Planck, John  

I'd like to preface everything I have to say by including this: Professor Planck inherited nearly all the material from Paul Hatalsky's CPE 225 course. Apparently the only section offered this quarter was going to be cancelled, but Planck stepped in pretty last minute to take it on and I really commend him for and appreciate that. I think this didn't do him any favors when it came to being able to teach the class, and I imagine it's tough to teach someone else's curriculum. That being said, this was a challenging quarter. The course itself is quite tricky for those newer to programming who may have never seen assembly language or C before. Planck's lectures were quite difficult to follow: he usually sat at his computer going through Hatalsky's PowerPoints looking at his screen as he went through them. He talked pretty fast, but sometimes clarified what was being said with diagrams on the whiteboard. I think he is best described as a classic example of "very, very intelligent person with experience in the workforce who has not yet evolved into or learned good teaching strategy". He is not, as it stands today, a teacher. In spite of all I've said, he is a fair and rational person. Several times he threw out questions on tests because he understood the tests were hard and lengthy and the class had become a struggle for all of us. So there is reason for hope here. Most of all I think he just needs to find his identity as a teacher and improve his communication skills for practice. For now, I might say it would be best if you could get Hatalsky or one of the other "true" 225 professors, but hopefully as time goes on Planck will begin to hone in on a better approach.

Shit for CPE 225, honestly. He's a nice guy but can't figure out how to teach... class is passable, but honestly terrible at teaching assembly. The C portion is a lot better.

Planck was a very good guy who struggled sometimes with lecturing. Admittedly the strike hurt his ability to effectively teach, but almost everything seemed rushed. Still, he tried to help students understand the best he could, and did a good job helping students in lab. The labs were fair and easily graded. I didn't understand assembly well enough on the first midterm and got a C, but I studied hard and things clicked by the end and I pulled myself up to an A in the class.

Planck is the sweetest man. He is SUPER mellow and soft-spoken. I had a hard time staying awake during lectures because his voice is like a lullaby. Although I personally adore this man, he isn't the best lecturer. He reads off powerpoints word-for-word which combined with his soft voice creates a white-noise effect; great for napping. If you are self-motivated and learn well on your own then take Planck! If not, I'd suggest taking another prof's class.

Super nice and chill guy, not the best professor. Grade consists of 8 assignments (all very difficult and not to mention time consuming), 2 midterms and 1 final. I found this class insanely difficult, and I had to teach myself everything by reading the book and reviewing the powerpoint. Planck seriously needs to work on his lecturing - he clearly knows what he is doing but he cannot convey the material at all. He literally reads off of his powerpoint and expects us to understand everything!! Don't take him.

Planck gets a bad rap. His lectures might not be the most exciting, but he presents the material clearly and definitely knows what he's talking about. If you'really worried about getting Planck, don't be. Just pay attention, do all the projects, ask questions, etc. This is not an easy class you can just cruise in. He doesn't trick you into thinking it's easier or simpler than it is causing you not to study, unlike some more popular professors.

Planck is a nice guy but looks like he's about to fall asleep when giving lectures. He reads off Hatalsky's slides and will draw a few diagrams on the board which then results in chalk getting all over his pants. He's a fair grader on midterms so passing the class is not challenging, but some of the projects are very hard if assembly doesn't come naturally to you.

For me John Planck was one of the best Cal Poly CS professors I have had. What people say about the lectures being a little slow is somewhat true but I would not say it is as bad everyone else makes it out to be. He does indeed lecture off of powerpoint slides but I found them to be very helpful in explaining the concepts. If you have an attention span longer than 5 minutes you should be able to gather all the information you need to perform the assignments just by listening to what he is saying. Also the book that Planck assigns for this class is dry but extremely informative and was definitely conducive to me doing well in the class. Overall I would recommend Planck and am glad that he is now teaching CPE 357.

Planck gets a bad rap for no reason. Yeah, he can be a boring and a bit awkward, but he's incredibly smart. If you can manage to stay awake during his lectures, you'll learn a lot. 225 is incredibly powerpoint based, which is unfortunate, but just try to absorb as much as you can. If you have any questions, he's always there to answer them, either by email or in person. I was horrible at this class, but I talked to him every class and I could tell he really wanted me to succeed. I'm surprised he hasn't changed the structure of the class because he knows the LC3 is a totally useless processor. As long as it isn't a 7am section, take Planck. If you hate computer science, he might just get you to tolerate it.

Planck was asleep half the time in my class. If you have to take him, don't take the 7 am section. He knows his stuff, but his lecture is just him talking about his slides. He is helpful in office hours though. Just study the slides and go to his office hours a lot and you'll be fine.

Yes, I got a lower grade in this course, but the lectures were dry, he sped through material, and honestly did make himself as avaiable as he could in his office hours. I ended up surviving the quarter by borrowing another professors lectures that weren't so dry. 225 in general is a difficult course for students, so its ok to be confused. Tests are difficult with diagrams and such, but it is mainly because the material is so packed. About a program a week or two for the pace.

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I GOT AN A IN A COMPUTER SCIENCE CLASS. PLANK GIVES EXTRA CREDIT AND HE DOESN'T GIVE PLUS OR MINUS GRADES, WHICH REALLY SAVED MY ASS FROM GETTING A B+. PLANK IS A SUPER COOL GUY AND MAKES THE CLASS INTERESTING. THE CLASS AVERAGES WERE ALL PRETTY HIGH. ITS NOT EASY BUT HE'S THERE FOR YOU IF YOU NEED HELP.

Planck was a good teacher. He passes out print outs of the slides which are helpful (though this results in few notes being taken since the info is all on the slides). 225 is pretty rough for about the first half of the class, getting used to assembly and thinking like a machine, and Planck told us that. I never went to office hours, but in lab if you had a question he seemed pretty helpful in helping you understand concepts. Most of your grade relies heavily on exams, so if you want a good grade in the class, you HAVE to perform well on tests. I think something like 60% of your grade is made up of exams. Overall, I think Planck did a good job teaching tough material to teach to people who have never come across it before. I also should add that I felt he was a pretty lenient grader on midterms compared to other professors like Humer.

It doesn't look like Planck will be teaching this class again, but if he does, please please please heed this warning and do not take him. 315 has the potential to be a super interesting class where you can really bridge the gap between hardware and software. Or so I heard. The quarter isn't over, but I can confidently say I have learned very little from this professor. Granted, it was his first time teaching this class, but this class is a waste of 2 hours every day. He never really knows what's going on, he just takes all the material from Lupo's course. The problem with that is if there's a mistake on Lupo's material, Planck has no idea and doesn't realize it till he realizes the entire class wants to pull their hair out because we're so stressed. Just don't do it.

The whole class just seems...lost. The final project is completely useless. I'm scared af. Take Lupo.

Dear lord do not take him. The entire class is collectively confused on every word that comes out of his mouth. Hell, sometimes even he seems confused as to what he's saying. Planck is a VERY nice person, but man he cannot teach 315 to save his life. As someone else said, everything is taken from Lupo's class. There's 5 labs, 5 quizzes, 1 final project, 1 midterm, and 1 final. I can confidently say I have learned very very little this quarter. This class has been the cause of the majority of my stress, and I'm taking 357 as well. That should tell you how bad this is. Don't do it.

Though Dr. Planck is extremely nice, this can't cover up the fact that he cannot teach well. His lecture seemed unorganized. He's extremely lenient on grading. I thought I completely messed up the midterm but he gave me a lot of points and it ended up with a B+. So, if you want an easy A or B without learning anything, take him. Otherwise please don't.

Terrible. Doesnt explain material clearly and mumbles way too much. He grades our projects after a month so we dont know our grade until the very end. Dodge a bullet and dont take him unless you want to suffer.

Professor Planck is a solid lab instructor. He is smart and good at recognizing student issues and providing solutions, but not necessarily great at communicating. He puts in a lot of effort though - he spent a ton of time helping people with their projects outside of scheduled lab time and is also clearly getting better at teaching. At this point in time, he is a good choice for a lab instructor. If he continues to improve, he could be a great lab instructor.