Norm Garrison - James Madison University

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Norm Garrison - James Madison University

Professor: Norm Garrison

Department: Biology

College: James Madison University

Rating # 1

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This class is hard as is, but Garrison doesn't make it any easier. His powerpoints are straight pictures and he just talks. If you have goof background in Phys you should be fine, otherwise it will be really difficult. The textbook is super long and boring, but reading it and understanding seems to help. Make study guides from the book for exams

Rating # 2

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: C
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Overall, Garrison is a great and nice guy who loves what he does and it shows. He tries to engage with the class, but there are a lot of students and info to get through. He is a tough grader so definitely go to office hours. Most of the time if you do he will give you the answers he is looking for. Tests are hard so doing well on labs is a must.

Rating # 3

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hands down THE worst class I have ever taken. Garrison is impossible to understand, and I never knew what to study! Felt lost 100 percent of the time. Lab work and class assignments are do-able but the tests are impossible!!!! This class was just one big migraine

Rating # 4

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: A-
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Know this class is going to be extremely hard from the very beginning. Start reading early on and go to his office a lot for labs and for lecture. I basically taught myself the whole class through YouTube and by asking him stuff in my office. This class gave me depression but I managed to do fine???

Rating # 5

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: C-
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

GO TO CLASS... even though attendance isn't mandatory, trust me you will need all the 2.5 pt in class activities points. Once I started treating it like an online class (teaching myself everything through reading and youtube videos) I started to do a little better... But was very difficult to understand him and lectures were really hard to follow.

Rating # 6

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

anybody who got below a B- didn't study enough, yes this class is hard as hell. but if you are actually willing to sacrifice some of your time, to at least watch some youtube videos on the material and read the important sections of the book, you can't get lower than a B-. go to his office for labs and assignments and he GIVES u the answers.

Rating # 7

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

THIS CLASS IS VERY HARD. if you are stuck with him, here is my advice. Take all your labs/lecture assignments to him you'll get 10/10. During class, jot down on your laptop everything he says. This will help u know what's important to study later. GO TO HIS OFFICE. REVIEW ALL MATERIAL WITH HIM. also, YOUTUBE! must read the book, prepare in advance!

Rating # 8

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Garrison is such a nice man and really does try his best, he just isn't the best professor. But for lab if you go to his office hours he will tell you everything you need to get an A on the labs and assignments. AGAIN, really nice guy just wouldn't recommend him

Rating # 9

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Garrison is the sweetest man and always very helpful during office hours; however, his class was one of the hardest I've ever taken. His PPs in lecture are strictly pictures with very little info. Get ready to read the textbook because that's the only reason I didn't fail every single one of his tests. But the final is open book and notes.

Rating # 10

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: A-
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Garrison is the sweetest professor you will ever have. Must read the textbook to understand. He is incredibly helpful during office hours and truly wants you to do well. Lecture is dry but Professor Garrison is the cutest. He is the nicest professor I have had at JMU and recommend taking him if you are willing to put in the work for it.

Rating # 11

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: B-
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is a very sweet old man. If you have to have him, GO TO OFFICE HOURS for lab and youll get a 10/10 on every assignment. Lecture is incredibly difficult and hard to understand, so youll have to read out of the textbook and hope you understand for the test. Avoid if possible

Rating # 12

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Garrison is such a sweet man, however, when it comes to teaching his lectures can be difficult to understand. Attendance isn't mandatory, but he has 5 random in class assignments that count towards your grade. Tests cover 7 chapters at a time, so take lots of time to study for his exams. Overall a good teacher, just be prepared to work!

Rating # 13

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He is hard to understand in Lecture b/c he is crazy smart. For exams study the summary pages that are at the end of the powerpoints. I figured this out and my exam grades got much better. He lets you redo all lecture assignments. For lab, GO TO HIS OFFICE HOURS AND YOU WILL GET 10/10 on them. He is very willing to help if you ask for it.

Rating # 14

Overview:

Course: BIO270L
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I LOVED having Dr. Garrison for lab! I 100% recommend going to office hours! My groups always did that and we got A's on all our lab assignments which boost your grade. He is ALWAYS accessible by email and gets back to you very quickly. I would definitely recommend taking Dr. Garrison for lab. He is such a sweet man and wants you to do well.

Rating # 15

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Garrison is a great guy, but schmoozing will get you no where. He's vague on what he want answers he wants to see on assignments/labs, but if you go into his office hours he's a huge help. Utilize. Office. Hours. Prepare to work for your grade.

Rating # 16

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: D+
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is an extremely nice person so it makes it hard to dislike him! I definitely HATED the class. Class average on his 3 exams were D- except for his second exam which was a 71. Final is open notes, but don't expect his questions to come clearly from the notes. I wouldn't recommend him at all for lecture, however he was a very good lab professor.

Rating # 17

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Garrison is super sweet, but he's an awful professor and I don't know how anybody passes his class without going to office hours. He's very helpful there, but this class requires an insane amount of time studying. Don't take as a gen ed if it's not for your major. Expect this to be the heaviest class in your schedule.

Rating # 18

Overview:

Course: BIO270L
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Garrison was a great lab teacher. He is an extremely harsh grader, but if you go to his office hours he will help you. He wants his students to do well. I went to office hours and showed him all of my lab reports before they were do and had an A on almost all of my labs. Would not recommend for lecture.

Rating # 19

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: A-
Overall Rating: 2.5
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Garrison has good intentions but really is an awful professor. I attended his lectures regularly and didn't learn anything from them. Powerpoints aren't helpful. I understood the material when I read the textbook thoroughly on my own but this is very time intensive. Had to teach myself the whole class, but ended up doing okay.

Rating # 20

Overview:

Course: BIO270
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Genuinely nice man but an extremely harsh grader (expect 60% and below on a lot of lab assignments). Work really hard if you want a B. A is in the range of the impossible unless you're a slave to this class.

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