what everyone said on here is pretty much accurate. I practically was having a mental breakdown every week and became hysterical because I feel like I had to teach myself the whole entire course because he wasn't teaching it well and often didn't make any sense. It's not an easy course and it was the last class I needed too to get into my major.
Herrera is very kind, however he has been the most disorganized prof I've had at UCSB. No structure to his lectures whatsoever. He also doesn't use slides or powerpoint, instead he writes on the chalkboard & writes extremely small/messy (if you sit in the back theres no way you'd be able to see). Passed the midterm but the curve dropped my grade.
He's honestly a very sweet and friendly guy, but I would not take another class with him in the future. The class material is difficult and I find that his lectures are pretty unorganized and unstructured. He makes us laugh on occasion but I leave the class feeling more confused because he sometimes contradicts things found in the textbook.
Worst professor I've had. Wasted time in lecture, contradicted himself often, explanations to in class question unclear, and slides were unhelpful. To top it off, he/the ta's lost my final scantron and when I emailed him about it and called him Mr. Herrera he told me to call him Dr. and didn't even know what class I was in. He found it I got a B.
His tests are very intensive and sometimes test questions would conflict with textbook explanations. This class is not hard to pass but it is definitely hard to get a good grade. His lectures are AWFUL but I remember having mandatory iClickers. Psych is gr8 and exciting but not with Herrera. I had his class a year ago but that's how much I hate it.
Nice guy, friendly and inspiring. But not a good PROFESSOR. Graded by only few tests that mainly rely on reading. Lecture might be confusing, and you need to comprehend much complicated stuff within short periods of time. So it will be a difficult class if you don't have enough time to read. If you have to take the class, good luck and READ!
Exams are straightforward. He is enthusiastic and provides examples from real life to illustrate a point. A lot of material to cover. 30% students stop showing up and then complain they don't understand *sight*. Really sweet guy, and genuinely interested in your learning experience.
1. The class is graded on a curve 2. He uses a book. Read it and you'll be fine.
i thought he was ok
As most have already said, he's a nice guy but terrible professor. After the first couple of weeks I stopped attending lecture altogether because I could barely understand him and the lectures ended up confusing me rather than helping. Do yourself a favor and stay home & read the book thoroughly instead. He pulls everything from the book.
Cool Dude. Chingon el Bato
Nice guy but horrible lecturer. He barely speaks English and his slides and questions are poorly worded. Probably the worst professor I've ever had. Don't go to class because you'll just get more confused. Read the book and you should be fine
He's a HORRIBLE lecturer, which is astounding considering that's his job. Read the book and you'll be better off.
Lectures are pointless but he takes iclicker so you have to go. Read the book. Good luck.
Very sweet, enthusiastic guy but bad professor. Lectures were pretty useless because everything came straight from the book. I hardly showed up to class and I still got a good grade. Test questions are easy but can be confusing because of the way he words them. Keep up with the readings and you'll do good
Loved his class! He presented the material very clearly. My suggestion is to copy and paste the slide material into notes, and then with a different color take your own notes in lecture on top of that. Pay attention to things he says that supplement the slides. Great professor, super helpful, funny, and caring outside of class.
Lectures are boring and taken straight from the textbook. You can do well in the class if you know the reading very well, but Dr. Herrera doesn't teach anything valuable in class. The class is just graded on 2 midterms and final. Difficult, but doable if you read. He teaches 3 classes and seems spread thin and confused about which class he is in.
Nice guy, poor teacher. His lectures are fast and do not go into depth like the book, however his test questions are all from the readings, so you HAVE TO READ the book THOROUGHLY. If you can memorize every chapter he goes over then you will be fine. 2 midterms 1 final (cumulative) all multiple choice. He was not a boring/rude teacher at least.
He is such a nice guy, but just bad at writing tests. Unfortunately even if you study and know the material there are still questions that are poorly worded or confusing that can affect your grade. And since the tests are just about all that makes up your grade it can be tough. However his classes are still doable, just hard to get an A in.
He gave 2 midterm and a cumulative final. Tests and lectures were unclear and poorly made. No curve so you have to get A's on all 3 confusing tests YAY! Regret taking this class with him the material was easy but you have to go to class because iclicker
Honestly the worst professor I've ever had. As a person he's great but he can't teach to save his life. I didn't learn anything and he seemed like he was just as confused as the rest of us. He gives two super confusing midterms and one long final. Participation matters, worth 5% of the grade and is graded on pointless iclicker questions.
Scattered, unorganized lectures. Very nice and enthusiastic professor. On relied on his lecture slides and recordings for information. Straight forward tests. Procrastinates on making exams, answering questions, or giving out resources for students. Doesn't finish any of his lecture slides because he gets too distracted and doesn't manage time.
Whatever he goes over in lecture is pretty much verbatim from the textbook, therefore it's useless to go to the lectures. However, since attendance is mandatory, it's a waste of time. Also the class is curved, so even if you get above a 90%, there's a chance you won't get an A if you're not in the top 10-15% of the class.
95% of the final grade is based on his tests, which are poorly written and confusing (he also doesn't show up to administer them, so good luck finding clarification). The only source of information for the course is his lectures, yet they don't facilitate comprehension at all because they are disorganized and nonsensical. Worst prof I've had at UCSB.