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Gregory Okin
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Professor Okin is a great professor. Took his GeoM127 class about soils and he turned a pretty bland subject into a somewhat interesting subject. Best advice to you is to record the lectures or find a friend who does. The textbook is basically worthless. He gives you a set of study questions for the midterm and final. I aced both the midterm and final by just re-listening to his lectures and answering the study questions as they came up. Was not difficult at all if you pay attention in class and understand the concepts which aren't that hard.
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...
Okin was a very mediocre professor. I found it very hard to pay attention to his lectures during the first half of the quarter, but the second half was actually pretty interesting, probably because he knew more about it so he was more enthusiastic about the material. However, I enjoyed his teaching style and he was very fair, so if you are interested in physical geography I would highly recommend this class. If you have no interest whatsoever, I would choose another class because the material is a bit dry if you have no interest.
I liked Okin and I got an A- without even reading the book (which by the way was kind of a waste of money). and if you talk to him outside of class, you'll understand why. He seems somewhat intimidating during lecture, but he's really interested in what he's teaching. I look forward to taking more classes with him.
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!
The best word that I can think of to describe Professor Okin is fair. He's a very good lecturer--it's easy to understand him, he conveys information well, and he does a good job of putting the right amount of information on the powerpoint slides. His lectures are straightforward, and there's no tricks in either the material or the exams. As long as you know the material, you will do well--it's simple memorization. That said, there is A LOT of information given to you in ten weeks, and I wouldn't call this class an easy A--there are quite a few questions that appear on the exams that are tricky in the sense that they cover details that are easily forgotten. I personally thought the midterm was easier than the final, but I also put in more time studying for the midterm. They're both well curved--I think an 80% on the midterm ended up as a 93%, or something similar. He gives very extensive study guides for each exam--thoroughly answer each question, listen to each podcast over again (he puts them all online--use this resource!!), and you'll do well.
It's kind of hard if you take it as a GE. As many evaluations said his voice goes very low from time to time. Multiple choice questions are tricky. Not recommended for those who are not interested in physical geography.
Selling textbook for GEOG1. Please contact me : *************
I'm a geography major and found this course very difficult. His lectures are very difficult to stay awake during because he speaks very fast and kind of quietly. You don't necessarily have to do the readings because he discusses it all in lecture, but they do help clarify. His tests are REALLY difficult. The labs are really annoying but pretty easy. Overall, Okin makes a potentially interesting topic confusing and boring. I would not recommend.
I thought Okin was a great professor. He explains everything well and his study guides correspond perfectly with his lectures, so he sticks to the course material and doesn't digress as much as other professors do. Unlike common stereotypes about college professors, he actually does care about teaching this lower division course and makes sure to post course material online and have office hours. In each lecture he always periodically asks if the students have any questions. I don't find him to be cocky or condescending. On the contrary he's an overall nice guy who is passionate about what he teaches. I'd definitely recommend that you take his class.
Professor Okin is a great professor. Took his GeoM127 class about soils and he turned a pretty bland subject into a somewhat interesting subject. Best advice to you is to record the lectures or find a friend who does. The textbook is basically worthless. He gives you a set of study questions for the midterm and final. I aced both the midterm and final by just re-listening to his lectures and answering the study questions as they came up. Was not difficult at all if you pay attention in class and understand the concepts which aren't that hard.
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...
Okin was a very mediocre professor. I found it very hard to pay attention to his lectures during the first half of the quarter, but the second half was actually pretty interesting, probably because he knew more about it so he was more enthusiastic about the material. However, I enjoyed his teaching style and he was very fair, so if you are interested in physical geography I would highly recommend this class. If you have no interest whatsoever, I would choose another class because the material is a bit dry if you have no interest.
I liked Okin and I got an A- without even reading the book (which by the way was kind of a waste of money). and if you talk to him outside of class, you'll understand why. He seems somewhat intimidating during lecture, but he's really interested in what he's teaching. I look forward to taking more classes with him.
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!
The best word that I can think of to describe Professor Okin is fair. He's a very good lecturer--it's easy to understand him, he conveys information well, and he does a good job of putting the right amount of information on the powerpoint slides. His lectures are straightforward, and there's no tricks in either the material or the exams. As long as you know the material, you will do well--it's simple memorization. That said, there is A LOT of information given to you in ten weeks, and I wouldn't call this class an easy A--there are quite a few questions that appear on the exams that are tricky in the sense that they cover details that are easily forgotten. I personally thought the midterm was easier than the final, but I also put in more time studying for the midterm. They're both well curved--I think an 80% on the midterm ended up as a 93%, or something similar. He gives very extensive study guides for each exam--thoroughly answer each question, listen to each podcast over again (he puts them all online--use this resource!!), and you'll do well.
It's kind of hard if you take it as a GE. As many evaluations said his voice goes very low from time to time. Multiple choice questions are tricky. Not recommended for those who are not interested in physical geography.
Selling textbook for GEOG1. Please contact me : *************
I'm a geography major and found this course very difficult. His lectures are very difficult to stay awake during because he speaks very fast and kind of quietly. You don't necessarily have to do the readings because he discusses it all in lecture, but they do help clarify. His tests are REALLY difficult. The labs are really annoying but pretty easy. Overall, Okin makes a potentially interesting topic confusing and boring. I would not recommend.
I thought Okin was a great professor. He explains everything well and his study guides correspond perfectly with his lectures, so he sticks to the course material and doesn't digress as much as other professors do. Unlike common stereotypes about college professors, he actually does care about teaching this lower division course and makes sure to post course material online and have office hours. In each lecture he always periodically asks if the students have any questions. I don't find him to be cocky or condescending. On the contrary he's an overall nice guy who is passionate about what he teaches. I'd definitely recommend that you take his class.