Great lecturer, the best I've had at UCSB. He's so passionate about the subject and I think it rubs off on the class during lecture and section. I found the class easy because I was interested in the subject. For those not as interested in Dinosaurs it may be a bit tougher. But overall, great class, great teacher, great guy. 10/10
Excellent professor. Even though the exams were harder than I expected, I think they were fair overall since he emphasizes what he wants you to know. Plus, the labs and other assignments are easy. What really stands out are his lectures. They're usually great, often funny, and sometimes downright riveting. Don't buy the textbook.
If you memorize the cladograms, you will do fine. If you memorize the information in the slides you'll do fine. Both midterm and final are based on memorizing info which is ok, I didn't spend too much time on this class.
This class and professor really gave me a new appreciation for science (as I am a humanities/ss major). This professor is very serious about what he teaches but makes it very interesting and entertaining. REALLY glad I took Dinosaurs with him.
I wish I could take the course again, Dan is by far my favorite professor. iClicker attendance, easy 10q weekly hw. All lectures posted online. You MUST memorize the cladograms/important people &events, but the class is incredibly fun and he's hilarious. He's super helpful in office hours. Definitely signing up for any other courses he teaches.
I loved taking this class my first quarter as a freshman. He covers ALOT of material so you have to pay attention, but if you do and do well on your labs, you'll be fine. He's very passionate about what he's teaching. I got a B, my highest grade that quarter
Dr. Luna is an awesome professor. He will keep you entertained. However, do not assume that just because it is a class called "dinosaurs" it will be an easy GE. There is an extensive amount of material that you are expected to know well. If you do the work it can be very rewarding.
Lectures are interesting. No assigned readings so this class is not time consuming, Just short online quizzes at the end of every week, which are fairly easy and can be retaken, which is great. The midterm and final are fairly easy, as long as you attend lectures, take notes, and memorize the study guides. Overall good class, and very interesting
Very passionate about what he teaches. He is very knowledgeable. College should be a place where you learn to be a good thinker, and professor Luna inspires you to think beyond the materials and about the significance of what you learn. The class is super easy if you do the work, which is very little. Really funny person so go to class.
Dr Luna is by far my favorite teacher at UCSB. He's so passionate about this subject and his excitement makes lectures really interesting. He's actually really funny if you understand his sense of humor. You should most definitely take this class if you have the chance
This class was pretty easy. All you needed to do was go to class and take notes and memorize stuff. I would definitely recommend it, as the material is really easy and he is a great professor. He was really funny and I enjoyed going to lecture.
iClicker every lecture for attendance. All lecture slides posted online. Weekly homework (10 mins max). No extra credit. Very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. Really great professor. Know the cladograms like the back of your hand if you want to do well. Would definitely take another course with him. PS Do not get the textbook.
He's a great professor! The class isn't it too difficult, but make sure to UNDERSTAND AND MEMORIZE THE CLADOGRAMS!
You could tell Prof. Luna is extremely interested about the subject. His lectures are witty and fastpaced. Beware, he is a fast speaker. Class requires a lot of memorization. My group spent weeks reciting cladograms and dinosaur novelties, and the final was 115 questions. Definitely not an easy A. Difficult class but I learned a lot.
This class was great but I recommend to take this mainly if you're already interested in learning about Dinosaurs. The professor is amazing and so passionate about the subject. The lectures are fun and you won't lose interest but if you're like me and aren't a huge fan of science, don't take
Luna is one of the best professors at UCSB hands down. Not only can you just tell how intelligent he is but he's low key super funny. He's the type of professor that got me to make an account and write this right now. The class is a lot of info, but if you study and know the cladograms you'll be fine, I got an A. Section is easy. Highly recommend!
He is such a good lecturer because he is really down to earth and chill. Sections are relaxed. I am not too great with biology (memorizing the cladograms was very hard for me) so I ended up taking this pass/no pass. The homework and topics were interesting and I enjoyed the lectures even though we spent most of the class learning about birds.
He's the most endearing professor i've ever had, he's also very good at teaching about dinosaurs.
He's one of the best professors on campus. He's really funny, always clarifies everything and explains to where everyone understands, and he has a very clear time for questions, but will still answers questions at other times. He's the reason I'm thinking of changing majors to paleobiology.
Cool guy, really helpful if you seek or need the help. His lectures are clear and easy to understand and he's a pretty funny m8.
He is so knowledgeable about the subject and his lectures are never boring. However, the tests are tricky. If you can learn the pattern from midterm, the final won't be a problem. I didn't put 100% effort and ended up with B+.
I took this course to fill a GE requirement, but I gained so much more than that. Dan is probably the best teacher I've ever had in my academic career. He's one of the few who actually care about education and his students' abilities. Funny, outspoken, relatable, and downright interesting guy. I'd take another class with him in a heartbeat.
Great professor.
This is not an easy class, be prepared to work for your grade. If you work hard you will get a good grade but again this is NOT an easy class.