Reviews for Spencer A. Benson
Average Rating:| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: January 16, 2012, 8:12 pm | Prof. Benson is not your ideal teacher. If you are looking for an easy A this is not it. However, if you put in the effort and always go to lecture it isn't that difficult to get a good grade in the course. His tests are tricky and you will not agree with 80% of the things he does with his tests, but he offers three extra credit assignments as well as extra credit on every test and the final is out of 150 points but scored on a 100 point scale so you have 50 bonus points built in. I wouldn't recommend him as a teacher but if you get stuck with him it is possible to pass as long as you put in the effort. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: B December 29, 2011, 2:40 pm | I'm giving Prof. Benson a 5 to even out the negative comments. I imagine a lot of the negative comments come from first semester freshmen, but wake up- this is college. Additionally, the man himself is friendly and very smart. Friendly: out of a lecture hall of hundreds of students, he will remember your name if you put in a little effort to talk to him. Smart: yes, he is like other professors a world-class researcher. To freshman: BSCI105 may be difficult compared to your HON/ GT/ AP courses in high school, but it is only the beginning. The subsequent courses at the 300 and 400 level are even harder, especially for pre-med, biology or any science curriculum. Now to be honest, if you consider a 'fair' class to follow a ratio of 1:1 effort to grade, then you will have to adjust. This class offers around a ratio of 3:1- you'll have to put in three times the effort you normally would to achieve the same result. Is it hard? Yes but again, so is it expected to be. Such is college, such is life- UNFAIR. This is my advice: let go of the pangs of injustice at your initial difficulty. Remove yourself from the infectious attitude of your peers- learned helplessness, a culture of complaining. It doesn't help at all to feel bad. If you value success more than 'fairness' in Benson's BSCI105, you can do it. |
| wowumdseriously Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: December 26, 2011, 8:13 pm | Worst. Can't teach. Not a good communicator. Lives in his own world. Instead of him trying to adjust to students he expects students to adjust to him for everything. He doesn't curve saying we should be able to do that much. There's a difference between pushing students and putting them down. He puts them down by saying "he didn't do anything wrong in fact he did everything right and the tests are fair." Does he think his methods and himself have no errors? I don't get this teacher. Seriously, umd????? |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: C December 20, 2011, 12:59 pm | Benson is absolutely the worst professor Maryland has to offer. I came into this class with a notebook FULL of notes on Biology 100 level class, just like this one, from my previous institution. I got an A at my other college a semeter before and now I am barely keeping a C. He expects you to know things that some of his TAs cant even describe. I not only used my previous notes, but also read and took notes on this textbook (taking me about 4 hours per chapter), used his learning guide to help study, and looked at his lectures to figure out what he wants us to study. When it came to test time i had studied hard for each test, starting about a week in advance on each test and all three of my test grades were C. Then when he got the test results, he told us in class that the avg. (60 or below on all three tests) was disappointing and we don't how to study properly. His lectures are rendered useless at test time, as well as his learning guide because he seems to test on stuff that isn't suggested on both those two. I have spent endless hours just studying for his class, and now my GPA is shot. IF YOU CAN AVOID DR. BENSON AT ALL COSTS. it is completely worth it to be behind in your major and skip his class one semester to get another professor. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: C December 11, 2011, 11:48 am | I came into this course knowing it would be a lot of hard work, judging from reviews from last spring, regardless of the professor. You know how we're all taught that if you work hard and do as much as you can, you'll get what you've earned? COMPLETE lie when it comes to this class, specifically taught by Benson. He's a smart man, but not every smart person can be an efficient teacher. I have spent ridiculous amounts of time studying for his tests giving up sleep and time I could have spent working for classes I actually had a chance to do well in--now, my GPA is shot to hell unless I get an A on every single test and class other than BSCI105. My TA was very helpful but unfortunately doing well in lab was not enough. His lectures are boring and his responses to student concerns are nothing but condescending and rude. He refuses to curve when it is blatantly clear that over 60% of the class is literally below failing point and the other 40% are struggling to keep a C. Perhaps Benson failed to notice that he signed up to teach a 105 level, INTRODUCTION COURSE, mostly consisting of freshmen and sophomores taking it for either a CORE credit or as a major requirement (yes, even for non science majors). No, Professor Benson, we do not have the time to read a 35 page chapter over THREE TIMES, we cannot drop other classwork just to barely pass your class, some of us have jobs we can't afford to give up, and some of us actually need more than three hours of sleep a night to function on some normal level. All hopeful psych majors, just know there are other options for the prerequisite--spare yourself the agony and take 106 or a chem course. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: December 6, 2011, 7:31 pm | This is my third semester of college, and Benson is, by far, the worst professor I've ever had. He knows his material well but he has no concept of how to effectively communicate it to his classes. The course-load is enormous, the minute opportunities that you have to get extra credit only give you five-ten points (For reading a book and writing a paper!!). He can't effectively answer questions, his lecture slides are terrible and he doesn't differentiate between what you really need to know for the test and everything else very well. We get notecards before the test to write anything we want to reference while taking the exam and people (myself included) fail the tests miserably. He makes lots of ridiculous mistakes when speaking and in his slides. He once stated that 4*4 = 8... in reference to talking about how important math is in understanding science. I could go on but I think anyone would get the picture. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: C December 6, 2011, 2:46 pm | LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE!!! I thought that it was just some stupid overreaction from getting a bad grade, but he seriously does not care about you. He believes that it is not his fault for his students doing poorly on his exams when the average was about a 60%. THIS IS A 100 LEVEL COURSE! IT SHOULD NOT BE THIS DIFFICULT! Seriously, if this is the only professor open for any course, DO NOT TAKE HIM. JUST DO IT NEXT SEMSETER. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: B December 1, 2011, 9:00 pm | Benson actually wasn't that bad. He is a brilliant man and definitely knows what he is talking about, the only problem is that he can't communicate it very well. He teaches the class like a review class and expects you to already know the information so he goes through the material rather quickly. Tests were difficult: a few multiple choice and the rest were explanation. He says the tests are based off the slides but they are actually taken from the book. READ THE BOOK! and go to GSS because Benson doesn't explain concepts very well. you still need to go to class for clicker points. He also gives extra credit. There are lots of grade opportunities so it's not the end of the world if you bomb a test. Weekly online quizzes as well, don't forget to do those. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: April 21, 2011, 7:42 am | Worst Professor I have ever had...!!! I recommend the same as other ppl here are saying.. NEVER take a class with him..!!!! However, the plus side was his TA Siqian Feng was the bestttt TA ever !!! |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: December 17, 2010, 8:43 pm | Words cannot describe how horrendous this teacher is. DO NOT EVER TAKE HIS BSCI105 CLASS. you will regret it for sure. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: B December 16, 2010, 12:03 pm | He could have been a lot better of a professor if he would have listened to students' concerns and problems. The tests were impossible. Lectures were boring. There were some horrible TAs, but Siqian Feng was definitely the best TA. I did like the fact that he used a lot of technology, compared to other professors I had who still used overhead projectors. He doesn't curve, even though the test average was below a 59% on time and low 60's another time. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: C December 14, 2010, 6:15 pm | This is the absolute worst class I have ever taken. Benson is a terrible teacher who should reconsider teaching. His lectures bore you to sleep although you do have to show up for clicker questions. You ask him a simple question he will give you a long answer that does not clearly answer your question. I advise anyone with their right minds not to take this class. How the heck does a class fail with note cards and cheat sheets? its unbelievable because studying hard does not guarantee you good grades in this class. I think anyone that endured the same lecture I did will concur that this guy is a no go. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: December 7, 2010, 6:01 pm | do not take this class. he does not answer question and does not give u chance to prepare for tests which are very hard. he has multiple choice and short answer but the multiple choice have a justification spot which takes away the point of multiple choice. the power points that u go over in class in no way prepare you for the test. u pretty much have to teach yourself and do a VERY good job at it. the only chance you have of surviving this class is to do well in lab which is not to bad |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: December 7, 2010, 7:36 am | I think everyone in BSCI105 will agree with me when I say that Professor Benson is one of the most frustrating teachers I have ever had. He teaches directly off of a slide show and he lectures are unbearable. Not only that but he is not clear on any concept and when questions are asked he never provides a complete answer. He is clearly a brilliant man, however, his expertise does not lie in teaching. His tests are difficult and although the average of the exam may be a Low D, he refuses to curve and he never questions what he is doing wrong when trying to convey his messages. He blames us and questions our study habits. I have never worked harder for a class and recieved such little compensation. There are so many other professors that I hear are not only easier, but also fair. DO NOT TAKE HIM IF YOU CAN AVOID IT |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: December 6, 2010, 8:44 pm | If you want to take a class that you won't absolutely hate, then don't ever take a class with Spencer Benson. He is not a very good professor, he's not the best at explaining things, there is WAY too much material on each exam, and overall the class is just way too difficult for a 105 level. My entire class agrees that he is awful and I would never recommend him to anyone. |
| Anonymous Course: BSCI105 Grade Expected: B December 2, 2010, 7:41 pm | The classand material itself is not difficult, but professor Benson does not have an effective way of teaching the material. His workload is immense. He expects you to go through each chapter 3 times, which is a considerable amount because you end up going through more than one chapter a week. There are mastering biology quizzes each week, but he gives you many opportunites to get the full amount of possible points. He also gives clicker questions and you only have to get half right to get full credit. The lab is easy, the only hard work is the lab report, which you get to use a template for, and the poster presentation. The exams are HARD. The class average for the first exam was below a 60. Then before the second test 100 students dropped the class and half of the students failed the second test as well. You have to put A LOT of work into this class do to well, and it seems like the amount of work you put into the class is not reflected in your grade. If possible I would definitely suggest to take a different professor if possible, or just avoid this course altogether |
| rbterp Course: BSCI425 Grade Expected: April 1, 2010, 8:21 am | I am still taking Dr. Benson's course currently so I can update this later, but pretty much my entire class agrees that Dr. Benson is AWFUL! He is really unclear about information presented in the textbook because epidemiology is clearly not his area of expertise, his online quizzes have blatantly wrong answers, he is completely unlear in what he expects for projects and posts rubrics AFTER the projects are due...the list goes on. He is really into using ELMS - he posts current events to a blog and makes all students do the same, resulting in you having to waste time reading lots of random articles. Epidemiology could be a really interesting and useful subject, but he shies away from all of the hard statistical equations. I do not recommend Dr. Benson. To give you a better idea of the structure of the course, there are 3 exams and a final (exams are a lot of short answer and essay) and 3 projects. One is a huge group project on a certain disease, the other two are doing an online simulation and writing a review of epidemiologically related book/movie/museum exhibit. A decent amount of outside work, so even though it's easier than other 400 level bio courses, you'll still have to put in a decent amount of time. |
| terpfan29 Course: BSCI122 Grade Expected: B November 2, 2007, 9:45 pm | Strengths: He is knowledgeable in the subject, but not the best teacher. I should not have taken this class as a lab science. I am a business major and most of the class were education majors. Supposedly that is who the class is meant for. The way the class was run is that we watched videos that were part of a series. The tests were based on the videos and the textbook. At first they are hard to do well on and he lets you do a retest. But the class gets easier in the middle and definitely more interesting near the end. Oh and I was the only guy in the class (not that it was a problem). I just wish Benson would teach more instead of having the videos do it all. Jason the TA was very helpful and friendly. Drawbacks The reason why I took this class was because I am a business major and wanted an easy science class for CORE. it is not the easy A class that I expected. He made the class really basic, almost too basic which made it more difficult in the end! I would have liked for him to clearly explain topics after watching the videos. He also sometimes didn't get what people were asking. Overall it wasn't a bad class, but I think I could have learned more in a more difficult and real science course. Supposedly this class will be restricted to education majors in the future, and I think if you aren't going in to science this is an okay class to take. |