i loved pires, she’s engaging and funny and clearly loves what she does. the tests are pretty laid back, all online on your own time. you take it once on your own and once with a group and that score is averaged , so not bad

Professor doesnt matter because they dont really teach, they just review iclicker in class. If I wasn't interested in biology I probably would have hated this class the tests are unnecessarily hard.

READ THE TEXTBOOK!!!! my biggest mistake tbh, the slides are just application n extra stuff. still recovering from that final lol 🙃 very good weeder class 👍

LS7A has a pretty streamlined curriculum across professors, so it does not matter which professor you have. Pires's explanations in class can be a little confusing at times, but that's just because there is a lot of information to cover in such a short time. This class does have a lot of busywork attached to it, but overall it is not too bad.

I didn’t take AP bio in HS so for me this class was a bit hazy. Like many science classes, stuff is just taught from the board and we have engaging tactics to answer questions like clicker. Though as a life science major I wouldn’t say I enjoyed this class during lecture most times. I also did not enjoy the tests.

I wouldn't recommend having Pires for 7A. She explains bio concepts in a weird way that makes everyone more confused.

Due to the flipped classroom curriculum, your professor may not make a huge difference. Class consists of lecture and clicker questions to mark attendance and there are often pod assignments each lecture. I would recommend doing staying a little after in the lecture hall because you can ask the TA's or the professor for guidance and clarification. For exams, make use of resources like CLC sessions and TA office hours! They often went over what would be on exams and I felt much more prepared that way. My TA was Shania and she was super fun and great at explaining concepts. The class is challenging but by the second midterm you'll have a good grasp on what to expect from future exams since the questions are worded a bit strangely at times but it's meant to mimic the MCAT from what other TAs have told me. Best of luck!

This was my first class here at UCLA and it kind of took me by surprise. The teaching style was way different than what I have been used to since the professors implemented the reverse classroom technique. There were many readings a week and also the pre class quizzes and assignments that cam with the readings. This class really had to be a priority for me so that I could do all the readings and assignments a week and still study for the 2 mid terms and exams that sneak up really quick. Overall, the class is pretty manageable if you have time management skills.
As for the exams, mostly all of the questions on the exams were not covered in class. Yes we had many different clicker questions, but they were not as complicated as the questions on the exams.

Pires is quite engaging during lectures and taught various concepts well. My biggest issue with the class was the exams and how difficult they were compared to the homework and content taught in lectures. The amount of workload in this class was also a little overwhelming, but for the most part bearable. These two issues do not really matter though in terms of which professor you take since they all have the same amount of workload and exams. The amount of extra credit they offer was very useful and what I felt helped my grade a lot! If you can, I recommend attending the problem-solving sessions offered by the TAs and LAs. Although it may be annoying to have to attend extra sessions, I would say they are very useful as you can get more one on one help! Overall, I would definitely take Pires again!

Lectures to me were boring and not helpful, however they were required to go since they used IClicker. There were lots of clicker questions during lecture. The textbook and outside resources were definitely helpful. To me, the tests were difficult, as you needed a strong understanding of all the concepts, rather than simple memorization. I hadn't taken AP Bio in high school, which I heard was helpful for a lot of students. There were many extra credit opportunities which definitely helped my grade a bit. Homework is time-consuming but not difficult. Exams were all online. Discussion sections and CLC sessions were also extremely beneficial, so I would attend those 100%.