Jasbinsek, John Jeremy  

Matter and Energy (Physical Science 101) is a great class to take if you do not like science. This class is equivalent to a fifth grade science class. It sometimes seems so easy that you can blow it off and accidentally do badly. It is an easy course but you have to stay on top of it and really make sure you pay attention in class to the one or two key concepts you learn each day. The class is like a lab and lecture mixed together. You do labs pretty much every day but they are super simple and basic and you are supposed to learn the material through them. There are two midterms. One is worth 20%, the other 25%. The homework is a piece of cake and is 10% of your grade. Then there is a lab practical where you are tested on your ability to do an easy lab on your own worth 10% of your grade. The final is 30%. Jasbinsek is a good guy. He is funny and teaches pretty well. I definitely recommend taking this class! If you study for a few hours before each test, you should get A's. Take it if you are planning on having other difficult classes because this class won't be much of a burden

Very bad Professor. DO Not take him if you do not have to. If you are smart, you will pass the class easily. But if you want to learn from the teacher, then you will struggle. He doesn't answer questions clearly for example: STUDENT: "DR. J, why does the kinetic energy of the cart decrease when it hits the rubber band?" DR. J: "Um, well, um, well, ha, it is true the kinetic energy of the cart decreases when it hits the rubber band. Can you tell my why?" STUDENT: "DR. J, does the magnetic domain move when a magnet rubs on it?" DR. J: "Um well, essentially, come to my office hours and we can talk about it." he will not give an answer for a yes or no question.

cool guy. almost too nice and takes late work without penalty but don't get too used to it. The class is extremely easy and you should take it if you can fill up one of your GE's with it. I rarely studied but you definitely should review concepts/ key ideas before going into exams. .. he grades fairly easy and has dry humor, but he tries.

If you can, try not to take GEO 102 with this guy. This professor was difficult to work with from day one. His lectures come straight from the books, and the online quizzes are as well. However, his in-class tests and quizzes are what really got a lot of people stuck because they always focused on the little things that weren't really important to the chapter. The average for the first midterm was 56%, which says something about how frustrating this class was. The second midterm average was also pretty low. He was also really boring. And trying to ask questions were really frustrating because he would usually just ramble and never really get to the point. I stopped going unless I had to at one point just because I felt I was better off just reading from the book. Trying to talk to him in office hours never really seemed to do much either, he'd always just shrug off my questions with a "just read that part again" and never clarify on it. If you have to take GEO 102, I highly suggest you take it with a different professor.

Dr. J is really cool. He's an awful lecturer, if i had to describe his lecture style it would be "just smoked a J and is now saying whatever pops into his head", that being said he's very knowledgable on the material. I really like Dr. J as a person but if you're going to take this class know that you NEED to read the textbook cover to cover and take really good notes and use his lectures as a place where you can take notes on what he's excited about and what he elaborates on because it will be on the text but he won't really explain it in class. Also GO TO LAB, it really helps and thats really where a lot of the material started to make sense and all the graphs/sketches/pictures that are in lab will be on the test, he's big on having you diagram things for the tests. Dr. J is also really understanding and fair if you have to miss a test or a quiz, and extremely helpful in office hours. Also STUDY for the weekly quizzes because they're easy points and actually effect your overall grade more than you would think.

Dr. Jasbinsek does have good intentions and wants students to succeed; however, I do believe that he expects too much from non-geology majors taking an entry-level GE. I am not a merely an angry student failing the class. I have worked as hard as I have in some of my upper division courses in order to maintain an A. His lectures were often scattered and contained a hundred slides that he seemingly lectured from at random. I do like how approachable Dr. J is though, he frequently encourages students to come to office hours and get extra help if they need it. He definitely stayed true to his word and tried his absolute best to help me with any concepts I did not quite grasp in lecture. A final word of advice: it is VERY important that you go to class and the discussions if you want to do well. It is definitely possible to to get an A, but be prepared to study and go to class.

Dr. J was a seemingly nice and energetic guy. However his exams where nothing like the material we learned in class it seemed. He told us that the support section for the lecture would not teach us anything he hadn't taught us in lecture which was not accurate at all. His class is not easy, it took a lot of time and studying as well as figuring out how he grades since he has weirdly particular about how you answer his questions. He seemed to struggle with the idea that almost none of us where as interested in rocks as he was and that always seemed to upset him but also made it so that he did not understand why where doing poorly on the exams.

Honestly, don't take this professor. His lectures were painfully boring to listen to and he did not explain things well. The exams were full of random specific questions about topics that he did not emphasize at all. And to make things even worse, whenever you ask a question in class he would just talk about the question and even ask more questions and then conclude with "yeah, those are all good things to be asking yourself" without ever even giving an answer. He pretty much just made an introductory course way harder than it needed to be, and expected everyone to geek out over rocks as much as he does. He definitely knows his stuff, but overall is not a very effective educator.

If you are not an LS major, do NOT take this class. Story of my life this quarter: LS majors slept/talked/messed around/texted in class and then whined because they were getting bad grades and blamed Dr. J. I couldn't stand the immaturity. I felt bad for Dr. J because he is THE MAN but got no respect. If you actually want to learn something about geology, take this class with Dr. J. He explains material clearly and gives 100% pretty much on all the homework if you at least put in a moderate amount of effort. I studied about 10 hours outside of class all quarter. All you have to do is go to class and PAY ATTENTION and this class should be an easy A.

I took this Physics 2 class during fall quarter of 2011. This class was comprised of completion graded homework, lab experiments, 5 quizzes, 3 midterms, and a final. John was a great professor who was very amicable. He was very laid back and easygoing. Although his teaching style was mostly very cookie-cutter, meaning that he lectured straight from the book, he did talk about seismology. This is his real passion and I found it interesting that he tried to blend topics from this course with seismology. I liked that the midterms and finals were all weighted similarly, which took pressure off the final. I found this class to be relatively easy, as there was enough cushion with lab write ups, homework, and straightforward quizzes to make this class enjoyable.

I really enjoyed Dr. J as a professor. He is always very friendly and helpful during the labs and is easy to approach with any questions or concerns. I never went to any of his office hours, however. The class had 3 midterms that covered about 3 chapters each and a final, quizzes about every other lab period, homework for each chapter, and 8ish lab reports. Dr J taught the course basically straight from the book with some seismology extras added in their (as that is his obvious passion), however I found his lectures to be very helpful in portraying the material. The tests and quizzes contained very straightforward questions that test your understanding of the material but don't try to confuse you. The labs were straightforward, and Dr. J would help you if you had any troubles. Overall, I recommend Dr. J for at least Physics 132 if he teaches it again.

Really nice guy, pretty easy class but he put a huge emphasis on homework. He moves really slowly, so if you are a fast learner be prepared to be bored. Go on a field trip for one of his classes and you won't regret it. I think he is a better teacher in the field than in class just because that's where he feels comfortable. DR.J is a boss!

Dr. J is just really scattered. The material is fairly easy but his power points are hard to follow and go out of order. The quizzes focus a lot on the small details and skip over some of the big concepts, making it difficult to study. Really nice guy but pretty clumsy and not a great teacher.

Dr J was an interesting professor, definitely unorganized and clumsy at times, but you can tell he really knows geology. He probably belongs more in the field than in the classroom, but I learned a lot from his class, from plate tectonics to aquifers to earthquakes. He teaches based off a slideshow which can get a little boring, but if you stay awake then you will actually learn some interesting material. The quizzes can be tricky, but he puts all the slides on polylearn which is a major help when studying. He's a nice guy and helpful in office hours if you have any questions. Overall, pretty easy A if you show up to class and put in some effort

Boring, hard to follow, unorganized, quizzes on stuff not on slideshow, just sucks

Jesus, this class was just terrible. Quizzes once a week, most of them were very hit or miss on lecture topics. He really, really emphasizes in class to read the $300 textbook and do practice problems, but none of the book material ever comes up on quizzes. Don't get me wrong, he totally knows his geology and is interested in it, but can't present and organize material for shit.

DROP THIS CLASS IF YOU CAN. Dr. J is supppeeerrr sweet but as a professor he sucks. The class is all based on a quiz every week and a final at the end. That's it. So if you do bad on the quizzes, it's really easy to get a bad grade in the class. His quizzes are really hard and requires that you remember tiny details. You'll be fine in his class, but if you want to get something higher than a C, a different professor would be best.

Super sweet and nice guy but this class is really difficult. He does not explain anything in lecture and is very scattered with his lectures. He usually just shows a diagram and then talks for the whole lecture. His lectures are very general and then the quizzes and midterms are very specific. The homework is online weekly and the textbook is super expensive but you dont have to buy it but the class is super hard without it. I would not recommend taking this class unless you are really experienced with geology because I took it as a GE and did terrible in the class.

Hard class, and definitely more difficult because he does not explain anything related to the book (so most of the quizzes/test) during lecture. He (very unorganizedly) discusses slides that end up having no relevance to tested material. Super nice guy - but avoid at all costs.

Jasbinsek is a sweet dude, makes me feel like I'm going to class with some kindly grandpa who wants to share his love for rocks with me. That being said, if you cannot handle a scattered professor and some self-propelled learning, this is not for you. He wants you to think critically, so he won't always answer questions directly. This class is a lot of memorization and theory, so engineers, be prepared for that. He offers 2 extra credit field trips to Avila and MDO, which are fun and pat your grade. His quizzes and tests will have required sketches on them, so learn how to make a diagram of a fault, stratigraphy, etc. I like how passionate he is about geology, it made me consider a geology minor. Homework load was nonexistent, just a studying to pass quizzes and tests. No final, just three midterms, with scaled weighting based on performance. Drops lowest quiz. Show him respect, and it'll be a good class. Also, he is a slight conspiracy theorist. All in all, I'd take him again!

"Dr. J" is the most boring teacher I've ever had. He insists on teaching Matlab with Trial and Error. If it doesn't work, don't bother asking him for help. He doesn't respond to emails. As for Office Hours, only the brave go, he'll help you for about four minutes and then wedge his way in between you and the exit and ramble on about unrelated things for an hour minimum, often causing students to be late for class. He intentionally assigns a ton of work because, "I don't have sympathy for your schedules, I once had three finals in one day." He made it clear to us that he doesn't care what our course load is like, he wants us to "suffer." Avoid this man like the plague.

If you're taking Physics on the Computer do yourself a favor and don't take it with this guy. From day one he lets you know that he was "tried by fire" with MATLAB, the program that he expects you to become proficient in. And since he basically figured it all out on his own, bear in mind he has a PHD and is extremely intelligent, he expects you to be able to do the same with this program. And just so you know MATLAB stands for Matrix Laboratory...sounds really intuitive right? Wrong. So between the two jobs I had during this class to pay for my tuition, the lack of teaching going on during class and the maddeningly unhelpful one on one "help" he gave I failed this class majestically. I don't know what he's like in other classes nearer to his prime interest in Geology and Mathematics, but for PHYS-202 don't take it with him unless you're either extremely proficient in computer programming or enjoy putting yourself through one hell of a challenge.

I have made a lot of bad decisions in my college career but taking this class was probably the worst one yet. He literally has no idea what he is talking about half the time, is super unorganized, and tests you on things he has never gone over. You could probably be a straight genius and still do badly in this class. It seems easy at first because there is no book or homework, but that screws you over in the end because your only source of information is his terrible lectures and confusing poly learn page. Sure, Dr. J is nice, but as a professor he is just not helpful. You'll be better off taking a different class for your B3.

One of the most boring and least helpful teachers I've had. He is passionate about the subject of earthquakes but does a poor job of teaching about them. Students were constantly confused on what material we were supposed to know and what he just wanted to share with us. Tests were surprisingly difficult as most material seemed very simple during lectures and labs. And going to his office hours were a waste of time.

dr. j is awesome, but he can't teach. i didn't know there was so much to learn about earthquakes, but the way he teaches is too confusing. he's all over the place during his lectures and when you go to his office hours he never gives you straight answers. he makes you guess a lot. there were 2 midterms and a final that were pretty tough, and quizzes that were pretty easy. this is a class where you should go to his office every week to clarify everything. 2 extra credit opportunities which you should definitely go to for the easy grade booster (1.5% and 2% added to final grade). and also read the chapters for the multiple choice questions but buy the book instead of online cause it's so hard to read it online.

Dr. J is such a nice guy and is clearly passionate about teaching. However, he does not teach the material clearly. It was very hard to understand his lectures sometimes because he does not define his terminology that he uses a lot of the time. Be sure to go to his office hours, that's where most of the learning occurs. Also, it was hard to study for this class since there was never a homework assignment or practice problems. Good luck!

first, i got a c+ in this class which is the lowest grade i have ever gotten in a class. If you have another option instead of this class then just take it and avoid this class! if you can't avoid it, here's what you're in for: So, he is a nice guy, and he does actually try to help students, however, its his tests that screw everybody over. He gives a weekly quiz, a midterm, final and 2 extra credit opportunities. His quizzes and tests are graded so hard, and are worth so much of your grade, that it just annihilates your grade. He passes back the quizzes and midterm in a folder, so you just take yours and pass the folder on, and so i looked at other peoples quizzes because i knew my scores were really low, and it seemed that about 95% of the class was scoring 10 or 12 out of 20 consistently. My score on the first midterm was a 70% and on the final a 76%, but i saw other peoples grades and i know that most people scored right about how i did or lower. He marks off a lot of points for small mistakes, so its really easy to loose a lot of percentage for a small calculation error, even if you know the concept and exactly how to do it. anyways, if you must take him, go on the field trips because every percentage point counts for this class, and good luck! i am so glad to be done.

Dr. J is a great teacher! The course is a little confusing because it is all about earthquakes, but Dr. J does a great job of teaching. If you don't understand something he explains it well in office hours. He is really passionate about this field, which makes the class enjoyable to attend. He is super laid back, and really does care about his students! No midterms, just a simple quiz each week. Also, theres a lot of EC opportunities. He just wants his students to succeed!

Dr. J was a worth wile teacher to take a class from. He presents the material in a very streight-forward manner. For the homework assignments, I went to his office hours for any questions and he was always really nice and helpful. I don't see how anyone could dislike this man. I'm an English major and did well in this class and have found an appreciation for the material. If you're looking for a teacher who is passionate about his work and cares about the students, take Dr. J's class. He's not an easy A, but was always a fair grader and reasonable.

I crashed his class my 1st quarter freshman year I couldn't of made a better decision. The class is just easy enough where if you wanna get an A you easily can, or if you're like me, you can casually go through the quarter and maintain a B no problem. The teacher is great, he's super into what he teaches about and you should definitely go with him on some of his extra credit field trips (he went to a fault line for his birthday and just camped there). Oh, and re REALLY likes dogs. If you can, take him.

This class is all quiz based on earthquake computation and there is one final at the end of the quarter. I went to every office hours and always asked him a million questions and I was still not able to do great on any of his classes. This has been my hardest class yet at Cal Poly and I would NOT recommend it to anyone. Nice guy, but not a great teacher.

Okay. Dr J. He is a very nice guy, sounds a bit like Kermit the Frog but that is irrelevant. While Dr J is a great guy his class has been hell. He is extremely disorganized, scatter brained, and doesn't convey the information in an effective way. He always said this course is awesome because there are no PreReqs but there should be! I had no idea Earthquakes could be so hard or confusing. It doesn't help that we have no textbook. The only way to retain the information is through his lectures and his lectures are extremely confusing, and disorganized. Dr J's class consists of 9 quizzes and a final, the quizzes are based off his lectures and 85% of your grade. However, no one in the class understands his lectures making the quizzes very difficult. It is almost impossible to get anything other than a C in this class, if you are to even pass the class. The only nice thing is there are two extra credit field trip opportunities. Basically, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! Dr. J is unhelpful in office hours, and good luck getting anything greater than a C. Save yourself the trouble and sign up for a different GE!! please drop this class, it's absolutely horrible.

At first, you may think ooh earthquakes, this could be an interesting class! WRONG. This teacher ruined my life.

Okay, Dr. J. This class is probably the worst class I have/will take at poly. He is disorganized, scattered, and a poor lecturer. Dr. J doesn't have a textbook. This is absolutely RIDICULOUS for a science class. You are unable to teach yourself the material and must rely on his horrible lectures to comprehend the material. Earthquakes may seem easy, but DO NOT take this class. I honestly believe, Dr. J should not be allowed to teach this class anymore. He is setting you up to fail. This class was supposed to be an easy GE but absolutely killed my GPA. His class consists of 9 quizzes, and good luck getting anything higher than a C, the quizzes don't even cover topics he goes over in lecture. Honestly, Dr. J nice enough guy, but absolutely horrrrrrribleeee professor. Drop this class now. Freshman if you were blocked into this class, switch to a different one during open enrollment!!!

Dr. J did a very good job teaching his material overall. By biggest complaints would be that at times, the lectures were a little boring, and the grader who graded quizzes was pretty inconsistent. If you have questions on quizzes, go talk to him in office hours! The grader my quarter definitely made mistakes. There is a quiz every week, so don't let yourself fall behind. If you don't understand, go to his office hours. He's pretty personable, but often is vague in answering his questions because he is trying to make you think to figure it out for yourself. He does drop the lowest quiz grade, and one of them is a class quiz, and one is a take-home quiz. There is no textbook, which makes it kind of hard to study, so just make sure to take good notes in class and complete the worksheets he hands out. He never collects homework; your class grade is 80% quizzes and 20% final. Overall, I would recommend GEOL 205 for a GE. It's not too hard of a class but I feel like I did learn a lot.

Dr J's Earthquakes class was the most enjoyable GE course I have taken at Cal Poly. The material is not very challenging as long as you go to class. Sit there, pay attention, and you will understand everything necessary to get perfect scores on the quizzes and homework. If you don't understand something all you have to do is ask and he will help you as much as you need. He wants his students to succeed and will help you as much as you ask. P.S. He gives you almost 4% extra credit just for going on 2 field trips (1 of which is actually sick)

He is so excited about earthquakes that it's almost hilarious. He's a nice guy and willing to help you if need it. He sometimes can be confusing or spacey but he's a pretty good teacher in all.

Dr. J is easily one of the most dull and uninteresting professors I've had so far. The fact that he doesn't have a book would be fine if his lectures were anything like the quizzes and exams. The lectures are impossible to follow and I would bet that he smokes about 4 bowls before coming to class every day. I took this class because I thought it would be an easy-ish way to get credit for my GE requirement but I was really mistaken and almost got a C even though I worked really hard in this class. I would for sure recommend a different professor.

Dr. J is the WORST professor I have ever had at Cal Poly. Not because he didn't teach the material well, because he actually was an okay lecturer. His problem lies in the lack of respect that he has for his students. He would almost fall asleep in office hours, take arbitrary points off of quizzes, and would NEVER take any student feedback. Quite simply, this guy is a stubborn son of a bitch.

Jasbinsek likes to throw you in to the deep end. If that's not your style of learning, he's definitely not the teacher for you. However, if you do like to struggle through problems without a "right" solution and are not afraid to ask questions, he's definitely the right guy. He's very understanding and will sit down and talk over a problem with you for as long as you need, and he doesn't get frustrated if you don't understand the subject material; however, there are occasions when he simply forgets to go over something or gets you in over your head in an assignment. If you stay on top of your work and make sure to go to office hours, I think the class is very rewarding.

This class is best for people who want to learn about how earthquake waves are used to detect layers of the earth, as well as what people think causes earth's magnetic field. Dr. Jasbinsek is amazing/hilarious and always keeps it real and points out BS science that gets published and passes for fact as opposed to hypothesis.

What else is there to say? Fine person, nothing interesting. Class was meh... Blah, blah, blah... Fine person.