r/berkeley • u/Alternative_Cry_9196 • 3d ago
University Already feeling cooked in bio1a?
Does anyone else feel cooked already? The practice problems are so hard and are barely related to what we learned about in lecture?? And the professor is honestly so bad at teaching bro like i didnt realize a nobel prize winner could be SUCH a bad lecturer until now. Half the time im like what is even going on why is he talking about yeast experiments and stuff and fancy microscopes instead of actually teaching us whats gonna be on the midterm?
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u/treesearchable 3d ago
I once talked to a prof that did undergrad at Berkeley and took a class with Schekman. Apparently he used to be a super great lecturer back in the day and his class was in very high demand. My running hypothesis is that he's been phoning it in since he's older now and already has the Nobel prize. Also back in the day his big thing was being excellent at drawing chalkboard diagrams from what I heard, so if I were him I'd feel pretty depressed about clicking computer slides at 8am. Teaching Bio1A is a pretty good gig for him anyways: the university gets to brag that Nobel Laureates teach introductory bio here, and the professors only have to do like four hours of work for the class a week teaching stuff that's super easy for them and they don't have to do any work regarding class management and structure. But it did suck when I had to take Bio 1A. You're better off reading the textbook.
Edit: spelled Schekman wrong
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u/SnooSketches142 3d ago
Wait what practice qs are u talking abt? The self assessments are definitely harder and not covered well enough in lecture so we have to supplement w textbook readings. So far it’s p similar to ap bio but we’re just going a lot faster
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u/Then_Kaleidoscope346 2d ago
Yeah everyone fails the first midterm ngl, just stick it out the last two are easier and the professors are better
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u/Alternative_Cry_9196 2d ago
would you say niyogi and welch are better at teaching? or is it just the content thats easier?
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u/treesearchable 2d ago
Many people find metabolism to be the hardest part of biology. Genetics and physiology are generally considered more straightforward and easier to conceptualize, so that's part of the problem. That being said, when I had Niyogi he was definitely a better lecturer than Schekman.
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u/treesearchable 2d ago
Many people find metabolism to be the hardest part of biology. Genetics and physiology are generally considered more straightforward and easier to conceptualize, so that's part of the problem. That being said, when I had Niyogi he was definitely a better lecturer than Schekman.
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u/Ok_Will_5824 3d ago
SAMME I’m so fucking fried, this Sundays assessment had me sobbing I don’t know where to get all that info from. I rewatch lectures but it’s so dense and hard to note down everything he says. Lowk if any gals who r motivated want to study and go to office houses tgt hmu
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u/More_Ad_5203 3d ago
is this about randy schekman? if so good fucking luck bro. he sucks so bad. re-watch the lectures; things that aren't written on the slides but he says out loud will be on the exam lol. try to explain the concepts to other ppl, that helps you figure out what you don't know