PORTER M J
Professor Porter was very chill and a good professor overall. His tests are not especially difficult and he gives extra credit on each one. Just do the work and make sure to do the homework. Study groups are very helpful with this foundational class. Office hours are always your friend.
Super super chill guy. He actually wants his students to succeed and is super accessible if you need help. The tests are easy compared to the homework and study guides, and doing well in the class is definitely super achievable!
Amazing professor! Highly recommend taking him for math 8- he taught proofs in a very easy way to digest and had weekly quizzes in section that were very simple. Very clear and fair grading criteria and does offer extra credit. I suggest always coming to lectures and he is very accessible outside of class. He makes proofs easy to understand.
Porter was very reasonable in the exams. As long as you did the homework and review packets, you can get an A.
Overall, he's a caring professor, but the workload is very heavy. He assigned 48 questions and 18 pages of review due right before the final, then changed the deadline to after the exam, which wasted my time. The review was also much harder than the actual test. Because of the workload, I wouldn't retake this class.
You can tell he cares a lot about his students and genuinely wants them to do good in class. His tests are easy if you understand the review worksheet he gives us before midterms. He posts his lecture notes and a video that explains the notes on canvas. He also tells us what topics will be the most important on the final exam. Super chill guy.
Good professor.
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.