Nice guy. Lectures heavily focus on concepts and intuition which is why most people find them bad or hard to understand. Personally I did not attend much lecture due to the triviality of the material in Math 6A, but I could see them being very good in a more difficult class. Schley is very caring and understanding, he dropped low quiz scores.
Explanations of concepts weren't too helpful, especially the more complex ones later on in the quarter. The free textbook was a lifesaver. Nice guy with fair exams, a LOT of homework.
Professor Schley is very good on teaching. When he introduces a topic, he is very logical and articulates a concept,which is the best I've ever seen. However, his TA "Jeremy" ruined everything, including RMP grade. I don't know what the future of him, but right now, in 2025 winter, "Jeremy" is always doing something thankless.
Professor Schley's class has a mix of pros and cons. While he cares about teaching and offers generous grading policies, his lectures can be confusing at times. I found unstuck ai helpful for reinforcing concepts alongside the textbook.
Nathan is quite literally the worst teacher/professor I've ever had. From not clearly answering questions, to assigning homework and quizzes weekly, I eventually had to drop his Math108A course, but if I stayed in his course, Im sure I would've gotten a C- or lower...
Schley gets too much hate in my opinion. This is probably because there are easier 4B professors at UCSB. I came out of the class feeling confident with the material, and that's what matters to me.
Professor Schley is very passionate and I've taken and enjoyed his classes before. His lectures can get off topic but I feel like he's taught me a lot, and his exams are very reasonable (exactly what you studied) and he allows notecards/cheat sheets on exams. If you keep up with the lectures and homework and study well you'll excel in his class.
Professor Schley is so passionate for teaching that I worry his lectures might mislead or overwhelm those just looking to pass. This is a flaw, but if you have interest in math, he will seem smart and entertaining. His exams are of average difficulty, his study guides are very useful, and his grading scheme rewards students who stay caught up.
RUN. Lectures are way too abstract and never really explains anything. It amazes me how he can explain so little in so many words. HW has few problems but require so much work (but gives you some ec). Prob wouldn't have passed the class if we didn't have a 4 hour online final with notecards. Prepare to self study your a off
His class is so easy; you just need to do the homework, understand his practice exam, and go to the section to take the quiz. Some of the quizzes are actually the same questions from the midterms and final. After that, you are good to get an A+.
Schley has a very unique style. His lectures focus on intuition and building an understanding instead of examples and practice. Math 6B was an extremely interesting class and although felt disorganized at times, Schley really cares about his students. Personally, I think people exaggerate the flaws in the class, but that is just my opinion.
Absolutely the worst.
[Standard Schley warning: I love him, but you probably won't]. My 3rd class with Schley. Extremely HW heavy (2~3 per week), so think twice before choosing him. Suited for self-motivated students who want a VERY solid & difficult Math 8 class. Tests are very hard and demand full mastery of lecture and HW contents. Grade: A+ (one of the only few).
[Standard Schley warning: I love him, but you probably won't]. | Tests are easy in my opinion, but does includes some topics he teaches on his own. Lecture is controversial, while some love it and find it absolutely fantastic(myself included), others feel it's the worst in UCSB. Final is administered online. Early HW gets extra points. | Grade: A+.
Perhaps the worst lecturer I have encountered
Just hands out a worksheet and waits for someone to ask him questions during lecture. He also doesn't really mention anything about the midterms leading up to them? Always has to be reminded to put the time up for midterms. Said he'd been prepping for another class's midterm and didn't get to spend as much time helping prep for our midterm.
Schley is a joke, take Matt Porter's class and save yourself some headaches.
Schley is more concerned with teaching himself how to code than actually teaching you. The only knowledge comes from (rushed) lectures, which are primarily his rambling rather than teaching you any material. When there is information, it's somehow wrong. Think you can learn in office hours? Only about his personal side projects. Not recommended.
lecture notes are copied from online, not that helpful since he basically just explains in very abstract ways the "mathematical intuition" but doesn't really go over concrete examples. prepare to self study/ask ta. gives out extra credit for doing hw early (before he goes over the concept in lecture) so just self study, midterm has stuff not taught
Professor Schley is genuinely the worst professor I have ever had at UCSB. He would not tell us what was on the midterm and he told us three days before that we needed to know 3 more chapters and his practice test was so hard so I dropped the class.
Professor Schley is a pretty decent teacher. He obviously cares a lot about his students and puts a lot of effort into every lecture. He gives an enormous amount of extra credit(11%) for each homework assignment turned in three days early. I found his lectures a little hard to follow at first but that could just be the nature of linear algebra.
I think Schley gets a little too much hate. He is a very nice guy, he gives off the vibe that he cares about his job, and is passionate about what he is teaching. With that being said I think he gives WAY too much homework, and his lectures can be challenging to follow. He is very smart, but isn't the best at explaining concepts thoroughly.
Prof. Nathan makes a concerted effort to focus on applications of concepts, which I find really great. IMO, he goes too slow. He assumes you've mastered the previous week's material, which was fine for me, but that's where he lost most other students. His grading's lenient: infinite HW retakes, quizzes are only 5%, and he drops our lowest midterm.
Really hard grader!