Very disengaging lecture and hard to follow. Skips steps in his math and is super unclear. Unclear exam dates. Nice guy, but honestly more cut out to teach algebra 2.
Mr. Schley was a good teacher and was very passionate about his lectures. He always tried to explain the complicated concepts in compressed ways and was very good about answering questions during lectures. That being said, the course material itself is quite complicated, so make good use of him, TAs and CLAS help! Allows index cards on exams!
The lectures were really good and helped explain material in a very intuitive way. The weekly section quizzes were way too hard, and not completely the same concepts that we learned in lecture. Midterms and finals were just like the practice problems he provides, and there aren't many surprises. Nice guy who genuinely wants students to succeed.
Professor Schley does a great job at teaching Math 6A since he always tries to explain the abstract concepts in the most simplest ways he can, and so it makes the course a lot more easier to digest. My only complaint would be the weekly section quizzes as they are unnecessarily difficult and test obscure/niche topics from section.
We had two midterms and a final that were pretty similar to the practice we were given however, we had really hard weekly quizzes in section. They curved them at the end because everyone was failing them and it only counted as 10% of the grade. The professor is super nice and the class is lecture heavy however I did a lot of learning on my own.
I have had prof Schley for 2 classes now, I think he is much better in upper division style classes that are more concept heavy than raw computation heavy. Both classes had a lot of homework and difficult weekly quizzes. If you want an easy A and to learn very little you probably wont like him as a professor.
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...
Nathan would often go into tangents and not really teach concepts in a way that leaves you feeling like you learned any material. His canvas/class structure/ just everything had a disorganization to it. Possibly an easy to pass class, however, if you want to learn material to supplement your future classes, find another professor
He was an awful teacher. Sure he's a nice guy, but absolutely terrible at teaching. Had I known ChatGPT and Youtube videos would teach me more than the professor himself I would have avoided taking his course. If you want a good teacher don't take this course. The tests are reasonable and you get a note card.
nathan is one of the worse profs i've ever had. fails to explain concepts well and just goes in circles. there's extra credit but that's not really helpful when you're left to self study by yourself. having a good ta helps
Lots of homework but extra credit on it. Quizzes every section and often have content on it taught that same day in lecture. Lectures were confusing and he was bad at answering questions from students. The TA was more helpful than the professor. Self-study is needed
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.
Schley was a professor I was initially worried to take but as the course went on I found him to be a good prof, not the best but he did care and does challenge you to develop crucial math skills. The homework is a lot but the last two weeks have none. Lectures can be hit or miss but when they're good they can be full of useful techniques.
Schely is simply not good at teaching math.
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.
