BIOL 1050

Worst class ever. Used to be one of the easiest classes at UVA but he changed the course so it's harder. The tests are approximately 20 questions, the lectures inane and boring (he is a droning lecturer), there are no quizzes or real homework assignments, the textbook is Genetics for Dummies. Slept in class, didn't read the textbook or participate in class, bombed the first test, got a B+.

This class was one of the easiest classes I took this semester. If you take advantage of his extra credit policies, you can easily bring up your grade. I received mostly B's on the tests but since I participated in many class debates and asked questions, I ended up with an A. Professor Adler is extremely boring in class and he is very overqualified given the information. However, he is really nice and wants his students to succeed. The tests are inconsistent- sometimes the readings were on tests and sometimes they weren't. There is no written homework and the reading is easy. There is a great class for students who are not future STEM students in the college who need to knock out the science requirement.

Didn't go to class, studied the powerpoints and still got a A+. class was very boring.

Adler is definitely very very knowledgeable about everything biology... which sometimes made the class hard to follow. Having never taken a bio class before, I thought this would be a good place to start, but Adler tends to throw out a lot of Bio terms and assumes a bit of prior knowledge on bio vocabulary. I spent at least an hour out of class each week watching videos on the really complicated processes he explained in 3 minutes in lecture and trying to make sense of my notes. Also, the tests (5 midterms, all take home but closed noted) sometimes contained very poorly written questions or really tricky ones that Adler thought were really simple. The class is pretty well curved at the end, and overall I think I learned some valuable things that range a wide scope of biology and enjoyed the class.
PS I did not open the "text book" all semester and got B+/A- on all the tests before the curve

This class is a pretty easy A. There isn't any homework. There are clicker questions randomly that count toward the participation grade. There are 5 tests and you can drop the lowest of the first four. If you study the powerpoints, you will be fine. Don't bother reading the book. Do any extra credit that is offered. The class is pretty boring, but go just for the clickers.

Took this class to get credit for science/math. Honestly, you don't even need to come to class. All of the powerpoints are posted on collab beforehand and he pretty much reads straight from them. The only thing is that you have quicker questions pretty much every class that are worth 10% of the grade. He does practice exams before he 'opens' the test on collab and those are very beneficial. The material is not very interesting but it is a pretty easy class if you want to get some credits out of the way. Other than that, Paul is very very nice and has some funny comments!

I enjoyed this class, I found the topic interesting and it wasn't too hard. Dr. Adler uses a powerpoint each class and he posts them online so you don't always have to go at all. However, before a test there is a practice exam with clicker questions that is graded on participation. There are also clicker questions sporadically during a couple of the lectures. Although it was just powerpoints, I enjoyed his teaching and the tests (all take-home) weren't too bad after reviewing his notes. There are occasional readings, articles and the "Genetics for Dummies" book, but you don't really need to read the book and maybe not even the articles but they are good reads. There are one or two graded assignments and besides tests really nothing else. Very manageable and I would recommend.

I took this class mainly to determine if I still had an interest in genetics without taking the actual hardcore genetics class. Not a bad class, but not the best. Professor Adler can be boring at times, but he is also very nice and funny and he knows the information well. He encourages questions and seems to really want his students to learn. Tests weren't too difficult, but they were relatively short (25 questions) so if you missed three questions, you're automatically at a B. However, he drops the lowest test grade and curves to the class average. Recommend if you're looking for a genetics class with limited work.

I took this class mainly because I wanted 3 more credits in my schedule, and it was the only interesting looking one that fit time-wise. I didn't hate the class, but I also can't say that it was my favorite. The material in the first half of the class was a little bit dry, but by the last several weeks, I thought the interest level picked up. However, I really liked Professor Adler. I thought he was very knowledgeable about the material and was very encouraging of us asking and answering questions in class. He gives participation points for asking and answering questions, as well as volunteering to give presentations on articles he assigned us to read. If I'm being honest, I opened the book for the class (which is "Genetics for Dummies") once in the first week of class and never read it after and did just fine. The only reading you should really do is the popular media articles that he assigns with each section, because questions from those can show up on tests. There is one group project halfway through the class, which is super easy and graded for completion. Overall, I thought Professor Adler was great, and the actual content of the course was average. Definitely would recommend for an easy science/gen-ed filler.

I took this class to fill my science requirement, and it ended up being a pretty easy and interesting class. Reading is assigned occasionally, but the material from the book isn't on tests, I stopped reading by the 3rd test or so. There are 5 tests on collab, and the lowest grade is dropped; all the test materials come from lectures. The rest of the grade comes from participation, which can be done by answering clicker questions or giving optional presentations. That being said, I also loved Professor Adler, I thought he was great. He really loves the subject and was an interesting lecturer. I hate science, but I overall really enjoyed this class.