Spring 2027

General Botany

General Botany introduces plant biology principles, focusing on evolutionary sequences and structure-function relationships from molecules to communities, with lectures, labs, and discussions.

offering recorded5 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Hiroshi Maeda4.2/5Kate McCulloh4.0/5Denise Ratterman

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Linda Graham

Weekly quizzes included specific details only covered in lecture, making attendance necessary despite the textbook-based teaching style.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Identify cellular, molecular, and biochemical features that are shared or not shared between animals and plants.

  • Describe the major organs, tissues, and cell types of plants and their primary functions.

  • Explain the roles of photosynthesis, water uptake/transport, mineral acquisition in plant growth, and plant physiological processes, regulated by various hormones.

  • Summarize the plant life cycle, especially that of flowering plants, and how it differs from that seen in fungi and animals.

  • List and distinguish among the organisms that have traditionally been included in the study of Botany (plants, algae, fungi).

  • List the major groups of land plants and key events in their evolutionary history.

  • Describe the global distribution of biomes and explain the causes and impacts of global climate change.

  • Use microscopes and appropriate experimental methods to uncover the biology of plants and other plant-like organisms.

Source: UW Guide 1 UW Guide 2

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
BIOLOGY/BOTANY 130 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Spring 2027

Hiroshi Maeda

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.62/5 from 21 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 2.85 GPA, 35.7% A/AB (n=140 letter grades); Spring 2025: 2.93 GPA, 35.8% A/AB (n=148 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.07 GPA, 45.3% A/AB (n=148 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Kate McCulloh

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.33/5 from 27 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

No course-specific feedback yet.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.93 GPA, 35.8% A/AB (n=148 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.24 GPA, 47.8% A/AB (n=157 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.07 GPA, 45.3% A/AB (n=148 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

DAVID BAUM is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Fall 2010, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DENISE RATTERMAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

HIROSHI MAEDA is recorded teaching in Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2017, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LINDA GRAHAM is recorded teaching in Spring 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1510
LAB 301Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 302Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 303Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 304Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 307Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 601Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 602Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 603Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 604Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 607Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 310Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 610Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 305Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 306Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 605Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 606Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 309Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 609Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 308Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 608Classroom Instruction0 / 00
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1510
DIS 601Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 301Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 602Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 302Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 603Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 303Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 604Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 304Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 605Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 305Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 606Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 306Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 607Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 307Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 610Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 310Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 609Classroom Instruction0 / 180
LAB 309Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 608Classroom Instruction0 / 00
LAB 308Classroom Instruction0 / 00

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Linda Graham

Historical feedback suggests lectures can be repetitive, with one professor reading directly from the textbook without adding detail.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.93 GPA, 35.8% A/AB (n=148 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.24 GPA, 47.8% A/AB (n=157 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.07 GPA, 45.3% A/AB (n=148 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Linda Graham

Weekly quizzes included specific details only covered in lecture, making attendance necessary despite the textbook-based teaching style.

Past student reviews · David Baum

A past student found the class manageable if they attended lectures, noting that tests were multiple-choice and did not require reading the textbook.

Topics

  • Evolutionary sequences and structure-function across organizational levels
  • Photosynthesis, water transport, mineral acquisition, and hormonal regulation
  • Global biome distribution and climate change impacts

Skills

  • Using microscopes and experimental methods to study plant biology
  • Explaining plant physiological processes including photosynthesis and hormone regulation

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.18 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
BIOLOGY/BOTANY 130 · Spring 2027

General Botany

Recorded 2026-10-14
BIOLOGY/BOTANY 130 · Spring 2027

General Botany

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
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    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:205:001943",
    "course_id": "BIOLOGY/BOTANY 130",
    "course_uid": "course_5a690a5b7d8cad6be35bbe20",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "001943",
    "source_subject_id": "205",
    "title": "General Botany",
    "credits_min": 5,
    "credits_max": 5,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  },
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    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:208:001943",
    "course_id": "BIOLOGY/BOTANY 130",
    "course_uid": "course_5a690a5b7d8cad6be35bbe20",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "001943",
    "source_subject_id": "208",
    "title": "General Botany",
    "credits_min": 5,
    "credits_max": 5,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "7ff292250f29f527ab9ab9a864d9d95f1142966a1fbd5d25202fa2d72fbbcac1",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}