Gambs, Roger  

Biological Sciences

2.06/4.00

19 evaluations


BIO 153


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Dr. Gambs lecture style is somwehat of an enigma. He will tend to rely on overhead transparencies to illustrate his points. Unfortunately his points are often vague and unclear. In all truth there have been a few lectures where I (and other students) have left wondering what the heck we were suppose to write down. One the plus side however, I don't think you'll find a professor with a nicer personality. If you do take Dr. Gambs for a class be prepared to spend time at his office hours seeking clarification of lecture points.


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
Dr. Gambs teaches AT you, not to you. He has a dull monotanous voice that makes class duller than watching plaster dry. He knows the stuff well, but he can't get it across in a matter that makes it seem interesting or important. I don't recomend taking him for Bio 153, take Dr. Richards.


Freshman
N/A
Required (Support)
May 2000
I think he's afraid of large groups because he only looks in the corners of the classroom. Most people in class don't even bother to stick around for lecture - they just take the handouts (which are rather nice and numerous) and leave. There are times when you sit there and wonder, "Should I be writing this down?" Tests are fairly straight-forward, not hidden punches.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Aug 2000
Gambs is one boring lecturer, but he has a lot of handouts that he tests directly from. so study those for the tests, he doesnt get too much from the book. as long as you understand the handouts, you'll be okay. As for the lab, you have to memorize the supplement. thats the only way to do well there.


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Nov 2000
how can i begin this... dr. gambs is one of the nicest people you could meet-if you go to office hours. during the lectures, i basically felt what he said was a waste of time. as the quarter goes on, you begin to realize that all one needs to do is go, pick up the worksheet, and read the section of the book that pertains to whatever you are studying. as a lecturer, he pretty much is way below average... he puts up a transparecy and then talks about a bunch of random stuff. he is a nice guy who happens to be a rather poor lecturer.


Sophomore
C
Required (Support)
Jan 2001
I agree with the people who previously rated Dr. Gambs that he is a nice person, but as a teacher, he flat out sucks. He has a really ridiculously soft, monotone voice, which makes it possible to understand only about 1 out of 10 words that come out of his mouth. His voice also has an uncanny tendancy to lull students to sleep. As a student of his, your best bet is to use the textbook and his ample handouts to full advantage. Coming to class honestly won't do you much good at all. You might as well spend the hour sleeping.


Junior
B
Required (Support)
Feb 2001
I don't think this guy's as bad as everyone is making him out to be. If you sit in front and pay close attention, there is a thought process you can follow along with. It takes some getting used to, but it's not horrible. And the handouts do help, alot. Depending on who's leading them, the SI groups can really help alot too...when I took it it was a really small group, so it was almost like private tutoring, and I didn't study all that much on my own to get a B.


Senior
C
Required (Major)
Sep 2001
Dr. Gambs is a really nice person. But as a teacher he really is awful. He has this monotone voice that forces you to either fall asleep or lose your attention. He puts up overheads, and lectures by talking into a corner. He really made a potentially fun class horrible. My advise would be to take an SI class and that should help make sense of his lectures.


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2002
Dr. Gambs does his best in lab. If you have him for lab, things will be alot clearer. The problem with lecture is there is so much info in a little time. He is a great guy to know and is very helpful in office hours. He has also helped me incredibly with things not related to class. 153 is inevitable for Bio majors and it is a bitch but put forth an effort, take SI and go to office hours. It will give you a good leg in this class.


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Apr 2002
prof. gambs is a very monotone boring lecturer...be prepared to fall asleep. don't go to lecture if you want, just go to SI...very helpful! this is a hard class, but it is heavily curved. study hard, and do well in lab and all will be well.


Freshman
C
Required (Major)
Apr 2002
Dr. Gambs is not so hot in lecture. I would get a bit narcoleptic whenever I was in his lecture. He is very knowledgable, but he just has this monotone voice that makes any enthusiastic student hate her life for a few minutes. Another downside to his lecture is that he uses a lot of overhead. Dr. Gambs is really great in lab though, he is always available to help you and is very approachable.


Sophomore
C
Required (Major)
Dec 2003
Gambs is overall a good guy, but not all that great as a lecturer. for our first test he actually curved DOWN. i had an 84, which curved down to a 74. he said he did it because he felt that a lot of people did well. so...i don't understand why he'd punish us for studying hard. it just didn't make sense. also, his lectures are pretty hard to stay awake in. he's a nice guy and everything and he means well, it's just the lectures always seem so long. also, i'd like to note, for the last test we took, i studied all the chapters that the syllabus said we covered....unfortunately really none of those questions were on the test. most of the questions came from lecture, which really doesn't relate to the book at all. so if you do get Gambs, don't rely too much on the book, and REALLY try to absorb all that you can from lecture. so overall, nice guy, but not great at lectures. if you can GET DR. RICHARDS. that guy is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AWESOME!


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2004
I had a good time in BIO 153 - the material presented is definitely vital to anyone interested in a career in biology or science in general. The course covers a wide variety of topics, so it is important not to get behind in the reading or miss too many lectures. The exams are definitely not difficult if you have studied (there really aren't any random questions that would catch you off guard). Dr. Gambs is a nice person, and he really likes answering any questions you have. This is a good class for serious students, if you don't take it seriously (and you've never learned the material previously), you're in for a shock. Another thing - don't underestimate the difficulty of the lab practicals, if you do so, you will be in for another shock.


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2004
Dr. Gambs lectures were incredibly boring and straight from the Benjamin Cummings book and the LIFE book. If you did the reading, the lecture was basically pointless. They were also pretty scattered and not organized all that well. Sometimes he would go off on tangents so it was hard to know exactly what you were going to be tested on. For the tests, study the graphs and charts that he gives you! Those are where a majority of his questions come from. Even though he may not be able to teach the subject very well, he was a very knowledgable professor. Definitly try and get him as your lab instructor also, because he will answer ALL of your questions!


Sophomore
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2004
Dr. Gambs lectures were incredibly boring and straight from the Benjamin Cummings book and the LIFE book. If you did the reading, the lecture was basically pointless. They were also pretty scattered and not organized all that well. Sometimes he would go off on tangents so it was hard to know exactly what you were going to be tested on. For the tests, study the graphs and charts that he gives you! Those are where a majority of his questions come from. Even though he may not be able to teach the subject very well, he was a very knowledgable professor. Definitly try and get him as your lab instructor also, because he will answer ALL of your questions!


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Aug 2006
I took this class a while ago, but decided to comment because i saw that Gambs had a low rating that he didnt deserve. Okay granted Gambs isnt the most interesting guy in the world, but intro level bio classes arent the most interesting classes in the world either. I think that Gambs presented the material clearly and at a reasonable pace considering the amount of material that was covered. He is a very knowlegdable man and knows his subject. The class is hard and you have to work hard, but i learned a lot and enjoyed the class.

ZOO 329


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Jul 2003
Take this class if you get the chance!!! Working in the field and applying knowledge from the classroom engraves what you learned into your brain. The lecture tests are thorough, review EVERYTHING and take notes on his comments from lecture. Field trips are weekly almost and there is only 1 major field project due at the end of the quarter. Lab tests are easy, just naming and classification of roughly 90 animals. If you've reviewed, you will be fine.

BIO 353


Senior
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2003
Dr. Gambs is realy knowledgeable. If you talk to him outside of class he has a lot to say. However in class it is impossible to stay awake. No matter how hard you try to pay attention and take notes in his lectures you will find yourself drifting off.

ES 916


Senior
C
Required (Support)
Nov 2016
he sure does like his women, wet!!