Took Geog 1.

He was an outstanding professor. There were a few idiots in class who thought it would be okay to have a conversation in class while the professor is lecturer. At not one time did he ever kick anyone out that wasn't already annoying several other students.

He's a very interesting professor, easy to reach in office hours and seems truly dedicated to student learning despite his "wanna-be bad boy" attitude at the beginning of the class. He basically tried to scare anyone looking for an easy A off. Regardless, it was an easy B for me. I didn't crack open the book once. The labs are a given. You simply need to worry about being able to apply the concepts learned to varying situations and you should be set to go.

Prof Okin is kind of a douche. it feels like he wants to be one of those amazing life-changing professors, and thus accordingly tries to be "cool" and "bad-ass". however, he just falls flat. because he tries to do his lectures in a really conversational, "make-it-interesting-by-not-reading-off-the-powerpoint" style, he takes forever to say what could be said in a few words. that are on the powerpoint. also, it seems like he has some perverse need to kick a certain number of people out of class every quarter, and thus assert is position of power over us mere students. he kicked three out this quarter, and one or two in both lectures from last year i listened to online. it's really weird and stupid.
all that being said, if you can get through his lecture this class is really easy. labs are an easy 40% of your grade, and the tests, while being so ridiculously specific it's hard to study effectively for them, are curved so much that it doesn't really matter...

His lectures are a bit annoying at times, and it's really hard to stay awake. I haven't decided whether it's his style of teaching or the monotony of the subject, but I think it's fair to say it's a combination. The labs are a free 40% of your grade, and his curve is very lenient for grades so the labs are definitely a way to secure atleast a B. The first midterm results were lackluster for most of the class, and it wasn't an easy test but it was definitely manageable with 3-4 hours of studying (I got very high 90s). I found that all of his questions came off the concepts from the study guide. So to study, I would say just answer as many study guide questions as you can (thoroughly), and whatever you don't get.. go back to the podcasts and fill in the answer. Don't read, and please don't even buy the book. Going to class is sometimes beneficial because the podcasts don't always have clear quality but other than that, it's a fairly easy A.

I just finished Geog 1 and I really enjoyed it (and did well). My advice for this class would be to attend all his lectures (if you miss one watch it online and take notes as if you were in class) because his exams are based mostly on the things he says. The readings for the text book help support what he teaches, but don't stress over them. Skim the chapters. Look at the graphs. Read over the chapter summaries. Also, make sure you get full credit on all of your labs. They are not hard. It is just a matter of going to section and getting them done. It is a simple way to secure a high grade not based on exam scores. All in all, Okin is a great professor and he puts in the time (like having exam review sessions) to help you get a good grade. Take this class!

Great professor- probably my favorite at UCLA so far. Puts all his lectures online and tries to relate the subject material to things applicable to us. The class was very fair. Just pay attention in lecture and GO to his review sessions. I found that a couple of questions on the midterm/final were actually directly addressed in his review sessions... so they're definitely worth your time. take his class!