The slides were very hard to follow because the pace was too fast while the information often didn’t follow a path and would jump around making it hard to review class notes. Lecture would cover such a wide range of time that it was confusing when we would start with (just a vague example) birds jump to bats go back to birds then to bugs. It was hard to follow the material when going out of order and jumping around then circling back especially when needing to keep in mind the geologic time scale to remember things in chronological order. Additionally, the pace of the material was so fast it was hard to take notes on all the material and it was even harder that lecture wasn’t recorded and there was no way to go back and review the parts I missed when taking notes. There were 3 midterms with each being 20% of your grade and a final where you put on a play for the class. The rest of your grade was class attendance checked by pop quizzes and homework worth a reallllly small portion of your grade and discussion attendance. While I enjoyed the material and the professor herself, the load was too high and too accelerated. Not an easy class by any means.

There is a TON of material in this class which can make it really time-consuming. It is essentially two courses: a lecture that walks you through the evolutionary history of vertebrates and a lab in which you analyze specimens (animals preserved in jars). The lecture is very fast-paced and content-heavy (not recorded, but slides are posted), but Professor Gorlitsky is very approachable and seems passionate about the subject. BY FAR my favorite favorite part of this course is the lab section. It is super interesting to get to see the characteristics you learn about in lecture right there on the specimens and I had a lot of fun learning about lots of different animals! That being said... those lab practicals have a lot of material and you will not be getting above a 70% LOL. The class is curved at the end, and you will pass, I think most people got a B but definitely plenty of As too if you work hard! Final is during week 10. Extra credit offered!

I adore Dr. Gorlitsky, so this review may be slightly biased. This class offers a moderate workload, with weekly readings, one-page written reports on those readings, a required book with material featured on the exams, and a group project that we work on throughout the quarter. Still, I never felt too overwhelmed with any of it because of how engaging Leryn is. She is kind, funny, and really cares about her students. Her office hours are very helpful and can be a key study tool for exams. This class was my favorite of the quarter and I'm so grateful to have ended off my undergrad at UCLA with such a fun course as this one! I would retake this class a million times over :)

I loved every class that I have taken with professor Gorlitsky. Her enthusiasm was clear for every topic she taught and it really translated in her teaching. I never knew how much there was to love about the tropics and all of the unique adaptations of nature. Don't underestimate her exams. I would definitely go to office hours and study. I personally re-wrote and memorized the slides. She does not record her lectures so make sure to take good notes and pay attention. Gorlitsky is one if my favorite profs at UCLA. I think she is very fair but it is not a course that you should underestimate.