Reviews for Jennifer Lynn Stewart Watson
Average Rating:| Anonymous Course: BCHM463 Grade Expected: B December 29, 2011, 11:20 am | Dr. (James) Watson is really super cool and down to earth, very approachable and he really cares if we understood the material or not. If you truly want to understand biochemistry, Dr. Watson has a way of really dumbing it down so that you can understand. He likes to use funny analogies to compare some of the chemistry to things we would remember. I found that to be helpful. He warned us at the beginning of the semester that the material changes drastically over the semester and he was NOT kidding! The material for the first two exams seemed very manageable, then when we got into the metabolism stuff it got really intense and there was A LOT to memorize. I felt really overwhelmed toward the end with all of that because the class went from being manageable to being blasted in the face with a firehose. He warned us that would happen and he wasn't kidding! I really thought his exams were extremely tough. Our exam averages were always at around 62%. You are going to use chemistry from every single chemistry class you have taken. There was arrow pushing, aldol condensation, SN1, SN2, enols, enolates and all that fun stuff from orgo. Then there was some Gen Chem 2 stuff like Henderson Hasselback, PKA crap, entropy problems, redox potentials etc. The class is tough, but it's doable! My best advice on how to study for this class: Don't cram for his exams. You have to tackle a little bit at a time because it's a lot of information. Use his lectures as an outline to guide you through the book. You NEED to read the book because he will test you on material in the book that he did not cover in lecture. He's pretty good about telling you to be sure you read certain parts of the text. If he tells you to read it, you can bet that it will show up on the exam. Consider it a promise. For the first two exams I would say it's important to work through the end of chapter problems because he uses some of those problems in his exams. The third exam and final, the end of chapter questions were not as important. For the third exam, memorize and understand those reactions REALLY WELL. Once you start the material after the second exam, realize that the pace picks up dramatically and suddenly you'll find yourself drowning if you don't keep up. If you get stuck, definitely drop by his office hours because he's really cool about helping you understand and he really wants you to learn. He's really nice and approachable. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM463 Grade Expected: B December 26, 2011, 11:07 am | Dr. Watson is a really cool and approachable guy. He reminds me of a TA as opposed to a professor, mainly because he is just so down-to-earth and funny. If you work really hard, it is completely possible to get an A, I only got a B in the class because I bombed one exam after not planning ahead. The book is really useful, though he recommends not getting the most recent book because it's not necessary and older versions are a lot cheaper. Anyway, I would equate him to teachers like Dr. Dixon for chemistry or Dr. Redish for physics--really nice and approachable, but very challenging. He teaches you well, so he expects you to know the material well. Start studying for the final early! There is a lot to know, and memorizing the steps of glycolysis and the CAC are not as easy as I anticipated. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM464 Grade Expected: B- December 9, 2011, 5:06 am | Dr. (James) Watson changed the course a lot this semester to make it easier for students. Rubrics for the four major assignments are posted online ahead of time. Two review articles, last semester's study guide, and this semesters study guide were made available before the exam. Also Dr. Watson focused the weekly mini assignments on material that would help you to complete the major lab reports. The course was very challenging and materials were graded critically, but if you were willing to spend a lot of time an A is definitely achievable. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM463 Grade Expected: A- May 18, 2011, 3:21 pm | Dr. Watson is cool. He is young, funny, down-to-earth, and is not your typical, pretentious professor. He has a PhD in biochem, of course, but he is more laid back than most professors and for this reason he is very likable, approachable, and caring. His lectures were decent. Intro to biochemistry will be boring no matter who teaches it, but Dr. Watson lightened it up a bit. He always threw in a witty remark and tried to keep us involved. He sometimes can get frustrating, however, when he doesn't complete a thought, but my friends and I used our lecture notes as merely a guide for the exams. We would read through our notes as a supplement to reading the relevant chapters in the textbook. The textbook is absolutely essential in Dr. Watson's class; you use it heavily to study for each exam. Our only grades were 3 exams and a final. So really, aside from the 3 weeks that we actually had the exams, there is really little work for this class. But, that being said, his exams are super long and comprehensive, so the weeks in which you have a biochem exam, you will be swamped. Its a 400-level-class. You will work hard for each exam, but there are no other assignments. This means that there is a lot of pressure to do well on each exam, and your semester grade is only based on the exams. He curves like any other professor would - no better and no worse. It was, maybe, a 15-20 point curve. But, that being said, the averages were a 55, a 56, and a 57 for the 3 exams. Tough stuff. Watson is OK. Not a great teacher, per-se, but a very nice and cool dude who will meet with you, know your name and face, and be willing to help when he can. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM463 Grade Expected: May 16, 2011, 7:44 am | I don't know what's going on with the 464 reviewers (I suppose it's good that I wasn't there to share their sentiment). First things first, keep in mind that the course is biochemistry so expect to memorize everything. Dr. Watson presents a lot of material very quickly. Fortunately he does follow along with the textbook, so whatever you missed can be found there. He likes to ask questions to the class while lecturing, often resulting in some long awkward silences. He will also answer all of your questions in class so don't be afraid to ask for clarification. Always read the book BEFORE class - or you will be completely lost - which is partially why I quickly gave up trying to pay attention (aside from the fact that I hate chemistry and most biology as well). Your grade depends on three exams and the cumulative final. There is a very generous curve, in the 20%-30% range (if not slightly more). You can get pass if you just memorize material. To get an "A" and probably even a "B" you have to be able to apply concepts - a much more difficult task. Grade distribution is explicitly spelled out in the syllabus - so don't bother trying to argue over points. Read it very carefully, because Dr. Watson has built in ways that you can get a good grade in the class. As a bio major, it was legitimately the hardest course I've taken here at UMD. Some people can grasp the material and actually enjoy learning it, others simply can't/don't. I was absolutely in the latter camp. However, this class isn't impossible, even for people like me. |
| assto89 Course: BCHM464 Grade Expected: B January 22, 2011, 11:01 am | Absolutely Horrible, Rude, Incompetent dude. But, there is no alternative of him in BCHM464 Lab. Sometime I think, "Does he even know what we are doing". I understand its 400 course, but man is an A----LE. His grading is outright bias. He does not return papers on time. When class drop-date pass, you will get your reports and grades back. Class average was 50, and we did not know how he gonna curve. There is no certainty. Does not reply email, gets annoyed when we asked question. Plus, Biochem lab facility is worst of the worst (Rust on equipments - You experiment probably won't work, because there are so many way your protein may contaminate - You will be penalize for that). I wise UMD get better professor, and spend little more money on lab equipment. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM463 Grade Expected: A December 23, 2010, 7:30 pm | Pretty hard and fast paced professor, kinda lazy about putting course materials up on ELMS (he didn't put up the key to the practice final!), but very effective, willing to meet in office hours, and provides a generous curve. Knows his stuff and keeps the class entertaining. Not much work to do outside of class as long as you study hard for the exams! |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM463 Grade Expected: September 13, 2010, 8:53 pm | I can't comment on the lab, but as far as the accelerated Biochem course goes, Watson was the man. Despite the huge amount of material in the course, he always tried to keep it interesting and throw in funny/random facts. I think people forget that this is a 400 level course and assume it's going to be as easy as Gen Chem. WRONG. It's difficult, but you end up mastering a lot of material. People also complained about his exams, but 1) there is a decent curve and 2) he WILL actually test your ability to apply concepts. If you can't do the work then don't complain. Based on the curriculum for that course I think Watson does a great job. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM464 Grade Expected: June 3, 2010, 7:32 pm | While I do not agree with Dr. Watson's class structure or grading methods there somethings that I think need to be straightened out. 1) Making conjecture about the origin of a good review, while it lends insight into your own feelings, is neither helpful to the average viewer of OURUMD nor fair to the professor 2) His salary should not have a play in any review. To include that kind of information is simply bad form. Also, he is a lecturer and may I remind everyone that lecturers in general choose that particular route because they want to teach us, which must mean something right? 3)Also, yellow fever? That is immature and rude. Now, all that aside. I do not feel that this class was structured correctly. 1)I agree that we were not given enough of a rubric for our lab reports, and the averages were ridiculously low. 2) The grading was quite arbitrary, the TAs (or should I say one of the TAs)graded entirely whatever he felt like. 3) There were definitely favorites being played, and it was irritating. I guess you just have to be an attractive female that interests your TA I guess. I know I didn't fit that bill.... but hey, that's life. 4)I did talk to the Professor a lot (interesting sense of humor), but I guarantee you that there was no curving in my favor. Which I'm actually slightly admiring of, I mean there are just too many professors who bend back wards for us and its not fair to the introverted types floating around. 5) Dr. Watson is a nice guy, I think... he smiles a lot. 6) As for the curve. Yes, I would've loved to be able to see the curve cutoffs, because it is the end of the semester I got my grade (not what I wanted, or what I thought I would have...) and we still don't know the cut offs. Too much behind the stage magic here. 7) Do NOT include EVERYTHING. I got points taken off for including everything. No I'm not kidding. I don't think one of the TAs reads the lab manual because he took off points for including something that the lab manual explicitly stated should be included on the report. 8) Yeah your actual data don't matter. It's just how you present it. The way that makes your Ta happy. Which I apparently never reached... 9) I think this class is about luck. And having lots of it! LOTS. once again like life. 10) I do wish the Professor would at least go over the lab manual. Every week we come in with everything calculated out, then the TA tells us we have to change some concentration or another. Common, just send us an email before hand. Please. 11) I've asked questions about the manual and the response I'd get would be a "...hold on, let me check." I don't think the TA I had , read the manual before hand, we did our work, so I think it is only fair that the TA does his too. on the bright side the other TA got nominated for TA of the year... so it's a crap shoot. 12)I found the fundamentals and actual lab part of this class quite enjoyable. Too bad the reports and other crap ruined it. |
| UMDJunior89 Course: BCHM464 Grade Expected: May 9, 2010, 4:03 pm | Although he seems like a nice guy, Dr. Watson is a terrible professor. The expectations for the course were not very clear and you often don't know what you're supposed to include in the lab reports until after you get them back with 40+ points taken off. The averages for all of the reports were at or below 50% with the highest grade usually not exceeding 80%. Now if you ask me, grades like these do not reflect flawed students, but rather a flawed professor. Granted, one of the TAs was a dick and took off points for bogus reasons (accidentally including two spaces between words, thought you didn't understand a concept even though your point was extracted from published journal articles, etc...), Dr. Watson had the chance to correct them but he never did. Unfortunately, since he is the only coordinator for this lab, you're stuck with him. I would suggest incessantly asking questions since he never tells you what he expects. Also, the results you get in lab, or more often lack thereof, do not matter as much as explaining what you should have gotten so don't sweat it. Just make sure you include EVERYTHING in your lab reports or you'll get mad points taken off. Just beware. Also, don't expect to ever know your grade in the class since it's curved (but only at the end). |
| poiuy Course: BCHM464 Grade Expected: ? May 4, 2010, 10:59 am | TOO BAD OURUMD DEFAULT IS 1 STAR BECAUSE WATSON DESERVES 0. Watson is about as professional as low resolution x-ray crystallograph. If you know what I mean. It is unacceptable. He returns graded work late in the middle of spring break (when many are out of town), makes no attempt to adjust for student needs on account of this, ignores emails when contacting him regarding this issue, tells you to 'keep working until it works' if you run into issues on lab report. Majority of lectures are merely student presentations. The times he will talk about upcoming experiments, he refuses to post lecture slides. In a word: UNHELPFUL. In another word: RUDE. No expectations are prescribed in this course. No rubrics are ever given. Lab manual documents are fraught with typos, inconsistencies, and other type of mistakes. Grading is completely arbitary. That is why my expected grade is a big, fat question mark. He clearly plays favorites and will not hesistate to insult your experimental technique without justification. Watson is a waste of university money. The money they pay him is better spent on purchasing more equipment for the biochem lab. I would not be surprised there are so few reviews listed here because most are so truthful that they have been flagged as inappropriate. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM464 Grade Expected: A+ March 15, 2010, 3:36 pm | I thought Dr. Watson was a great professor. He was available during his office hours and responded to e-mails on time regarding lab reports. The class is a lot of work but if you understand the concepts and do the work, you should definitely get an A |
| dulr08 Course: BCHM464 Grade Expected: January 14, 2010, 9:33 pm | The worst professor yet! LECTURED ONLY 2 CLASSES IN WHOLE DAMN SEMESTER, REST PRESENTATIONS (2 GROUPS/CLASS), 2 GUEST LECTURES (BY A GRAD STUDENT). He won't update you about your grades which is really annoying considering you do a lot of busy work. The work was like Post-doc course yet the grading was like he expected everyone to be able to write a 10-page research paper in stead lab-report. In addition, experiments are poorly designed, often had no results (Universal in Class), so no idea what to write in lab report. Yet he expects way more in lab report. I guess, he has his own lab, we don't (5 hours/week/2-3 experiments). Yes, you often do 2-3 experiments per lab. He is no help at all. I don't even know, he has knowledge of subject. WON'T UPDATE GRADES BEFORE DROP DATE.. (2 Lab reports due before drop date, 50 pts each = 100/700 pts), AFTER DROP DATE PASSED, Final exam (No mid-term) = 100 pts, 4 lab reports 350 pts pts/each, 50 pts presentation (Yet 10 weeks b/w 20 groups = 2 grps/class), 100 pts notebook (ALL THESE DUE IN LAST 1.5 MONTH OF SEMESTER). HE IS NOT SHY OF FAILING STUDENTS, HE IS JUST HAPPY WITH HIS NEW JOB AT UMD. In addition, All these work, I did not had chance to study for other classes' finals. Sorry if you signed up for a class with him. CHANGE IT IMMEDIATELY! |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM464 Grade Expected: B January 5, 2010, 3:08 pm | I still don't know why he game me C-, even after my average was B, with curve. He was disrespectful. Now I see whole picture my semester grade, I do feel that he did discrimination in the grading. I suggest you take someone else than him. I guess I was happy to pass with C-. But couple of students was not that lucky. |
| Anonymous Course: BCHM464 Grade Expected: C- December 22, 2009, 8:44 pm | HE IS A BIAS AND DOES OPEN DISCRIMINATION IN HIS GRADING. NOT CLEAR ABOUT GRADING, LAB REPORT OR NOT HELPFUL AT ALL. AND IF YOU GET BAD GRADE, GET OUT OF THERE OR YOU ARE GETTING AN "F"... NOT EVEN A "-C" OR "D". DON"T TAKE HIM. CONTACT DEAN... OR CONTACT BIOCHEMISTRY AND CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT AND GET HIME OUT OF THERE.HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO TEACHES THIS CLASS. DON'T TELL ME THAT I DID NOT WARN YA. HE ONLY CURVES FOR SELECTIVE STUDENTS. |