I feel like this course is made to be a bit confusing, so just expect that. Dr. Pires is a great teacher though, and it is totally doable if you put in the work. Don't be discouraged by harsh reviews, a lot of people did not do the recommended optional work and so struggled. If you aren't super confident in bio just go to CLC sessions and review with the TAs at discussion and office hours.

Took this class with Pires and McEvoy. Clickers are used and you get points for it so you'll want to attend. It's flipped style with loads of work due on an overpriced online textbook (no way around it). The 7 series is clearly a weeder for LS majors and premed students. The material is pretty much going to be the same no matter the professor, but in this case let me warn you.

Pires and McEvoy suck.

My friends took this class with a different professor and had a way better time (and did significantly better). Not only are they boring and unhelpful teachers, but they're also super unaccommodating. CAE students beware! I got a concussion during the quarter and they refused to excuse any attendance or adjust clicker points, they didn't follow university requested accommodations, and they ignored emails after the grades were released where I followed up about these things. Do yourself a favor and take this class with a nicer professor.

This class is a “flipped classroom” which means that you will have to learn the material on your own before attending class. I would not recommend to take this series of you can learn on your own. The material is not too hard but I struggled to understand. It’s not a hard class to pass, I literally got an F for both midterms and the final and I passed the class with a B overall. Just make sure you don’t miss any launchpad material since it is worth a lot of points.
Debra is great, I prefer her over Mcevoy. I took this class with both of them teaching. The first half was Dr. Mcevoy that the second half was Dr. Pires.

Professor Pires was the worst professor I have had at UCLA. I took LS7A Fall Quarter of my Freshman year, so I was fresh meat needing a little boost and extra guidance to acclimate to UCLA. Professor Pires was always condescending and would be-little you if you did not understand something or make snarky comments when you asked questions. I attended her office hours once and never came back after she cut my time short simply because I was super confused and my questions were "too obvious." What kind of help is that? I tried to do my best with the resources I had as a new-comer. Stay away from taking any courses with Pires. She is the absolute worst professor.

I took the 3-week intensive version of the LS7A, which I think is too rigorous so I'll stick to the 6-week or 10-week in the future. Dr. Pires is a decent lecturer, but tbh I don't think the professor matters much for this series since it's mostly self-study (and all the tests, labs, etc are about the same no matter who teaches). The Launchpad readings are often way too detailed and wordy for the actual midterms and final. The reading quizzes and practice exam questions don't help much either. You're much better off attending the CLC sessions (aka problem solving sessions), because those ACTUALLY drill in the concepts and teach material useful for the exams. For the exams I also just reviewed the slides and clicker questions, realizing that memorizing stuff from Launchpad was a waste of time. Also set yourself a reminder for when each Launchpad assignment is due--I literally missed an entire practice exam question set, an entire reading set, and an entire reading quiz set (yep one of each) because I'm forgetful and mixed up due dates. Luckily the LS7 series gives you some leeway and allows you to miss up to 5 points (equivalent to one "set") and still receive full credit (you get this for the readings, the reading quizzes, and the PEQ's).

A little about me: I took the 3-week version of this class as an incoming freshman.

As this was my first class at UCLA, I have no prejudices on which to judge between this course and others, so I thought my review might be helpful to some out there.

I went into this class VERY afraid (all the poor reviews!), but Deb melted away a lot of my fears; she was very helpful and kind to people who asked questions, and she took her time to make sure everyone was on the same page before moving on from difficult topics.

PROS:
- Very interested in helping students learn
- Prompt responses to emails
- Very funny and engaging in lecture
- Great explanations of more difficult concepts

CONS:
- Launchpad was a little bit finicky (especially for first-time user)
- Some Launchpad quizzes covered content from the section after, so it's important to skim first and test later

I honestly liked the flipped classroom model; it was hard to get used to, but I eventually found it to be a good way to learn before and ask questions during lecture, and I think it's a tool that can and should be applied to all other classes. I will say that tests did not require much deep knowledge about topics, but they did require a lot more breadth, especially in terms of knowing how factors within a biological system can affect outcomes or processes within the system.

Overall, a great experience, and you get exactly what you put into the class.

DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR!

The most boring professor I have encountered at UCLA. Avoid this professor at all costs. She assumes that you know everything because Launchpad should have covered it, but she is just awful at lectures. If you can avoid this professor do so. She does not offer past exams for students to review she does not look like the type of person that you would ask a question to. She got mad at people that didn't do her little arts and crafts project and took away credit from people that didn't do it, YOU THINK PRINTING IS FREE IN COLLEGE DEBRA? The nerve of having to come to this class only because you know I might give her a chance. She had bad reviews, but hey don't judge a book by its cover I said. BOY, I WAS WRONG.

LOVED the content, did not like the professor. Make sure to do all the launchpad assignments since they make up a significant portion of your grade, and participate for clicker questions. Tests were multiple choice only, 50 questions and 2 freebies on each. The final was online and I chose to skip it.

Tl;dr
Lecturer: Taking 7A with Prof Pires was frustrating, confusing, and unrewarding. Speaks too quickly and doesn't bother to explain, repeat or put emphasis or anything. Always sounded tired or treated us condescendingly.
Course: Steer clear if you don’t need to take 7A. DO NOT TAKE THIS AS A GE. There are pervasive flaws with the LS 7 series format. Prof Pires, the creator of the LS 7 series, seems to be convinced that her methodology is revolutionary and incontestably superior.
Extremely disappointed with this course and the LS core. No transparency at all. They just made dealing with the Coronavirus situation more stressful and disorienting.

Grading
- LaunchPad readings 45 pts
- LaunchPad questions 45 pts
- LaunchPad practice exam questions 45 pts
- Reflection assignments (short surveys on study methods through CCLE) 10 pts
- Clicker Questions 68 pts
- Discussion section worksheets 72 pts
- Midterm 1 90 pts
- Midterm 2 120 pts
- Final 200 pts
- Extra credit 5 pts (composed by different surveys, evals, etc.)
Total 695 points
Curved up if average < 75% (rarely curved)

The lecturer: Prof Pires
- Her manner of speech when giving lectures is constantly very nonchalant, unenthusiastic, and disconnected. This meant that I never knew what was important to write down and what wasn't. She also doesn't repeat anything or properly explain diagrams, just drops info and moves on.
- If you miss something she said, you have to wait until lecture's uploaded to BruinCast to catch up AND can't follow anything she says for the next few slides.
- Both Prof Pires and Prof Pyle (who co-taught this course) have unreasonable expectations in terms of recalling all of that day's LaunchPad* material on the spot. In class, they will drop a term and say "Remember X from LaunchPad? Yeah, so..." and continue without caring to recap or explain.
- Both Prof Pires and Prof Pyle also dumb down their explanations for Clicker questions. This meant that I could get the idea of the explanation but was not given the proper way to write it down or explain it in a scientifically accurate way.
*LaunchPad = online platform that hybridizes an ebook with quizzes. You need it for points (a PDF of the book will not cut it).

ON THE CORONAVIRUS SITUATION: Prof Pires was irresponsible and not at all transparent of the situation. She spent six days "figuring out solutions" without updating students, only to not change anything other than make it online. Anxiety ran free those six days, coming from someone rarely anxious at all. Furthermore, Prof Pires and the LS core only made the final optional after much pressure from the students and a letter from the Academic Senate addressed to faculty in general.
And whereas other lecturers for 7A (e.g. Prof Lazzazera) allowed getting the highest grade of three options as a final exam score (taking the final and using the final exam's score OR midterm average OR prorating) -- a recommendation to faculty also outlined by the Academic Senate -- , Prof Pires did not stick to the standardization of the LS 7 series and determined that the final exam's score would be determined either by taking the final OR the better of midterm average or prorating. Prof Pires seems to only follow the series's patterns when it suits her.

LS7A was definitely not the easiest class I had ever taken. I had taken biology in high school and thought that it would be the same in college, but there’s much more depth to it. With that being said, my only complaint with the class was that I thought the tests were more difficult than they had to be. It wasn’t because of the material but because of the wording. Other than that, I thought Debra was fair. She can be direct sometimes, but otherwise she is quite kind. Going to lecture is important for more than just clicker questions. This practice is definitely similar to what you will see on the test, so may sure you take advantage of it.