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David Weisbart
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Based on 179 Users
Not a lot of people know this, but an alternate spelling of "Weisbart" is "S-T-U-D." This class is without a doubt the most counter intuitive math class I've taken in my career, but it has also been the most informative and the most applicable to life. His lectures are nothing short of life-changing, and although people are going to say "he does proofs in lectures which don't help at all etc..." his proofs and derivations enhance your ability to understand where the formulas come from rather than just how to plug numbers into them. On top of that, Weisbart is probably the smartest professor I've come across, and he even eats his humble pie by claiming he's not good at arithmetic and mental math (good one, David!). The man has a graduate degree in quantum physics, c'mon. In addition, he's extremely nice to talk to, has awesome stories, and can help you with any questions you have about the material. His tests are fair, his grading is accurate, and at the end of the day you come out of his classroom having learned a lot. It's certain that he's a great teacher, it's certain he's a genius; the only thing that's not certain to me is if he's actually human. Enjoy your math.
MATH 3C
Take this class with him!! definitely great professor because he really cares about the success of his students. He is also very eager to teach the material and he always makes sure you are on the same page as he is on the lectures. His exams are fair and correlate with the problems he writes. His office hours are a must! His office hours are times to go over his problems that you don't understand and to clear up things you do not understand. He is extremely helpful during office hours. He is way better than oberlin, barbaro, goldbring. And he is pretty good eye candy for an early class!
I thought Weisbart was a great professor. 3C is probability and not an easy thing. The material isn't easy so don't lay blame on the professor if you end up not doing as great as you thought you were doing. He offers office hours in which you can ask questions. He offers practice midterms and finals. And he has a fair grading system. If you attend lecture and do your hw then you will done fine.
A very nice professor. Math 3C was probably one of the most, if not the most, difficult math classes I've ever taken. I got through all of calculus with a breeze, but this course's material (probability, counting, combinatorics) is so counterintuitive that I really had a difficult time grasping the material. This is all somewhat irrelevant, though, since this class is required for life science majors. Professor Weisbart, although not the most organized, did try really hard to help students understand the material. The tests did have new material, but it required more than just doing the problems in the homework. This class really requires a lot of your own effort. Listening to someone lecture about this shit can only go so far. I got a D+ on the first midterm, but I worked harder to actually understand the material and ended up with an A. Admittedly, the spring 2009 class was probably a lot harder than previous quarters because of a lot of talk about the department pressuring Weisbart about giving out too many A's. This class at one point probably WAS a breeze, but it's a difficult class. Weisbart is a good teacher, but you actually have to put in work to do well.
Professor Weisbart is one of the greatest professors i've had so far at UCLA. He is legitimately a great professor-not because he is smart, extremely concerned about his students, or because he is exceedingly patient with explaining material over and over. He is a great professor because he communicates the material in a worthwhile and effective way. All of his lectures have some sort of practical application to the real world, specifically geared toward becoming a doctor, because the class is for life science majors. The tests are very straightfoward and there isn't much that's new in the exams. There are small twists, but you should be able to handle them. I would definitely recommend taking him if you can.
However, you may have some mixed feelings after reading these reviews. Listen, if you're stuck in this high school mind-state where you want teachers to hold your hand and kiss your boo-boos then maybe you should reevaluate going to college altogether. Honestly, you should realize where you are, this is UCLA, not your high school. You will need to apply some effort into this class, probably like most classes you will take. You get out of a class exactly what you put into it, so don't expect to do well if you just sit there twiddling your thumbs expecting the professor to magically educate you.
That said, Professor Weisbart will actively try to help his students, while also teaching them about greater values and ideals. Bottom line, if you take him, you won't regret it.
Probably one of the best, nicest professors I've had at UCLA. He really cared about our learning and went out of his way to make sure he was available if we had questions. He was extremely concerned with whether or not we knew the material. I really enjoyed talking to him because he didn't make me feel stupid if I didn't know what was going on, even if I asked him the same questions thirty times. It's a shame that most premed kids are too stupid and ignorant to realize that Weisbart is really a gem. Probability is not an easy subject, but I actually enjoyed it after taking the class. He goes out of the way to show how the subject is relevant to those pursuing a career in medicine, and after working in a hospital for quite some time now, it's obvious that he's right.
David is an excellent instructor. He presents information in a way that is maximally useful to the student. Instead of repeatedly pulling examples from the book as many math professors do, David presents the most general forms of a problem, and then outlines the core tools you have at your disposal to solve specific instances of the general form. He happily answers questions that students have during class, and is consistent in connecting concepts to how they might be applied in the field.
I took 3C with this professor
In my opinion, he taught this class the way it should be taught in all classes: through logic. He doesn't use the traditional math book which is good because the book just uses a bunch of huge equations that have a lot of variables and symbols that look confusing. Just about everything in this class can be explained as you learn about the many ways to kill yourself or lose all of your money (aka Russian Roulette, disease problems, and poker). I came out of this class truly grasping the logical concepts of the class rather than a bunch of random and useless equations that can be explained with WORDS that people can understand. Granted, it makes it harder to help other students who have trouble in the class with different professors because you see the equation and say "um.....I don't think I even used this equation..." when in fact you used the concept of the equation without the complication of the excess variables.
So for all of the premeds, sorry. His class isn't one that you can just plug and chug equations into like with calculus. Plus, since he teaches off the top of his head and uses no notes to direct him, you need to go to lecture and take notes on EVERYTHING he writes rather than trying to study on your own with the book.
Overall, he's a genuine guy and very easy to approach. He wants a lot of students to pass so his curve is overly generous. His homework is pretty challenging but they are meant to once again focus on the concepts so that by the time of the midterm you can reason with the problem since he always adds a new factor that usually isn't discussed in class.
Take him!! It's not an "easy A" but he's thorough and super chill and an awesome professor.
David is probably one of the best math professors that will ever be. He teaches very well in class. He emphasizes not remembering formulas, but actually understanding concepts. His tests are straightforward, and he gives you practice exams that are almost identical to the exams you will take.
He also doesn't curve down. He truly wants as many students to get As as possible.
For our class, it is 20% for each midterm, 20% for quizzes, and 40% for the final. (Or the 100% final option if your score is that good.) Easy first midterm, semi-harder second midterm, and pretty fair final.
Plus, there's an extra credit project that can boost your grade even more.
For MATH 3A: personally, weisbart's class is a total joke. he extends hw deadlines if you complain, he gives you very little hw, he gives you final exams that only take an hour as opposed to the 3 hours allotted because of their extreme level of easiness, and his tests are the biggest joke of the century. basically, take him! during the final exam, you had to show all your steps in working out problems but he said "if you're running low on time, you dont have to calculate out the final answer" even though i finished the test 2 hours early and even TOOK A NAP! and then he curves super duper well meaning the average being like an A instead of a B or C. i dont know about other classes, but math 3a is really no effort at all and im so horrible at math. the only thing is to not count on learning from lectures because he talks about some random obscure topic like physics which has nothing to do with the hw or tests. so just make sure to understand the hw and practice tests and get extra help from the TA's instead and voila
Not a lot of people know this, but an alternate spelling of "Weisbart" is "S-T-U-D." This class is without a doubt the most counter intuitive math class I've taken in my career, but it has also been the most informative and the most applicable to life. His lectures are nothing short of life-changing, and although people are going to say "he does proofs in lectures which don't help at all etc..." his proofs and derivations enhance your ability to understand where the formulas come from rather than just how to plug numbers into them. On top of that, Weisbart is probably the smartest professor I've come across, and he even eats his humble pie by claiming he's not good at arithmetic and mental math (good one, David!). The man has a graduate degree in quantum physics, c'mon. In addition, he's extremely nice to talk to, has awesome stories, and can help you with any questions you have about the material. His tests are fair, his grading is accurate, and at the end of the day you come out of his classroom having learned a lot. It's certain that he's a great teacher, it's certain he's a genius; the only thing that's not certain to me is if he's actually human. Enjoy your math.
MATH 3C
Take this class with him!! definitely great professor because he really cares about the success of his students. He is also very eager to teach the material and he always makes sure you are on the same page as he is on the lectures. His exams are fair and correlate with the problems he writes. His office hours are a must! His office hours are times to go over his problems that you don't understand and to clear up things you do not understand. He is extremely helpful during office hours. He is way better than oberlin, barbaro, goldbring. And he is pretty good eye candy for an early class!
I thought Weisbart was a great professor. 3C is probability and not an easy thing. The material isn't easy so don't lay blame on the professor if you end up not doing as great as you thought you were doing. He offers office hours in which you can ask questions. He offers practice midterms and finals. And he has a fair grading system. If you attend lecture and do your hw then you will done fine.
A very nice professor. Math 3C was probably one of the most, if not the most, difficult math classes I've ever taken. I got through all of calculus with a breeze, but this course's material (probability, counting, combinatorics) is so counterintuitive that I really had a difficult time grasping the material. This is all somewhat irrelevant, though, since this class is required for life science majors. Professor Weisbart, although not the most organized, did try really hard to help students understand the material. The tests did have new material, but it required more than just doing the problems in the homework. This class really requires a lot of your own effort. Listening to someone lecture about this shit can only go so far. I got a D+ on the first midterm, but I worked harder to actually understand the material and ended up with an A. Admittedly, the spring 2009 class was probably a lot harder than previous quarters because of a lot of talk about the department pressuring Weisbart about giving out too many A's. This class at one point probably WAS a breeze, but it's a difficult class. Weisbart is a good teacher, but you actually have to put in work to do well.
Professor Weisbart is one of the greatest professors i've had so far at UCLA. He is legitimately a great professor-not because he is smart, extremely concerned about his students, or because he is exceedingly patient with explaining material over and over. He is a great professor because he communicates the material in a worthwhile and effective way. All of his lectures have some sort of practical application to the real world, specifically geared toward becoming a doctor, because the class is for life science majors. The tests are very straightfoward and there isn't much that's new in the exams. There are small twists, but you should be able to handle them. I would definitely recommend taking him if you can.
However, you may have some mixed feelings after reading these reviews. Listen, if you're stuck in this high school mind-state where you want teachers to hold your hand and kiss your boo-boos then maybe you should reevaluate going to college altogether. Honestly, you should realize where you are, this is UCLA, not your high school. You will need to apply some effort into this class, probably like most classes you will take. You get out of a class exactly what you put into it, so don't expect to do well if you just sit there twiddling your thumbs expecting the professor to magically educate you.
That said, Professor Weisbart will actively try to help his students, while also teaching them about greater values and ideals. Bottom line, if you take him, you won't regret it.
Probably one of the best, nicest professors I've had at UCLA. He really cared about our learning and went out of his way to make sure he was available if we had questions. He was extremely concerned with whether or not we knew the material. I really enjoyed talking to him because he didn't make me feel stupid if I didn't know what was going on, even if I asked him the same questions thirty times. It's a shame that most premed kids are too stupid and ignorant to realize that Weisbart is really a gem. Probability is not an easy subject, but I actually enjoyed it after taking the class. He goes out of the way to show how the subject is relevant to those pursuing a career in medicine, and after working in a hospital for quite some time now, it's obvious that he's right.
David is an excellent instructor. He presents information in a way that is maximally useful to the student. Instead of repeatedly pulling examples from the book as many math professors do, David presents the most general forms of a problem, and then outlines the core tools you have at your disposal to solve specific instances of the general form. He happily answers questions that students have during class, and is consistent in connecting concepts to how they might be applied in the field.
I took 3C with this professor
In my opinion, he taught this class the way it should be taught in all classes: through logic. He doesn't use the traditional math book which is good because the book just uses a bunch of huge equations that have a lot of variables and symbols that look confusing. Just about everything in this class can be explained as you learn about the many ways to kill yourself or lose all of your money (aka Russian Roulette, disease problems, and poker). I came out of this class truly grasping the logical concepts of the class rather than a bunch of random and useless equations that can be explained with WORDS that people can understand. Granted, it makes it harder to help other students who have trouble in the class with different professors because you see the equation and say "um.....I don't think I even used this equation..." when in fact you used the concept of the equation without the complication of the excess variables.
So for all of the premeds, sorry. His class isn't one that you can just plug and chug equations into like with calculus. Plus, since he teaches off the top of his head and uses no notes to direct him, you need to go to lecture and take notes on EVERYTHING he writes rather than trying to study on your own with the book.
Overall, he's a genuine guy and very easy to approach. He wants a lot of students to pass so his curve is overly generous. His homework is pretty challenging but they are meant to once again focus on the concepts so that by the time of the midterm you can reason with the problem since he always adds a new factor that usually isn't discussed in class.
Take him!! It's not an "easy A" but he's thorough and super chill and an awesome professor.
David is probably one of the best math professors that will ever be. He teaches very well in class. He emphasizes not remembering formulas, but actually understanding concepts. His tests are straightforward, and he gives you practice exams that are almost identical to the exams you will take.
He also doesn't curve down. He truly wants as many students to get As as possible.
For our class, it is 20% for each midterm, 20% for quizzes, and 40% for the final. (Or the 100% final option if your score is that good.) Easy first midterm, semi-harder second midterm, and pretty fair final.
Plus, there's an extra credit project that can boost your grade even more.
For MATH 3A: personally, weisbart's class is a total joke. he extends hw deadlines if you complain, he gives you very little hw, he gives you final exams that only take an hour as opposed to the 3 hours allotted because of their extreme level of easiness, and his tests are the biggest joke of the century. basically, take him! during the final exam, you had to show all your steps in working out problems but he said "if you're running low on time, you dont have to calculate out the final answer" even though i finished the test 2 hours early and even TOOK A NAP! and then he curves super duper well meaning the average being like an A instead of a B or C. i dont know about other classes, but math 3a is really no effort at all and im so horrible at math. the only thing is to not count on learning from lectures because he talks about some random obscure topic like physics which has nothing to do with the hw or tests. so just make sure to understand the hw and practice tests and get extra help from the TA's instead and voila