LOVEEDDD this class, if you're not into stem it may be boring but we covered a lot of really interesting research content, from diversity to alcohol and vaccines. Lecture is mandatory, which I didn't like at first but I never found myself not wanting to go, also theres 2 extra credit surveys that even out two missed days, so freebies. But you won't do well if you don't go to lecture, she gives out paper copies of the paper and worksheets. There are problem sets, which are easy, jsut like using stuff we did in class. The midterm is a paper and so is the final , both were short and straightforward, as long as you followed the rubric. Turlo is sweet and really is passionate about the content and the nice thing about this class is it is smaller in size so you get the chance to talk. (I literally got a 99% in the class and enjoyed it , 10/10 recommend)

This is a great diversity credit for a STEM major, specifically more of a life science major. I can imagine someone who hasn't been exposed to biology struggling with understanding the content. I enrolled in this class the day before instruction started with the intention of wanting to read research papers easily. I definitely accomplished this goal. Dr. Turlo can be kind of dorky and chaotic. She runs around front of the room emphasizing stuff all the time. She's really passionate about what she does. As a white woman teaching diversity, she's doing great for the privileged position she is in.

Logistically...you should go to most if not all classes to get credit for the daily worksheet. And discussion attendance is mandatory, but we get let out early all of time.

I loved this course and the instructor, I took this class because nothing else was open, and it ended up being my favorite class so far at this university. Professor Turlo is passionate about what she does and cares about the success of her students. I loved the smaller class size, this is the first time I've been able to form a relationship with a professor and I think she is brilliant and amazing.

This class has an extremely light workload! No homework! All you do is fill out worksheets during lecture and discussion, then do 2 problem sets, 1 midterm report, and 1 final report during the entire quarter. There's no course textbook either. Take this class when you're taking hard courses!

The overall topics in the class were interesting; however, Turlo isn't a clear enough lecturer to appropriately teach these topics in-depth. She often went on tangents and would rush to finish up the rest of the content in the last 10 minutes of lecture. The one time I went to office hours also wasn't helpful because she wouldn't really answer the questions I asked her. Based on the other reviews, it seems like she always changes up her class format though idk why? When I took it, every lecture was mandatory in-person since there was a 4-7 question worksheet we had to fill out every time by hand (though you can miss a few and be fine tbh). Discussion was also mandatory but I often got out early since it was mostly a time to work on future assignments due. Besides mandatory attendance, there were very few assignments in general and they were all graded generously, so I'd recommend this class if you don't mind attending all the lectures/discussion (though you may not learn as much as you'd like).

Class was reasonable, and if you pay attention in lecture it should be very doable. There are 60 quizzes throughout the quarter that take up 25% of your grade, and this was probably the biggest grade dropper. If you do the reading you should at least get 80-90% of the points - everything else was pretty straight forward. The class kind of assumes everyone has a background in biology so I'd only take it if you took AP bio.

Terrible class with a horrible professor that does not seem to realize that not everyone in the class has prior knowledge to complete the frustratingly confusing assignments for the course.

1 midterm, 1 final, weekly discussion worksheets. Turlo is incredibly intelligent and is very specific in what she expects to see from you in the midterm and finals. However, the course material is very fascinating and eye-opening. Turlo is a great professor and very engaging. My TA Tong Xia is extremely intelligent but is not the best at explaining concepts in easily-understandable ways. I recommend this class as a diversity requirement.

I took this class based on the reviews that are on here and while I received an A, I just wanted to warn whoever is thinking of taking this class.
First of all, Turlo is incredibly kind, and super passionate on the topic. She gives off the energy of someone who reads research articles for fun and in general she wants other people to be just as excited.
However, this class is so.... like I was taking four classes at the time, one of them being a writing class, and yet this was the one that I felt like took the most work. I don't remember everything 100%, but there were quizzes (short, but) they were right after every lecture and were incredibly specific. I feel as though for people who are very interested in STEM, this is a fascinating class to take, but as someone who was taking this course as a GE, the amount of effort I had to put in was honestly insane. There were problem sets, two in all, that took really long to complete, and the midterm and final... girl our final was to "make our own vaccine." Essentially you had to read a lot of research articles and synthesize ways to improve it and I had to work on that all through Thanksgiving break. I think that these assignments are really good ways to have students apply knowledge and all, but the standards are incredibly high and it just feels very very high effort for again, something that is supposed to be a GE (general education) class. We're supposed to gain broad knowledge but it almost feel like I was expected to become an expert overnight. I wish that this class was slightly easier and not as overly science heavy (I know how that sounds... I'm interested in science somewhat but not like this... not like this).
Tldr do not take this class unless you're suuuuuuuper interested in research and STEM. It is NOT an easy class and you'll have to really put in a lot of time and effort. It was not worth it imo

Lectures were a mix between actual lectures and the occasional guest speaker. The first half of the course was dedicated to diversity/inequity in STEM, and the second half was dedicated to actual science (which I personally found more interesting), like focusing on a genetic disease and COVID vaccines.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty solid GE. The homework/problem sets/midterm/final were actually essays, which I found kind of annoying, but they weren't that bad. There's weekly quizzes after every lecture, which is kind of a lot, and it's easy to miss one if you don't keep track of when they're due. I didn't find the required discussions that helpful.

I liked Dr. Turlo, and I would recommend this class to anyone who wants an easier science-based GE or to learn more about biomedical research. She was very accommodating throughout the quarter with providing past recorded lectures and helping the class out with assignment resubmissions/quiz re-dos, if the class did especially poorly on a quiz. In turn, we did have a few occasions where the class was unfortunately canceled or changed at the last minute because of COVID/health related reasons, but I didn't find it to be a big deal.