Richard Showman - University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

Professor: Richard Showman

Department: Biology

College: University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Showman is very smart but not good at explaining concepts. He gets easily confused. His lectures are hard to follow as he doesn't use PowerPoints and just writes on the board. It's important to take good notes and making a small study group to review helps. You just have to get good at guessing what will be on the tests and memorize it.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO101H
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He is very nice, but I don't recommend taking him for 101 because he moves too quickly and tests are insanely impossible. I studied for hours for each exam and it didn't help. This class is the only reason I don't have a 4.0 so find another professor even if its not honors level.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Showman is a very nice person overall, but his teaching manner is so disorganized and completely random. even honors students, no one knows what he is talking about 90% of the time because most of the time its on complex stuff we don't need to know and irrelevant information about who won what Nobel peace prize. DO NOT TAKE NOT A GOOD TEACHER

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOL505
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Showman is one of my favorite professors! He gets scatterbrained sometimes, but he is very knowledgeable about his subject and very accessible to students. Just ask lots of questions and you'll be fine! His tests are tough, but very fair. He curves the grade at the very end of the class. Optional final.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO101H
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He REALLY cares about his students! He is very approachable and easily accessible. However, his exams are unecessarily difficult considering his classes are solely lectures (or his random tangents about life.) He curves a lot.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIO101H
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Don't take his class. His lectures follow no certain structure and he tends to go off on many tangents. All the tests (3) and the final come from quizlets made from the textbook so definitely read/look those up. I can't say whether going to class is worth it or not but I did. Students frequently had to correct him. He's smart but can't teach.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO101H
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

A lot of people will tell you that this class is hard- it is but not impossible to make an A!! Before taking the class, I heard it was impossible to make an A if you did not take AP Bio (I did not take AP Bio) I was really scared for the class but i study a lot, like 20 hours for the tests and made it out with a A+! Hard but an A is acheivable!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO101H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Showman is a nice guy, but not a good professor. His lectures are scattered & confusing, and he often forgets to mention things which leave you very confused. Definitely read the book, record all his lectures and take good notes. He also gets his test questions online so after the first test look up a question & find quizlets to study from.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO505
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Showman is a very nice guy & understand that the material of biology 505 is tough so he gives pretty generous curves on his test. He only lectures and writes the main points of what you need to know on the board. There are no power points or notes posted online. The book and a tape recorder is strongly recommended. Test are hard so good luck!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO101H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Showman goes on tangents that aren't related to the subject. He only lectures so take good notes & record the lectures. Read the book to study before exams- the diagrams in the book are more clear than what he draws on the board & sometimes he asks questions that are only from the book. Do the practice exam. He answers any & all questions.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO101HONORS
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Showman is a great guy. Really willing to help and talk to you in Office Hours. But he's not a very good teacher. He gets off topic easily and can be scattered. He said the tests would be off his lectures only but it was also based on insignificant details or textbook info as well. I took great notes and went to every class and still struggled.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101HONORS
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Showman knows a lot about Biology. He's a great teacher and gets everything across, however sometimes his lectures get a little scattered and off-topic. His tests are mostly based on his lectures but he pretty much follows the book, so read and you'll be ok missing class. Really nice guy, ask questions and he can be really helpful.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101H
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Showman is brilliant. That being said, for an entry level class he expected a lot out of his students, even though it was an honors class. Each test had less then 40 questions, so if you messed up, it impacted you a lot. Also, there were only 4 tests including the final, so it was a lot of material for only 33 questions. He curved it though.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101H
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This class was so frustrating. Showman's a nice guy, but his teaching style is completely unorganized and the material on the test is not consistent with what he emphasizes in class. Only positive is that you can skip class every day and just read the textbook, and you'll have just as good a chance of passing as if you'd gone every day.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO101H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

If you aren't interested in biology, this class will be a pain. Sure, his tests are hard, but it's a good intro to how upper level bio classes will test. In order to pass you actually have to understand the topic, not just memorize. He is very willing to help- even gave us his home number so we could ask questions. I really enjoyed him as a prof.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO101H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This class is very difficult since it is honors. Showman, however, is not the best teacher either. For the first section I went to class and realized that I wasn't getting anything from his lectures so I just read the book. This is incredibly time consuming and the tests don't cover the basic concepts. They rather go into insignificant detail.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

His tests are all about 30 multiple choice questions. His wording is very weird so you have to make sure you understand the material really well. His lectures are kind of all over the place. It helps to read.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIOL505
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Showman is awesome! He is a super geek for developmental biology and his enthusiasm for the subject is infectious. I never felt bored or found myself distracted during his lectures. He is more than willing to help if you don't understand something. His tests are hard (no multiple choice) so if you want to do well, plan to work for it.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO505
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Wonderful professor! Absolutely brilliant and very approachable, I've never felt scared to ask a question in class and he knows the material backwards and forwards. Best way to study is to record the lecture and rewrite the notes. Textbook isn't necessary

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO101
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He is a really nice guy but having never taken a bio class, it was impossible to pass. It was an HONORS CLASS and I have to use grade forgiveness on it. He does curve a lot at the end but if you don't have a strong bio base don't take this class.