Grade is exam heavy (worth 70% of overall grade) but Porter does a great job of providing work that accurately reflects exam difficulty and prepares you. Grading system is very generous and incredibly helpful. Lectures do a good job demonstrating concepts. I felt well prepared for exams and would 100% take this professor again.

the only math professor ever. weekly problem sets make up most of your grade and exams are light work if you use the practice exam for reference (very, very easy a). you can bring 1 flashcard of notes into the 2 midterms, 2 flashcards for the final. section is mandatory but nothing serious, mostly for attendance. i love him and his dry humor

very chill. his tests are fair so if you put in the work you should be chilling

Want to preface, I am the least math-able person you'll ever meet, but I was able to pass Math 34A fairly easily. As long as you attend all sections and submit all study guides for the exams, you're guaranteed to get a B. If you somehow don't, he can claim "extraordinary effort" and give you a B. To any freshman wondering to take the class, DO IT.

He does mumble through his lectures and they are boring, especially at 8 am. But he genuinely cares about his students and wants you to do well. Exams are super easy and he gives study guides that are harder than the actual tests. Extra credit is given, lowest homework grade is dropped, and he rounds up. Ended with a 99%. He's goated.

To be honest, Porter mumbles to himself all lecture, and just works through problems. It doesn't really feel like he's teaching or lecturing, kinda just like a join me if you want. His grading policies though are heavenly. I suck at math and carried a good grade all quarter. Also, no one really laughs at his jokes and I feel bad.