Comments:CHE 4341 - The Bruce Wayne of professors. I have never in my life had a more laid back professor than Dr. Shaw. yes, the 600 death by powerpoint slides are a thing, but whether you like him or not, he knows what he's doing; he can seem like an asshole sometimes but I've ended up realizing he had a heart of gold during my time in his class. Ngl It was kinda hard for me not to see him as jerk, especially with the amount of work he puts on his TAs (btw, poor Morgan), but he can be surprisingly cooperative at the same time. I still can't tell if it's because he's nice or he just doesn't care about the class, but he always asks us what the exam dates should be. When I got to know him a little better, I realized that even though he likes to mess around a bit (at least he did with me), he was still willing to hear what I had to say after class even when he has plans. If you read anything about his research he's also done amazing studies to help his family out. Personality wise Dr. Shaw is a surprising mix of don't care but can do. Just ask, try to know him and he'll do the same. Seems to me like he's a pretty cool guy deep down. Anyways, course wise? There is no textbook, 600 ppts and 4 exams + 1 final. Started with a 50 (average on Exam 1), ended up around 80 - 78 on the last 3 exams. However, if you end up with a better score on the final compared to your average, your average gets replaced by your final. Probably how I ended up passing the class tbh, but it can be a fun class if it wasn't for a grade. Can't say I would recommend him to others, but it worked out for me in the end. Thanks Dr. Shaw.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:4341 - I actually do not know whether to tell you to take this professor or not. Listen to the other reviews when they say this class is made of nothing. No homework, no quizzes, no extra credit. Shaw makes his TA do everything, which this semester was Morgan. Morgan is a very sweet person, but is not equipped to explain all the material that Shaw brushes over. Many times she would tell us incorrect things or tell us something would not be on the exam when it really was. If you are taking the MCAT I would not recommend this course. I learned absolutely nothing and got consistent B's on exams. The grading scale is the same as other reviews say. The final is worth 40% of your grade and is just a bunch of random facts that you hopefully memorized. There were maybe 3 out 40 questions that were actually conceptual. This may sound relatively easy, but when you have to memorize tiny facts from a 600 slide powerpoint, it's not easy. In comparison to Jonklaas or Lahousse this class is easier, but zero knowledge is obtained.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:CHE 4341 - 4341 Biochemistry - Dr. Shaw's class consists of a near-600 page powerpoint that serves as the only 'textbook' required in class. His class is structured around a point system with a total of 500 points (3 100 point exams and 1 200 point final). In terms of exam schedule, these are very flexible, as Dr. Shaw will just ask "so when do y'all wanna have the exam?" and the class can come to a vote on it. As for the 3 exams (NO DROP) themselves, they are all short answer, FRQ based. A week before exam, Dr. Shaw will give out a sort of vague list of topics that are expected to be on the exam. these are the ONLY things that you need to focus on. Sometimes, it is hard to get ahold of Dr. Shaw, so although attendance isn't required, if you have questions, the best time is to go up to him after class. He doesn't really have 'office hours', so the best way to set up a time to meet Dr. Shaw in his office is to go up to him after class, try planning it there, or emailing him and asking him when he will be in his office. You'll notice that his door is always closed and locked, so if you have a planned meeting with him, just knock! I think it is important to go see him the week of the exam, because he may throw out little hints that are super helpful! In terms of studying, it is paramount that you watch his lecture videos that he posts on Canvas - they are from COVID year, but be sure to stay on top of them. I highly recommend watching them after class and taking detailed notes of what he says, because even the smallest detail on the slide might be on his exams. The TA Travis was a GODSEND - he is the nicest guy in the world, and he always tries to give hints or tips on what to look for in terms of the exams. Travis holds recitation once a week and if you attend over 75% of the time, you get .5% added to your final grade. Additionally, Shaw may give out an opportunity to do some sort of extra credit to add 1% to your final grade. The exams are not easy by any means, but they are certainly doable if you really take time to learn the material in the lecture videos, go over Travis's recitation worksheets, go over the previous years exams that he posts on canvas, and speak with Shaw in his office to get some hints. Dr. Shaw is a super funny, chill guy who is very intelligent, so he will be able to answer any biochemistry-related question that you may have! I studied for the MCAT while taking Shaw's course, and I can say, he really did a good job helping to explain some of the low-yield topics on the bio/biochem section! The curve for his class is very generous. A:85-100, A-:84-80, B+:76-79, B: 68-75, B-:63-67, C+: 58-62, C-: 44-49, D+: 30-43, D: 20-29, D-: 15-19, F:<15. Last piece of advice: try not to do studying for this class last minute (unless you're built like that) and the final is multiple choice with a generous curve as well. Please try your best to show up for the exams, as he does not give makeups. Lastly, Shaw has a rule that if the grade you make on your final is better than the grade you had prior to taking the final, then you can have your final exam grade be your course grade.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:4341 - This class is made of NOTHING. No homework, no quizzes, no textbook, no attendance policy. Just a 600-slide powerpoint and some Canvas videos from the covid semester. DO NOT let that trick you into thinking that\'s all you need. Find a textbook and read it yourself, and use the slides to guide your reading. Go see the TA, he\'ll drop hints about what\'s on the test. I really wish I had figured out how to study for this class earlier and used my resources better because once it clicked for me, it was totally doable (just too late). As for Dr. Shaw, he\'s a nice guy, pretty funny, and definitely knows his stuff, but his teaching style is just so lazy it\'s unbearable. He doesn\'t post the tests on Canvas so you never have any idea what your grade is. He doesn\'t have real office hours. The final is half your grade and mostly multiple choice. Again, he still teaches using videos that haven\'t been updated since 2020. He makes his TA do EVERYTHING, like Shaw didn\'t even show up for the final and the poor TA had to administer it by himself lol. Bottom line, if you need to do well on the MCAT, try to take Jonklaas or Lahousse to actually learn something, but if you want a better grade in biochem than you deserve (I knew next to nothing and got steady B\'s), this is the way. If I needed to, I\'d take him again and just do a better job of self-teaching.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:4341 - I was excited going into this class due to the lack of homework, quizzes, etc but boy was I wrong. This class was made extremely difficult by the lack of resources (the only 'book' is a 600 page powerpoint with little to no explanation of topics on the slides) and his lectures were rambles that were the exact same as the lecture video he (if he remembers to) posts. The exams were pretty much identical to the practice ones he gave out. Exams except for the last one/final were all short answer. Don't expect to find him in his office because to my knowledge he didn't even have set office hours. I'd reccomend him if you don't plan on taking the MCAT, have to take CHE 4342 with a diff professor (he doesn't teach it), or if you're somehow a genius at biochem and don't need any actual instruction or good teaching methods. If you have him -- good luck, I'm taking CHE 4342 next sem with another prof and I'm horrified.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:Biochemistry - Dr.Shaw was a great teacher and this class was great for me in terms of workload and finally having a class that shows that the work you put in is the grade you get. He is super reasonable in terms of tests. He will give you a list of 10 concepts that you need to study at the end of each unit and those are the only things you need to know. You never have to read the textbook but you do need to watch all the videos that he posts because those are your holy grail. The TAs are WONDERFUL. Jordan is there for every single recitation if Shaw isn\\\'t there and he is super on top of everything. There is no way a question will go unanswered. There is no homework or quizzes which does mean you need to study hard for the 3 exams and the final you have but it is very doable. I will say that if you are taking other hard classes at the same time I would be wary but honestly, it\\\'s not just because of the teacher but just the amount of studying. Shaw is very very smart and you can tell and he\\\'s pretty funny. You can do really well in his class because he also curves the exam and gives bonus points. The curve is extremely gracious for the exam. Here was the curve for my exams. A: 88-100+ A-: 83-88 B+: 75-82 B: 65-74 B-:60-64 C+: 55-59 C: 50-54 C-: 40-49 D+: 35-39 D: 30-34 D-: 25-29 F:<25 I don\\\'t really know how the other teachers are but I was able to succeed in his class by showing up and going to recitation. The recitation worksheets are also VERY helpful and are similar to exam questions. I would also recommend going to office hours because very nice hints are given about the exams.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:4341 - listen, this man is extremely accomplished and very knowledgable. He has amazing discoveries and his resume is probably packed. that being said, i do not think he is meant for teaching. this man could literally care less about his biochem class. his TAs will do all the work and he will sit there and do nothing. he once told a student that if their grade is bad, its because they deserve to fail. while i get people not putting in effort, this man also does not put in effort. his exams can sometimes be easy, and sometimes they will have the most unnecessary irrelevant detail that you need to know. His free response questions are a hit or miss. take lahousse if you want a fair chance at biochem. he used to be an easy professor, but he isnt anymore  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:4341 - DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE. I was always told that this class was going to be easier than other professors because he tells you whats on every test- which is true but the course was still very difficult. Shaw is a very great man and extremely intelligent and assumes you know everything. THE TA OF THIS CLASS- TRAVIS- CARRIED. He did all the grading and taught us everything in recitation whereas Shaw just lectured and went over slides in course. He also only offers courses at 8 am and a lot of people would skip class because it was so early and he didn't take attendance. If he took attendance- I feel like a lot more people would have came. The TA was really helpful and did all of the work. Shaw also only ever uploaded one thing on canvas and it was 573 slides of the course. You never knew which slides the first test covered and when the second test material started. Also your grade in the class depends on 4 exams, 1 dropped, and a final. If you did bad on exams you did bad on the class and he barely curves. I studied a lot for this class and didn't end with a good grade. ALSO, his exams are a lot of free response which make them harder. Shaw would just sit w his legs up during test days and not care. Highly recommend taking another professor and not Shaw. Great guy but not a great professor.  - Grade In Class:C+

Comments:3331 - covid19 semester - Dr Shaw is super brilliant. Google him and you'll see what I mean. He's really nice and super available to help. HOWEVER, he can't dumb the material down enough. I struggled a lot in this class, and ended up using my MCAT materials to study as his videos just didn't cut it. He is so smart that he glosses over a lot of the hard details bc he assumes we already know them. I liked his class bc it left a lot of room for self teaching, but I struggled. He curves generously and you will come away knowing more, but it is difficult to understand how to study for his tests. If you did well in Jones for ochem you will probably do well with Dr Shaw, but if you need structure I would avoid. Only workload is exams.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:CHE 4341 - The fact that Dr. Shaw asks previous students to write him good reviews on this website to cover up the truthful ones is all you need to know about the integrity of this man. He made one of the most interesting subjects in the sciences into a complete waste of time. His respected research, which is truthfully impressive and impactful, is no excuse for be a bad teacher. Class is easy to pass, but if you'd actually like to learn something about biochemistry I would highly suggest taking someone else.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:CHE 4341 - Take Dr. Shaw for Biochem. Sure he may sound condescending, but for a brilliant man like him, could you blame him? Dr. Shaw want you to learn the big concept and understand how thing work, rather than memorizing all the mechanism which would aid you in your mcat study a lot. A lot of the MCAT material, while just pure memorization, required a good understading and you can get it here in this class. If you don't understand, go to office hours and he would explain to you in detail.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:CHE 4341 - Take Dr. Shaw and only Dr. Shaw if possible. As a senior I can say I have been through or interacted with the majority of the professors involved the pre-med coursework. Biochemistry is a difficult course regardless of who you take it with. Dr. Shaw does a great job focusing on key concepts that are constantly repeated throughout Biochemistry and other sciences. The material for this course can seem daunting but as a student you should focus on understanding over material. For success you should read consistently, study lecture slides, go to lecture and most of all attend office hours. Dr. Shaw is very approachable down to earth guy and always in his office. Worst come to worst you can use his research as an icebreaker. For the exams, he usually gave a list of things that you can expect to see on test day and old exams. If you did not pick up what should be on the exams through lecture at the very least you had these items at your disposal and it was probably due to a lack of effort. From my experience this course will be much more difficult with other professors. I know the SI's of the other courses and you will get out what you put in.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:4341 - I really enjoyed Dr. Shaw's class. He teaches the material well and is always available to help. There is no homework in the course and your grade is solely based on exams. However, Dr. Shaw always told us what to focus on for exams and gave additional resources to aid in our studying. I regularly attended class, as well as studied the slides and read the book for additional information, and felt well prepared for each exam. The exams were primarily multiple choice. If you put in the time and effort to understand the material, you will do well in this course. Dr. Shaw is one of my favorite professors I've had at Baylor.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:CHE 4341 - aVoId aT aLL CoSTS!!!!! If you can, I highly recommend to take a different biochem teacher if you can. I think that Shaw was probably the worst professor that I have ever had at Baylor. Oh boy where do I even start.... He was extremely condescending towards his students and it was super clear that he did not give a care in the world if the class understood what he was teaching. It was very difficult to approach him for help, as he would more than likely not answer your question and then leave you with a snob comment. I know of a few people who did end up going to his office hours for help but all I've heard was that he was maybe moderately helpful, but it was hard to get on the same level as him, and he would end up pushing them out the door and shutting it in their face. He teaches off his powerpoint, which is like 600 slides, and really just picks and chooses on what he wants to talk about. I found it super annoying how he would very often skip 20 slides at a time and say its not important to know. It was kinda difficult to pay attention in class, mostly because I was so frustrated with his teaching style (or ability) and I ended up doing most of my learning for this class off of YouTube. By the end of the year, I'm pretty sure that nobody past the first row was paying attention to what he was saying. Also, the class itself was super disorganized. We didn't get a syllabus for the class until like the halfway through the first week of class, and it looked like it was something he made off Microsoft Word in 10 minutes. There was no defined grading scale, so we didn't know what we needed to score to get an A in the class until the end of the year. Furthermore, his grading system is super wack. Each test is worth 100 points, and the final is worth 400 points, which is more than 50% of your grade. Your grade is based solely off exams, there is no homework or participation or whatever. The final in my opinion weighs too heavily for your final grade. Although it worked out in my favor, this isn't true for the majority of people in that class. For the exams, he usually gives a list of things that you can expect to see on test day. This was pretty nice, but the extent to which he stuck to that list is a little questionable. He also lets you choose your exam day btw. I found the exams to be pretty unfair, as I believe that I had the material down very well, but Shaw still found a way to screw us over. He really nitpicked details from his powerpoint, and it came to a point where I knew everything that there was to know, but I just didn't know what he was going to ask. For example, he asked how far the iron center shifted (in angstroms) when oxygen bound to hemoglobin. While obviously this really isn't a hard question, its not something you would expect, or something that you could prepare for, considering you have 600 slides of material to memorize. All in all, I really think that Shaw should stop teaching and completely focus on his research, which he is actually really well known for. I think that he is a brilliant guy, he just doesn't know what to do with all that brain power. If you can, take someone else. :/  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:Biochem 1 - Honestly this was the most unconventional class I've ever taken lol. He doesn't really set anything in stone at the beginning of the semester, including grading (i.e. he said he doesn't grade with minuses and then put in minus grades on bearweb). He changes the grading scale for every exam depending on how the averages are. He doesn't use canvas for grades he just posts an excel spreadsheet with your grade. He seems really smart and he has accomplished a lot, but he doesn't really care about students and he thinks he is AMAZING. His ego/attitude definitely shows in class. He pretty much just does whatever he wants since he knows he isn't going to get fired. I thought biochemistry was really interesting but overall I wouldn't recommend taking him. He didn't reply to most of my emails when I tried to reach out. He has his favorites and someone in my class said that he was talking sh*t about other students in his office hours lol. He gives you a 600 page powerpoint slide at the beginning of the semester and then he just says to know everything we went over for the exams, and he tests over every little detail on them. I never really knew how to study for this class. He's fine, not the worst, definitely not the best. If you're taking the MCAT you're screwed though, you have to learn a lot of MCAT biochem on your own. If I could go back I would take someone else.  - Grade In Class:C

Comments:4341 - not a fan. Dr. Shaw has a very large ego, enjoys talking about his research and accomplishments more than teaching biochemistry. he says he's always available to meet in his office for help, but there were multiple times a few students emailed him to meet with him and he either never responded or said he would be in his office at a certain time and then never showed up. He also lead us to believe he wouldn't give out + or - grades and then implemented them after the final without telling us (he told one student who asked him straight up that he wasn't using that system). overall a crappy teacher and has way too big of an ego to be a teacher  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:CHE 4341 - IMO, Dr. Shaw teaches extremely well. It feels as if I came in a student, and came out scientist. Dr. Shaw is not the type of professor who stresses memorization (after all, most of us students forget most the material we memorized a few days-week after the exam). He really wanted to us to understand the foundations of biochemistry, and how to apply those to a variety of biochemical problems. So, in this facet, he molded me as a thinker, not so much a memorizer, which is a skill I will take with me forever. Tbh, at first, I was worried since his class hit the research aspect of biochemistry so hard. But, after finishing his course, I was able to talk about the ins-and-outs of biochemical techniques like protein purification with my research mentor at UT Southwestern medical school. My mentor said he was astounded since I knew as much as some of his later medical and graduate students. Plus, you can’t have biochemistry without talking about research anyway. Regarding workload, there truly is not anything too ovebearing. Dr. Shaw doesn’t have you read all the material in the book, then play game theory to find out what topic will be on the exam. He’s a straight-shooter and tells you what to learn and what not to. In addition to his teaching, the man’s a scientific genius himself. He worked with one of the best researchers in history at Harvard, and still consistently publishes high-impact papers in biochemistry, neuroscience, and even machine learning. Dr. Shaw is one of the best teachers, scientists, and (if you hit it off with him) friends/mentors you’ll find here at Baylor. If you want a professor who will be the most efficient use of your time to learn biochemistry take Dr. Shaw.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:4341 - Dr. Shaw is a GREAT professor! He gives you all the material up front and goes through it with you. The material is difficult but he teaches it so well that it is almost easy. He really wants you to know the material and provides you with plenty of help in and out of class. He is almost always available. He tells you how to get an A in his class and leaves you will all the tools to do so. If you listen to him and do what he says you will be very prepared for the MCAT and any other upper level biology or chemistry. He keeps you engaged by discussing current biochemical studies and will go out of his way to challenge you to be a better student. Take him if you really want to learn Biochemistry.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:4341 - Dr. Shaw is the best professor at Baylor. He will help you through any question you have and doesn't stop till you know the information. He is very accommodating and is always in his office or lab ready to help. He knows the material better than anyone else. He tells you what he expects and gives you the tools to accomplish that. I would take his class again in a heartbeat.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:4341 - I am not exaggerating when I say that this man was the best professor – in both the sciences and the arts – that I've ever had. Before taking this class, I was very split among Jonklaas, Abel, and Shaw. I'm a pre-medical student, so learning the material while not ruining my GPA is an extremely important selection factor of mine. Dr. Shaw’s teaching not only transcended the minimum requirements needed for one to know their biochemistry well enough for the MCAT, but seamlessly integrated vital research techniques many biochemical and biomedical researchers use in their fields today. His class is usually at 8 am, but he always comes in a few minutes later, not because he’s careless, but because he understands the difficulty of a college student getting up at 7:30 am to haul themselves over to the BSB. This man gets up at 6 am every day. Trust me, if he wanted to get to class right on the dot, he would. Dr. Shaw is also incredibly considerate of his students. He understands the struggles we have in trying to excel in college. If you have a convincing circumstance, he will reschedule the exams (including the final) for you. Don’t BS him, obviously, he can distinguish between BS and truth. He also allows the class to vote on when the next exam will be, because he doesn’t want us taking our exams during the weeks every other professor puts their exams on. And, most importantly, he does a review before every exam to give us a strong lean towards what to study (since there is so much material), and gives you all old exams to study from. By the way, did I mention that if you get an A on the final, you get an A for the entire course? That’s right – finally a professor who understands. Even if you bombed an exam due to some extenuating circumstance, and you were able to learn the material on your own time (before the final of course). You could prove that you know the material and earn the grade you rightfully earned. On top of his consideration for his students, he teaches material which covers all the major points of biochemistry, in addition to hot topics in research today that are not taught in the book. He also goes out of his way to teach about concepts on the MCAT, like the structure and function of serine protease – to give one of the many, many examples. He definitely fits a lot of material within one semester, but, by the end of it (and, as long as you study around 4 hrs a week), you’ll be absolutely dumbfounded at how much material you’ve retained. As a final testament to how much you can learn from this class, I was able to tutor OTHER students in Jonklaas’ and Abel’s biochem class because of Shaw’s teaching. All in all, I recommend Dr. Shaw a thousand times over to any student trying to be at the forefront of biochemical and biomedical knowledge, while not ripping his/her hair out due to stress. His immense amount of knowledge in the field combined with his understanding of a college student’s life makes him the best biochem professor one could take. If you don’t take this guy, then I am sorry. You made a mistake.   - Grade In Class:A

Comments:CHE 4341 - If you want to learn biochem, especially if you are pre med and need to take the MCAT, do not take Dr. Shaw. He really doesn't teach you much of anything. He constantly talks about his own research and skips through notes because they are "easy". He will make office hour appointments then not show up, and he cancelled class several times with little or no notice. He was also late to class every day. He is definitely a very intelligent man, but he makes sure you know it. His lack of professionalism makes him unapproachable and intimidating, as he repeatedly belittled students brave enough to ask a question. It is a pretty easy to get a high grade (he curves the grading scale downward), but you will end the class not knowing much more about biochem than when you started.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:4341 - Dr. Shaw only ever talks about his own research, he is not interested in whether or not his students learn the information from the textbook. His tests usually consisted of questions from the practice tests he handed out, he just changed some of the numbers or slightly tweaked questions. There is no homework, and the final exam is basically your grade. I have no doubt that Dr. Shaw is great at what he does, but when it comes to teaching, he's awful. He was rarely in his office and doesn't respond to emails. If you actually want to learn something in biochemistry, don't take him!  - Grade In Class:C

Comments:4341 - Dr. Shaw is one of the best professors I have had at Baylor thus far. He is able to answer any question and is ALWAYS available. He has scheduled office hours but he said if we ever need help we can just go to his lab and see if he is there- which he usually is, willing to help. He teaches so much about real world biochemistry that is useful. I really enjoied his class and wish he taught others. One thing about his class though is that it is easy to get behind it- dont let that happen and you'll be fine. His tests are fair and there is no homework. The way his class is set up is that basically whatever you get on the final is your final grade- which can be scary, but he prepares you throughout the semester.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:4341 - Dr. Shaw is a wonderful professor! Instead of making his students memorize structures and steps of processes, he emphasizes understanding why specific things occur in respect to those processes. His tests are all free response and truly test your knowledge of the subject, not how good you are at memorizing. He also grades on a curve based on the class performance. Take Dr. Shaw! You will learn so much if you engage yourself in class and during lecture.  - Grade In Class:A