Clement, Sandi  

I would recommend this professor for lab. Sometimes she takes a while to explain things before starting a lab and can get annoying but I didn't find this to be a huge deal. She was very approachable and will help you during lab. She knows the material that is being taught and is better than some student teachers I have heard horror stories about. You will get credit for attempting the pre-labs and make sure to go into office hours for your lab report. I am not sure what the class average is, but keep in mind that the final lab grades will be weighted so that they stay in average with all the other labs. So an A could turn into a B.

Nice lady but a terrible teacher. Avoid her at all cost. She is extremely unclear and makes everything more difficult than it is.

DO NOT TAKE HER FOR A GE. Clement is a very unclear professor. She makes you memorize obscure colloquialisms which makes it really hard to make connections between different topics. Clement tries really hard to make it easier for people without Bio backgrounds but it ends up leaving you more confused. This woman does not know how to lecture

Terrible teacher. Her tests are so unfair and ridiculous. The majority of the class fails. Her lectures are useless and completely irrelevant. Unless you're someone with a biochem background you will struggle with this class. She should not be a teacher. I worked my ass off and still got terrible grades on my exams, and all in all, I don't feel like I learned anything. AVOID HER AT ALL COSTS

All I'm gonna say is FUCK this teacher.

I wanted to put up a post before the next registration. This is the second time I have attempted to take genetics and I can honestly say, Dr. Clement listens to her student feedback. Last qtr, my brain hurt an hour into class; this qtr, I may not understand everything in lecture, but if you do the readings, answer the study guide questions and actually do the out of class quizzes and hmwk assignments, you will do well. Clement has cut out all the excess chemistry and has done a great job staying "on subject" this qtr. She even offers extra credit and bonus points! She is fair, approachable and has a great sense if humor. She wants students to succeed! Yes, the subject matter is challenging for us non-science folks, but it's interesting, and learnable. Take good notes in lecture; many of the exam questions come directly from lecture, clicker questions, her amazing study guides and the untimed, at-home quizzes. There are 3 MT's and a final. This scared me at first, but now it gives me hope that at week 8, with a C+, I still have a shot at a B or B+ with two more exams left. This is a great class with a wonderful teacher. Be prepared to study and do the readings and optional assignnents if you want to get an A. This class made me want to learn even more about genetics.:)

She is such a wonderful teacher! I would definitely recommend taking her class for a GE. She presents the material in a clear way that almost everyone can understand. I doubt anyone failed her class and in a class of about 120, about 10 got D's and F's on the midterms. Great professor and class.

Amazing teacher, amazing class! I looked forward to every class. I was shocked at the negative reviews, as I found Dr. Clement excellent communicator with fair tests who provided many opportunities for students to improve. She was entertaining and interesting and really knows her stuff! I have already recommended her class to others that need a genetics course. My advice is to make sure you do the study guides and actually GO TO CLASS...if you frequently skip and think the PowerPoints will suffice, you will probably not do well (which is what I suspect happened in the bad reviews)! If you like life science, and especially genetics....take her!

This class takes studying, but clement is awesome!!! so funny and kind. there is always chances to do well, three midterms and a final, some easyyyyy at home quizzes and homeworks, and clickr questions for participation. im not a science person but i managed to get 100% on one of the midterms! dont be scared for this class.

Dr. Clement is absolutely wonderful. I am not sure what the other comments below are saying. I am a nutrition major with not much experience in biochemistry and I did quite well in the course, as did the rest of the class. Our test averages for all 80-90 students was always a high B at least. She switched the course so the biochemistry is at the end when you have a better grasp on the topics to start and can understand which structures she is talking about. She also provides thorough study guides with everything you'll need to know and things you don't need to know for all of the chapters. If you fill those out and study them you will do totally fine. She is also one of the kindest souls and has a sense of humor. If you ever need help, go to office hours, she is there to help and can explain things and clarify anything you are struggling with. Overall, probably my favorite course this quarter.

UGH. She tries so hard to make this class cool, but it's just not. It's so hard and Sandi's presentations do not help. So much of the material I had to teach myself. Don't buy the book. 2 hours in the library right before the test with it will be enough. Avoid, if possible. If you can't it will be fine. But study more than you think you need to.

If you have to take Bio 302 or 303, take it with Dr. Clement for Bio 302! This class was clearly laid out and you can tell that she really knows how to get material across to students. I highly recommend her. She gives study guides for each of her 3 tests throughout the quarter and they are exactly what the test was on. She also gives many extra credit opportunities which help your grade a lot. She always asks if people have questions after each topic which helps a lot as well. Also, I took this class in the summer (5 week session) and I felt like she went easier on us because of the short time period so I also recommend taking this class with her during the summer. Overall, one of my favorite professors!

Prof cried today.... What a weirdo hahahah get a grip of your life.

Great teacher. She taught this class with Dr. Lehr. They are both really nice and understanding. Easy A! Take this class for Area F

I had previously never taken a discussion-based course or a course in WGS/ES prior to this. With that in mind, the class was a thrill. The amount of material to read for each class is frightening at first, but as the class moves on, you can understand what is worth reading and what can be skimmed/skipped. Dr. Clement recognizes that not everyone has the time nor patience to read all the assigned readings. Going into each class, there are guiding questions that are meant to be open ended so each discussion is dependent upon what students decided to participate. The material itself is super intriguing, I found myself reading chapters outside of the assigned reading from one of the major books for the course. Dr. Clement is one the most thoughtful professors I have had at Cal Poly. She constantly reiterates that she is flexible if you cant make a due date or to class on time and wants to be a resource for your academic success, not a burden. I believe that Dr. Clement truly wants every student to succeed in her course as well as at Cal Poly. If you have the opportunity to take this course I would do so! If you cannot but are interested in any topics outlined in the course description of WGS 350, any of the molecular biology course she teaches, or just want to seek advice from a successful WGS/ES/BIO scholar, I would not hesitate to reach out to her.

Dr. Clement was a very good teacher for genetics. Her exams were on the long side, you will need to take the full time, but they were fair. If you keep up with the reading and focus on the learning objectives, you will do well. She is helpful and approachable during her office hours. She presented the material clearly and kept us engaged and participating during the class. I would suggest taking her for genetics.

Dr. Clement is really kind and understanding but she is not a good teacher. Her inexperience at teaching really shows in lecture when she does not clearly explain topics and just moves onto the next powerpoint slide. The textbook really helps to clarify alot of what she tries to teach. She also writes difficult tests and homework assignments so studying alot is necessary for her classes. Her office hours are really helpful especially since most of the other students struggle with similar concepts. I would recommend her for lab but not for lecture.

I always get disappointed when I see polyratings like this. I had Dr. Clement for BIO 161 lab 3 years ago and BIO 351. In that time her teaching skills have GREATLY improved. I think a lot of students don't recognize how wonderful, considerate and understanding she is. If I were to give advice to fellow students who are going through the biology track, get to know your professors!! It is such an important relationship to develop. Dr. Clement could have scattered lectures sometimes but it was nothing the book wouldn't clear up. IF YOU ARE AN BIO UPPERCLASSMAN YOU NEED TO READ THE BOOKS! Biology is a hard subject. Don't think you are going to get away with not reading or studying appropriately! And if you are complaining about 351 just wait until you get to other classes....Metabolism, Protein Folding Technique Lab etc. You will be begging to go back to Genetics.

She is the nicest, most caring professor I have ever had. I have never had a professor who cares so much about her students. Her tests are extremely fair, and she gives you all of the tools you need to succeed, such as study guides, learning objectives, practice problems, worksheets, etc. I was so surprised to see this poor rating on here. Honestly, you can't find a better person on campus.

She is an amazing teacher and very knowledgeable about genetics. Extremely helpful and open in office hours . You have to go to lecture and you have to read the book

Dr. Clement was really good at noticing when the class was not understanding a topic. She used the clicker system to see when students were choosing on certain questions and when the distribution was even or swayed she would spend more time on that topic. She did not require you to answer the question correctly, just answer it for participation. This made it easier for students to be honest about their answers and not be worried that they were wrong. Her tests were on the longer side with short answer, multiple choice, multiple answer, and some drawing portions. I felt that these tests were way easier than regular multiple choice, but that may just be my own personal learning style. You will have to use the book to get a better idea of some concepts that she touches on in class. She also gives some worksheets for extra credit to help you out. She also understands that the 3rd test usually has a slight downturn on the average and she gives an opportunity to redo two questions from the test for half credit. This is super helpful for people who don't do as well on short answer. Dr. Clement was always available in office hours and she was very helpful with any questions. She always tried to get everyone back on topic if things were questions were getting off topic so that everything stayed on schedule. Overall, I think Dr. Clement is a great professor who is very helpful and knowledgable about her subject.

Dr. Clement is really a SUPERIOR teacher. Her teaching style was so consistent, organized, and clear that it made a tough subject with A LOT of material to cover in 10 weeks easy and interesting to grasp. You can tell that Dr. Clement truly cares about and works hard at her job and helping her students, and that in turn motivated myself and my peers to do well in the course. She is honestly one of the best professors I've had at Cal Poly.

Clement is a great professor, she probably cares more about her student's success and doing a good job than any other teacher I've had. Her lectures are very organized, and consistent with the testing material. Her tests can be a bit difficult, but shes very accessible when you need help. A great person and professor.

Genetics with Dr. Clement has been my favorite bio class so far at cal poly. She is such a nice lady and really wants her students to suceed. I will definitely take her again if I get the chance.

Professor Clement cares about her students, she knows the subject extremely well, and is very organized. You definitely need to read the book and attend lecture to do well on her tests, which can be difficult, but she is really approachable in office hours and during class. She's not condescending and challenges her students to think through the mechanisms and applications of genetics. Would highly recommend her as a teacher, because she pushes her class to think about the ethical/social implications of genetics as well, and will update you about news about genetics in the real world. I learned more in this class than I have in most of my classes about the material, my own study habits/test-taking, and biology beyond the classroom.

I was doing really bad in the class. I got two D's and a C on her three midterms, but I ended up passing (I do not know how). Genetics was really hard for me to understand. Her tests are multiple choice and a lot of free response. She wants detailed responses. She provides study guides but they are so vague they basically want you to learn the whole chapter. She is a super nice and smart teacher. I think I was just doing bad because I really hate genetics. But I still passed so...

Dr.Clement is one of the most wonderful professors I have had at Cal Poly. She is truly passionate about her students and the material is teaching. Genetics was challenging, but it's a tough subject. She is very willing to explain everything if you make the effort. She's also hilarious and kept me entertained during lecture. Highly recommend!

Dr. Clement is an amazing professor and an amazing person. She broke her lectures down so that all of the concepts were clear. She posted extra diagrams/videos/worksheets/etc. that students could work through the more challenging concepts. She also tied in current events to her lectures. She was extremely approachable and helpful especially in office hours.

Dr. Clement is a very nice and understanding professor. She really tries to take into consideration student input. Both of these things make it really hard to not like her very much. She has a hard time conveying her knowledge though she is obviously very knowledgeable. I’ve sat in multiple lectures where 4 or 5 slides go by and no one is writing any notes and everyone looks confused because they have no idea what was going on. I succeeded in this class by keeping up with the textbook reading every week and putting in a lot of outside time to understand the material (and I don’t mean office hours). The course consisted of 5 assignments leading up to a short paper, all of which are easy to get full credit if you follow the instructions, 2 midterms, a final, and clicker participation points. The tests consist of multiple choice, multiple answer, and short answer and the final was cumulative.

Never in my four years at cal poly have i encountered such an incompetent professor. - she took almost two weeks to return our midterms, and never posted our grades before she handed them back.. she has no idea or was just oblivious to the fact that we were all anxious about our grades.. even took two midterms after that midterm and received those back before this one. - she just decided on the FRIDAY OF WEEK 5 to give us a fatty homework assignment that was going to take the rest of the quarter to finish, without addressing this assignment any other week in the quarter (SMALL section with almost no information on this assignment in the syllabus) - extremely disorganized (office is an absolute mess, idk how she finds anything) - Lecture slides make NO sense and have no titles, and therefore no context - she does post learning objectives but in order to answer any of them it takes a lot of effort to even find the information and a lot of times they arent on her lecture slides, just in the book, which is fine, just frustrating and annoying that the content she wants us to know is not clearly presented in her lectures or slides. - when she lectures she just talks about very random things all over the place and rambles about things without giving context.. she also is clearly super anxious while she lectures so i dont understand why she enjoys lecturing in the first place - the only positive thing about this professor is that she is relatively understanding to students and stress that they have

Sandi was helpful and tried to help us out during the course. The course material was pretty difficult to understand the first time around, so it takes some further questioning and studying to really understand what the hell you're doing in this lab. I'm glad I took this class though, the lab techniques learned are valuable and informative.