Professor
Fuyuhiko Tamanoi
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2015 - WORST CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN AT UCLA EVER. PERIOD. EVER. I received A's or A-'s in the other 3 LS classes. I am not a bad student. I received a C+ (the only C in my undergraduate career). in LS3. To be fair, I have heard that LS 3 is a difficult class in general, so I am not sure if it is completely Tamanoi's fault, but man, this class was hard. He'll lecture on a ton of information, and is not very good at explaining it. You have to memorize all of this information in detail. However, these facts and specifics not only had to be memorized, but they had to be applied to new situations on the tests as well. If there's any graphs/diagrams/graphics in general, memorize them to a t. It will be tested. I did alright on the midterm. The final was another story. The TA's wrote it and it was the hardest test I have ever taken ever. It was multiple choice, so that's saying a lot. I received a C+ in the class. I am a senior graduating in the spring, and my GPA is still suffering the consequences. I would recommend avoiding if possible.
Spring 2015 - WORST CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN AT UCLA EVER. PERIOD. EVER. I received A's or A-'s in the other 3 LS classes. I am not a bad student. I received a C+ (the only C in my undergraduate career). in LS3. To be fair, I have heard that LS 3 is a difficult class in general, so I am not sure if it is completely Tamanoi's fault, but man, this class was hard. He'll lecture on a ton of information, and is not very good at explaining it. You have to memorize all of this information in detail. However, these facts and specifics not only had to be memorized, but they had to be applied to new situations on the tests as well. If there's any graphs/diagrams/graphics in general, memorize them to a t. It will be tested. I did alright on the midterm. The final was another story. The TA's wrote it and it was the hardest test I have ever taken ever. It was multiple choice, so that's saying a lot. I received a C+ in the class. I am a senior graduating in the spring, and my GPA is still suffering the consequences. I would recommend avoiding if possible.
Most Helpful Review
I took LS3 with Tamanoi 11W and it was meh. You have to know every detail on every single one of his slides for his tests, but I would still say his tests are fair. It's just a ton of information to commit to memory. Also, we only had one midterm and final so the midterm was a big deal. I didn't really like his lectures that much. He would jump around between slides and didn't organize the topics very well. It was often difficult to keep track of when we were discussing eukaryotes or prokaryotes. I did not learn much from lecture but I would go slide by slide afterward and read the corresponding sections in the book to help understand the lecture slides. This helped A LOT because for me, I need to understand what I'm memorizing. I found the textbook (Molecular Biology by Robert Weaver) to be extremely helpful. It is a very good textbook. Although you can do okay without every using the textbook because the tests are only based on the lecture slides, the textbook is very helpful in elucidating the slides as the slides don't have all the info you need to fully understand the concepts.
I took LS3 with Tamanoi 11W and it was meh. You have to know every detail on every single one of his slides for his tests, but I would still say his tests are fair. It's just a ton of information to commit to memory. Also, we only had one midterm and final so the midterm was a big deal. I didn't really like his lectures that much. He would jump around between slides and didn't organize the topics very well. It was often difficult to keep track of when we were discussing eukaryotes or prokaryotes. I did not learn much from lecture but I would go slide by slide afterward and read the corresponding sections in the book to help understand the lecture slides. This helped A LOT because for me, I need to understand what I'm memorizing. I found the textbook (Molecular Biology by Robert Weaver) to be extremely helpful. It is a very good textbook. Although you can do okay without every using the textbook because the tests are only based on the lecture slides, the textbook is very helpful in elucidating the slides as the slides don't have all the info you need to fully understand the concepts.
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Most Helpful Review
I took ls3 with tamanoi this winter 2010. DO NOT THINK HE IS AN "EASIER" LS3 PROFESSOR! i was definitely fooled from hearing a number of my classmates say he is easier than the other professor ar the time (lin). Tamanoi is super detailed on tests!! you have to literally memorize everything! it doesnt matter if you understand the big idea or the processes just memorize every little detail because his questions are very specific. Also, he only has 1 midterm and the final. so, if you screw up the midterm you're pretty much dunzo. im not saying hes horrible, because hes not. but dont go in thinking hes much easier than other ls3 professors. my advice, try to take another ls3 professor who has 2 midterms.
I took ls3 with tamanoi this winter 2010. DO NOT THINK HE IS AN "EASIER" LS3 PROFESSOR! i was definitely fooled from hearing a number of my classmates say he is easier than the other professor ar the time (lin). Tamanoi is super detailed on tests!! you have to literally memorize everything! it doesnt matter if you understand the big idea or the processes just memorize every little detail because his questions are very specific. Also, he only has 1 midterm and the final. so, if you screw up the midterm you're pretty much dunzo. im not saying hes horrible, because hes not. but dont go in thinking hes much easier than other ls3 professors. my advice, try to take another ls3 professor who has 2 midterms.
Most Helpful Review
LS 3 Final Grade: A+ Tamamnoi is a decent lecturer (7/10) who explains concepts fairly well and has some sense of humor, although he sometimes made the class laugh unintentionally. My advice is to memorize his slides, just like in any LS class. I hate making flashcard, so my advice is to write the lecture slides on scratch paper and repeat this so that you can memorize the slides in preparation for the exams. He only counts the higher of your two midterms, which is nice of him. The midterms were a combination of multiple choice and short answer (e.g., identifying structures, giving one or two word answers, writing the proper sequence, etc.) However, some questions were detailed, so cover everything when you study except the really large tables, extremely complicated pictures such as protein binding maps/diagrams, and anything he says he will not cover. The final was all multiple choice and the TAs at least wrote a significant part of it, if not all. Despite this, the questions were mostly fair but some did require thinking (experimental questions). You don't need the book for this class, but Bruincast is necessary to succeed so you can write down anything you miss during lecture Discussions are mandatory, so just go to get full credit. He did clickers, but due to tech issues, he kind of gave up and let everyone have full credit Average for the exams were between 75-80%, and by memorizing the slides, I managed to do well. Some people believe Tamanoi is boring and terrible, but I disagree. Although he is no Esdin in terms of speaking style, Tamanoi gets the job done at the end of the day and is knowledgable about the material. I found LS 3 and molecular biology to be far more interesting than LS 2 just in terms of the subject matter. I recommend Tamanoi, and just be sure to go over the Bruincast, stay on top of lectures, go to Wikipedia (or even the free Scribd copy of the textbook although I prefer looking online) if something still does not make sense, and memorize his slides well
LS 3 Final Grade: A+ Tamamnoi is a decent lecturer (7/10) who explains concepts fairly well and has some sense of humor, although he sometimes made the class laugh unintentionally. My advice is to memorize his slides, just like in any LS class. I hate making flashcard, so my advice is to write the lecture slides on scratch paper and repeat this so that you can memorize the slides in preparation for the exams. He only counts the higher of your two midterms, which is nice of him. The midterms were a combination of multiple choice and short answer (e.g., identifying structures, giving one or two word answers, writing the proper sequence, etc.) However, some questions were detailed, so cover everything when you study except the really large tables, extremely complicated pictures such as protein binding maps/diagrams, and anything he says he will not cover. The final was all multiple choice and the TAs at least wrote a significant part of it, if not all. Despite this, the questions were mostly fair but some did require thinking (experimental questions). You don't need the book for this class, but Bruincast is necessary to succeed so you can write down anything you miss during lecture Discussions are mandatory, so just go to get full credit. He did clickers, but due to tech issues, he kind of gave up and let everyone have full credit Average for the exams were between 75-80%, and by memorizing the slides, I managed to do well. Some people believe Tamanoi is boring and terrible, but I disagree. Although he is no Esdin in terms of speaking style, Tamanoi gets the job done at the end of the day and is knowledgable about the material. I found LS 3 and molecular biology to be far more interesting than LS 2 just in terms of the subject matter. I recommend Tamanoi, and just be sure to go over the Bruincast, stay on top of lectures, go to Wikipedia (or even the free Scribd copy of the textbook although I prefer looking online) if something still does not make sense, and memorize his slides well
Most Helpful Review
I took LS3 with him. I thought he was looked like Mr. Fredrickson from UP and was the most adorable professor ever. I liked the way he structured his lectures so in a progressive manner so it was easy to understand, though it was very easy for me to tune him out at times. His exams were not easy. It is all short answer questions, though some only require a one word response. It is straight memorization of his slides,which is nice because the book is not necessary. That said, he expects you to memorize EVERYTHING down to the small details in each experiment. I highly recommend preparing for his midterm and final a couple weeks in advance so you don't have to cram all the info later on. Podcasting and relistening to his lectures is a must. I enjoyed LS3 with Tamanoi.
I took LS3 with him. I thought he was looked like Mr. Fredrickson from UP and was the most adorable professor ever. I liked the way he structured his lectures so in a progressive manner so it was easy to understand, though it was very easy for me to tune him out at times. His exams were not easy. It is all short answer questions, though some only require a one word response. It is straight memorization of his slides,which is nice because the book is not necessary. That said, he expects you to memorize EVERYTHING down to the small details in each experiment. I highly recommend preparing for his midterm and final a couple weeks in advance so you don't have to cram all the info later on. Podcasting and relistening to his lectures is a must. I enjoyed LS3 with Tamanoi.
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Most Helpful Review
I HAD TAMANOI FOR LS3...He is the HARDEST LS3 Professor out there. His tests are extremely difficult and require that you have a full understanding of the concepts. He asks stupid lab questions on his midterms too. And my TA said that when he teaches LS3 again, he will be the FIRST AND ONLY LS PROF to use that stupid CPR thing in 14BL that we all hate, and it will count for 8% of your grade. Wow. Take a different prof and wait a quarter if you must.
I HAD TAMANOI FOR LS3...He is the HARDEST LS3 Professor out there. His tests are extremely difficult and require that you have a full understanding of the concepts. He asks stupid lab questions on his midterms too. And my TA said that when he teaches LS3 again, he will be the FIRST AND ONLY LS PROF to use that stupid CPR thing in 14BL that we all hate, and it will count for 8% of your grade. Wow. Take a different prof and wait a quarter if you must.
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