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David Weisbart
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Based on 179 Users
Simply put: Weisbart is a mathematical genius but flops at teaching. This may be a biased review because prior to taking his class, I have never taken any statistics/probability course in my life. I went to lectures but found them utterly useless. He goes over the theorems and uses the whole 50 minute lecture time to prove them. However, this stuff never appears on the test. The only good thing about him is he is VERY PREDICTABLE. If you pay close attention, you can pretty much guess which problems will appear on the midterm/final. For 3c, make sure you know how to do the soda problem (markers and dashes), the picture problem (if two people are identical how many different pictures can there be, etc), the Russian Roulette problem, etc., etc. Know the classic problem for each concept and you should be fine. I would recommend Weisbart if you already had taken statistics in another class otherwise, you'll have to teach the course to yourself.
P.S. Don't get me wrong, Weisbart was the most reasonable and fair professor I've had at UCLA - It's just that I'm totally against his teaching style.
Professor Weisbart truly is the best math professor you will ever have! For the first time since I was in grade school I really enjoyed math because I felt like I actually understand it. He really stresses learning concepts. Unlike previous math classes I've taken, I actually feel like I'm taking with me some valuable knowledge. I learned what things really mean instead of just how to solve unnecessarily hard or tedious problems that I will probably forget instantly. He never tries to trick his students on the exams. I would guess that he probably gets in a lot of trouble with the math department for giving out to many A's because the means for the exams are very high. But more importantly, he probably doesn't care because he wants everyone to do well.
He is super chill. Definitely, go to office hours. Beware, he will talk to death but it hard to mind when he's so nice! I swear, some people just go to office hours to hang out with him. I remember once when I went and there was a student behind his desk, at his computer, just playing mindsweeper. =] He will really go out of his way to help his students. Because he teaches multiple classes I remember him staying on-campus all day to hold reviews sessions and cater to any question.
I had him for 33a and 32b and enjoy his class so much I'm thinking of taking his 131a class even though I don't even need it!
Weisbart is my favorite teacher at UCLA. After taking so many required premed classes, it is nice to take a step out and actually think. His tests are fair and he has a generous curve. If you have the choice, try to take him!
He's a pretty decent professor. I found his lectures pretty boring, actually. He says jokes and such but I didn't find most of them very funny. His tests are very straight-forward. He even drops hints during the test.
I would suggest taking him!
Professor Weisbart is a GREAT professor. He really cares about his students and is very welcoming in office hours. He really wants to make sure you understand things and doesn't trick you on tests with complicated algebra, instead he tests you on the actual calculus involved. He is one of the best professors I have ever had. Take him if you can!
They really should give this guy tenure. Very down-to-earth, nice to talk to, helpful in office hours, etc. His grading scale allowed me to get an A in the class (grade on final can be final grade in class). He also takes extra credit assignments. He's certainly one of the coolest teachers I've had. You're doing a smart thing by taking his class.
Weisbart's class started off relatively easy, but got hard incredibly quickly. Like one of the posts below me, I agree that his charm doesn't make up for the long hours you'll be spending studying (if you want to do well) when you get lost in his somewhat confusing explanations in class. Yes, I admit that he genuinely cares a lot about his students, but unfortunately that doesn't really help anyone understand the material any better come exam time. Take him if you dare, but prepare for some frustration.
i honestly don't know what these reviews below are talking about... Weisbart has got to be one of the worst math teachers here at UCLA.. He is a nice person, sure.. , but if we're talking about teaching, he's flat-out HORRIBLE. Yeah, he cares about his students learning, but if he can't teach the material, then how the hell are we supposed to "learn" it? His tests are RIDICULOUS.. He doesn't even teach the class half the stuff that he puts on the midterm & final. He DOES go off on random proofs & tangents that aren't significant to the course at all. Oh, and NEVER take his word for anything. If he says he'll post something up the next day, expect it in a week. If you're waiting to see how you did on the first midterm so you can use it to STUDY for the second CUMULATIVE midterm, don't expect it back until a few days RIGHT before the second midterm. And oh, don't expect him to grade anything right away. It'll take him FOREVERR to finally finish. I took my math final FIRST and found out my grade LAST. Give it a month. Another thing, Weisbart is also OVERLY sensitive... so you better be careful about what you put on bruin walk during the quarter because he reads EVERY SINGLE post and will mention it in class. Goodness gracious... S-T-U-D... seriously????? you've got to be kidding me. Sure he's smart, sure he cares, but NONE of this makes him a good teacher.
Let's just start off by saying he didn't correct my midterm 1 grade until week 10. The midterm was given in week 4.
Anyway, Weisbart is a nice professor and is highly enthusiastic about math. As a result he deviates into more complex topics when he feels like it. He also considers getting together and doing math problems a "cool" thing. He believes doing math is "fun" and life should be devoted to solving tons of math problems.
While 32B may be a difficult subject, the class is not hard. The first midterm's average was 85%, median 90%. The second midterm's average was 77%, median 79%. The final's average was 86%, median 91%. Plus he has a very nice 100% final option if students do bad on the first two midterms. And with some persuasion in office hours, he will give students some free points. The class isn't curved like a regular math class; if students get an A and the average is high, they get an A.
Weisbart can be confusing at times, and he tends to go over some subjects repeatedly without actually focusing on the main topic at hand. The lectures get slower and more boring as the weeks go by. But Weisbart at least helps students understand the material better. The last two weeks of the class introduce Green's, Stokes', and Divergence Theorems. While these topics have great potential of introducing some VERY hard problems, Weisbart blows it off and gave really easy ones on the final. So it wasn't bad at all. Take him if possible.
Simply put: Weisbart is a mathematical genius but flops at teaching. This may be a biased review because prior to taking his class, I have never taken any statistics/probability course in my life. I went to lectures but found them utterly useless. He goes over the theorems and uses the whole 50 minute lecture time to prove them. However, this stuff never appears on the test. The only good thing about him is he is VERY PREDICTABLE. If you pay close attention, you can pretty much guess which problems will appear on the midterm/final. For 3c, make sure you know how to do the soda problem (markers and dashes), the picture problem (if two people are identical how many different pictures can there be, etc), the Russian Roulette problem, etc., etc. Know the classic problem for each concept and you should be fine. I would recommend Weisbart if you already had taken statistics in another class otherwise, you'll have to teach the course to yourself.
P.S. Don't get me wrong, Weisbart was the most reasonable and fair professor I've had at UCLA - It's just that I'm totally against his teaching style.
Professor Weisbart truly is the best math professor you will ever have! For the first time since I was in grade school I really enjoyed math because I felt like I actually understand it. He really stresses learning concepts. Unlike previous math classes I've taken, I actually feel like I'm taking with me some valuable knowledge. I learned what things really mean instead of just how to solve unnecessarily hard or tedious problems that I will probably forget instantly. He never tries to trick his students on the exams. I would guess that he probably gets in a lot of trouble with the math department for giving out to many A's because the means for the exams are very high. But more importantly, he probably doesn't care because he wants everyone to do well.
He is super chill. Definitely, go to office hours. Beware, he will talk to death but it hard to mind when he's so nice! I swear, some people just go to office hours to hang out with him. I remember once when I went and there was a student behind his desk, at his computer, just playing mindsweeper. =] He will really go out of his way to help his students. Because he teaches multiple classes I remember him staying on-campus all day to hold reviews sessions and cater to any question.
I had him for 33a and 32b and enjoy his class so much I'm thinking of taking his 131a class even though I don't even need it!
Weisbart is my favorite teacher at UCLA. After taking so many required premed classes, it is nice to take a step out and actually think. His tests are fair and he has a generous curve. If you have the choice, try to take him!
He's a pretty decent professor. I found his lectures pretty boring, actually. He says jokes and such but I didn't find most of them very funny. His tests are very straight-forward. He even drops hints during the test.
I would suggest taking him!
Professor Weisbart is a GREAT professor. He really cares about his students and is very welcoming in office hours. He really wants to make sure you understand things and doesn't trick you on tests with complicated algebra, instead he tests you on the actual calculus involved. He is one of the best professors I have ever had. Take him if you can!
They really should give this guy tenure. Very down-to-earth, nice to talk to, helpful in office hours, etc. His grading scale allowed me to get an A in the class (grade on final can be final grade in class). He also takes extra credit assignments. He's certainly one of the coolest teachers I've had. You're doing a smart thing by taking his class.
Weisbart's class started off relatively easy, but got hard incredibly quickly. Like one of the posts below me, I agree that his charm doesn't make up for the long hours you'll be spending studying (if you want to do well) when you get lost in his somewhat confusing explanations in class. Yes, I admit that he genuinely cares a lot about his students, but unfortunately that doesn't really help anyone understand the material any better come exam time. Take him if you dare, but prepare for some frustration.
i honestly don't know what these reviews below are talking about... Weisbart has got to be one of the worst math teachers here at UCLA.. He is a nice person, sure.. , but if we're talking about teaching, he's flat-out HORRIBLE. Yeah, he cares about his students learning, but if he can't teach the material, then how the hell are we supposed to "learn" it? His tests are RIDICULOUS.. He doesn't even teach the class half the stuff that he puts on the midterm & final. He DOES go off on random proofs & tangents that aren't significant to the course at all. Oh, and NEVER take his word for anything. If he says he'll post something up the next day, expect it in a week. If you're waiting to see how you did on the first midterm so you can use it to STUDY for the second CUMULATIVE midterm, don't expect it back until a few days RIGHT before the second midterm. And oh, don't expect him to grade anything right away. It'll take him FOREVERR to finally finish. I took my math final FIRST and found out my grade LAST. Give it a month. Another thing, Weisbart is also OVERLY sensitive... so you better be careful about what you put on bruin walk during the quarter because he reads EVERY SINGLE post and will mention it in class. Goodness gracious... S-T-U-D... seriously????? you've got to be kidding me. Sure he's smart, sure he cares, but NONE of this makes him a good teacher.
Let's just start off by saying he didn't correct my midterm 1 grade until week 10. The midterm was given in week 4.
Anyway, Weisbart is a nice professor and is highly enthusiastic about math. As a result he deviates into more complex topics when he feels like it. He also considers getting together and doing math problems a "cool" thing. He believes doing math is "fun" and life should be devoted to solving tons of math problems.
While 32B may be a difficult subject, the class is not hard. The first midterm's average was 85%, median 90%. The second midterm's average was 77%, median 79%. The final's average was 86%, median 91%. Plus he has a very nice 100% final option if students do bad on the first two midterms. And with some persuasion in office hours, he will give students some free points. The class isn't curved like a regular math class; if students get an A and the average is high, they get an A.
Weisbart can be confusing at times, and he tends to go over some subjects repeatedly without actually focusing on the main topic at hand. The lectures get slower and more boring as the weeks go by. But Weisbart at least helps students understand the material better. The last two weeks of the class introduce Green's, Stokes', and Divergence Theorems. While these topics have great potential of introducing some VERY hard problems, Weisbart blows it off and gave really easy ones on the final. So it wasn't bad at all. Take him if possible.