I honestly feel like Deb must have been cloned or undergone a complete personality flip because I have no idea what the negative reviewers are talking about. She was a great professor, super sweet and helpful! Her lectures are pretty well-paced with a lot of clicker questions, so it can be confusing at times but she always made sure to answer everyone's questions thoroughly, often drawing diagrams and going step-by-step. My class tended to ask questions and talk in the chat a lot and she seemed excited that her students were engaging so much (even said the questions/comments were phenomenal). I went to her office hours a couple times and found them extremely helpful, especially the extra ones she offered before the final exam. I also emailed her with a question on the midterm and she got back to me in about 5 minutes. I will say that the labs for this class are extremely tedious and usually took me more than the allotted discussion time, but I don't know how much that varies between professors in the course. Overall, Deb is a great professor who seems to genuinely care about her students and I enjoyed her class a lot (minus the labs). Plus, she always ends the week telling us have a happy and safe weekend :)

I was really nervous going into this class because of all the negative reviews, and I had to go back and re-read them halfway through the course to make sure they're about the same professor - but I absolutely loved Deb! My class was really active in the chat, not just question wise but also discussing the course content or just talking about life, and she always welcomed it! She was also EXTREMELY encouraging, which was really refreshing after a year of online school - but she made sure to thank us for all of our hard work after each lecture, which really stuck with me and kept me motivated. I agree with other reviews saying the labs were kinda long and not helpful with understanding course content, but I didn't mind because they're pretty easy and boost your grade. She also offered a few points of extra credit for course evaluations. Like the rest of the 7 series, the exam questions were worded kinda tricky, but doable if you study correctly. I'm not a huge fan of flipped classroom bc I'm a visual learner, so I struggle with all the Launchpad reading, but Deb made it a lot more manageable and she was always happy to clarify anything we didn't understand. I didn't particularly like the course content after the first midterm but I still enjoyed the class and having her as a prof!

The reviews on bruin walk literally seem like they're talking about a diff professor. I took Deb for 7A and 7B and I really enjoyed the class. I think the flipped classroom style makes students accountable for their own learning, and the clicker questions are a really good way to comprehend and give an example of what exams might be like (some clickers are really REALLY similar to exam questions)! I felt like Deb was really good at pausing and answering questions, kept up with the chat, and OH's were always fun. The only thing I disliked about these courses were the labs. I have enjoyed interacting with my TA's, but it was just pure busy work. Not helpful for studying for the exams at all, and way longer than necessary. Obviously this class is different because of the online setting, but I still felt like I was learning the material well. It was hard at times to keep up with launchpad, but any motivated student could do it. Exams were straight up difficult, and there was no group portion, unlike 7A. Would not recommend this course if you want an easy A though, you really have to work for it. I felt like I learned a lot out of this course, so it makes sense that it is as hard as it is.

I read all these reviews bashing on Pires but Pires is lovely. She's super nice and clearly loves her job and is always willing to answer questions and occasionally would laugh at our memes in the chat.
Other than that, reviewing the launchpad PEQs and the clickers will be your best bet for the midterms/finals. Content itself really isn't that hard. Labs also aren't too difficult, but you have to go on time and actually do them on time.
Overall, reasonable deadlines, tests, etc, and enjoyable lectures. Pires is def worth taking.

Debra is a piece of work. She is by far the rudest, least -emotionally- considerate professor/lecturer I have ever met at UCLA. On the other hand, having literally designed the series, she has close-to full knowledge/control over the material. So:
Pros: She's very organized, she knows the material and will lead the class to fully understanding it.
This was very helpful for me and let me do well: when professors are a mess, students sometimes end up mirroring their anxiety and doing badly.
Cons: She's rude. You can't ask her a question without hearing a non-informative snarky remark. I've only answered her questions and helped/given her things she needed and she was still very dismissive. If you need one-on-one time with the professor, she ain't it.

The class: you most likely have to take it, and the material/tests/grading isn't different for other professors. Apparently they made it harder this year but still easier than 7A.

The TA: Don't worry about lab, they're all very easy and generously graded. Just show up and wear the dress-code.
My TA, James, you were an incredibly nice, cool dude but also the worst TA I've ever had. He didn't care to learn the course material. As a result his response to every single question in lecture/lab/exam times was : "I don't know". I made sure to schedule my questions and ask any other TA for guidance during tests.

Y'all need to chill on Deb.

I came in this class expecting the absolute worst on her because everyone I knew had terrible things. And in all honesty, this class turned out to be better than everything that I have heard on her. In addition, I asked a lot of my classmates in the discussion about what they thought of her and they were all positive too and not even one person I talked to had harsh, negative things to say.

Most people who have taken LS 7B have most likely taken 7A so the format is the same.
The course is graded based on two midterms (120 points each), Launchpad activities (150 points total), Clickers (75 points w/ 3 free clicker days), Lab Section (150 points), and an easy survey that the LS core makes you complete (10 points) including, and the Final (200 points).

Because the LS series has a flipped classroom style of learning, students do most of their learning on Launchpad anyway, therefore, I personally do not think who you have as a professor matters. Therefore, I believe how well you do in these classes depends on how well you can self-study on your own. The professor does not matter too much but I still think Deb was still good to have as a teacher.

Deb just goes through clickers (like the rest of the 7B professors) and explains them and while some clickers were confusing, she did a good job explaining them. Not only that, she always had a smile on her face and she remembered a lot of students who came to lecture. She would always stop to make conversation and try to talk to a lot of people about their lives. Not too many know this, but sometimes when students asked questions in class and she would ask them to say the question out loud for the rest of the class to hear, she would personally go back and apologize to that student and say that they had a good question and it was a good learning opportunity for everyone. I used to email Deb sometimes for random questions and she emailed almost immediately or in less than 24 hours. Knowing how busy she is and how many emails she gets from all the courses she teaches, it's nice to know that you are not completely insignificant.

She gave opportunities for extra credit too. There were multiple surveys given out by the LS core throughout the quarter and they at most took me 3-4 min to complete and each survey was an extra 2 points. So you had an opportunity to earn 8 extra credit points (4 surveys).

I am writing this review because I in no way deserved an A in this course. I did mediocre on my midterms and not too well on my final. However, when I looked at my final grade, I saw that I received an A. When I punched in the numbers for my grade it turned out even with doing all the extra credit, I would not have made it but Deb decided to curve everyone up a bit and that is how I received an A instead of an A-. Guys, taking Deb will not screw you. I thought she was great and I believe people should take a chance.

Anyone who claims this class is impossible or that the test questions are unfair is not studying correctly i assure you. I attended literally not even a third of the lectures this entire quarter (gave my clicker to my friend for the rest) and did all the launchpad quizzes by using quizlet. I didn't do a single launchpad reading. All I did was watch the bruincasted lectures at 2x speed and write notes down onto the lecture notes and clicker questions. I studied for both midterms no more than 2 days in advance (meaning I began even looking at the material at all) and I got a 98 and a 97. Yes the tests are difficult, but I promise you if you quite literally just take notes from the lectures and just read the slides/clicker questions you'll sail by without a problem.

Challenging class!

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Debra Pires is an amazing professor and person! She truly cares about all of her students and expresses this any chance she gets. From her lectures you can tell she is passionate about ecology and conservation. There are iClicker questions, 75% of questions each class must be answered in order to receive credit, this counts towards your grade but only 72/782 points towards the total grade. The exams cover relatively easy information, but questions are often phrased in confusing ways. It is important to become familiar with the questions she will ask, this can be done by reviewing PEQs, practice midterms/finals, and problem-solving session questions.
Overall, I loved this course! Even though I got a B (my study habits are really bad) most people got A's. I will forever think highly of Dr. Pires!