Took this over summer with pre recorded lecture vids and in person exams. Accessible in OH but it was mostly managed by the TAs. Sections were pretty useless for anything but knowing a couple exam qs. He's a sweet guy but I def would not have been able to get an A- if I took this during the year because it's rlly lecture heavy. P good curve though
This was an async class where you could go the whole course without actually talking to Thrower. He would explain things in OH but the main interaction was his TAs. His tests were horrendous and it's a test heavy class. Very in depth multiple choice that made it look like you hadn't even studied. Truly tough, I don't know how people succeeded.
nice guy but you watch his lecture videos and gives the most bare minimum explanation for every concept that he teaches. his online videos were extremely hard to follow and requires 3x the amount of time and effort to understand what he is trying to say. on top of his convoluted teaching, exams were extremely vague and ambiguous.
Nice guy but not very good at explaining things. Goes into a lot of depth and random tangents. Would be a lot better with less yapping and more focus on the important stuff. Also doesn't point at what he's talking about in the slides and slides are loaded with information so have fun pausing all his videos to figure out what he's talking about.
He is for sure in the retirement mindset. The class was a mess. There were regrades on all quizzes and tests, all of our lectures were over 2 years old and thus did not align with our homework, and on weeks where we had midterms he would "give us a break" from lecture but assigned twice as many the following week.
I can tell he is very knowledgable, but he really isn't made for teaching online. You know its bad when he holds a whiteboard up to his camera. His tests questions felt very vague and open ended. He was available for office hours but it took him forever when answering questions. Sections depend on the TA but don't miss that unique info in them.
Professor is probably on retirement mode and you can tell. Isn't even at SB just has lectures made probably during COVID and still uses them instead of actually teaching. Videos are also really hard to go through, constantly smacking his lips and pausing so flow of info is always scattered. Not a bad class or person at all, just mildly irritating.
Dr. Thrower is seriously so sweet. I don't know why he has some bad reviews, but he is actually a professor with compassion and wants his students to succeed. Physio is a hard subject, but if you really put in the work, it's not hard to get a good grade in this course. Both exams were curved pretty generously.
Very decent prof and easy to get a good grade. If you study the lectures, make a ton of flashcards throughout the course, and do the study guides/look at past finals on coursehero you will get an A; 20% curve on the midterm and fat curve for the final. He's teaching it online now (in-person tests tho); obvious choice when Low is the other prof
RUN
Hes a really nice guy, that is apparent by the way he talks to students and accomodates the class. Hes very bad at technology, his lectures are super dense and his cadence is a little boring. He also says "uh" every sentence and smacks his lips which is a pet peeve, it really makes it hard for me to listen to him since I noticed it. average prof
Dr. Thrower is a good professor and always tries to help everyone in the class. The lectures are very long and dense. The course is graded on problem sets, midterms and a final. It was a bit difficult to understand the material at times, not sure if it was the way the professor taught it, or whether it was just the material itself.
Long and dense lectures. 90% of grade is 2 midterms and final so make to do well on each one otherwise its hard to recover grade. He curves exams but everyone did so well that it basically meant nothing. Exams are open notes but questions require you to apply your knowledge so simply memorizing won't help. Nice professor but exams are unforgiving.
Lectures are long and detailed but useful. Doing the reader problems and going through the old exams that he provides is the best way to understand the course concepts. If you keep up with lectures and do the practice problems, you'll do well in the class. Exams are hard but the curve is helpful.
Boring lectures, a lot of work, weekly quizzes, weekly readings, two midterms... no curve at the end but the avg of exams are at 70s....
Actually an ASYNC course, not SYNC. Lectures quite long and tedious to go through at 1x speed, so go at 1.75-2x lol. Gave good explanations and real-life applications of course material. Weekly quizzes, 2 midterms and a cumulative final. Do Reader problems, practice exams, and study the special section topics to succeed. Overall, a great professor!
Very fair teacher; makes the amount of work needed to do well super clear. Not a lot of surprises. If you try hard youll do well, but if you slack off or even convince yourself for a second that the class is easy, you won't do too hot
Thrower is hands down one of the best professors I've ever had. His lectures are heavy and are sometimes hard to follow, but the reader problems help so much! He is such a patient and understanding professor. Do the reader problems and rewatch the lectures and GO TO OFFICE HOURS!! I know everyone says this but srsly, he just wants to help students.
Tons of mistakes on the midterms and quizzes. Tons of content and even exceeded his classtime by an entire online. Extra material in section and tons of confusing additional readings, mandatory homework. Terrible lecturer, barely able to make out his voice and super boring. Only bright side is he's really kind and wants to help, but overall terribl
One of the most caring professors at UCSB. Teaches pretty well and with a lot of passion. Hands down one of my favorite MCDB Faculty members.
A lot of negative reviews are generally from students that didn't put in the effort required and want to blame anything but themselves. This is a UD bio course at a top 5 public university, not to mention a UC. It's going to be hard. BUT if you do the required work, study effectively , and pay attention in lecture, you WILL do well.
I had him for human physio and the entire pharm series. All I gotta say is that if you study, you will get an A in his classes. Lots of memorization, but no curveballs as long as you study. Will miss this guy, real gem of a professor.
Thrower held a class at 8 am, and got there every morning to power through the lecture as fast as he could. However, he also doesn't throw curveballs. His tests are very fair, if you try in his class you will get an A
Thrower is a great professor. Two midterms and a final. Tests are VERY hard, but fair. He gives 5% extra credit, and gives a generous curve. 80% came out to be an A-. He also looks for improvement, so if you did better on midterm 2 than midterm 1, he might make it worth more. He provides practice tests, and reader problems, DO THEM.