Just read the chapters he assigns THOROUGHLY and pay attention in lecture. his exams are fair if you do this and you will get an A+ as long as you study.

To do well in this class, it's of utmost importance to read the textbook thoroughly and take notes as you read. His slides tend to be very vague in their contents, so it's essential to get clarification during discussion, or polish your knowledge with the textbook. His exams, although quite difficult, were doable if you REALLY knew your stuff. Lectures are audio podcasted, and there's only one lecture per week, 3 hours long.

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Firstly, you will need to thoroughly read the text (with note taking to really soak it in), study the lecture slides, and I recommend listening to the lectures again if you have time. If you do all this (it will take about 4 days of serious cramming if you wait till before the exams like I did), you will do great.

There are tricky questions on the exams (there is one clear answer if you did the reading though) and only two exams (no final!), so you really need to know the material. People say there is not enough time, but those people probably didn't read the book (or just skimmed it without notes. The two assignments were very easy and discussion is simply showing up on time. There is also an extra credit research participation option.

I took intro to cog sci the quarter before this class and it really helped (got an A+ in 120a). The slides cover material that is not all in the book but on the exam. Also, the exam has some things not in the slides, so definitely it will require what I mentioned above, if you want an A (he does not curve).

As a professor, he is passionate about the material and very engaging. This may make the class seem easier than it is, until the exams. Don't get caught off guard! I highly recommend him, but it won't be an easy class.

I feel bad writing this review because I loved Dr. Castel. He is amazing, a wonderful man, a great professor, interesting, makes material applicable and practical. That said, his exams are extremely hard. He allows the TA's to make them up. There are two right answers to several questions and the exams are unfair and confusing. They don't test direct knowledge. The plus is that he skips all the biology in the entire course which is great. Be prepared to love him, love his class and hate his exams.

He was an amazing professor who taught a very interesting course. Reading the book and going to lectures and discussions are more than enough to be successful in this class. Use the techniques that you learned in the class in regards to studying in general and see your decision to take this class pay dividends! Awesome guy.

This is one of the most interesting classes I have taken. He teaches very well and you will not be bored at all. His exams are extremely tricky and my class got a C average on the midterm. I am almost sure that he gives too much leeway to his TAs in designing the exams. There were many complaints after the midterm and final regarding the clarity of the questions asked. Professor Castel acted in many occasions as if he had never seen his exam questions before, which indicated that the TAs were writing the exam. The textbook he chose is clear and easy to understand. I really wish Professor Castel would spend some time designing his own exams, but clearly he does not. Otherwise I would HIGHLY recommend this professor, but unfortunately I cannot do so.

He taught the second half of the class (Professor Hongjing Lu taught the first half).
He's pretty good. He teaches interesting subject (memory) and you can incorporate some of these memory techniques to score good on your tests! Class was good overall. Two short papers and two exams. During the section meetings, the TAs gave powerpoint slide reviews of previous lectures which was very helpful. There were also review sessions for both midterm and final and they were podcasted as well. You need to study both lecture notes and the book in order to do well on the exams. Professor Castel likes to put many questions from the book. I highly recommend you to take this class!

He is absolutely awesome. Very passionate about his work and always uses in class demons to really get the points across. You have to read the book in order to get a good grade, he loves throwing in questions from the book. Study hard and you will do well in this class