Not a helpful Prof at all. Poor lectures. Hard homework that was not taught about. The curve was helpful to the students. I would not recommend him. Definitely take CLAS if you have to take a class with hime, it was a life saver.
He is as useless as a snail. My friend caught him playing WoW at the library on the week of finals, when he could have given us the practice final exam earlier. I do not comprehend why he gets the privilege to be a professor. I am so confused.
WORST PROFESSOR BY FAR. ONLY WENT TO LECTURE FOR iCLICKER POINTS. THE BOOK WAS ALMOST AS USELESS AS BIGELOW.
He is very unhelpful to the class. The only reason the majority of people go to the lecture is for the i>Clicker. However, you do need to go to the lecture because he will add to his slides that he presents in class. GO TO CLAS, it will save your life. Watch out, the text book does not help you at all. Homeworks are very difficult, so be careful.
Not so good at teaching but his tests are beyond fair and the curve is helpful. Homework is hard like everybody said but most answers are in back of book and it has nothing to do with tests so not a big deal. TAKE CLAS IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE
I feel bad for the guy. He's probably a really great person, but the class is completely useless. He's not that great at teaching either. I got all my information from the TAs. Anyway, the class is pretty easy, and it shouldn't be that bad to get through it.
Awesome professor, explain things very clearly. Willing to help if you aren't afraid of asking. Tests are very reasonable, i really recommend this professor. Had him for Math 3A,3B, 3Honor and will be taking his Math 5 Honor in winter.
He's a pretty cool professor, slightly awkward sometimes, but tests are reasonable and he's much more clear in office hours.
Casteels is a great professor. Very thorough explanations. Gives PLENTY of help if you're not afraid to ask. Useful in office hours AND by using the "email professor" button on webwork. Receieved an A- in his class. Tells it like it is and with effort, you'll get a solid grade. I reccommend as a math major :)
Casteels is the best college math profesor I have had so far. He is new, but he is an excellent teacher. Great clarity in explaining concepts, and he is very approachable if you ever have doubts. Go to lecture, do your homework, study 1-2 hours for exams, and the class is an easy A. I had him for both Math 3A and 3B, aced both classes.
Professor Casteels is a great math professor.
Professor Casteels is a cool guy. He is clear in teaching and is fair. He speaks English fine, unlike a lot of Math teachers at UCSB I heard don't. Math 5C is very difficult. Do his homework and study it for tests as well as study old tests for the final. He is clear in what he will put on tests, and don't be afraid to look in the book for help.
Horrible teacher if you didn't take calc in high school. Homeworks are nothing like the tests. Unorganized teacher. Lectures often go off topic. Never even referred to the book. Try to avoid or only take if you have taken calc before.
Bigelow's lecture slides are very helpful because the examples he presented in class are there. Sure it's hard to read at first, but you'll get the hang of it! I referred to the textbook when I don't understand a concept. Overall, Bigelow is a funny guy that shows youtube clips time to time in class! Just stay above the curve!!!
Nice guy but bad at teaching math. Most people i know skipped lecture went to CLAS and got an A. I went to every lecture and every section and got a C. Gotta say he is a fair grader, he chose the higher of the two midterm grades because the homework was nothing like the exams. Avoid the Big low if you can.
Taking this class was a huge mistake. He taught my math class by using a computer, and iclicker questions took about half the time. He expects everyone to have already taken calculus, even though most haven't. His class is extremely boring. I HIGHLY advise not taking this class.
Horrible Teacher. Do not take if you've never taken Calc before.
If you have never taken calculus before, think twice before having him as a professor. Nice guy, but I hardly learned anything from his lectures. The homework was very difficult and it was hard to find examples relating to it from the text. The only reason I passed was because of C.L.A.S.
HORRIBLE! Lectures are unbearable because there is always a technical problem and he does a horrendous job explaining concepts. His pace is too fast and he cannot teach. He is a nice guy but not a good professor for math. CLAS was the reason I passed this class.
Nice guy and tries to be very helpful. However, it was impossible to learn anything more useful than conceptual ideas from his lectures. They had almost absolutely nothing to do with the homework half the time, and the homework was often very difficult. His tests seem easy when you take them, but were graded somewhat harshly. Curved my C to a B.
He enjoys calculus, and knows it very well. However, he is not the best lecturer. He lectures entirely in html, which is both good and bad. The html pages are easily accessed outside of the class, but they are of lower quality than chalkboard notes. I suggest you read the book before attending class.
Seemed like a nice guy but had a rather hard time actually teaching the course. Assumed we knew some of the concepts and kept teaching us things that he said "weren't important." TAKE CLAS if you take this class! Again a nice guy but a rather incompetent teacher.
He's a very nice guy and his grading is very generous. Its easy to get an A or B if you've taken calculus before. The tests are pretty easy. His lectures are hard to follow though. He only uses html format to teach and does not do example problems relevant to the homework. Easy grader, smart guy, but not the easiest to follow through.
this guy is amazing. after just going to his review lectures just before the midterms and final, i literally learned all of calculus. i did not touch the book, as a matter of fact i didn't even own one and i still thought it was ridiculously easy. love this guy
