His lectures may be boring at times as he only goes over problems and speaks softly, but was helpful to understand when it comes to preparing for midterms and the final. His exams were fair as he graded them based on effort and accuracy and gives a curve at the end if we show exordinary effort. Overall, chill professor that made course fairly mid.
You would have to attend his classes to understand material. His teaching style is very boring, he only does problem examples to teach you (I learned best this way so it was easy for me). His practice exams are somewhat like his exams but shaped differently. He is a very nice teacher, just attend lectures and do homework.
Very boring class, so I stopped showing up after the first week. However, Porter is such a nice professor and very accommodating with making up grades. One of few professors who truly wants you to succeed.
My favorite thing about him as a prof is the way his notes are laid out. They're so organized and "fill in the blank" style. He is generous with his grading scale. Also very sweet and makes silly jokes :) He explains very well and goes through every little step. Answers all questions until we understand it completely.
Good professor (im kinda stupid but still got a B+). He bumped my grade up 2% no idea how that's even legal but he did it. His voice is so smooth and silky it puts you to sleep. I downloaded some of his lecture videos and listen to him explain homogenous systems of differential equations when I cant sleep. Would take him again.
Good professor overall. If you put in the work and study the HWs & study guides, you can get an A. He is pretty quiet during lectures but he posts video recordings of them online for his students (I found it most effective studying with this instead of actually going to lecture.) I would love to take his class once again if I had the chance.
Professor Porter can sometimes be a bit monotone during lecture, but if you look past that, his lectures are extremely clear, with concise notes that have downloadable templates for them before class, and are uploaded after class. He provides a ton of resources to help with his class, and his homework helps you get very prepared for tests.
Did not go to a single lecture because they are really boring. Just watched his online video notes which covered the material well. The tests are fairly easy as long as you watch the lectures.
I love porter
speaks to monotone and quiet during lectures; relied more on his online notes and lectures. Homework is a bit hard and time-consuming. Midterms and finals are basically based off his exams/final reviews, so those really help. You also get to use a notecard during the exams. If you understand the concept well enough, you're set.
Be prepared for the light voice of this professor. He literally whispered in vocal fry which makes it harder to recognize... Learned nothing from him. MATH4B itself is not a difficult course, he makes it difficult. Self-teaching is what you need if you choose to take his course.
Professor Porter is one of the best math instructors I have ever come across at any of the universities I have been to. He explains everything in detail in a step-by-step way that helps you understand how and why every part of a problem is solved. Tests are usually fair, and as long as you go to lecture and do problems at home you'll be just fine.
Easy grader. Boring lectures, though.
The HW was a lot but it represented 50% of our grade and the lowest score was dropped. This class is a surprisingly easy A as long as you put in the work.
If you are given an option to take Porter, TAKE HIM!! He makes the class very easy, all you have to do is watch/attend lecture, do webwork, take 2 midterms, and final. The tests were online and super easy too like the review worksheets. The prof is such a great lecturer, a little monotone, but explains math very well and is overall such a nice prof
One of the best professors I've ever had! His lectures are very clear and all his notes + short videos are posted online, making it easy to catch up on things you may have missed. His grading is very generous with a majority of your grade being based on homework & exam practice problems rather than exams, which helped me learn the material better.
If you don't take his class, you will regret it for the rest of your life.
Take him for 4B. Easy grading scale and his class is super organized.
Great professor overall, extremely well-organized course site with generous grading. Lectures are a bit dry but I can't blame him because that's the nature of an ODEs course.
I think people like Prof. Porter because homework is 50% of the grade, so it's a very easy class to do well in, especially for diff eq. However, his lectures are so boring I find it hard to understand what he's saying. He speaks in a low monotonous voice all class. His notes are good and posted, so the lectures aren't even worth attending.
He is SO FKING NICE!!!!! His homework takes 50%!!! His notes are very clear so we do not need any textbooks. He also provides a video of each chapter. PICK HIM! PICK HIM!
Only 2 weeks into the course and I'd say Matt is hands down one of the best Math prof at UCSB! His lectures are super clear, recorded(even the recording is high quality), organized, and very nice grading distribution towards the students (50% homework and 10% final).
Professor Porter can be a little monotonous while lecturing, but his lectures are extremely clear, he is easily the most accessible professor I've ever had (answers emails the same day), and his tests make sense.
A respectful and accommodating professor. He teaches well, dont be afraid to ask questions. However he did not provide a lot of resources for if youre sick and cant make it to class. Section was very lame, but required. The midterms were fair.