Best professor I have ever met in UCSB. Took the class as a BA upper-div requirement but Bill's lecture was so brilliant and critical that I am obsessed by education after taking his class. Class material is interesting and the class is mainly occupied by group projects and presentations, so go to the class and get an easy passing grade.
This was the worst math professor I've ever had. His lectures are super confusing, there was no textbook to use for reference and the readings he put online were just as confusing. He just kinda yells in class and is generally unapproachable. Syllabus was super vague, homework problems took hours and were much different than lecture.
Truly amazing professor! He design some of the most interesting courses (4BI) and he's really experienced in solving problems. He gave us some interesting problems in CCS classes and asked us to model! Really enjoy the process.
Really amazing teacher. Lectures are detailed and fun, class was very enjoyable to attend. Homework and tests had a good difficulty, not too difficult, not too easy. Take this professor, one of the best at this school so far.
Taking math 8 with jacobs is the best choice. truly captivates the entire class.
Definitely recommend for this class in specific
I haven't had Professor Jacob for a lower div, but I love 111A! His lectures are great if you are interested in the material, and he is very helpful in office hours. He uses a free online textbook too! Homework is very time consuming, but overall one of my favorite classes.
Basically yells at the board during lecture. May be good for upper division, but terrible for lower division stuff. Lectures are pointless; his teaching is like an upside down pyramid. He teaches specifics first, then generalizes, which isn't good for MATH4A.
His explanations of the material were very unclear and what he writes on the board is too fast to keep up with and too messy to read. His explanations usually didn't make sense, probably due to him not explaining half of the material he was going over and barely giving any examples. Tests were nothing like the reviewhomework and too long to finish
Jacob is a really terrible professor. His lectures are boring, uninspired and scattered. Avoid this professor at all costs. He really made my quarter unpleasant. Tests are graded terribly and not curved well at all. Averages in the thirties and forties.
Bill is a brilliant mathematician, but unaccommodating professor. He tries very hard to stimulate his students, but also fails hard at it. The only people who really knew what he was saying in lecture were those who were taking the class again. He has poor organization and makes too many mistakes with his examples. Never gave enough time for tests.
Most confusing professor for Math 4A. DO NOT TAKE HIM FOR THIS CLASS! He teaches it a little backwards, and very difficult to understand what he's even saying most times. The online homework does not help prepare you for exams at all, and his tests are ridiculously hard. Made this quarter miserable for me because I was so confused most of the time.