Very condescending at times, but I feel it was necessary for the course material to stimulate thinking. Tough paper grader as well. He was a great speaker though and engaged my attention well.

Mark Decker was a great speaker in lecture and kept the class entertaining. He had a great sense of humor which made the class seem not very long. I would take another class with him if I could.

This professor is very clear in his lectures, and he makes the lecture pretty fun. The midterms are a lot harder than the quizzes though.

Wonderfully clear and structured lectures, and he's usually an entertaining speaker, even if the material is not. Very dry, amusing sense of humor. I loathe science so the fact that I didn't hate the course says something about him.

Very friendly, funny, helpful. Thought provoking. Loved it!

Great professor, keeps class entertaining. He opens up his time to help students, and is willing to meet outside of office hours anytime. Very helpful.

Mark is a great professor! Sometimes if you ask him a general question about a concept, he will go over it and then expand on the things about it that will be on the exam! I am so far having a great experience in this class!!!

AWESOME.

Sarcastically pleasant, presents material in a straightforward way. Walks around auditorium. Has been known to use slightly crass vocabulary. Difficult but comprehensive tests. Likes group work and pre-lecture quizzes. Firm believer in Evolution, but as far as I can remember, he did not trash Creationism in lectures.

Very clear and easy to listen to. Keeps the class engaged.

He is an awesome professor! I had him for my freshmen seminar, and he was a pretty laid back guy. He even admitted that he had a 1 on his AP Bio test in high school, so don't be too hard on yourself and just do your best.

Decker is awesome. extremely helpful. if you put the time into this class you can get an A. but you MUST put in the appropriate amount of time. definitely recommended

class follows a basic system of quizzes and tests for your grade and are reasonable, but not easy. Mark has a great lecture style and is willing to answer questions. He makes the class fast paced and interesting. There is some group work, but not much that your grade will depend on. Grading = straight percentage. Highly recommend.

Very funny and witty guy, and generally a great teacher.

He's okay. He can be kind of rude and condescending at times, but I don't think he even realizes that that's how he comes across. Most of the time he's nice enough. His tests for 2002 were always pretty fair, though difficult.

Freshman seminar pretty straight forward. Do the work, show up, and you will get an A. Very helpful and friendly though be prepared as he will challenge your viewpoints. Overall, great teacher.

I hate Biology I took the class to get it done with. He taught it very well and is very knowledgeable about evolution and up to date on controversies. Tests are hard but class and lab are easy. He does have a dry sense of humor, and this may turn some people off, but it helps keep the night class awake.

He has the notes all typed up before you come to class which makes it very easy to follow along and study for the exams. He uses helpful examples to help students remember different terms. Overall he is a great teacher!

Good teacher, but he will force his beliefs about biology and culture upon you.

Mark is very intelligent, and he is a clear lecturer. His tests are fair, and he is willing to answer questions. However, he can be condescending and will push his views, but if you can get past that, you will learn a lot from Mark and enjoy his class.

Nobody teaches scientific thought like Decker. Most other teachers emphasize facts and any integration comes only when you go beyond and synthesize data on your own. Mark explicitly requires you to integrate messy data to make a coherent picture. What's more, he's a funny guy who's willing to engage in respectful conversation with students.

I thought Decker was very easy to listen to in lecture, which makes it easier to stay awake at the ungodly hour of 8:00AM. He was a tough grader, but I found him to be fair and approachable with questions; overall, a healthy challenge in this course.

Although it is early in the course (4 weeks in) Dr. Mark Decker has proven to be an exceptional lecturer. He is credible and understanding. The thing about his lectures is that he constantly uses humor and keeps the students engaged up until the last minute of lecture. Take the class, I wish there were professors this great in my interest area!!!!

Funny guy, organized, and easy

Mark Decker is easily one of the best professors I've had at the U. His lectures are fast pace and engaging. He's intelligent, witty, and an overall great teacher. If you show up to lecture and lab while using his online notes to study it's an easy A! 10/10 would recommend.

Decker seems like a good guy. He makes lots of jokes in class, 50% of which are just straight up funny and 50% that are pointed at one of the students, which occasionally go too far. Good professor; I like his teaching a lot. Biggest negative is that he forces his opinions on you. Don't take if you're easily offended.

Decker's kind of a jerk sometimes but I've learned a lot from him. The stuff he teaches can be deceptively simple but he gives you lots of opportunities to apply what you're learning in simulations and group work. His tests were easier than Matthes's but he still took lots of points off if you weren't as specific as he wanted. Be prepared to work.

Mark is funny, personable. He knows a lot about his content area, and he also knows a lot about how to teach. He will motivate you to learn the (not so easy) material, and will always go above and beyond to help you. Def. one of the best profs I've had. He is a fast talker, so recording might not be a bad idea.

Professor Decker makes the lecture very interesting. He gives a lot of busy work (i.e. 4 quizzes every week) but if you stay on top of things, you should be fine.

MARK IS MY FAVORITE PROFESSOR!!! He's funny, loves his subject, and really has a passion for teaching. The lab kind of sucks though.

One of the best teachers that I've had.

You have to attend lecture if you want to do well in this class. The tests have questions based off of things discussed and graphs interpreted. He's pretty chill and keeps it interesting. Lots of little assignments that add up.

Easy bio class to take for a lib ed. People who took it S/N got their points three weeks before the end of class. Labs/reflections are very easy. There is a ton of busy work and quizzes but they aren't difficult. If you do all the busy work/lab reflections and get Cs on the midterms you can get an A. Don't buy "The Red Queen" you won't read it.

This class is really difficult just in it's nature, but that being said, Mark made it amazing. I had to take it and was dreading it because I'm naturally bad at science but I ended up with an A because Mark really knows how to teach. His lectures really helped me understand the material and hes so sarcastic

Pretty interesting lectures. Assignments due every day. You need to do all the reading before class. If you put in the work, you'll do well. There's group work in class. Exams are multiple choice.

Mark is hilarious! He makes the material easy to understand but the tests are very tricky and you need to pay attention in class and do the homework to do well in the class. He is very approachable if you need help. There are sometimes pop quizzes in class that are based on the homework that are a big chunk of your grade.

Professor Decker can come across as a jerk but is a fair and respectable teacher. He grades well, gives good feedback and provides comic relief during class. He is specific in what he wants on the take home exams and projects but if you follow the rubric closely and work hard on the tests you will think he's a great professor.

Decker was a great professor. I was not a fan of biology and dreaded any class that had to do with science, but he made Biology super interesting. He's engaging and you can tell he know what he's talking about! He's super passionate as well. Definitely opinionated but is open to all students ideas and thoughts. Definitely would take again!

Decker is a great professor! Class is a little boring, but that is to be expected. If you don't show up to class, you won't pass the tests considering the tests are all from in class examples. Lab is an easy A. I would definitely recommend!

Easy class as long as you go to lectures. Tests rely heavily on the material covered in class. Lab is easy. Although his lectures are somewhat boring and hard to stay awake in, you will pass and probably get an A if you go and study for a few hours. It'll be your easiest A if you try.

Professor Decker is very knowledgeable about his field of science (Ecology) and has a broad knowledge about all other fields.

Mark is a super nice guy and really understands students. He made lectures fun to attend, which is good because attendance is a large majority of your grade. Lab is easy and fun as well, however I definitely recommend studying for tests because they can be pretty tough.

The class covers difficult topics for any non-science/non-bio major, but Mark does a good job keeping the lecture fun. You will have to work for a good grade. The lab portion of the class took up most of my time, and pop quizzes in lecture brought my grade down. Study right after class and don't get behind, but the class ends up being really fun.

The topics covered were really interesting, especially for a non-science major. The professor makes jokes to keep the lectures lively. The class isn't hard if you show up and do the work. Mark gives participation and quiz points in class, and they can really add up. The tests are a little tough, but pay attention in lecture and you should do fine.

You must attend class since he gives pop quizzes!!! Mark is funny and clever. His lectures can get a little long, but they're really interactive which helps. This class isn't easy as people have made it sound, but if you study hard for the tests you'll be fine. Also lab work helps raise your grade since its included in the grade for the class.

When Decker took over for the weeks on evolution, I discovered what I wanted to study in the future. The inquiries he designed are fantastic and they encourage you to dig deeper into the material. He gives really good feedback on tests and projects.

V solid prof who knows his biology. He will teach you more than you think, and make it interesting, just be engaged. To get an A, pay a lot of attention during lecture. If you understand lectures and guided inquiries you won't have to study. That assumes you have a competent group for the group project. Can be a jerk in a funny kind of way.

Great prof, smart and gets the point across in his lectures. Live lectures are super good but since he uses a lot of example slides to demonstrate what he's talking about, the powerpoints are not helpful for studying. Take good notes and pay attention in class, have a basic understanding of concepts going into lecture to really get his analyses.

decker was awesome, you have to go to lecture because his powerpoints uploaded won't make a lot of sense if you don't, and you have team assignments in class that if you do are a grade booster. Awesome professor and funny, can get a little boring but he tries his best to make it interesting.

At first a was a little shell-shocked because he was so abrupt, but it only took a lecture or two to understand his personality and teaching style. On exams, he looks for very specific wording and content so it can feel like you are trying to read his mind. Just give it your best shot and you'll get the average. Go to lecture- exams are based on it

Professor Decker is great. He tries to make lecture engaging and as interesting as it can be. His weekly projects are very excel and model heavy--not my favorite thing. The tests are based on the weekly project and the lectures so go to class!!

Good prof, hard tests. Listen in lecture or you will not pass his tests. This class, contrary to what everyone told me, is not easy. Lab is easy, lecture/tests are not. Study guide is only slightly helpful for the tests. You just have to know the concepts VERY WELL and pay very close attention in lecture.

Decker has a great sense of humor, but it can be at the students' expense, so watch out! As far as difficulty, it seems to be the class's fault that it's so much busy work, not his. Just pray you get a good group for all the projects. Also, his tests are pretty tough as he looks for such specific things in the short answer. Still a solid choice

Mark tries to make the lectures entertaining and squeezes in some sarcasm and jokes here and there. A lot of exam questions from the specific examples he covers in lecture, but all multiple choice. Attendance is graded about every other lecture, but can be easily worked around because the class is separated into "teams" of 4 students. Labseasy

Mark has been one of my favorite professors here! The material can be hard and confusing, but he's good at explaining it and he's really funny so that makes the lectures easy to get through. The lab was probably the harder part of this class besides the tests, but if you go to class and aren't on your phone, you're likely to pass with at LEAST a C.

Mark Decker is an AMAZING professor. I'm not a science person but he makes me happy that I took a biology class. He explains the material really well in class, works to make sure that you understand it and keeps his lectures interesting. If you take it s/n it's incredibly easy to pass and a great way to get rid of a libed requirement

Lecture wasn't always super engaging, but attendance was graded and mandatory because of the assignments you do in your lecture-teams. However, Mark was very funny and utilized humor to try and keep everyone engaged. If you are interested in biology, I recommend this over BIOL 1001 as the content is interesting, but also moves at a fast pace.

Mark is an energetic lecturer. The exams are like 90% from the lectures so take decent notes and don't study anything else. Pretty interesting and the content is pretty easy. Tests were all multiple choice.

The course is very time-intensive having upwards of five chapters worth of content some weeks. The videos Decker provided were excellent-- they presented the content in a clear and interesting way! He is a real cool dude who wants his students to learn and succeed.

Professor Decker was a really good prof who made the class fun with examples, demonstrations, and humor. You do cover a lot of material through the lectures but not too bad. The exams were kind of hard in my opinion but the labs were entertaining and easy. The TA I had was good too.

Dr. Decker is a really amazing prof and really genuinely cares and encourages all his students. He was extremely flexible and always was available outside of class and is extremely funny. He always willing to help you out, and while the class is hard, he is very fair with how he treats you and grades the exams and assignments

Has lots of resources and if you put effort into it youll get a good grade

Mark is a great professor. He cares about his students and his lectures are actually pretty interesting. For sure the best bio teacher at the U.

I did not know what to expect from Mark, but I really enjoyed his class. He was pretty funny during lecture, but he was also very professional and confident in what he was talking about. If you complete the team assignments and labs, you should get some easy points. The tests are difficult, but if you study a lot you should be fine.

When I first saw Prof Decker's ratings, I wasn't so sure about bio. I was worried that I'd end up failing or something, but Prof Decker makes science fun and interesting to learn about. He does expect a lot, and the tests are pretty challenging, but it makes the class all the more rewarding, because you know you've done your best.

I have no clue what some of these negative comments are about. Mark Decker is amazing. This was the easiest BIOL class I've ever taken. Yes, you will have to prepare a little for exams (like most classes???). He's caring, knows what he's talking about, and WANTS YOU TO SUCCEED. One of the best professors I've ever had.

I really enjoyed Decker's class. Homework, lectures, and work was all reasonable, a lot sometimes, but not too overwhelming. Some units were hard, but lectures were for the most part interesting and engaging. Exams are all multiple choice which is nice. Professor Decker explains things well, and offers his students plenty of resources to succeed.

Mark is a great lecturer and the material is very interesting and engaging. Working in teams during lectures gets you involved with the material. Very respectful of wrong ideas but will sometimes joke about them in a good way. The only downside is the exams, they're based from the lectures but sometimes have questions on things mentioned only once

This class is great if you just want to get the lib ed credit the professor is amazing! Lectures can be boring but mostly enjoyable you work in teams for a good portion of your grade (lecture & lab groups) you will get a passing grade of you study and take notes for exams.

Mark makes biology a more approachable subject, he's very considerate of college students, providing optional zoom-ins, free readings, and he uses canvas really well. The exams can be difficult sometimes, study guides are lengthy but straight forward, fairly easy if you attend all lectures.

Best professor I've ever had. If you attend every lecture and lab, you will get an A. He wants you to succeed!! Lots of small assignments, just look at schedule ahead of time to keep track of everything. The negative reviews are old, please believe he is a good teacher!!!

Decker is a great teacher! Passionate about his students and cares about your success. A lot of the grade is determined by in class assignments, so go to lectures! The labs rly easy, but tests are a little hard, but are not weighed that heavily towards your grade. Study & pay attention and you will do well, would recommend for an easy bio lib ed!

Dr. Decker is a caring professor who knows how to teach, he wants his students to be successful. The typical hours needed to be done studying in order to achieve a high grade is reasonable. Dr. Decker also adds in humor during his lectures, which is the reason why I showed up for all of them, grading is unusual, but home-works and labs are easy.