Stu is the greatest professor I have ever had. Truly inspirational. Very captivating lectures and super interesting information. He's the best at lecturing, not to mention how adorable he is! Would love to take more classes with him in the future! . Material is very straight forward and interesting.
Don't try to write every little detail down, but instead, try to pay attention and really understand the material and the processes. The midterm was super easy, although I've heard that some people found it pretty hard. Go to CLAS. It helped me a lot, ended up getting a 97 on the midterm without reading the book lol. About as easy as AP Bio for me.
The first third of MCDB 1A is a breeze thanks to Stu. He is really clear in lecture and shows a lot of diagrams that help explain things. Doesn't use the iClicker because he doesn't know how, and all lectures are recorded and posted online if you miss. DO THE OLD MIDTERMS POSTED ONLINE he literally takes those exact questions for his midterm.
Professor Feinstein is an awesome and approachable professor. His tests are pretty tough. He teaches the Biochem section of MCDB 1A. He is super responsive to students through email, and great at office hours. I would definitely recommend him. He asks iclicker questions, so go to class. His tests are based mostly on just his lectures.
Best lecturer of this series. He draws on his slides a lot to explain in more detail and clarify things, so don't just use the slides, watch the lectures online if you skip class. Last few lectures are the hardest so don't burn out before then. Study the slides and it will do able. Also don't let low test scores get you down, the curve helps a lot
I didn't think I was a big fan of biochemistry, but Stu definitely changed that! He's not hard to pay attention to during an 8am and is very straightforward with the information. Favorite lecturer at UCSB so far.
Really good professor and makes it easy to listen and pay attention in class. Tests are pretty hard, you definitely have to know your stuff and be concise in your answers. He tells you the book is optional which is really nice because you don't need to worry about doing the reading on top of studying lecture slides.
Stu is one of the best professors here. He cares about the material and his students, and gets really into lecture. Grading on tests can be tough, and they're all short answer so be specific and get to the point. 2 midterms + final, no papers.
His lectures are moderately clear. His midterm is difficult, but the class is curved. He seems willing to help.
Feinstein is a great and worthwhile professor; his lectures are concise and easy to follow (except cellular respiration, so I would advise Khan Academy and some self-help books) and his tests are a bit challenging. REVIEW LECTURE SLIDES FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Book isn't necessary for his portion at all. He rarely uses iClickers as well.
He is a great person and a solid professor, but his tests are pretty challenging. He really does test you on the small details, so going to class and going over lecture notes every day is essential. Make sure you know everything really well, he will test whether you really know the subject or not. on test day.
Meh. Uninspiring and mediocre. Goes over unimportant facts rather than teaching about biochemistry on a more conceptual level, and does not test on mastery of subject matter so much as rote memorization.
Stu is a great guy, cracks jokes all the time, makes class entertaining. Communicates information clearly and is extremely responsive to requests for help. Don't really need the book, mostly everything is lecture based.
the first 10 minutes of every class is just review of the previous lecture, so we actually go over all the material twice, which is quite nice. Test is very detail oriented, so study the details!!! He's a pretty good lecturer though, not monotone.
Loved Feinstein! Crystal clear lecturer, and actually engaging at 8 am. Study every detail on his slides, go to CLAS and you'll do just fine.
Good Professor, Nice guy. Basically everything you need is covered in class, the textbook really isn't necessary. His tests are fair but can be tricky
Feinstein is a great professor. You can really tell he is passionate about teaching this class. He makes everything interesting and clear. I actually found myself looking forward to this class and was sad it had to end. My favorite MCDB class by far.
He's a nice guy, and he provides slides which really help with note-taking! There's a ton of memorization, and the midterm was tricky. Lectures are recorded and posted online, but go to class for the iClicker points!
Dr. Feinstien is a great professor. His class follows a chronological story of evolution of the nervous system. His slides are good at leading students toward the correct way of thinking, and his explanations are often very intuitive, yet straightforward. Take the honors section.
This class is his passion, and his enthusiasm is pretty infectious. You will have to go to class- posted slides online don't have everything he goes over
He was the best out of the MCDB1A professors I had. At the beginning of every lecture he would review what he went over in the lecture before. Make sure to read the book and his test are pretty straightforward
He is awesome. This class was so interesting and I'm pretty sure I'm changing to Cell Dev. partially due to this class. I really recommend this class. The exam don't seem too difficult until you get the test back and see your grade. Grading is HARSH but this class is so worth it and there's a curve.
Feinstein is a great guy; he's probably the best biology teacher and for what biochemistry can become, he actually made it simpler and more interesting. He's a great professor and he reviews before he lectures to ensure that people got what he was talking about. Very fair and his tests are directly from what he talks about. No tricks at all.
Very good teacher- I really enjoyed his class. I didn't do any of the reading, just studied lecture notes, and ended up doing really well. Definitely a lot of work, mostly memorization. He's interesting and I would recommend this class.