Dan Montello is quite possibly the greatest man who has ever lived. Easily the funniest, smartest and wittiest man you will ever encounter.

Bring a computer, I have large gaps in my written notes because he doesn't use powerpoint and says everything. His humor isn't for everyone, and my notes read like a fact list, which would be good if I were going on Jeopardy, but I'm not. No lecture notes posted.

Pretty funny guy and a good lecturer. Doesn't put notes online, so either go to class and take good notes or get them from someone who does. Got a B on both midterms and final with pretty minimal studying, probably could have gotten A's. Homework isn't very relevant but is easy points. Textbook is pretty worthless, save your money, just take notes!

The class is extremely boring and he doesn't help it become more interesting. As a first quarter freshman I did not enjoy being treated so rudely when I visited him during his office hours. The topics are pretty vague and he never wants to help clarify. Begin studying for the country test early and you'll have no problems with that!

This guy is appalling. His lectures are uninteresting and tangential, and one on one he's likely to treat a student like crap. You don't have to use the book at all if lectures are attended. A side note is he lectures while chewing gum, breaths loudly into the mic, and uses donuts as examples for anything with concentric rings... He's a tool.

A quality professor that understands what he's teaching. Can be very overbearing on students at times, especially at office hours. Goes off on random tangents throughout the entire lecture, and often uses these tangents as examples for important terms that are on the test. Make sure to attend lectures, and take complete and full notes.

the comments about his office hours behavior are true, what kind of professor chews you out in office hours saying that you're wasting tax payers money and asks how you got into UCSB among other things

Really good professor. I enjoyed his sense of humor, and he really knows what he's talking about. The tests are based off of his lectures, and are not too bad if you pay attention to lectures. I hope to take a class of his again.

Awful instructor, don't recommend it! Semi-interesting topic but excessive and unrelated materials in class and on tests. Not worth your time...

The class is pretty interesting. Tests are not easy, tested on pretty much everything and the textbook is crappy (i think they changed it though). Good professor, he kept things interesting and i liked his sense of humor

GREAT professor! He keeps USA geography interesting with songs and recipes of the week, and has great humor. Tests are easy if you study the terms on the review sheet he gives you. Test questions can be quite humorous too. Overall, great teacher, very down to earth and more than fair grader! =]

he is a cool dude but tests are pretty much on everything he ever said.

Liked his dry sense of humor at first, but it got old pretty fast. Tests you on pretty much every word said in class, even things that don't seem important. Book was not really necessary, and I was really mad when he took Africa off of the country test for the final, i knew that one the best!

He is funny and keeps lecture interesting. The tests are a bit confusing though.

this class seems easy, but its really not. not interesting at ALL unless your interested in the randomest facts about geography. i liked going to ALL my classes this quarter except this one. going to this class was torture for me. the questions were tricky on the tests and generally confusing.

This class is fine if you go to lecture. Most of the questions on his tests are straight from your notes. Two midterms. Second one is way harder than the first but still not terrible. Country exam is easy if you put in the time. Overall pretty interesting class.

You need to go to lecture to get a good grade on exams, he draws most questions from the lecture. Take good notes! Start studying for the country exam early and you'll be fine. He gives two midterms which are a couple of weeks apart, that's kind of stressful. An interesting professor who genuinely cares for his students and is very approachable.

Pay attention during lectures, they are extremely beneficial.Save your money, don't buy the textbook. Dan is a genuine guy that actually cares for his students

This is a once a week class, but you definitely need to attend that lecture every week. Prof. Montello is a nice guy, but the course is a little boring. The tests are a little difficult but pretty easy to pass. I recommend taking pass/fail or else studying pretty hard.

His class was really easy. Attend lecture, if not then read the book. Sections are super easy. There is a small homework assignment about every other week. The tests are multiple choice. There is an exam testing the countries of the world. Start studying early and you will do fine.

Excellent professor. Secrets to success: study for the country exam early and review frequently, attend every lecture. His tests are based almost entirely on his lectures. Go over study guides piece by piece to make sure you know everything. Visit him in office hours prior to final. He will let you go over past midterms and copy questions.

wasnt that hard. map test wasnt that hard just study early. go to lecture it helps alot on exams. notes are easy to follow because of the outline.

tricky test questions.../ youll see. don't have to read pretty much at all. go to section and do homework though! and learning the countries isn't that bad

Prof. Montello is a pretty good guy, he tells some pretty lame jokes, but i chuckled a few times. There's a lot of textbook reading, but I never read. Just study for the tests, do the homework, go to section. The class material was interesting as well.