Historical instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Paul is super nice and he clearly is very passionate about plants, which makes this topic more interesting. His lectures are very clear and seems to be very invested into teaching. Sometimes his in-class activity questions can be a little confusing, but that's okay since we are *mostly* graded based on participation. Overall a good professor.Rate My Professors ↗
Dr. Bethke's heart is in the right place when it comes to teaching. However, he is just not very good at it. Often his lectures are disorganized, unclear, and confusing. Additionally, he can sometimes make his students feel ashamed for answering questions, e.g. "does anyone have a BETTER answer?" Overall, there is a large need for improvement.
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_9d593f9ba2d237ce5973c2b7",
"source": "legacy",
"source_instructor_id": null,
"identity_basis": "name_only",
"identity_status": "unresolved",
"name": "PAUL BETHKE",
"email": null,
"first_observed_at": "2025-04-16 05:20:33.104844+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 2,
"quality": 3,
"difficulty": 3.5,
"quality_count": 2,
"difficulty_count": 2,
"profile_id": "rmp:2288921",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2288921",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:12:32.285969+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_e34906f35ad367a50665e0b3": {
"review_count": 2,
"quality": 3,
"difficulty": 3.5,
"quality_count": 2,
"difficulty_count": 2
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.5997143486787233,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": false,
"courses": [],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/PAUL_BETHKE--instructor_9d593f9ba2d237ce5973c2b7"
}