Genuinely cares about his students and their well-being. Took it during Fall 21 and the final exam was online. Lecture attendance doesn't matter but section attendance does count.
One of the best professors I've ever had! His lectures are very clear and all his notes + short videos are posted online, making it easy to catch up on things you may have missed. His grading is very generous with a majority of your grade being based on homework & exam practice problems rather than exams, which helped me learn the material better.
If you don't take his class, you will regret it for the rest of your life.
Take him for 4B. Easy grading scale and his class is super organized.
Great professor overall, extremely well-organized course site with generous grading. Lectures are a bit dry but I can't blame him because that's the nature of an ODEs course.
I think people like Prof. Porter because homework is 50% of the grade, so it's a very easy class to do well in, especially for diff eq. However, his lectures are so boring I find it hard to understand what he's saying. He speaks in a low monotonous voice all class. His notes are good and posted, so the lectures aren't even worth attending.
His lectures are super clear, he really makes statistics easy. I did online/asynchronous, but he was always accessible outside of class. Not an insane amount of work, but enough that you really get it. Just watch the videos and take notes on the blank notes he gives you and you will be fine. Homework is often more difficult than the exams.
He is SO FKING NICE!!!!! His homework takes 50%!!! His notes are very clear so we do not need any textbooks. He also provides a video of each chapter. PICK HIM! PICK HIM!
Only 2 weeks into the course and I'd say Matt is hands down one of the best Math prof at UCSB! His lectures are super clear, recorded(even the recording is high quality), organized, and very nice grading distribution towards the students (50% homework and 10% final).
Had Prof Porter for MATH 2A/2B and was able to do well on both with no precalculus experience beforehand. His lectures are a bit monotonous, but if you take notes and go to mathlab to complete the homework assignments you will grasp the content just fine. The grading scale is very fair and the study guides are quite reflective of the test material.
Amazing professor! He doesn't grade harshly at all and if you do bad on the midterms you'll most likely be fine. Most of your grade comes from the homework and attending section so it's not bad at all. He's also a really good professor, it takes a minute to get used to his teaching but once you do he's great!
I had a horrible experience with this professor, first professor I have had a bad experience with here. He was too quiet in lectures and has marked students wrong for correct answers on exams. You can still get an A in this course, 70% of your grade is homework but the professor is a bad teacher and harsh grader.
Very understanding and teaches you exactly what you're going to be tested on.
I had Prof Porter for both MATH 2A and MATH 2B, and have absolutely no complaints at all. He is very responsive to emails, and seems to really care about the success of students. Your grade really depends on the amount of effort you put in. There are so many resources to get an A in these classes.
Professor Porter can be a little monotonous while lecturing, but his lectures are extremely clear, he is easily the most accessible professor I've ever had (answers emails the same day), and his tests make sense.
Don't take this class. I physically cried during his midterm. Take literally any other professor. Is this the only math class open? I don't care. Take a math class next semester.
A respectful and accommodating professor. He teaches well, dont be afraid to ask questions. However he did not provide a lot of resources for if youre sick and cant make it to class. Section was very lame, but required. The midterms were fair.
Very clear lectures, explains every step. Posts lecture notes. Webwork is sometimes kinda useless, but the exam review packets are really all the studying you need for the exams. Exam aren't easy but with just some prep you'll get an A. I definitely walked away having learned stuff. Porter's also very unintentionally funny which is nice. Great prof
Good lecturer, would recommend going every time because they really help me understand the material. Homework can take forever sometimes, but does help me get it. Tests are like the practice work but easier.
Professor Porter would be a great professor, in my opinion, if his lectures weren't at 8am. He can be a little monotone and trying to focus at 8am with a teacher always within the same cadence is a struggle. Webwork (online hw) can take forever sometimes but tests are pretty easy and very similar to the review packets.
Highly recommend Prof Porter. Lectures are very clear and he posts notes online after class. If you do the weekly homework and keep up with lectures you will definitely get a solid grade!
Straight forward lectures, no beating around the bush for what he wants you to know on tests given the homework and practice tests. Great professor.
Professor Porter is an easy to follow lecturer. He has clearly organized the class online to make lecture outlines available and uploads notes after classes. He is very quick to respond to emails. This class does require hard work, but is doable with the right mindset and effort. The grading scheme is fair. There are 2 midterms and one final.
Amazing. His lectures are straightforward and exam questions will almost always replicate his lecture examples. His grading goes by homework (70% of your grade), 2 midterms and 1 final (all 3 exams being 10% of your grade). Hw is graded by completeness/correctness so as long as you do hw you're already good for an A. Please give this man a raise.