If you're a cell biology lover, don't mind the bad rating, the class is absolutely amazing. I see all the bad ratings and it's kind of true. HOWEVER, his lecture has the best quality I have ever seen: logical, sequence of content, his own understanding as a good biologist.. The stories he told are mostly history of how this thing was discovered.

All the other reviews hate the class but I actually liked it. Only take if you are actually interested in learning cell biology. Writes on the board which is better than ppt because he goes slower. Some unfair lecture questions (who won the nobel prize in 1983?) but the class is graded on a curve. Go to lectures and take notes by hand

The only thing keeping this guy around is his tenure! He chooses NOT to record lectures and opts to lecture by talking at lightspeed w/ his chicken-scratch writing on a Chalk-board. 2 research analysis, both graded harshly and majority of grade from 4 exams. Says to read 1 lecture ahead but exam ?s are stuff we learn a week AFTER the exam. STAY AWY

Prepare for dense textbook reading despite Dr. Amann's claim of 90% lecture, 10% textbook-tested content. His fast-paced lectures with poor chalkboard writing, no recordings, or slides make preparation tough. Oddly applied, humorous questions add to the challenge. Missing lectures means you're screwed. Prior to this class I loved cell biology.

Kurt is a funny dilf but his lectures are so disorganized. Do not waste your time reading the insane textbook; exam content is all from lectures (no slides or recording, just chalk). Going to every lecture, recording them because he talks a mile a minute, and creating an anki deck is the way to get an A in this class. Use book for quizzes only.

Dr. Amann is not a bad person. However, he sometimes overestimates his talent in teaching/sketching a little. He has a high instantaneous speaking rate, but the average efficiency of information conveyed is not very high because energy/time is wasted on reproducing the framework. He doesn't write the outline down or use PowerPoint.

He teaches lecture only on chalkboard with no lecture recordings and poor handwriting. Exams often have completely off-topic anecdotal questions and concepts we've never spoken about (maybe in the unnecessarily long and detailed reading assignments that nobody has time for).

Every word he says in lecture could be on an exam, but he often emphasizes certain topics. He explains cell bio in a way that is clear and understandable. However, it will be difficult if you cannot adapt to the form: he just lectures aloud with the chalkboard. He often plays off topics as anecdotes, but they will be tested on. Buy the online book!

Dr. Amann is knowledgeable, however, he is also a person running messy lectures based mostly on anecdotes, & whatever he deems interesting. Get ready for tests based on everything he says and nothing from the readings (Syllabus stated 90% spoken, 10% readings). He only uses whiteboards & doesn't record lectures, if you're sick it's gonna be tough.

The worst instructor I've ever had. His fast speaking(and mumbling), disorganized content, poor handwriting, and unclear rubrics made this course more difficult. All test questions come from the lectures, but you still need to read the textbook for the quizzes. There are also two paper assignment. He is smart, but terrible at teaching anyone.

The worst instructor I've ever had. He speaks too fast(and mumbles), disorganized content, poor handwriting, and unclear rubrics made this course more difficult. All exam questions come from the lectures, but you still need to read the textbook for the quizzes. There are also two paper assignments. He is smart, but terrible at teaching anyone.

Professor Amann is extremely knowledgeable and you can tell he loves teaching. You have to go to lectures to know what's going on as there's no telling what he will talk about and no recordings. He's super funny and does give extra credit if you go to lectures outside class. Overall one of my favorite professors I've ever had!

Go to every. single. lecture. EVERYTHING he says is fair game, so record lectures and listen to them again. Never read the textbook unless you don't understand something. You have to pay really close attention to do well in the class and start studying at least a week and a half in advance. Grading is fair, exams were kind of tough. XC available.

Zoo 570 was a very enjoyable class for me, Amann is a very smart guy and was always quirky and happy to be there. Lectures were mandatory as test questions were taken straight from them. His writing on the board was not the cleanest but I was still able to follow it. Minimal work outside of class, show up to lectures and you should be good.

cell bio 570 is 100% lecture based. textbook reading is "mandatory" but it NEVER EVER shows up. every word he says goes so be prepared to SCRIBE. kurts exams are no-bullshit and reasonable, but you HAVE to pay attention in lec. ive seen a joke he told once show up in an exam, yes really. if you skip class you're done, even one. hard, but doable.

Knowledgable guy but my main issue is he does everything on the chalkboard and when he's running late his handwriting and lecture pace can be very difficult to keep up with. I didn't think the class was too challenging as long as you attend lecture and focus. Do the readings to help reinforce your understanding.

Professor Amann was super knowledgeable in cell biology. This course though, was taught horribly. Rushed lectures, exams were sometimes on detailed or barely mentioned. He sometimes mentioned a tiny detail and never mentions it again. This will be on exams so be related to write every little thing down and do some research your own.

Prof Amann is aggressively quirky, which is sometimes enjoyable. Lectures very quickly and often messily, and everything he mentions is fair game, so be prepared to write down everything he says as if he is God. If you prepare for his exams far enough in advance, it'll be fine.

Kurt is a funny guy, but he really has no organizational skills. He talks incredibly fast and prepares lecture slides with basically one sentence on them for an entire concept. I found it helpful to type notes on my laptop for his portion as he talks way too fast to write handwritten no His exam is the hardest and the only one curved in the class.

He was the worst lecturer out of the 3 that taught this class. He went very fast, was disorganized, and had an excessively hard midterm (the only one that was curved). He had too many inefficient slides and made it hard to take notes. Be prepared to go to the optional discussion sections and read the book!

Go to the optional discussion for Amann's month for Bio/Zoo 101 instead of his lecture. It is very hard to write down important points for his lecture since he talks too fast and unorganized, he would move back and forth at same slide for different things. Only his midterm would be curved for unclear and too detailed questions, greatly ruining GPA.

Dr. Amann is a terrible professor. He rushes through lectures without talking through main points and makes it extremely difficult to take notes. His teaching style is scattered and disconnected. His jokes were often inappropriate and vulgar. He tests in depth on concepts that he barely goes over in class. One of the worst professors I've had.

Exams were extremely difficult and he did a horrible job of letting students know what and wasn't important.

Tests are almost impossible, one word can change the question entirely, lots of difficult true/false questions. Speaks so fast that it is difficult to take notes. Nice guy, but makes the class difficult.

He lectures EXTREMELY fast and doesn't write down everything on the board while he goes but yet everything he mentions is fair game for exams (the usual) but it's much harder with him as a professor. Sure, he's kinda funny and kinda hot (dilf) but I just couldn't get past his terrible lectures. Way. Too. Fast.

all there is to say about his lecturing ... is yikes

Very engaging and funny lecturer. Not sure why so many reviews are hating on him.

Such a good professor, I want to share him with all of you guys. HAHHAHAAHAHA.

The worst lecturer Ive had at the UW. Dont take his classes, you will have to reteach yourself everything.

Dr. Amann was a very cool professor! While he does lecture very quickly, I found it easy to follow along as he utilizes the chalkboard well. Has a few jokes and tells some good stories. A very interesting subject overall, as long as you've got a good head for pathway memorization! Would recommend!

Dr. Amann spoke very quickly during his lectures which made it difficult to effectively type notes. I spent A LOT of time reading the book and watching videos online which made the test much easier. The exam was not very detailed and was nearly identical to the practice, however he will change a word or two to make it more difficult.

Kurt has a serious dad vibe and he's super excited about what he's teaching. He runs across the stage and tells jokes and shares anecdotes relevant to the material. Also kinda a dilf ;)

I did not enjoy his lectures at all, I had no idea what was going on and he used the most confusing metaphors ever. I had to read the book because his lectures didn't make any sense. His test was harder than the other 3, but not terribly difficult.

Dr. Amann was definitely one of my most confusing lecturers i've had since arriving at Madison over a year ago. His lectures were rapid and hard to gain perspective if you hadn't done the reading ahead of time. He said the phrase "everything I say will be on the test," but proceeded to make the test roughly 25% intricacies from the book.

Dr. Amann was a very confusing lecturer. He spoke very quickly about the topics, which he was very knowledgable about, but seemed to struggle to dumb it down and teach it. With some work though, the material was learnable. I thought I was prepared for his midterm but ended up with a pretty average grade which was raised with the curve.

He talks very fast. His lecture slides consist of pictures photocopied from the textbook and nothing else. It was very difficult to follow along and know what to study. I would recommend reading the textbook and really getting good at the practice exam. Definitely the worst out of our three lecturers.

He speaks so fast and skips a lot of slides because he expects you to already know what he's talking about. Go through learning objectives and attend 2 discussions/week if possible. Take advantage of the practice exam as a lot of the questions are similar (but he switches the words to mess with your head). Just make sure you know the material well

Overall, not a great experience. He talked incredibly fast and his slides are absolutely useless. Also, his tests consisted of small details from the book instead of concepts he would focus on in class. Interesting to listen to, but very very challenging because of his fast pace and how often he goes off on random tangents.

Dr. Amann does speak very fast in lecture. This was scary at first, but he posts his lecture slides, and much of the material is not that specific. Many that took the class complained about him, but if you go to his office hours, he is SUPER helpful, and he really does care about his students. Overall, a nice guy that talks fast.

Literally the worst lecture in the entire work. Obviously doesn't know how to teach, you will not benefit at all from taking a class by him. His tests are full of little details that you would never be able to pick up in class. You will have to read every specific detail from the book of what he is teaching. Which from one unit was around 200 pages

Dr. Amann talks extremely fast during lecture. His powerpoint is simply all of the pictures on the textbook. If you are taking this class, get ready to read... This class is mostly self-taught because you can not get any information from his lecture. For his tests, he expects us to memorize all the details as well apparently....

On his first day, I was very optimistic, as he seemed very funny and excitable. My opinion of him did a complete 180 after just listening to him for 10 minutes. He talks SO fast and doesn't put anything on his slides but pictures so you have to go. Even when you DO go, it's nearly impossible to understand what he says and apply it. Beware.

The worst. Just avoid him. He can be a good teacher if he teaches Bio 5something. Because he thinks everyone in the bio 101 room have a foundation of taking bio 5something. In fact, people like me just want to take this course to get rid of the constraints of biological science credits. He is the worst. He talks faster than any weather reporter. He posts weird quizzes every week with very vague questions. With Thoma's quiz, I can get 18/20, with him, 15. You won't get a good score unless you have 1. Fantastic English listening skills. 2. Two years at least of biology basic knowledge, maybe from high school. 3. Luck. DO NOT TAKE BIO 101 WITH THIS PROFESSOR, YOU WILL REGRET WHEN U GET A GPA OF 2.0.

EEK.. lectures are very fragmented. Goes on tangents. Has made me really dislike the class.

One of the worst professors I've had so far. He definitely is a smart guy and knows his stuff, but his lectures are absolutely useless. He talks incredibly fast and the only thing he puts on the slides are pictures from the book. Also his tests focus on things never mentioned in lecture.

Lectures are long and it's hard to know what he wants you to know for the test. Test was super detailed and didnt seem fair.

Go to class. If you don't you won't pass. This class in general is a lot of memorization so just be ready for that. He is there if you need him, but sometimes you need to ask him to clarify.

the WORST! His test was made up of small, insignificant details from the book rather than things he CLEARLY emphasized in class. Used examples that did not relate/no one understood. Only pictures on slides. Made sexist jokes. Altogether awful.

This professor made me hate the class. His lectures were impossible to follow as he jumped around and talked extremely fast. He definitely has passion for the subject, but he is not well organized and it shows in his lectures.

Out of the 3 bio 101 profs he was by far the WORST. Dr. Amaan lectured in a way that was extremely unclear, and he never put anything on his power points. No student that I spoke with during the portion of the course he taught had any idea what was going on. The test he wrote was so widely failed that they had to offer extensive xcredit afterwards.

Dr. Amann did not put any information on his slides, just pictures from the text book so it's hard to take notes and to follow along, especially since he goes pretty fast and he's pretty mushed mouth. You're going to learn more from the book than the actual lecture. He jokes and tries to make it more bearable, but it's still hard to figure out.

He talks VERY fast and his powerpoints are just scanned pictures from the book. Attend discussion to get a good idea of the material, because his lectures are more confusing than helpful.

He seemed a nice enough person, but the lectures themselves were pointless. His Powerpoint slides are literally just pictures he copied and pasted from the textbook. I was never sure what to write down for notes because he liked to bounce from topic to topic. All you can do to study is reread the textbook.

Very knowledgable about the topic but assumes you have more basic background knowledge than you actually probably do. Rambles a lot, skips around lecture slides, and puts NO TEXT on them. You have to be good about reading because it will be a better source of information than lecture.

He is clearly very passionate about the subject matter that he teaches. However, he is not all that good at lecturing. Very intelligent, but the slides have no words on them, just diagrams from the book. If you want to pass, pay attention in lecture, study the diagrams in the book. All of them. And review the quizzes for his section.

ALL of Kurt Amann's lectures are HILARIOUS. This guy REALLY struggles educating students. Intelligent guy and extremely competent in his field of molecular biology, but when it comes to lectures this guy CANNOT cut the mustard. Attend lectures if you enjoy listening to assclowns making futile attempts to teach fundamental biology.

By far the worst professor I have encountered yet at UW. He may be better at upper level classes, but for an intro class he is not nearly clear enough. Avoid him for zoo 101/intro classes at all possible costs.

Dr. Amann seems like a nice, smart guy. But in this intro bio class, it was very tough to relate to his lectures as he spoke super fast and his slides weren't helpful. I bet he's good at teaching upper level students, he seems really passionate about biology. But if you're in an intro class and he's teaching it, GET OUT NOW.

He is the absolute worst professor I have ever had here at UW. I had him for bio 101 and his section was impossible. His lectures made absolutely no sense and he went on tangents that had nothing to do with the course material. He basically expected you to memorize 500 pages from the textbook for the test. Thanks for ruining my grade, Kurt!

He isn't very straight-forward in his approach, and that became extremely evident on his exam. Half of the stuff on the exam wasn't even stuff he specifically talked about in lecture, nor stuff you could find in the book. For a 100 level course, he expected us to apply these concepts far too in-depth. This isn't your "570" course, dude.

Amann isn't the type of professor to spoon-feed you information in a class where there is SO MUCH information to know and memorize. It can be difficult to know what you are responsible for come test time. This makes reading the book, attending lectures, and being engaged a necessity. Fortunately, he cracks a couple hit-or-miss jokes during lecture.

I just finished his 101 and it is the toughest course I had in this term. 101 is quite easy except his part. He spoke too fast. Think about this, if an your American classmate also complain in the discussion that he speaks too fast and they don't know what he is talking about..... The exam contains lot of things he never talked about.

He speaks too quickly, his slides are useless most of the time, and the exam doesn't match up very well with information he manages to discuss when he isn't going off on his pointless metaphors and anecdotes. Better off trying to learn everything from his unfocused assigned readings because going off notes from lecture will not get you anywhere.

He is definitely the worst professor I have in this semester. His powerpoint only contains pictures on the textbook, but he never write anything on the board and on the slide. He speaks really fast and he seems like he is not interest whether the students are listening or not. Also, he always changes slides back and forth while speaking one concept

Took his Bio 101 class, he was the second lecturer for the semester. His lectures are boring and his slides don't contain much information. He talks really fast, and so most important information is missed. He seems very scatter brained, and disorganized. Would recommend just reading the textbook, as most of his lecture is based off of that.

Dr. Amann is great. He is very passionate about his work, and this rubs off on students. He's teaches in a fun, inspiring way. Definitely recommend him.

Not a big fan of lectures and how lecture time is organized. Material is long and extensive so it would be nice if that extra time was used to clarify and build upon concepts. But, rather, it is used to go over 'what if' questions that do not necessarily tie back to major conceptsthemes in the material. Good luck.

Kurt was a great professor. I am not sure what past comm-enters problems were. He makes class (and the exams) interesting, presents clearly all the information you need to know in class, and creates a fundamental understanding of cells in our mind that other biology classes don't cover. I would highly recommend him as a professor.

Dr. Amann was extremely hard to follow. He talked way too fast and skipped over very important topics. His exam was filled with small details that he expected you to remember while it lacked the important concepts that would typically be on an exam. Definitely not my favorite professor. He does seem to have a little of an ego as well.

Dr. Amann is a nice guy who is enthusiastic about what he is teaching. He talks very quickly though and his thoughts aren't very organized. There were no powerpoints for lecture so if you missed something, which was inevitable, you would never know. The tests were more of a assessment of what random facts you could remember rather than the concepts

Kurt doesn't even seem to be trying. Very scatterbrained and unprepared. Nothing feels connected at all. Grading curve makes zero sense. Stay clear of this guy.

Barely went to class and got an A. Just get notes from someone, start memorizing them 3 days before the exam and you should get an A. I spent 15-20 hours studying for all the exams w/o going to class and spent 5 hours on the papers. Aced everything by just reading and comprehending the notes.

Kurt is a nice guy with a clear passion for what he teaches. Attendance is necessary because everything you need to know for the exam is either written on the board or explained during class. His exam was much easier than any of Will's; however, there is a lot of math, so make sure you know your cell dynamics calculations well.

wonderful professor! kept me engaged during every lecture even when scrambling to write down everything he'd sputter. attendance is crucial as there are no notes online. i highly, highly recommend taking a class with him!

Kurt was a really fun professor, but he also came up with odd questions for the exams. For example, he always asks "what does the inner cell most resemble?" and the answer is chicken noodle soup, not lasagna. He also likes you to do mental math- no calculators allowed when it comes to testing cellular dynamics.

Enthusiastic lecturer but he writes fast and messy. You should attend every lecture, but that won't translate to a good grade. His practice exam was much easier than the one he wrote, which had all this random math that was never covered. Luckily, Bement teaches the rest of the class.

This class was ridiculously easy. Tests were of rote recall rather than application of fundamental concepts. Lecturers (Amann and the other one) goofed off a lot and did not give particularly inspired lectures. Only two pieces of assigned literature, and they were not seminal in any way. Steer clear and read a textbook instead.

He's one of my favorite professors, he's very enthusiastic and it's kinda contagious. You have to go to class and pay attention to what he writes in order to do well.

He is really hard to understand and his drawings on the board are a mess. He went on a great length about actin, but I was expecting more from a cell biology class. His exams are fair, but some questions are about silly things he mentions once, and then expects you to remember.

He does an amazing job with this class. His enthusiasm for cell biology is contagious, and he explains recent experiments that help explain the material. Don't bother buying a book, and don't plan on skipping class. Everything you need to know is written on the board during lecture. Also there is a contest with a prize of a Gold Squid.

Very passionate. Not always clear. Fairly easy but I didn't always know what to expect as far as grading. The class was usually engaging but some of the assigned reading was terrible. If you do the reading the class should be a breeze. He changes it every year though

great teacher

He is an awesome teacher and is very good about keeping your interest and attention..could be a bit clearer since just tries to draw complex pictures on the blackboard...but still better than staring at a powerpoint while they read it off

Kurt Amann is the greatest teacher! He's very passionate about his work, and projects that in his teaching. I suggest this course to anyone, even if you are not interested in science.

He is a very nice guy. Good teacher too. Lectures are very well prepared.

Kurt is passionate about his profession, and it came across in his teaching. He uses very subjective tests, but I actually learned while taking the tests.

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Ironman Prof rocks the house!

He wasn't stright forward and has an attitude

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Ridiculous! What could have been a very interesting class degenerated into nothing but the discussion of Amann's reason for living (actin). The class had no direction and unnecessarily large amounts of work with little guidance. Avoid at all costs.

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If you want to learn science or get excited about it, Prof. Amann is awesome.

Very confusing, the material is irrelevant. He is inconsistent, usually says what he is lecturing on is not going to be on the test, but it always is. His grading procedure is very subjective, and assigns very long writing assignments without guidelines