Pires is alright as a lecturer; since this is the 7 series, the professor doesn't matter too much, though it helps to have a professor who can explain the clicker questions better. Some people commented that Pires doesn't care about students, but I feel like she does - she lets us out early sometimes, etc.
In terms of material, I personally did not really enjoy the class's topics. I had some interest in genetics, but struggled through it until I took the final, which is when things finally started to click.
The first midterm (on genetics) honestly turned me off as it was very hard - probably the hardest LS exam I've taken thus far. I didn't do that great on the first midterm, but improved for the second midterm and the final, so don't lose hope if you don't do well in the beginning! I thought I was kind of done for after midterm 1, but still ended up doing fairly well in the end.

After taking this class with Dr. Pires, I honestly don't understand how she has such a low score here on Bruinwalk. In my opinion, she was an excellent professor who explained concepts well along with being passionate, helpful, and caring for her students. If you were like me who are scared to take this course with her because of the low Bruinwalk scores, but her lecture time might suit your schedule the best, DO NOT WORRY. You'll be fine. She is a great lecturer.

Most of the complaints I've heard are really about the LS series itself, which frankly, neither of us can change. Change your study methods to adapt it. Besides that, Professor Pires is great. Don't worry.

If you have not taken a biology class in some capacity, this class will be very difficult for you. However, if you have taken AP/IB Biology, it will be a breeze. Almost all of the reviews have written about Professor Pires's "flipped classroom" which I did not mind too much, mainly because I was just reviewing much of what I had already learned in high school. But for those who have not taken biology, it will be as if you are teaching yourself an entire college course in just 10 weeks.

I don't know how to feel about this class. I think I actually enjoyed it until the second midterm, when I just burned out and stopped caring. It kind of just depends on your interests - the genetics part was super interesting and easy to me, but ecology was mind-numbingly boring. Prepare yourself for plenty of probability stuff, which I wasn't expecting going in.
The structure is typical LS stuff, nothing new - tedious Launchpad work, flipped classroom, annoying exams. In comparison to LS 7A though, I will say that I think the material is more interesting but the exams are even harder and Launchpad even more useless. However, plenty of practice is provided and I think once you understand how to solve the problems (especially ones given in the PEQs and clickers), the exams are doable. Plus, there's plenty of extra credit. Other than that, the labs are usually pretty easy but I always rushed to finished them within the two hours.
Dr. Pires was a great professor, though, and I think she did her best to teach us the material in an interesting way and was always encouraging and open to questions. Contrary to a lot of the reviews here, I actually really enjoyed having her for this class. Overall, this class has its downfalls being part of the LS series, but do not be afraid to take it with Deb and do your best to enjoy it :)

Honestly Deb was my favorite of the two professors . I felt like she kept the pace of the class fast enough to where you wouldnt be bored out of your mind . She was a decent lecturer just you have to make yourself go to class for the participation points even though its pointless with the whole flipped classroom thing they have going on .

In one word, good class but bad professor. The worst I had so far

Pires was one of the least helpful professors I've had thus far. It was a flipped classroom and I learned most of the material on my own. When people would ask for help, she would make belittling comments as responses. Also, don't bother coming to the review sessions for the midterms and final, they're pretty useless.

Overall, this class was pretty neutral for me. It was marketed as being a "flipped classroom" but it really wasn't. You basically teach yourself everything from the textbook, but then you have to go to the lectures for participation points. The lectures felt pretty pointless, though they probably would be interesting for someone interested in more real-world applications of biological topics. The lectures wouldn't be necessary to get a good grade, except for the fact that you need the participation points (this was the most annoying part of the class)

There were lots of opportunities for extra credit, and the exams aren't that hard if you pay attention in lecture and do all the readings. My best advice is to just actively engage with the lectures and the textbook reading so you don't have to kill yourself studying later. This is what I did, and I barely studied for the tests and got As on both midterms and the final.

Pires is helpful and nice, but kinda treats you like a kindergartener. Overall, she has good intentions and does care about your success.

Bro, this class was a mess. Deb is by far one of the rudest and most arrogant professors I've ever had. I went to both of her review sessions for the midterms, and both times, I received incredibly condescending and belittling responses to my very valid questions. The second review session (which was at 7 AM BY THE WAY), I literally walked out 30 minutes in and went to B Plate breakfast, which was a much better use of my time.
The first midterm was a MASSACRE. I assumed it wouldn't be too bad because it covered genetics and pedigrees and stuff, which is probably review for most of us, but Deb and her TA's decided to rewrite the entire exam the weekend before because they allegedly heard from students that LS 7B was "too easy." Instead of curving the exam, Deb instead decided to throw out two questions to raise the average above a 75% (which is the cutoff for curving in the 7 series). I got a C+ on the exam, and I was ranked #38 out of about 350 people in the class. Like, what? The reason this exam was so difficult was because Deb decided to ask the most involved and the most difficult probability questions with pedigrees that required a lot of time to read and process. If you ask anyone who took 7B during this term, I guarantee they will agree with me. After addressing the exam in class, Deb went on some stupid rant about how you need to face things that will challenge you in life or else you will never grow.
I did get an A in the class because I did well on the second midterm and final, but they weren't much easier than the first exam and weren't really things you can study for (we know how the 7 series is) and I feel like I got lucky. This is coming from someone who got a 99% in 7A.
I liked Deb during my first few weeks in 7B because I recognized that she is knowledgeable about the material and is a decent lecturer. However, it became apparent to me that she is not at all concerned about student learning and is damaged by her own ego. Honestly, I would have rather taken this class with Princess...

Before I begin, I would like to say that the LS 7 series is built on a "flipped classroom" style of teaching, which is a euphemism for "fail-safe method created so that even the most thoroughly unqualified professor can teach the course because students will be able to teach themselves and do reasonably well." As a result, your experience in LS 7B is probably going to be very similar regardless of what professor you take.

For being one of the people behind the structuring of this series, Pires is a pretty terrible professor. She is clear when explaining the course content, but her approach to student questions is brutally condescending and makes you feel mentally incapacitated if you don't understand something the first time she says it. This was true for every single one of her office hours and her own review sessions. She is also incredibly boring in her presentation of the material, making it difficult to concentrate on her mind-numbing lectures. Her first midterm was unfairly long and convoluted, and almost no one finished it. Now I will take some of the blame here; I stressed myself out studying for the exam and proceeded to make dumb mistakes multiple times in a row, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the test was poorly designed. The second test was a little better, but several of the questions were poorly worded, needlessly complicated, and built to trick you. Again, I blame myself for some of the poor performance due to studying harder instead of smarter. The final was easier, and after averaging a D+ on the two midterms, I finally pulled it together and got a B overall thanks to the massive amounts of free points from LaunchPad and lab work, one of the few positives of this course.

The fact that Dr. Pires is far from the worst aspect of this course is frightening. The "labs" in this course are the most frustrating and useless busywork you've ever seen, and the TAs can range from helpful and engaging to complete hacks who are unfit to teach elementary school science. For some reason, it is seen as productive to wear PPE while smashing Legos together and staring at a computer for 2 hours while furiously scribbling down readings. Also, in the rare event that you finish early, you aren't allowed to leave. Regardless of whether I was performing a simulation, creating a null hypothesis, or observing plants in the Botanical Gardens, the labs in this course all created a unified thought: "Why the f*** am I doing this?"

Overall, don't listen to earlier comments that say that this course is easy. I took Chem 14D and Physics 5A at the same time as 7B, and those two classes were a JOKE in comparison to this ten-week migraine of a course. I was already not especially interested in ecology or evolutionary biology prior to LS 7B, but that disinterest has now festered into complete hatred. I would rather gouge my eyes out with shards of glass over sitting in another lecture with the spawn of Satan herself.