Dennis E. Desjardin

I agree with what everyone else has said in that he's a wonderful speaker and that his lectures are entertaining. You WILL LIKE FUNGI. His exam - the first exam - is a nightmare, although I might have some bias towards that answer because I took that test with a fever. Save your questions for office hours - I remember a few students attempting to try and ask questions in class and his response was rather annoyed. I tried going into his office hours once to ask him a question about the lifecycle of a fern and his immediate response was (before I even finished talking, and in quite a condescending tone):

I haven't gone over that yet!

Sorry to bother you during your office hours. Sheesh.

He teaches with Crocker and when it comes to exams they combined their detailed questions together. Desjardin has such a hard test if you dont want to or have a hard time memorizing every little detail with some specific examples. He even makes you memorize the specific date when the earth was in its ice age and stuff like that. But in all its easy if you can spend all your time memorizing everything since there is no quizzes or homework. THe lectures are well explained and he has great speaking skills. HE is nice and tries to be funny during his lectures but when you talk to him he's kind of mean because he has this attitude treating you like he's 50 times smarter than you are. He grades on a slight curve, A- 89%, b+ 88%, and etc. Overall just memorize and you'll do great!

Desjardin is a great teacher. He really knows what he is talking about and his passion for the topic really brings out the lecture. There's only three exams for the lecture, which are fairly hard. It's really not a good idea to miss the lectures and just read the book.

Stepping back, I am a bio major, and it's hard to tell whether I like the lectures because I just really think biology is cool, or the teacher is really skilled. I would bet on the teacher though, because the information thrown at the class could be a lot more dry. Overall, I really enjoyed this lecture.

If you expect a lot from a professor, this guy delivers. I am extremely critical of the science professors at SFSU, and I would take any class this guy teaches in a second. Where most teachers are confusing and tricky, he is clear and concise. He does give a lot of information to learn (it IS a second semester intro to bio course) and there are only two tests and the final, but overall, his teaching skills are above average and he really does enjoy teaching. I have gone to many office hours and found most teachers to be impatient with questions, but the one time I went to his office hours I learned more about how all of biology works together than from all my classes. He is more than happy to sit with you (he spoke to me, without an appt, for over an hour) and walk you through all the subject matter to make sure you understand the correlations. At the same time, he is an extremely fast talker and taping the class is almost a necessity as he will review things occasionally but not often. The beauty of this class is that it is ALL online from the first day of class. Everything you need to know is laid out and if its not on there, its not on the test. The test questions that he creates tho, are pretty complex and requires good integration of the material. The areas covered can also get boring (unless you like learning about all types of algae, fungi, etc) but he keeps it interesting and fun. He also has a kind of competitive attitude with Crocker, the co teacher. My advice: print out the online version of the study guide, take it to class and fill in the blanks. Sit in front as there are many overheads that are occasionally hard to read from the back. Ask questions in class as both teachers welcome feedback. They definitely try to make the class easier than it could be, even tho it is still greatly self-taught.

I took this class purely to fufill my GE requirment, as I have no interest in biology. I was pretty pleased though, becuase I learned some really interesting things that I could apply to every day life. Desjardin is a good and well qualified teacher. The only problem I really had was the tests. I thought they were overly complicated and specfic, espically for a class that is taken by so many non-majors and covers such a wide variety of topics. Basically it is really important to show up to the lectures and take good notes. Also to make up points in the lab section.

If it's time to take Bio 240, this is the teacher you have to take. He only teaches this class during the Spring semester, so make sure of that. The man's a fast-talker, however, his lectures are definetely interesting, fun, and clear. I was actually awake the whole time. He absolutely picks your brain to the max with his tests. One thing's for sure about his tests: the answers were given from his lectures already! So take VERY good notes, STUDY consistently, get together with your classmates for group study, and GO to EVERY single lecture. When first walking into this class, I really thought I would be more interested in the animal part of the course...this man's teaching style changed my mind quickly. Dr. Desjardin makes time for his students. He's very excited about what he teaches and is happy to extend any help to students that visit him during his office hours or during appointment times.

Dennis has a very extensive knowledge of mycology, and is excited to share what he knows with his students. It's not an easy class, but if you're interested in fungi and have reasonably good study skills, you will have a fabulous time and learn a lot. He gives a great lecture, and the lab is fun, informative and relaxed. I highly recommend this teacher and this class!