Q for other wayne state students

[jackal head]

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Have any of you ever taken marty spranger for 2870? I was hoping to take it with pandolfi but just found it she's not teaching it in the winter.

I'm all for learning and studying hard but it seems like pulling off an A with marty will be extremely difficult.

Any idea what % of class get an A? Is it less than the top 10?

 

[jackal head]

I really want to take his class, people claim it helps you for standardized tests, I'll be taking the PCAT not too long after, but can't afford working so hard only to end up with a B+, A-.

 

[miketon907]

I took it over the summer. According to him, 40% of the students in the class end up failing or dropping by the time its done with. If you get an A, he will automatically write you a letter of recommendation for any professional school.
Very large amount of information, tests were written in the way that you have to clearly understand all of the concepts and know the all the minutea in order to get an A.....Average on all the exams over the summer were about 55-60% i believe. He would curve them so the average is a 70% though.
Very difficult class to get an A in.
Message me if you have any more questions, I'll try to answer them.

 

[PistonFan531]

Another piece of advice: if you really want an A in this class, do not take it along with any other science classes. I took it in the summer only with philosophy and ended up with a B+. I was studying all night and day for that B+ too. The lab is also very time consuming.

 

[optimistic828]

I took it in the winter with him and made that class my top priority and studied VERY HARD for that class. I was taking 18 credits though... ended up getting a B- (because i bombed the 1st and 2nd practical ROYALLY) but learned SOOO much and marty definitely changed my study habits...
Definitely take it with him and keep the mindset of just working your hardest...

I would recommend him over anyone... hes the best!

 

[jackal head]

I took it in the winter with him and made that class my top priority and studied VERY HARD for that class. I was taking 18 credits though... ended up getting a B- (because i bombed the 1st and 2nd practical ROYALLY) but learned SOOO much and marty definitely changed my study habits...
Definitely take it with him and keep the mindset of just working your hardest...

I would recommend him over anyone... hes the best!

lol this is the thing I find strange about him, people don't do as well as they hope but still say he's awsome

I'm assuming that a certain amount of people HAVE to get an A right? I'm not sure if you guys can answer this but what percentage would you say get an A?

Would it be a good combination to take this class with just statistics and one other blow off class (12 credits)? That's what I plan to do if I take it in the winter.

I'm not too worried about the labs since I'm usually good at memorizing things but I hear his tests are really tricky and focus on small details.

 

[jackal head]

Another piece of advice: if you really want an A in this class, do not take it along with any other science classes. I took it in the summer only with philosophy and ended up with a B+. I was studying all night and day for that B+ too. The lab is also very time consuming.

If you could go back, what would you have done differently?

I'm actually going to skip my political science class today and check out pandolfi's lecture, just to get a feel for it. I do expect pandolfi to be easier but she can't be THAT much easier.

 

[PistonFan531]

If you could go back, what would you have done differently?

I'm actually going to skip my political science class today and check out pandolfi's lecture, just to get a feel for it. I do expect pandolfi to be easier but she can't be THAT much easier.

Well I should have studied more for the first practical which I failed. It MAY have made the difference between a B+ and an A-. But other than that, I don't think there is anything I could have done differently. His exams are really really challenging.

 

[jackal head]

Well I should have studied more for the first practical which I failed. It MAY have made the difference between a B+ and an A-. But other than that, I don't think there is anything I could have done differently. His exams are really really challenging.

I talked to him today, he said some students (or maybe it was just one), get over a 100%.

How do you think they pull that off? They can't be cheating because I hear he keeps changing his tests.

Also what else were you taking when you took it? Really appreciate the help btw.

 

[miketon907]

lol. what kind of questions are these? The people who got A's obviously were very well prepared for the class and knew how to study, or just plain smart.
I'm not saying its impossible to get an A in the class, its just hard. study tactics for some lower level science courses and rote memorizaiton tactics won't work. He has a way of wording test questions for a test that will cover maybe....150 slides covering neurophysiology/muscle physiology/osteology and work 3 or 4 ideas into 1 question.
It's funny.my condensed notes (based off his slides/lectures/and supplementing with the book) for 1 of his tests was like 15 pages.
Also....Lab was very hard for a lot of people....lab practical averages were about 65-70%....his lectures aren't impossible. but staying on top of both is quite a feat....Wayne state has no hours where you can go study the lab portion. to examine the bones/cat muscles/organ systems...so you have to be efficient during lab hours
spranger is friendly and will help out during office hours. answers all questions and gave us notes/online supplements to help explain some harder topics.
....so if you have to take it with spranger, it's not a death sentence.......but if you can take it with someone else....i'd do it. a 5 credit upper-division required credit isnt a good class to mess up on.
....for the record...I'm retaking this class in the winter because of my poor performance in the class over the summer....mostly due to personal issues and poor study habits...which i corrected too late.

 

[xshooshix]

I took Marty Winter of 08, but dropped the weekend before the last drop for a refund date because I realized how much work I would have to put into the class. He watches his students like a hawk... I remember one time I was in the middle row towards the back of DeRoy. He had his eyes locked on me because he knew I was dozing off. He also makes it a point to ridicule students who are late going to class or leave early. My friend who took it that semester said that he yelled at a student who brought her baby to class. Another time he told a student, "You think wearing a baseball cap is going to hide you from sleeping in my class?" or something along those lines.

Regardless of the horror stories, he is a very good professor, he will make you know the material in and out. I am taking Pandolfi right now, having taken her for 1500 and 1510. Her exams are a little tougher since it isn't an intro class anymore. I don't get the horror stories in lab either. It's really not that bad, but I suppose it also depends on your TA or how patient you are in studying everything.

 

[TpharmD]

I took this class in Winter 08 with the great Dr. Marty. I never went to class...literally never...that's why I also lost points on pop quizzes and attendance.. I ended up getting a B. I was failing class till the first two months..in both lecture and lab...then I realized that I should start studying so I did...I got the highest on the 2nd lab practical ...man practical were like examss...u need to put equal effort as lecture exams if not more.

You should take with marty if you want to learn.
You should take with marty if you want to learn and get a good grade.
And if u just want to get a good grade ...u may want to take with it pendolphi..i think she is easier. However, the course is it self hard no mater who you take it with. But honestly, there is no way you can be taught as good as marty does...NO WAY!!!!!

If you take it with him this is the best bio class you will take and learn a lot..When I took it...45% of the class got at least B-.

I studied hard for the second half of the semester. I was taking 16 credits.
I miss that class ...even though I did not attend any lecture..😎

 

[wsurocks]

I took Marty Winter of 08, but dropped the weekend before the last drop for a refund date because I realized how much work I would have to put into the class. He watches his students like a hawk... I remember one time I was in the middle row towards the back of DeRoy. He had his eyes locked on me because he knew I was dozing off. He also makes it a point to ridicule students who are late going to class or leave early. My friend who took it that semester said that he yelled at a student who brought her baby to class. Another time he told a student, "You think wearing a baseball cap is going to hide you from sleeping in my class?" or something along those lines.

Regardless of the horror stories, he is a very good professor, he will make you know the material in and out. I am taking Pandolfi right now, having taken her for 1500 and 1510. Her exams are a little tougher since it isn't an intro class anymore. I don't get the horror stories in lab either. It's really not that bad, but I suppose it also depends on your TA or how patient you are in studying everything.

Maybe there is some info missing from the scenario you described about the lady with the baby getting shouted at. Possibly there was some sort of disturbance to the lecture, which would be unfair to the rest of the 200+ students attending.

My view from Winter '08 in TWO of his courses is that Prof. Spranger is quite fair. I have seen a few children attending lectures during their March break. I emailed and asked if one could attend an exam - Response: "Sure."

Don't mix info together. It's illogical.
Students dozing off is quite impolite. Those who know that they will be entering/leaving early can discretely do so by sitting somewhere other than the front.
I have seen both tolerated in my 2 classes. He does notice if you are talking, which if you are not in the conversation, is very distracting and if you are lecturing, is a definite sign of rudeness.
This is one prof. who tells you the rules of his lecture hall and he is clear. If you decide to flout the rules or if you are inconsiderate of him or other students, you will know. One thing though, he is merciless with cheats.

By your own admission, you dropped before the last refund date. Your partial info, use of reported, unverified information (a.k.a. misinformation) was meant to detract from someone what is a very good academic experience. It's uncool and unscientific.