PCC A/P & MicroBio (RC)

I took Micro there in winter 2006 and LOVED my instructor, but she left for a university position somewhere on the East coast before fall term that year.

I may get differing opinions on this one, but I preferred my A&P 2 and 3 instructor over my A&P 1 instructor. One gave all essay exams, which was fine, but you learn pretty quick that if you just remember exactly what was on his slides, you will do well on the test. Lab exams were the standard mix of slides, ID labes and such. A&P I instructor did incorporate the physiology part on his lab exams. For example he would have a slide for a type of muscle specimen and you had to ID it and then state what it did. I made a B, but only b/c I had a hard time getting to open lab so my lab exams were mostly C's while my lecture exams were A's.

Instrutor for A&P 2 and 3 gave multiple choice exams, however you REALLY had to know the ins and outs of each process. You really had to think about each and every possible answer b/c he usually doesn't put even one obviously wrong answer to make it easy to eliminate. Bottom line, you REALLY need to know the material. A lot of people recorded his lectures b/c he doesn't use powerpoint. He writes on the board, old school style. He has an odd sense of humor, but I liked him. I found that by participating, asking questions, being involved in labs, I didn't have any problems with him. My group ended up joking around with him quite a bit. He won't hold your hand or guide you step by step. He does expect you to make the effort to think about an answer to a question and maybe find the solution yourself, instead of just "going to the expert" for a quick and easy answer. I would recommend going to each and every open lab, though. He LOVES slides and I personally found that I needed every moment I could find to study, study, study those slides in every possible combination! We would set up a number of scopes and each pick a couple of slides to put on and then we would go around and guess, sort of test ourselves. That was SOOOO helpful. And we really put the student lab leader/person to work!! We kept her busy!

I made an A in both sections with him and in A&P 3, I had the highest grade in the class. I am a 2nd career student with a previous bachelors, which was a GPA of 2.3. I am 33, a full-time stay at home mom to 2 kids who were 2.5 and 8 months at the time of taking these classes. In high school and college I HATED science and would squeak by with C's and D's. So, I personally thought he was a great instructor. I would take his class again if I had to do it over. I can still remember a lot of the material and it's been ovr a year since I finished the series. I worked my tail off, but it was worth it!

Thank you... your detailed response is VERY helpful, StudentMom!

FYI... I am 35 with a previous bachelor's and kids at home, as well. :)

Please PM me or email me information about the instructors at PCC RC this summer.

Go to rate me professor.com and look at their responses. I have also spoken with many past students. To be honest with you, a few liked one of the instructors. The majority though, had either dropped his class or sworn to never take him again. Just so you know, when my 3rd term of A&P rolled around and Professor for the first 2 terms wasn't teaching it, I was devastated. My class petitioned the Biology department to be able to at least have a choice in teachers. They actually had me interview one and ask him about all the rumors I heard. I am not trying to bash on him here, just giving my honest opinion and the facts. Here is what I learned:

I had heard he was extremely knowledgable about A&P. Was it possible that his tests were too hard for the community college level class? He answered yes, it was possible.

I asked him his teaching style. He said he writes MOST of the important things on the board (dry erase board that is, and past students have told me that he writes everywhere and you get lost trying to follow him) but you will have to use your book as a study guide, because there are more important things in there. Another offered typed notes, in which she guaranteed that she would take her test questions from, and that was true. I barely had to open my book, except to solidify hard concepts.

I asked him about his lab. He said he usually sits at the computer unless students have questions. The other NEVER sat at the computer! She had her gloves on and was always knee deep in cat juice helping us identify things.

The list goes on a little, but that makes for an even longer post. For me personally, I prefer a teacher that tests on at least what was lectured. One was great because I knew what I had to study. There was no guessing. I also took from another who is funny but his lab exams were worded bad sometimes, and many did not know what he was trying to ask. His grading curve was 15% though, 85% for an A, 75% for a B, etc. Another was 90%.

I hoped this helps all who read it. If you don't already use ratemyprofessor.com you should definitely check it out!

As for Micro...I have heard one of the instructors id pretty difficult. That you really have to know your book. I am taking it right now and I will let you know how it goes.

Oh Yeah.......Take full advantage of open labs. You have to study a lot for these classes, why not do it with the models you will actually be tested on??????/

I don't know if I made this clear enough. The reason I wouldn't take from one instructor is because I know that my learning style would not mesh well with his teaching style. Everyone learns different, so he may be right for some.

I'm not sure if she's teaching microbiol this summer, but my instructor in that class: I LOVED her!! She gives you the Powerpoint to study from and her exams are easy. I learned A LOT from her. If you receive an A on everything throughout the quarter, you're exempt from the final. The only project you have to do is identifying an unknown and writing a paper about it. She loves what she does (she also works at OHSU) and it shows in her teaching. Good luck!

StudentMom... one quick question... were you taking other classes as well as your A/P classes? Approx. how many credits were you taking per term and how much additional time were you spending at the school? (i.e. how much time was spent going to open labs?)

Vixen, thanks for the ratemeprofessor.com recommendation, that does help to see specific comments and feedback about various instructors.

Nichelle, thanks for your input regarding your instructor. Unfortunately, she's not on the schedule for this summer, but if I'm not able to get into the MicroBio class over the summer, I'll keep her in mind for the fall.

My instructor for the summer '07 was awesome and knows soooo much! I LOVED her!!

If you decide to wait until fall for Micro at Rock Creek, there is a good instructor whose main job is teaching at OHSU and he really knows the material well. He is an old school teacher in that he works off of an overhead but does provides outlines for the notes and good study guides for what is on the test. As far as Micro goes its not hard to get an A in his class.

I think it's worth the drive to Cascade to have one of their A & P instructors! Teaches, quizzes and tests in a way that's applicable. He's accessible, excited to teach and will go all out to help you if you're having any trouble. I loved having him for A & P....the way he teaches really helped me once I got into nursing school as well.

Good luck to you!

Thanks, everyone! :)