
Professor
James Tidball
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2025 - This class is awful.... I loved PS107 soooo much even tho it was 100x harder. This class was unorganized and clearly an afterthought. It is making me second guess if the physci department even cares about having a good major for its students. There are 3 professors for ONE class, which is divided into 4 units. This wasn't the biggest deal UNTIL it came to the exams. They were basically ALL of our grade in this class and it was horrible having to adapt to different professors' exams. I got a 73% Tidball's exam which is just wild considering i studied so much and learned a lot. The exams were just not fair at all and defintely NOT a reflection of what we learned at alllllll. This goes for all 3 professors but mostly tidball. But for all 3 professors you could just tell they threw together the exam last minute and really didnt care to see if the students learned the million random things they spent all this time teaching us. Its just crazy because i have had wayyyy harder classes and i studied just as hard for this one as I did those ones but this one I just didn't do well in because the professors don't know how to make a fair exam. All the professors were nice and welcoming for the most part but I dont care about that. i want a good teacher with good exams so i can demonstrate how much i learned. oh also theres no homework except a weekly article summary or quiz which probably contributes to the fact that the exams were such a shock all 3 times.
Winter 2025 - This class is awful.... I loved PS107 soooo much even tho it was 100x harder. This class was unorganized and clearly an afterthought. It is making me second guess if the physci department even cares about having a good major for its students. There are 3 professors for ONE class, which is divided into 4 units. This wasn't the biggest deal UNTIL it came to the exams. They were basically ALL of our grade in this class and it was horrible having to adapt to different professors' exams. I got a 73% Tidball's exam which is just wild considering i studied so much and learned a lot. The exams were just not fair at all and defintely NOT a reflection of what we learned at alllllll. This goes for all 3 professors but mostly tidball. But for all 3 professors you could just tell they threw together the exam last minute and really didnt care to see if the students learned the million random things they spent all this time teaching us. Its just crazy because i have had wayyyy harder classes and i studied just as hard for this one as I did those ones but this one I just didn't do well in because the professors don't know how to make a fair exam. All the professors were nice and welcoming for the most part but I dont care about that. i want a good teacher with good exams so i can demonstrate how much i learned. oh also theres no homework except a weekly article summary or quiz which probably contributes to the fact that the exams were such a shock all 3 times.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - Tidball was so clear and an amazing professor. He's so charismatic and explains everything without any fluff. Only PHYSCI class (His module only) that I didn't need to study for at all and aced the midterm. I think the discussions also really help to clarify anything, so definitely participate in those. SHOUTOUT JOHN
Winter 2024 - Tidball was so clear and an amazing professor. He's so charismatic and explains everything without any fluff. Only PHYSCI class (His module only) that I didn't need to study for at all and aced the midterm. I think the discussions also really help to clarify anything, so definitely participate in those. SHOUTOUT JOHN
AD
Most Helpful Review
Professor Tidball is an excellent teacher. He is able to explain things in a clear, coherent lecture, and makes sure everyone understands. He handwrites his notes on the whiteboard (thank god for no powerpoints!) which gives you plenty of time to copy them down. For 155 his tests are not multiple choice, but are very straightforward, certainly a welcome change from the 111 series. In addition to all of this, he is a very nice guy who is always willing to help if you have any trouble!
Professor Tidball is an excellent teacher. He is able to explain things in a clear, coherent lecture, and makes sure everyone understands. He handwrites his notes on the whiteboard (thank god for no powerpoints!) which gives you plenty of time to copy them down. For 155 his tests are not multiple choice, but are very straightforward, certainly a welcome change from the 111 series. In addition to all of this, he is a very nice guy who is always willing to help if you have any trouble!