Professor
Joseph Esdin
1 of 3
AD
Most Helpful Review
I took LS2 with Dr. Esdin. Dr. Esdin is a very good professor in every aspect except his written communication skills. He is a good lecturer; he makes concepts easy to understand, gives interesting examples, and he's funny. He tries to be fair by normalizing section scores and being clear about what he won't test on, but his exams are problematic. He writes badly worded questions that are ambiguous and often times misleading. This is common in the LS department, unfortunately, but he didn't allow us to ask questions, which made it a pretty serious problem. Lots of people missed questions because he was unclear and didn't allow us to clarify. That being said, he lectures well, is very organized, and does try to be open to student concerns.
I took LS2 with Dr. Esdin. Dr. Esdin is a very good professor in every aspect except his written communication skills. He is a good lecturer; he makes concepts easy to understand, gives interesting examples, and he's funny. He tries to be fair by normalizing section scores and being clear about what he won't test on, but his exams are problematic. He writes badly worded questions that are ambiguous and often times misleading. This is common in the LS department, unfortunately, but he didn't allow us to ask questions, which made it a pretty serious problem. Lots of people missed questions because he was unclear and didn't allow us to clarify. That being said, he lectures well, is very organized, and does try to be open to student concerns.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - This is my favorite class for my first quarter at UCLA. Dr. Esdin is so so nice and cute that I would definitely take his class in the future. His lecture is so clear that if you take good notes every lecture, the exams will be just a piece of cake for you. This class is not that time consuming as there is no homework, but you do have to finish a post-lecture pop quiz after every lecture (2-4 questions each) and this should be okay. The final project is really EASY! If you have the experience of writing IAs (IB), this project should take you less than a night. Overall, the workload is very light, the lecture is very interesting and you can definitely learn something, professor Esdin is really nice and helpful, the big project is easy and exams take only a very little proportion of the final grade. If you listen carefully and take good notes in the lecture, you will get an A very easily.
Fall 2020 - This is my favorite class for my first quarter at UCLA. Dr. Esdin is so so nice and cute that I would definitely take his class in the future. His lecture is so clear that if you take good notes every lecture, the exams will be just a piece of cake for you. This class is not that time consuming as there is no homework, but you do have to finish a post-lecture pop quiz after every lecture (2-4 questions each) and this should be okay. The final project is really EASY! If you have the experience of writing IAs (IB), this project should take you less than a night. Overall, the workload is very light, the lecture is very interesting and you can definitely learn something, professor Esdin is really nice and helpful, the big project is easy and exams take only a very little proportion of the final grade. If you listen carefully and take good notes in the lecture, you will get an A very easily.
Most Helpful Review
--LS2-- So this guy is fantastic - clear notes, exams strictly based on lectures instead of that gargantuan book - it's all good. LS2 is normally regarded as a difficult class by the general populous, but he makes it easier. If you want to learn, write out all of his slides into conceptual pictures (e.g. process of the digestive system), and you are sure to get a good grade. His first exam is bad, but the second one is extremely fair. Study lots for the final, though not cumulative, it can get fairly detailed. Very personable, excellent professor.
--LS2-- So this guy is fantastic - clear notes, exams strictly based on lectures instead of that gargantuan book - it's all good. LS2 is normally regarded as a difficult class by the general populous, but he makes it easier. If you want to learn, write out all of his slides into conceptual pictures (e.g. process of the digestive system), and you are sure to get a good grade. His first exam is bad, but the second one is extremely fair. Study lots for the final, though not cumulative, it can get fairly detailed. Very personable, excellent professor.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - Honestly love this Professor. I'm sure by the many other comments posted you can hear in detail how great of a lecturer he is. He's pretty funny and really wants you to absorb the material through a balance of clicker questions and conceptual slides. Overall, it is structured similarly to the other classes in the LS7 series, but if you like physiology then you're going to love this class. The material overall is much denser than LS7A and LS7B so you need to have better organization if you want to complete the material ahead of time (ie: launchpad ). That being said since everything was recorded you could easily catch up if you're behind. Exams: Because of COVID they changed the structure of the exams slightly. The midterms were timed 120 minutes each, around 45 multiple choice questions, worth 2 points each (90 points), and conceptually based on weeks 1-3 for midterm 1 and 4-6 for midterm 2. After each midterm, we had an "exam wrapper" which basically was a chance to get 8 points back on your exam grade by answering a series of questions reflective of what was most missed on each midterm. The final was timed 150 minutes, 82 multiple choice questions, worth 2.25 points each (meaning you could earn 184.5 out of 180 points). The final was 60% new material ie: weeks 7-10, and 40% review material ie: weeks 1-6. I honestly thought the final was much easier than the midterms, but there was no exam wrapper. Discussion: Discussions were very helpful! The only issue was that it was sometimes really hard the finish the whole worksheet within the discussion and I spent some time outside of the discussion to finish my responses. But besides that, the TAs were actually amazing. Other: Just remember to do launchpad to get those assignment points and go to CLC sessions and PLF sessions if you can.
Fall 2020 - Honestly love this Professor. I'm sure by the many other comments posted you can hear in detail how great of a lecturer he is. He's pretty funny and really wants you to absorb the material through a balance of clicker questions and conceptual slides. Overall, it is structured similarly to the other classes in the LS7 series, but if you like physiology then you're going to love this class. The material overall is much denser than LS7A and LS7B so you need to have better organization if you want to complete the material ahead of time (ie: launchpad ). That being said since everything was recorded you could easily catch up if you're behind. Exams: Because of COVID they changed the structure of the exams slightly. The midterms were timed 120 minutes each, around 45 multiple choice questions, worth 2 points each (90 points), and conceptually based on weeks 1-3 for midterm 1 and 4-6 for midterm 2. After each midterm, we had an "exam wrapper" which basically was a chance to get 8 points back on your exam grade by answering a series of questions reflective of what was most missed on each midterm. The final was timed 150 minutes, 82 multiple choice questions, worth 2.25 points each (meaning you could earn 184.5 out of 180 points). The final was 60% new material ie: weeks 7-10, and 40% review material ie: weeks 1-6. I honestly thought the final was much easier than the midterms, but there was no exam wrapper. Discussion: Discussions were very helpful! The only issue was that it was sometimes really hard the finish the whole worksheet within the discussion and I spent some time outside of the discussion to finish my responses. But besides that, the TAs were actually amazing. Other: Just remember to do launchpad to get those assignment points and go to CLC sessions and PLF sessions if you can.
AD
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2023 - So yes, Esdin was the most personable of the three 111A lecturers, yet for some reason I feel like the past bruin walk reviews hyped him up too much as the professor "which saved and redeemed 111a". The content of his module objectively was the most interesting to me, yet his exams weren't as easy as both bruin walk reviews or himself claimed it would be. Nothing crazy with the exams though, just not necessarily as easy as people say. But overall, def manageable to get an A.
Winter 2023 - So yes, Esdin was the most personable of the three 111A lecturers, yet for some reason I feel like the past bruin walk reviews hyped him up too much as the professor "which saved and redeemed 111a". The content of his module objectively was the most interesting to me, yet his exams weren't as easy as both bruin walk reviews or himself claimed it would be. Nothing crazy with the exams though, just not necessarily as easy as people say. But overall, def manageable to get an A.
Most Helpful Review
*Course: LIfe Science 2.* Spring 2012. Bok/Esdin. I really enjoyed having Prof. Esdin! He seems like a good guy and he lays out the material very nicely in lectures. In my first year at UCLA, he would definitely rank in my top 3 favorite professors. I would definitely recommend trying to get into his class. I wish I had gone to his office hours and, according to my roommate, he is very helpful if you come prepared with good questions. I had both Bok and Esdin for LS2, so the first midterm was all of the intro/basic bio that I was really familiar with that Bok taught, but then the second midterm was four chapters of material that Esdin taught. I would say that both tests were fair, but I did a lot better on Bok's test, even though I found his lectures to be boring. The final was not cumulative. If you take Esdin, he writes the questions so that you truly have to understand the material AND can apply it to a situation that you haven't necessarily thought of before. For example, we were asked on the final something like: what are the effects of hyperventilation on the body? After studying the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, we were supposed to connect the dot and apply the various concepts to the question. You should give yourself plenty of time to study for LS2, regardless of which professor you get. I took Biology Honors and AP in high school, which helped a lot, and made it more like a review in the beginning, but the is still a TON of information to be absorbed in 10 weeks. Do not let yourself fall behind, especially if you haven't taken advanced biology in high school. The take home message for doing well in LS 2 is: ---learn the material based on the lectures. (Esdin will only test what he lectures on- its a good idea to print and bring his lecture notes to class) ---Use the lecture schedule as a tentative study schedule, so you don't end up cramming right before the exams. ---*RECORD* Esdin's lectures!!! (this is very, very important. He does NOT podcast, at least during my quarter, so bring a lap top/ recording device. The lectures go FAST, so take notes in lecture, then re-listen and take notes in a different color at home... I did this before the final, and I generally only got down half of what he said during the actual class. The exam questions are detail oriented, so definitely listen to his lectures again) ---Try to go to discussion prepared. (I think you probably will get more out of it if it feels like a review...and that way you can ask your TA questions. I really liked my TA, Brian Mullen. I was in his third discussion of the day, so he always had coffee by the time we got there, but he does a great job condensing the material) --- Figure out a study method that works for you, and do it. (This may seem obvious, but if you don't do so well on the first midterm or whatever, do something differently for the next exam) --- Try to find a good study group... Even though asking question to the prof and TA is great, if you find a couple fellow classmates to digest and review the material, it will help a lot. I know I liked studying the material first on my own, and then talking through everything gave me a good grasp on the details.
*Course: LIfe Science 2.* Spring 2012. Bok/Esdin. I really enjoyed having Prof. Esdin! He seems like a good guy and he lays out the material very nicely in lectures. In my first year at UCLA, he would definitely rank in my top 3 favorite professors. I would definitely recommend trying to get into his class. I wish I had gone to his office hours and, according to my roommate, he is very helpful if you come prepared with good questions. I had both Bok and Esdin for LS2, so the first midterm was all of the intro/basic bio that I was really familiar with that Bok taught, but then the second midterm was four chapters of material that Esdin taught. I would say that both tests were fair, but I did a lot better on Bok's test, even though I found his lectures to be boring. The final was not cumulative. If you take Esdin, he writes the questions so that you truly have to understand the material AND can apply it to a situation that you haven't necessarily thought of before. For example, we were asked on the final something like: what are the effects of hyperventilation on the body? After studying the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, we were supposed to connect the dot and apply the various concepts to the question. You should give yourself plenty of time to study for LS2, regardless of which professor you get. I took Biology Honors and AP in high school, which helped a lot, and made it more like a review in the beginning, but the is still a TON of information to be absorbed in 10 weeks. Do not let yourself fall behind, especially if you haven't taken advanced biology in high school. The take home message for doing well in LS 2 is: ---learn the material based on the lectures. (Esdin will only test what he lectures on- its a good idea to print and bring his lecture notes to class) ---Use the lecture schedule as a tentative study schedule, so you don't end up cramming right before the exams. ---*RECORD* Esdin's lectures!!! (this is very, very important. He does NOT podcast, at least during my quarter, so bring a lap top/ recording device. The lectures go FAST, so take notes in lecture, then re-listen and take notes in a different color at home... I did this before the final, and I generally only got down half of what he said during the actual class. The exam questions are detail oriented, so definitely listen to his lectures again) ---Try to go to discussion prepared. (I think you probably will get more out of it if it feels like a review...and that way you can ask your TA questions. I really liked my TA, Brian Mullen. I was in his third discussion of the day, so he always had coffee by the time we got there, but he does a great job condensing the material) --- Figure out a study method that works for you, and do it. (This may seem obvious, but if you don't do so well on the first midterm or whatever, do something differently for the next exam) --- Try to find a good study group... Even though asking question to the prof and TA is great, if you find a couple fellow classmates to digest and review the material, it will help a lot. I know I liked studying the material first on my own, and then talking through everything gave me a good grasp on the details.
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2023 - Big fan of Esdin. His lectures were super interesting and engaging. He made learning a lot about particular diseases easy and manageable. The biggest difficulty I had with the class was with exams. Sometimes he would provide quizzes where I felt I could have benefited from a slightly longer time. His exams were also difficult in the sense that he has a bank of questions and sometimes the questions correspond to details he never mentioned. Because of that you really have to grind for your grade. Workload was super manageable. The paper was interesting and doesn’t require too much time.
Summer 2023 - Big fan of Esdin. His lectures were super interesting and engaging. He made learning a lot about particular diseases easy and manageable. The biggest difficulty I had with the class was with exams. Sometimes he would provide quizzes where I felt I could have benefited from a slightly longer time. His exams were also difficult in the sense that he has a bank of questions and sometimes the questions correspond to details he never mentioned. Because of that you really have to grind for your grade. Workload was super manageable. The paper was interesting and doesn’t require too much time.
AD
1 of 3
