Professor: Goldstein Course format: Lecture w/lab Number of respondents: 31 Total Enrollment: 33 Class Composition: Froshs: 3 Sophs: 11 Jrs: 16 Srs: 3 Concs: 2 Non-Concs: 29 Don't Know: 0

Instructor Average: 1.81 Course Average: 1.84

“Human Physiology” aims to provide students with a basic understanding of human physiology—in other words, of how the body works. This is an introductory course intended for non-concentrators; thus, there are no prerequisites, although a few reviewers said that a high school biology background is helpful.

Professor Goldstein received largely positive reviews. Most respondents praised him for his good sense of humor and his well-organized lectures (although some students disupted this). They especially appreciated the very helpful overheads he used during lecture and the guest lecturers who Professor Goldstein brought in to speak on specific topics. A couple people even noted that he brought chocolate for his students on Valentine’s Day. However, some people complained that the professor was boring and hard to follow. Respondents were similarly split on whether the professor was responsive to their needs; some people thought that he was, but others felt that he assumed they were more familiar with biology than they actually were.

All the assigned readings came from a single textbook. The text was generally considered helpful; however, numerous people criticized it as too advanced for their level of understanding. The other requirements for the course included three non-cumulative exams, one lab each week, and one paper. Reviewers appreciated that they were able to pick their own paper topics, but a few thought that the exams were overly difficult.

This course is not a huge time commitment; hardly anyone spent more than five hours a week on it, and zero to three hours a week was a more common amount Reviewers did have to spend more time on the class when preparing for exams. Overall, if you’re a non-concentrator who wants to learn a little about physiology, this course is recommended; it’s not too difficult and the instructor is great.

View BI/0006 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.