Make sure to pay attention in lectures or you'll fall behind BUT he clearly has a great grasp on the content and knows how to teach it to students without going overly in-depth. If you take the time to understand the HW and go to his office hours before each quiz you will for sure get an A. Only complaint is he's a little unorganized
I had Lewis for 109A and 109B and switching was the best decision I ever made. Grades are distributed a lot better, final is not worth a lot, more hw completion points and mastering chem every 2 weeks. His lectures are fun. Quizzes are not too bad, but only three questions so if u mess up u lose a lot of points. Overall loved him!!
Great professor, right up there with Lewis. Very understanding when whole class does not preform well on a quiz. Class laid out to give you a C automatically if you at least do mastering chem + bacon and decent on quizzes. Lectures were very organized and he did a great job of connecting ideas from chapter to chapter.
multiple choice and mechanism quizzes alternated every week. quizzes and homework is about equal in weight with the final being 9%. go to office hours! prof read is super helpful and detailed. he cares about his students and wants you to succeed. the best teacher i've had so far. his class is super organized - upfront & clear communication.
I took 109B with Read in the winter. His lectures are great as he knows how to both get his point across and empasize what's important. He doesn't bog you down with a bunch of HW, but does have recommended book problems. Super friendly during class and in office hours. Tests are very straightforward. He's definitely passionate about the topic.
i had lewis for 109a and lewis was teaching 109b, but the timing for read's lecture was a better fit for my schedule so i signed up for him. best decision ever!! wish he was teaching 109c. fair tests, no surprises, and is super helpful during office hours. go to lecture, he gives hint for tests, and do the book problems and clas and you'll get an A
Can I just tell you. You will never find another college professor like Read. He actually made me INTERESTED about ochem. Read delivers truly amazing lectures, and is so passionate about the subject. By far my fav professor at UCSB. Price is a close second. Do the recommended problems and go to lecture. His exams are based on what he says in class!
He is a great person and professor. He will make sure you know the material if you talk to him. Tests are challenging but very fair, study the lectures more than texts. Overall, would take him again for any organic class, learned allot and had allot of fun.
Read's lectures were fantastic! He goes over everything you need to know to understand the concepts. He also offers regrading on exams which you should definitely use because I earned 6% back on my exams. Averages on midterms were around 64% but the class ends up curved at the end. Don't skip lecture and do all of the recommended book problems!
My third attempt (second try) at taking 109B was with Read of Fall 2017 and he is the best professor for Ochem honestly. His exams were doable yet hard so understand the material. Something I like about his teaching style is that he actually uses the board when teaching, which helped me understand the mechanisms better. He really does care!
I never really liked chem but I came out of his class having a renewed respect for the subject and more confidence in myself as a student. He actually cares, lectures well, and is always willing to help out when you need it. Tests were fair but definitely not easy (understand, don't memorize!). Definitely my favorite bio/chem professor here.
Hands down, best professor I've had so far at UCSB, really cares about students learning the material. Very fair with grading policies as well. Listens to student feedback and incorporates that into his presentations.