Easy going guy, course was not bad but wayyy too much work for friggin' ONE credit, not bad marker

I thought he was an amazing prof. His classes were so interesting-- I've never been so awake in an 8am class. Compared to other prof who taught 121, I think the way he structured the class was excellent.

Gives very useful notes, almost no need for text. Attend the lectures, get the notes and you'll do fine. Fairly interesting lecturer, although I did fall asleep a few times in his 8 am class...but I'm pretty sure they weren't induced by the lecture itself

Really tough marker. Interesting classes though, but hard. On exams, he looks for particular words. The questions are ambiguous. Doesn't care if you understood the concept, if you didn't write down particular words you don't get the mark.

I took greg's class with turkington and to be honest I really liked how their teaching styles complemented each other. His teaching may have been a little vague but the course isn't about rote memorization it's about thinking which he definitely inspired me to do.

This was Greg's first time teaching bio111. He makes a huge effort to make class engaging and interesting (even at 7 at night!) and explains the concepts very clearly. Great guest lecturers. I thought that his testing/marking was quite fair and he gives you the chance to discuss your marks. No homework. Made a potentially boring subject interesting

Studying doesn't really make much difference in my marks. It does not matter if you understand the material or not. He expects your answers to be the same as his solution, but the thing is his exams all require short-paragraph or essay type answers.

Dr. Bole is a good teacher - you can tell he's really interested in the subject matter. However, if you want to get a high mark, get into another section becuase his exams are very difficult, and he's a hard marker.

Very Hard Class! Hard Exams! He is a good professor and very helpful. But for a lower level bio course this course is extremely hard. It will consume most of your time. And in the end you still will not get a good mark. Try another class. It will totally bring down your GPA.

Dr. Bole is very compassionate about his field and is committed to passing his knowledge on to his students. He is by no means easy, but in my opinion a fair marker. His course is almost completely conceptual. If you want to do well, give it your best effort to do thorough pre readings and really understand what you're reading!

Very clear, fairly accomodating and leads a very fun class.

Dr. Bole is great. His enthusiasm and interest in what he teaches is infectious. He makes a good attempt at communicating the material in different ways. He's also funny and goes out of his way to help any way he can.

He's really good at teaching the biology concept to class. He's well prepared for every lecture and very passionate about biology (especially evolution). His midterms were hard though.. and he marks really strictly. He looks for all these key words and if you dont include them you dont get the mark. the final was easier, however. good prof overall.

Greg was a great prof. He explained everything very clearly in class and I didn't even need to do the pre-readings which saved me a ton of time! He clearly states that the exams will focus on the stuff he talks about in class so as long as you go to class and pay attention, you'll do well in the class!

Good teacher, clear, funny, you dont fall asleep that often lol, easy to follow so you dont need to read the textbook. Downside would be: trying to get a good mark. His class average is pretty low 60-70

Wonderful fellow, excellent prof -- thoroughly enjoyed the course. MUST attend class, use the peer tutors, ask questions, and do your readings -- you will be rewarded!

Great Prof, made the intensive crash course of biology really enjoyable. If you go to lectures, take really good notes and follow up with readings on what you don't understand you should be able to pull a solid B, if not A. The textbook he keeps saying provides context, which it does, but going to lectures is a better use of your time

Great prof! You print out his fill-in-the-blank notes before class and he fills them in during class. It's good to read the assigned text sections for most topics, but exams are based on printed notes. Interesting lectures. GREAT PROF, GREAT CLASS!!

My favorite class of the year by far. Lecture notes that can be printed off before class and filled in were very useful. Highly recommend him!

He was SUPER clear in lecture, great in teaching. very helpful and concerned about student learning! He expects you to do the work, and exams were hard for me. Has interesting stuff in his lecture, and inspires students with interests in other related subjects.

It was my worst mark of the year. Believe it or not, Phys, Math, and Chem had to save my GPA at the end. I think his appearance is deceiving. seems easygoing but his marking doesn't make sense and lacks consistency. I wouldn't switch out though, he's helpful and encourages group work

Speaks clearly and incorporates humour and reality into his lectures. Tests are fair with respect to the level of difficulty if you studied, paid attention and wrote good notes. He shows that he actually cares for his students and wants everyone to pass. Amazing prof and I wish I had him for all of my subjects!

Amazing prof! I've had some other profs who were 3.7-ish on this site, and they just could not compare. Tests were either extremely easy or extremely hard for people, so I recommend engaging yourself and asking lots of questions. He also held review sessions using his own spare time to help us with exams. Crystal clear in class, take him!

He's amazing. He's not as hard as students say he is - I'm not a genius or anything at all but I got a B in the course and I studied hard of course but not OVERLY hard - his exams are quite fair. He LOVES what he teaches so you love it as well. And it helps that he's attractive;) Too bad he's married. Overall - GREAT prof, 10/10

If you are interested in biology, Greg is your man. He is an excellent professor and really makes the subject come alive. He's helpful and puts a great deal of effort into preparing his lectures. He also clearly respects his students.

This course kept me sane during my first semester. Greg is awesome. He only tests what he talks about in class and his lectures are entertaining and very informative. I absolutely recommend him and wish all Profs had his dedication.

Very interesting class. He has tons of great stories, and he makes lecture a lot of fun. He tests what he talks about in lecture, but the exams are really hard ... often long, and the answers have to be really specific.

best!

Good Prof, but for me the material was incredibly boring, so studying/attending class was painful. Still, Dr Bole is an interesting and animated lecturer, and is also quite humorous. 2 Midterms, 1 Final. Lets you bring one page of notes to the exams. If you are interested in the course material- take his class.

One of my favourite lectures to attend. Isn't just a professor, but a TEACHER. Makes GREAT lecture notes you can print and follow to fill in the blanks. Exams mostly lecture-based. My only criticism: hard to get a hold of, wasn't really avail for help. Peer tutors avail instead.

The best prof I have ever had at UBC. Lectures are very well organized and are almost like attending a show. Used humor, great graphics and was so excited about the topics that it was infectious. Very approachable and tests were fair.

Pretty good prof. He's extremely helpful if you go see him in his office. He'll go out of his way to help you get whatever it is that you need!! :)

I absolutely LOVED him as a professor. Definitely in my top two professors I've had at UBC. You can tell he loves the material he is teaching, and loves to teach it. He is full of energy and keeps class interesting. He explains everything very clearly and will always answer any questions you have. Exams are fair and test knowledge not regurgitation

He is a great prof and makes class really interesting. He has made biology one of my favorite subjects.

He's a great prof, covers everything you need to know in his lectures and does it very clearly. His exams aren't regurgitation though so you really need to understand the concepts and be able to apply them. Overall he's an enthusiastic prof who keeps you interested and entertained!

Dr. Bole is probably one of the better Biology professors I've had so far into my undergrad program. He was generally clear when explaining concepts and you could tell he had great interest in the course material. His exams are not the easiest and the marking rubric is sometimes iffy. He will likely be the best prof teaching this though.

need to go to lectures; he likes people who engage; when marking follows the guidelines he gives very rigorously; make sure to follow them

In-class engagement definitely recommended if you want to get a good grade. Try your best to contribute in class, as participation accounts for 15% of your grade. The course is fairly straightforward and interesting (to me). Definitely make appointments with him if you want to do better on the essays. Got an A+ for the final term project.

Excellent professor! The best professor I've seen in my undergrad. Engaging lectures, helpful, reasonable exams. He made the course material very easy. Thanks

Professor Bole is an extremely kind and helpful professor. He explains concepts incredibly clearly and uses his humour a lot in is lectures. I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend.

Great prof! His explanations were clear and he always seemed genuinely excited about teaching this class. Exams can be a little tricky, but not unfairly so. Only thing is make sure you take good notes in lecture, because a lot of the detail in each lecture isn't on the slides.

He is super cool, biology nerd, Charles Darwin enthusiast & former technician on the Human Genome Project. This guy is super wise and knows his stuff. He's a super clear teacher and will always answer questions really well. He has a passion for his subject. You have to pay attention and take good notes and just do your prereading quizzes and keep u

He's a great professor and really into what he's teaching. Exams are a little tricky, make sure you take good notes and study. Lots of marks coming from little things like clickers, prereadings, and tutorials.

He gave us fill-in-notes, which are very helpful. Organized content, however, his TAs are not so helpful

He's smart and interesting to talk to one-on-one, but lectures tend to be pretty boring. The class seemed easy but the tests were rough. Everything (including tests) was heavily based on group work.

Very knowledgable in biology and very good teacher he made everything extremly clear. Easy course

He makes Biology fun for anybody. The genetics section was tough, and participation is important in your success. Memorization and understanding concepts is important like any other class... but he's just such a great prof I would take that class again any day.

Just awesome. He rapped for us. So inspirational. I want to take another class with him!

This class was deceptively hard for how easy the material seems. Study it as if its a difficult course and you'll do fine. Greg was an engaging lecturer. The lecture pacing was nice. Not too fast, you could sort of chill out; but also enough information was coming at you to make it worth going

Super nice and helpful guy, a lot of people said he was tough but I found that just studying the notes and text was enough to get an A.

very clear and concise with lectures and things to study for the midterms and final exam. lectures and group activities are important and very similar to exams.

Great guy, his lectures were very clear and the material was communicated well

TOUGH GRADER but he's lecture is fun and engaging.. i highly recommend not taking this course if you want high GPA impossible to get A

Requires long readings for quizzes but posts the quizzes one day before the due date. Marks really hard on the tests and is not clear of what is required to be written for each question. Has alright lectures but lots of useless groupwork.

He is an engaging prof. The class is fun and you learn a lot of very interesting things. Attendance is mandatory because there are in-class group assignments. The midterms aren't hard but rather tricky if you know what I mean. There are not free marks in this class. And he wants you to answer the questions his way. He is the best of the 121 profs

One of the better profs I have had at UBC. The marking raises some questions as to what is actually expected, but it's not too major of an issue. His lectures were great, and despite the tiring heat of the BIO building, he kept me awake and intent for every single lecture. Would definitely recommend taking 121 with him.

I loved his class and looked forward to it everyday. He was passionate and knew what he was talking about. The only thing is you will need to form groups and I would recommend finding a good one right away as late in the term groups will be solidified. Its much more interesting than bio 112. The main difference less memorization in bio 121.

A good prof in terms of the clarity of his lectures but a very tough grader. He picks on detailed wording and deducts marks for the slightest things. Midterms and finals are entirely short answers. Our section average was around 10% lower than other sections. I would recommend taking another prof's class but sitting into his when you are confused.

Honestly my favourite profs and favourite courses. Was super easy and he was extremely clear and concise in his lectures. Only thing is keep an eye on the on-line quizzes that happen twice a week.

Don't expect a high mark on any exam no matter how hard you studied or how well you understand the concepts. He is such a picky marker, it almost seems like marks will be taken off for no reason. If you don't do well on the midterms, try to do well on the final since he doesn't mark it as hard. I went from 60% to 74% thanks to the final.

Honestly one of the best professors I've had. He was very passionate about the stuff being taught, and really tried his best to make classes interesting. His exams are pretty tough though - you really have to include key words/phrases to get full marks. Sometimes his explanations are also a bit confusing, but overall great prof

It was an absolute pleasure taking 336 with Dr. Bole. I took this class because it was a mandatory degree requirement, but it ended up being my favourite course! Come prepared to class, and study the learning objectives before his exams and you'll do well! I thought the grading scheme was very reasonable for a 3rd year course.

Dr. Bole is a great instructor for this course but his midterms are very unpredictable and are marked quite hard. He is good at explaining some concepts and I would recommend him for this course.

Very solid professor. Cares deeply about his students' success. It is tough to get full marks on exams (They're all short answer). This is just the nature of the topics in Bio 121 however. He could be clearer on his exam expectations. There isn't actually that much content in this course, and a lot of lecture time is spent on group work.

Amazing lecturer and he sparked my interest in evolution! Make sure to take good notes in class, especially his description of figures and tables since they will be TESTED. Textbook can be used to supplement the information from class, but dont need to focus on details not covered in class.

Bole is assionate about Biology and a very well-spoken, clear lecturer. People who don't like ecology probably won't like the class. He tries to include a ton of visuals along with dense texts in his slides. Tests check to see if you can really word your arguments / explanations clearly. I think its fair - it matters when talking about lineage!

we have the exam tomorrow, but i wanted to take the time and say he answers piazza super fast now. And despite how hard his exams are, he helps you understand the concepts

Pretty good prof, grade weight was spread out really well, and the tests weren't too difficult if you go to class. Doesn't post very good notes online though

The best prof I had at UBC in my time. He really evokes interest in the material being taught. Very knowledgable. I was scared for this class but he made me love evolution. Super helpful. HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

I can honestly say Greg cares about his students. During the whole coronavirus pandemic he went above and beyond to reduce stress and trying to keep us positive. He did his absolute best to help everyone out, respond to emails, and even added a meme page on piazza to lighten us up. Show up to the lectures for a laugh and a good grade. Great guy.

I'm not that interested in bio, but Greg made this course really interesting for me. He's the perfect type of person to be a professor - extremely passionate about his subject, cares a lot, very good at connecting with his students, acts like a true friend. It really shows how much effort he puts in, and makes sure sure students are well prepared.

Greg has by far been my favourite professor at UBC. He is VERY knowledgeable and passionate about biology. Lectures are engaging, and makes you feel as if you are in class even on zoom. Exams are very fair!! I did not find the marking to be harsh at all! Greg also loves ALL animals and owns a cute blue tongue skink so thats a plus!

very obviously passionate about biology & teaching. exams were not unfair at all & has organism of the day which was kinda interesting. quite active on piazza. one of the better profs

Amazing professor. Super nice and passionate guy, engages the class well even online, and clearly cares immensely about his subject and students. Tests can be harder than expected, but workload for this class is pretty reasonable.