if you struggle with science like I do, you'll be thankful. Tests are multiple-choice, but are often worded trickily. Read carefully!

Pros: Group tests, nice

Cons: Horrible class structure, group work, random test questions, don't use the book, have to find answers on internet

I wouldn't recommend Brickman to ANYONE. The structure of her class is poorly thought out. She's nice and she knows what she's talking about but, the problem is she sees these large concept maps in her head and doesn't know how to convey the map through her teaching. A lot of the material has to be found outside of class. The book is darn near useless. Lots of group work, but if you don't know your group very well it can lead to some awkward situations.

Pros: Drops one test grade out of 6. Only need to get 80% of the clicker questions to receive full amount for attendance grade and is not graded for accuracy.

Cons: Pre-class assessment is pain in the butt. Test are only 15 questions.

There are about 3-4 chapters per test and only 15 questions. IF you miss 2 that's already a B. Pre-class assessments were pointless and it is graded for accuracy even though you take the quiz before you learn the material. Powerpoints are useless because it's just bunch of scenario and pictures. Class is not hard if you study the right materials.

Pros: Class is relatively easy, all tests are scantron so if you are decent at multiple choice questions you will do fine in the class.

Cons: He seems scared by technology. Randomly picks on students for using their laptops to take notes. Also doesn't seem to care that everyone in his class cheats on quizzes. Lectures were a waste of time because he would just read the powerpoints, but halfway through the course he randomly decided to take roll.

You have to read the book to make an A, but you can skate by with a B by just reading the powerpoints.

Pros: You work in groups which makes the work load on the projects easier. Could be a con depending on how you like to work.

Cons: She says that if you know the power points and do the assessments, youll do well on the test. Not true. The tests dont cover the same information or its really modified.

This class was suppossed to be easy in comparison to other bio classes, but even when I studied I felt I couldn't succeed because the tests covered different or much harder material. Tests questions were often tricky.

Pros: Great Teacher. Loved taking this class because you learn a lot and the professor gives great examples to help you understand the concepts. Tests are not worth a large portion of the grade and are only 15qs.

Cons: You have homework due before almost every class but it's not hard. You also have to work in groups which you do group tests with.(You choose the groups at the beginning of the semester when you don't know anybody so if you end up with a slacker, you have to pick up their slack.)

Pros: Interesting class. The slides are pretty easy to follow. Group work eases the burden to an extent. Study and you should be fine.

Cons: Groups usually separated in two rows of seats which hinders actual "group discussion" and leads to two separate groups within a group. Doesn't teach much else but slides. Tends to not break things down as much as you would like.

Tends to always have a few questions on the tests that seem as if they weren't covered in class.

Pros: Great Teacher!! Easily relays material to students and posts all power points online. Gives a good deal of extra credit as well as other opportunities to help your grade. All tests were group tests besides the final.

Cons: Assigns assessments due about 2 times a week. These are somewhat annoying but their weight is so small its not that big of a deal.

Loved her!! So approachable. Did well in the class.

Pros: there's a lot of group work in her class, so make sure you pick good group members! overall, it's pretty easy. she's a good teacher and podcasts all her lectures.

i would totally recommend her class to anyone.

Cons: it's easy to stop paying attention in her class and then get confused.... but if you read over the chapters she's discussing in class you'll get back on track.