Excellent teacher. Weekend field trip was great, but some might find it physically strenuous. Teaches a lot of useful ecological methods. Very helpful with students. Has excellent depth of knowledge.

Teaching style is okay. Lecture tends to be a bit boring, but he can't help it since the material itself is monotonous. Field trips are physically demanding. Ridiculous amount of note taking. Expect to do alot of homework, classwork and fieldwork. Exams can be too specific for this broad class. Avoid if possible, but better than animal behavior.

I can't believe that the previous post complained after getting an A-. I thought that USC was the university of spoiled children. I didn't get a grade that high, even though I worked my ass off, but I still enjoyed the course and learned a ton. If you are looking for job in ecology THIS IS THE COURSE TO TAKE. He is one of the nicest profs Ive had

This is a biology majors class, more specifically, an Environmental Biology majors class. Don't take this class as a Biol BA not having a good grasp on evolutionary biology. Dr. Karels is a great professor that actually takes you on field trips with a purpose (not just to the zoo). You collect any analyze field data and learn ecology.

Extremely helpful. Dr. Karels will bend over backwards to help his students succeed. The material is complicated, but if you do the work and actually study, you should find that you get the grade you deserve.

I disagree with the user that said this is a class for Environmental Biology majors only. I am a BA student and got an A in this class (so I guess a background in Environmental is not necessary).

Dr. Karels is fun and interesting. The majority of his tests are on his lecture so make sure to attend regularily! The research papers are fun to write. His midterm was brutal but his final was not that bad. His grading policies are very fair. I learned a lot from him and am happy I chose this class as an upper division GE.

No text book, which was awesome. Do attend every lecture and do every reading because they will be on the test. Minimal effort will result in a C on all assignments. Very picky on essays, so do your research. Somewhat recommended. He's canadian, and nice.

I really liked the class, he was very informative, and it opens your eyes to the many environmental problems our world if facing. I recommend it all students. Plus no textbook, so you save yourself some money.

I really liked this class it made me much more aware of he impact people have on the environment. Def take this class learn alot about what your actions do to the world becuase of his class i am changing my major to Geography and Environmental Studies. Very informative, you have 3 research papers.

Good class! Great teacher! NO textbook and he posts his lecture slides online. 3 papers, all are 3 pages maximum. Grades papers extremely fair, just answer all his questions and follow the guidelines. Not hard to do at all. 1 midterm and 1 final. Kind of hard tests but if you show up and slightly pay attention, you should pass easily.

Awesome ... everyone should take his class

Very easy class but attendance is very, very important. His test questions are based off his lectures and even though he hands out his powerpoints, you have be in class and attentive to remember certain things. You cannot pass on his powerpoints alone. Some of his lectures are boring but stick through it and you'll get an A.

He might seem unapproachable at first, but he is a nice guy. He's always happy to answer questions or clarify things that are unclear. The class is all powerpoint lecture. Some days were very boring but the material is very, very interesting. The tests / essays are not difficult at all, as long as you show up every day and pay attention. Good luck

Fantastic class. Changed my life!

I took this b/c it was one of the only upper ge left to take at my reg. time and I'm glad I did. He is a really nice guy who enjoys what he does and is always willing to help. Sure the lectures can be quite dry , but the info is interesting. 2 tests, 2 papers which are fairly easy. Come to class and you will pass.

Loved this class!!! So much information provided that it really changes the way you look at the planet and your interactions with it. He was very straight forward and just wanted to share knowledge. If you actually go to lectures and study midterm and final are easy! Only 2 three page papers on topics you choose, follow directions and will get an A

Loved this class!!! Opens your eyes to the planet you live on. The class really is a breeze if you pay attention in lecture and actually study. Very interesting material and he is extremely clear. Highly recommended!

I enjoyed his class very much. The class was a little difficult, but it's biology, you have to expect that. I thought the professor was knowledgeable but when asked questions, he couldn't respond well and fumbled around not really giving clear answers. But other than that, I thought his tests and quizzes were fair, you just have to study!

His class is definitely one of the more challenging biology courses, yet it is very rewarding. He's very thorough with his lectures and uses PowerPoint as a background rather than the focus of the lecture. There are quizzes at the start of EVERY lecture and be sure to read through the assigned readings. All in all he is a great professor.

The previous commoners must be the ones getting As in this class. Quizzes are very tricky and the first 2 exams are hard. Average of class is 60% after the mid term. Although it is a challenging course but you will actually learn a lot. Good luck

Hard professor but crystal clear on his lectures.

Tells you what you need to do right off the bat which is to read, read, read your book. If you pay attention to what he says in the lecture (the powerpoint presentations are just brief points), and study outside of class, you will do fine. Quizzes you everyday from the material covered thus far which keeps you on your feet.

Amazing professor! Loves what he does and extremely helpful. Read the book, pay attention to lectures (review power point slides), short quizzes in class but helps to keep up with the material easily!

Solid teacher. Short quiz every day, keeps you on your toes. He likes to be trivky on the quizzes, but if you know the material ( and READ THE BOOK) you'll be fine. Exams are basically whats on the lecture slides. In general a good guy, highly recommend.

His class is pretty straight forward class as you can get. Quizzes and exam questions come straight off the power point. No book, so we just had the power points to go off for the class. One 3 page paper and had to do 20+ hours of community service and a digital poster for the class. That project alone saves your grade, easy class

Great professor! Passionate about biology, so he makes class interesting.

volunteer work is mandatory

This class was super straight forward and not too difficult nor demanding. He never really lectured too long even though it was nearly a 3 hr. class. No textbook. Tests were easy A's without needing to study too much. Interesting material. He is a bit aloof and at times impatient, but the material is clear cut. Solid class on sustainability.

Be prepared for a lot of reading in the textbook. Come to class early and have your Moodle quizzes ready because they are timed, and even if you are a second late, Moodle will not accept it. Quizzes are on the last lecture he gave. Reading the textbook is a must as there are tests you have to do after reading every chapter.

In my course, he didn't give a single test. There also wasn't a final or any midterms. All he did was give a daily quiz. His quizzes are tough but fair. If you study constantly you will pass, but don't think its an easy A, you can easily slip on the quiz scores.

This was a great class. With Professor Karels, it was my favorite class. I took it as a repeat and it was ran far better than the previous class I took. There were daily quizzes but everything was as expected. Each day was the same (we like consistency). He is able to make office hours for you if you can't make his. He is honest and very helpful.

Awesome professor! Daily comulative quizzes on lectures. PAY ATTENTION during lecture !! Information on Power points and his comments are super important. There's also some online homework + in class participation. Take him you'll get a really good understanding of bio!

One of my favorite professors! He has a really good teaching style, and provides a thorough understanding of the material. If something is unclear, he explains it until you understand during office hours. This class is not an easy A, and requires a lot of work. He knows the material extremely well, and made me fall in love with biology. 10/10

There is quizzes in every lecture. Everything is from the slides and articles he post on moodle. Participation is the key to passing the class. If you don't participate but you pass all quizzes and test, you still will not pass. So PARTICIPATE!! If you do particpate, I can tell you that it is actually an rewarding experience.

This class was not an easy A. There is a quiz every class session based off of previous lectures. Lecture capture is extremely helpful in case anything is missed in class. If you can't go to his office hours, he will make time for you. Bio106 is purely conceptual and can be confusing, but he will definitely help if something is unclear.

His quizzes are based off the lecture, not the book. He asks repeat questions on future quizzes so there's no way you should not be getting those right. I really enjoyed his lectures. Watch lecture capture over and over and breeze through the textbook and you should get an A.

After taking Bio 107, I realized how EASY karels makes this class. I never studied off the book which was nice and his quizzes are ONLY based off the lecture and the lectures were so simple. I HIGHLY recommend him if you want to put in minimal effort.

Quizzes everyday of class so your grade is just based off these quizzes. Homework all the time as well but doesn't really do anything to your grade. Not doing hw brings you down a few percent but doing it really only brings you up by like .5% or something. Just study the lecture capture from the previous two days and the chapter you had to read

Professor Karels wasn't so bad but his quizzes were kinda hard. There was no final at all, but your grade depends more on the quizzes, his lecture capture, and Hw. Just do well on the quizzes and you will be fine. Also when you're done and get your results after the quiz don't try and post them up because he will find out. So good luck.

This professor is great in terms of lectures even through he is lecture heavy. I learned a lot from him in an online environment.

Hes the best try sitting in fromt of the class thought

Not an easy class but definitely doable. 70% of your grade is based on 24 quizzes, it's very easy to mess up. That being said he's very passionate about the subject and makes this class very interesting. As long as you attend lecture and study the lecture notes you should be good.

Taking it right now, online, wanted to do this to get away of physics.... id rather do calc then this, it's a lot of reading and quiz's the Smartbook activities take about 2-3 hours to complete. If this is not your major I would not recommend taking it. I am slowly getting more and more depressed as the weeks move forward; cheers send help :')

I got a C because I neglected this class everyday yet still passed while doing nothing. The quizzes online are all posted on the internet. His in class assignments are so easy I could be watching a movie and still get my credit. I love this style of teaching because in the end this class is probably the one I learned in the most, very intersting.

I really enjoyed professor Karels' class. There were no exams or final just weekly quizzes, but they are cumulative. I didn't mind this and did pretty well retaining all the material this way. He gives great lectures and provides powerpoint slides.

Canvas Quizzes are worth 70% but they are online, 5% of just watching video lectures, 15% HWKs are 30+ questions with a certain time limit, 15% Smartbook Quizzes. I had no problem with the professor, I don't know what is like taking him in person, but I had him during the summer: pure online and all of them have to be done at end of the semester

Lecture was straightforward, you have the same schedule pretty much every week. Quizzes are based entirely on in-person lectures and 5 lowest were dropped. No major tests or projects. I wasn't a huge fan of the teaching style in this class, but it wasn't awful. He's chill during class and makes a lot of jokes. A LOT of reading assignments, though.

He's a good professor. I didn't know any biology before this class, and even though it was tough, his explanations during lecture were engaging, interesting, and I actually learned stuff. Quizzes are tough in the sense that its an accumulation. If you're on week 7 for example, there could be questions from week 1 all the way to week 7.