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- Alexander Kusenko
- PHYSICS 1A
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Based on 80 Users
TOP TAGS
- Often Funny
- Engaging Lectures
- Appropriately Priced Materials
- Would Take Again
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.
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Bless his soul. He really just cancelled the final and gave everyone 100% on it. On top of that, both of the midterms were super reasonable and similar to problems, if not exactly like problems we had done before. The averages were like 83% and 93% and he is super generous with the partial credit on them. He was a really good lecturer and kudu problems were super helpful for the midterms. Kusenko is a legend I cannot emphasize enough how much I love this man.
Kusenko is a nice dude that is willing to answer questions. However, his answers and lectures in general are never really in depth—he gives you equations without really explaining why these equations are the way they are. He also makes a lot of mistakes in his lectures that we don't know how to correct because we haven't learned the material yet. His explanations are waffly and unclear; I have a lot of trouble understanding the material. Sometimes he just never teaches topics that our tests are on, such as drag and terminal velocity. Also, Kudu, the platform we have to use, is an absolutely horrible platform that glitches and lags every time you try to do absolutely anything, including scroll. Probably the best physics lecturer, but still not a very high bar at all.
Overall, Professor Kusenko is an alright professor; he wasn't particularly memorable per se, but he definitely gets the job done alright (especially in light of the other professor, Gelmini). Lectures mainly consist of him using his Chromebook to write notes, which then get projected onto the big screen. However, it seems like most of the time the concepts that he teach in class aren't really related to the homework/exam problems, and most of the time people around me didn't seem to be paying attention unless it was time for an in-class problem (might also be due to the fact that a lot of people had seen this in AP/IB Physics in high school).
AK uses Kudu for all his homework, so there's no need to buy a textbook. It's appropriately priced (I think around $25), but it's hella filled with bugs (sometimes it'll glitch and show you the wrong answers to questions beforehand). The glitches really do take away from the experience, as sometimes you can lose attempts because of a Kudu glitch, but on the other hand the problems do seem to prepare you well for the exams, which I personally thought were easier than the Kudu problems.
AK's grading scheme is 10% homework, 5% in class assignments, 25% each midterm, and 35% final (IIRC). It's a pretty nice grading scheme, especially as he takes the higher of your raw score/curved grade to put into your gradebook. In terms of the curved score, I believe the top 30% get an A- or better, so that's a pretty good grading scheme. I am kicking myself for losing some easy points on the midterm (silly mistakes seem to get punished a lot, so make sure to check your answers thoroughly), but I have nothing but good things to say about his grading scheme.
Finally, I'd like to add that AK is quite the dresser, and he usually has some very interesting stories to tell, either from his Soviet army experiences or from bets he makes with other physics professors. Overall, pretty cool professor.
Bless his soul. He really just cancelled the final and gave everyone 100% on it. On top of that, both of the midterms were super reasonable and similar to problems, if not exactly like problems we had done before. The averages were like 83% and 93% and he is super generous with the partial credit on them. He was a really good lecturer and kudu problems were super helpful for the midterms. Kusenko is a legend I cannot emphasize enough how much I love this man.
Kusenko is a nice dude that is willing to answer questions. However, his answers and lectures in general are never really in depth—he gives you equations without really explaining why these equations are the way they are. He also makes a lot of mistakes in his lectures that we don't know how to correct because we haven't learned the material yet. His explanations are waffly and unclear; I have a lot of trouble understanding the material. Sometimes he just never teaches topics that our tests are on, such as drag and terminal velocity. Also, Kudu, the platform we have to use, is an absolutely horrible platform that glitches and lags every time you try to do absolutely anything, including scroll. Probably the best physics lecturer, but still not a very high bar at all.
Overall, Professor Kusenko is an alright professor; he wasn't particularly memorable per se, but he definitely gets the job done alright (especially in light of the other professor, Gelmini). Lectures mainly consist of him using his Chromebook to write notes, which then get projected onto the big screen. However, it seems like most of the time the concepts that he teach in class aren't really related to the homework/exam problems, and most of the time people around me didn't seem to be paying attention unless it was time for an in-class problem (might also be due to the fact that a lot of people had seen this in AP/IB Physics in high school).
AK uses Kudu for all his homework, so there's no need to buy a textbook. It's appropriately priced (I think around $25), but it's hella filled with bugs (sometimes it'll glitch and show you the wrong answers to questions beforehand). The glitches really do take away from the experience, as sometimes you can lose attempts because of a Kudu glitch, but on the other hand the problems do seem to prepare you well for the exams, which I personally thought were easier than the Kudu problems.
AK's grading scheme is 10% homework, 5% in class assignments, 25% each midterm, and 35% final (IIRC). It's a pretty nice grading scheme, especially as he takes the higher of your raw score/curved grade to put into your gradebook. In terms of the curved score, I believe the top 30% get an A- or better, so that's a pretty good grading scheme. I am kicking myself for losing some easy points on the midterm (silly mistakes seem to get punished a lot, so make sure to check your answers thoroughly), but I have nothing but good things to say about his grading scheme.
Finally, I'd like to add that AK is quite the dresser, and he usually has some very interesting stories to tell, either from his Soviet army experiences or from bets he makes with other physics professors. Overall, pretty cool professor.
Based on 80 Users
TOP TAGS
- Often Funny (46)
- Engaging Lectures (39)
- Appropriately Priced Materials (38)
- Would Take Again (44)