He is a great professor with a good sense of humor. His lectures do a good job of explaining course material and he posts all his slides on gaucho space. The midterms and finals are pretty easy as long as you do the homework and go over his previous exams that he posts on gaucho space.
Exams are very similar to the practice/old exams he posts. Little homework and it is not necessary to read the textbook since he summarizes the content kind of well in the lectures. Do CLAS or read the textbooks if you want to really get the lessons though since his explanations aren't the best.
Lectures and homework are very good at preparing you for midterms and the final; straightforward class.
Very clear explanation. Very clear voice. Great professor.
low responsibility; poor quality; even do not get familiar with his own PPT; teach wrong definition; the contents of exams and the things he teaches are totally different
Casteels is the only professor I haven't liked. He would mark me down for correct answers in a form not of his preference. I even verified with other professors. Easy material, though. He would shut me down when asking questions not related to the homework or exams, but out of genuine interest in the subject. Everyone else seems to like him, though
Such a funny professor, we always laugh at classes. He really gives clear and simple explanation of 4A, but not so through. Little homework. Midterms are similar with practice problems. If you understand his materials on GauchoSpace and do homework, you wont be worried about exams. Overall, easy to get an A.
Such a funny and good professor. He isn't the greatest at teaching but his lectures are always good and really simplify whatever the textbook is saying. Tests are just like practice tests, maybe a little bit more difficult. He is a typical math nerd knows what he's talking about
Lectures are kinda fast but if you pay attention he'll make 4A really easy to understand
Many of his explanations are very unclear, and he rushes through them. And doesn't put effort into giving us definitions. Don't know what he's rambling on about 3/4ths of the time. Mumbles during lectures and trails off sentences making it difficult to understand. Speaks too quietly. I learn more from youtube than i ever will from his lectures.
Really enjoyed his 108A class. The lectures are well organized and his notes were clear. The midterms were pretty easy and he gave extra credits for the final. Always available during his office hours and even gave extra office hours right before the exams. Great Professor! Definitely will take his class again
Karel is a super nice guy. Lectures are understandable and test are fair, but hw can be graded harshly. Would recommend taking for any math class at UCSB.
Professor Casteels is organized, clear and easy on the eye. However, I dont know whether hes just busy with other things in his life that whenever I try to talk to him, I couldnt tell hes being shy, offended, or straight up doesnt care....(it could be my fault). Trying to talk to him is sure a frustration, but beside that all good.
Best math professor
His homework for this class was exceptionally reasonable, but if you're stuck, his office hours are extremely helpful. Really funny professor, too. He tries to liven up the place with a quirky remark here and there. Exams are very straightforward, and I always felt like he prepares you for them. If you can, I'd recommend taking him.
verrrrry accessible professor!!! so nice!!!
Cool guy, tries his best and cares about his students.
DONT Bigelow if it is your first time taking Calculus. I took Calculus BC in high school and did well; however, I often found myself being confused on topics I thought were simple in high school because Bigelow's lectures were ALL OVER THE PLACE. His exams are very fair though. Grade on final exam could potentially replace grade in entire class.
Bigelow is really smart but his lectures are all over the place. He's pretty new at teaching the class. His lectures aren't too good because he doesn't really do many examples and he moves really fast. Luckily, his midterms and finals aren't too bad- he really listens to his students and he always wants to hear what we have to say.
Not the best for 3A, he assumed that most people had taken calculus in high school and is able to understand everything he says. 2 midterms and a final, iclickers, and section quizzes
He could work on explaining the algorithms we learn in this class to make them easier to work with, but he's very aware of this & you can tell he tries really hard to be as clear as he can. Funny guy, very lenient grader here since this class was mainly algorithms. As long as he saw you were using them right, you'd get most credit. 10/10 very fair.
He's pretty upfront with what you *likely* should know. Very fair midterms. Doesn't try to trick you. Very reasonable amounts of homework, and if you need any assistance, he is more than happy to help you in office hours. Final was certainly more demanding than midterm, but it was still very much fair. Oh, and he curves a bit, too. Good professor!
great prof.
Professor Bigelow broke down everything very well. Took S16 and the first midterm was very easy. Second was a little more difficult, but still very managable. Book was very clear and helpful. Final was difficult. Be sure to study.
