Hanson, Michael  

Fine teacher, but a little dry in the presentation. I wouldnt suggest having her at 8:00 in the morning, might be difficult staying awake.

Hanson gave poor lecture and it never was relevant to the material in the book. Steer clear!

Worst profesor ever. In my opinion he has alheizmers. he doesnt remember anything he says. if he did then maybe he'd put it on the test.

he's on okay teacher...took him over the summer and i was really really lazy so i failed. if only i had studied....but if you study you'll probably do fine...he's good at lab..explains everything clearly

Go to class, do whatever, JUST DON'T BUY THE BOOK. His tests are on what he lectures about, not on the book, it's a huge expensive book that is a waste of money.

bring some hearing aids because this guy talks soooo low you can barely hear him. but he's a nice guy and he won't hesitate to help you if you have questions. overall, hanson's a pretty good teacher to have..

Hanson is an extremely unclear teacher. He's unorganized, and does not get the material through to his students. Without taking an Supplemantal Work Session, I would have failed this class! DON'T TAKE HANSON unless you really like Bio.

I received a D in this class, I never skipped and even went to Hanson's office to get help (which I did not receive very much of) four times. I got A's and B's in my other classes, I am a hard working student and have always succeeded in science...but this class was ridiculous. It was impossible to hear, and the material covered in class was extremely vauge and different on the exams. DO NOT take Hanson unless you absolutely have to and can take the tutoring class to go with it. (I couldn't because it conflicted with another class, but I have friends who took it and still received C's.) Hanson is a very nice person, but not a successful BIO teacher.

Dr. Hanson was a nice guy but not the best teacher. His lectures were rather dry, though he would make occasional jokes. A lot of information on the tests is from lecture, so it's important to go. He doesn't lecture out of the book, but there are always a couple of questions that you won't get if you haven't read. If you're taking his lecture, having him as a lab teacher is really helpful since he gets to know you by name and he goes over the things he talked about in lecture again. Take the supplemental workshop, though! I would never have gotten an A without it.

I really didn't think Hanson was that bad. You go to class (he takes attendance) and write down everything he writes down on the board. Almost every question on the exams are from lecture. I think there have been two questions from the book all quarter so don't waste your money buying it. I would recommend him.. I've heard the other teachers teaching this course are much harder. Go to class and study your notes.

Hanson is a funny guy. He likes to tell little stories on the side in the middle of his lectures. All you really need to do is show up. His tests are based on the notes. Opening the book didnt really help. All you have to do is memorize your notes and youre set.

A funny old man that you can't understand at all. His tests have nothing to do with notes or the text except the final. So hard to know what to study for each test. I suggest taking one of the study groups offered for this class, which I didn't, but you could probably at least get a C if you did. Not an easy class if you're not into science. The teacher is cool, but not good at teaching the material.

Hanson is a funny old guy who knows his stuff and seems to love what he does for a living. He'll tell random jokes that are in no way relevant to what he's going over. His tests are straight from the lectures, there's no need to even buy the book. I didn't think his class was too difficult, I hadn't taken bio since freshman year of high school and I somehow managed an A- The only bad thing I have to say about him is that he doesn't speak loudly. I'd recommend sitting in the first 2 or 3 rows, any farther back than that you can't really hear him. Take him, easy A

Professor Hanson hardly gave us any instructions when we were doing our lab assignments. If we had specific questions, he would help us, but we were pretty much on our own. He also didn't quite know how to prepare us for tests because he isn't the one who writes the tests. He's a harsh grader and the typical class average for tests was usually somewhere in the low 70s or high 60s.

This guy was awful. He is the worst teacher I have had at Cal Poly. Avoid him if you can. He would repeatedly give help on tests, provide the answers, and them mark them wrong when it came time to correct them. He never gave clear instructions, and pretty much was unwilling to help you if you met him in his office. This guy sucks. Don\'t take him.

Class consists of 2 midterms and 1 non-cumulative final. Horrible lecturer. The overheads are never in focus, he's nearing retirement and cannot hear students' questions and doesn't know to speak up when in the big Fischer Science Bldg., and although he's nice during office hours the tests are very hard. I failed the first 2 midterms. Be warned: He will tell you that the majority of the test is from lecture notes, but that is completely inaccurate!

Hanson is hands-down the worst professor I have ever had the displeasure to take. Everything about his teaching style is absolutely horrible. He misspells words on the board all the time without realizing it. Students have to correct him multiple times a class. This is very frustrating because this is the first bio class I have taken in 5 years; if he misspells a word, then i'm not going to know that it is incorrect! Or, he will say the wrong word throughout the entire lecture, and then at the end he will say, "just kidding, I've been meaning to say 'system' not 'synthesis'." But, if you don't go back into your notes and change every 'synthesis' to 'system', then you are screwed. He made this potentially easy class one of the most challenging classes i've had to take. He's the worst. AVOID HIM. i failed both midterms, and I am an A and B student. THis is ridiculous.

First of all, Dr. Hanson is off the bat not the best teacher around. The way he lectures can seem somewhat non-linear and all over the place, he can jump from topic to topic without much warning, so take good notes. TAKE GOOD NOTES. I read the poly ratings for this class before taking it and I saw a lot of people who said don't buy the book. They're right, don't buy the book, you won't open it once. His tests are only on the lectures, and if you need some clarification on a topic I suggest you use wikipedia, that's what I did and it worked fine for me. I didn't realize how much I would have to study for his test, so I did really poorly on the first midterm. I think the class average was something like 69 for the first midterm. Study hard, and take good notes! His tests focus more on processes (such as the process of photosynthesis or mitosis) rather than vocabulary, and though his tests/finals are only 50 questions long, those questions are generally very specific, so know pretty much everything in his notes. All in all I ended up with a B, so that's not that bad. I felt like I could have easily done better if I had studied harder for the first two midterms.

he's a nice guy...always smiling. Although he's not an exeptionally amazing proffesor who makes student yearn to come to class, he gets the job done. His students did significantly better on lab exams than the other lab instructor (perryman), so take hanson if your taking 115.

He sure likes to refer to his 9 kids or however many he has. He seems to be a nice guy; students need to be awake during his lectures since he often calls on someone at random to answer questions (although they aren't very tough). His sense of humor is a bit perverted, however (those of you who have taken his class know what I mean).

Dr Hanson, although it seemed like he got some sort of sadistic pleasure out of his students' pain was an ok teacher. He presented the material clearly and the test was pretty easy. he went slowly so you could understand and he is nice...most of the time.

I had Dr. Hanson for lab and he didn't do a very good job. He gave us a brief overview of what we were going to look at that day and then let us go to work. He often left the room for a long time and came back at the end of the lab. I heard about worse lab teachers, but he definitately wasn't helpful.

My God this was a boring class. It's basically highschool biology all over again, with a little more detail. The lecture was pretty basic and organized. He just wrote on the chalkboard and had some overheads. There was no homework, but your grade depended on just one midterm and one final, both weighted equally, non-cumulative. Because of this, it was pretty stressful when it came time for a test. Tests are based on lecture and several chapters in the textbook. Hanson will give you clues several times per lecture on questions that will show up on the tests, so going to class is a good idea. Hanson is a very nice guy, no complaints, but the class could use some revision. This class also has a fairly steep curve, so if you get a C on both tests that will usually balance out to a B- or a B.

This class was just highschool biology all over again. It was a cake walk if you just show up to class and take notes. Class is jsut based on a midterm and a final which are 50 questions each. About 40 of the questions are from the notes while maybe the other 10 are from the book. I studied the day of for both the midterm and final and got an A in the class. Class is cake and i believe might have a slight curve to it. If you want an easy class but a boring professor take him

If this guy isn't retired yet (which he said he will be by early-mid 2008) than here is the break down of this class: 2 tests, 50 questions each. 50% of your grade each test. Non-cumulative. Attendance is mandatory (you have to sign in at the beginning of class, and every absence results in a 10% mark down of your grade). With that being said, it's an easy class if you go to lecture everyday, take extensive notes, and read the chapters or at least the chapter reviews and maybe some keyterms. I made the mistake of leaving class early after signing in everyday for the first few weeks, and trying to read all the chapters before the first test on week 5 or 6. Bad idea. Everything was based off lecture, so some of the stuff was in the both the book and lecture, but a lot of it was just from lecture. The best advice I can give you for this guy is to get to class early and SIT CLOSE TO THE FRONT because you cannot f*cking hear this elderly man from anything further than 4-5 rows back. All the tests are the same too so if you sit next to a buddy in this huge class, you could potentially "help" each other.

Boring class. Just show up, take notes, read the book and go over them before each test. Final is non-cumulative. I didn't read the book for the entire quarter and still managed to pass, so it's not all that bad.

Prof. Hanson knows his stuff and I think he did a good job in lectures of presenting it. He isn't the most interesting at lecturing but he does a decent job. Be sure to take very good notes because his test are based off of them. I got the book but didn't really use it that much. You could get by without the book if you took good notes. 50% midterm, 50% final(non-cumlative). Test are multiple choice.

I thought this class was pretty tight, pretty interesting, at least the second half of it. We learned about cells and organism processes, which was boring to me, but when we got to evolution and ecology and shit, it got me hooked. So i liked this class. It was easy too, all you have to do is show up (attendance is taken into account 4 ur grade) and take good notes, since his one midterm and final (that's all u do) is based almost entirely on his lectures. I think like only 5-10% of the tests were based on the book. So all u need to do is take good notes and study them, pretty fucking easy. Also, you should probably try to sit in the front since he speaks low. You'd have a better time understanding him if he used sign language. But he's real cool, funny too, his jokes and grandpa-like humor cracked me up. tight, sorta boring but easy class.

Class is just boring, and its tough to learn anything in the class, would be hard if u didnt have any prior bio education

Hanson is a quiet, old, funny guy. He is VERY quiet though and in a large lecture hall with 130 other students, it pays to get to class a few minutes early to grab a front row seat (where i sat all quarter). For Bio213 there were only two exams, a mid-term and a final. Both were 50 question scantron tests. They were both easy as long as you go to class EVERY week and take notes on what he is saying, plus he gives you some hints to test questions every lecture. Both tests took me under 30 min to finish so just study lecture notes and read the bio book for extra reinforcement.

he is old and should be retired or if he is retired he should stay retired and not teach at all. obviously just there for the paycheck. he is just a lazy old man and does not give any assignments or hw so he assumes that we should learn all the material from his boring lectures. and because the class is only i midterm and final, you are pretty much screwed if you didnt do to well in the midterm. ohhhh and he thinks he is doing you a favor by giving you two stupid points for each test if you were there in one of his random extra credit lectures. gut bye

Hanson (aka John Madden) was a very average professor. Pretty senile guy who probably needs to retire before he forgets where he is in class. For BIO 213, all you had to do was show up and take good lecture notes to do well. As others have said...DO NOT BUY THE BOOK. His tests come straight from lecture, and it'll be a huge waste of money to get the book. Grade is only based on two tests, midterm and a final. Each worth 100 points, 50% of you grade. All I have to say is, don't underestimate his tests. It's not a hard class, but if you study only a couple hours before the test, you'll most likely recieve a poor grade. As long as you spend a solid day reviewing the material for each test, you'll guarantee yourself a high B or A in the class. He gives out extra credit on random lecture days by having you submit a piece of paper with your name on it, proving you were there for lecture. He does this twice and is only worth 2 points each time. But according to him, if you turn in all the extra credit, he'll bump your total grade up to an A- from a B+ or a B- from a C+, etc...

A decent teacher, funny guy that often gives humorous anecdotes about the material. Midterm was difficult even after a day or two of studying (make sure you know the order of _all_ of the cycles he talks about in lecture!) but I thought the final was much more reasonable.

Don't buy the book. Go to lecture. Study. Hanson himself is pretty dry but the lectures aren't quite to the point where it is hell to sit through them. The only bad thing about this class is your ENTIRE grade is based off of two 50 question multiple choice tests (yeah, each question is 1% of your grade), so make sure you really know the material because if you get a C on the midterm, it's almost impossible to get a high enough B on the final to balance it out and get a B for the class, especially when a lot of the multiple choice questions are somewhat misleading.

Bio for engineers?! Every lecture I sat through for the quarter was just high school biology again. I love it how the department makes you take these stupid courses and give it some name like that just so you can take the course. Class structure was just pathetic. Total grade was based off a midterm and a final, each worth %50 of your grade. I had the text prior to the first day of class. Don't bother getting it. It came to basically memorizing every one of his lectures for each test. It's just another bull$hit class you have to take.

All he did the entire quarter was read off some old handwritten over head slides from 1940. Sexiest and does not know what he is talking about. Ppl ask questions and he would just say "I don't know"

This was a very difficult test. While the notes he presented were good, the midterm and final were very difficult. He seemed to test on the most random things. Since there's only midterm and a final it's difficult to bring your grade up if you do poorly on one of the exams. I don't think he curves either.

This guy is awful. Boring as fuck, fell asleep several times. For fuck's sakes this dick head is still using an overhead projector with outdated slides. He mumbles and its almost impossible to hear him if your late to class because he lets everyone into the class and if you show up late you can't get a seat except in the way back. This guy needs to fucking retire, too bad his old ass doesn't know how to use a fucking computer and probably will never read this post. Doesn't know how to use blackboard, no material is posted online (not even his slides) and i doubt this fuck knows how to use email either cause he sure as fuck never responded to any of mine I had several friends who failed this class, there are only 2 tests so if you get a poor grade on one (which you probably will because he tests on the most abstract and pointless shit ever) you are very likely to fail the class. Fuck this class, fuck engr213 too, that class sucks balls This class is a nightmare, biology for engineers my ass

Lectures are boring and it was often hard to understand his mumbling. Grade based only on 1 midterm and 1 final, which is compiled from random things sometimes are or not from his lecture. I got an F on first midterm and passed the final with a C, but still failed the class..... if you have to take bio213, i strongly recommend taking it with another prof. I've heard about other professors, you would pass and werent required to go to class.

This guy is just bad. His lectures are so boring, they will put you to sleep. He's also technologically inept. He uses an overhead projector and puts up notes so you can copy them. He's terrible at conveying info. The worst part of this class is that there are only 2 tests, each is 50% of your grade, and he doesn't curve. The tests require memorization of so much crap that it's sometimes hard to believe he expects students to memorize the precise details of it all. And, if you ask him questions, he'll answer with "I don't know" Try to get another professor for this class, one with at least more ways to build your grade.

This professor is not a great lecturer. But it's not exactly making a bio class seem interesting. You'll just have to read the book. The class is curved so it's not too hard to get a good grade if you study.

I took this class on the Quarter at Sea program where he used the "PPQP" method. Basically a way for him to have the students teach the class, while sitting back and interjecting a little here and there. It was a really easy class--there were no midterms, finals, or anything of that nature. You just had to participate in class, do a couple of short presentations, and a longer group presentation at the end. Just as long as you keep up with the reading and know how to answer the chapter questions when he calls on you in class you'll be fine.

I am surprised after taking Hanson's class to see that his grade isn't so high. He's a funny, weird kind of guy, but he knows what he is talking about and loves to go off on little tangents. Wildlife is his passion. If you need a GE, I say go for this one, but make sure you go to class. I think it was mentioned before, but he does take roll every time, and it is a portion of the grade. The tests are pretty straight forward; he tells you which terms you need to know, what the short answer options are, and then the chapters from the book you need to know. I never bought the book and still managed a B in the class. It's really not necessary as long as you go to class, and then just use process of elimination for the matching part on the test that comes from the book. There is one research paper about an endangered species and 3 or 4 other papers that are based off of the readings he has assigned.. Sounds like a lot, but it's not bad. Just, go to class.

He is old, bordering on senility, and as boring as any instructor I have ever had. He drones on for 2 hours straight every class, reading through poorly formatted transparencies riddled with spelling mistakes(that aren't on blackboard). Once in a while he mixes it up by showing a few slides, drawing incoherently on the white board, or showing a videotape that was probably filmed in the late 80's. If there is a more boring and ineffective way of teaching, I don't know about it. His tests come completely from lectures and readings from the library he assigns, NOT FROM THE USELESS BOOK that he tells you to buy. There are 3 writing assignments that are pretty straightforward in addition to 3 tests. Maybe it was due to the fact that I had the class at 8 in the morning, but it has been quite a while since I disliked a class this much.

the idea of the class seemed interesting, but its hard to take some one seriously especially when they are teaching something like a wildlife conservation biology and then goes off on tangents about his hunting/fishing expeditions. the lectures are about the single most dull thing imaginable in the morning and the midterms/finals hes insanely nit picky about everything, (i.e. the difference between a shot, bullet and shells)and the review he sends out are pretty well bull shit.

Ok, this class is part of my specialization and I thought I would really enjoy it. But I didn't. In fact this class was horrible. I scored way above average on both of the tests and I guess I must have practically failed the final because I ended up with a C in the class. It's disappointing to get a C in one of your major courses. Oh and don't buy the book. He doesn't ask once for you to use it.

Professor Hanson gives dry and outdated lectures, which includes very "behind the times" videos. He does not seem to care about the students or their sucess, but seems to be bothered by people that miss class at all. He obviously has his tenure and does not care about improving his teaching abilities (which he really needs to do). He also assigned a text book to the class, that was completely irrelevant, as no questions from the test were based on the material. Overall he is a terrible teacher that should retire.

Ok...so this class isn't bad...2 lectures 2 hours each and a break in the middle. He goes off on his experiences with whatever it is..maybe fishing or walking or things with birds or animals. He had a couple of assignments that take a while sometimes and take a bit of your grade. He gives them to you weeks in advance but most people forget about them and dont turn them in. But usually people get close to full credit on them. You have to be there on the day he hands back material (TEST OR HOMEWORK) so if you wanna ditch class have a friend pick up your work otherwise he takes it that you're not in class and docks points off your attendance (which is 10% of your grade). The tests sucked ass...straight up. He tells you what should be on the test...all lecture notes and even gives you the words you need to know. But you dont get a word bank and the matching is incredibly detailed to a point whee its hard to get a good grade. The first test it looked as if everyone got 65% or lower. They dont get easier and one test can literally screw you over. The final was like a regular test. I got an unexpected D for some fucking reason...I though i'd get at least a C. Turns out he doesn't grade on a curb even if the majority of people fail the test (and the class is like 200 people). It probably isn't worth it with this dude...

Hanson, lol...make sure you spell his name right if you put it on your assignments that you turn in because he gets highly offended if you spell it wrong because of all of the other Hansons...Really boring class, but the guy is pretty funny with his random tangent stories. He stands by the overhead for two hours and reads off what you have to write down, which is a shit load and then your hand gets tired; why didn't i bring in my laptop. Study your notes really well and do the blackboard reading b/c the study guide questions from the readings WILL show up on the test. If you do that and show up to class, you will pass the class. This guy should be close to retirement.

Hanson is an quiet old man. He expects you to know all of the millions of details he lectures on and his tests are very vague and difficult. He is sexist and makes jabs at left wing/ hippie people. He finds multiple ways to lecture about the same thing and expects all to care about every little thing he decides to "bestow upon us" -like its some great honor.

Honestly, I am a Wildlife Bio major, so I went into this corse thinking it would be an interesting course and would be helpful towards my degree. WRONG! This class has been nothing but a nightmare. Hanson has been nothing but obnoxious, sexist, right-winged and narcissistic. He is an amazing fan of hunting, so will therefore try to prove why he's right and non hunters are all ignorant hippies. He makes stupid jokes where 3 our of 80 people will laugh at. His lectures are overhead and lecture (verbal). His overheads are good, I'll give him that, but he will repeat subjects and expect everything that comes out of his mouth, no matter how vague or quickly he says them, to be embedded into our heads. His tests are beyond vague with multiple answers possible when of course only one is correct according to him. His short answers must be answered 100% correctly, or very little or no points will be awarded. HW assignments are stupid, tedious, and long, and not worth the miniscule amounts of points. I would strongly avoid Hanson and this class at all costs. Take another GE. It will be more interesting and a lot more fair.

Honestly, he's not that bad of a guy. Yes, his lectures are probably the most dry you will ever have in college. He tries hard to spice it up with his jokes but at 7/8 in the morning no one is really ready for them. If there is one piece of advice I would give-DO NOT BUY THE BOOK! He has three main tests, and each takes about 5 out of 100 pts from the reading. These five questions are spread over 4-5 lengthy chapters of reading. 95% of what is on the test is DIRECTLY off the lecture. It isn't that hard to get a good grade in the class-you just need to study your lecture notes and the items on the study guide which he gives you ahead of time.

I took this class as a GE and I got a B-, which was very unexpected. This was my worst grade of the quarter. Hanson makes it way too hard for a freakin GE. I understood everything but the tests are really specific in detail. The lectures were also very dry and all of his information was out of date.

Dr. Hanson is freaking awesome! Whatever you do, if you are taking this class, DO NOT BUY THE BOOK!!! I paid a rip-off from the stupid book store and I did not even OPEN my book and I got an A. Everything on his tests are based on his lectures. Make sure that you are always in attendance because he takes random attendance throughout the quarter which counts as 5 or 10% of the grade (I can\'t remember exactly) His tests are nicely formatted and not tricky, but there are some questions that are really random about small details that most people would overlook when studying. SO, pay attention to detail and you should be fine!

Dr. Hanson is all right. Nothing too spectacular. Yes, he does push his pro-hunting views on you, so if you have issues with that, don\'t take the class. However, if you\'re good at taking notes and paying attention to what he says, you should do fine. I just wrote down practically everything I thought would possibly be useful and studied my notes for the midterms and final. If you can do that, it\'s an easy A. If you\'re not one to take good notes, don\'t take him. Also, don\'t buy the book. Waste of money. All his tests are based on the lectures. Overall, I\'d say it\'s all right.

Interesting teaching style. Off over head projectors...made shit hard to read. Also, this man is deaf! He couldnt even hear the people in the front row. Word of advice COPY NOTES DIRECTLY, DO NOT BUY THE BOOK, AND STUDY HIS NOTES WORD FOR WORD!. The book was never used. I stupidly opened it. Didnt read one page, not one question was from the book. Just study notes to do well

I must say, that before taking this class, I read the reviews and had an okay feeling about the class, but boy was I wrong. There are close to zero, and I mean zero guidelines on how to do his assignments, which leads to poor grades. He says "keep it light" I need to grade all fo these myself" then when you do keep it light, but still provide the information, your paper is called weak. He could really benefit from providing an example paper. His tests are awful, and look like they were made by a 6th grader pretending to be a teacher for their brother as play. The information is tremendous in volume, and you are expected to know every detail. I would seriously never ever take this class if I had the choice.

he sucks. hes boring. he doesnt clearly state whats on the tests. mosst people failed all his tests. the assignments are easy and each worth 5% of your overall grade, but he sucks. i got a 32% on my first test. and i studied! some things were just impossible to know unless you memorized every single little deatil possible. dont get the book, its a waste of money and certainly dont read it, its a waste of time. just like this class is

All you have to do to get a good grade in this class is show up everyday and write down everything he says. Don't buy the book because it's a waste of money. Everything on the tests are based off of his lectures. He gives a really helpful study guide. All I did was make flashcards out of it and I've gotten A's on both tests I've taken so far. He's a funny old man so be prepared for that. I think this is a pretty breezy GE

Dr. Hanson is one of the WORST teachers I have had at Cal Poly, and this is my 7th quarter here so I've had a lot. First of all: He talks like he has a mouthful of marbles. He does not enunciate in the slightest bit, and he talks so quietly that you can't hear ANYTHING, and even when you can hear him, you don't know what he's saying. After he'd say something, a murmur would start up as everyone asked the person next to them what he had just said. It was a big class of like 60 people, speak up!! Second of all: He is clearly passionate about Wildlife & Conservation Bio as a subject, but this does NOT come across in his classes. He speaks in a dejected-sounding monotone that makes it even more difficult to pay attention. He does not engage his students at ALL. Third: He makes inappropriate comments about his students. He called a guy wearing a flannel a redneck about 4 different times one day. He made fun of someone who was wearing a turban for religious/cultural reasons. He tries to make students look/feel dumb when they can't answer questions because he does not teach!! Fourth: do NOT buy the book. It's all true, you won't even open it. I don't know why he even required us to purchase it. Fifth: I went to every single class (and he takes roll for points), completed all the assignments conscientiously and on time...and I'm getting a D. This should not happen. The class average on our last test was a 70%, as in half the class got a D or an F. This is not okay!!! Sixth: If you email him with a question, he will belittle you in his response and try and make you feel stupid and like you're wasting his time. Don't even try asking him questions, because he is so rude! Seventh: He makes an awful lot of politically incorrect jokes/statements. I'm not easily offended, but it got real awkward, real fast. Eighth and most importantly: The way his test questions are worded are soooo incomprehensible. If we don't know what he's asking, how can we answer? He uses incomplete sentences and abbreviations and it looks like shorthand, truly. Basically, this class is the worst I've taken at Cal Poly. If you are looking for an Area B elective, stay away!! P.S. He also likes to shock his classes by making them watch graphic videos of animals being slaughtered and killed by predators. MAKE THIS MAN RETIRE!!!!

Personally I enjoyed having him as a teacher. I was somewhat worried when I saw his polyratings, but I realized in week 1 why students don't like him, he has differing view points on issues (such as global warming and hunting) than most people, so just be prepared for that. His lecture type is a bit different though, and if you're not prepared it will throw you off: He writes a topic on the board and starts talking about it and you have to take notes from there, he will write sub topics and key terms on the board also, but that's it, so you NEED to listen to what he is saying. It's true, he does have kind of a soft voice, but when the class is quiet it's fine, the biggest problem I cam across had nothing to do with the teacher but with the annoying boys who would sit in the back of the class and talk and not pay attention and distract everyone else (you aren't in high school anymore, it's time to grow up!!!!) So sit in the first four or five rows if you have people like that in the class. The class is tough but over all he is an average teacher.

I wouldn't say he is the worst teacher, but I would definitely recommend taking a different class. The hard part is that you have to pay attention in his class and take excellent notes, since the book does not help you at all. I wouldn't even bother buying it. It seems like it would be easy to just take great notes, but he talks really quietly and it is really easy to miss things. If I took the class over again I would probably get a better grade, but this class if definitely not an easy A, or even an easy B.

Avoid this teacher at all cost!!! All of the comments above are true... what ever you do avoid this class... He makes the simple and common knowledge really difficult...

Dr. Hanson okay. He knows what he is talking about and I actually thought the class was very interesting. He is not the most interesting lecturer but I stayed awake during his lectures and wrote down basically everything he said like some people have said and got a solid A in the class...his study guides are very helpful. Didnt touch the book and got a 94 in the class so dont buy it. Overall, I didnt think it was too bad, this class was good for my gpa actually

I'll keep this short. Brutal notes, most boring class ever, but straight forward if you actually go to class and take the notes. I would avoid this class if at all possible

Hanson is a very nice Professor, but the class is extremely boring. Also, Hanson doesnt speak clearly and is very quiet so its hard to understand what he says. Dont buy the textbook, it was completely useless. The class consisted of 3 assignments worth 5% each, a 4 page paper on an endangered species worth 10%, and two midterms and a final worth 65%. The other 10% is attendance. Try to avoid this class if you can, it was a 7am class for me and not wirth getting up for.

Nicest old man in the world. Unfortunately his teaching materials and methods are way outdated. I t would be helpful if he spruced up the materials a bit. BY the way, take his wildlife haitat and methods classes...no tests!! just some rinky dink presentations, and TAH-DAH an A+.

Hanson is a sweet guy and an easy BIOLOGY teacher. Students on this list: Biology classes are way harder than your classes. Unless you\'re in Chem or Biochem. He\'s good and easy for what he is, so appreciate that! Plus, he\'s really nice and not cocky which is hard to find for the Biology department. I\'m not a Biology major and I\'m not applying myself, but if I were, an A would be difficult but not impossible. This class is what you do with it. But Hanson gives you the tools to do well.

Avoid Hanson if you care about your GPA! Terrible teacher. Computer inept. Has no idea how to handle student questions about material. If you don\'t write an answer on a test exactly how he wrote it in class, you will get it completely wrong (even if your answer is right). The material is not hard, but it is easy to get points docked for stupid little things. And don\'t count on arguing for more points-he\'s stubborn and close-minded. Oh, and the lab exercises are monotonous and childish; we played with pennies, beans, clay, nuts/bolts, and ping pong balls. Avoid Hanson!

DON'T TAKE A CLASS WITH HANSON!!!!!! Hanson is absolutely horrible. His lectures consist of nothing but ramblings, but you still have to take notes on everything because only small details that he barely covered were on the tests. The labs were idiotic. We played with clay, pennies, beans and screws, and we went to Laguna Lake to throw nails around, stick them in the ground and count the plants within a certain radius. Although all of the material in lecture was easy to comprehend and the labs were so simple that an elementary school kid could do them, his grading system (or lack there of) was ridiculous. He compares your answers (from short answer questions) to other students' answers and gives you a grade. So in reality you can have all the correct answers, but if someone else wrote it more detailed or better than you, then you'll get a lower grade. He's an idiot. I can honestly say that I deserved a B in this class, but with his stupid grading system I ended up with a D. If you care at all about your GPA, don't take a class with Hanson.

Dr. Hanson is the sweetest, goofiest professor you'll meet here at CalPoly. It takes a while to "get" his sense of humor, but he is a really fun guy. He honestly loves his job after 30 years and is not a bitter, tenured professor out to make life hard. He sincerely wants you to do well and if you talk to him in his office hours, you'll get a lot of information out of him. He always has time, even with 12 kids (?) and many classes. His grades are fair and the course is a lot of fun.

The course was complete, in that it throughly covered the material from the book. Unfortunately with such an interesting subject wish we could have covered more than what was in the book. His PPPQ rating system or whatever it was made students compete against each other so much it sometimes made class unpleasant. But overally those that participated and did take part in class did do well no matter how it looked while we were in the class.

Nothing pleases this man... I study I come to class I do the readings I vomit his words up on his tests... Dont take him if you can avoid it, really he needs to retire. He is nice enough, but grades really hard on easy material.

Avoid Dr. Hanson if at all possible! If you have taken any other bio classes, everything presented will be repetitious. His concepts are completely outdated, and most are merely his opinion and not factually based. Multiple other classes have taught what he's teaching as outdated ideas no longer accepted. His grading is impossible to comprehend, you may know a subject like the back of your hand but still fail one of his assignments/tests. He does not care if something doesn't make sense (he doesn't seem to understand it either). There is a test almost every week, and assignment due the same day that will likely take several hours. Huge waste of time!!