He's the most fun Biology teacher I ever had. He's really motivating and gets you to understand stuff easily. However his tests are kinda hard.

VERy fun and interesting class. Tests are pretty easy.

Really enthusiastic about Zoology. Great teacher.

he's a really good professor, he makes all the material clear, easy and fun to learn. if u do bad and fail, its ur own fault ur stuipd, don't blame anyone, don't get mad and take it out on him..... just don't be stupid

Very nice and funny prof. Tests are very based on lecture and understanding, so pay attention during class;if you don't get sth. he's more than willing to help you out. Great class if you're scared of insects!

If you study, you will get an A.

grading seems fair, but sometimes its hard to guess what kind of answer he expects from u. if u study, u'll be ok

He is an awesome professor. He really knows his stuff making his lecture very interesting. His excellent teaching reflects his love for his profession. If you keep up with the hw and study regularly, you'll have no problem doing well.

Great teacher! He expects a lot from his students, but gives really good lectures, and is really prepared for his class. It's pretty obvious he invests a lot of time putting his lectures, WebCT, etc. together. Quite the eye candy.

girls,he looks young and cute in a nerdy way. very nice guy. lectures are interesting and you learn a lot of stuff. He goes that extra mile to make lecture sound interesting. I like him for lecture, but not for lab; it's tuff to get an A in lab.

No Comments

he's cute

Hes great and knows his stuff. He always has interesting lectures and does lots of other things to get you involved. He is ready to help at any time. GREAT CLASS. Do your work, study, go to lectures = A in class.

I wouldn't underestimate his difficulty, it's not exactly like he wants to make it easy for you on the tests, especially in labs. His lectures are very detailed and intersting, you will need that for the tests. take good notes

Great instructor, very detail oriented. He likes to ask minut details given in his powerpoints on tests, but he's always willing to work with you and get you info that you need.

Great lecturer but too easy until you get your grade. Needs more lecture material rather than web materials

HE'S A GREAT INSTRUCTOR. GIVE HIM A CHANCE. PREVIOUS STUDENTS HAVE ALSO SAID THAT HE REALLY PREPARES YOU FOR FOUR YEAR INSTITUTIONS. DON'T SEE HIM NOR HIS CLASS IN A NEGATIVE LIGHT, BECAUSE YOU WILL GET MORE OUT OF THE CLASS THAN YOU THINK. HE'S ALSO A VERY KIND,GOOD, AND UNDERSTANDING PERSON.

nice guy but hard class

He is one of the best. If you are studying to learn, then you will benefit greatly from him. He is very precise in what he asks of the students. There are no tricks to figure out. His test are just from the class slides.

Nice guy but the class was not easy. He is also a bit unclear when it comes to the slides. Some materials on the exam is not covered in class or in the book!

Beware, this class is quite difficult, however you LEARN! Probably the most nit-picky grading when it comes to lab assignments and exams. It's a lot of material to cover in one semester, so be prepared to move fast and absorb A LOT! He's easy to talk to though...& kinda cute.

I don't know what people are complaining about- he tests directly off of the material on his powerpoint slides, which he makes available to students online. My only complaint about the class was that the labs were boring. But Perkins is a great guy, and is extremely helpful when you talk to him.

I can't find a reason to complain his lecture. It is so great and very easy to understand. He lectures slowly and gives you time to figure out what is going on. However, this class is not easy at all. I have to study hard for the test(beware the first and the final). I strongly recomend him. B is very posible if you study hard enough.

He lectures very slowly, and posts everything online. His tests are very direct. He is always available for help. The only complaint is that he is very very picky when it comes to the lab assignments.

He tests directly off his slides and lectures. Don't bother buying the book. I reccomend you bring a voice recorder and record his lectures and dissect everything from it because all his test questions are from what he says in class. Lab is 40% of your grade and he is extremely picky on grading them. Lab exams are hard because lots of memorizing.

Great class and yes, it is VERY hard. But, if you attend lecture, listen carefully, review materials and ask questions when needed, you will do well. He's a great speaker and easy to approach. Plus he's young and kinda cute, so the material is not boring or out of date.

I took this class after I couldn't get into genetics. I thought it would be really boring but he made the subject interesting. The class is pretty self explanatory. Its really easy to come out of the class with minimal effort.The only slighly hard portion are the lab quizes but if you spend like a day studying you can easily do well.Don't need book

He's a great lecturer but geez,his lecture and especially lab exams are tough!Don't need book, memorize every single word in his slides, understand it,and know how to apply it and hopefully you'll get an A-. For the papers, site every sentence that you used or you'll get in trouble for plagarism. It happend this semester. Also,dont quote too much

cool teacher, interesting class

MR PERKINS IS MY HERO! His class is fun, and you learn a lot!

ppl were getting 75% on all their exams but they ended up only needing like a 77% in the final to get an A in the class because of all the participation and lab and writing project points that he has. Needless to say, there were a lot of A's in class from B and C students. So don't stress if you have him even though exams and stuff seem hard.

Great professor and I learned from him a lot.

An awesome teacher, though the class isn't easy. He requires a lot of your time; there are many assignments/quizzes/papers that keep you busy. Grading is very fair- There are many other ways to get points besides exams. Lab exams require studying!He is entertaining and inspires a passion for biology!!

Like the others have mentioned, there are many other opportunities besides the exams to get points in his class. You'll have journal articles, a written paper, a poster presentation, participation, knowledge checks, etc, etc. So don't worry too much if you don't perform well on the exams. You can average a C+/B- on them and still get an A !!

"No Pain No Gain" it's a biology class!!!!!!!!!!! If you really wanna get an A then study your buuuuttt off!!! And yes, the exams are not easy, especially the lab exams. But, you will learn a lot!!! If you are a seroius PRE-MED then you will get an A!!!!

Just study the lecture notes, don't even bother getting the book. Easy B, not so easy A. For Lab tests, study all the terms in BOLD and LIFE CYCLES. For the writing projects CITE EVERYTHING.

As the person below said, yes, easy B and hard A. You don't need the book because the exams come straight from his lecture notes. So don't even bother on buying the so expensive book. His exams are based on applying what you learn on biol to real life things. His exams are not based on memorization. First exam is a wake up call, but you will do mu

the first test is kind of hard because u don't know what to expect, but the rest of the exams are much easier. Easy B, hard A.

he's an awesome teacher. you can tell he loves what he does. the labs were a lot of fun and really helped make me understand the lecture. take him and it's a lot of fun!

If you study the slides you get an A its as easy as that! Dont bother buy the book you only use it for the research paper if that.

I loved him! While I agree his tests do take some time getting used to (all short answer/essay) you really will learn a lot. He's so passionate about the subject that he makes even the laziest student inspired to do their best. He's so charming as well. I TOTALLY had a crush on him the whole time. :) Seriously though, nice guy and I recommend him.

The bad: Very hard to get an A! Slow grading. Too procedural. Too rigid. Expections too high. Too much memorization. Too many projects. The good: slack off...still get a B. Cute, in a geeky kinda way.

2 Journals,1 writingproject and a poster.2 Lab exams (2xx of terms to remember for each,spelling counts w00t),3 lecture exams and 1 final. This class has tons of things for u to get/lose points but it is hard as hell to get an A. The info is confusing since it covers animals,plants,bacteria… at the same time, you will learn a little of everything.

i feel ur pain man Xp. His expectation is too high. His tests are extremely challenging. His 5 units class is absolutely time-consuming. I feel like taking 3 classes at the same time.(3-4 essays, 2 fking hard lab exams, and 4 even harder tests) but after all hes a nice guy, mayb just too harsh when it comes to testing his students ^^

He's the best professor I've had. Although he's hard but that's expected since it's a college level class

He's hard, but he lays everything out there. There weren't many surprises on the exams. Lecture was VERY thorough, but easy to fall asleep in. Just pay attention. Lecture portion was easy; majority of points lost were from lab exams. Better make sure you know ALL bold terms, you only get 90 sec per slide (identification + coming up with the term)

Perkins is INTENSE. I would not recommend if you are not a Bio major, but would strongly recommend if you are. Tests are fair enough - the q's are more conceptual questions than straight forward. short essays were way easier though .lab is even harder, and they tests are ridiculous. Got an A but worked my butt off - B's are hard to get too.

Took this class about two years ago. Would say that it was less difficult than most other bio classes that I've taken since then, although a lot of memorization was needed. Surprised someone else said he wasn't helpful during office hours, he seemed like he liked answering questions although I rarely asked any. All in all, good prof.

The textbook is semi-needed. Alot of the test questions are from his lectures so take good notes. He doesn't post up good notes online so you really have to take your own. Even if you do not do well on tests you can get a good grade since he as alot of pts from labs, papers, etc.

He is a super chill guy! Keys to an A;Lecture - take good notes and study them, 10's on knowledge checks, follow reading guide and associated questions. Lab - STUDY for the lab exams(alot of material), take time to understand things during labs, work hard on journal articles. Both - I would recommend his review sessions for anyone, truly helpful!

Professor Perkins bio185 class was actually quite enjoyable. He is extremely helpful if you have any questions or if you need an explanation on something. He holds weekly review sessions and answers every question from anyone. Hes also really friendly and easy to talk too. Honestly I don't understand the negative comments about him, hes awesome.

I always scored lower than I thought on the lecture exams, even though I studied quite a bit. I got a high B on the final and that was my highest test score. He's very friendly and will answer any questions you have. He told me not to poke sea anemones while on the class field trip.

Marc is a great professor! he has been very thorough in explaining the material and always welcomes questions, and answers them well. sometimes the quiz questions seem a bit random, but overall a wonderful class!

I honestly don't understand the negative reviews. Marc is an AMAZING professor. He gives straightforward yet interesting lectures, is always open to answer questions, and is super helpful. It's a difficult class but that's to be expected at this level. Take good notes and pay attention in lab and you're fine! He's cute in a semi-nerdy way too =D

Awesome Proff. Concepts are not difficult at all, and tests are 85% from lecture unless he specifically states otherwise. It is a lot of work, but that's expected for a Animal Diversity course. VERY helpful. Perkins really wants to see his students succeed. If you are willing to put in the work an A is very attainable.

BEST BIO professor ever! Hes extremely clear in what he expects from you. His lectures are very engaging and interesting but you have to work your asses of to get an A. Though getting a B in this clasd is not hard. Beware of his lecture final and two lab exams.very difficult! Id highly recommend his review sessions!!

Great at lecturing ( besides evolution he will screw you hard on the test and final, he's THE WORST at application questions from that chapter). Lab will definitely bust your butt because it demands a TREMENDOUS amount of work. Do not overwhelm your self, only take a maximum of two other classes or you will not get an A no matter who u think u are

Hes the best bio professor ever. I undestand that there was a lot of work involved but most of them were just freebies cuz he graded very lienently. The only things to note were his hard exams and journal articles. He constantly looked for plagiarism!

Perkins is a wonderful professor. He really knows what he is taking about, and is very clear about what he expects you to know for tests. The book readings he assigned were not very helpful though- everything you needed to know came from in-class lectures. Four lecture exams and two lab exams. Highly recommend him for any OCC biology class.

One of the best professors I've had at OCC. A few books were required for this class, but the only one I actually used was the lab manual. Spend more time on the lab tests (a lot to memorize) and the lecture exams are straight from the lecture slides. Took with 4 other classes and got an A (don't listen to that person VVV) but a lot of work.

He devoted his Friday time to do helpful review sections & super enthusiastic in helping student. His lecturing style is vivid and enjoyable, and taking notes along with the students to show what is exactly important. Lots of extra credits, and easy points to get in addition to exams. If you take his lab, make sure to know the spelling of terms.

This class requires a lot of work, indeed, especially the lab. Perkins is a great professor, very organized and dedicated. He's willing to answer any questions and help his students; a true biologist who loves "evolution"! There's some EC opportunities that can boost up your grade. I enjoyed the field lab and how he stays up to date via twitter!

Great teacher, answers your questions. Written part of exam is graded fair, MC is tough cause he is more open ended in his teaching, so you can justify more than one answer and over-think it. Class is more work than 5 units, but if you space it out you should be ok, but you will be studying A LOT. I suggest taking with a lighter load if you can.

Amazing professor for lab and lecture. Perkins is a true biologist who is very inspirational & an overall awesome human being. I managed an A while taking chem & a GE . Some XC, field trip, difficult lab exams, lecture is very very fair. Lecture exam is from lecture & learning guides. Recommend, but don't get me wrong it was a A LOT of work.

I wish he taught more instead of us asking questions and him answering them. Aside from that, he is super nice and is willing to help students whenever needed. There's a worksheet and an online quiz for each chapter. Exams were kind of difficult since there are so many free response questions and he is picky! Overall, he is a good choice for Bio.

Flipped classrooms work well if you are on top of everything and come to class prepared. If you are neither of these, you will be forced to cram and it will not end well for you. It is evident Perkins is very intelligent and knows a lot so you just have to get the info out of him by asking questions. He is extremely organized. I'd take again.

His class is hard but i think A is achievable,STUDY AT LEAST 2 WEEKS IN ADVANCE FOR HIS LAB EXAM, IT'S EASY IF YOU STUDY AHEAD (have to know everything). His test for lecture is kind of difficult. This class needs LOTS of studying . Go in his office hour to get help, you ll need it. Got a B because i didn't try hard enough :'(

Lecture exams are similar in difficulty to BIO 180, but lab for this class is WAY more work, about twice that of bio 180 lab. Lots of points from worksheets/hw to buffer exam scores, difficult lab exams. Amazing professor and a hilarious person, very enjoyable to be around. By far my favorite professor at OCC so far in the 2 years I've been here.

Only had him for lab, not for lecture. He's a very friendly professor, and is very easy to make a connection with. Knowledgeable and helpful, and enthusiastic about science. Will go out of his way to help you out with any questions you have, and is very supportive if you're trying to get a job in the field of science. Great lab professor.

Lecture Exams: Very similar to the question he gives in the learning guides/study guides. Requires fluent understanding of material, open ended questions like "Explain to me how X works" Lab Exams: Bold print terms in the lab manual. Almost pure memorization. He's a great professor. I would elaborate but RMP doesn't give enough space. Take him!

One of the best professors I've ever taken. Really, really tough on the first few exams but you eventually WILL get used to it if you put in the time and effort. Uses a free textbook, which is nice, but also supplements it with his own lecture notes which are more useful. Expect to basically memorize (and be able to apply) those notes .

Best professor ever. I recommend every students to take him because you will learn alot from him even the class was alittle tough. He will prepare you very well for upper division when you transfer to university

Perkins is such a great professor, who really is enthusiastic about the topics he teaches, and want all of his students to do well. He is very fair, as long as you put in effort and do the pre-readings before class. This really prepares you for transferring, and you will thoroughly learn about each topic he covers.

Overall, he's a really great guy who's really passionate about the subject that he teaches. All of the information that you need to know is provided in the study guides he provides for each unit. Study them WELL, and you will be fine. Lab exams are difficult if you DON'T prepare well. Really nice guy, extremely understanding, and reasonable.

This was the first class I took where it is a flipped classroom (up to student to know the material before class and ask questions the next day). Despite this sounding scary, it really isn't. Once you start reading the material and answering pre-written worksheets, it starts to become really manageable. Three tests and an accumulative final

He wants you to learn the basics of the material on your own and come to class ready to ask questions and discuss. I enjoyed this method of teaching over standard powerpoint lectures. He's very knowledgeable in his field and is eager to help you succeed. Do the work, and your'e guaranteed to do well. 10/10 would recommend.

He's a good teacher and his learning guides are a m a z i n g. He does lecture a bit for every class. This class requires a lot of studying. The multiple choice Q's in exams are really hard if you don't study well. Ask lots of questions if you don't understand the material. This class was tough but it really broadened my horizons.

This is a tough class. Getting a C or B is easy, an A requires lots of work. This is seriously not your typical biology class, 50% lecture and 50% lab to make up the total grade. Total of exams: 3 lectures, 3 lab and 1 lecture final. Lots of readings, workloads, weekly worksheets. Exams can be tricky at times, MUST do the study guide to do well.

HE DOES NOT TEACH! It is a flipped classroom. You come to class ASKING HIM QUESTIONS after having read his 20-70 page learning guides he personally has written. Not my style of learning tbh. If you want a teacher to teach at you, he isn't your guy. Will he answer alI your q? YES. Do the end of the unit problems or else you won't pass any exams.

I took Professor Perkins' lab for BIO 180 and he was really great. He was passionate about the topic and always willing to help his students. It was a hard lab due to the 3 lab exams (I had to study my butt off) but I think it was worth it. He cares for his students, is always accessible, keeps up with grading, and is just really great.

His class is flipped, you learn the material yourself. However, he provides learning guides which contains almost everything you need to know for exams. Although attendance isn't required, going to class and asking for clarification is extremely helpful. Even more, he reviews material and provides examples that are helpful for the response section.

One of the best professors at OCC. Extremely caring and funny. His passion for the subject is obvious and he wants his students to succeed. It's not an easy class, but passing is very manageable and an A is very attainable. There are more to factor into your grades than just tests. Take pictures of everything during diversity labs and study them!!!

Truly one of the best professors I have ever had. I took his class in Spring of 2019 and am still using his study guides in my tougher classes to brush up on concepts. I was skeptical of the flipped classroom format at first, but I came to love it. His study guides contain everything you need to know and they're super thorough. He's so nice as well

One of those rare professors that really cares about his students, biology is a difficult subject so I'm not going to lie and say it was a cake walk, but this professor really knows how to motivate you to work hard and also make learning this subject a memorable and inspirational experience, I had lots of fun in this. would recommend.

This was a difficult class , so you definitely need to put in a lot of effort, but he takes the time to make sure each student understands everything. He made the material super interesting and the class was overall really fun. I definitely recommend.

I got diagnosed with Covid at the end of the semester and he was extremely flexible and very helpful. If you have a problem, talk with him and he will do his best to work with you! Extremely kind and helpful professor.