Professor profile for Julie Palmer
Student reviews of Julie Palmer
Review from a student who took Bio 214
Yes, Dr. Palmer is a hard prof, but you really do learn a lot in her class. I pulled a C in her class but if you work hard and study with at least two days time you'll do fine. I would only study about 9 hrs before a test, hence why i got the "c." the course material is very interesting especially if you like bio. Dr. Palmer is pretty monotone so i advise you sit in front. There are no reviews for her class unless you go to her special sessions which pretty much just cover more of the previous lectures. Bascially you are on your own when it comes to studying and you never know what to expect on the test. can give much advice except for learn everything. I have mixed feelings about her teaching style. but she is definetly not a prof you want if you want an easy A.
Yes, Dr. Palmer is a hard prof, but you really do learn a lot in her class. I pulled a C in her class but if you work hard and study with at least two days time you'll do fine. I would only study about 9 hrs before a test, hence why i got the "c." the course material is very interesting especially if you like bio. Dr. Palmer is pretty monotone so i advise you sit in front. There are no reviews for her class unless you go to her special sessions which pretty much just cover more of the previous lectures. Bascially you are on your own when it comes to studying and you never know what to expect on the test. can give much advice except for learn everything. I have mixed feelings about her teaching style. but she is definetly not a prof you want if you want an easy A.
Review from a student who took BIO 211
Ehh, I didn't really like Dr. Palmer. I found it really difficult to stay awake during lectures. Her powerpoints usually just have a bunch of pictures that she draws using Microsoft Paint. Grades are from lecture attendance, exams, and discussion attendance I think. Dr. Palmer wasn't that great, and I only learned a marginal amount. Expect to study quite a bit.
Ehh, I didn't really like Dr. Palmer. I found it really difficult to stay awake during lectures. Her powerpoints usually just have a bunch of pictures that she draws using Microsoft Paint. Grades are from lecture attendance, exams, and discussion attendance I think. Dr. Palmer wasn't that great, and I only learned a marginal amount. Expect to study quite a bit.
Review from a student who took BIO 214
Got my first C with her. TERRIBLE tests. Not curved either. Would not recommend her to anyone. True, she has pretty good lectures, but exams are hard. I heard Shankland was good. Couldn't take him because of a class conflict. Try anyone else before trying Palmer.
Got my first C with her. TERRIBLE tests. Not curved either. Would not recommend her to anyone. True, she has pretty good lectures, but exams are hard. I heard Shankland was good. Couldn't take him because of a class conflict. Try anyone else before trying Palmer.
Review from a student who took BIO 211
Dr. Palmer is extremely difficult, and her exams are extremely detailed as well. You have to take tedious notes to do well on the test. I would not recommend Dr. Palmer for BIO 211. I've heard that Dr. Sathasivan is a lot easier than Dr. Palmer. If you take Dr. Palmer's class, you don't know what you're getting into. You have to prepare days in advance for her exams. Be ready to study hours on end for her exam. I have to admit her lectures are good, but it's too hard to keep up with everything she says. Her class is just way too stressful for freshmen.
Dr. Palmer is extremely difficult, and her exams are extremely detailed as well. You have to take tedious notes to do well on the test. I would not recommend Dr. Palmer for BIO 211. I've heard that Dr. Sathasivan is a lot easier than Dr. Palmer. If you take Dr. Palmer's class, you don't know what you're getting into. You have to prepare days in advance for her exams. Be ready to study hours on end for her exam. I have to admit her lectures are good, but it's too hard to keep up with everything she says. Her class is just way too stressful for freshmen.
Review from a student who took BIO 311D
I know people like specifics so I'll give them to you - First, I had a strong academic background from high school. For this class, I took the procrastination route to study for her tests (a.k.a study a few days before). Test on Monday - I started studying Saturday and studied 8 hours saturday and 8 hours sunday. It took that much to master all the material. I ended up with a strong A doing that. Take it as you will. I'm sure you could eliminate having to study so much on the weekends before tests by studying the material in bits each day. Dr. Palmer's lectures: she is enthusiastic about teaching and she will not make mistakes. She goes over the processes step by step in considerable detail and expects you to memorize each step and reproduce them on the test. If you are looking to go to med school I would actually recommend taking Dr. Palmer's course because the information you are expected to learn in such a short amount of time mimicks what you'll have to do in med-school.
I know people like specifics so I'll give them to you - First, I had a strong academic background from high school. For this class, I took the procrastination route to study for her tests (a.k.a study a few days before). Test on Monday - I started studying Saturday and studied 8 hours saturday and 8 hours sunday. It took that much to master all the material. I ended up with a strong A doing that. Take it as you will. I'm sure you could eliminate having to study so much on the weekends before tests by studying the material in bits each day. Dr. Palmer's lectures: she is enthusiastic about teaching and she will not make mistakes. She goes over the processes step by step in considerable detail and expects you to memorize each step and reproduce them on the test. If you are looking to go to med school I would actually recommend taking Dr. Palmer's course because the information you are expected to learn in such a short amount of time mimicks what you'll have to do in med-school.
Review from a student who took BIO 211
This is a MUST-attend, MUST-study course. Why? Her tests are directly from lecture and her slides! I had her 8am in the morning (bad idea but I didn't know better) and I just could not wake up for her class. You should definitely go to her class because there are in-class notecards that account for 25 points total, and trust me, you WILL be wanting those points when it comes final time. Like many of you out there, your accustommed to obtaining A's during high school although you didn't study much. That does NOT work for this class. I keep doing last minute studying and I'm on the 89 edge area which I despise. The first test average was a 50 and she curved 9 points...the 2nd average wasn't much higher but she didn't curve at ALL so don't expect her to curve. Attempt to avoid her but if you cannot, just know that you NEED to adjust to her teaching style.
This is a MUST-attend, MUST-study course. Why? Her tests are directly from lecture and her slides! I had her 8am in the morning (bad idea but I didn't know better) and I just could not wake up for her class. You should definitely go to her class because there are in-class notecards that account for 25 points total, and trust me, you WILL be wanting those points when it comes final time. Like many of you out there, your accustommed to obtaining A's during high school although you didn't study much. That does NOT work for this class. I keep doing last minute studying and I'm on the 89 edge area which I despise. The first test average was a 50 and she curved 9 points...the 2nd average wasn't much higher but she didn't curve at ALL so don't expect her to curve. Attempt to avoid her but if you cannot, just know that you NEED to adjust to her teaching style.
Review from a student who took BIO 211
A pretty hard A. Difficult tests that require you putting down word for word something that she went over in lecture. She doesn't give many A's and her tests are not curved. It helps a lot if you find someone who took her before and you look over the old tests before hand. Good for learning, but you need to work hard.
A pretty hard A. Difficult tests that require you putting down word for word something that she went over in lecture. She doesn't give many A's and her tests are not curved. It helps a lot if you find someone who took her before and you look over the old tests before hand. Good for learning, but you need to work hard.
Review from a student who took BIO 211
don't take palmer! she is extremely monotonous! like all the other reviews.. YOU MUST GO TO CLASS, STAY AWAKE, AND BE ABLE TO WRITE A 100 MPH TO TAKE GOOD NOTES!! indeed, tedious notes are a must for this class. no matter how good of notes you think you take, they will most likely not be of "A" quality. her tests are tricky and to be honest, she had test questions that were never even covered in class. i took her fall 02 and i guess she hasnt changed much. much of the class was in the C and D range and she curved on just one test..a whole 7 points. i came to despise biology and thus switched my major, thank god! overall, i would suggest taking someone else for bio 211. yes, there are some that make A's, but not many. her TA that semester was really nice and knowledgeable but i don't think he could make up for her lack of lecture skills. and beware: she loves to lecture on GOLGI... yet there will be a whopping one question over it on the test!
don't take palmer! she is extremely monotonous! like all the other reviews.. YOU MUST GO TO CLASS, STAY AWAKE, AND BE ABLE TO WRITE A 100 MPH TO TAKE GOOD NOTES!! indeed, tedious notes are a must for this class. no matter how good of notes you think you take, they will most likely not be of "A" quality. her tests are tricky and to be honest, she had test questions that were never even covered in class. i took her fall 02 and i guess she hasnt changed much. much of the class was in the C and D range and she curved on just one test..a whole 7 points. i came to despise biology and thus switched my major, thank god! overall, i would suggest taking someone else for bio 211. yes, there are some that make A's, but not many. her TA that semester was really nice and knowledgeable but i don't think he could make up for her lack of lecture skills. and beware: she loves to lecture on GOLGI... yet there will be a whopping one question over it on the test!
Review from a student who took BIO 211
I really did not like this lady. I thought her tests were unfair because they would not be over the overall material but there would be a majority of questions that would concentrate on one topic and all its minutia. Her lectures were boring. I sat at the back of the class and slept, so my notes were crappy. However, all you need is the book (which is really good) and the slides she posts because she doesnt really say anything phenomenal. I got a B in the class and I barely did any work, but if you want an A you can study really hard and know everything down to the minute details.
I really did not like this lady. I thought her tests were unfair because they would not be over the overall material but there would be a majority of questions that would concentrate on one topic and all its minutia. Her lectures were boring. I sat at the back of the class and slept, so my notes were crappy. However, all you need is the book (which is really good) and the slides she posts because she doesnt really say anything phenomenal. I got a B in the class and I barely did any work, but if you want an A you can study really hard and know everything down to the minute details.
Review from a student who took BIO 311D
Ok, semester ended. I put in hours of work into this class, and came out with an 'A'. Palmer expects a lot from you. This is the way her class is structured. In each "era", there are a number of different "stories". Stories are large sequences of information on a particular process that you need to have memorized to the last detail. One story is name all the events and substances involved in blood clotting. You need to name each and every substance involved and its function, and list sequentially how these molecules interact to accomplish a blood clot. Another story may be list the details from start to finish on how a neural action potential is fired. You must list every step from start to finish, just as it is gone over in the book/in class. It's these stories that make Palmer considerably more difficult than other teachers. Other teachers would not expect you to memorize every step down to the last minute detail. Palmer does, and she expects you to reproduce them on the test. There are multiple stories per section. A few examples: Blood Clotting, Action Potential, Muscle Contraction, Blood Pressure Rising, Calcium level homeostasis, Glucogen homeostasis, the list goes on. Rest assurred, the entire test isn't just "stories". There are multiple choice, and some other short answer. Then there are one or two "big" essay questions that cover the "stories." That is how Dr. Palmer's class works. It requires a lot of effort from you, but you will come out of the class learning a LOT, and retaining that information. As far as teaching goes, she teaches the material very effectively. It is simply the nature of the material and the fact that you need to know a lot of information for the tests that makes this course difficult. But if there's any teacher fit to do the job, it is Dr. Palmer. She coherently and thoroughly goes over each story to make sure everyone understands the details.
Ok, semester ended. I put in hours of work into this class, and came out with an 'A'. Palmer expects a lot from you. This is the way her class is structured. In each "era", there are a number of different "stories". Stories are large sequences of information on a particular process that you need to have memorized to the last detail. One story is name all the events and substances involved in blood clotting. You need to name each and every substance involved and its function, and list sequentially how these molecules interact to accomplish a blood clot. Another story may be list the details from start to finish on how a neural action potential is fired. You must list every step from start to finish, just as it is gone over in the book/in class. It's these stories that make Palmer considerably more difficult than other teachers. Other teachers would not expect you to memorize every step down to the last minute detail. Palmer does, and she expects you to reproduce them on the test. There are multiple stories per section. A few examples: Blood Clotting, Action Potential, Muscle Contraction, Blood Pressure Rising, Calcium level homeostasis, Glucogen homeostasis, the list goes on. Rest assurred, the entire test isn't just "stories". There are multiple choice, and some other short answer. Then there are one or two "big" essay questions that cover the "stories." That is how Dr. Palmer's class works. It requires a lot of effort from you, but you will come out of the class learning a LOT, and retaining that information. As far as teaching goes, she teaches the material very effectively. It is simply the nature of the material and the fact that you need to know a lot of information for the tests that makes this course difficult. But if there's any teacher fit to do the job, it is Dr. Palmer. She coherently and thoroughly goes over each story to make sure everyone understands the details.
Review from a student who took BIO 211
Dr Palmer's tests are mainly from her lectures and slides. She puts up her slides online (print them out and study them!), but you have to attend lecture in order to get notes because some of the material she goes over is not in the book. I think her tests are pretty fair, although it may be a little bit difficult. She has a multiple choice part, and a short answer part. Personally, I think Dr Palmer is difficult because if you miss something in lecture, you have to rely on your friends to get the information, or go to her office hours for clarification because it may not be in the book. If you want a pretty challenging class, this class is just right. It's not overly difficult, but neither is it a walk in the park. Just my 2 cents..
Dr Palmer's tests are mainly from her lectures and slides. She puts up her slides online (print them out and study them!), but you have to attend lecture in order to get notes because some of the material she goes over is not in the book. I think her tests are pretty fair, although it may be a little bit difficult. She has a multiple choice part, and a short answer part. Personally, I think Dr Palmer is difficult because if you miss something in lecture, you have to rely on your friends to get the information, or go to her office hours for clarification because it may not be in the book. If you want a pretty challenging class, this class is just right. It's not overly difficult, but neither is it a walk in the park. Just my 2 cents..