-graded on a curve for a weeder class - weeks/chapters 1-4 were a breeze, and then she will drop tough ch.5-6 measurement/sampling on the class 1 week before midterms - she makes simple definitions a lot more complicated than they need to be (YouTube saved my life and showed simple applications of the material; DO NOT just memorize definitions!)
She is a kind professor, but her explanations were often unclear, even for simple topics. Questions were answered in very open-ended ways. The textbook was not very useful since she used her own definitions. Exams were long and included some trick questions.
Graded tests and essays easy. Super good curve. She was nice.
I really liked the way this class was taught. The exams were hard but she made it clear what to focus on and study. The group project was hard but the TAs helped a lot with some of the harder stuff. Study guides were also super useful
Prof Gonzales is GREAT, she is so caring and passionate about what she teaches. She gives late extensions on the papers, doesn't track attendance, doesn't force participation, sends out all lecture materials, is easy to talk to and reach, and is just such a sweet person. There really isn't anything else you would want in a teacher!
Professor Gonzales was pretty intense. She had high expectations of us and taught in a somewhat passive-aggressive way. Her lectures were good and clear, but I felt intimidated by her and the TAs and the research project was daunting. Had to put in a lot of work for this class to get the grade I wanted.
People who do not do well in this class refuse to read the textbook and complain the professor was bad. She was not, she was very nice during office hours and seemed to really care about her students. I didn't attend lectures a lot, but when I was there people seemed to refuse to engage, but she tried to persuade them to.
This is not something I normally do, but I have to for Gonzalez. She was by far the worst proffesor I have ever had. She clearly has a disregard for the students as she does not understand how to effectively teach. She uses a lot of profanity and is very vulgar. Unfair grader as well. Stay away from this teacher.
Genuinely pretty awful exams had so many mistakes, pretty hard, and are in person also she had outdated essay outlines and examples so it made writing the essay a bit difficult but the essay is graded pretty easy which boosted my grade pretty high memoize EVERYTHING for the exams if you want a decent grade.
I would not recommend this class. Lectures were not well structured and Prof. Gonzales would ask students to explain concepts rather than lecturing herself. Exams were challenging (D+ average) and she discouraged students from coming to her for suggestions or advice on assignments. Any feedback she gave on the final essay was generic and unhelpful.
Quality of her slides are bad so to get the most info you should go to lecture (not mandatory). Readings can get dense especially if you're behind on them. Tests are MCQ but the final is cumulative, lecture heavy but do the readings. Content is overall interesting but the way it is taught is not. Choose topics that interest you for the papers!!
Of all of the classes I've had at UCSB this was one of the most boring and least engaging. The lectures feel uninspired, and Professor Gonzales is not the best lecturer in general. The tests and assignments often feel more like busy work than tools to learn. Overall I feel that while she is a nice enough person she is not a great professor.