This is going to be my in-depth review of LS7A Maloy and Chen. If it's too long, just know that this class was a good amount of work, but not too difficult!

I actually took this class with Dr. Maloy and Dr. Chen (Maloy taught the first 5 weeks and Chen taught the last 5 weeks). As a Bio major this class was needed and pretty interesting - both professors were really nice, approachable, and helpful. It was a large class (~400 kids) but both professors made themselves available to us as much as they could.

I personally preferred Dr. Chen's lectures but it was a small margin because both were great lecturers - even though I was often super tired or not paying attention during class oops, the lectures were recorded so I could go back and rewatch them. My TA was not great, to be honest, but during discussion, we would just finish the worksheet and hang out, so we didn't need her to teach us much.

The grading rubric of this class was really nice, as you can probably see from the grade distribution. There is a lot of extra credit and between the homework, launchpad, reading guides, discussion worksheets, and more, these really helped to cushion the overall grade. Just turn in everything on time and do it, and by the last week you won't even have to do your assignments for full credit (5 points per week out of 45 not 50, so you can miss a week). Plus extra credit is just easy grade cushioning - if you can I would definitely do it.

As far as the midterms I didn't do that well on the individual portion but with the group portion (each worth 50% of the midterm), that helped a lot to bring both of my grades up. I also didn't do that well on the final but by that point I had a high enough grade and with the group portion that I was still able to pull an A. That's the nice part about this class - dedicated professors and grade cushioning.

It is challenging at times, though, especially if you have not taken AP Bio in high school - I took it senior year so I was okay, but some of my friends who had never seen the material before struggled. It is a fast-paced class, going over major concepts like cellular respiration in two lectures or photosynthesis in one lecture. There is a lot of memorization, and although that may be expected for a bio class, it is a good amount of content in a short amount of time (thank you, quarter system).

However, like I stated, it wasn't too hard to get an A - the Launchpad and reading guides were tedious at times but overall I liked this class and I felt the exam structure specifically was helpful to actually learning something - why it was right or wrong and the concepts, as well as helping in the grade sense.

I really enjoyed this class the content was engaging and I really enjoyed professor Maloy's teaching he was engaging and clear. I didn't enjoy professor Chen as much she taught the second half of the quarter I found her to be not as clear and moved too quickly through content. There is an extremely heavy workload and the textbook platform was definitely pricy.

It was fine, I wasn't a huge fan but I remembered enough about bio and chem from high school to do well. We have access to everything we need to do well on the exams so it's a matter of how hard you study to do well in the class.

I loved this class. This semester Dr.Maloy taught this class with Dr.Chen and the two were a power pair. Super engaging, the lectures consisted of slides and clicker questions. Dr.Maloy does have a "reversed classroom" setup where you read the textbook and complete a worksheet before each class. Honestly it is ABSOLUTELY useless and a waste of time so do it quickly and get it over with. Do not waste your time studying on Launchpad. Also the writing in the textbook is wordy and full of useless fluff. The iClicker subscription is definitely expensive. I suggest you buy it through Macmillan because it is the cheapest and the textbook comes with an iClicker subscription.

I really appreciate how the class is graded by how well you do and completion of the assignments. If the class average is below 75% they will bump up your grades a little but they will never curve your grade down. The lowest grades of each type of graded assignment is dropped which is really nice.

The tests are definitely in the more difficult side, you have to know the basics and apply them to more complex situations. The most useful studying tools are the LA workshops, practice exam questions, Lab worksheets, and iClicker questions. There is a lot of group work, we have a set group of 3-4 people you will work with the entire quarter. I was lucky enough to be set with an amazing group but group participation is necessary.

Overall, I loved this class. Other than the textbook , I think this class is really well structured and taught. Professor Maloy is the nicest person and he chooses an amazing group of TAs and LAs that are very helpful whenever you need. Utilize them! It is very easy to get in touch with any of the faculty. Hope this helps.

Professor Maloy is one of the most genuine and understanding professors out there, he always makes himself available in any way possible for students to reach out to for help, he always tries to provide as many resources as possible in order to aid your studies. He also breaks complex things down so that it is easier to comprehend and remember. I absolutely loved taking his class for the LS7 series and definitely recommend it! The LS7 series are known for having trickier exams and I can confirm that, but as long as you study all the materials he provides and listen to what he says in class and work hard, you can achieve your target grade. What I found tough was keeping up with all the textbook homeworks as they are so dense and long and assigned in bulk amounts 2x a week (so just a heads up!). I personally found them very helpful, but I know other people just did not do it and could still keep up with the class and ace the exams so it all depends on you.

Tests were pretty difficult, it's all application of the knowledge you learn. Pay attention to discussions and clickers! That's what the tests are like. None of that memorization nonsense. Anyway, Maloy was always understanding (I literally forgot to turn in my group final and he still let me. I would've gotten a C in the class but I got an A. He is,,,,so kind) and would always bring his dog to sit at the front of the room (WHAT A SWEETIE. SO FLUFFY AND CALM AND SOFT) and you could pet him!!! Take this class with Maloy!!

Even though this wasn't the most interesting class (it is a biology intro class anyways), Dr. Maloy was able to keep us engaged through the numerous clicker questions spread throughout the 1-hr lecture, which I really appreciated. He also explained all the clicker question answers extremely thoroughly. As for midterms and finals, all the LS 7A professors come together to create recorded review sessions. Although I didn't watch them, I appreciated their effort in doing so. I also found that going to Problem Solving Sessions really helped a lot, so I emphasize that you go to them!

As for Launchpad, it is definitely way too dense and has a bunch of unnecessary details, so don't waste your time reading it word-for-word. There are practice exam questions and review questions that you have to do on there twice a week, and they are graded on accuracy. Tbh though, a lot of them (or should I say all of them) are on Quizlet which can save you a lot of time and headache.

Take LS7A with Maloy!!! He is the best professor, classes are always engaging and never boring. Launchpad is a bit tedious but after the first midterm you'll figure out how to pick out what is actually important to know for tests. Tests were all online on CCLE and had individual and group phases so you had a chance to take the test twice to improve your score. I loved this class and would take it with Maloy again in a heartbeat.

I think that this class is a good class to take if you already have some bio knowledge. It is a part of a larger series that is required for a lot of majors, so most people in the class have already taken things like AP or IB bio and I think that having that previous knowledge REALLY helps with understanding the material. Due to the reverse classroom sometimes it will feel like the lecture isnt helpful, which is kind of annoying considering the clicker questions are for attendance. But I dont think the class is terrible, and esp for Maloy I think hes a great prof who wants his students to succeed (there are so many extra credit opportunities).

DR. MALOY IS THE BEST!! IF YOU CAN TAKE LS7A WITH HIM DO IT!! He is SUPER engaging and his office hours are the best!! You can tell he's truly enthusiastic and passionate about teaching biology and helping his students. He really wants everyone to succeed and was very accommodating when I came to my CAE accommodations and extenuating circumstances.
For the class, I overall found LS7A very easy. I received As on both the midterms and a big chunk of the grade in the class is through the self-teaching module called launchpad. YOU NEED TO DO YOUR LAUNCHPAD. Attendance to lectures is mandatory through clicker questions. Time-consuming class but overall not very difficult (especially if you have a background in AP BIO).