Knable, Anthony  

Dr. Knable tries to add a bit of humor to class. This is refreshing to hear after many dry lectures. BIO 101 is a pretty simple class. Dr. Knable does an adequate job of teaching.

This guy gives you all of his lecture notes ahead of time. Just show up on test days and extra-credit days and you'll still get a good grade.

Dr. Knable was my advisor in the late 70's when he was a professor in the NRM Department and he also served on my committee when I was a Biology Grad student. I can't count how many classes I took from him, plus we wrote a couple of papers together. With Dr. Knable I always felt what you saw is what you get. No surprises. Work hard, study the lecture notes and you can do well, if you put your time into it. I learned even more from him outside the classroom. He taught me a lot about communication (oral and written) which is the asset that has benefited me the most over the years. He was my most influential teacher throughout my entire college career. So when it comes to Dr. Knable, don’t judge him by one lecture or even two, look at the big picture and maybe you’ll come away with something you can use over the course of your whole career, like I did.

you will fail avoid at all costs

Knable was an excellent teacher. He was very easy to listen to and was very funny. Although I went to class everyday, it was not necessary. During class, he went over his notes that he gave the students at the beginning of the quarter. There was never any homework and you only had to study a couple nights before the tests. I would recommed Knable to any student.

I enjoyed this class. I thought Knable gave us a decent work load, that is, you really have to study, but not too terribly much. You should do well if you attend class and go through the notes a few times. Don't think that this class is an easy A because he doesn't require the textbook. The material is presented clearly and concisely so you know exactly what you'll be tested on. And Knable's quirky humor made the class fun. For the general Bio requirement I recommend Knable.

He's the bomb...he never changes his tests-- so it is easy to get old scantrons from previous quarters...take him and never go to class and get an A! I went to 2 lectures, the 2 midterms, and the final, so a total of 5 days and aced the class...Highly reccomend it if you are lazy like me and you like easy A's.

Knable is great, even if you suck at science. He gives you the notes, so you really don't have to show. He also gives you sample tests, and if you study those alone, you'll get a B on the tests. He's kinda funny, too.

Prof. Knable is a good teacher. It is nice not to have to read and buy a huge, boring, expensive book. He had you buy class notes for a few bucks that are all his lectures. All you need is that and highlight/add notes wherever needed. The lab was terrible, but that wasn't his fault and hopefully it will be reformed. He is probably the best choice for this class.

Knable made his classes interesting by telling jokes since biology isn't the most exciting subject. The lab section is the only part that brought my grade down.

Dr. Knable was an execellent teacher, the best I've had so far. He realizes that the Biology books they sell at El Corral are like $80 bucks, so instead he has you buy his notes for like $8 bucks. If you study the practice quizes in the back of the notes, they will help you a lot. The lab is the only thing that brought my grade down but that was a different teacher. I would highly recommend taking Knable.

Everybody has to take a science with a lab and I would recommend this course. And I would also recommend this professor. After talking to other students with other proffesors, I realized I took the right teacher. Just know that the first test is easy, the second is tricky and the third is pretty simple. Don't blow the second test!

Knable was a good teacher for a subject that i dislike very much. You didnt have to buy the book because all you had to do was buy his prepared notes. Which was great! I didnt want to have to read the book. I had him for lab as well...The one problem is that there is so much information to remember for the tests. But he is a good teacher and trys to add some humor during his lectures. He's probably the best for this subject! Especially if you hate the topic!

easy A. gives u questions that are on the test. dont have to go to class. gives u notes. no book. CHEAP class

Dr. Knable is a great professor. Biology isnt the most exciting class in the world, especially when you have it at 7:40 in the morning. Instead of buying a huge expensive book he gives u all the notes ahead of time. In the notes, there is also sample tests. If u study those u will get a B. He is very sarcastic and funny, which is a plus because it made me stay awake. I only got a C in the class because I failed the first test. I had a D at the end of the quarter (final and all) and I still ended up with a C. Go in and see him, it helps! Take this professor.

This guy is another loser in long list of bad instructors at Cal Poly. The only reason to take his class is that he did not change his tests. Knable thinks that he is a comedian, the only problem is that he is not funny. His diet sucks, he rides around a little bike, and basically leads a shity life. This is all well and good, except he thinks everyone needs to hear about him. Check out his build, the dudes chest is probably less then 15 inches around.

This guy is the man. Instead of giving you the book and making you read, he just gives you the notes, which have sample tests in the back(that are very similar to the real test). So you don't have to go to class and just read your notes and you're guaranteed a B. Go to the lectures and the guy is actually interesting for a biology profesor. So if you have to take Bio, you gotta get this guy.

Knable is a cool guy; he knows his stuff and is very entertaining. I would have done way better in this class if I would've just studied more for his tests; your grade is made up of three midterms and a lab. His Class Notes follow his lectures very well; I would say you hardly even have to come to class, but there are some questions on his tests based on examples he gave in class. And there is no book for the course (except his notes), so if you don't understanding something in the notes (which can be vague at some points) you'd better go to class. Also, he gives answers to the practice tests located in the back of his notes. Just practice those tests several times and you'll be set.

He's really energetic, funny, knows what he's talking about and seems to really like teaching. I hate bio but he made it a little more tolerable.

dr. knable is an average teacher, with not very good personable skills. he thinks he's the funniest thing to ever grace the presence of cal poly students. while he constantly rags on cuesta students and anyone else who makes any sudden moves in his class, he attemps to teach bio while boring the living f*ck out of you. if you have a low attention span i do not recommend this class. i don't recommend it anyway. take bio at your local junior college.

professor knable tries to be funny in his lectures, but don't sit in the front b/c he'll pick on you. turn off your cell phone and don't come in late or else he'll comment about it in front of the whole class. he's a pretty good lecturer and all his notes on in a book you can get at second edition. he's easier than most bio professors since you have to take bio, you should take him.

Knable was awesome, from what I hear much better than Nakamura. Take this guy if you can. 2 midterms, 1 final, and it is not cumulative. You dont have to buy the book, just his lecture notes from El Corral which is awesome. Nice guy and funny at times.

Dr. Knable wouldn't even answer student questions the class before an exam. He was very smart-alecky, and enjoyed making fun of students. I studied for 5-6 hours, and got C-'s on the exams. However, this was the class average. The only good thing about his class is that he honestly did not care what students did. One class about 75% of the class walked out (because he was being that rude). If you take Bio111, take Jankay.

First of all, let me say that I went into this class feeling confident about my abilities as a student. I am walking out saying, "my gosh how did this all happen". After eading previous Poly Ratings I thought this class would be cake. WRONG. Knable rambles and picks on kids, can't answer a student question to save his life, and has absolutely no personal skills whatsoever. He goes on and on about how you can fail the lab and still pass the class..... forget failing the lab! ITs whether or not you will fail the class. I got a B in the lab and A low low D in the class. I have never done so poorly in my life. Knable starts out the class by informing you that you are indeed just a number so don't try calling him or emailing him with questions... he won't pick up the phone or answer his email. The good thing is that you don't waste money on a huge book, but when it comes to studying the only thing worthwhile is the old tests in the back that he gives the answers to. Horrbile Horrible teacher overall. I would recommend taking another teacher and not expecting to get anything above a B. After my lab class discussed things, we had everyone in Knable's class getting a D except for one lone C who sat in the front row every day.

Knable is horrible. He needs to retire soon- he's a misanthrope, very cold and bitchy to students. His lectures suck- they are useless so it's just a bother to go to class. This guy thinks he's so funny- he deliberately says the most obscure things to try to offend the class. Also, he makes it IMPOSSIBLE for you to contact him outside of class besides his office hours, he won't pick up his phone or emails. Not only that, but he is refusing to curve the class, even though the average is about C-'s to D+'s. Don't take this asshole, he's a crappy lecturer and just terrible as a person.

This teacher is horrible. Don't go to class because it doesn't do anything cause this stubborn, old man can't teach worth crap. No one got an A out of both of his classes (200 students) and overall he is the WORST TEACHER i have had so far at Cal Poly by far. The Lab is retarded and having this teacher for lecture makes the whole BIO 111 experience a waste of money and time. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE TEACHER!!!!

A complete shit head. An awful person and teacher. Avoid at all costs!!!

This guy is a complete jackass! Knable is not fair, not human and basically a disgrace to all teachers out there. Everyone should NOT take him and argue to the head of the department about getting him fired!!!

I went to class the first day and decided that I would never go again besides the days of the tests. I only went to class 4 times the whole quarter and stole a C from this old clueless fuck. If you can cram 1-2 hours before the test you will pass. I had friends that went to the test at the earlier class and then went to their class and this fuck didn't have a clue. Like to drink and get fucked up all week and still pass classes, take this guy and you will succeed.

This guy HATES HIS STUDETS. Everyday i was in class i felt like i was a burden on him for going. He seems like the teacher who is definitly out there to screw over college kids. He really loves his own jokes and thinks he is funny while he is actully saying some sort of sexist comment (God love this man) about women. There is absolutly no homework for this class and three tests. To do well you really need to go to class everyday because he will have questions on the test that relate to a tangent that he went off on during lecture that you will never find in the notes. I walked into this class thinking that is was going to be easy so i hardly studied for the test and got a D+. This was also the class average. The class average on the second test was about the same. The key to this class is getting an A in lab because it counts as 25% of your grade. Memorizing the notes word for word couldnt help either because there is no way to understant biology. There are no concepts, only terms given to things we already know exist, so MEMORIZE THE NOTES and you could get a B.

Many people seem to hate Professor Knable, but that is because they are biter about something and are using Polyratings to get it off their chest. I have him for lecture, and if you ask questions about what you don't know or understand, he will answer them. If all else fails, go and talk to the guy durring his office hours. He is willing to help you out. I will admit that his tests have the same answers but with different things attached, so be careful. Know the complex stuff, and you'll be ok.

I did not have a good experience in this class. I felt that his lectures were difficult to follow and the tests were ridiculously hard. I did poorly on them and in the class, but received an A in the lab (because I had a different teacher). I do NOT recommend taking BIO 111 with Knable. He also makes students feel uncomfortable in class by making fun of what they are wearing, making fun of Cuesta students, etc. I just DO NOT recommend Dr. Knable. He might be a good person, but I loathed his class.

Please disregard everything said about Knable in the previous evaluations. First of all, for all of you unsuspecting students out there, Cal Poly allows you to take one (1) general ed class for credit/no credit grading. BIO 111 would be an extremely wise selection. Cumulatively, BIO 111 produces the lowest overall GPA for all general ed classes. Even if you put in an abundance of time on this class, you will not be guaranteed an A, and maybe not even a B pending on what kind of student you are. I kid you not, the material in this class is so mundane, biased, and relatively uninteresting to learn and even more uninteresting to study(this of course is true unless you enjoy BIO, and if you do, you might want to invest in a gun to kill yourself). That says something about the department and also the difficulty of the class for some students. I don't know much about Knable because I went to class 4 times all quarter...the first day of class, and once for each midterm and the final. Each test is worth 25% of your grade, and the lab is worth 25%. The tests get easier as you go, making the first one kind of a bitch. Knable gives a booklet of notes to study from that apparently are verbatim from what he goes over in class. Know his notes down to a T and there is no reason you should struggle in this class, epsecially if you attend every once in a awhile. Look at your remaining GEs and if you haven't used a cr/nc grading on a GE yet, use it on BIO...even if you are a freshman. There will be no other class down the road that you wished you used cr/nc grading more than BIO 111. Knable's class requires the least from his students when compared to the others (Nakamura, Jankay). He might be a pompous prick, but some people enjoy him, and even so...its not like you have to ever go to class. Just start studying a few days before each test and cram before the test...make flashcards...whatever...if you got into Poly, you should manage a credit or at least a C with less than 15 hours of work for the entire quarter.

Knable seems like a jackass. Personally, I don't know how I managed a B. I walked out of the final exam hating him. His test questions are not made out of questions he wrote, merely from a book with a multitude of possible questions to ask. Therefore, they do not directly corrolate with his lecture notes with a slightly different wording. He realizes that most of his students do poorly and often reminds us. He also gives every chance to try and humiliate someone for his own personal enjoyment. But on another level I enjoyed his different and sarcastic behavior and sense of humor. Most do not. He does provide good examples for many concepts. He relates them to the most random thing, but it does work. Unforunately though, he sometimes goes off on tangents that don't relate to the tests at all, but you don't know that. All you really need are the lecture notes for the class. The other book only further explains things, much of which isn't required to know. I never went to his office hours, but this is the only way he likes to be contacted. He hates technology and mocks those who depend on it.

Professor Knable may seem a bit odd, but this is what makes him an awesome teacher. His lectures were interesting and right out of his lecture notes, so everyone could follow along and just fill in the details. I also had him for the lab section which was really helpful because he'll tell you what you need to know or how you did something wrong. He does have a tendency to go off on tangents, but if you give him a chance he has some pretty funny stories. All in all, he's a great professor, just remember not to bring your cell phone to class (Or at least remember to turn it off).

This guy's class is pretty fun, but it's hard to pick out the things you are supposed to be learning in his lectures. You have go to his lectures and study for the test. The average test grade was around a 65.

This man drove me crazy. You do not learn anything from this lecture unless you are in the front row. He talks at barely a wisper and seems to punish the rest of the class that could not fit in the front row. With a lecture that has about 80 students you have to speak up! He goes off on random tangents all the time. My first test score was a 92 and the second was a 58. He basically punished the whole class for his bad mood. All in all dont take him unless you want to regret it.

I never went to class and still earned a C. I went for maybe the 1st week or two and then NEVER went unless we had a test. If you want to do well on the tests make sure you read his notes THOROUGHLY. Going to class would probably have helped too but I still pulled off a C.

Dr. Knable is a pretty funny guy. He is one of those old men that think technology is the devil incarnate and that you would expect to see leading Greenpeace demonstrations. In lecture he has some pet peeves that he will inform you about on the first day. These include ringing cellphones, people walking in front of him, and bubble-gum popping (do people even do this anymore?). He sometimes seems to be living in the 60's or 70's, but can be extremely funny at times. This usually happens when he gets sidetracked onto one of his anecdotes. The most important thing to do in Knable's class is to get and read his notes. Don't even bother with a textbook, because he doesn't use material outside the notes. The next most important thing to do is come to class, because he'll eventually say a lot about something that is given only a one-word mention in his lecture notes. If you aren't there to get it, you'll regret it on the exam. Since I had Dr. Knable for lab as well, I can say from experience that he is quite nonchalant about your attendance. If you know something about biology, you can just come on quiz days and get away with it. He doesn't even take attendance during the 'required' field trip. Usually lab only ran about an hour, once he finished talking. The exams are non-cumulative, multiple choice with about 50 questions. There's two midterms and a final, and some of the questions are taken directly from his practice exams, so be sure you do them and get the answers in lecture. This alone will guarantee you at least a B, but an A is a bit harder to come by. I don't think he grades on a curve, so bombing an exam is pretty bad. Just take advantage of the fact that it's non-cumulative to dig yourself out.

His was the first class I walked into my first year of college. Heck of a guy; I still remember how funny he was. What's more, I actually remember concepts from biology, the weakest science. I have to say my proudest moment as a wiseass was when I had him speechless once. The people who don't like him are probably all creationists or jerks who talked through the whole class. Ohhhh how he ripped up the creationist who asked a stupid question! It was great. You have to love getting credit for reading the textbook Evolution and the Myth of Creationism.

Knable is most definitely a tweaker, but he makes for an interesting teacher. His quirky personality and distorted perception of reality keeps the class entertaining while he still manages to make you understand Bio better. He saves you a good $80 or so by printing out all his class notes so you don't have to buy that huge bio book. Not to mention that he gives you practice tests which are nearly identical to the midterms themselves (PRACTICE TESTS ARE KEY-STUDY THEM!). I definitely reccomend Knable to anyone who wants to add a lil entertainment to their bio experience.

Knable IS A BITTER OLD PUNK. everyone who enjoyed his sence of humor is an idiot, he maybe said one funny thing the whole quarter. He maybe taught one useful thing all quarter. The only good thing about him is his first two tests are similar to the practice tests in the back of the book, but other then that he is a fat guy turned skinny who is bitter about life. and we all know from geek to sheek, means your still the loser you always were!

He is an asshole. FUCK YOU KNABLE

KNABLE GIVES TOUGH EXAMS

This class starts out easy with the first midterm but after that it all goes downhill. You start going to class less and the second midterm brings your grade from a B+ to a D+. By the final you are ready and it is much easier than you think but that's only because you made yourself try after the last midterm. You never should take Knable for granted, especially after he gets pissed for having less than half of the students in his lecture coming to class. And on a random friday he'll have everyone who came to class sign a sheet which will help him decide whether he needs to give you sympathy by the end of the quarter. Overall he was only a little interesting in class in my opinion, but by the end of the hour i was happy to be out. Overall I would recommend him for an easy C or B depending on how good you are at biology.

Dr. Knable is a really funny guy. However, if you want to actually learn in class and have trouble basically teaching yourself biology, you may want to reconsider. He does save you money because you don't need to buy the $95 biology book, all you need is a $7 notebook, but I had some trouble in his class. His tests are very difficult and even if I felt I did well, I still didn't. I studied the pretests in the back of the notebook and new all of the answers and many of those questions are on the test, but I still did not do very well. I studied for 3 days for the final and I think the only reason I passed the class was because of my goo bio lab grade.

His class was a complete kick. This guy is funny and very interesting. His lectures are straight from his notes in which you buy. You hardly need to show up to class, because memorizing the notes from the book will gaurantee at least a B in the class. His tests were extremely fair. Take him over that other guy that I hear terrible things about.

I enjoyed his lectures and his humor. Fundamentalists should not take this instructor, you may find resistence the entire quarter. People with open minds and those who seek facts may want to try this teacher. His anecdotes allow the non-Bio oriented student to understand otherwise "alien" concepts. His entire class is printed on lecture notes available at El Corral. Don't even bother with the book, he doesn't use it nor does he include anything on the tests from it. It saves good money. If your lucky enough to get his for lab too, he usually only keeps you for an hour or two. His final is not cumulative, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get a reasonable grade. Do watch out for his second mid term, because the ease of the first test will likely lead you to think all are like that. Be forewarned. A great professor, by far.

This guy is a total jerk. He doesn't care about student's success at all and his lectures have absolutely nothing to do with the acutal test. Don't waste your time by going to class. It almost seems as though he wants students to fail. He predicted the class to average a C on the first test and we surprised (and even appeared disappointed) when the average was a b+. Next test he told us all the average would be a 60%, and when it was he felt some sense of accomplishment. When a class of 200 gets an average of 60%, maybe the professor should re-evaluate his teaching styles. Doesn't curve the class cause he'S bitter no one attends lectures (because they are pointless) and is not easily approachable. Avoid this guy at all costs!!!

Great teacher

Knable is little different but he is cool. There are 2 midterms and a final only like 50 questions each. Go to class because he covers everything that will be on the tests. Watch the details, and there are a lot of them! I would recommend him. Oh yeah, you don't have to buy the book he has published notes, so its cool.

I loved this guy, he made Bio interesting for me. And you don't have to buy the book, you buy a book where he outlines all his notes. He make little jokes all the time to keep people interested, and in the back of the "book" he has sample tests, the first midterm and the final are right out of the back. The second midterm is NOT however, so study other things for that test! The evolution book you just need to look up the stuff on the study guide, and the book has an index and glossory. Excellent prof!

Don't take him if you are easily offended. he loves to poke fun at students and places like Bakersfield. i personally found all his stabs and bad jokes hilarious, so i enjoyed his lectures very much. he knows his stuff and if you approach him outside of class, he's not as likely to make fun of you (like he would if you ask a stupid question in class.) lectures are short and you don't have to buy the expensive bio book cause he gives you the notes.. can't get much better then that. it's a good idea to go to class, cause i think he purposely put a bunch of questions on the 2nd midterm from a movie that we watched because only like 20 of the 100person class showed up that day. study the notes and pre-tests he gives you and read the Evolution book (it's pretty interesting!) it's not a hard class if you actually put a little effort into it!

the only reason this guy is still teaching is because he has tenure. do whatever you can not to take him!!! he doesn't give a shit about any of his students, and he sucks as a lab teacher. fuck you knable

Though Knable's lectures were somewhat interesting, his actual presentation of the material is often not relative to the midterms. I noticed that there were a lot of questions that were not covered (or just mentioned) on his notes, yet they were on the midterm. Attendance of his lectures would be a good idea, if you plan on getting more than a C. Overall, he is the best professor you could chose if you have to take BIO111, but that really isn't saying much. The class averages in the class were somewhat low (below a C average), yet he didn't curve the grades at all. If you are not that great at memorizing things (which is what is needed to do well on the midterms), I would highly recommend a good/easy lab teacher.

Prof. Knable is a simple man teaching a simple class. It's as simple as that. He's taught at Poly for 30 some odd years so he knows what he's doing. He knows that hes lecturing to a bunch of 18-22 year old kids who'd much prefer to be at the beach drinking Old Milwaukee rather than in his lecture hall and he takes that into consideration. In other words you probably wont pass if you never go to class but if you do go to class i promise biology 111 will be incredibly easy. Buy the Bio 111 Orange Supplement(No Textbook Woohooo!!!), make flashcards for the keyterms, take the three tests--all of which are 50 MC Questions--and by friday you and i can enjoy an Old Milwaukee at the Beach.

Entertaining, engaging lecture with humor, good interaction with students, in addition he makes good use of examples. The text was simple and straightforward, a simplified "ring binder" type which contains basic notes on everything he covers. Studying only the ring binder text I was able to get an A on every midterm. Sit in the front row of lecture for the most fun.

You can easily pass without ever learning biology. His course notes provide an easy outline and the tests are not too hard (to get a C). However, beyond that he is socially dysfunctional and unapproachable. He spends more time ranting on politics than teaching. Pretty easy to pass, but you will not necessarly learn anything.

This guy is really funny but no good as a teacher. All he does is rant on about jokes and politics all class long which is entertaining but doesn't help at all when it comes to tests. The first test is pretty much on the material but the rest come out of no where. He doesn't even talk about most of the stuff on them so if you arent good at biology you might need to read up somewhere else.

at first it seemed easy...knable seemed pretty straight forward, letting us know what we needed to know for our first midterm and his lectures were interesting and funny....then the second midterm came and it all changed. the tests got more difficult and knable is probably one of the rudest teachers i've ever met, he doesn't welcome you at all in his office hours and his jokes and humor during lectures got on my nerves since sometimes he picked on people for no reason and in no relation to biology. the class is simple enough...no book just the lecture outline and one little book on evolution....thats it....i personally did not enjoy his class.

Knable is not one of those professors who knows how to interact with his students. He's a good professor when it comes to explaining concepts, but his lecture jokes were pretty crude and he likes to pick on people in the front row. His class consistes of 3 exams, all weighed the same. The first one will be so incredibly easy, but DON'T flake out for the 2nd one, that's the hardest one. You only need to buy his outline and the evolution book, no textbooks, so you save a lot of money. I'd recommend going to the lectures, because sometimes it's tough to decipher the outline or he'll test on material he mentions in class. Do the sample tests in the back of the outline manual... a lot of the questions on the real exams will be taken from them. Answer the reading questions at the front of the manual when reading the evolution book and you'll be fine. Overall, he's a straightforward professor, and from what I hear, a lot better than the other bio 111 professors.

Avoid Knable at all costs! If you are a republican or a christian.....avoid him even more! This man is one of the worst teachers at Cal Poly! Although he will entertain you by making fun of kids, he never knows when to stop! His first midterm is the exact practice test! Dont expect that of the next one! you will fail!!! I dont care how hard you study, unless you have had a wonderful bio teacher in high school and know random stuff, then you will fail! The second test is nothing like the practice test, and you will waste your time if you bother to study! the final was also rediculus and but way better than the second test! Plan and simple.....Knable is an Asshole!

I have to disagree with everyone who says that Knable is insensitive and mean to his students. I guess a lot of people who believe in creationism found him offensive because of his dismissal of this theory, but you have to realize that you are taking a biology class, not a theology class and biology is very much based on evolution. As for his jokes, I found them to be the only thing that made this incredibly boring subject somewhat bareable. There is no hw in this class, and though the second test is really hard, the third one is really easy, so if you study and go to lab (which I did not) you should be able to get a good grade. Be warned: this class is very boring. Not really Knable's fault, it's just a boring subject.

Prof. Knable was hilarious. He knows that most everyone is taking the class to fill a GE and he tries really hard to make everyone interested. He makes a ton of inappropriate, hilarious jokes and really lightens the atmosphere of an otherwise boring BIO class. He does somtimes stray from his lecture manual (test material) so it is helpful to take the BIO disscussion. Other than that, I really enjoyed his class and his sense of humor. Take him.

I am incredibly glad I was in Knable's bio class. I heard a few things about some of the other teachers and realized that I had gotten the luck of the draw. For most of us non-science majors, bio is not the most spell-binding of subjects to be lectured on. However, Knable explains the concepts on mostly elementary terms so that we as the science-challenged students can better understand. While he does make jokes that may offend certain classes of people, he himself recognizes his biases and jokingly explains that at some point he will offend every single person in the class. While this is a skewed sense of what is "fair," I think we can all agree it makes things a little more interesting. Just GO TO CLASS and pay attention. The tests are a piece of cake. There isn't even any book reading!!!!! Just a copy of his lecture notes. It doesn't get ANY easier than this. Go over the notes you have just learned in class and DO THE PRACTICE TESTS. Believe me, piece of cake.

Dr. Knable was not a horrible lab instructor, but I don't think I would be all that eager to have lab with him again. I found him to be quite arrogant, though I guess that doesn't really matter since you don't have to like a person to learn from them. However, the quizzes were extremely difficult, and you have to make sure you study EVERYTHING to even have a chance of doing well on them. You do everything from a lab manual, and none of the work is assigned or required, however if you don't do it, you will likely fail to quizzes. He's very knowledgeable however, and though he sometimes has a hard time explaining the labs so that students aren't confused, he's helpful with coming over and getting you started. He's tough, but not impossible.

ahhh dr. knable..now i understand why people gave him such strange poly ratings, he is definatly an excentric kind of guy..but that doesnt mean that you cant learn from him, his class is pretty easy and his lectures arent too bad..they can get a little boring, but if you actually listen he explains things pretty clearly..i would recommend it because it is easy and not too painful, some of the crazy shit he says is actually kinda funny..if you're not from the central valley!

don't even waste your time going to his class. i pulled a c in this class and only showed up for the midterms. all you have to do is study his notes in the study guide he gives you..mostly all the bold terms. going to his class is just confusing yourself.

Dr. Knable will make you laugh and insult you. At first I hated him, but as the quarter wore on I learned to see past his crude jokes. He makes fun of meat-eaters and vegetarians. He seems very liberal but is actually a registered Republican. I'll warn you that whatever you say in class, he will make fun of you. Do not challenge him; do not stand up for what you think is right (Creationism, etc.). Dr. Knable's classroom is not a good place to challenge what he teaches. I recommend showing up to all his lectures and labs. Good luck!

Knable is definately easy. It's like high school bio, where you just memorize bullshit and puke it up on the exam. Definately do-able. The first test is cake, so you skip class until the next test. That fucks you since the second one is considerable harder. Then you recover and do well on the cakewalk final. If you go to class, you'd have to be an fuckbrick to fail. It really is an easy class. How people failed the first test is beyond me. Attendence explains the second tests grades. Cool guy though. Interesting sense of humor, wierd stories, and a cool disregard for political correctness.

Hilarious, if you have thin skin stay out, but if you are synical or enjoy rough humor his class is very entertaining. He also makes it very clear what you must know for the tests.

Hellllllla old and cranky but its hilarious. He puts example tests in the back of the book that are exactly like the midterms. Just memorize bold words and u'll be fine.

Knable's class is one of those that are very hard to get yourself to go to but when you do you are glad you did. If he is in a good mood, class is hilarious and you seem to learn much more. The best advice is to do the practice tests in the back of the lecture notes, half of the test are taken from those and the rest of the ?'s are usually altered forms of those or just straight from the books notes. The lecture is just supplement.

Okay all you non-freshmen non-science major people, here's how you tackle biology, even though you haven't touched it in 7-9 years. Take Knable, he's kind of funny and weird. Take it credit/no credit, so all you need is a 70. Go to most of the classes before the first midterm and somewhat study (or not, whatever) and you will get at least a solid B. Then for the second midterm, which covers 5-6 weeks, don't really go and fail that or get a low C. But the tests are all worth the same! You can afford a really bad test, so you might as well fail the one that covers most of the quarter. The final is like 2 weeks of material so you can go back to class for some of that and then the test covers the book (which if you fill out the study guide for the questions are REALLY EASY) and you'll rock that. Go to lab and POOF you get credit with maybe 3 hours total of outside work and going to class 40% of the quarter. For anyone taking this for a grade, and you try, easy B, not too hard A.

Really Reallly hard to get yourself to go to class, and i got a C becuase of it. Its impossible to get an A unless you dont have a Life (one A out of 100+ students) But the B or C is easy. If you dont like going to class take him cuz the other teacher takes roll.

You will not learn a thing in this class. You are better off not even showing up and spending that 1 hour block studing at home. Yeah he might be funny, but not funny enough to waste an hour of your life three days a week.

This guy blows..I went to his lectures and didn't learn anything..all you need is the orange manual and study all the bold terms..he did have a sweet curve in the end though

Knable is a funny man. Wears the same clothes every day, and does seem to make fun of Cuesta kids a lot. I failed every test when I thought I got a B on them. I guess there was a kick ass curve cause I got a C. Ya

yea pretty much he flat out sucks as a professor. If you plan on teaching yourself the material....skip the lectures and go for it

His lectures are pointless. You might as well just stay home for 3 hours a week and read his lecture notes, except he decided to make a couple sign-in sheets this quarter, and then he curved the grades of people at the end who signed in at every sign-in sheet day. He is one of those guys who wants you to know he knows a lot about biology, so he puts bogus questions on the tests that have nothing to do with the lecture notes. The averages for the midterms were 72% and 66%. A lot of people say he's funny, but it's that stupid sort of humor that you just laugh at him for trying to be funny. I guess one entertaining thing about him is that he rips on Cuesta quite a bit, but it's not worth going to class to hear that. Bottom line is you should try and take a teacher other than Knable.

Go to class and sit in the front. Knable tends to get loud & then whisper on and off. Pay attention to the lectures, because he covers everything you need to know. He's a little crazy... if you can help it, take a smaller class. His General Bio lecture is hundreds of kids, so you don't absorb the information as well as in a smaller one.

Knable is a silly old man. He will probably argue with you when you comment in class, but don't be afraid to. Sit in the front so you can get everything he's saying, and go to class so you can get extra credit when he takes roll. His tests are challenging, but do-able.

People have it out for this guy for some reason. Honestly just review the notes and you should do well on his tests they are very to the point. He is a really funny guy and makes the class tolerable. Don't speak up unless you wanna get made fun of.

This guy sucks at lecturing! His test are completely different than what you are studying in that stupid red book you have for the course. You will learn more by not going to class and trying to teach yourself the material. What sucks about this class is that you think you do well on the test to then find out your grade is actually two letter grades lower than you expected. He is a cranky old fool who should be retired. My advice is to take someone else in a smaller class. You will get to know your teacher better and they will make the effort to help you. Knable=fail

KNABS was horrible...... he doesn't teach you anything in the lectures you might as well not go. He stands in the front mumbling shit to himself drawing random diagrams on the board... at the end of the class hes covered in chalk which is quite hilarious! AVIOD KNABS u will have to teach yourself

Professor Knable was terrific. I don't understand these naysayers. He created the book of notes he tests you out of. He gives excellent clarification in lecture and he gives extra credit for attendance. His "tangents" are always stories relevant to the current topic and help to reinforce specifics. The tests definitely had a few tricky questions each, but overall were fairly easy. About half of each test was taken directly from the practice exams in the back of the notes book and he gives you the answers the class before the test. He was appeared to be very helpful to others in office hours when I went in to review my midterm scores. His sense of humor is also great and I was laughing each class. If you sit in the front row, he tends to target you as a generic person for many of his jokes so be ready :). I would highly recommend Professor Knable.

This class was horrible. He was very boring, I don't know what the point was to go to class, but I went anyways every single day because he gives unexpected attendance roll, which was good for me because it was like extra credit. If it wasn't for the days I went, it would have been hard to get a C. Okay your grade is based on 2 midterms and a final. They are all worth the same percentage. All the test materials are from the orange notebook and many other were from the practice test that he gives us.

bottom line- don\'t take him on the notion of thinking there is a curve at the end of the quarter. i failed the two tests (yes i did study my ass off for them!) don\'t count on the curve. i went to every class and there were no extra credit attendance days! the old guy is a liar! but he is extremely funny!

Take this class credit/no credit. This was my hardest class all quarter and I took it cr/nc. His tests are ridiculously difficult and he blames the bad results on the class and not the fact that he is giving us questions that he never went over in class. I had the whole lecture packet memorized and attended every lecture and still had a D average on tests. Luckily he curves at the end which helps alot! But still I know alot of people that did not pass. This class is way to difficult for a GE.

this teacher is not for everyone. he kinda reminds me of Dr. House, thinks he knows everything and doesnt give a shit about anyone else. hes got a really dark sense of humor often making fun of "stupid animals" (including students). Be prepared he pretty much offends everyone sometime by the end of the quarter. but this is the reason why i loved his class. he was different and brought a unique point of view for conservation and that made him interesting to me

This guy could have had a career as a comedian, he is the funniest and most entertaining professor I have had yet. He can teach the material as well which is always nice. Over all a great professor.

This guy doesnt put up with BS. He rocks your world, and if you cant take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Now, STFU and GBTW.

Knable is as good a teacher as you can ask for. He kept me interested even at 7 in the morning, he's funny and very fair. You'll learn a lot if you do your part.

I thought Knable was a great lecturer. Although you probably could avoid not coming to class and just showing up for the tests, I don't know why you would. He presents the information in an interesting way and always has the attention of the class, even at 7 in the morning, when I took it. As for BIO 227 itself, it's a whole lot better than taking BIO 101 in my opinion. If you study at all you should be able to do very well. One of my best classes thus far.

I have to say I am impressed by Knable's course. He is extremely interested and knowledgable of this topic and it shows when he lectures. He is constantly asking questions during lecture to keep the class awake, which is cool. And, I actually still think of the topics he discussed, even now the course is over. Beware, his tests are harder than you think. Make sure you study the notes thouroughly, even the details.

Dr. Knable has a strange sense of humor. He'll make some obscure comment right out of the blue that supposidly relates to the topic being discussed. Often it is a far fetch, but it does keep the class intersting. In all there are 372 points in the class. 100 each for the 2 midterms, 100 for the final, and 72 for the test on a novel you read. The bnovel is rather boring, but it is easy reading and Knable provides you with a study giude with questions and vocabulary. The test is taken directly from the studyguide. The class is very cheap. Less than $20 for the class notes and novel.

Knable is horrible teacher. You can literally feel yourself getting dumber with every one of his lame stories and animated lectures. Not to mention he pisses away most of the class time arguing with the 30-40 year old return to college to get a crop science degree types. I'm not sure if he's figured out how to use email either. If you are taking this class for GE you better check yourself and drop it ASAP. If you pride yourself on being a freethinking intellectual who enjoys learning fresh and exciting material DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!

Ok...This guy's confrontational, condescending, and embittered. Still, though, you have to respect the stand he takes in a university such as this. This is a very conservative, very capitalist institution. His message involves swallowing your ambition and asking yourself, "What are we really doing to the world around us?" While he did give me the only "B" I had all last year, I probably learned more in that class than I did in the majority of classes I took. I know this guy's alienated a majority of his colleagues and students, but he has some excellent points that address real items. Don't let the delivery get in the way of some fantastic concepts. Read your fucking material, and be ready to take tests that actually DO separate the A's from the B's.

If you take everything that teachers say seriously, you should not take this class. But if you are open to atleast a different point of view(it doesn't mean that you have to believe in the different point of view), it's an informative class. You learn a lot about what can be done to help wildlife. The only problem with this class is that it's hard to get a good grade. You have to go to all of his lectures, and even if you do that, it's hard to seperate the relevant information from the irrelevant information. Good class, but it isn't grade friendly.

Dr. Knable clearly presnts his material. Most of his anecdotes helped me understand the material better. His tests were straightforward and taken directly from his notes. Both of the novels he had us read were interesting. I didn't think they were a waste of time at all. This isn't like a liberal-tree-hugger class. You learn realistic approches to dealing with nature. Definately, attend lectures because he will expose you to a new point of view. You might not agree with his opinions, but at least you start thinking about the world around you.

Knable was a wonderful teacher, and not because of his pesimistic attitude or his love for arguing- and believe me he LOVES to argue, but for his incredible dedication to wild life. If you consider yourself an environmentalist, and I consider myself one- take his class! Be careful asking questions in his class, he'll jump all over you, but in my case it was worth it. I asked questions anyway. He tends to jump around sometimes when he gives lectures, but his lectures are all outlined for you, so it's pretty easy to keep up. If you get this class early in the morning, come EVERYDAY, no matter what. He gives an extra credit of 3%, which isn't much...but it's something. I thought I would fail this class, so I was happy to get a C. You have 3 midterms and a final and your whole grade is based on that. It was frusterating that the only thing we had to study with was his lecture notes, which is why it's so IMPORTANT that you come EVERYDAY. He takes some small things in his lecture and puts it in the test. I personally don't like his examples, but they're good to write down. He doesn't give you a lot of books. The books that you do read are only for a test, he hardly talks about them, but I suggest you look on the internet to find out a little more about them- especially if you don't get the book. One of the books is filled with a lot of poetic, interpetive type stuff, so be careful. Overall, he's a funny teacher, organized. He'll make you laugh, he'll bring little comics to his class. And if you don't laugh- he'll assume the class is ignorant. He'll insult students, insult states and cities and areas and he criticises just about everything. You never know WHAT he is going to berate next, but it makes the class very engaging. If you're taking him for Wildlife Biology and you're interested, this class will be fun. Concentrate on taking down good notes, go to his office hours and check to make sure your grade is right! He makes mistakes on grades, so don't assume that yours is right. One more thing, he's a soft talker, so complete silence is necessary, as well as sitting in the front so that you can hear EVERYTHING. Trust me. Knable is pretty cool, good luck! :)

Wow i love this guy...taking him a second time now for bio 111, yay!!!!! he is totally awesome, he is the older guy who has decided there is no point to being upset with life, its too short be happy, so you cant really make him pissed. He has somewhat bad humor, but its funny anyways. The class was a blast, you read two books, go to lecture and take some tests, super easy. Just really pay attention to what he is asking on the tests, he likes to confuse you a little. He grades like all profesors should grade. 100-90 = A, 89-80 = B, and so on, not really any curves, so what you get is what you get. A truly awesome teacher.

Professor Knable is a real piece of work. I got the impression that he didn't want to be in the classroom and held us all responsible for the fact that his life turned out this way. Basically you just attend class as he lectures straight from his own notes. You don't have to buy a huge textbook, which is awesome, but if you don't go to class, the notes will be completely enigmatic. Plus you can add 3% to your grade just by showing up. The tests are easy so long as you actually study, but studying is all you can do. Knable doesn't really like to help out his students in office hours. I went a couple of times and got the cold shoulder. I found this class boring, but that's because I discovered it was a FORESTRY class the previous year. I wouldn't recommend this professor unless you're majoring in the field, even if you're tempted by the fact that there's no lab with the lecture.

If you have seen the movie Grumpy Old Men, I think Knable has the leading role. He is very biased in his opinion when it come to anything affecting the environment. Knable also shows no sign of care about the students opinions in his class and doesn't ever show much interest in helping them out when they need help. Make sure you double check your grades because often times discrepencies are found in his grade book.

Knable's BIO 227 class changed my life... it addressed important issues such as sustainability, the human impact on the world and our ignorance and misconception about wildlife conservation management. This class is not for everyone at Cal Poly, but I would recommend it to anyone who has the capacity to be open to different views of the world. The class requires a lot of reading and it's wise to attend the lectures (or else be prepared to be thoroughly confused about his notes). E.O. Wilson's, "The Future of Life," was certainly the highlight of the course. His tests are difficult and I suck at science, but Knable gave everyone a fair chance to do well. He raised everyone's grade by 4 percent just for coming to class.

Knable's a very good professor, despite his cynicism about the world. I wouldn't have done well in his 227 class if I hadn't been warned that his tests were pretty difficult and very detailed oriented. Go to class, do the reading, pay attention to his lectures and take good notes. It's not an easy A, but it's one of the most important classes I've ever taken at Cal Poly and I would recommend it to anyone.

Knable fights the man. He is a great dude, funny and really into conservation biology. Good class, pretty easy and interesting. Knable knows his stuff and is generally pretty flippin' sweet.

he gives 3 tests (2 midterms and a final). the first one is hard and the other 2 are very easy. you have to LOOK (not read) through 2 books for the tests and he also tests you on his lecture book. make sure you go to class as much as you can because you will be lost trying to read his lecture book without notes. he gives you 4% just for going to class. he is not helpful at office hours at all, so don't bother. great professor; i reccomend him to anyone who wants to fullfill their GE requirement. EASY CLASS.

The class is boring, hard, and outdated. Knable thinks he knows it all and seems kinda full of himself most of the time. The tests are hard with a lot of true/false questions. The books are extremely boring and it's a waste of your effort to read them. To pass, you must go to class and take good notes because his lecture points in his book of notes are hard to figure out by yourself. The information presented in the book of notes is outdated and it seems like most of it was written when he began teaching the class and never bothered to update it. Seriously some of his graphs and charts have data from the 1940s! He often stares at specific girls in the front rows and certain guys he thinks pay attention. Lastly, don't take this class as a GE. There are far better and more interesting classes that you can take to fullfill this GE.

Dr. Knable does not care what any student has to say or if they need any sort of help. Do not try to even ask him the time of day. His lectures are very outdated and so are the texts. His opinion is all that matters, especially the fact that if you eat meat you will die. Only take this class if you like to argue, because other than that you will not learn anything.

This is an easy class. You just read 3 books and take tests on them. All the questions are either from notes (which you have in a booklet so you don't need to go to class) or from study guides he hands out. He does give extra credit on random days for attendance. Even though the class was at 8 in the morning, he was interesting enough that I actually wanted to go and hear what he had to say. I would definently recomend this class.

Knable is one of those old guys that thinks that hes been through everything life has to offer, therefore your opinion does not matter and dont even think about asking him a question in class. The class was a joke for me considering i took it with 15 other LA's in my major. Just go to class and bring ur ipod, u get 3% for just going to class. FIND SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAS ALREADY TAKEN THE CLASS AND BUY THEIR READER OFF THEM. DOnt act like ur going to read 3, 300 page books through a quarter for a damn GE class.

I want to kiss this cute man! hehe really , I do

Funny old guy!! He always had something humorous to add into lecture. The class was very informative about wildlife conservation and how humans have impacted wildlife. He takes different wildlife perspectives which was always interesting. Based on 3 tests, and 1 smaller test. Reading is 3 novels basically, that tagent off of what he talks about in class, no text book. Best part he gives out his notes, so its easy to follow his lectures and random comments. If you need a BIO class but dont need a lab take this class!

BIO 227, Conservation Biology, was an interesting class. The class was pretty straight-forward and Dr. Knable is a funny old man. I don't know what some of these pussies are bitching about...

I was a little worried when I read some of the comments on here, but after taking this class I realized that a lot of it was just bad for certain people. This class was a lot of fun! It actually got me up in the morning. Dr. Knable is really funny and he explains stuff very clearly. There are three books that you read, which are not bad. If you take good notes in class and listen (as well as read the books) you should have no problem in this class. Dr. Knable is a cranky old man sometimes but he has good points. I'd definitely take this class again, take it, you won't regret it!

His methods may be a bit outdated, and he may like to pick on certain people a little, but honestly the class was pretty enjoyable. He's just a grizzly old man with an old school style, and he is definitely passionate about wildlife biology. He tells funny stories, and provides all the notes to you in a booklet which makes studying simple. Going to class is still important, but you'll do fine if you miss a couple.

He's probably the funniest professor I have ever come across. His jokes are hilarious and keep you coming to class. Definitely not boring. Make sure you pay attention because he tends to go off on tangents, but as long as you take notes and review them, you'll do fine in the tests. There are three books you have to read which I really enjoyed, and were able to make it through all of them with ease. They're pretty quick and easy reads overall. I really just enjoyed the class. It makes you think about the world and, let's put it bluntly, how much human beings suck. If you're a cynic like me, definitely take this class.

Professor Knable created the class Wildlife Conservation 37 years ago, and has yet to update the class since then. The class really isn't too difficult, but it is hard to get an A. I went to every lecture, read all the assigned books and did the study guides and still barely got a B. His tests are not what he covers in class because he doesn't cover anything of any importance in class. He has been teaching this class for too long and forgets to cover important information. If you are looking for an easy GE to fulfill you B2 take this class, but if you want to learn anything don't.

Dr. Knable is really grumpy old man who is hilarious to listen too. His class may seem like a breeze, but his tests will get you in the end. His notes are really organized, but they are extremely old and he has not updated them in a while. I would not recommend taking this class if possible.

What to say about Dearest Anthony. Hmmm...can you say stuck in the research of 25 years ago. Lagler's Tenants in Fisheries Science? That stuff was so out of date. I don't think he has written or better yet even read a new research paper in the last 15 years. When was the last graduate student that he graduated? His course was just the worst. A complete waste of my time. I took Introduction to Fisheries Science hoping to gain some insights and came away completely bummed. The class was really easy but if you are looking for someone to give you guidance and or enlighten you then he is not the guy. The term "dead wood" hits home when this guy is considered! He should have retired 15 years ago.

What else is there to say? Fine person, nothing interesting. Class was meh... Blah, blah, blah... Fine person.