After taking Math 8 with Porter, I can say with confidence that he gave a really great overview of proof writing. Super patient and always available to answer questions. The grading criteria was clear and no curve balls on the tests. Highly recommend!
Lectures made a lot of sense and clearly outlined difficult and unfamiliar material. He gave a lot of examples on how to apply concepts during lecture. There were 2 midterms and a final, and the final was really short and not super difficult. He also drops your lowest midterm if your final score is higher, and he drops your lowest homework grade.
Porter always knows how to teach different fields of math, and in math 8 it's the same thing. Homework comes straight from the textbook and his lectures provide a good guide and depth on the contents of the textbook. Exams are straightforward, very fair and worthwhile to study for. He tries to make accommodations when situations need it. Great prof
Reading textbook is required to do well on exams anyways, so lectures felt unnecessary. Prof is nice. Homework is graded on accuracy and long/tedious but prepares you well for exams. Exams are straightforward and the final replaces lowest exam score. HW - 30%, Exams - 20% each (3 total including final), weekly quizzes in section - 10%.
Professor Porter's lectures are easy to follow. He explains things very well. His exams are not very hard, you can learn those problems from textbook or sections. He does offer many assignments every week, but they are not difficult, and they help reviewing exam. 10% quiz, 20% hw, 70% exams, a fair grading system.
1. The overall grading is quite lenient as there exist extra credit in and outside tests. 2. There is barely any reason to attend the lectures other than to show up because he does pretty much nothing outside the textbook. 3. Pop quiz each week on evening sections. Pretty easy. 4. Exams are also pretty easy and slightly uninteresting. Verdict:4/5
Awesome guy, he is one of the best math professors here. I learned so much in a quarter than an entire semester of math I learned in my cc. This is the professor you need that can guide you to academic success.
All of these people giving him poor reviews from Math 2A, there is a reason you are taking precalculus in college. Matt Porter is an excellent professor. Unfortunately during Fall Quarter, Matt wasn't able to teach at quite his full potential, but I could really tell that he is a great guy and teacher. Wish I could take him again.
Material is different than all of the other lower div math classes. Taking it with Porter made it a smoother transition and always had examples that he went through with us carefully.
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.
My favorite math teacher in UCSB. Clear organization of the courses. Acceptable loads HW. Quiz and final are pretty basic and easy if you put enough efforts in his lecture, HW and materials.
Porter is a really nice professor. His exams are really easy, as long as you follow along the lecture and homework, you can get an A. He's also really considerable, you can discuss with him if any problem came up, and he would even adjust his grading scale according to the situation.
Want to preface, I am the least math-able person you'll ever meet, but I was able to pass Math 34A fairly easily. As long as you attend all sections and submit all study guides for the exams, you're guaranteed to get a B. If you somehow don't, he can claim "extraordinary effort" and give you a B. To any freshman wondering to take the class, DO IT.
Homework is a little long at times, but teaching is good and you will learn if you show up for lectures. You will have 2 midterms but the final will replace the lower graded midterm if the final is higher, which is great if you bombed one of the midterms.
not a great professor. he mumbles a lot in his lectures.
He does mumble through his lectures and they are boring, especially at 8 am. But he genuinely cares about his students and wants you to do well. Exams are super easy and he gives study guides that are harder than the actual tests. Extra credit is given, lowest homework grade is dropped, and he rounds up. Ended with a 99%. He's goated.
To be honest, Porter mumbles to himself all lecture, and just works through problems. It doesn't really feel like he's teaching or lecturing, kinda just like a join me if you want. His grading policies though are heavenly. I suck at math and carried a good grade all quarter. Also, no one really laughs at his jokes and I feel bad.
amazing professor, cares very much for his student. I had him for 2A and 2B and he is super accessible. Responds to emails in a timely manner, has office hours 2-3 days a week, and really wants to help you succeed. Makes expectations really clear.
If you took 2A, its the exact same thing just more concepts. Porter is a great person and professor. Calculus is just difficult but just be on top of HW and studying. It does take to understand but he is very nice and although he mumbles in lecture his notes are helpful. As always, go to office hours and ask for help from him and TA's
Porter is a great professor, although he would mumble to himself when doing work in lecture. Difficulty wise, its a higher level of math so its difficult. Exams are so much easier than the HW and practice exams. Just talk to him and ask questions, both Porter and the TA's are great. Grading is fair, just make sure HW does not pile up!
He is very great just kind of monotoned and I had him at 8am so his lectures were a little boring. However, his lectures are basically the exams plus he allows you to take a notecard on the exam so it is a lot easier. His practice exam is almost exactly the actual midterms/final. Really easy tho if you show up and learn.
beware he is a confusing professor with his notes be overfilled and he does mumble to himself but honestly the way he set up the class is so nice. he post all completed notes, if you do better on the final can overtake one out of the two midterms, and can do late hw problems for half credit for each problem.
He literally was "sick" for half the lectures and was so chill. He literally canceled the final and is a D1 chiller. You will get a decent grade in this class and I know he tells his TA's to grade easy so if you get a bad grade, talk to your TA.
Love this man he is my icon. He doesn't wanna be there as much as you. His tests are legit like 6-7 questions. You can bring a notecard too. He's so easy take him if you can.
