Ellen was very kind and clearly passionate about what she was teaching. Overall a solid choice, she really adapted her lectures to help all types of learners prepare. The test was completely easy, ecology as a unit was generally a breeze compared to evolution. Take her if you can!

Ellen's a nice person, but her lectures were not great. Her slides were super bare bones, and she talked too fast for me to write everything down. So when I went back to look at my slides, I didn't understand what I was looking at. She also waited before every class for us to be completely silent and treated us like elementary schoolers.

I like Dr. Damschen's teaching style a lot as she always made the lectures very engaging by trying to explain the concepts slowly enough for the class to understand (by writing on paper). Furthermore, she helped elucidate the concepts by having students come up and demonstrate topics in ecology that made the subject more intuitive.

Dr. Damschen made this class very enjoyable and interesting. Her lectures were always really clear and informative. One negative: the class is a ton of work and includes a very thorough research project, with grading that sometimes feels arbitrary. Be ready to devote a lot of time to this class if you want to do well

I enjoyed professor Damschen's lectures alot in the beginning of the class, but over time the class itself felt more and more unorganized. Lab and lecture felt really disconnected, not to mention the grading of some assignments was very unclear and felt very nitpicky.

Do not take this class. Lab/discussion is the biggest waste of time, I felt like I did not learn anything in lab/discussion plus you have to make some masterclass research project very similar to the IP in Bio 152. Also you get random groups so lets hope you like your groupmates that dont randomly dock you points on the peer reviews.

Not the most exciting. Not good at communication, I emailed her once and never received a response. Quizes were extremely nit-picky on the information discussed in lecture.

She is an incredible person. Her lectures were so easy to listen to and to keep up with. Great way to end the sequence. I learned so much from her and not just how to do well on her exam. Her exam was a little wordy and hard to figure out sometimes, but it was mostly fair. Practice the quizzes and do not overthink questions. Loved her!

Pro. Damschen is so passionate about ecology and was an effective teacher. I honestly enjoyed the ecology unit. She made it very clear what you needed to know for the exam. Overall was a great experience.

She was a great lecturer, and was very clear in stating exactly what information we would need to know for the exam. She was also very clearly passionate about her job and research.

Ellen was by far the best 152 lecturer. Super passionate about the material and interesting to listen to. Lectures aren't super note taking heavy, so you actually absorb the information by listening. Would recommend her for any class that she teaches because of her super kind and straight forward personality. She doesn't try to trick you.

Professor Damschen is a great lecturer! I have learned so much in this class for a topic I care deeply about. My group project was very rough due to lack of participation from others but Ellen listens to her students which I appreciate. I look forward to reaching out to Ellen in the future to give her an update on my career. She is the cool aunt!

Take this class with Dr. Damschen if you can. She's passionate about the subject and it makes the lectures interesting. Exams are fair, and take advantage of the study guides and problem sets. The book isn't needed but you need to come to lecture since most info is written on the board. Lab is also fun as long as you get in a good group.

Lectures get long and boring, so its hard to stay focused the entire time. There is a ton of content to get through. The research project is fun if you're with the right group, otherwise it sucks. The exams are short and don't test on much material, and weekly quizzes in lab are easy to forget about. A lot of work, but worth it.

Hardest by far of the three lecturers of this class. She was condescending and dry

I took Ecology 460 as my easy elective and I ended up getting a B. But, overall, the class is ok. The book isn't necessary, as everything on the exams will be from lecture. BUT learn literally everything from lecture. Do all the study guides. You can find quizlet flashcards online for all of the species quizes and people, this helped a lot.

Ellen is one of my favorite professors at UW-Madison. She loves what she is doing and it really shows.

Ellen is enthusiastic, clear in her teaching, and truly cares about her students success. Take this course with Professor Damschen if possible. Her exams are very fair if you study your notes and her study guides she provides. Lab is also really fun for 460. Thoroughly enjoyed the course.

Ellen made me interested in ecology. She's very enthusiastic about the subject and wants the students to learn and understand the material. She gives fun lectures that are easy to follow along with.

She's very enthusiastic about the subject (ecology) and engages the class with activities to make sure we understand the material. Her notes are very clear and helpful.

Damschen was by far the best biology professor I had here. She taught ecology and did a fantastic job. Really caring professor, wants you to succeed and doesnt ramble about unimportant topics. Test was pretty fair, worded poorly (though I think the coordinators write the exam, not her). Overall, she was great and really a pleasure to learn from.

She is so sweet and she really wants you to succeed. She makes it very clear what you need to know for the exam. The topics are not challenging and the exam is fair. She actually makes ecology interesting. Super understanding and relatable professor. Everything you need to know is in lecture, so don't skip. You won't need to read the book at all.

Professor Damschen is one of my favorite professors. She is very approachable and always wanting to help her students succeed. Has extremely fair grading policies and exams that cover exactly what she posts on study guides. I learned the most just by attending lecture, so don't miss it! Most enjoyable class I have taken at UW.

Going into the Ecology portion of Bio 152 I was not interested at all, but she was a great teacher and made it enjoyable. Recommend going to lecture. She is very approachable and friendly!

I love the way she teaches. Straight forward with the material, and the exams are very easy as long as you paid attention. Absolutely attend the lecture, even though she posts lecture slides, they are useless without the in-class notes (a fact that she warns the first day of class).

Really easy prof. Told you exactly what you needed to know. Exam was easy as well because she told you what would be covered. Lectures were interesting, and she didn't ramble or go over anything that wasn't relevant to the class.