Astro1was such a fun course to take if you want to know more about the universe in a very generic way. There were a couple of topics that we went super deep into, but nothing too bad. There is math involved, however it is very basic plug in equations. Reading the textbook is a must. Geller was a great lecturer and I enjoyed learning in his course.
I made a big mistake taking this class as a GE when I hate math, this class involves physics. He has his on own book which you must purchase online to access homework. TEST HEAVY your graded on the homework that is so easy to do because its online and everyone uses sources to do it, professor even pointed it out. Don't recommend taking this.
I can't understand why people would rate him badly. I think he is amazing, despite of what other people think. He is cool, does some amazing demos, and gives us quizzes on Achieve that let you earn an A on it. I do believe it is a easy A, as long as you show up to sections and the lectures, study hard and then it will pay off in the end. Love this!
Professor Geller seems like a cool guy, very knowledgeable on the class topics, but the class itself is very hard. Reading the textbook is a must, but it's overly complicated and hard to understand. Geller clears things up a little in his lectures, but even then things aren't explained very well. Overall, he's a cool guy, but the class is not fun.
I wanna attend any of his classes again. Each lecture he introduced only include a small part of chapter in the book. Sometimes when he had a cold he just skip the lecture and leave us to learn by ourselves. He always assign a lot of homework with tough and strange requirements. And what his lecture did little contribution and help for homework.
Most of the (many) issues I had with the course are due to the poor curriculum, which is set by the department and not the professor. However, Geller was often smug, condescending, and discouraged us from going to office hours for homework help. PHYS 1 is easy if you have taken AP Physics. If not, prepare for a long slog with little/no support.
Halfway through the quarter, and personally I dislike his teaching style. Lectures are pointless, only reason to go is because of iClicker points but otherwise you do not learn much through his lectures. The class is self-taught and he only provides demonstrations of the main concepts rather than actually going over what will be on tests.
Geller is the best professor hands down!! So fun and highly encourages class participation and questions. Lectures were interesting and he always had demos to keep it fun. Definitely recommend this class as an Area C requirement
Geller is a chill homie. He is super cool and loves questions. You will leave the class wanting to take another one of his classes.
Geller is eager to answer questions during lecture, and although there is assigned reading, the lectures cover most of the material so the textbook is only necessary for some terms or concept that you don't understand, and the homework. The class was pretty interesting
Robert Geller is a solid teacher. His lectures are not too boring and he encourages questions. If you pay attention and take notes you can do well. I felt like I really learned the material in the class.
Though the material is not that hard, Prof. Geller makes the class annoyingly more difficult. He grades homework based on accuracy, which is somewhat annoying. The lectures are pretty helpful, and he doesn't assign insane amounts of homework, but the fact that he grades homework and uses iClicker means attendance is pretty much mandatory.
DONT LET THE NAME FOOL YOU. Its a really hard class and the Geller is just a horrible teacher. He speeds throughout the lecture and expects us to already understand the concepts without him really explaining them. He shows no interest in having his students succeed and his midterm was ridiculous. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! NOT FUN!!!
Professor Geller is a great professor. He is so willing to answer questions that he would often stop lecture just so we could ask questions. For the midterm and final, really understand the CONCEPTS he teaches in class, and keep an ongoing list of equations, you get to use a cheat sheet for both tests. By far my favorite professor
Geller's lectures are very interesting and he is extremely good at clarifying difficult concepts. The course will be extremely easy if you are math oriented, but not impossible if you aren't. Weekly homework from the textbook, i-Clicker during lecture. 90% of test material is from lecture. I got an A without doing much textbook reading.
Geller's great! His lectures are clear, and he keeps astronomy pretty interesting/fun. The class isn't that difficult if you start the homework early and if you have some interest in science/space. Make sure you understand basic concepts before tests. I never went to section and still got an A-. Still wish he curved though!
Seemed like a nice guy and performed some interesting demos in class, but other than that his class was extremely boring. Class was also very hard. there were weekly hw assignments that took a long time to do. i assumed all this work would prepare me for the midterm and final but those were still extremely hard. DONT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!
BEWARE: Geller is a nice guy and is very helpful. However, if you're thinking about taking Astro for a GE, don't. The class is VERY challenging. Attendance is mandatory (for clarity on complex concepts and iclicker). He gives weekly HW assignments and CLAS is absolutely neccesary. Class average for midterm was a D-/C- and he didnt curve.
Geller is awesome. He's funny, teaches fairly well, and keeps the class light-hearted. The material may seem a bit daunting at first, but if you read the book and go to lecture, it's quite easy and interesting.
Geller was a good teacher. Material was a little hard but he made it much easier. Do the homeowrk and the class is fairly simple.
I found Geller very likable. He really seemed passionate about the subject. Although I found this class difficult, with concepts that were sometimes hard to grasp, I felt Geller was very fair with grading and his overall expectations. I did not find section very helpful.
Astro 1: Interesting class most of the time. Sections are optional and help sometimes. Pay more attention to conceptual ideas rather than math realated problems. Make sure to go to lecture because he does iClicker questions.
Class is easy if you pay attention and thoroughly complete homework. CLAS was very helpful. Geller is passionate and a good teacher. I am the opposite of a science student and I found his class doable and even interesting. He is laid back too, which is nice for a high-stress class
I had him for Astro. Great professor interested in the subject and makes his lectures very interesting. Important to attend every lecture. Understanding concepts is more important than knowing the math, although there's still math. CLAS helps. His tests are pretty straightforward, just study.