MCD BIO 165A
Biology of Cells
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: Chemistry 14D or 30B, Life Sciences 3, or 7A, 7B, and 7C. Not open for credit to students with credit for course 100. Molecular basis of cellular structure and function, with focus on each individual cellular organelle, as well as interaction of cells with extracellular environment and with other cells. Material presented in context of experimental questions and answers to incorporate concept of scientific method and recent advances in cell biology research. Exposure in discussions to recent scientific articles that directly relate to information examined in lectures. Letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - I am writing a review on this class because I do feel like the other reviews are a bit misleading. Tina was by no means a bad teacher, but her slides were incredibly disorganized. Her exams were hard. They required you to memorize her slides word for word, and there were about 300 slides for each midterm. Pretty sure the average for the second midterm was a C. She's a very nice person, but honestly, after taking other MCDB classes that require 165A, I genuinely did not feel as prepared as I should have. One professor I have for an MCDB upper div said to my class "you should have learned this in 165A" and I had literally never heard of the topic. I do believe she tried her best, and she got better as the quarter went on. She did give extra credit, and the presentations were pretty fun to do! But do not go into this class thinking it's super easy and fun. It still requires a lot of work.
Fall 2022 - I am writing a review on this class because I do feel like the other reviews are a bit misleading. Tina was by no means a bad teacher, but her slides were incredibly disorganized. Her exams were hard. They required you to memorize her slides word for word, and there were about 300 slides for each midterm. Pretty sure the average for the second midterm was a C. She's a very nice person, but honestly, after taking other MCDB classes that require 165A, I genuinely did not feel as prepared as I should have. One professor I have for an MCDB upper div said to my class "you should have learned this in 165A" and I had literally never heard of the topic. I do believe she tried her best, and she got better as the quarter went on. She did give extra credit, and the presentations were pretty fun to do! But do not go into this class thinking it's super easy and fun. It still requires a lot of work.
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Most Helpful Review
These previous evaluations of Dr. Arispe are accurate. Basically, she's absolutely wonderful, very approachable, and very very academically challenging. Keep on top of the work from the beginnning, read the book, and go to office hours if you need help. The course reader was more confusing than helpful for me. I found that towards the end of the quarter, the new material was easier to learn but everything is cumulative so I had more to remember. I think I've learned more from this class than at any other so far at UCLA.
These previous evaluations of Dr. Arispe are accurate. Basically, she's absolutely wonderful, very approachable, and very very academically challenging. Keep on top of the work from the beginnning, read the book, and go to office hours if you need help. The course reader was more confusing than helpful for me. I found that towards the end of the quarter, the new material was easier to learn but everything is cumulative so I had more to remember. I think I've learned more from this class than at any other so far at UCLA.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - This is the best course that I took! His lectures were clear and interesting and he makes difficult and complex materials very easy and understandable. He also makes lectures interactive asking a lot of questions to keep your attention during the long class. He genuinely cares about students and was always there to help me. He knows the material front and back and does an incredible job of teaching it. Seriously, turned a boring class in to something really interesting.
Fall 2019 - This is the best course that I took! His lectures were clear and interesting and he makes difficult and complex materials very easy and understandable. He also makes lectures interactive asking a lot of questions to keep your attention during the long class. He genuinely cares about students and was always there to help me. He knows the material front and back and does an incredible job of teaching it. Seriously, turned a boring class in to something really interesting.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - Overall: Would never take another class with him again and would advise others to do the same. Easiness: Hardest class I have taken at UCLA. I constantly had to study for this class and barely pulled off an A-. Workload: Groups are randomly assigned and you have to work with them on all quizzes and half the midterm. It’s obvious that everyone burns out towards the end of class, so it’s common that only one group member works on the work at the end. Clarity: The worst part about this class. Slide shows are all over the place. The professor’s accent is very thick (he is French) and lectures need to be rewatched very slowly to write everything down. Questions on tests are often unclear and the grading rubric expects things that were not even asked of. Oh yeah, tests are entirely free response. Helpfulness: I went to office hours several times. He answered my questions sometimes, but other times it felt like he expected me to already know it. How am I supposed to know the experimental method for every figure in the research papers we have to read? That’s why I’m asking you!
Fall 2020 - Overall: Would never take another class with him again and would advise others to do the same. Easiness: Hardest class I have taken at UCLA. I constantly had to study for this class and barely pulled off an A-. Workload: Groups are randomly assigned and you have to work with them on all quizzes and half the midterm. It’s obvious that everyone burns out towards the end of class, so it’s common that only one group member works on the work at the end. Clarity: The worst part about this class. Slide shows are all over the place. The professor’s accent is very thick (he is French) and lectures need to be rewatched very slowly to write everything down. Questions on tests are often unclear and the grading rubric expects things that were not even asked of. Oh yeah, tests are entirely free response. Helpfulness: I went to office hours several times. He answered my questions sometimes, but other times it felt like he expected me to already know it. How am I supposed to know the experimental method for every figure in the research papers we have to read? That’s why I’m asking you!
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2022 - Dr. Sagasti was wonderful in teaching this class. The class structure involves reading a paper on developmental bio on your own, and then he goes over it in class. His lectures are made with great detail and explanations for every step of each process covered. He also encouraged students to interrupt him with any and all questions, making the learning process very amenable to all the students' needs. (Also, the papers have a lot of colorful pictures, so it's really not a drag at all.) You get as much out of this class as you put in, so as long as you pay attention and ask questions for anything you don't understand, Dr. Sagasti will do just about everything he can to make sure you get a good grade and are prepared for more involved MDCB upper divs.
Winter 2022 - Dr. Sagasti was wonderful in teaching this class. The class structure involves reading a paper on developmental bio on your own, and then he goes over it in class. His lectures are made with great detail and explanations for every step of each process covered. He also encouraged students to interrupt him with any and all questions, making the learning process very amenable to all the students' needs. (Also, the papers have a lot of colorful pictures, so it's really not a drag at all.) You get as much out of this class as you put in, so as long as you pay attention and ask questions for anything you don't understand, Dr. Sagasti will do just about everything he can to make sure you get a good grade and are prepared for more involved MDCB upper divs.
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