Wang, Xiaofeng (Jack)  

Dr. Wang (or Dr. X as he likes to go by) is DEFINITELY a new teacher. He rushes through lectures wayyy too fast and then immediately hands out group work expecting you to be able to understand everything he just taught. He doesn't show step-by-step work when he explains examples, he only gives the formula and the answer, so often times you are left in complete confusion as to how he got to the final answer. He's a nice enough guy and office hours are more helpful than any lecture ever was, but his office always seems to be crowded (probably because so many people get confused during class and need more help). If you have taken physics before and just need to get it out of the way at poly, you'd probably be ok taking it with Wang, but if you're like me and have never taken physics before, I would steer clear of him if you can.

Professor Wang is very hard to understand. Three midterms worth 45% of your grade and a final worth 25% of your grade and then 30% of your grade is homework and class group work. If you don't understand something be sure to ask him or go into office hours.

This professor has a good heart. He cares for his students but as a professor, he's not the best. The averages on his midterms are low but he curves the overall grades at the end. The average on the final was around a 57%, which is really sad. He has a Chinese accent which makes it hard for him to explain things clearly. There is also a language barrier; he doesn't understand your questions or you have to rephrase you question A LOT before he understands what you are asking. He's not that helpful in office hours; won't hurt to go - but that extremely helpful unless you have very specific "yes" or "no" type questions. His lecture slides and answer keys are confusing and hard to follow a lot of the time. If you take him, just get really to WORK because it is NOT easy to get a good grade.

It's easy to tell that Dr. X has a genuine interest in the well-being of his students. However, I think that he presents concepts in a way that is a little difficult for me to understand - it might be because he rushes through concepts sometimes during lecture. His tests were very fair, though. I knew that if there was something on the test that I didn't understand, it was ultimately my responsibility to know it; he specifically tells you what's going to be on the exam a few days prior. He's great to talk to during his office office hours, and he's very helpful one-on-one. He's not a bad teacher, but he just needs to work on his clarity when it comes to potentially tough physics concepts. I would take him again if my schedule permitted.

This teacher fucking sucks! All I have to say is thank god I didn't have to take the whole physics serious bc with this guy he skips so much important stuff and leaves you confused trying to figure out how he derives equations and how he decides to put certain equations at times once the exams are over u just forget everything bc how he organizes his lectures. Have fun listening him talk to himself all lecture and not make sense of most of it, he sucks at addressing difficult concepts and answering student questions...Basically you just have to memorize the in class practice problems, but then he says that on the final its not about memorizing those so honestly he shouldn't set up the whole class to be based on that. THe homework does not complement what he teaches in class. Most pointless class I have ever taken!

At first you feel bad for this guy, he seems so pathetic and like his life sucks, as you get to know him the pity for him turns to just hate... because you realize what an aggressive asshole this guy is. He is the most aggressive teacher I have ever known which is why he pulled off the entire overhead projection off the wall having it hit him in the head making him leave for two weeks from the damage to his head (best two weeks of the quarter). I tried to like the guy but in the end he is just an asshole and is actually really aggressively mean when you don't instantly understand something. I hope I pass so I never have to take physics again, If you think you will like physics- and you get him good luck bc he makes you hate it with a passion! The class is 15% in class problem at end of lecture Homework is worth 5% and all the answers you can find online Mini exams are 20% and there are 2 Final is 40% The hw is bullshit and you will never get tested on it- find online source with answers online copy. Go to class copy the answers on the board turn it in for credit and for tests study the in class problems - memorize them bc he sucks so bad at teaching you won't understand them!!! HAVE A GREAT QUARTER WITH this asshole!

I put in SO much work into this class. It is a required support course and physics does not come very easily to me. I'm not one to blame the prof for struggling in a class but when I and most people in my class are spending twice the amount of time on this class than our other classes, something might need to be reconsidered. The lectures always left me more confused than I came into the class. I would not recommend taking this class due to the sheer amount of self-teaching you will have to do, but if you're willing to put in the work then you'll be okay.

Dr. Wang is one of the nicer teachers I've met at Cal Poly. He is always smiling and he genuinely wants to help his students, especially in office hours. His lecture is really easy to follow which is good and bad. The tests are tricky and difficult which is not indicative of his class problems from lecture. Watch out because his formula sheet does not have all the necessary formulas on it! Keep up with his class and homework because he requires alot from you on the tests. He is definitely not the easiest teacher but he's such a cool guy that it makes you want to do well in the class.

Professor Wang is an extremely nice, caring man. His accent isn't anything to worry about. The in-class problems are helpful and I suggest reworking them before the midterms and final. He can sometimes give a lot of homework, but he grades on effort, not accuracy. He's even more helpful in office hours than in lecture. For a physics class, this isn't bad.

EXTREMELY HARD MIDTERM AND FINAL. The quizzes are easy and based off the suggested homework (make sure to do them) there is one every week. Unfortunately his midterm and final are nothing like what we covered in class or in the homework. His lectures are powerpoint and he DOESN'T give enough examples. Avoid him if you can

This class was a pain. The quizzes were easy and generally taken straight from homework. But the midterm, the SINGLE midterm, was difficult. He did not prepare us well enough or provide enough examples. The average was a 65% and this seemed perfectly fine to him. Also he's sort of rude if you can't understand something right away. Maybe avoid him if you can, but if not just be prepared to study A LOT on your own. He's bad at explaining things.

Dr. Jack is a very interesting teacher. In some aspects he is a great teacher, he has some of the clearest most helpful lecture slides I've seen in any class, especially a physics class. He assigns homework weekly but it's optional and posts step by step answers to the questions he assigns. He has a very clear class schedule, and extremely helpful polylearn (posts all quiz and midterm keys), and emails students reminders about quizzes. On, the other hand his midterm(only one) was a little too hard and not on the same level as his quizzes which are not hard if you do the homework problems he lays out and where he loses points with me is his actual in class teaching is slightly lack-luster, he doesn't have very helpful examples in class and when students ask questions he isn't as understanding as I'm sure most students would like. Overall, Dr. Jack is a nice guy who wants to become a better teacher, but is still on his way to becoming just that.

Dr. Jack's class was not one I'd like to re-take any time soon. His lectures are painful, he speaks quickly and with a heavy accent. He is often hard to understand, and when a student asks a question he makes the answer seem super obvious, or doesn't directly answer the question at all. As a result, when he takes 1/2 a second and shouts OK, he assumes the silence means everyone follows, which is not the case. Dr. Jack's redeeming quality is that he curves the entire class grade at the end of the term, which took me from almost failing to a B-. He also said "OK" 137 times in one class (yes I counted), he really needs to find a new filler word.

For anyone looking to get an A in this class, get a different teacher. I got stuck with him and thought I could tough it out, but the difficulty for his midterm and final were just ridiculous. I studied so hard and got A's on every quiz and an A- on his midterm, but his final was so weird and confusing that it dropped me down to a B-. Honestly the worst final I have ever had at Cal Poly. Not a single person left early, and even after the 3 hours people still left questions blank.

He is very difficult to understand because he is not fluent in English, and has a thick accent. He dies not explain information clearly, he tells you the procedure, but does not explain why the procedure is used. He does not connect physics concepts with the real world, which is a shame and a lost opportunity. Dr Wang made me forget that I like physics. Take any professor but him, if you have a choice in the matter.

Dr. Wang is by far the worst teacher I've had at Cal Poly. Not once did he give us time to do practice problems in class, he never gave us a single worksheet or group work. He spent the whole time lecturing about how to derive the formulas we were supposed to use, but told us we didn't need to know how to derive. This is my fourth year at Cal Poly and considering it is the lowest grade I have ever gotten in a class I would say its more of a reflection of his horrible teaching style than it is my intelligence or study habits. I spent a week straight studying for the final and I did everything he said to do to study for it and more, and still didn't do well. If you go to him with questions, most of the time he will look at you like you're an idiot and say something alongs of I already explained this, why don't you understand it, and doesn't understand the fact that if we are asking a question, it's obvious we don't understand the convoluted way he explained it. This was a horrible experience and I hope nobody else has to suffer through it.

Dr. X is a good enough professor. His midterm was bearable, and he gave a really generous outline of the topics he was covering on the midterm and final. His quizzes were really manageable/easy if you did the homework and understood the concepts from the week. The only thing that I did not like about his teaching style was that he focused way to much on the derivation of equations, which was not helpful nor was it useful. He was also not the best in office hours. He tends to tell you "oh, it's actually really easy," which can be really frustrating if you're struggling with a concept. His final was also ridiculously hard. A test should reflect the types of problems you prepare with, but there was no way to prepare for the level of complexity of the questions on his final. It ripped everyone a new one, no one finished before the 3 hours . However, if you study really hard, and do well in lab/quizzes/midterm; you should be fine in the class because he gives a pretty generous curve. Overall, he's not the best professor, because he's really boring and slightly intimidating, but if you have to take him, his class is passable. I got a B with minimal effort throughout the quarter.

I thought Dr. X was a good professor. You could tell that he heavily prepared for all of his lectures because they were all very thorough and clear. However, he is not a good professor to ask clarifying questions to because there is definitely a language barrier. As long as you understood the lecture material it was fine. He gives a quiz every week that helps to reinforce the concepts from the lectures. Overall, I would recommend Dr. X, because he works hard to be a good professor and wants you to do well. I learned a lot in this class and thought it wasn't too bad.

Wang seems knowledgeable and interested in this subject, however he doesn't effectively relay this knowledge. His slides--while they are provided to students--are very dense and hard to understand because he rushes through them. He also has a habit of assuming something is common sense, when the concept is actually very new to many students. Wang doesn't give thorough explanations to topics covered in class and I honestly learned more and scored higher on quizzes when I read the textbook on my own (not preferable when taking a bunch of other classes). When approached with questions, Wang doesn't give good explanations and either restates what he previously said or says that it's common sense and it's easy to understand. The way he organizes his class is also confusing; the homework assigned doesn't align with the material covered on the quizzes and he doesn't announce when we begin a new section. Also my class' midterm average was a 69% which is actually the highest average that he's ever taught.

Wang doesn't really teach the material, he just skims through his powerpoint. His tests are super easy, but sometimes docks a lot of points for small mistakes.

Dr. Jack is a boss! His lectures are pretty straightforward and organized on powerpoint, and I had no trouble following along. His lab is pretty easy and he helps you through any issues you're having. Tests can be tricky, but really not that difficult. Overall great guy, seems to care about his students when they care about the class.

He really is not a good professor. However, he curves the class A LOT because no one understands the material. Go to the class to do your classwork problems and you will be fine. I got C+ on both midterms and a D- on the final and got a B+ in the class. That's how much he curves. I liked it because I really didn't put enough work into studying for this class but walked off with a decent grade. I'd say it's worth taking him even if you have a bad rotation, but teach yourself and he will curve the class to give you a good grade (C+ is average apparently).

Dr. X really does care about his students. Yes, he has an accent, but it's nothing to worry about. His office hours are great. He is much better at clearing up certain topics 1 on 1. The quizzes are much easier than the tests, so make sure you grab those easy points. Sure, his tests are difficult, but he definitely teaches you everything you need to know for them, and don't listen to anyone who says otherwise. He curves the overall grades, and he's not out to fail students. He even told me he's very generous with giving out A's. Overall, I really enjoyed Dr. X and I don't think his 2.0 average does him justice.

Jack Jack Jack...... oh man! if you are taking his class you are in for a load of fun..... and by fun i mean studying for hours preparing for the single midterm in the class (which you will undoubtedly not do well on) and the final which he never tells you the grade on. I may have gotten a B- in this class but without the final i had a D+ and i am almost positive i failed the final. He told us that the test should only take 2 hours but it took the entire class minus on person the full three hours and that one person finished 5 minutes before time. The average on the midterm was a 62% and Jack apparently was okay with that! Somehow that doesnt make sense! how can you be okay with the average being a D- . Anyways if you take Jack dont stress out about your grade because you almost undoubtedly will NOT FAIL due to jack wanting to keep his job so he curves like a motherfucker at the end of the quarter.

Professor Wang writes RIDICULOUSLY HARD EXAMS that require more time to complete than is given. Prepare yourself for a full quarter of mediocre grades that leave you unsure where you stand tell your final grade is posted.

Really good teacher - kind of a thick accent but you get used to it. I kind of ended up with a B in the class, but I participated in class a lot so he ended up bumping me up to an A. Super chill dude

Super easy quizzes, but super hard midterm/final. You only get 1 midterm and that basically determines your grade going into the final. Labs are super easy because you and your lab partners take turns writing lab reports while doing lab and he walks around making sure you're doing it right. Class is very chill and has a pattern to it which is great so you're not going into class and have a surprise quiz waiting for you. He also makes you do activity problems which are just practice problems and 1 group will show it on the board to the class (very fun). Study his notes VERY CAREFULLY for his midterm and final. The problems that you don't think will be on the midterm/final, WILL show up. Very nice professor, but his curve ball on midterm/final was too much to handle.

His quizzes were super easy and based off of the hw and what he taught in class, but the final had some serious curveball questions. The final and midterm problems required so many combinations of formulas and so many steps, many of which that we had never done any problems similar to at all. Class average on the one midterm he have us was a 62%. When we all finished the final we all felt like we failed it so bad, we probably all did really horrible on it. Professor Wang is a super nice guy though, he doesn't like to fail his students so he curves your entire grade super generously after the final. You never find out how much he curves, but as long as you try even if you get an F on both the midterm and the final ( I'm talking like 35%) but do good on the quizzes and labs, he'll pass you with at least a D.

I found the lectures to be extremely boring and unhelpful. Students in other classes were learning much more and I felt like I was constantly missing material. He only lectures from a powerpoint and his example problems are unhelpful. If you do end up with him: --Sit in front on by projector, some of his slides are tiny --Midterm is WAY harder than quizes, study concepts --coffee

Dr. Wang is a very nice guy who helps you if you ever need help during labs or have other questions. However, his teaching skills are a bit subpar, giving us too much information at one time, making us unaware of problems that were extremely important versus the derivations of equations that are extremely unnecessary to know. As for grading, he is very strict, taking half credit off of questions that should get minus one point versus minus 5. His quizzes are pretty doable however be wary of his grading, and his tests (2 in the quarter) throw giant curveballs at the whole class. Half of them are multiple choice, which really brings down everyone's grades even through we truly understand the subject, so I feel like his tests don't truly reflect our knowledge of the subject. At the end of the year, he curves everyone's final grade so the average is C+, however it doesn't help much at all. Honestly, he is an okay teacher and a great guy, but if you struggle with physics I would advise trying not to take him.

Dr. Jack keeps students accountable. Just spend time on the homework because you can’t just understand the content the way he explains it in class. He has a good sense of what his students understand. I didn’t do well on the quizzes and did average on his one midterm. Put some time into understanding every quiz and simple concepts introduced throughout this course, then demonstrate that you learned on the final. Ask questions during labs because he will help you understand the purpose. His curve is extremely generous. Trust yourself.

AVOID. No homework is collected. EXTREMELY large portion of grade is defined by 6 quizzes (weighted 5% each) that you WILL NOT have time to complete. The one midterm NO ONE completed in time. I've never had a professor where I can assuredly say there was a curve ball on every single thing he would hand us. I'm down to have difficulty in quizzes and tests but only if there is the teaching to back it up. When there's only mediocre teaching, the class becomes sheer frustration. At least he curves the overall class average to a C+.