CARLSON J M

Jean Carlson

22 reviews
Tough grader Lots of homework Skip class? You won't pass. Participation matters EXTRA CREDIT Lecture heavy Gives good feedback Get ready to read Tests are tough So many papers Accessible outside class
Past quarters
PHYS 100B
0 / 50 Enrolled
Methods of Theoretical Physics
Jean Carlson 2.9
M W
08:00 AM - 09:15 AM
55.9% A
PHYS 260J
0 / 20 Enrolled
Physics Outreach
Jean Carlson 2.9
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PHYS 260J Carlson J M Spring 2024 Total: 0
PHYS 100A Carlson J M Spring 2024 Total: 73
PHYS 100B Carlson J M Winter 2024 Total: 40
PHYS 260J Carlson J M Winter 2024 Total: 0
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PHYS100A . Carlson J M 4 Months Ago

half of the assignments in the class are completely useless. their only purpose is to pad your grade. a better solution would be just to curve the class. my time spent on all these assignments would be better spent reviewing lecture and solving actual helpful HW problems. so many of the HW problems do NOT reinforce what we learned in class. useless

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PHYS100A . Carlson J M 5 Months Ago

There are a lot of padding assignments and EC in this class so its fairly easy to get a good grade. But it's hard to learn anything from the 2nd half of this class. The lectures become overly complicated and dont prepare you for the HW. You basically have to teach yourself, but the textbook is also useless because its meant for review, not learning

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PHYS100A . Carlson J M 5 Months Ago

Do not take - so many homework and active learnings (plus section requirements and problem presentation) means you'll be writing about trivial obvious problems step by step for hours. This is more of a handwriting class than a math class. So mind numbing.

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PHYS100B . Carlson J M 1 Year, 2 Months Ago

She's better at lecturing than most other profs I've had, but it's very fast-paced and at 8 am. Definitely interrupt her to ask questions in lecture, otherwise she will keep talking forever. ALSO, if you are a DSP student, you will have to fight her for accommodations. She has the mindset "if you're failing, just work harder and don't be lazy."

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PHYS101 . Carlson J M 3 Years Ago

Her lectures are a bit too fast, but the lecture notes do help. Tests are fair, there is a practice final that is very similar to the real final, and lots of extra credit. You need to write a paper for the course (which is kind of weird), and it takes a lot of effort, so be ready to spend 12 - 15 hours each week on this course.

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PHYS101 . Carlson J M 3 Years Ago

She is incapable of speaking in a clear and direct way. She overcomplicates everything. The topics are not too difficult, but she goes out of her way to put everything in terms of pure math, so lectures are impossible to follow unless you think that way too Lectures are super fast paced, attendance is required, and you'll have to learn on your own

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PHYS101 . Carlson J M 4 Years Ago

It's in the shorter summer session so her lectures are always out of pace and not very-well-explained, but the 250 pages of lecture notes do help. Get ready to read and study more beyond the textbook and lecture notes. Homeworks are from Boas, though could be a bit challenging but really helpful. Exams are fair. Lots of extra credits.

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PHYS101 . Carlson J M 4 Years Ago

Dr. Carlson cares a lot about her students and the effort she puts into her lectures and lecture materials makes this clear. Although she is not the greatest lecturer ever, her tests are usually very fair. Heavy on homework, but gives extra credit and willing to help her students succeed.

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PHYS101 . Carlson J M 4 Years Ago

Terrible teaching style, and incapable of explaining course materials clearly.

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PHYS101 . Carlson J M 6 Years Ago

She cares about her students and loves the topic. Her lectures are fast paced but engaging and thorough. There's a paper assignment you work on the whole quarter and is an easy grade boost if you put in the effort. Her tests are long but doable if you do all hw and recommended problems. This class is difficult, put in the work to get a good grade

2 helpful 7 unhelpful
PHYS100A . Carlson J M 6 Years Ago

DO NOT take Carlson if you can avoid her. PHYS 101 is one of the hardest classes, her unreasonable demands and poor teaching skills do NOTHING but make it worse. Not only are her lectures practically incoherent, on the off chance she actually lets you ask a question (raised my hand repeatedly, never called) she does nothing to explain the material.

8 helpful 2 unhelpful
PHYS101 . Carlson J M 7 Years Ago

She is the most average professor I have every have. You could honestly find her expected value if she was a system of particles each observed in the same way. Her characteristic teaching trick is to give relevant and helpful homework examples on the day that the homework is due. The hardest homework questions will be the midterm.

3 helpful 0 unhelpful