Professor: Stein Course format: Lecture w/lab Number of respondents: 87 Total Enrollment: 122 Class Composition: Froshs: 0 Sophs: 25 Jrs: 66 Srs: 28 Concs: 36 Non-Concs: 45 Don't Know: 4

Instructor Average: 1.45 Course Average: 1.55

Students enrolled in "Principles of Physiology" learn about human body systems, focusing on their role in the maintenance of homeostasis. Topics include, among others, the nervous, circulatory, endocrine, and pulmonary systems. The only stated prerequisite for the course is Bio 20, and most felt that this was sufficient for doing well in the class.

Students absolutely loved Professor Stein. They described him as intelligent, enthusiastic, entertaining, and an overall nice guy. He was a great lecturer who presented the material clearly and effectively, and class members appreciated his use of PowerPoint slides that he later posted on the website. In addition, he was always willing to take questions and encouraged people to come to office hours. By and large, survey respondents felt that he made the material highly engaging and that his likable personality made attending lecture much more enjoyable.

Assigned readings came from the course textbook, which was described as rather detailed. Many felt that the lectures were much more important for success in the course, but references to the text on confusing material were helpful. In general, the text was considered too in-depth and a bit dry, so people recommended reading it only for clarification of lecture notes. The course load included three noncumulative exams and four required labs, and students were happy to report that unlike most science classes, there was no final exam. The exams were viewed to be both fair and relevant, whereas the labs were considered more “busy-work” than anything else.

Students spent a wide-ranging amount of time on this course. Most people spent anywhere from two to five hours weekly on the class, though this number significantly rose before exams and lab writeups. Overall, students nearly unanimously praised the course and encouraged those with an interest in human physiology to take the leap. Simply put, one reviewer urged, “Take it with Stein! Woohoo!”

View BI/0080 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.