This is not a jab at the professor, but if I'm going to be real I barely paid attention to a single lecture in this class. I don't think it's Professor Ko's fault, she's very nice and I honestly really liked her, but Lifesci 7A as a whole (and maybe the LS7 series in general) is a pretty badly structured class.

You're given a pod at the beginning of the quarter that you work with in discussions, lectures, and group tests. I was blessed with an amazing pod, but I don't think I would've liked the class if I had a bad pod. There were assignments at the end of lecture that you'd do with them which I really didn't like--you're super rushed to finish it and you don't really gain anything from them. Discussions were the only place I felt I actually learned anything because we'd usually just be working through one assignment for the whole discussion and my TA and LA were super helpful. I liked group tests because my pod worked really well together, but let's just say we spent many more hours than were recommended.

I'm pretty sure this is the case with the whole LS7 series, but the class structure where you read the textbook and fill out a reading guide (essentially learning everything yourself and then going to lecture afterwards) is so dumb. It's either busy work you forget right after you finish or it just encourages you to not pay attention in lecture. Maybe this class structure works for some people, but for me it was hard to keep up with and very unhelpful.

On the bright side, there are a lot of assignments to help bolster your test scores and a good amount of extra credit is offered to. (I will say there's a lot of busy work reflections and such which are annoying--just don't forget to do them.) Do your assignments and the extra credit and you should be fine.

Also, unpopular opinion, I kind of liked the iclicker questions you had to do every lecture because they were the only way for me to gauge how well I knew the material since I barely paid attention lol.

Dr. Ko was incredibly kind and understanding and is an amazing professor. Loved this class so much.

LS 7a was an easy enough class that is truly designed for you to succeed. It was taught by two professors (Ko and Maloy) who took turns leading lectures. Participation is graded/mandatory in lectures (iClicker questions) and discussions (takes attendance), but you can miss a few classes without affecting your grade. In your discussion section, you are placed in a group of 4 that is your "pod" for the whole quarter and you sit with them in discussions/lectures. For the tests, there are two online midterms and an online final (called "Assessments of Learning"/AoLs). The two midterms were okay, but the final was significantly harder. Each AoL has an individual portion which makes up 50% of the overall AoL score, and then a group portion where you take the test again with your pod and you have the opportunity to change your answers (the other 50%). Lots of extra credit opportunities are provided as well.

No matter who you get for 7a they're all about the same. My advice is to go to problem solving sessions weekly and Ko's office hours if you have questions. The class is very fast-paced so make sure you keep up with the work and go into lecture with a good understanding of the material otherwise you will get lost.

Although I have nothing bad to say about Professor Ko, I have much to say about the 7 series. To start, the series is set up in an inverted classroom style, where you do pre-class assignments on your own, and the lectures are there to provide further explanations. However, the PowerPoint slides, although applicable to the clicker questions, did not contribute effectively to my learning. This is not the professor's fault since all the professors are given the same materials for the class. Your success depends on your TA and how well they can explain and reiterate concepts. Thankfully, I had an excellent TA. The group portions of the exams were a helpful way to discuss complex topics. If you get a good group, the group portion should go smoothly. However, all the exam questions are set up as trick questions so make sure you pay attention to that and read everything carefully. The PALs, although tricky, set you up for the exams, so do not skip those. Overall, I loathe the 7 series, but it is not the fault of Professor Ko. Her lectures were as engaging as she could make them.

Dr. Ko was fire, good at answering questions. Learning goals were standardized and easy to see. I like clicker questions and the work was fair, but take with a grain of salt because I did well in my 2 years of bio and 2 years of chem in high school so most of everything was easy.

For me the most helpful resource in this class was pre-class videos and assignments. This was extremely helping because I would go into lecture already having an idea of what the professor would be talking about.

Dr. Ko is in my top 2 most amazing professors I've taken at UCLA, she is so sweet and her lectures are organized so logically and beautifully. I never walked out of lecture confused because she's just so good at explaining. The grading and midterms were also super reasonable. I love her!!!

I think, overall, that your professor for 7A is not important. However, from my experience, Ko is an average professor. Some things clicked, others didn’t. She is also fairly new to teaching. 7A is a very independent course so as long you stay on top of everything you will be fine!

Professor Ko is very kind and understanding. She extended assignment due dates for the first two weeks because she recognized that we were adjusting to the course style. She also extended due dates for coursework due to the protests, recognizing that it was an emotional time for many students. Professor Ko is very compassionate towards her students and extended all extra credit deadlines (all 12 points) to the end of the quarter so more people could complete it. This class has a lot of cushioning, I did very badly on the second AoL and I was still able to get an A in the class. It does require a lot of time for studying and completing coursework. Overall, I enjoyed Professor Ko as a lecturer, she answered questions and cracked jokes. She is also very helpful during office hours and if you ask for a reasonable extension for an assignment you will most likely receive it.