Professor
Jordan Moberg Parker
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2019 - Professor Parker has been the most amazing professor I have ever had during my time at UCLA. Despite coming into this course very nervous about the extreme detail that would be required of us to know, Dr. Parker taught the class using very effective and interesting methods that caught my attention and allowed me to retain the material. She always made herself available to us and she was very flexible about when and where we could meet with her, she had very clear and organized presentations and chapter objectives that allowed me to succeed on exams as well. I went to her office hours at least once a week and I am so glad that I did because I got to know a little bit about her ( although I do wish I could've sat and talked to her for hours about her life and other random things) and she was very good at explaining difficult concepts in a simple way that I was able to understand. Her homework assignments, clicker questions, presentations and readings were extremely beneficial and I believe they were a major contribution to my interest and success in this course. I would recommend this class to anyone who is interested in learning more about the human body, as I felt that I learned a lot of miscellaneous material that I can actually use in the future, and its also fun to just know random little facts. If Professor Parker was reading this, I would like to personally thank her for (never thought I would say this) teaching me microbiology because if I wasn't doing nursing, I would definitely consider becoming to an MIMG major. Professor Parker deserves every inch of her cute little office and I wish she was teaching more lower division courses because I would not hesitate to enroll in them simply to have the privilege to say that I was in her class. Truly an honor to be one of her students and I am immensely grateful for the short time we had together. 10/10!!!!!
Winter 2019 - Professor Parker has been the most amazing professor I have ever had during my time at UCLA. Despite coming into this course very nervous about the extreme detail that would be required of us to know, Dr. Parker taught the class using very effective and interesting methods that caught my attention and allowed me to retain the material. She always made herself available to us and she was very flexible about when and where we could meet with her, she had very clear and organized presentations and chapter objectives that allowed me to succeed on exams as well. I went to her office hours at least once a week and I am so glad that I did because I got to know a little bit about her ( although I do wish I could've sat and talked to her for hours about her life and other random things) and she was very good at explaining difficult concepts in a simple way that I was able to understand. Her homework assignments, clicker questions, presentations and readings were extremely beneficial and I believe they were a major contribution to my interest and success in this course. I would recommend this class to anyone who is interested in learning more about the human body, as I felt that I learned a lot of miscellaneous material that I can actually use in the future, and its also fun to just know random little facts. If Professor Parker was reading this, I would like to personally thank her for (never thought I would say this) teaching me microbiology because if I wasn't doing nursing, I would definitely consider becoming to an MIMG major. Professor Parker deserves every inch of her cute little office and I wish she was teaching more lower division courses because I would not hesitate to enroll in them simply to have the privilege to say that I was in her class. Truly an honor to be one of her students and I am immensely grateful for the short time we had together. 10/10!!!!!
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - I took this class virtually in Fall 2020 with Dr. Parker and Dr. Hill. The class switched professors Week 5, and the quality of the course immediately dropped, although I will be talking more about that on Dr. Hill's page. Dr. Parker was amazing. She emphasized in her introduction at the beginning of the quarter that she is interested in the process of teaching and learning, and this passion was obvious in the way she taught. She taught this class exactly like the LS 7 series (although the tests were extremely different which I'll get to.) The course breakdown: Concept Inventories and Course Evals 20 Smartworks Pre-Class Assignments 125 (a few dropped) Smartworks Post-Class Assignments 80 (a few dropped) Discussion Section Worksheets 40 (1 absence allowed) Discussion Section Participation 50 Exams 350 (2 midterms, 1 final) Total 665 A couple things of note here: - Like the LS 7 series, there are pre-class (every class) and post-class (weekly) assignments connected to a textbook which is very similar to Launchpad that I believe you have to purchase access to. - Also like LS 7 series, there is a mandatory discussion where we go over application of concepts, although I enjoyed it. I think as an adjustment for COVID, as long as you went to discussion you would get all 40 points and then at the end of the quarter, you would get the remaining 50 points by grading how involved your groupmates were (and they would grade you). - By the end of the quarter, you had the opportunity for around 30? points of extra credit from doing things like posting on the forum, doing evaluations, and going to the MIMG 101 poster conference and reviewing posters. Lectures were completely asynchronous and pre-recorded which I did not like, but was generally okay for Dr. Parker. Dr. Hill, in contrast, uploaded almost every lecture, reading list, pre-class assignment, and post-class assignment late. Dr. Parker's lectures were similar to LS 7 series lectures, where she put interactive questions (like asynchronous clicker questions) into the lecture that were not worth any points. Her slides were clear and effective. Tests were very different from the LS 7 series. They were open-notes and free-response with emphasis on being experimental, where, for example, you would be given something that scientists would want to figure out and you would write about the procedures, controls, results, etc that you would use/expect in performing that experiment. I thought that the tests were clear but a bit of a time crunch -- the professors were aware of this and responsive and as a result, gave 3.75 hours for the final. The midterms and finals all had some extra credit, although medians (averages not published) were low. The median of the first midterm was 76% and 23% of students scored below a 60 (36% scored a 70 or lower). The second midterm had a median of 80% where 13% of students scored below a 60 (25% scored a 70 or lower). While these are low grades, they were boosted by numerous extra credit opportunities and points from other categories like discussion. Probably the most intense part of the class was its workload. There was a lot of reading assigned every class and when you're taking this class, it is so easy to fall behind. The pre-class and post-class assignments rely on the reading but are not completely related to the class material (like Launchpad). I read and took notes on everything when Dr. Parker taught, which took maybe 2hr/night, but after switching to Dr. Hill, I decided to do much less reading and did not suffer, making me think that readings are not completely necessary. Dr. Parker also published learning objectives before each lecture, and that is how I guided my notes for the readings. Dr. Hill did not publish any, and when asked to, he told students to infer them from his slides. I felt like Dr. Parker was responsive and responsible and very committed to the success of her students. My experience in this course was definitely hindered by Dr. Hill, but I would recommend anyone to take this course with Dr. Parker.
Fall 2020 - I took this class virtually in Fall 2020 with Dr. Parker and Dr. Hill. The class switched professors Week 5, and the quality of the course immediately dropped, although I will be talking more about that on Dr. Hill's page. Dr. Parker was amazing. She emphasized in her introduction at the beginning of the quarter that she is interested in the process of teaching and learning, and this passion was obvious in the way she taught. She taught this class exactly like the LS 7 series (although the tests were extremely different which I'll get to.) The course breakdown: Concept Inventories and Course Evals 20 Smartworks Pre-Class Assignments 125 (a few dropped) Smartworks Post-Class Assignments 80 (a few dropped) Discussion Section Worksheets 40 (1 absence allowed) Discussion Section Participation 50 Exams 350 (2 midterms, 1 final) Total 665 A couple things of note here: - Like the LS 7 series, there are pre-class (every class) and post-class (weekly) assignments connected to a textbook which is very similar to Launchpad that I believe you have to purchase access to. - Also like LS 7 series, there is a mandatory discussion where we go over application of concepts, although I enjoyed it. I think as an adjustment for COVID, as long as you went to discussion you would get all 40 points and then at the end of the quarter, you would get the remaining 50 points by grading how involved your groupmates were (and they would grade you). - By the end of the quarter, you had the opportunity for around 30? points of extra credit from doing things like posting on the forum, doing evaluations, and going to the MIMG 101 poster conference and reviewing posters. Lectures were completely asynchronous and pre-recorded which I did not like, but was generally okay for Dr. Parker. Dr. Hill, in contrast, uploaded almost every lecture, reading list, pre-class assignment, and post-class assignment late. Dr. Parker's lectures were similar to LS 7 series lectures, where she put interactive questions (like asynchronous clicker questions) into the lecture that were not worth any points. Her slides were clear and effective. Tests were very different from the LS 7 series. They were open-notes and free-response with emphasis on being experimental, where, for example, you would be given something that scientists would want to figure out and you would write about the procedures, controls, results, etc that you would use/expect in performing that experiment. I thought that the tests were clear but a bit of a time crunch -- the professors were aware of this and responsive and as a result, gave 3.75 hours for the final. The midterms and finals all had some extra credit, although medians (averages not published) were low. The median of the first midterm was 76% and 23% of students scored below a 60 (36% scored a 70 or lower). The second midterm had a median of 80% where 13% of students scored below a 60 (25% scored a 70 or lower). While these are low grades, they were boosted by numerous extra credit opportunities and points from other categories like discussion. Probably the most intense part of the class was its workload. There was a lot of reading assigned every class and when you're taking this class, it is so easy to fall behind. The pre-class and post-class assignments rely on the reading but are not completely related to the class material (like Launchpad). I read and took notes on everything when Dr. Parker taught, which took maybe 2hr/night, but after switching to Dr. Hill, I decided to do much less reading and did not suffer, making me think that readings are not completely necessary. Dr. Parker also published learning objectives before each lecture, and that is how I guided my notes for the readings. Dr. Hill did not publish any, and when asked to, he told students to infer them from his slides. I felt like Dr. Parker was responsive and responsible and very committed to the success of her students. My experience in this course was definitely hindered by Dr. Hill, but I would recommend anyone to take this course with Dr. Parker.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2016 - This class isn't hard but workload is huge. This is probably the most work-intensive lab I have ever had at UCLA. In a sense it's easy to get an A, if you just do all the work - which is a lot. This class will easily take up 90% of your time. There's weekly homework, presentations, papers, keeping the lab notebook up to date, etc. so there are no breaks whatsoever. Dr. Parker might seem strict on the outside but she can be lenient where it counts. I would suggest talking to her, asking her questions, and getting to know her so that you stand out as a student. She might be snippy with some of her answers but don't take it personally. She doesn't have answers to everything though so you should just ask your TA. Your TA is key, they do most of the grading and are the ones overlooking your project. Talk to them, be friendly, be casual. My tips for this class are : 1) keep on top of your lab notebook. Everyday after lab update it with pictures and results. DO NOT fall behind on the notebook. This is rule número uno. 2) communicate with your group. Always. Start strengthening the group dynamics early so that everyone is comfortable talking to each other. It makes coordinating the project a lot easier. Also make sure all group members have lab results. Once you start splitting up duties for the project you will need to keep everyone up to speed on procedure, results, pictures, etc. 3) DO NOT procrastinate your midterm and final papers. Start that at least a week in advance. They will be at least 10 pages long. I stayed up over 24 hours because I only started two days before the due date. Just do a little each day. Trust me. 4) take advantage of her extra credit opportunities. If you do all her extra credit, you can get 50 points max. That's a lot. 5) participate in lecture. It might look like no one is keeping track of participation, but they are. Your TA is writing down who is asking questions and answering them. I got an A in this course even though my notebook and final paper were terrible, but I did all the extra credit. I admit I did have fun in this class and it has prepared me for any future experiments because of all the lab work. There will be moments of panic where your results will be contradictory or something won't work and you think that your experiment is a failure, just remember everything will work out in the end. That I can promise.
Winter 2016 - This class isn't hard but workload is huge. This is probably the most work-intensive lab I have ever had at UCLA. In a sense it's easy to get an A, if you just do all the work - which is a lot. This class will easily take up 90% of your time. There's weekly homework, presentations, papers, keeping the lab notebook up to date, etc. so there are no breaks whatsoever. Dr. Parker might seem strict on the outside but she can be lenient where it counts. I would suggest talking to her, asking her questions, and getting to know her so that you stand out as a student. She might be snippy with some of her answers but don't take it personally. She doesn't have answers to everything though so you should just ask your TA. Your TA is key, they do most of the grading and are the ones overlooking your project. Talk to them, be friendly, be casual. My tips for this class are : 1) keep on top of your lab notebook. Everyday after lab update it with pictures and results. DO NOT fall behind on the notebook. This is rule número uno. 2) communicate with your group. Always. Start strengthening the group dynamics early so that everyone is comfortable talking to each other. It makes coordinating the project a lot easier. Also make sure all group members have lab results. Once you start splitting up duties for the project you will need to keep everyone up to speed on procedure, results, pictures, etc. 3) DO NOT procrastinate your midterm and final papers. Start that at least a week in advance. They will be at least 10 pages long. I stayed up over 24 hours because I only started two days before the due date. Just do a little each day. Trust me. 4) take advantage of her extra credit opportunities. If you do all her extra credit, you can get 50 points max. That's a lot. 5) participate in lecture. It might look like no one is keeping track of participation, but they are. Your TA is writing down who is asking questions and answering them. I got an A in this course even though my notebook and final paper were terrible, but I did all the extra credit. I admit I did have fun in this class and it has prepared me for any future experiments because of all the lab work. There will be moments of panic where your results will be contradictory or something won't work and you think that your experiment is a failure, just remember everything will work out in the end. That I can promise.
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