| Information | Review |
|---|---|
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Carlos Machado
BSCI370 Expecting a W Anonymous 10/25/2024 |
This class was not for me at all. IT was tediously boring and rather difficult. Dr. Machado definitely tries to make it very engaging but that doesn't change the fact that a boring + hard class is not an enjoyable class. Now for others it may be just hard so give it a shot. |
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Carlos Machado
BSCI370 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/08/2024 |
This class was HARD! Mainly because of the tests. You had to show up for clicker points but that is not a huge deal. There are work-arounds if you are desperate. Quizzes twice a week that cover the chapters assigned for homework. Besides that, the only other grades were the 4 total exams. These exams required at least a week and a half advance studying. You should go over every slide and make sure you understand these topics. Topics covered are not simple, there are many concepts that require heavy thinking. Exams leave no room for vague answers, the grading is very strict. This all said is reasonable as it is an upper level biology course and evolution is not a simple topic. However, Professor Machado's teaching style is what makes it hard. He is a funny, nice dude who is very fair, but he just stands up there and talks the entire lecture. It is really hard to pay attention so its easy to fall behind. He knows a lot and expects us to, it can just be frustrating at times. |
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Carlos Machado
BSCI370 Expecting a B- Anonymous 02/01/2024 |
Dr. Machado is very passionate about this subject and sometimes makes lectures interesting to listen to. I definitely learned a lot about evolution and there were certain topics I enjoyed like human evolution. In my semester (fall 2023) he included fun videos about predators/prey/parasites and other related concepts that made the class more engaging. The concepts in the class are difficult, and require time to study them. There are also a lot of readings (maybe like 20-30 pages a week) and 2 quizzes every week based on the readings. Class averages for exams were low, exam 1 (61%), exam 2 (61%), exam 3 (79%-- he made exam 3 easier), final (49%). You can drop your lowest out of 4 exams or choose not to take the final if you did fine on exams 1-3. Attendance is also mandatory since there are clicker questions in each class. It helped me a lot to go to TAs for help understanding material and studying the exams. I would go back and study exams 1-3 if you plan to take the final since he takes questions from there. Overall, if you don't need to take this class, don't. But if you have no choice like I did for my bio major then go to as many TA office hours as you can, review lecture slides (a lot of exam questions come from slides as well), review old exams for the final and you can pass. |
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Carlos Machado
BSCI476 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/18/2021 |
Right from the beginning he provided us with a free online textbook (which I was very thankful for as college textbooks can be very expensive) to reinforce what he covered in his lectures. His lectures during zoom calls were very organized and he was very willing to answer any questions that we had whatever they were. He was always very respectful and responsive to emails, accommodating throughout the pandemic and created a stress-free environment by giving us take home open notes exams that we had over 24 hours to complete. Not only was this very relieving as I did not have the most stable connection, but it allowed me to further strengthen what I had learned in lecture (his powerpoints were also very detailed). The weekly homework was very straightforward and consisted of reading one scientific paper and write a small report about it. The papers themselves were also very interesting! Since it was an online course, he also provided additional resources such as videos or additional papers that we could watch and read. I think the one thing that I had a problem with during the class was that, for the final review paper that we had to write, he originally did not give us much guidance as to what we should be reading or writing, but after writing him an email about it he gave us a clear idea of what he was looking for and advice on how to go about it. Reading his past reviews I can say that he has made a lot of progress in his teaching style which proves that he also listens to student opinions and needs. I recommend Professor Machado if you ever need to take Genomics, as he easily went out of his way to answer any questions we had or to help us with anything else. |
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Carlos Machado
BSCI370 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/11/2018 |
This class is difficult. There is a lot of reading and explaining the concepts can be tedious and boring. He goes out of his way to teach these concepts in multiple ways so that it makes sense to different types of learners, and is very open during office hours. He is a really nice guy, and he clearly means well during class. Out of the three exams before the final, only one was difficult. The material is confusing and you will need to study for this course. Machado responds to emails quickly and genuinely wants everyone to do well. His exams are directly off of lecture slides with maybe 1-2 things taken directly from lecture. He always provides a study guide that is 100% everything on the exam and nothing more, which is taken from the lecture slides. He has never been condescending or short with me when I have asked really low-level questions (What actually is a chromosome?). Additionally, while the book is important, he doesn't really cover most of what the book discusses. Some of that material can only be found within the lecture slides. However, even if you miss lecture, he will kindly re-explain anything if you need it. I don't find the other reviews to be an accurate reflection of this course. Perhaps he has improved a lot since 2016? |
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Carlos Machado
BSCI370 Anonymous 12/18/2016 |
honestly, I was not expecting the class to be too hard. I love biology and have been good at i. This class would tell other people that I was not good at biology. His exams end up confusing people since his wording is confusing. I would study as he said :look at powerpoints and the book but still no luck. It was a tough class. Do I regret it? YES. I would rather suffer in a high level chemistry class or physics class than take this class. |
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Carlos Machado
BSCI370 Anonymous 11/17/2016 |
Machado is the ABSOLUTE WORST professor I have ever had. He does not know how to teach the material and is a very rude professor. He aims to make the material harder than it is and answers questions by throwing questions back at you. I have taken many biology classes at Maryland and this one was my least favorite all because of him. He emphasizes the book a lot and expects you to know every graph and figure in the book for an exam. His questions on his exams are misleading and are not clear. I cannot wait for the course evaluations to come out but just a warning to many. DON’T TAKE HIM! AVOID HIM AS MUCH AS YOU CAN |
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Carlos Machado
BSCI370 Expecting a C Anonymous 05/18/2015 |
Machado is not an inherently mean person. In general, I think he tries to be nice. HOWEVER, he is the worst professor I have ever had at UMD. When he uploads his powerpoint slides to ELMS, he purposefully removes key information and leaves blanks on the slides. I suppose this is an attempt to force you to take notes in class, but it is impossible to pay attention to him for an hour and 15 minutes because he reads directly off of his slides in a boring, thickly accented, monotone. It a huge pain to study for his (in my opinion unfairly) hard exams, because the slides leave out important information, and his lectures do not correlate with the textbook. To give credit where credit is due, at the end of the year he gave some extra credit assignments (~3% of the final grade worth), curved the class grades, and was receptive during office hours. As someone who has already taken all of the traditionally "difficult" science exams like orgo, gen chem, physics, and calc, I still got a C in this class because Machado's exams were very hard and poorly worded (TA grading could be at some fault). WORKLOAD: - 1 online homework quiz each week (about 10 questions) that correlate with the lectures from that week. - About 7 in class, group work assignments that he gives randomly throughout the semester to test who is coming to class. - 2 midterms and a final Avoid Machado if you can. If not, find any edition Evolution textbook and teach yourself. |