BIOLOGY-522S
ORIGINS OF CELLULAR LIFE
Not in Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
DepartmentBIOLOGY
Terms offeredSpring
Typical enrollment15–15
Semesters of data1
2.5
Hrs / week
12
Responses
15
Enrollment
80%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.2
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.3
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.7
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
2.5
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysislow
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 45 comments across 1 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.
• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
Watch out for
• Most of the signal comes from a limited sample, so be careful about over-generalizing.
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
- I learned how to read and synthesize scientific papers - I learned how to ask questions to deeper knowledge - I learned how to compare and contrast theories and find evidence as support
Spring 2025 · Schmid, Amy
How to read papers deeply, synthesize materials, and write a review paper
Spring 2025 · Schmid, Amy
Reading scientific papers and extracting questions/critical concepts from them, presenting scientific information, quickly synthesizing scientific works.
Spring 2025 · Schmid, Amy
Learned the various debates at the center of origins of life, assessed primary literature of historical significance, engaged with leaders in the field studying origins of life
Spring 2025 · Schmid, Amy
I learned how to read literature outside of my field. I learned how to integrate knowledge from other classes. I learned how to apply previous knowledge to a new field.
Spring 2025 · Schmid, Amy
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2025 | Schmid, Amy 4.3Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.3Difficulty2.8Would retake100%Based on 8 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.2 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 15 |
Instructor
Schmid, AmyARTS&SCI
Also teaches
ARTS&SCI-104CN LETS TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE3.3