Geoge Gassner

Dr. Gassner is a very good teacher. What is best about him is that he knows his stuff by heart. How he remembers the details of all the pathways is a mystery to me. He can generate them on the board in detail without even looking at his notes. The fact that he does write things out on the board is a big plus because bio-chem can get very complicated so you need to see it drawn out step by step and explained along the way. Overheads (which are overused by certain other biochem teachers)just dont cut it. They put you to sleep and you remember nothing from lecture. My only complaint about him is that sometimes he goes a little fast. For those who complain about Gassner, it is not his fault the subject is hard. He just teaches it. The exams can be hard, I admit, but with his generous grading it is not impossible to get an A in his class (again unlike certain other biochem teachers).

Dr. Gassner is a smart cookie. He knows his stuff inside and out! If you put the effort into this class it will pay off. He is a stickler for details so learn the stuff both visually and conceptually. He is a very generous grader, giving a lot of partal credit. 3 out of 4 tests are considered and so if you "mess up" you get another chance to make it up. He cares about his students too, it's sort of like tuff love :) He will make comments on papers like "I know you can do better." Its nice to know someone is so confident in you. ENJOY!

Dr. Gassner is really not as bad as some students make him out to be. Yes, he does require that you know the material. That means you have to go to class and read the book. His syllabus outlines clearly what the lecture topics will be, as well as when the exams will be. This class inherently requires alot of study time and one needs to know what to study. If there was ever a doubt as to what could be covered on the test, all one had to do was look on the syllabus to see which topics are covered. Furthermore, it doesn't seem outlandish that any of the lecture material could be fair game on the exams.

As for his lectures, Dr. Gassner seems a little nervous, which leads him occassionally mess up concepts. It's not like he gives you the wrong information, he just has to reason things out loud, which tends to be confusing for the students. I suppose it's because he has to stand in front of 50 students, which is no easy task.

So for those of you who have to take Gassner, go in with an open mind and ready to work. If you think you will need extra help, take the AU class as a supplement. If you are a chem or biochem major, this class will seem like cake once you get to p-chem or integrated lab.