Keil, David  

At times the material seemed a little too in depth for a freshman level class and Dr. Dave was a little dry at times, but if you go to class and dont zone out, you will do just fine. He LOVES plants and you had better try to love them to or you will not do very well. The work and the tests were hard, but not impossible. You will have to study and I can only imagine how hard his upper div classes are. But, overall I think he is a good teacher. You must go to class though! :)

Dr. Keil was an alright teacher, pretty boring, and most of the lectures were kindof useless because you could print up the stuff online anyway. Explained everything pretty clearly and I didn't really have too many unanswered questions.

DO NOT TAKE KEIL. Number one, you don't learn from his disorganized lectures, which he probably hasn't changed since he started teaching here 30 years ago. Number two, he feels like he has to mention the fact that he's been working here 30+ years EVERY CLASS. He also refers to himself in third person as "Dr. Keil" or "Dr. David Keil." Talk about a pompous ass. Number three, lecture was useless. He posted the PowerPoint online, and when we got to class he read it to us almost VERBATIM. Number four, he spends the first fifteen to twenty minutes of -every- class period talking about how we need to be reading the book and finishing looking at the PowerPoints at home, which eats away at all of our time so that we run out of time AGAIN and have to go home and look at the PowerPoint lecture online in order to teach ourselves the material. Oh, and as a side note, the lab book and the lecture books use different names for the SAME PLANT PARTS!!! It gets to be very very confusing during finals. In summary: Keil=giant dick.

Dr. Dave was alright. His lectures tended to put me to sleep, which was okay because all of the information is on Blackboard anyways. I really did not like the class at all...it has nothing to do with actually growing flowers, just reading all about how to grow flowers. i really had to worked my ass off in order to pass the class.

I actually really enjoyed Dr. Keil as a teacher. I took the summer course (very condensed down into a 5 week course). The material was alot to cover for a 5-week course. We had 2 labs a week and 4 lectures. The course will be hard if you have never taken bio previously. This course is literally biology with the name botany instead. So don't think you can get away without taking biology. Dr. Keil was extremely nice. He helped people outside of class and was very enjoyable. We had a midterm and final. The tests were not so bad. We had a quiz at the beginning of every lab. These were pretty tough for most people. Make sure to study before hand! The lab final was practical style and consisted of the majority of the experiments we did in lab. Overall, the class was not to bad. Couldn't say you could get a professor more passionate about plants. I would recommend taking Keil if you have had a background in Biology. If not, better look for another teacher.

I loved this class! He is so funny and real. He is very smart and if you ever want to get him on a huge tangent ask him his favorite plant...goes on and on. He is great. Class was doable but he explains it as much as you need.

Keil was an O.K. professor. Botany 121 is a bitch anyway you look at it. I got a 78% in the class. Be ready for LOTS AND LOTS OF VOCAB WORDS. You have to know 15 out of 120 just for some stupid quiz. For how much time I put into that class I did not deserve a C+. Midterms/Final are ok. LAB FINAL IS HARD...Beware, I studied a lot for it...and still got an F, if I had gotten better grade on the Lab Final I would have gotten a 86%. Watch yo yourself.

Dr. Keil was so awesome. In the middle of this class i was really struggling and he saw that and emailed me asking me to come in so he could help. After that i started going to all of his office hours and ended up with an a. Just go to his class all the time and office hours and you will do just fine :)

Dr. Keil is knowledgeable, has clear expectations, presents information clearly, has moderate sense of humor, and gives you ample opportunity to boost your grade. That said, the lecture is tremendously boring since he pretty much follows slides verbatim. You still gotta go to class though, because he throws pop quizzes which are a good chunk of your grade. Class wasn't particularly challenging IMO.

Keil is amazing (he wrote the key to Asteraceae for the Jepson Mannual in one weekend, this will impress you when you start to disect flower). Rumor has it, he started to press plants right after he learned to walk. He is a plant master, and should be respected for his knowledge and effort he puts in to each lecture and lab. I have also had him for BIO 415. He is hard and expects you to know everything he covers in lecture or lab. His tests are fair, but very complete. Start making flash card from the start. Use his internet sources to get pics of plants and plant parts for your flash cards. He is a bit quirky, but in a good way. You have to ask straight forward questions to get an answer from him. He is very kind, but not forgiving to slackers. If you hate to study, don't take his courses. I would recommend not taking him for two classes in the same quarter, just too much work to pull off an A. Study with others, use a tape recorder in 313 lecture. Bio 415- Be very detailed in your essay answers, and make sure that you fully compare and contrast your answers. His mid terms are a full 2 hours long, and the final was over three hours. If you want to know plants take him, the hard work was worth it. For all the work he assigns, he has to grade it. He is a very strict grader, and even corrects punc/spelling mistakes. He is a brain.

O Keil, what can I say about him? Well, towards the end of the quarter he started acting the same way he walks. With a stick up his butt of course. First of all if you don't like plants don't take this class b/c it will be hell for you. You will sit in the lab 6 hours a week and start to wonder if getting hit with a baseball bat in the head would be better than staring at plants. My opinion is yes but you can make your own decisions on that one. Second don't bother going to lecture or buying the book. Both are useless. Just study the slides if you can even get them off the internet which is harder than it sounds. Third, if you want to get a good grade you will have nightmares about plants b/c there is so much information it drives you insane. O yeah, he accused our class of breaking into the lab which is complete bull. Come on keil, do you think we care that much about our grade in plant class? Lastly, dont do the extra credit b/c he will give you little if nothing for it. It sounds good on paper but takes a lot of work for an ave of 5-10 points out of 40. A months worth of work for a couple points is like a slap in the face. Bottom line, you shouldnt take this guy. If you do, tell him to turn up his hearing aid before tests so he can monitor them better for those damn cheaters.

Awesome class and awesome teacher. I learned so much from Dr. Keil! I did NOT feel that he played favorites with certain students. If you had a question, he was more than happy to answer it. Learning all of the information was a challenge. However, he posted "What To Know's" for every plant family, which was very helpful. I was expecting him to be mean, based off of some of the other polyratings. But, honestly, he is one of the friendliest teachers I have ever known.

Dave is a class a asshole. On the first day of class he flips through the Jepson manual and points out all the sections he wrote. He will remind you, many times, that he wrote certain parts of the book. Yes, I know you are smarter then me. Now shut up and teach! His lectures are straight from his PowerPoint slides (50+ per 1 hour lecture). What he doesn't get to he expects you to know, which is fine because you don't need to listen to his lectures anyways...EVERYTHING is on the PowerPoint. To sum it up, Dave is a typical erudite piece of shit who would be better researching and not teaching. Retire, asshole!

I've read through all the critiques, so this'll be a guide: 1. I would agree with all the below that you do need a passion for plants to be motivated to take any of his classes...I've taken TAX and FIELD BOT 2. These classes (including BIOGEO) test you as a student. If you do not to like to learn, if you take classes because you have to, and not because you're interested then this is not for you and why are you in college? 3. Keil, above all else is professional, the people who accuse him of playing favorites are only noticing either Kiel focusing on people he sees need extra help, or people that ask questions and have a true enthusiasm for the subject. 4. DO YOUR OWN WORK: if you have a question try using other sources than the material he gives you--although that is more than enough--before you ask your question, which is guaranteed to be clarified if you understand the nature of your question 5. If you ever want a teacher to not read off power points, then ask questions, aren't you curious about anything? Botany is a branch of science that is at the hub of many others like Geology, ethnography, Soil science, genetics, history, anthropology, and statistics...and it is the most accessible to all, it only requires a sharp eye and mind. Besides in taxonomy what else can you do in lecture? 6. If you make summary sheets with a simple pencil and paper and memories instead of exel files, photoshop, a digital camera then you study more with your head than technology and save time...above all else draw the damn (phylogenetic)trees, draw the barage of new plants, recognize patterns and always keep an internal monologue quizing yourself. You don't have to add to your work load if the flashcards are constructed in your mind's eye.

I took this class my freshman year for botany credit for biology majors and I wasn't looking forward to learning about plants, but this class actually turned out to be very interesting, and I haven't been able to look at plants again without trying to classify them... which can be annoying. This class required a lot of work with the whole collecting plants thing, and in studying for tests and having to know very detailed information regarding each plant class, family, whatever, but if you're an organized person and can memorize lots of organized facts, this class is pretty easy and straightforward. Dr. Keil presented the information very clearly and was very enthusiatic about the material, which made the class less boring than would be expected. He is a very respectible professor who knows a LOT about plants.

At the beginning, I liked Dr. Keil. He was quirky and dorky, but really loved plants. As the class went on, however, I started to dread going. His lectures are completely boring and useless to go to. All he does is read off Power Point slides, which are supposed to be availible online, but most people couldn't download them. Although all he did was read the slides verbatum, he still only got through half, and we had to learn the other half on our own, so there was twice as much material for us to learn than what he had time to cover in class. In lab, you could easily tell who was his favorites. He'd always be at one table answering questions, but would tell anyone else "I'll be right there" then walk away and never answer your question. This was also apparant when he graded the extra credit assignments. Although I spent hours doing everything you could do and collected 20 plants, I got a 5 out of 40 while students he liked collected 10 and got a 17 out of 40. A lot of people cheat on his lab tests, because he doesn't pay attention and lets people crowd around one plant, so it's easy to talk or see someone's paper. However, in our class, he figured out that there was cheating and tried to make everyone retake the test. Students complained to Dr. Holland, and Dr. Keil backed down. Instead, he made the fianl twice as long as he told us it would be, and a lot harder. So, he may be brillant when it comes to plants, but way too into playing favorites and really biased. I'd recommend taking another class if you can, or if you can't, kiss a*s and pretend you like plants, too. Oh, make sure you ask him to post practice tests online; he'll do it if you ask nicely. I don't know anyone who used the books, so don't buy any except the Jepson Manual becasue you'll need that. The first lab test has alot of different questions, about fruits and etc. as well as families, but the second lab test had all families and two questions on other stuff. And, if you cheat, don't make it obvious or he'll get pissed and screw you over.

Well i cant believe im wasting my time writing on polyratings, so im gonna type fast, forgive misspellings. want to say that the complainers who dont like Keil are jerkoffs. Dr.Keils classes, both plant taxonomy and field botany, both of which i took, are not for slackers, whiners, or people who absolutely hate plants. Dont expect to breeze through these classes. If you do then its your own fault when you fail, not Dr. Keils. That being said, these classes are easily in the top 5 best/funnest/ intellectually rewarding classes i took in college. seriously. Be prepared to learn more than you ever have and study like a madman, but i assure you that his tests are passable if you study properly. Make notecards, get a study group together, memorize his power point slides, ask questions, lots of questions, especially in lab. Make sure you know what he is talking about. This is not a class to be shy and not ask questions. YOU MUST ask questions when you dont understand, which will be often. I raised my hand in lab every 5 minutes and he never once made me feel like i was bothering him. i never saw him play favorites, of course he likes some people more than others, thats natural, some people are a$$ho1es so why would keil like them, ya know?, but i dont think his opinion of you ever is reflected in the grades. Oh yah, all those people who got very little points on their extra credit projects and complained obviously had crappy plant collections. Keil is anal about how to do it but with very good reason. you need to preserve the plants properly for identification in the future. they have to be properly pressed which is easy and he shows you how to do it. make sure you IDENTIFY, LABEL, and PRESS properly, not sloppy!! .if you want an easy 40 extra credit points then 1. do it properly, not half ass. 2. do it early, not 1 week before its due. 3. re-read #2. Dr. Keil is one of my favorite teachers at poly and i dont have many.that should say alot if your still not convinced Keil is awesome. He is a genuinely nice person, he is approachable, helpful, extremely knowledgable(smart as hell), cares about his students, and loves his plants like a kid in a candy store. its so funny to watch him botanizing, he's great. oh yah, field botany 2005 with Keil and Ritter was hands down my favorite class i ever took in my whole life. i cant wait to do it again spring 2006. 'nuff said. to recap this essay i just wrote. Take Dr keil because if you like plants and you give him a chance you will love him and be amazed at your new knowledge of plants. if you dont want to work hard and dont want to study like a grown up college student, then do yourself a favor and never take Dr. Keils class, save the room for someone who can appreciate the Keilmiester experience. --thanks for all the knowledge you gave me and all the great memories DR. Keil.

Dr. Keil has so much information to present it is completely overwhelming. I mean, do you really need 80 slides in an hour long lecture? On top of that, he can't hear you because he's practically deaf. In addition, his expectations for memorization are absolutely rediculous. He tells you what you'll be tested on, then tests you on something completely different! Worst of all, he is the most arrogant professor I have ever seen. He'll make it known to you that he has done a lot of reserach, wrote the textbook, wrote key parts of the Jepson, etc. Talk about condesending. Either get a deviation for this class or pray he isn't teaching it one quarter.

Keil is a great professor! I wasn\'t that interested in plants before the class, but now I\'m totally into them and loving the class. Keil presents the material clearly, and for the most part he holds your attention (although if you don\'t really care about plants, you might find it harder to pay attention). The tests are hard, but definitely fair. Keep up on the studying and you should be fine. Yes, there are a lot of details to memorize, but that\'s the deal with all BIO/BOT classes. The greatest thing about Keil is that he cares about the class and he cares about the STUDENTS, especially if you ask for help when you need it. He was always patient and helpful with student questions. If you are up for studying and learning a lot about a cool subject, take botany with Keil!

Dr. Keil is awesome! I had him for plant tax also. He's one of those professors who is so exceptional in his field that he will really turn you on to botany if you are interested and willing to work....which, by the way, you must do alot of. He demands alot, but he makes it so interesting that for me it was a pleasure. It is obvious that Dr. Keil puts alot into his teaching. He shows slides every lecture, which makes the information as clear as possible. He's at his best, though, in the field. One of the best profs I've had; I'd take him again in a heartbeat.

Dr. Keil is very biased toward botany students and graduate students. His tests are all essay, which is fine, but they are all subjective so whatever he says you "earned" on the test is your grade.

Dr. Keil is a hard working teacher. He obviously puts in a lot of time to his lectures and he is always there in office hours to help you out. Never once did I feel belittled by him if I asked a stupid question. A very humble guy, and yet one of the smartest teachers I've seen at Cal Poly. Biogeography was a lot of work, but if you put in 100%, you won't be disappointed in your grade. Start on the paper early. This was one of my mistakes. I'm glad I finally learned how to use Interlibrary Loan and the rest of the library. Choose a topic that you like, because you will spend a lot of time on this paper!

probaby the worse teacher I've ever had. His grading is purely subjective and highly unprofessional when approached about it he says things like "oh I must have been cranky that day". my favorite question ever came under the category of short essay with the directions 1-2 sentences, anymore you're wasting your time. It was "compare and contrast the cenozoic and mesozoic", and don't worry he didn't proctor that test (the final) so we couldn't ask for clarification. Also, this class is mindblowingly boring and relies strictly on bulk memorization. The concept of the class is absolutely ridiculous, why would you pretend to discuss all of biology through time, thoughout the world. Also the class is highly repetitive of other classes, specifically evolution.

Biogeography isn't really a good choice for the biodiversity requirement if you're a bio major. Keil's class is ridiculously boring and he reads straight off the power point! Not only that, but he puts all the lectures online so there's really no motivation to go to class. The paper is hell and is very subjectively graded...not to mention its 40% of your grade. Overall, the workload is pretty easy, just 2 tests, the huge paper, and a final. Tests are all written so his subjective grading definitely comes into play. Also, don't bother asking why you got the grade you did. I did bad on the term paper and the only explanation was that certain items were not "adequately discussed." Try to take something else if you can, but if not just start working on your paper immediately and make sure that he likes it cause that's all that really matters in the end.

I took this class for the biodiversity requirement, and spent most of this quarter wishing I hadn't. I'm sure Keil is an intelligent person, but his class is an absolute joke. Lecture is him reading slides, constantly. I would put the overall class attendance at 50% (and many of those who show up at the beginning leave at the hour break). His exams are nothing like what he says they will be, and are graded entirely subjectively. Get a bad grade? Tough luck, he isn't willing to work with you on exams. And the term paper, oh my God the term paper; writing that thing was an exercise in futility. I was marked down a full letter grade because I did not find certain resources. Thats right, I did the "wrong" research, even though the information was correct. If you even remotely considering taking this class, push it out of your head, you will ultimately regret it.

Unless Keil really likes you, do NOT take this class. He will not adjust exam or term paper grades at all. He told me my term paper was not written in any logical order (I wrote it chronologically by subject) and he marked me down a letter grade because I didn't use the "right" journal articles to get my information. I had all the information and over twenty sources, but that obviously wasn't good enough. Also, he said I would have gotten a higher grade if I had come to his office hours. Are you kidding me? I didn't think I needed his "help" writing a research paper that I had all the information for. This guy is ridiculous. Nobody ever shows up to class because he just reads the powerpoints that he has posted online anyways. The tests are ridiculous. "Compare and contrast the cenozoic and mesozoic eras in 1-2 sentences." Give me a break! When you take the tests, take two pencils and be prepared to write for the the whole two hours. He also puts an essay question on the last page of the exam that is worth a large percent of your test grade but covers a very narrow amount of what you studied. You need to be extremely specific and memorize all the examples he tells you about. Oh, and Keil is a huge plant guy, so expect to memorize all the major species of trees/plants and where they occur in the world. He barely mentions animals at all. Also, class starts when he walks in, which is usually 5 minutes early. So on test days, he shows up at 9:03 am and everyone is looking over their notes before the exam (thinking they have an extra 7 minutes to memorize all the periods, eras and epochs and all the events that occurred in them in the last 4.5 billon years) and he just starts passing out the exam without saying a word. He also has you do the teacher evaluations BEFORE he gives you back your term paper (which is 40% of your grade) because he knows he gave everyone a D or a C on the paper and students would give him bad evaluations if they knew their grades. He has the system figured out, that's why he still works here. Do NOT take his class.

Field botany with Keil was incredible.

FIELD BOTANY ( BOT 433): When I took this class last Spring, it was called BOT 333 with Dr. Keil. It was the hardest class of my life (& really fun too), but I wanted to share some helpful hints for all you future botanizers. To get an A or even a B, you have to be on top of it at ALL times. Print out these hints and do it! I wish I had a guide like this when I took the class. Here we go: 1) Flashcards: Start right away. Make a flashcard of every plant in the lab room (you may see other stuff in the field, but you will primarily only be tested on the stuff in the lab room). Start going through them the first week! 2) Pictures: If you have a digital camera, take pictures in the field. Or, when you are at home, google each plant to see a picture of it. Or, take pictures of the plants in the lab room (early in the week so they aren

He's the one that says Bad Motherfucker on it.

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