Good professor overall. If you put in the work and study the HWs & study guides, you can get an A. He is pretty quiet during lectures but he posts video recordings of them online for his students (I found it most effective studying with this instead of actually going to lecture.) I would love to take his class once again if I had the chance.

Porter really cares about his students, was always trying to accommodate and help out when he could. He spoke pretty quietly and the exam reviews were much more difficult than the actual exams but overall a really kind professor and the class is doable if you do the homework.

Lectures were not very helpful and were given in a quiet, monotone voice, but he does upload his notes. There are 3 tests, they were short which makes it a little difficult to get a good score, but I did think his grading policy was quite fair. weekly HW can be long and frustrating, but it is a sizable part of your grade and can boost it.

Professor Porter can sometimes be a bit monotone during lecture, but if you look past that, his lectures are extremely clear, with concise notes that have downloadable templates for them before class, and are uploaded after class. He provides a ton of resources to help with his class, and his homework helps you get very prepared for tests.

Did not go to a single lecture because they are really boring. Just watched his online video notes which covered the material well. The tests are fairly easy as long as you watch the lectures.

I love porter

speaks to monotone and quiet during lectures; relied more on his online notes and lectures. Homework is a bit hard and time-consuming. Midterms and finals are basically based off his exams/final reviews, so those really help. You also get to use a notecard during the exams. If you understand the concept well enough, you're set.

Porter is a good teacher, but his exams were nothing like the study guides he assigned. The midterms and final had very few questions (>10), so it was hard to get a good score. I am typically very good at math (I got an A in Math 3A), but this class was extremely difficult for me. It will likely be the lowest grade I've received at UCSB so far.

Be prepared for the light voice of this professor. He literally whispered in vocal fry which makes it harder to recognize... Learned nothing from him. MATH4B itself is not a difficult course, he makes it difficult. Self-teaching is what you need if you choose to take his course.

He is a nice person, but lectures are very hard to follow along to. He just works through example problems very quickly during the entire lecture without explaining how to do the concept first. His lectures are very monotone and it is hard to hear what he is saying. You're better off watching youtube videos than going to lectures.

best math professor i've ever had

I rated him 5 as a person but as a professor, he is impossible to learn from. The lectures are only offered twice a week at 8 am and the way he teaches is bent over a podium talking in a very monotone voice, which is painful at 8 am. Not much to learn from him, I learned more from calculus youtube videos than what I learned going to his lectures.

Lectures are not mandatory, but helpful in learning the material. Porter is very accessible through email or office hours, and explains concepts very clearly and thoroughly. Exams were pretty easy and similar to practice exams. He is very accommodating (exam 2 and final exam were take home due to the TA strike) and just a nice person in general!

The lectures were not useful, simply copied down the problem, not learning how to solve it. The homework was difficult and long. However, his grading policy was extremely easy, dropped 2 out of the 3 exams. Long story short: Am I still completely lost when it comes to Calculus? Yes. Did I get an A in the class despite this? Yes.

I'm pretty bad at math but prof Porter was super good and easy to understand! I would definitely take him again. His grading was super fair and the exam review problems were very similar to the tests.

Professor Porter is one of the best math instructors I have ever come across at any of the universities I have been to. He explains everything in detail in a step-by-step way that helps you understand how and why every part of a problem is solved. Tests are usually fair, and as long as you go to lecture and do problems at home you'll be just fine.

easy to get a high score. The exams will be easy if you can complete all the assignments successfully.

Sometimes lectures in a monotone voice, but overall easy to understand and pretty lenient on grades. Dropped our lowest 2 out of 3 exam scores so the final was optional due to the strike, as well as a few more homework assignments than originally stated. Posts lecture notes on Gauchospace too, as well as other resources.

Exactly what you want from a good professor

If you have the option, TAKE PORTER. Best decision ever. He is extremely nice and easygoing. His lectures were clear to understand. Make sure to try and get high scores on all your webworks as your grade depends on the homework and exams mostly.

Great professor! Super approachable, very nice about questions and all. The tests were super straightforward -- easier than the webwork and around the same as the review assignments. The class was relatively difficult, especially if you've never done calculus before, but definitely doable if you put the work in.

Definitely take him if you have the option. The tests are very similar to the review worksheets and are super easy. Homework completion is important. Overall, awesome and very considerate professor.

Math 2A is difficult if you have minimal pre-calculus experience, but doable. If you need help, utilize his office hours along with math lab and CLAS. Lectures are not mandatory, but would highly recommend attending, 8 am makes it easy to skip, but going will save your grade.

Easy grader. Boring lectures, though.