His tests are extremely tough and unpredictable. One could study as much of the lecture and textbook material as possibly and still not know what is going on with his tests. His lectures are very boring and slow, yet one must complete the tests in 50 minutes. I'd like to see him do that. He really doesn't set one up to succeed.

This class is not as easy as the other comments make it seem. The tests are straight forward, which I appreciate, and they are similar to practice exams. However it is still a lot of material to memorize. He talks very fast and his handwriting is illegible. Overall I would recommend this class, just be prepared to study a good amount.

I've taken him for 108a, 133, and 138. Most of his tests are open book/notes -- you are required to learn concepts, it is very unlikely you will be able to answer any test questions based solely on memory. The grading is very fair and you finish the classes actually knowing the material. His classes aren't easy, but they are rewarding.

He was a decent professor, I fell asleep probably 80% of the lectures that I attended, lecture itself does not work for me. However, he uploads every lecture through Panapto, and I studied for my exams using those video lectures, and they were a lot less boring, interesting even. I ended up with an A

Doesn't know how to lecture to teach, expects you to learn from assigned reading (which isn't necessarily a bad thing its just the way he "teaches")

MCDB 138 is the most fun and relaxed class of his. After going through 2 hard and demanding classes of biochem and Immuno, 138 is a pretty laid back class. The class still requires a lot of work but the tests are take home. The subject material is great! very interesting presented to you in a useful way. Great class, learned a lot

You have to understand, you can't just memorize. What a concept! Too bad not all classes are this way. The class is hard no doubt but you have to know what he wants from all the practice tests (he puts up 3) and then study accordingly. The subject material is interesting if you're into that stuff

To put simply to all interested students in biochemistry: Sears will teach you nothing about biochem. He teaches you, excuse me, tests you on graphical and analysis of hypothetical experiments. He will not teach you a single thing from lecture, or assigned reading. You will only be prepared for the tests if you memorize past tests inside and out

It is a hard class, but definitely doable. Half of the first test is easy points. Visit him in OH and he will like you and help you out. Make sure you go to a section with a good TA who can explain stuff. This class is hard, and will take time, but I think you can manage. Definitely take it if you want to go to med school!

Dreadful professor worst at ucsb period.

Avoid at all costs you will regret it. the problem is not the difficulty but the lectures are all over the place so you dont know what to study and his tests are just 5 questions usually. and for the first midterm he always puts a 50 point question (100 points total).

Well that was a terrible start to my UCSB experience. There's so much wrong with this class and I don't have time to list it. I don't even know what happened.

He is one of those professors who doesn't care about students..if you ask him for help he makes you feel like an idiot even though the material is very difficult... his online quizzes are ridiculously hard...hard iClicker questions..gives you old tests with no answers so you have to copy like 30 pages of answers by hand.. awful!!!

His lectures are extremely dense.. his midterms are LONG and CONFUSING.. open book open notes which makes it VERY hard... he says "write a mechanism" but then tells us he didn't want a mechanism.. his questions are very poorly worded.. felt like I was taking an english test.. really poor quality professor.. he doesn't help if you come to office hrs

Imagine that, a class where you're required to actually understand the material instead of regurgitating memorized jargon. The class is difficult. Sears is definitely not the most engaging speaker. But it is one of the most fascinating classes you can take and Sears actually goes to the length to record every lecture and put it online for you!

Interesting class, interesting teacher! He goes fast and introduces a LOT of mechanisms, but his tests are just like the practice exams (some with exact same question). Virology is a really cool topic, and this guy teaches it well. Discussion sections are helpful b/c it exposes you to scientific literature--the core of science.

at first I didnt like him for mcdb108a, class was boring and hard. took mcdb 133, the class is hard, but you get alot out of it if you keep up. need to read, attend lecture, and do practice tests. MCDB 138 is his greatest class! very interesting and an easy A in my opinion, take home final! he even baked brownies for us! take this class if you can!

Tests are based off of lecture notes, not the book. Pretty easy for UD mcdb.

It's hard. Botton line!! We're used to sucking up info and spitting it back at the professors on tests, this is not like that. You have to understand what the material means not just what it is. Really helpful for the MCAT which I took shortly after!

Worst professor/class I've ever had. I know people have sad bad things about professor, but sears is by far the worst. he tries to shove everything into his lectures, in fact his lecture slides are completely dense, they will overwhelm you. tests are nothing like his lectures. just avoid his classes, i've never studied so much and done so poorly

This class is a good indication of how much Upper Division Biology classes at UCSB expect of you. You simply need to know what you're talking about in order to do well on his tests. Most of the students that do poorly try to memorize the information, this works to an extent. Bring the Hemoglobin Reader to the final... Its really not that bad. GL.

section >> lecture. Open book tests, but are still difficult.

Section is way more helpful than lecture. Lectures are filled with useless information. Prof. Sears does not level with his students, and makes the material extremely difficult to comprehend....Painful class

His tests have absolutely nothing to do with his lectures. He mumbles and definitely does not hide the fact that he does not want to teach this class. If you can avoid it, do so.