BIOL 3030

Deppmann is a fun guy, but don't let it fool you into thinking this course is "easier." It is definitely hard content (as expected, don't get me wrong), and his AI obsession almost makes me label him as a "bad" professor.

Course format is similar to previous comments, except homeworks are now graded on correctness (not completion). Some of the homeworks are pretty tricky on 1-2 questions.

Discussion was different every week -- some TAs were excellent, led review sessions, and created well-matched practice questions. Other TAs were condescending, unhelpful, and clearly elitist about their position as a TA. Deppmann did not support discussions much. You have to show up to discussion to get extra credit -- sometimes, it is a simple "create a meme" assignment -- other times, you have to score a certain % on an in-discussion Kahoot.

I think he is a great guy, but not a great lecturer. Yes, he is funny, different, and provides breaks, but he is OBSESSED with AI use. His slides often have blatantly wrong AI slop images, or he simply reads off of the slides. You get his speaker notes on lecture slides - he just reads off of them. You can tell that AI writes his speaker notes, too. Frequently canceled lectures, as well.

Maybe would have been better in the past, may be less AI-based in the future. Only time will tell, but I did not enjoy self-teaching this class using AI.