Harfenist, Steven  

He has homework due weekly and his graders are picky (2-3 problems). Go to his office hours to get help on the homework before it is due. If you go a couple of hours before the homework is due he can be difficult to work with through his irritation of your procrastination. He also has weekly quizzes so make sure you understand the material. Go to his office hours ready with specific questions and examples of what you need help on. Take his labs because it’s a good review from his lectures. Overall the hardest teacher with the toughest test but I learned a s**t load from this guy.

He is not that bad, but not that good either. He kept making mistakes to the point that there was no example in which he didn't mess something up. That sometimes make the whole thing unclear and kind of undermine his ethos as a physics professor. The test were very fair, and he grades them in quite a generous way. Even though I didn't like him as a person, I think he wasn't that horrible. Maybe a little bit.

I don't understand why Dr. Harfenist has such poor ratings...before this class I had never taken a physics class in my life and I don't usually have the brain for these things. Needless to say, I was not excited to take physics. However, Dr. Harfenist was incredibly helpful. The homework was fair, and if you didn't understand it he was pretty helpful in office hours (sometimes a little unorganized, but nothing too major). The quizzes were a breeze if you just went to class and did the homework. The exams were harder, make sure you can do ALL the problems he assigns because he sometimes puts in some material not covered in the homework. The final was a little tricky, I could have gotten an A if it wasn't for one question. In summary, I would recommend taking Dr. Harfenist.

Dr. Harfenist is an okay lecturer. He only assigns 3 homework problems a week and you have a quiz every friday. There are a total of 2 midterms and then the final. Midterms aren't that bad but you really have to study to get good points. He gives partial credit for trying so thats good. Overall, if you can find a better professor, than definitely take them over Harfenist. But if you cant, Harfenist is way better than the really crappy professors.

I was surprised that Harfenist has such bad reviews. He's not that terrible. He's kind of a big dork when it comes to physics, which kinda makes the class entertaining, you know? ohh, what dorky thing will Harfenist do next? he explains the material alright, but you should review with the book and do the homework. I thought he's an average teacher.

First off, this guy is freakin' HARD. Now don't get me wrong, he presents the material pretty well up to where i understood most of the material (most, not all). He quizzes you everyweek, which are easy, and hw is not collected. However, his midterms and the final (dear God, especially the final) were the hardest and most confusing tests i have ever taken at Cal Poly, even harder then my chemistry tests. I mean damn, after taking these tests, i felt like jumping in front of a speeding bus. It's like he's testing you for your Phd. That's how i ended up with a C in this class, even though i had a solid, if not high, B going into the final. And trust me, I'm not one of those dumbass C or D students who think everything should be handed to them. I'm a mostly A and some B's student, and this is the first C I've ever gotten. Take my heed, do NOT take this guy, unless you like to study for hours on end and get nothing in return to show for it, at least that is what happened to me, fucking waste of my time.

terrible teacher. Hardest tests in the world.

He had really really tough tests, but this guy is awesome in office hours. He is so excited when you get a concept and really wants you to do well. He curves a lot, so I got a 56/100 on the first test and it was a B-. I bombed the class, but I don't blame his teaching style for it, I'm just really horrible at physics. Oh and he looks EXACTLY like Stephen Coblert. He evens has mannerisms like him. But don't be too scared if you have him, he's really a nice guy.

He is a decent teacher, but his tests are just ridiculous. He really is a nice guy, I just don't see why he has to purposely put problems on tests that he knows NO ONE will get right.

This guys tests are absolutely ridiculous. The final was probably the hardest one I have taken at Poly! Otherwise he is a decent teacher. I knew way more than my roomates who had other teachers for the same class and I could easily do their tests, but Harfenists were just 5 levels above the rest,

I have no idea why Harfenist has such a low polyrating. He really is not a bad teacher. He assigns like two problems for homework with take like half and hour and are due once a week and he's fine at presenting materials. He also does some good demos. He does have hard tests, but not hard enough to merit a 1.25 polyrating. If you have Harfenist don't worry, he's really not as bad as everyone says.

When I was registering for PHYS 132, I was last in priority for registration and the only class open was with Harfenist. I was really afraid of his class because he had such a low rating and everyone said his tests were hard. Now that I finished the class, I don't think Harfenist deserves such a low polyrating (or at least not worth 1.38, maybe at least like 2.5), I thought he was one of the best physics teachers I ever had. Everyone says his tests are very difficult, and there were parts that were difficult (his midterms had at least one question that not many people will get correct), but if you can't explain mathematically, you can just write down what you would do (heck, even theory behind it would still get you points). I did that for a midterm and got at least half the credit on the problem. He is really good in lecture too, he writes lots of details on the board which is great for people like me who forget what happened in lecture and only remember through looking at notes. If you do all the weekly homework assignments that he writes himself, study the homework before the weekly quiz, and study for the midterms by reviewing the quizzes, homework assignments, and do some problems in the textbook, then you'll do fine. Don't worry too much if you have Harfenist, his class is not as bad as everyone else says. I highly suggest working with a friend in the class, it'll make all the work much easier.

This guy is a lousy teacher. He just runs through derivations all class with little explanation whatsoever. He flies through the material without ever stopping to even look at the students (most of whom are laughing at the fact he's in his own world). I had AP Physics and had seen some of this before. I was lucky. Most people had not seen it before and crashed and burned. He stood in front of the chalkboard with the book open copying the material from the book to the board verbatim. To his credit, he obviously knows his stuff and has been well taught. He's also a very nice guy. Steve, however, does not understand how to teach. 50% of the grade is quizzes (not too bad). 20% is graded NIGHTLY-3-HOUR homework (bad idea). 20% final. 10% lab (terrible idea since an S equates to 70% in his grading scheme). If you are unclear about something, his immediate response is to tell you to "look in the book." If you've taken any engineering physics at CP, you know the book sucks. So, if youre prepared to lose 3% of your total course grade automatically (by getting an S in lab) and not understand electricity and magnetism, take Harfenist.

this guy was awful. nobody understood the material. he reads from the book all class and does the same examples that are in the book word for word. i don't recommend him.

I don't know what everyone else was talking about before. He must have seen his ratings and shaped up because I took him spring 09 and he was a great teacher. he followed the book, but didnt just read straight from it like someone mentioned, and he was quick to answer questions and clarify his lectures. his hw is simple, its just one or two problems, he tells you exactly what the quizzes will be on the day before, and the midterms are fairly easy if you know what youre doing. oh, also he's pretty funny so thats always a bonus.

He's a good teacher. He gets major points across, and explains them well. But he's kind of a jerk. He likes to make sarcastic comments, rather than answer questions directly, and he likes to see students get stressed. But overall his class is not that bad. Small amount of hmwk. Two fairly difficult midterms(but doable) and a final. If you cant get someone better, youll be alright with harfenist

Harfenist certainly knows the material. I think what bothers some students is that he may seem condescending because of how knowledgeable he is. Surprisingly enough though, he does care. You just need to show that you care first. Sometimes the material is overwhelming, but if you are straightforward and make it clear that you're lost, then Harfenist will be there for you!

Harfenist was an ass. He would purposely put extremely hard questions on a test and then laugh and say that he knew no one would get that one right but then refuse to curve. By far my least favorite teacher at cal poly thus far! avoid at all costs

Ummmm...ridiculous teacher..he is like soo gay (not that I have anything against gays) but this just make him ridiculous. anyways his tests are sort of hard but I surprised to hear that he didn't curve for the rest of the classes b/c he did in my PHYS 141 class... although discouraging.

I gave Harfenist an above average rating. He writes extremely detailed notes on the board, which for any visual learner, helps a lot. His tests are extremely hard, but all it takes is to study a little bit extra. Also, he curves a ton so it pretty much evens out. The only problem I had with his curve was that a 65% might be a B on one test, but if you got a 97%, it only counted as an A, which I would have liked to see counted as a 117% or so but, thats just nitpicking now isnt it. He's a good professor but you HAVE to go to class every day and you HAVE to study what he TELLS you to study. He lays it out pretty clearly and even will tell you what some of the test questions are going to be on. I have about 20 physics classes left to take and I'm going to sign up for him again.

The first several weeks of the quarter were absolutely boring for me, as I had taken (not AP!) physics in high school. I then didn't buy the book, which hurt me in the end, as I lost a little bit of clue in the 2nd half of the class. Harfenist seemed to go over things fairly well, to me. His handwriting was actually pretty decent, which is surprising because he had to switch hands due to a shoulder injury. This forced him to write slower, which made the class pace a little slower as well, I think. Although I never went to them, he had very open office hours and, at the end of the quarter, night sessions, which seemed to help the people who went to them. Quizzes weren't bad (he gives equations on the board), but tests were (as they're supposed to be) a bit more difficult. He allows a full front-and-back sheet of paper with notes, however, which I used to fill in a few equations. If I had had the book, then I could have done homework (*could* have), which I think would have helped me when it came to tests. If you're familiar with solving similar problems, I don't think it should be that hard, although you'll take most (if not all) of the testing time.

If you go to class and pay attention, he's a good teacher. Pay attention to his examples, they're exactly like what you'll see on the quizzes. He takes the time to do them to help you. He might seem hard, but once you get his testing style, you're set

Harfenist is ok. I think there are better Physics professors out there. His class is fairly straightforward for the most part, but his tests are very difficult. He does not put material on the test based off examples in class and they are usually somewhat obscure applications of the topic. You need to know the subject VERY well in order to do well on the tests. His class can get boring, but his personality is compatible. All in all, his class was difficult but manageable.

BOYCOTT!!!