EE BIOL 110
Vertebrate Morphology
Description: Lecture, three hours; laboratory, five hours. Requisites: Life Sciences 1, 2, 3, 4, 23L. Study of vertebrate morphology, function, and evolution from viewpoint of comparative anatomy of adult forms, biomechanics, development, and paleontology. Laboratory study of selected vertebrates. Letter grading.
Units: 6.0
Units: 6.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2025 - Content: Pretty intensive overview of vertabrate morph. Class is 6 units, and lab is intense so it feels like two classes in one. I love the subject so I found the lectures interesting, but the consensus from my peers seemed to be that it wasn't super engaging for them. This class is really memorization heavy, especially with the Lab portion (definitely start studying early if you can). There are three lecture midterms, and two lab practicals. What used to be an extra credit field trip is now calculated in your normal grade. Professor: It is undeniable that Dines is incredibly knowledgable in this subject area. But where he excels in material comprehension, in equal measure he lacks in approachability. That's not to say that Dines is not friendly, he is, but only when you were doing everything right/understand the content. In lecture, he would respond to questions about course content kindly, especially if it was something he deemed as a "good question" (which he would often vocalize). But he was extremely rigid in his enforcement of syllabus policy without taking into account individual needs of students; which while seemingly equal, it is not an *equitable* mode of teaching. His method of approaching and responding to students inadvertently put neurodivergent students like me at a disadvantage. I don't believe this was done maliciously, but that does not substantially alter the effect that that had on my success in the class. I didn't feel like I could ask questions about material or ask for flexibility (even with CAE accommodations), and when I did ask questions I was met with genuine frustration and not empathy. It is not my fault that I have ADHD and that some aspects of the course were more difficult for me than for others. But Dines doesn't understand that different students learn different, and I did not feel as though I could approach him with concerns without being visibly judged for it. I do not believe that asking for help and understanding should be met with frustration. I understand that this course is rigorous and meant to be challenging; but challenging courses are more impactful and material is better retained when professors are empathetic. The course should have been challenging because of the *material*, not because of the professor's demeanor. I think the most upsetting part about this class is that I think Dines could have been a really good professor. He clearly was very passionate about the material, and any tangents he may have went on were always really interesting to me. But when it came to the student-professor relationship, all of that passion would vanish. If he took some of his investment in the subject matter and allocated it to his students, I think this class would have been much more enjoyable.
Winter 2025 - Content: Pretty intensive overview of vertabrate morph. Class is 6 units, and lab is intense so it feels like two classes in one. I love the subject so I found the lectures interesting, but the consensus from my peers seemed to be that it wasn't super engaging for them. This class is really memorization heavy, especially with the Lab portion (definitely start studying early if you can). There are three lecture midterms, and two lab practicals. What used to be an extra credit field trip is now calculated in your normal grade. Professor: It is undeniable that Dines is incredibly knowledgable in this subject area. But where he excels in material comprehension, in equal measure he lacks in approachability. That's not to say that Dines is not friendly, he is, but only when you were doing everything right/understand the content. In lecture, he would respond to questions about course content kindly, especially if it was something he deemed as a "good question" (which he would often vocalize). But he was extremely rigid in his enforcement of syllabus policy without taking into account individual needs of students; which while seemingly equal, it is not an *equitable* mode of teaching. His method of approaching and responding to students inadvertently put neurodivergent students like me at a disadvantage. I don't believe this was done maliciously, but that does not substantially alter the effect that that had on my success in the class. I didn't feel like I could ask questions about material or ask for flexibility (even with CAE accommodations), and when I did ask questions I was met with genuine frustration and not empathy. It is not my fault that I have ADHD and that some aspects of the course were more difficult for me than for others. But Dines doesn't understand that different students learn different, and I did not feel as though I could approach him with concerns without being visibly judged for it. I do not believe that asking for help and understanding should be met with frustration. I understand that this course is rigorous and meant to be challenging; but challenging courses are more impactful and material is better retained when professors are empathetic. The course should have been challenging because of the *material*, not because of the professor's demeanor. I think the most upsetting part about this class is that I think Dines could have been a really good professor. He clearly was very passionate about the material, and any tangents he may have went on were always really interesting to me. But when it came to the student-professor relationship, all of that passion would vanish. If he took some of his investment in the subject matter and allocated it to his students, I think this class would have been much more enjoyable.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2019 - Dr. Blaire really cares about her students, and tends to have very useful office hours. The TAs are equally really helpful about questions you may have about labs. Their research is also really interesting. This is a very challenging class, as it should be because it is 6 units. It isn't recommended that you take this class with Ochem or Physics because of the amount of time you would need to study for the class. There are two types of exams: lab practicals and lecture exams. The tests are all very fair, but there is a lot of memorization involved (which will be time consuming). The memorization involved in the class is mostly insertions/origins/functions/homologies of the animals and bones/bone parts (it helps with later understanding of the functions). The labs are really useful because they help understand the lecture material. Lecture, for the most part, is mandatory because of the participation points you would get via iclicker. The questions are very integrated with the lecture material, and help with later studying for the exams. Dr. Blaire is an amazing lecturer because she is very passionate about what she teaches. There are a lot of resources to do well in the class, and I wish I could take it again.
Winter 2019 - Dr. Blaire really cares about her students, and tends to have very useful office hours. The TAs are equally really helpful about questions you may have about labs. Their research is also really interesting. This is a very challenging class, as it should be because it is 6 units. It isn't recommended that you take this class with Ochem or Physics because of the amount of time you would need to study for the class. There are two types of exams: lab practicals and lecture exams. The tests are all very fair, but there is a lot of memorization involved (which will be time consuming). The memorization involved in the class is mostly insertions/origins/functions/homologies of the animals and bones/bone parts (it helps with later understanding of the functions). The labs are really useful because they help understand the lecture material. Lecture, for the most part, is mandatory because of the participation points you would get via iclicker. The questions are very integrated with the lecture material, and help with later studying for the exams. Dr. Blaire is an amazing lecturer because she is very passionate about what she teaches. There are a lot of resources to do well in the class, and I wish I could take it again.
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