The hardest unit I have done at UWA. Felt like literal hell.

I have never been so excited to finish a unit in my entire academic career spanning 3 degrees over 2 universities (Curtin for a double and UWA for 1), listen to a majority of the reviews here people don’t lash out this bad for no reason, those scoring it higher either feel bad for the tutor or have the privilege of spending every moment of their time studying this instead of working & doing 4 units like majority of us do. The lectures are filled with mistakes so even if you study you’ll still end up confused and the tests often ask you questions on off topic things that were mentioned very briefly, sometimes not at all, making it almost impossible to score high unless you watch the lectures religiously over and over to catch every little comment made (which, if you’re in neuro, is impossible if you have 3 other content heavy units). The teacher doesn’t like honest feedback either so best of luck, this unit will likely never change.

Very time consuming and difficult. I liked the content but felt like it was a bit much and the unit structure (assessments and labs) wasn't set up in a way I personally found enjoyable or useful. I also felt like any constructive criticism was pointless to express and met with defensiveness which was probably the most disapointing part of the entire experience. I'd probably avoid this unit if you're aiming for HD's.

Please listen to the reviews below me and do yourselfs a favour and DONT do thus unit unless its your core, then I'll pray for you. Also Amanda needs to be sacked or at least held accountable, so many students failing is perhaps not because they're "dumb" or "don't try enough" its because her assessments are so hard, her lectures boring and the unit just being poorly structured in general. To say thus unit is crap is an understatement.

The coordination of this unit needs to be looked at. A failing average (i.e., 25%) for 2/4 VAEs is not the result of student commitment, but rather the coordination of the unit. If this were any other subject, the validity of the assessment, and quite frankly the coordination, would be called into question. To instead blame these results on students' "ineffective study strategies" is an issue in itself. Any feedback that is provided is met with deflection and hostility, and there is no accountability. Substantial feedback was provided after VAE 3, but for some reason, the UC decides to make VAE 4 even harder, resulting in a failing average. To say that the only thing that has changed over the years is the cohort (again, blaming the students) shows that feedback is not taken onboard, and thus the unit content/coordination has not changed. Lectures are pulled straight from the textbook, and even though the textbook is as dry as a biscuit, you still learn more from reading it and watching youtube videos. I am getting 7s in every other unit but for some reason, I seem to be on a 5 average for this one; I wonder why. Very disappointed.

Worst unit! It’s so weird that the unit coordinator is unable to take any constructive criticism, disregarding the students’ concerns and stating that the only thing that has changed is the cohort of students. In the labs, many of the limited number lab demonstrators were just as clueless as the students. The unit coordinator needs to ensure that topics covered in the lectures and assessed in the VAEs are well understood by the lab demonstrators so that when students ask for help, they are assisted by people who know what they are talking about. The coordinator should stop blaming the students and actually listen to what would assist us in succeeding. Neuro might be challenging, but anything is possible with the right mentors. Also if the VAEs were more achievable, then a lot of us wouldn’t have lost hope/given up on this unit so early on.

I have never had a unit quite like this. Any concerns voiced by students who genuinely care about their education have been met with defence and deflection. There is no accountability or ability to take constructive criticism. The statement echoed constantly is "last years cohort did better" and the cohort as a whole is often met with disappointment - i think it has left many students feeling demoralised and like it is their fault, despite voicing their concerns and making attempts to improve. UWA is a well renowned institution, and one that many of us will be in debt to for many years for our education. It does not feel right that rather than being educated, many of us are having our passion for science burnt away by an uncooperative educater who takes no accountability and is quick to deflect any wrongdoing on students. I do not reccommend this unit. PS - i can almost guarantee the 5 star reviews below were written by the unit coordinator after posting screenshots and expressing her disappointment (yet again) at this semesters cohort.

I would give this unit 0 stars if I could. I’m a third year anatomy student and this is by far the worst unit of them all. I think the content is interesting but it is very poorly taught and assessed. The lectures are a waste of time and the lecture notes are poorly done. What’s the point of watching the lectures if you have to teach yourself from the textbook? I feel like the unit coordinator for this unit really needs to think about how she teaches this unit. DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF DOING THIS UNIT AS AN ELECTIVE (LIKE ME)!!! If you have to as a core unit, don’t bother watching the lectures, just read the textbook in detail and teach yourself!

I took this unit as an elective and I really enjoyed it! It is a second year anatomy unit which means your learning is up to you, which is not Dr Meyer’s fault, it’s extremely standard for second year anatomy. Dr Meyer gives you all the resources and content you need to succeed, but it’s up to you to engage with it appropriately and put the work in throughout the semester! The labs were very interesting and definitely the highlight of the unit! They are self-directed which is quite standard for anatomy units, so it’s up to you to make sure you engage with them. Dr Meyer and the demonstrators are extremely knowledgeable and really make an effort to help your learning during the unit. The VAEs are not impossible unlike some other students have said. If you keep up with the material, show up to labs prepared and make the most of lab time by asking questions and engaging with the resources, you’ll find the VAEs very manageable. Lab attendance isn’t compulsory, so a lot of students fall into the trap of not going and hence not doing well in the VAEs. I have to disagree with the other reviews saying it’s impossible to achieve a passing grade whilst doing 4 units or ‘having a life’. You don’t have to go overboard and study for hours on end, just little bits consistently make a difference! Neuroanatomy is very challenging, but Dr Meyer and the demonstrators make it very engaging and a lot more manageable! If you are interested in neuroanatomy and willing to put in work consistently (instead of just cramming last minute) I highly recommend this unit.

For a level 2 unit, this unit is poorly structured, taught and assessed. Firstly, lectures were arranged in a nonsensical sequence where related topics were taught weeks apart, making the cohesive understanding of neuroscience more difficult and time-consuming. Secondly, the lab books included new and foreign contents that the lecturer did not cover in the lectures (and we were assessed on them). Unit objectives were misleading and useless as the content assessed in the graded VAEs were far more in depth. Lab sessions were inadequately planned with basically no structure and "freestyled". Lab mentors were fairly helpful (many questions were left with 'I'm not sure'). Content was the most challenging part as what was taught in the lectures and labs were not equivalent to what we were being examined on. Lecturer gave little to no assistance in preparation for assessments and refused to take in feedback from students who voiced out their worries and difficulties. Multiple brave students have came forward with their struggles and challenges faced to Dr Amanda Meyer. Unfortunately, these concerns were neither accepted nor addressed and fell into deaf ears.