Kolluru, Gita  

She is the nicest person on the planet. The class is amazing, and the tests are manageable. Absolutely take this class if you can, you will not regret it

Incredible professor and an amazing class!!! Never learned so much in a class, while being entertained in by fun facts, interesting questions & discussions and a funny and knowledgable professor!! Seriously take this class!

Dr. Kolluru is an incredible teacher. I never went to her office hours or anything but just really enjoyed her lectures. As a liberal arts major, she made Bio so interesting, and so easy to understand. This class wasn't an easy A; the tests are somewhat challenging but completely manageable if you study and review the lecture notes. This class taught me a lot and I would definitely recommend it!

She is a great teacher but this class was insanely overly hard. Its a GE, and it was one of the hardest classes ive taken at SLO. the teachers were nice, great people, but man this class requires a ton of studying. I studied for like 8 hours for the final and got a D+. I would not take this class.

Dr. Kolluru was a pretty good teacher. She's very friendly and encourages questions and class participation, her lectures are usually pretty interesting, sometimes they can get a little dull around ecology and population genetics but that's just the subject. The class is very straight forward, go to class and take notes and you'll do fine. Overall, a good teacher.

her lectures were interesting (as interesting as you could make ecology) and her tests weren\'t too bad. She tends to test off of the slide shows which she posts online, but its helpful to go to class because she asks a few questions that are not in the book, but told in lecture. I never went to class and still got a B though. Overall, she\'s a great teacher! really enthusiastic!

She is an AWESOME professor!! Loved this class, one of the better ones at poly. I thought she was really engaging and interesting, and taught the material really clearly. She was really helpful in office hours and really seemed to want me to get a good grade. Just an overall really nice professor and funny! Lecture material was interesting and she made it really clear what would be on the tests. I highly recommend!!

Wonderful teacher. She knows what she is doing and making learning about ecology and evolution really interesting. Best biology instructor so far. Take her if you can!

I had to take four classes this last quarter, and this was the only one I actually looked forward to. Go to office hours!! Dr. Kolluru is really helpful if you talk to her. I only got a B because I had so much work to do for other classes, but I would totally tell anyone to take this class.

Professor Kolluru was able to present the material to us in a way that made it easy to understand. Lectures were rarely boring. However, her tests were quite difficult. You really have to memorize everything to get an A on her tests. The material isn't hard to memorize at all, but it is a lot. Some of her test questions are very detailed and conceptual. Go to class everyday because she does take attendance.

Amazing teacher! I loved her. Her lecture was interesting, and she was really down to earth. If you went to lecture you could do well on the tests. Didn't need to read the book, which was awesome.

Kolluru's class was a lot of fun. The lecture material is intriguing as is, but Kolluru makes it even more interesting. She is young and full of energy. She seems to be very up to date in the course material which is relevant to the course, although I found her arguments against intelligent to be quite weak on a biological and philosophical level. The course itself was not very difficult. Reading the textbook is not necessary if you pay attention in lecture. Fairly easy exams and one take home quiz.

Dr. K is really easy and fun to listen to. I wasn't bored during her lectures at all. She presents material in ways that positively appeal to students. Alot of the book material is very similar to her lecture but I do recommend going to class. Her tests are somewhat difficult with some questions being conceptual and others being really straight forward.

She knows her stuff, but the notes can be better. She is willing to help if yo go to office hours. Know the concepts and how to apply them, but all in all she is a very cool lady and very down to earth. Test is on the notes and book concepts, know how to apply

I don't really know why people dislike her so much (my bet is that she's a lot tougher in 414) but I thought she was a good teacher for a basic ecology class. Not all of her lecture material is in the book, so make sure you go to class. You won't do well if you only study the book. If you read the book AND go to lecture you should do halfway decently on her tests. Going the further mile and looking up supplemental material will probably get you an A since she doesn't have "sample problems" that you can work on at home.

Overall, Gita is a good professor. She is always willing to answer questions and help you in any way. There are 2 midterms and a final. The first midterm is pretty easy, but the second one wasn't. You are totally crammed for time and there are a lot of calculations for population genetics questions. The final seemed pretty easy and I thought I would get an A on it, but I ended up getting a B. So beware, her tests can be deceiving. I definitely feel like I should have gotten an A in the class because I did all the reading, went to every class, and thought I understood everything. But her tests just really get you. But the class was really interesting (lab sucked though). She doesn't curve, which also sucks. So take her, but don't expect an easy A.

If your looking for an easy A this is not the class. Coming into the midterm and final you can feel very prepared but then the questions will be worded in ways to trick you. You will than end up not doing as well on it as you should have for the hours studying for it.

She is funny and interesting. Her tests can be slightly trickier than expected, but they're definitely do-able. Her class is also lecture-based, so I rarely referred to the textbook (I didn't even buy it).

Amazing professor. The subject may not be the most interesting, but she makes the lectures interesting. She can really connect with the students and shes a very nice lady.Go to the lectures because the lectures on poly learn are incomplete, plus she gives out hints on what may be asked on the midterms or finals once in a while. There are 2 midterms, a final, and a 10 point quiz. The quiz should be easy points.

So I ended up getting at A- in this class, but i worked so hard to get that grade! I found Dr. Kolluru's style of teaching great, she really spelled topics out and made it easy for the students to understand. But when it came time for her tests...wow. You will feel like you understand the material inside and out and then get a flat B or B-! It was the MOST frustrating experience--thank god for lab which brought grade up to that A. Tips I would share are to take out your iphone and record every lecture and listen to them over again, most of the time her questions on the test were word for word to something she said in class. Also, go in to look at your scantron, the scantron machine misgraded mine, as well as many other students' tests to where I got my test grade up half a letter grade--and even though multiple students had this issue, she never announced it in class or even went back to regrade the tests, so make sure you go in for that. During the test if you feel stuck between two choices don't think, "well i can go in and argue this later" because she doesn't ever give points back--very stubborn. So overall if you want to learn take her, but most likely you will get a B in this class so taking a different teacher like Lema would be the better option

I'm a senior, I've taken a class or two, and as much as I like Kolluru as a person, her testing is straight up ridiculous. Class is 50 minutes long, and her test has 50 questions, so you have to know your stuff on the tests. Like that isn't already retarded, most of the questions are like a full paragraph scenario set up. A college professor should know better than to stress their students for time on an exam, she definitely needs to have less questions or shorter ones. That being said, first exam I did average studying and got and 85%, awesome. Second midterm I did average studying and got a 59%. NOT AWESOME. At the end of the exam there were still at least 20 students sitting there and everyone just had to bubble in answers on their scantrons, so ridiculous! How is that effective testing even you don't even give your students time to read the question? SUMMARY: Gita is a cool lady, but she shows no mercy and wants you to memorize every detail in order to do well on the tests, so if you are taking a heavy class load and are planning on not studying a lot or skipping class a lot, take another class or another teacher...

Gita is the first Bio professor I've had that I legitimately like. She presented off PowerPoints every lecture, but legitimately kept the material interesting. I never found myself falling asleep or getting distracted by other things. Her midterms are hard, yes. But if you do average studying for them, you'll do fine. I did average studying for both and got an 82% and an 88%. I would have had an A in her class was it not for lab. In all seriousness, I would highly recommend Kolluru for 263.

Dr. Kolluru is a very knowledgeable and professor and she really tries to relate to students. However, this class was surprisingly hard. Although I studied a lot, I found I always got B's on the tests. Know all of her in-class examples (that aren't found in the textbook) and don't miss class!

Dr. Kolluru is an inspirational, engaging woman. Her lectures are dynamic and her exams really test your knowledge of the material. Since 263 is such a broad course, not all of the information is going to appeal to everyone and this is where Dr. Kolluru's true talents really show. She works hard to provide the class with current, broad examples of the concepts covered in the class. She tries, and I believe succeeds, in interesting just about everyone at least a little bit. You probably have to take Bio 263 and if you do, definitely take her course, you won't regret it.

She did a good job of introducing the class to evolution and ecology. At times, the subject matter seemed repetitive and different from most biology courses. In my opinion, this class could be condensed with upper division ecology and evolution because it was fairly easy. Kolluru did a good job though and used a lot of her own experiences in the lecture. One thing she could have done better is used plant examples too.A

If you're going to be taking BIO 263, try your hardest to take Kolluru! As someone who isn't particularly interested in evolution or ecology, she made me excited to go to class! She is one of the best lecturers I've encountered on this campus so far! Her power points are helpful, but she really expands on them during class and offers insight into the topics we are covering while encouraging the class to be interactive and participate in the lecture. Her midterms are very fair, and she is super helpful in office hours! Overall I would highly recommend Kolluru!

Dr. Kolluru is one of my favorite professors at Poly and I'm looking forward to taking more classes with her. She presents her lectures clearly and her PowerPoints are great. Not much homework but reading the text (for difficult sections) and reviewing notes outside of class is essential in her class. Her exams can be tough - know all of the examples she goes over in class, not just the concepts being conveyed. Studying in groups will DEFINITELY be beneficial for this course. One of her exams was almost too long - most students were still trying to finish in the last five minutes of class. She's incredibly helpful in office hours and loves chatting with students - she gave me ideas on how best to take notes for her class and some good test-taking strategies as well. She's a fair grader on her exams. She's really passionate about many of the topics covered in the course.

Dr. Kolluru was awesome, her lectures are very clear and well organized. Sometimes her tests had trick questions, but overall a great class. The case studies were really interesting and made me passionate about the course material.

I really enjoyed her class, and she was a dynamic and funny speaker. I definitely recommend going to every single class, because sometimes she will use a specific example from lecture, and although she posts slides you have to fill them in with information from lecture. The first midterm was extremely easy, since the material is basically a combination of Bio 160, 161, and some basic biology information from high school bio classes. The second midterm started to cover some new things, and it was slightly more difficult. She posted sample questions for the first midterm but not the second, and there was an easy online quiz that boosted your grade. Lab will also boost your grade. The final was cumulative and about as hard as the second midterm. All in all, I liked the class and I feel like she really cared about her students.

Dr. Kolluru's lectures are interesting and clear. You will learn a lot in this class, but I have to give her a low score because of the way her exams. The exams are worth the majority of your grade and are all scantron. They are full of trick questions and multiple questions have two right answers, but one is "more right." When you go over the exam in office hours, she is very condescending. Overall, I would advise anyone NOT to take her. You will work hard and learn quite a bit, but your exams will not reflect your hard work. It is a shame that she tries to trick you on many of the questions. I felt like I was being tested on my skill of scantron tests rather than my knowledge.

Dr. Kolluru made this class really boring. She wold repeat the same things over and over. Especially in the beginning of the quarter, she spent a ton of time on very mundane things. It felt like we spent the first month just learning the history of Darwin, while the other 263 classes actually got to learn interesting things. Additionally, her lecture slides are very unclear if you're trying to review them. She writes questions on them, and leaves them unanswered, and they are difficult to answer online or from the book. I'll be the first to admit, I could've listened a little more in class and gotten a little bit of a better grade, but she just makes it so boring that it was hard to pay attention and do well. It is nice that she doesn't give any homework though. Much appreciated, Gita. Overall, mediocre class and professor, but I guess for some classes you just have to check the box.

Dr. Kolluru is a great professor. She presents material in an interesting and easy to understand way and is always willing to answer questions. She's a very nice, approachable, knowledgeable professor. Her exams are based mostly on lecture, but supplementing lecture with reading the textbook helps. I would highly recommend taking her class.

Lecture: I took this course during my first quarter at Cal Poly after transferring. The material is extremely simple. It was basically all review after transferring to Cal Poly. However, Kolluru’s tests are hard. They are wordy, and have trick questions on them. She will often give you two answers (all exams are multiple choice) that are so similar you will debate one word. She is not accommodating, and I have personally chosen to avoid her for the remainder of my time at Cal Poly. Midterms are 45-50 questions in 50 minutes. Final was 100 questions in 3 hours. Exams do include questions that require calculations. Just because the material is easy doesn’t mean it’s an easy A; the final was 30 pages long. Lab: Bio 263 Lab is as bad, or even worse than lecture. All bio 263 students regardless of lecture section have lab with grad students supervised by the lab coordinator. The lab coordinator instructs the TA’s how to grade. Grading is harsh. It might come off as a joke in the beginning, but once grades start coming back, it is not. Everyone in the lab agreed it was either the worst or one of the worst labs we had ever had. There was a lab practical and a group presentation at the end of the quarter.

Kolluru is fantastic and you should TAKE HER. She is well-published, experienced, and clearly very smart. She knows her shit, but doesn't get arrogant about teaching a lower level course such as this one, like some other professors might. She is SO ENTHUSIASTIC and loves her job. Her lectures are well organized but do not go into as much detail as it seems she wants on the exams. Her exams are hard, but honestly just studying via quizlets is enough for this class. Did not touch a book even once. All in all; Kolluru is great, but the exams are harder than needbe, and ecology in general sucks and is super boring (though that last part is clearly my own opinion).

Professor Kolluru is an excellent teacher for BIO 414! Her lectures are usually quite interesting, and she integrates video examples of the animal phenomena into the lecture for entertainment. The class requirements overall are very straightforward: 2 midterms, 2 annotated bibliographies, 2 quizzes, and 2 group worksheets, along with the final. The class is relatively very little work, just make sure you study for the midterms and final because questions can sometimes be tricky! Take Professor Kolluru for BIO 414, you will be happy you did.

Most well-spoken and clearly articulated professor I've had. I continue to take as many classes with her as I can. She inspired me into falling in love with ecology and she is one of the smartest people I know.

I think that Dr. Kolluru is a kind person who is an effective and organized lecturer despite her general lack of creativity as she is essentially reciting the textbook verbatim, but her examinations are heinous. Her multiple choice sections often contain trick questions and her free response section is regularly graded in an inconsistent manner. She employs numerous graders who grade the tests differently. When she actually grades the free response herself, she takes off points without explaining why those points were taken off and when she is asked to explain why those points were taken off she has to fish for an explanation in her brain. I, along with countless other students, have worked to earn A's in other 400 level biology courses but cannot seem to succeed in Kolluru's evolution class because of the nature of her examinations. She can also be very defensive and condescending when reviewing exams with students. Evolution requires one to think in a different way than one may be used to thinking in anatomy and physiology or cell and molecular courses (as evidence by Dr. Kolluru's self-admitted total lack of knowledge in all aspects of biology outside of evolution), but it is unfair to assess students' learning and thinking about a concept by asking trick questions on examinations. As a side note, Dr. Kolluru should be required by the department to take BIO 161 and 162 because her idiocy in everything beyond the realm of evolution and ecology is honestly embarrassing to witness.

Fantastic professor, highly recommended! Dr. Kolluru does a great job making the material both interesting and enjoyable. I definitely looked forward to attending her class each week.

This class was pretty interesting because she give a lot of examples. Make sure for the tests to know the examples a lot of times she will ask specific questions about the examples she talks about... and there are a lot! The tests were not easy, but they were not hard. Just make sure you listen in class because her presentations do not have a lot of information on them. She gives you a pretty in depth study guide which is also helpful. overall I say take her.

During this entire quarter all I could think about was how this professor reminded me of that small little dog that runs through the back of scene 23 in The Incredibles by Pixar. Seriously, if you look it up you will only be able to see it...