Nancy W. Carnal

I love Dr. Carnal. She's one of the nicest professors I've ever had at state. You know how some teachers are intimidating...well Nan is not. You can totally approach her and if you mention plants she'll get all excited. She really cares about her students learning the material. I also found her exam review sessions way more helpful than Dr. Aulebs. She'll throw in charts, diagrams and pictures, whereas Auleb would just talk most of the time.

Nan's half of the exams were pretty fair. But make sure to take really good notes during lecture (from both professors) even though you already have the lecture supplement because the teachers sometimes bring up stuff that you probably didn't read from the textbook, or you skipped over it. To be honest I hardly read the bio book. It's overly detailed and a bit confusing, but still good. Also, lab helps you do well on the exams too...but maybe not on Auleb's questions because he likes to mess with your head. Don't be scared though...just go to all the lectures, STAY AWAKE and go over everything on the study guide(s).

Dr. Carnal is an excellent teacher and very enthusiastic. She is clear and concise.

But I have to warn you, the man she tag team teaches with (Dr. Auleb) is extremely boring and difficult.

Dr. Carnals part of the tests are always fair. She's a Botonist so she gets a little carried away with the plant stuff so if you take her study that material hard.

The class was difficult, the lab was intense because there was a massive amount of information to get across. Nevertheless, Nan was wonderful and made the painful experience somewhat bearable. She's very encouraging and always available when guidance is in order. She's very enthusiastic about plants and metabolism which sometimes comes in handy when half the class is considering to drop or stop fighting failure. The tests are pretty much straight forward though, and she provides short but extensive review sessions. She will do everything to help you to pass, so if you're a hopeful med student...take her class.

Nan was great in this particular class. She was in demand as the other prof co-teaching this class was not a good teacher. She was fair in the testing, but the class required some serious effort including the lab.

I tried avoiding this class and putting off as much as possible, but I am really glad that Prof. Carnal was my instructor for bio. She's enthusiastic, cheerful, friendly, helpful, and there are no tricks on the exam. It's a pretty straightforward class, but with so much material to cover, it can be a bit overwhelming. If you're a plant person, go talk to her during her office hours because she REALLY gets excited about stomata and plant anatomy.

This course is essentially about bare bones introductory biology with an emphasis on cell and molecular biology, with some plant and animal tissue schemes, and a touch of chemistry & thermodynamics thrown in. The lab load is high; it's a tough 5 unit course. Professor Carnal gets pretty enthusiastic over the TCA and Calvin cycle, which is a good thing, because that's the kind of thing you need to get out of a course like this. I wrote another review of her teaching partner, professor Auleb, called "Good Solid Biology Teaching" or something like that because the two teach as a team (or did when I took it). Carnal is a quicker paced speaker than her partner, but this is good because the different styles offset each other and break up the monotony of this "weed them out" introductory course. It's a grinding, content intensive course but professor Carnal is thoughtful and helpful etc. They do provide a printed study guide for the course material, but it sure would be nice to have personal copies of old tests as study guides.

Nan IS a FANTASTIC instructor. Her excitement on Plant Physiology is engaging and although she is very detailed oriented, she is very fair. She expects you to work hard and she will reward you for it. Do not expect to miss her lectures and succeed. She provides feedback on exams that is incomparable because she truly does care that you are grasping and learning the concepts. Nan made this semester worthwhile for me and although I am more interested in animals, I have a new appreciation for plants because of her.

Standard introductory biology course, taught in tandem with Leigh Auleb. A great deal of information requiring much rote memorization. Carnal adheres closely to the lecture guide which can be purchased at the beginning of the semester, which means that attendance for her lectures is not really necessary. I didn't find the course (or her lectures) very interesting but that is the nature of the beast. Something has to be done to dissuade at least a portion of the masses of recent high school graduates who imagine that they are going to medical school. The lab was considerably more difficult than the lecture. Far too much material, resulting in a great deal of cramming and superficial learning. Review of Auleb somewhat less favorable.

Nan Carnal is the best! She totally loves plant physiology and is excited to help students understand it. Her tests are totally fair and she even gives out a really helpful review sheet. If you're interested in plant physiology, you will do well in her class, and you will definitely learn a lot.

Dr. Carnal is fantastic. She shares her interest and curiosity in order to engage students. She's very conscious of what students know and how to present new information. Bio 230 (co-taught with Leigh Auleb) is easy if you follow their suggestions. Is it dumbed down too much? It's an open question, but there's no doubt you'll have mastered the material by the end.