If you want an easy GE this is not the class for you! I wish I would've known before. His lectures are extremely heavy and exams are multiple choice which can mess you up since they don't make much sense.
Such a nice guy! Attendance wasn't mandatory, but slides are picture heavy, it definitely helps to listen to the lectures. He seems passionate about his work and it shows.
TAKE THIS CLASS FOR YOUR SCIENCE GE! I am talking to you, humanities kids. Prof Wrobel makes the content and the concepts VERY accessible to even the most un-science savvy people. Lectures, while lengthy, are useful and he incorperates his life experience into the lectures. Very chill and laidback guy - very little homework, and picks good TAs.
He was great! He genuinely loved what he was talking about and explained the material in a very thorough and understandable way. There was no need for a textbook since the slides were so useful. As long as you pay attention to what he says, take good notes, and study the slides, you will pass this class with no problem. 10/10 professor.
He is great very interesting lecturer.
Alex is a great guy! I'm not a STEM major, so I found the material challenging, but he helped me understand the concepts during Office Hours and via email. Labs and quizzes are easy, but the final/2 midterms are difficult if you struggle applying concepts (which I do). A good GE.
Very relaxed environment and always making jokes to try and make lectures interesting. Weekly quizzes and section help keep your grade up if you fail both midterms, like I did, and final was online which he says is rare. The topics can be difficult to understand but he was a great professor that you shouldn't have a tough time passing the class.
This is a great class to learn about earths systems through Antarctica. Very clear lectures and labs are pretty helpful. Midterm and Final are multiple choice with a cheat sheet, but honestly if you went to lecture and spend a bit of time looking over slides and your notes you would probably be fine without one. Can get a bit boring at times.
His lectures were mostly pretty interesting, attendance was not mandatory. but if you want to go good go to class. He had weekly quizzes which required you to listen to a podcast. The class was very fair please take a class with him he is such a nice person. I went to his office hours just for advice about life and he was so welcoming and sweet.
Really nice guy! I felt a disconnect between what we learned in class and what was on the tests even though I always went to lecture, section, and studied hard. This class was unnecessarily hard and the tests basically are your grade. Had to do it P/NP. Also the weekly quizzes are hard… Only take if you're really good at earth science!
I am so grateful I took this course. Professor Wrobel is extremely understanding and compassionate as a professor -- he wants you to get the most out of his course, and was willing to help me out during a difficult academic time when I needed it. His passion and amazing lectures inspired me to love an study the material that much more!!
Alex is a good guy and he genuinely cares about his students. If you're not a stem person, this isn't an easy class. It's doable, but you will have to study harder than your stem friends. 1 cheat sheet, but there are questions that have you “apply your knowledge.”
just dont. got perfect scores on my weekly assignments but didnt do well on the tests which is what screwed my grade
If you want to take an easy GE I'd say avoid taking this class. He is a nice professor but this class consists of a lot of info especially if you're not into science or chem. Test are all multiple choice but even if you study, most of them won't make sense and are often worded differently. Readings every week and are long.
Alex's lectures were really engaging and made me actually start to enjoy Oceanography as a polisci major, HOWEVER, on every test there were like 10 questions that we had barely/didn't cover making it almost impossible to get an A in the class. Weekly quizzes were fine but the newly added podcasts were annoying and confusing in question format.
Super interesting class, not too hard if you go to lecture and take notes. Professor Wrobel is the best and I would recommend him to literally everyone, he made class so fun
Loved this class, it's so chill but it's so interesting! The only issue was the TA's because some of them weren't helpful and whenever I asked for help in section, they sounded confused themselves. He had two mini writing assignments (1 paragraph). You are allowed a cheat sheet but please go over everything and make sure you put anything important.
His last name is Wrobel because he's a W professor!!!! I took this as a science elective for my major and I loved it. The course was easy and he allows cheatsheets on the midterm/final. He is a great lecturer. Would 100% recommend this course to anyone looking for a good science GE or as a List A science elective for CS majors!
Make sure you read the textbook and ask for help. I would not recommend this as an easy GE. Tests are all multiple choice so it can be a good or bad thing.
Alex wrobel is my king this class slayed boots he is awesome pls take him! Take handwritten notes and do your cheat sheet and you'll be fine on the exams
If you're not a science major or have no interest in it (which I don't nor am I a science major. I actually suck at science and that and math are my worst subjects) you will struggle with the material. There are EC assignments you can do which are super easy though and Professor Wrobel helped me out so much when I was struggled and almost failed
By far one of my favorite professors here, he's so sweet & understanding. Lectures aren't mandatory, going to them doesn't feel unbearable bc he's very passionate. Weekly quiz(1 chance), TAs are sweet and give good feedback. front+back handwritten cheat sheet, 1 midterm, 1 final. Accessible outside class w office hours usually off campus
Wrobel is awesome! Took this class to fulfill area C and I'd highly recommend! No math on any of the tests, just on the worksheets in sections but they're easy and the TAs are super helpful. Weekly canvas quizzes, 2 midterms and a final (with a cheat sheet for each test). Overall a great class and great professor.
THE BEST PROF AT UCSB! Earth 4 was so easy you get to make cheat sheets for tests front and back. His slides are SUPER helpful and it helps a lot to attend lecture. Class consists of weekly quizzes 2 tests and a final but everything was really easy. Alex is so kind and is willing to help if you ever get confused. I def recommend taking his classes!