Reviews for Volker Briken
Average Rating:| 800meters Course: BSCI424 Grade Expected: B+ December 15, 2011, 6:24 am | This class is all memorization. There are 3 multiple-choice exams. You have to study all 1000 powerpoint slides and have to know everything. I don't believe this class is curved, so for you pre-med *****es, a 90% is an A. |
| aralchen Course: BSCI424 Grade Expected: A December 16, 2010, 10:55 am | This was a very enjoyable and rewarding class. I certainly learned a lot from it about various pathogens and diseases, which is exactly why I signed up for the course in the first place. The lab component was by far the best partly because it was well organized and presented, and partly due to my totally awesome TA Jenny who was such a pleasure to learn from. I wasn't sold on the read-from-powerpoint approach Dr. Briken uses. It doesn't actually teach us anything we can't learn by simply reading the powerpoints ourselves. I stopped going to class in the second half of the semester and still got an A. To do well in the class you absolutely must memorize everything in the powerpoints. Yeah, it's not the best method for learning, but if this is how the class is organized, then this is how you must approach it. The exams test you on not so central details; you end up getting the answer about how many nosocomial infections occur each year wrong and you don't really get to show you true knowledge about the disease or microorganism you've painstakingly studied. Overall, I really wish the lecture would be more interactive, then he would be a 5-star teacher. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI424 Grade Expected: A December 13, 2010, 1:59 pm | I have to agree with avgbiomajor. Briken was a great teacher and it was a pretty good class. I would recommend it if you are really interested in learning about a lot of different bacteria in one semester. |
| avgbiomajor Course: BSCI424 Grade Expected: A December 22, 2009, 4:44 pm | Pathogenic Micro was one of the only courses I actually enjoyed and found useful at the same time. Alot of memorization, but I am no super overachiever and I got an A. It is a very fair course. Two semester tests, all MC with extra credit questions and a final. The final is not cummulative, but covers alot of material. Lab is fun easy points. If I were to recommend any science course to take at UMD, it would be this one. |
| ksmith1987 Course: BSCI424 Grade Expected: A January 5, 2008, 12:01 pm | This course is an upper level lab class and made up of many pre-meds. I thought that most of it was very interesting and Dr. Briken was approachable. The course is based on memorization, but so is the first year of med school so people should be used to it. Micro labs are always a lot of fun and this one is no exception. There are weekly assignments but none of them are very challenging. There are three exams... the final has tons of information on it so beware. Overall, I liked the class and would reccommend it to people that are considering it. One other note... I didnt open the book except for when I bought. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI424 Grade Expected: C December 14, 2007, 12:28 pm | I have no idea where the stats are from but this is a no curve no extra credit medical class for potential weed outs. Vague lectures are presented and the slides needed to be memorized "encyclopedia style" for three exams (multiple choice mind you specific details). The textbook used is an actual encylopedia. It is an upper level with an easy lab but the instructor has one cut throat grading scheme that I cant justify as an undergrad. |