ENGL 22
HILTNER K C
Kenneth (Ken) Hiltner
3.8
307 reviews
KUMAR S L
Sanjay Kumar
4.7
33 reviews

341
4.25
ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

The amount of work to put into this class just being a GE made me upset. He expected you to read BOOKS in one week, attend lectures as it was MANDATORY, and watch films every week. Midterm 1 was extremely difficult, but since the average was low, midterm 2 was easier. Lectures were guest speakers, kind of boring, concept was good.

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

This is the 2nd of Ken's English courses I've taken and I've really enjoyed both. He structured the class very creatively and tried to convey many different perspectives on the climate crisis. You can tell he genuinely just wants you to learn and he does a good job ensuring that especially considering the large class size (like 800 people)

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

Ken is a good professor, but the structure of the class was not great. Every lecture period he had a new speaker speak to the class, which would be very interesting except for the fact that they all did basically the same thing so there was a lot of repetition and it was hard to keep the speakers straight. There is also a lot of homework.

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

This was a guest-speaker based course, so we didn't hear too much from Ken, but when we did he was very sweet. There is a lot of reading, but not more than I would expect for a literature GE, between 50-150 pages per week plus a film. Class could get repetitive, and could sometimes be overwhelming with the amount to climate change information

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

Don't get me wrong, this class is A LOT of work but the Professor is one of the nicest Professors at UCSB. He has speakers at each lecture so it's not just him reading off of the same PowerPoint slides which gets monotonous in other classes. The grading for this class is fairly simple (2 exams, 20 YouTube comments & iClicker points)!

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ENGLISH24 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

Ken is one of my favorites professors so far at UCSB. You can tell he genuinely cares about the topics he discuss in class and the speakers he brought it were inspirational. Its easy to get an A if you do the readings and films, 35 question multiple choice midterm and final. Overall amazing class and I plan on taking more of his classes.

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

I loveee Ken. He's so passionate about the environment and nature, and he just wants everyone to care as much as he does. The class itself has a weird structure. Every lecture we had a guest speaker and we just take notes. Kind of boring, but easy. There is a documentary and reading each week with a paragraph comment about it. Again, pretty easy.

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

Such an unorganized class. No actual framework, the professor just lets guests talk about whatever they want. Midterm asked ridiculously specific questions about a massive amount of reading and videos. As someone taking chem and stats- this is the class I dread going to most. Maybe a good class for ES majors, but a horrible horrible class for a GE.

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MATH8 . Kumar S L 2 Years Ago

I really liked him. He knows what to say basically the entire lecture, referring to his notes maybe once or twice. He explains things really well. Homework load is moderate. I actually enjoyed his tests.

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MATH8 . Kumar S L 2 Years Ago

I really like him. He always has a clear idea of what he wants to say for the entire lecture, referring to his notes maybe once or twice. His proofs are easy to understand. Homework is manageable. I went to office hours twice.

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

This class had so much homework and it was impossible to keep up on the readings. Unless you want to read 20+ chapters a week don't take this class! Attendance is mandatory because of the iClicker points. The lectures are all interview based so it's impossible to gauge what's going to be on the tests. 0/10 would recommend this GE class.

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

I can't even wait until the end of the quarter to express my utter disdain for English 24. Under no circumstances should you take this class unless it is required for your major. I'm a STEM major and professor Hiltner assigns more pointless weekly homework than my chem and math class combined. Also attendance is mandatory and none are dropped.

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ENG23 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

ENGL 23 is very reading heavy! You need to do the reading and watch the docs to do well on the exams. The exams are EXTREMELY specific so make sure you take detailed notes!!!

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ENG23 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

Ken's lectures are incredibly repetitive and boring. He prerecords the lectures and then plays the videos for lecture. I feel like he is getting paid to do the minimal amount of effort. Regardless, the class is very easy. You are graded off of weekly YouTube comments, a midterm, and a final exam (all online).

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ENGL23 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

Loved this class and Ken ! Would absolutely take again, the material and the way it was presented made it easy to want to make a change. 2 Weekly comment make up 40% of your grade and the rest is midterm and final.

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ENG23 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

Such caring, intelligent guy! Online format of class a bit bland bc his lectures had no slides, but still interesting to listen to as a podcast while you do something else. Comments really easy to get 100% on, and tests are a little difficult but as long as you really do the readings/documentaries and pay attention to the lectures, you’ll be fine

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MATH8 . Kumar S L 2 Years Ago

Math 8 is known for being a difficult class, but I wouldn't rather have taken it with any other professor. He has such a way of lecturing difficult topics that makes them very easy to understand. The workload was very light, with only 5-10 homework problems a week. Sanjay Kumar is a shining star in the night sky at the UCSB Math department.

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ENG23 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

Ken is clearly extremely passionate about the environment and the climate crisis. His lectures can be a bit slow but nothing 2x speed can’t fix. One film and reading per week. Graded on comments (very easy), midterm, and final. Midterm and final are online, questions are extremely specific to the lectures so make sure you are well versed on them!

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MATH8 . Kumar S L 2 Years Ago

Rigorous teaching from elementary part to advanced level. Amazing observation and explanation from geometry meaning and topology meaning. Knowledgeable professor ! !

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ENG23 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

Loved learning the material. Make sure to actually do readings and watch documentaries, helps a bunch. Lectures were a little boring. Super easy midterm and final, only 30 questions each. Insanely easy class, no time required. I didn't even go to lecture. Good literature GE. Ken is passionate about subject, very monotone and boring voice.

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ENG23 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

Ken clearly puts a lot of effort into making this class accessible, and the topics we learn are incredibly relevant. Lectures can get pretty boring and drag on too long, but he posts them after so it's flexible. Definitely read the articles and watch the documentaries and additional lecture videos because test questions are specific!

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ENGL23 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

He's super accommodating and offers an online option for all lectures. The exams are super easy as long as you read/watch everything you're supposed to. Test questions can be pretty specific, but most of it's pretty fair. The class is insanely inspiring, so enjoy

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ENGL23 . Hiltner K C 2 Years Ago

the sweetest man. lectures can drone on, but they're available after assigned class time as youtube videos or zoom recordings. you have to watch the lectures, and movies, and read in order to get a good grade on the final and midterm. The only other assignments were weekly comments on the lectures.

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MATH8 . Kumar S L 2 Years Ago

Wonderful lectures with clear notes, homework once a week, two midterms, and one final. The lowest homework can be dropped. Very nice professor.

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