Professor
Walter Babiec
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Overall I think the class was definitely fair and not too bad for a GE. There is a lot of material to cover and the lectures can feel long sometimes, but Dr. Babiec gives a break in the middle, can sometimes be funny, and is clearly passionate about what he's teaching. As some other people have said there are 4 non-cumulative tests that are weighted equally, so you don't have to worry about cramming for a final or anything, and as long as you study the slides you're good. There's no discussion for the class and some coloring assignments for homework, which can admittedly take a while but are really easy ways to boost your grade. It's a decent class and I definitely felt like I knew what was expected throughout the quarter.
Fall 2019 - Overall I think the class was definitely fair and not too bad for a GE. There is a lot of material to cover and the lectures can feel long sometimes, but Dr. Babiec gives a break in the middle, can sometimes be funny, and is clearly passionate about what he's teaching. As some other people have said there are 4 non-cumulative tests that are weighted equally, so you don't have to worry about cramming for a final or anything, and as long as you study the slides you're good. There's no discussion for the class and some coloring assignments for homework, which can admittedly take a while but are really easy ways to boost your grade. It's a decent class and I definitely felt like I knew what was expected throughout the quarter.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - Be. Warned. This professor reported 1/3 of our 2020 class to the dean and accused them of cheating on the final exam (which was an online CCLE multiple choice quiz due to COVID-19). From what I've heard, most of the students did well on the test and he took that to the dean. Total jerk, makes some very strange comments in class and definitely writes hard tests. If you're a neuroscience major, you don't have a choice in taking this class so good luck, just be careful. Do not post anything on course hero either because he routinely checks that and reports students. I'm assuming it's the same for chegg. The discussions are so pointless but you have to go for points. My TA was super helpful though.
Winter 2020 - Be. Warned. This professor reported 1/3 of our 2020 class to the dean and accused them of cheating on the final exam (which was an online CCLE multiple choice quiz due to COVID-19). From what I've heard, most of the students did well on the test and he took that to the dean. Total jerk, makes some very strange comments in class and definitely writes hard tests. If you're a neuroscience major, you don't have a choice in taking this class so good luck, just be careful. Do not post anything on course hero either because he routinely checks that and reports students. I'm assuming it's the same for chegg. The discussions are so pointless but you have to go for points. My TA was super helpful though.
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Winter 2022 - This is a review for all 3 professors of 101L I was particularly not a fan of lab work, but took this class bc I needed it. I ended up doing really well and got an A+. Here's my breakdown of the class and the advice I wish I told myself at the start of the quarter: Grisham: you have weekly pre-labs, and then each weekly lab you do some work which at the end of the 4th week you'll use to write a paper. So make sure your'e doing everything right since the start bc you will need it later. The paper is like 88% of the grade for his module, and the rest is prelabs. You sometimes need to read a paper or two for the prefabs, He is a nice guy, go to his lectures or at least watch them after, as they are helpful for the pre labs, they grade nicely, I got full marks on all of them. The paper to me seemed daunting, I had no idea what was going on half the time... it took me a while to do it, maybe over the span of 3-4 days, and I would go to the TA OH a bunch to try and figure it out. I ended up getting a 98% on it. If you're freaking out, don't worry, just go to OH and try and get some pointers, I swear I am still confused abt what I wrote lol but it was good enough. I'd say his module is the most work heavy, but they also grade really nicely. Babiec: Didn't really watch the lectures, sometimes skimming the slides was useful. Only had post-labs and then the final assignments. Grading here was more 50/50. The post-labs were based on the work we did in lab, and once again the material all adds up for your final project, so be sure to know whats going on each week. He is a much more picky grader, I'd get points off for the stupidest stuff... His module was a bit less work that Grisham's for the final. Once again, TA office hours will be your saviours. Lin: the easiest of the 3 in terms of work load. By this point in the quarter you're probably overwhelmed with other classes, so it's nice that his module is easier. No pre or post labs, just the final project. One is based off of work in 1 lab, the other is answering some questions based on the lecture material (I skimmed the slides and watched parts of the lecture, but the majority of the lecture is not that useful). Once again, TA OH will save you. I got 100% on his module and didn't put in more than 2-3 days of work for all of it. Overall I really wasn't too interested in the contents of the class, it's just not my cup of tea. I constantly felt lost in what we were talking about, but somehow managed an A+, so you will be fine! I would literally go to OH almost every week to check my work and ask for guidance, and on the weeks we had finals due I'd even hit extra TA OH to check stuff. That to me is the way to go if you want to do well, since on your own the stuff might seem really confusing. It is not too bad of a time commitment, especially the last module! Outside of the 3h of lab, I'd spend maybe 2-3h a week on this class, maybe 10-15h on the weeks we had a final due, and that was it. Everything is a take home, which makes it way less stressful, so enjoy that! Check your work in OH before turning it in, and you should be good to go
Winter 2022 - This is a review for all 3 professors of 101L I was particularly not a fan of lab work, but took this class bc I needed it. I ended up doing really well and got an A+. Here's my breakdown of the class and the advice I wish I told myself at the start of the quarter: Grisham: you have weekly pre-labs, and then each weekly lab you do some work which at the end of the 4th week you'll use to write a paper. So make sure your'e doing everything right since the start bc you will need it later. The paper is like 88% of the grade for his module, and the rest is prelabs. You sometimes need to read a paper or two for the prefabs, He is a nice guy, go to his lectures or at least watch them after, as they are helpful for the pre labs, they grade nicely, I got full marks on all of them. The paper to me seemed daunting, I had no idea what was going on half the time... it took me a while to do it, maybe over the span of 3-4 days, and I would go to the TA OH a bunch to try and figure it out. I ended up getting a 98% on it. If you're freaking out, don't worry, just go to OH and try and get some pointers, I swear I am still confused abt what I wrote lol but it was good enough. I'd say his module is the most work heavy, but they also grade really nicely. Babiec: Didn't really watch the lectures, sometimes skimming the slides was useful. Only had post-labs and then the final assignments. Grading here was more 50/50. The post-labs were based on the work we did in lab, and once again the material all adds up for your final project, so be sure to know whats going on each week. He is a much more picky grader, I'd get points off for the stupidest stuff... His module was a bit less work that Grisham's for the final. Once again, TA office hours will be your saviours. Lin: the easiest of the 3 in terms of work load. By this point in the quarter you're probably overwhelmed with other classes, so it's nice that his module is easier. No pre or post labs, just the final project. One is based off of work in 1 lab, the other is answering some questions based on the lecture material (I skimmed the slides and watched parts of the lecture, but the majority of the lecture is not that useful). Once again, TA OH will save you. I got 100% on his module and didn't put in more than 2-3 days of work for all of it. Overall I really wasn't too interested in the contents of the class, it's just not my cup of tea. I constantly felt lost in what we were talking about, but somehow managed an A+, so you will be fine! I would literally go to OH almost every week to check my work and ask for guidance, and on the weeks we had finals due I'd even hit extra TA OH to check stuff. That to me is the way to go if you want to do well, since on your own the stuff might seem really confusing. It is not too bad of a time commitment, especially the last module! Outside of the 3h of lab, I'd spend maybe 2-3h a week on this class, maybe 10-15h on the weeks we had a final due, and that was it. Everything is a take home, which makes it way less stressful, so enjoy that! Check your work in OH before turning it in, and you should be good to go
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - I found this class challenging as it seemed most of it was very coding heavy which was not my strength. I felt as if the coding was not taught in a proper way to be giving such difficult labs. There was not much practice problems for exams so it was difficult to study for them. The midterm was graded harshly which made me get a B and the final was really difficult and not what I expected compared to the practice problems given. Overall, unless you are really interested in the content, I would not really recommend this class as I found it to be a way more difficult version of LS30A and LS30B content. I think the lack of practice is what contributed to my thoughts about this.
Fall 2022 - I found this class challenging as it seemed most of it was very coding heavy which was not my strength. I felt as if the coding was not taught in a proper way to be giving such difficult labs. There was not much practice problems for exams so it was difficult to study for them. The midterm was graded harshly which made me get a B and the final was really difficult and not what I expected compared to the practice problems given. Overall, unless you are really interested in the content, I would not really recommend this class as I found it to be a way more difficult version of LS30A and LS30B content. I think the lack of practice is what contributed to my thoughts about this.
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