Professor
Brent Corbin
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Most Helpful Review
If you don't love physics, do not take a class with Brent. He is a superb teacher and a very reasonable guy, but he expects his students to be fully committed to his class. His weekly homework assignments usually consisted of about 15 of the hardest problems. His exams are notoriously difficult, and the material isn't so easy to begin with. Put simply, his class is tough, and you will definitely have trouble if you aren't serious about it from the beginning. With that said, there are a few things that you should know if you do decide to sign up for a class with Brent. First of all, do not let his first week scare tactics get to you. He doesn't exaggerate about the difficulty of his class, but he does intentionally gloat about it at the beginning of the quarter to weed out students who aren't sure they want to be there. Secondly, partial credit is the KEY to surviving his exams. On all three of our exams, no one came even close to 100%. This is mostly because his tests (especially the midterms) are too long to complete in one hour. Finish one or two problems that you're confident you understand, and then use the remaining time to get down whatever you can for the other problems. The graders award credit for just about anything, even memorized forumlas. Finally, take advantage of Brent's daily office hours. He is happy to go over homework or even discuss potential exam questions. He is a really nice guy and he enjoys helping his students.
If you don't love physics, do not take a class with Brent. He is a superb teacher and a very reasonable guy, but he expects his students to be fully committed to his class. His weekly homework assignments usually consisted of about 15 of the hardest problems. His exams are notoriously difficult, and the material isn't so easy to begin with. Put simply, his class is tough, and you will definitely have trouble if you aren't serious about it from the beginning. With that said, there are a few things that you should know if you do decide to sign up for a class with Brent. First of all, do not let his first week scare tactics get to you. He doesn't exaggerate about the difficulty of his class, but he does intentionally gloat about it at the beginning of the quarter to weed out students who aren't sure they want to be there. Secondly, partial credit is the KEY to surviving his exams. On all three of our exams, no one came even close to 100%. This is mostly because his tests (especially the midterms) are too long to complete in one hour. Finish one or two problems that you're confident you understand, and then use the remaining time to get down whatever you can for the other problems. The graders award credit for just about anything, even memorized forumlas. Finally, take advantage of Brent's daily office hours. He is happy to go over homework or even discuss potential exam questions. He is a really nice guy and he enjoys helping his students.
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Most Helpful Review
Brent is by far the best professor I have had here at UCLA. Not only does he communicate well with the class and explain the course material in an intelligible manner, he cares greatly about the student's understanding of the ideas and concepts explored in class. While the course curriculum was difficult, Brent's explanations and elaborations of the material helped me to not only comprehend the many formulas and concepts (ranging from magnetism to Einstein's Theory of Relativity), but allowed me to explore the concepts inside and out. However, I offer one caveat: His test curves are extremely low!! If you really want to test your understanding of the course material including your ability to implement the concepts learned in class in a variety of hypothetical physical situations, I highly recommend taking Brent's course. However, if low scores leave you emptier than the vacuum of space, you may want to opt for a more self-esteem-boosting professor. Be aware, though, that you are sacrificing the dedication and commitment of a devoted professor which, in my opinion, well outweighs any A grade.
Brent is by far the best professor I have had here at UCLA. Not only does he communicate well with the class and explain the course material in an intelligible manner, he cares greatly about the student's understanding of the ideas and concepts explored in class. While the course curriculum was difficult, Brent's explanations and elaborations of the material helped me to not only comprehend the many formulas and concepts (ranging from magnetism to Einstein's Theory of Relativity), but allowed me to explore the concepts inside and out. However, I offer one caveat: His test curves are extremely low!! If you really want to test your understanding of the course material including your ability to implement the concepts learned in class in a variety of hypothetical physical situations, I highly recommend taking Brent's course. However, if low scores leave you emptier than the vacuum of space, you may want to opt for a more self-esteem-boosting professor. Be aware, though, that you are sacrificing the dedication and commitment of a devoted professor which, in my opinion, well outweighs any A grade.
Most Helpful Review
BRENT IS AN AWESOME TEACHER, HIS LECTURES ARE OUTLINE AND SHE WAS ALWAYS PREPARED. WHEN IT CAME TO OFFICE HOURS, HE WAS ALWAYS AVAILABLE AND ACTUALLY CARED THAT YOU UNDERSTOOD THE MATERIAL. HIS EXAMS ARE DIFFICULT, BUT THEY MAKE YOU WORK HARDER SO IT IS DEFINITELY FOR YOUR OWN BENEFIT. TRULY A GREAT PROFESSOR!
BRENT IS AN AWESOME TEACHER, HIS LECTURES ARE OUTLINE AND SHE WAS ALWAYS PREPARED. WHEN IT CAME TO OFFICE HOURS, HE WAS ALWAYS AVAILABLE AND ACTUALLY CARED THAT YOU UNDERSTOOD THE MATERIAL. HIS EXAMS ARE DIFFICULT, BUT THEY MAKE YOU WORK HARDER SO IT IS DEFINITELY FOR YOUR OWN BENEFIT. TRULY A GREAT PROFESSOR!
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