Plummer, William  

The quarter is not over yet, but Dr. Plumber is literally the most confusing instructor I have ever had. He and Dr. Horney taught this class. He definitely knows his stuff, aka reproduction, but he really struggles with actually making it understandable, and when he isn't talking about reproduction, it gets even more confusing. Basically if you haven't taken biology, you are toast. The tests have been ridiculous, and he doesn't prepare you for them adequately. It is a guessing game as to what he will choose to put on them. And try not to ask questions, because his answer will have you even more confused than you were before. Just because someone has a Ph.D doesn't mean they are a good teacher. I have the class four days a week for 50 minutes each day, and every day they try to cover an entire chapter. It is pretty tough to follow the lectures. The class is supposed to be about animal production, and instead it has been strictly biology. They have not followed the syllabus at all. Pretty much, if you can avoid this class, DO IT!

Even if the quarter isn't over, I know students are starting to pick classes for next quarter, so I decided to leave my input about Dr. Plummer. He is a nice and intelligent man; however, he can not present material at all. He has his PhD in reproduction and can talk about sperm for hours, but everything else is just a jumbled up mess of pure confusion. There are three midterms and an accumulative final for the course; the good thing is that you can drop your lowest midterm -- you'll need it. He does not prepare you at all for the midterms and when you ask questions, he leaves you with even more questions. Our second midterm covered 12 chapters of straight biology in two weeks and the test questions are SPECIFIC. The only good thing is that its a scantron, so not short answer or essay questions. Dr. Horney also taught the class and is amazing! They take turns lecturing the class and I dread when it Plummer's turn. I feel as if it is a waste of 50 minutes. If you like a lot of bio, take the class and pay attention. Otherwise... good luck.

plummer cannot give a coherent lecture to save his life. his lectures are so scattered that its gotten to the point where im not frustrated that i don't understand what he's talking about, but now im actually entertained by how retarded his lectures are. even though it can be funny this class is still terrible. him and his teaching partner dr. horny have us print off their powerpoint slides and they have yet to finish a presentation. and they still hold us accountable for all the info from the presentation for the midterm. its also frustrating that that they spent most of the quarter talking about cells and dna when the course description on pass says it is geared toward animal agriculture.

If you're considering taking this class as a GE with Plummer and Horney as the professors... if you can take something else instead, do it. The course is a complete waste of time. Horney is an alright professor, while Plummer is completely terrible. The only thing Plummer contributes to this class are "examples" that don't relate to the material you're learning, and random facts about sperm.

I HATE PLUMMER!! WORST TEACHER EVER!!!

Dr. Plummer was a bad professor, all around. His lectures contained 90% pictures with no words, of which he would go on random tangents about. Not surprisingly, most all of what he said in class was not on the exam. He answers every student question by creating an example that only confuses the student more. Student: "what is mitochondria's main function?" Plummer: think of a baseball bat. I swing, the bat moves. I am making the bat move, therefore I am the mitochondria." On the bright side, he is very knowledgable, just doesn't know how to teach it. I got an A in this class because I studied on my own; the lectures were pointless and taught me nothing.

I took this class only because I had 11th rotation last quarter. I knew this class was going to be bad, but I didn't quite understand how bad. We started off with Dr. Horney, who had decent lectures, but most importantly lined up with the textbook-so that I could teach myself outside of class. I did very well on everything horney taught. Once Dr. Plummer stepped in for his "specialty" (reproductive system) things went bad. Plummer is a good guy but quite possibly the least helpful, most uninforming human being I have met in my life. Bring the textbook and take notes during class, 2-3 things he says in a 50 minute lecture will show up on the test so keep your ears open. His lectures don't line up with the textbook and are completely useless. I truly believe I could read the textbook before class and come up with a better teaching strategy than him. However, he is quite the sperm expert and really goes into detail on sperm and penises, they seem to fascinate him. If you wanna learn about stuff you won't be tested on, and then try to learn on your own through a textbook that doesn't line up with the lectures, you should take this class. Otherwise you should seriously avoid it, worst class I've ever sat through in my life. Should've read the reviews

I thought i'd ignore polyratings and take this class anyways...I should have listened. most UNORGANIZED class at Cal Poly. We had to spend over $20 on a clicker system for quizzes and we still haven't used it...it's the 6th week. Complete waste of time, lectures are useless, and the midterm questions are very specific! DO NOT TAKE THIS if looking for a straightforward GE course.

LISTEN TO POLYRATINGS. This was the only class I could get to fulfill my GE, but I made a terrible mistake. Dr. Horney, the other professor for this course, is very informational, and his lectures are helpful in understanding the material. However, Dr. Plummer's lectures are very confusing, unhelpful, and pointless. He has a great ability to incorporate sperm and penises into each lecture, and his lectures are simply him babbling on about useless examples instead of clarifying material in the short class period we have. Extremely specific, difficult tests. No homework, but a decent amount of reading.

DO NOT EVER TAKE THIS CLASS WITH PLUMMER! he is not meant to teach at an institute as academically successful as Cal Poly. He happens to be the worst teacher I have ever had. Truly pointless class with truly pointless lectures. Horney should teach this class by himself because he is a fine professor, its just Plummer that is beyond horrible. Administration needs a huge wake up call, this class is garbage. The only things I've learned in this class while plummer taught is how to use poly ratings, and that he is in love with sperm. Good luck

Well, I had the option of taking a few other support courses, but I decided to take this combo class with Dr. Horney and the infamous Dr. Plummer. Dr. Plummer doesn't care about the grades his students receive. He seems to be more concerned with his bull sperm experiments compared to half the class failing his second midterm. Compared to the first midterm, the average was 10 pts lower while the test was only out of a 50 pt test. If Plummer really cared about the future of his students, then he would have TRIED to teach. The thing is, the guy goes up and lectures with pictures and no words on the slide. Having to copy every garbage fact that comes out of his mouth would take longer than the whole 50 mins the class is. Horney on the other hand really cares about his students. If Plummer is at all involved with a class you're taking, get out ASAP.

Dr. Plummer is an extremely smart and knowledgable professor, but cannot teach his way out of a cardboard box. He is unorganized and doesnt care at all how his students are doing in the class. The guy lives in his own world, going on day after day about random facts and lecture slides with pictures and no words. The stuff he teaches isn't in the textbook either. Last exam was on body tissues, organs, and cell replication, and yet the guy dropped a question about how sharks deal with salt water, which was NEVER even brought up to the students. He has no clue what he's doing and should simply not be a teacher. If you can avoid this class do so at all costs, this class has single handedly ruined my quarter and my grade isn't even good.

If you can avoid taking this class then I highly recommend that. First let me explain that it does not take 2 professors to teach a lecture class. It is highly inefficient. If Dr. Plummer is the instructor when taking this course DROP THE CLASS! His lectures are so inconsistent with the tests that it will be impossible to do well. He does not teach the material that will be on the test. And if you're thinking that you can just use the book to teach yourself, then you are still screwed. Nothing in the book will help prepare you for the tests. Let's just say that I had a solid B in the class and within two weeks I got Plummered and my grade dropped to a D. You may be wondering why I didn't go into office hours. I did! And guess what? Plummer just will not help you at all! I will learn more about animals spreading a pile of manure than taking this class as him as the teacher. I'm just saying I believe he is just not qualified to teach this class.

I'm no joking. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! Here's why. . . 1. The class should only be taught by one professor. 2. The tests reflect nothing that is taught in the actual class and in some cases the book too. 3. Dr. Plummer's lectures make NO sense. 4. It is the most unorganized class probably ever. 5. Everyday is a surprise. You always seem to be out of the loop and not know what's going on, even if you go to all the classes and pay attention. While Dr. Plummer may be a nice guy, he does not teach in a way that I understand. If I could go back in time I personally would have dropped this class the first day when I get a preview of how organized the rest of my winter quarter was going to be.

Well, if any of you taking this dingus as a professor, please try to change your schedule. His class is a complete waste of time and didn't teach me anything about animals. I tried using the study guides to prepare myself for the tests, but the tests don't reflect anything that was "taught" in class. He shared the teaching material with Dr. Horney. Horney at least was able to present the material in a way that was easy to grasp and stayed on track with the course material. So the bottom line, don't take this idiot of a professor. If you have to take him for a required class, prepare yourself for the worst quarter of your time here at Cal Poly.

I'm sure Dr. Plummer is probably a smart guy and all but he is just not a good teacher whatsoever. I took this class because I had to. If you can refrain from taking this class with Plummer as the teacher I highly recommend it. You and your GPA will thank me. The test material is not covered in class or in the textbooks. Basically the lectures are a waste of time because no matter what is discussed in class will not be on the tests. Please do not take this class with Plummer as the teacher.

To call this a "class" is seriously a stretch. This guy has no clue what he's doing up there. The night before a lecture he'll make a bunch of slides with various pictures on them and then come in and discuss whatever he wants. He has issues with teaching material, and doesn't care what grade you get. The tests in no way reflect the lectures. Even the study guides don't help. Plummer doesn't get enjoyment out of students succeeding, but as long as he gets to discuss his bull sperm he's happy. An example of a lecture from Dr. Plummer: "Here we have connective tissue...T BONE STEAK **shows picture of steak**...annnnnddd here we have smooth muscle...T BONE STEAK **shows same picture on different slide** and finally bone...T BONE STEAK **shows same picture again**. Overall this guy is nice, he simply doesn't understand teaching and grading. Unfortunately my quarter suffered a lot because of him

There are no evaluations on Plummer for his ASCI 229 Lab, so here it is. We met once a week, and (almost) every week we were handed a paper with a list of objectives. And every week we would be quizzed on the objectives we received the week prior. The problems I had with this course was the fact that it was hard to know what was expected of us. No matter how hard you studied for each week's quiz and regardless of how much knowledge you had on the material, it was almost impossible to get an A on a single quiz. This is because there are minimal to no directions whatsoever on his tests. He docks you off on points harshly and the reasons he provides for those lost points are due to expectations he did not clearly outline in the first place. At the end of the course he has you turn in two projects. These, too, come with minimal and unclear directions which cost your grade dearly. Students (including me) who have an A in the lecture portion of this class have Cs or Ds in the lab because of his extremely harsh grading. In short, it's nearly impossible to succeed in his course. His guidelines and expectations are hopelessly unclear, especially for material he rarely lectures on (It is almost entirely self-study with the textbook) If you have a choice between him and another lab professor for this course, avoid him at all costs.

There seem to be a lot of negative reviews, but honestly Dr. Plummer is awesome. He is so knowledgeable about anatomy and reproductive physiology, and he will challenge you to think. I learned more in this lab than any other lab so far. His grading can be a little tough but I asked questions and followed the instructions and didn't have any problems. If you can take him for any lab, you definitely should.

Plummer has so much knowledge of reproduction it's mind boggling. Everyday I left feeling like I learned so much. His labs are hands on and very interesting. This is one of those classes where you feel like your time is actually well spent. Plummer gets straight to the point and presents everything very clearly. He is also very helpful during office hours, he wants you to succeed. He has weekly quizzes that are word for word from the book - you only need to memorize the boxes and bold words, pretty easy. His midterm was basically a report that did require a lot of research, but sure beat memorizing 5 weeks worth of notes. Take Plummer, you won't regret it!

Plummer is definitely VERY knowledgeable on the subject of reproduction, but the way he lectures just doesn\'t get the point across. (It probably doesn\'t help that the class was at 7:40AM..) He is also pretty picky about the research paper; but just about the sources we use and the format of the bibliography, the actual paper doesn\'t really matter much. I loved the lab though! We dissected rats that he freshly killed! So much better than formaldehyde rats. Lab midterm is mostly just memorizing the reproductive anatomy of the bovine, equine, swine, sheep, and horse (STUDY PICTURES ON BLACKBOARD) This is just so you know what to expect, I think you can only take this class from Plummer right now.

Dr. Plummer is one of the greatest people and teachers I have ever met. He is life changing. His viewpoints are not standard and he is not your typical teacher, but this is a positive benefit. He does present the material in a somewhat disorganized matter, but since there are no actual tests, this point doesn't matter. There are quizzes for his class, and you do need to buy the book and thoroughly read the sections/page numbers he assigns, but the quizzes are easy if you have simply read. The only problem with that is that he tells you what sections to read about 2-3 days before the quiz. But on a positive note, half of the quizzes are group quizzes and if you're an upper division ASCI student, you should already know most of the quiz questions. As for the research papers, DO NOT PUT THEM OFF TILL THE DAY OR NIGHT BEFORE. He expects you to research and determine what information in relevant and actually informative and reliable; that is half of the research paper. Once the research is done, writing the paper is easyyyy. You can cite scientific articles and use as many sources as you want, so that is beyond helpful. As for lab, lab is always interesting; you get to dissect animals, teach kids from low-income areas, and actually inseminate sperm into an egg. Plummer not only teaches ASCI information, but he teaches you about life and is inspiring. The only draw-back is in the way he speaks; if you ask him a question he will answer with a philosophical answer, not a direct answer. But to me, I always understood what he said and he was always BEYOND HELPFUL in office hours. He is a great guy, great mentor, and a great person to have had a class with and there are not enough wonderful things I can say about him. You will love his class :)

Only half way through the class but it has been the worst taught and most confusing class I have ever taken. He is a horrible teacher. I don't think a single student has a good idea of what is going on in the class or what is expected. If you want to find out anything you have to go and talk to him after class or in office hours. that is the only way I found out the midterm and final where combined into one paper before finals week. such a joke.

I'm sure Dr. Plummer is a nice guy. But I really disliked this class. He is so disorganized and unclear. His lectures are useless because you are never tested over lecture material, so he just rambles for 2 hours each lecture. Bring your laptop and do other work during his class. Seriously. His quizzes are random. Some are simple, some are over really weird random details. There is a lot of work outside of class, which I don't think is fair because it is mandatory and is outside of class and lab hours. The papers are really time consuming, and basically teach you how to cite sources and look up journals. Other than that you learn nothing from doing them. The only part of the class that I thought was relevant and useful was the anatomy test. Otherwise, I gained no knowledge from reproductive physiology, and I put a lot of effort into the class and he never posted grades on PolyLearn so I have no idea how or why I got a B in the class. Please don't disregard this review thinking I'm only bitter because of my grade, because that is not the case. Plummer, although nice and probably better in smaller class settings, was one of my least helpful or informative teachers that I have had.

I enjoyed having Plummer as my professor for a quarter. He is a serious college professor but makes your life easier if you study! This class contains lots of out of class activities which can be stressful but overall, easy to get an A. There are quizzes every week and he drops lowest one, two group take home tests, a research paper, and the labs which are super fun! He is easy and fun to talk to in the office hours. I definitely would recommend him as a professor!

I am not one to complain about professors and even the worst professors I will always get along with. Plummer is the exception. On the first day of class he lectured us for 20 minutes about a truck that ran into the bridge heading out of campus- the point of this lecture??? We need to listen to directions. But thank you, Plummer, we have all been in school long enough to do so. Each week you are assigned a lab report with very minimal directions, for example you'll get the prompt "semen evaluation" and have to search through PubMed then just write whatever you feel is necessary. Without avail each week when you get your paper back you'll undoubtedly be marked down excessively for style points. He is so particular about his grading I haven't been able to get more than a 10 out of 20 on a paper even though the content itself was very detailed. He does not grade upon content but rather based upon the formatting alone. He is not very approachable and if you do try to speak with him about your grades he'll demean you and make you feel stupid for not understanding what he wants- even though the directions are unclear. I wish there was something positive I could say about him but in all honesty Cal Poly should get rid of him, I haven't learned anything from his class besides how particular he is about grading.

Plummer is whatever as a professor, do your work and follow his minimal directions and you'll be fine. But as a person, Plummer is honestly the most misogynistic ass I've ever interacted with. He CONSTANTLY talks down to the women he teaches, calling us "sweetheart" and shit like that and has ZERO respect. He was at my roommates undergrad seminar networking event this quarter and when she approached him with a few male classmates to talk to him he gave a firm hand shake to the men and ignored her presence completely. When she took initiative to introduce herself to him, he began grilling her about her future plans and telling her how screwed she is on her vet school applications. *insert an absurd number of "sweetheart you don't seem very prepared"* The dude isn't even a vet... Plummer is no spring chicken so maybe no one's told him that it's not ok to treat women like this in the 21st century, but he needs to a serious wake up call.

Plummer is a neat guy! He's got plenty of knowledge, and some unique stories. As people, we get along pretty well. He was friendly to me, and I didn't experience any demeaning remarks from him in regards to women. As an instructor, he is not so great. He rambles, and is pretty random with some of his information. Our lab grade was totally determined by our reports, which were discouring and impossible. He is vague, unclear, and arbitrary in his requirements and grading. Two students consistently receive 18--19 out of 20, while some struggle to score higher than 7. He is not consistent with the way he marks down points, and does not take into consideration the content of the paper. In one instance, I mentioned an acronym directly pulled from one of my sources, and he circled it, marked it -6 points, and told me that it didn't exist! This class has been super frustrating as far as earning the grade, but it did offer some fantastic hands-on stuff!

Dr. Plummer is an absolute gem. Everyone bitches about this class because they don't want to put the time or effort into it. Are the papers annoying? Sure. Are they difficult. Absolutely not. All you have to do is follow the detailed instructions carefully and go to office hours to have him look over it each week. I got 20/20 on all but 1 paper by doing this. Dr. Plummer really cares about the students, and is not demeaning to women as other reviewers claim. If you act like a princess in lab and refuse to learn, then yeah he might come off as cold, but he'd do that to a dude too. I learned a lot in this class and am actually sad the quarter is over.

ok a lot of the evals on his page are for 112, i agree he would not be a good 112 teacher, though ive never had him for 112, but his man is a WONDERFUL professor. he wantes you to do well. he wont baby you through it but is works hard to help you get it. he will sit with you in his office and go over eeryhting. he is also my advisor and i dont know where id be without him. he is a great advisor and professor and if you have ever had the chance to learn from him i hope you took/take advantage of it

I have to say, Plummer is totally different as an advisor than he was as a lecturer for ASCI 351. I don't think I could've had a better senior project advisor. My partner and I went to him in a panic on the last day of enrollment after other professors had told us to fix this and that before allowing us to register. Plummer saw our panic and immediately gave us a permission number and some very detailed steps of what to do to get our project rolling. He was extremely available and helpful to us throughout the process and put no pressure on us to finish by a certain date. He gave us great critiques to our paper that were easy to fix and then gave us an A. Couldn't have been happier with the experience.