MATH 34A
GARFIELD P M
Peter Garfield
191 reviews

MATH8 . Garfield P M 1 Year, 6 Months Ago

Math 8 with Professor Garfield is not easy but he provides as much help as possible. He hosts five office hours a week and you will be able to get help almost everyday of the week. HWs are slightly challenging but tests are fair. He also taught at Harvard for many years and he's just a great Professor.

1 helpful 0 unhelpful
MATH8 . Garfield P M 1 Year, 6 Months Ago

If you have homework or lecture that you don't understand, he has lots of office hours every week. He has zoom every night before the homework is due. You can ask him all the questions that you don't understand. He is very helpful.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
MATH4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 6 Months Ago

Peter might be the funniest prof I've ever had. Made class so entertaining. The lectures were not really the most helpful content wise, but if you put into a little effort into studying on your own, you'll be fine. Midterm and finals were not that bad and reflected what was covered in homework/class.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
MATH4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 6 Months Ago

His lectures weren't very helpful for me. He posts his slides from class, though, and those are helpful for studying and completing hw. I learned more by watching Youtube videos. He was a nice grader- I recommend.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 8 Months Ago

The lectures include many unnecessary details that don't cut straight to the chase. During lectures he provides no worked out solutions and for a conceptually heavy class, I had to rely on 3B1Br to actually understand the purpose of the class. The tests were manageable but I ended up having to rely on other resources to actually learn

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 8 Months Ago

Professor Garfield was really nice during my experience. He goes over any and every question in lecture in detail, and it very approachable. He is hard to approach though, as a majority of his office hours are online. Overall he was nice, and clearly wanted his students to do well. His study guides were moderately reflective of the tests.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 9 Months Ago

Amazing professor, couldn't recommend him more for 4A. Always cracking jokes during class. Despite the large class sizes, Prof. Garfield is super accessible and I would def recommend going to Math Labs and office hours as topics can get tricky past about week 6. Midterms and finals are at reasonable difficulty and the homework is very manageable.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 9 Months Ago

he is so diligent! Literally, what my tuition meant for, bro what kind prof would extend his office hours to 2 hours just to make sure everyone's answer can be answered??? Also, he curves!!! However, if you wanna succeed with this course, it's best to read the textbook before the lecture

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 9 Months Ago

He was a very sweet man who is obviously very passionate about math, however, it seemed like he took pride in how difficult his lectures were to understand. I would learn more from attempting the homework and searching for help online than from what was on his lecture slides. I recommend getting outside help to really grasp the concepts!

1 helpful 0 unhelpful
4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 9 Months Ago

While Peter is a funny professor, he is not a great lecturer. His explanations are not clear and often lead to confusion. Lecture is difficult to understand; many were forced to sign up for CLAS or read the textbook. Attendance at lecture is practically mandatory (iClicker), but his exams are fairly easy. !!Sign up for CLAS if you are struggling!!

1 helpful 0 unhelpful
MATH4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 9 Months Ago

Definitely one of the best math professors at UCSB. If you have the chance to take 4A with him I would highly recommend.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 9 Months Ago

While Peter was a nice professor, he is not a great teacher. His method of teaching was not conducive to learning math, in my opinion. Lectures were confusing and often consisted of him reading through his slides without working through any problems by hand. Definitely sign up for CLAS and use Khan Academy. Good Luck!

1 helpful 0 unhelpful
4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 9 Months Ago

Peter's a great guy, although maybe not the best lecturer. Some lectures aren't paced well and we end up speeding to the end. Regardless, his humor made learning math fun and enjoyable. Homework is due before the next lecture and is pretty easy compared to lecture content. Exams are straightforward. Take his classes!

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
MATH4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 9 Months Ago

Prof Garfield is a very fun professor, lectures are good to go to, although you definitely need to spend time learning the content on your own. Midterms/finals are all fair.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
4A . Garfield P M 1 Year, 9 Months Ago

Very nice professor, but a decently fast paced course so being able to teach yourself and answer your own questions is helpful. However, Peter is very good about being there and helpful during his office hours.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
MATH4A . Garfield P M 2 Years Ago

This professor lets you drop most of the final. Its wild. Most people i know got an a+. If you want an easy class this is it. Of course, he's also super nice and helpful.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
34B . Garfield P M 2 Years Ago

Lectures could be very confusing and homework can be hard. The 3 midterm exams and final increase in weight which is unfortunate. Exams are the exact same as practice exams so it is very easy to be successful despite confusing content! A lot of homework/quiz grades are dropped which also bring up grade. Very generous grading!!

1 helpful 0 unhelpful
34B . Garfield P M 2 Years Ago

Garfield was fine. His lectures and explanations were confusing at times but the textbook always provided clarification. His exams are exactly like the practice exams so make sure to do those. My biggest issue is it takes FOREVER for him to get exam grades out. Like ridiculously long. Overall, not a hard class.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
34B . Garfield P M 2 Years Ago

he does not teach very well - with that being said, the class is almost a guaranteed pass because the tests are very close to the practice exams (which he supplies a lot of). Homework is mild and you can get a lot of help (or in a lot of cases just look on nectar). most people succeed by memorization.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
34B . Garfield P M 2 Years Ago

good and nice

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
34B . Garfield P M 2 Years Ago

Garfield was pretty cool but was a terrible prof/lecturer. Has problems with being timely and widely unorganized. Basically reads off slides and doesn’t do much to really teach. Practice exams are very similar to real exams which was nice. But him and his TAs don’t respond to emails and are difficult to reach. Don’t really recommend

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
MATH34B . Garfield P M 2 Years Ago

Peter is one of the best professors Ive had at UCSB. His class is really straightforward and he wants you to succeed. He holds multiple office hour sessions per week, take advantage of them! The practice tests and homework really prepare you for the exams, stay on top of everything and youll be golden. Going to miss having Peter as a professor!

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
34B . Garfield P M 2 Years Ago

He’s a cool guy but a very poor professor. Many people like him cause they consider his class to be easy but neglect to mention how wildly unorganized the class is. I feel like he’s never thorough enough and most kids get by on memorization because his practice tests are exactly like the exams. TAs and professor never get back to you.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful
MATH34B . Garfield P M 2 Years Ago

A great guy at heart but the class was terribly organized. There was a lot of frustration regarding the grades of our first midterm (which, two months later, is still not graded). The lectures are not very thorough—many of the steps and work for example problems are explained verbally; there is hardly any work shown. Wouldn't recommend.

0 helpful 0 unhelpful