34B was an easy class. Lectures are engaging and have good iclicker questions to learn content. Practice exams on canvas are identical to the 3 in-class midterms + final making them easy (but graded slowly). Prof Garfield is very funny and makes lectures interesting. He is also caring and offers makeup exams. I highly recommend taking his class!
Explains concepts very well and is understanding about situations outside of class. Attendance is mandatory through iClicker, but it isn't geolocated to the room. Tests are just like the practice problems posted on canvas, so if you study those, you will do well.
Has not graded any midterms or given any feedback. More than a week late to post grades, and was does not give very good lectures. Rely on self studying.
I took his class in the fall and it was really easy! Peter Garfield is very passionate and funny in lecture. He's accessible through office hours but good luck hearing back from him through email. His lectures are engaging and easy to follow along. Make sure to do all his old exams, they help a lot in doing good on the midterms and final!
I'm sure he's great for lower div classes but for upper division classes hes an absolute mess. He hasnt graded either of our 2 class exams, forgets to post homework MOST WEEKS, and regularly lies about things such as releasing lecture slides or giving us exam information. Also does not care to give practice exams, so you have NO CLUE whats going on
Decent lectures/teaching style, but taking AP Calc before this class was very helpful. The practice tests were the best way to study and all 3 midterms & the final were fair imo. Overall Prof. Garfield was really nice; he made an effort to get to know students and make 9am lectures fun. Attendance via iClicker counts for small part of your grade.
I took Garfield for 34A & B. He's really funny and takes the time to try to learn his students names even in a huge lecture. Its clear he really cares. You just have to take time on your own to try to understand the material in order to excel. He gives opportunities for you to do your best. The only college professor I've had that allows notecards.
such a sweet and nice professor. super easy to prepare for tests bc he posts examples that are exactly like the test. homework load is not bad at all even though it's 3x a week. no curveballs or surprises on any test, you can feel well prepared by just studying the materials he gives without any outside help needed
Class is easy because the practice midterms are exactly like the midterms and final, like even if you skipped every lecture, as long as you study the practice exams and make sure you can do those specific problems, then you'd be fine. Homework due every other night which sucks but other than that, solid easy class, good professor.
He's a good prof but wasn't for me, most of the time, I was lost
A pretty good professor, a lot of homework and you have to be in charge of teaching yourself a lot of the topics because it isn't in detail during lectures most of the time. The practice tests are exactly like the tests though so they are moderately easy to study for.
Probably one of the best teachers you will get at UCSB! His slides are very thorough and easy to understand, and he posts them on canvas along with videos explaining them. Gives practice exams for midterms and final that are almost EXACTLY like the actual thing. He is super funny and very approachable, highly recommend him for math!
I don't understand why Peter Garfield isn't a 5/5! We had easy homework assignments three times a week that had unlimited attempts. Before midterms and the final, he gave us four practice exams that had the same content as the real test with different numbers. I made sure I knew how to solve all of those problems and never missed a single point.
I love Peter! He really cares about the students and his grading policy is great as you are guaranteed a B is you show that you made an effort in the class. Loved how the practice exams are nearly exactly the same as the actual midterms and final. Super funny and kind-hearted and tries to teach in a way that is easy to understand.
34A was pretty easy bc the practice exams are exactly like the real exams and he lets you have a cheat sheet. Peter is a funny guy but he moves incredibly fast during lectures and they aren't that helpful. HW is weird bc the last half of the problems are not relevant to what we're learning.
I love Peter!! He is such a genuine teacher that cares about the success of his students! The class has lots of homework that is pointless and has no correlation with the exams. In order to do well on his exams, take the practice exam and memorize it religiously as its similar to the actual exam.
I love professor Garfield! He's very funny and genuinely cares about his students. He doesn't quite explain some topics but you can easily get answers from your TA. Also, most of the homework is MEANINGLESS and doesn't cover test questions at all. You're better off focusing on the practice tests that he posts bc those are 100% on the tests.
My king. Only complaint is that he takes a while to grade and the homework isn't really what we learn in lecture.
I loved Peter a lot! His lectures are engaging and give you everything you need to know for the homework and exams. The exams are the exact same as the practice exams, and you're also allowed to have a notecard, making midterms and final a breeze. There's a quiz each week but it's super easy if you pay attention in section.
Class is very manageable, he is very lenient with grades, lectures are pretty fast paced, lots of homework, weekly quizzes, 3 midterms, 1 final. Post practice exams similar to actual exams. Went to office hours and CLAS throughout the quarter and finished with an A.
Class was very well laid out, quizzes once a week, three midterms, and homework after every lecture. If you go to class and spam the practice midterms you can do very well in the class. The practice midterms are exactly like the real deal which made studying a lot easier.
I was scared to do Math 34A coming into UCSB but Professor Garfield makes it so much more bearable. We have homework three times a week and quizzes every section. The homework is lowk harder than what we learn in in class. His midterms and finals are exactly like his practice exams so make sure to utilize those. Overall not a bad class.
Peter is the most genuine professor Ive had, he really cares about getting to know and check in with his students. I will say his homework is extremely more difficult that what he teaches in lecture (most homework material wasn't even in tests), but if you take studying practice midterms and writing notecard seriously you will be fine in the class.
Three midterms and quizzes every week in section. The practice exams are EXACTLY like the actual tests, so do those and make a good notecard and you'll do fine. Homework is kind of unrelated to the material so...do with that what you will. Iclicker but no geolocation so you don't have to go to lecture (which is too fastpaced to be helpful anyway).