Van Wyngaarden, Willem  

THis guys awesome. He presents new material clearly, grades fairly, and his tests are reasonable. He starts every lecture with a review of the last, and explains everything in detail. He collects homework twice a week, and there is a quiz or midterm every friday, which makes you keep up with the material. One of the best teachers I have had at Cal Poly so far. By the way don't take Boone, that guys an idiot.

This guy is pretty tough. He did examples, but they were fast and totally wierd looking and hard to follow. His grading scale was pretty low I guess to make up for his poor teaching. The worst thing about him was that he doesn't know how to answer a question. I had him for Lab, too, and whenever you ask him any type of question, he'd come out with some talk about something totally unrelated to what you want to know. It was like he didn't need to hear your question; he already had his "answer" ready to give to you. And he wasn't too friendly in office hours. But he's kinda wacky.

Overall, he is a good professor. I liked that hw was collected twice a week and quizzes were given weekly. This really helps students stay on top of things. Also, all of the tests are pretty straight forward. Unfortunately he's not very good at answering questions in class or lab, but in office hours he can be much more helpful.

I had him for my lab only. He grades the reports quite hard, and in my opinon, he didn't help me understand physics. He also did sample problems from the homework. which is both good and bad, because that helped a little, but we usually went over three hours because of it.

Van Wyngaarden is an okay teacher. His tests are really hard, and they're usually only five-ten problems, so there's not too much room for error there. He's a decent lecturer, but if you have him for lab, he'll spend at least the first thirty to forty minutes doing problems and lecturing. He believes that drawing a picture is the solution to everything; he'll work out a free-body diagram and then say, "Well, we're done now." You'll be totally stupefied as to how to do the problem, and then he'll nonchalantly say, "Oh, I guess I could work the problem out, if you guys need it."

Dr. Van Wyngaarden was very fair and tought the material well. His tests are a breeze if you understand the material. The class is a little boring and some of the homework is far from what is done in class. But I learned the material very well and didn't have much trouble at all.

Wyngaarden gets concepts across very well. He teaches at a high speed, but in doing so, goes over a concept several times. He occasionally brings in demonstrations, but they are superficial since he's such a good *teacher*. He'll basically pound material into your head. His test and quiz questions are very fair, but he gives too little time for quizzes. And sometimes, he comes off as a teacher who works against the student. He will mark a question completely wrong if you have a scalar labeled as a vector, and he gets more strict on grading his free-body diagrams as the quarter progresses. I highly recommend him for lecture only if you wish to learn/master physics and you have a good background in it, but if you care about your grade, aren't a science major, etc, try to take someone else. It's not the end of the world if you get stuck with him though. He is excellent in lab. He spends up to an hour going over concepts and helping people with homework problems which is most helpful, especially if you take the lab late in the week. He will also help you with the lab, the write up, and any questions if you get stuck. His write ups are semi-tedious, but once you see what he wants, they aren't bad at all. I highly recommend him for lab no matter what your background.

If you go to the lecture everyday and take notes the quizes and midterms will be no surprise. He lectures on everything you need to do and does plenty of examples. He is a fair grader. He does collect home work. In the lab he was a very hard grader. Durning the lab he does home work problems for about an hour. I reocmmend taking mr. Van Wyngaarden he is a funny Irish man that has some sense of humor. Just draw a free body diagram and read it!!!!!

This teacher is very difficult to deal with. He scribbles a bunch of illegible formulas on the board which are so confusing because his r's, v's, u's and "mew's" all look the the same! Kinematics and Rotation was like trying to play scrabble. He spends virtually all his time at the board, with an occasional example, usually ends class late, and clings to the a Nazi grading system on tests and quizzes. He's a likable guy, but avoid him for Lecture. He's pretty cool for lab. Side note: His graders for homework were inconsistent. Sometimes they were cool, but were often bastards.

Van Wyngaarden was rather repetitive in his lectures, but I liked it that way- I never missed anything because he reiterated it a few more times. He's a little quirky, but then he's a physics prof; it's to be expected. He was really good about helping students work through the homework and answering questions, especially in his office hours. Definitely take advantage of his office hours- it really helped me get back on track after I bombed the first midterm. I'd recommend him- just don't expect someone with a lot of personality.

I'd say VanWyngaarden is a great professor, going to lectures and taking good notes made this class really straight forward. Highly recommended.

He is a brillient guy. He is a very fair teacher. He lectures on everything that he will test you on so the test questions are no surprise. His lectures are sometimes boring but he does a good job making jokes and bringing in deminstrations that go with the material.

Mixed reviews on this guy. I had to withdrawl cause I got sick and had 18 units as it was. A friend of mine loved him, personally I hated him. We had class 2 days a week, and 1 of the 2 days he would make perfect sense- the other would be complete incoherient babbling. If there's something better take it, if not you can probably make it. He is cool in labs.

This man knows his physic EXTREMELY well. My problem is how he grades. He is the pickiest man i've ever taken and will reem you points for careless errors. Talking to him in office hours about a grade dispute is like talking to a brick wall. If you know your physics very well and don't make stupid mistakes, then he can teach you a lot. But for the average student, like myself, i don't think i would take him again.

He's a good guy and very understanding. I'm not sure how clear he is as a professor, however. But try to see him during office hours -- he sincerely cares for his students.

Interesting professor. Nothing to rave about. I had him for lab. He would usually spend about 30 minutes to an hour lecturing about the lab, then you would go and do it. He prefers that everything be done by hand, so rarely did you get to use the computers to type up the reports or to print out graphs. He is sometimes a little evasive on your lab. He may come over and move things around that your already had set up then do it his way. As long as he is helping though I suppose. I would take him again for lab, but probably wouldn't for lecure.

He's a nice guy. I think he's quite terrible at teaching, however. He only derives the equations you need for the homework. He rarely does helpful example problems, and doesn't help you understand physics. His tests are difficult, but the grading is even more difficult. Luckily there is a fat curve, but it is still very difficult to get an A in this class. Be prepared to teach yourself physics if you get Van Wyngaarden.

The first time you will leave Prof. VW class, you will be sure you bombed on choosing a physics instuctor. But after you get used to his accent and semi-different notations (which happens pretty fast) the class is a breeze. The tests are relatively easy and graded fairly. Where Prof. VW really stood out was in office hours. I came to see him about once a week to recieve assistance, never at his office hours. Still, Prof. VW helped me for half hour-hour and made sure that I understood everything to the bone, and then gave me a ten minute prep talk for the next class. For me, it was a private tutoring session from a university professor for free at my spare time.

I had the pleasure of having Dr. VanWyngaarden for lab in 133. Despite the fact that it was at the very unpleasurable time slot of 6-9 PM on Thursdays, it was somewhat tolerable. He makes the procedure very straightforward, and will go so far as to do most of it for you if you're a nimrod (as he did a few times for me). He doesn't just let you have at it, though, and usually lectured for about the first hour on how everything works. Sometimes it was interesting, and sometimes it wasn't, but I suppose I did learn a few things in the lab. That, at least, made it less useless than my 131 and 132 labs, from which I learned nothing at all.

Dr. Van Wyngaarden is an excellent teacher once you get used to him. He will collect all the homework on the syllabus, which is a lot, but his tests and quizzes are fair, and they count much more in determining your grade. You'll need to pay attention in his class, because he writes really fast and moves through the material quickly. He is good at spotting student difficulties in lecture that relate to homework or test problems, but less so at understanding your difficulties in lab. Speaking of lab, he lectures the first hour before you start the lab, so if your used to an easy PHYS 132 lab you might be surprised to spend three hours or close to it in his lab. Van Wyngaarden is also a fair grader. Overall, I recommend him as a teacher.

Willem slogged through this course more like it was a refresher course than first-time material. He did not understand if students were having difficulties. His answer to how you do things: Just do them. Be sure and take his classes if you wish to learn nothing and have to retake the courses with different professors.

What sticks out in my mind is that his test are among the hardest I've ever taken. His average grade was around 45%. Don't fear though, he knows his test are hard and curves nicely. He knows the material better than the spelling of his last name and teaches it well. If your not one for physics, don't take him. If ya like physics, take him, but be prepared to study...alot. As far as lab goes, plan to be there for the full period.

Great physics professor, that will *force* you to learn the principles & theory - makes difficult work seem easy. You'll come out of this course with all of the theory intact. Doing well on the midterms/final.... well, that's a different story - he'll deduct you on any error, even the small ones.

The first time you will leave Prof. VW class, you will be sure you bombed on choosing a physics instuctor. But after you get used to his accent and semi-different notations (which happens pretty fast) the class is a breeze. The tests are relatively easy and graded fairly. Where Prof. VW really stood out was in office hours. I came to see him about once a week to recieve assistance, never at his office hours. Still, Prof. VW helped me for half hour-hour and made sure that I understood everything to the bone, and then gave me a ten minute prep talk for the next class. For me, it was a private tutoring session from a university professor for free at my spare time.

Dr. Van Wyngaarden is definitely the professor to take for PHYS 133. He lectures well (although he writes really fast), tells some good jokes, and his accent is nothing to worry about. He collects homework, gives a quiz every Friday, and has two midterms. The homework isn't too long, and his test questions are always fair. If you have questions on the grading he will give you a fair hearing. He is very precise and you'll need to mimic his attention to detail as best as you can (sloppy diagrams and improper notation will affect your quiz and exam grades). Otherwise, if you participate in class (by this I mean doing the homework, as well as asking questions), you should have no trouble getting the grade you want.

Dr. Van Wynngarden is a highly recommended teacher; but beware, he doesnt take it from students and he is a very tough grader on tests. His lectures are fast paced but repetitive of the subject material which makes the student focus in a little better. You can write great notes in his lectures, if you pay attention, and that helps alot on tests. He is very strict about what is to be and not to be on the test. Make sure that you draw diagrams well, and show the COMPLETE work on the tests because he grades you down if you do not but it does not look like he would grade you up. He sorta expects you to know what you are doing. His class comprises of Homework (10%), 3 Tests (50%), and a Final (40%). He curves, so that is somewhat a relieve. Overall this professor was enjoyable, but he does work you.

Van Wyngaarden, in truth, is a very knowledgable professor; however, his ways of teaching and dealing with students have some serious issues. He is quite merciless towards students with difficulties in his lectures and don't care about them at all. If you're quite comfortable with physics concepts and get the homework problems easily, his class is easy. But, if u're the kind of students that struggles and need guidance from your professor, don't even think about taking van wyngaarden. Office hours are useless when he doesn't even try to help the students understand the concept and when you tried to ask him the material covered on mid-terms, all he'll say is: "I'm not allow to say because it'll be unfair to the rest of the class". And when the question is asked in class instead of office hr, he'll say "Study all the chapters that we've covered". Basically, go over all the chapters in the book.... Take him if u're good in physics, don't take him if u plan to have troubles in physics.

This guy really knows what he is talking about, and he is also a hard-ass. Trying to talk to him about a poorly graded test is almost like squeezing water from a rock. Averages on tests are around 50-60%, and of course there is a fat curve at the end of the class. He really has his shit together when it comes to teaching, but he's a nazi when it comes to grading. If you want a challenge, take this guy. If you do take this guy, know that..THE EXAMPLES ON THE BOARD END UP ON THE TESTS!!

this prof blows. He is the shittiest man alive. he can go stick his canadian ass in an ice hole. Im a really smart guy and shitty at studying, but usually get good grades. I put my usual amount of time in and got a shitty grade and ive had some hard teachers like lacasio. Do not take this over the hill piece of trash, real trash.

Wyngaarden is an excellent teacher, although personally I think most students don't take advantage of his strong points. In office hours he's excellent, and he doesn't try brushing aside questions that might seem easy. His office hours were really convenient (right after both lectures!), so I could ask questions when the material was still fresh in my mind. I've learned far more in this class than I did in any other given class, and I feel I've got a strong understanding for the E&M (being an electrical engineer that helps), and I was using the material from my physics class in my circuits class to analyze the problems.

This guy is good at teaching the material, but when it comes to dealing with the students on an individual basis, he sucks. Talking to him about a test that you feel was graded unfair is pretty much useless. He is a very unapproachable professor, and I felt like visiting him in office hours was a waste of time. His grading is very easy on homework, but on tests he is impossibly hard. He would mark answers incorrect even when the answer given was correct. Try to avoid him for physics 133... if you can take someone else, do it.

Wyngaarden knows his physics, there is no doubting that. You will be intimidated by his knowledge of physics and his way of presenting it the first few classes. His way of teaching the class is by writing down what he will be presenting and doing examples for the entire period. He might write down a paraphrased definition, but the majority of the time he's at the board, he's either drawing a diagram or working with an equation. He stresses that for every problem, you should draw a clear diagram. He will not give you points if you draw a correct diagram but completely screw up the problem, but a correctly drawn diagram makes him more lenient in his grading. Two homework assignments due each week, he gives them back in a timely manner. He is a very tough grader, but he is consistent. I remember on the first quiz we took, I accidently labeled Force vectors as Electric Field vectors and even though I got the question completely correct, because I used "F" instead of "E," I got a 0 on that problem. This is a common occurance. He doesn't have a defined grading scale for the class, but on each quiz, he'll write down the curved scores and how many people received A's, B's, C's, D's and F's. This doesn't tell help you figure out your grade because he says that the curved scale on quizzes is not guaranteed to be the same scale he uses for the final grade, it tells you how you are doing relative to the rest of the class. The material is challening, he's a harsh grader, but he provides a generous curve. I only approached him once about why I didn't receive points on a problem and because I was right, he gave me points back. I don't know about people who say arguing their grades with him is like talking to a brick wall, if you have a valid case, he'll give points where points are due. He's a great instructor, a bit harsh on the grading, but bearable. Just learn from the examples on the board (which will make their way to the quizzes and midterms), reference the book and do the homework and you should be fine.

First off, VanWyngaarden looks like the bartender from boondock saints, which is just really cool. There is one homework due each week, a few quizzes, 2 midterms and the final. The homework is good for undertanding the material, but all his quizzes/midterms are straight out of the lecture notes. He put almost the exact same examples as he gave us in notes but tweaked numbers or the position of a particle or something. The material isnt very hard, but if you're having trouble, put all the examples from your notes on your notecard because the questions are basically the exact same. My friend scanned six pages of notes and printed them out on one sheet and he had most of the questions on the final on his sheet already...lucky bastard. Oh, one more thing. He has this way of saying everything like a question, pauses, and then answers his own question right as someone finally decides to speak up. It's just a funny thing to keep your eye out for.

he is the dumbest piece of shit i have ever met in my life. he doesn't know how to teach and everything has to be his way. you are supposed to draw pictures for every problem imaginable and if you dont label or mislabel one thing, the whole problem is wrong. he doesn't listen to new ideas and you will not learn anything in this class. also he doesn't allow variables to change values for different parts of a problem (like for part a, b, c...). he also contradicts himself at least 3 times every class but doesn't even realize it

Awesome prof, makes things really easy to understand. tests straight out of the lecture, all conceptual, no numbers.

This guy was a bit tough at first. He's heavy on math and for the first few quizes he gave and the first midterm I did poorly as I was struggling with the math. But! I started going to office hours seeking help with the math and this guy would spend more than enough time trying to help me. Second midterm I did much better and I took the final yesterday and am pretty sure I aced it. It's amazing what asking for help can do. Oh...and a bit of advice...he deducts heavily for silly math mistakes but there is a way to beat this...USE SENTENCES to explain what you are doing...if you are conserving momentum state it. He doesn't want you to just plug and chug and as long as you show you understand physics he is a very nice grader. Worst thing about this professor is I hear he is retiring soon which is bad news for us physics majors.

Dr. Van Wyngaarden is a very interesting lecturer, and he explains physics pretty clearly. He gives reasonable exams, and he grades them fairly. He assigns a bit too much homework. I had a really hard time on his last few quizzes, because they were completely unrelated to the homework, and usually covered lecture material from one or two weeks previous. Overall, I would recommend him.

I liked his subtle and sometimes corny sense of humor and also his emphasis on principles instead of actual numbers. I was able to understand most of the material without ever having to read the textbook, which is rare for a physics class. His grading was quite fair and I really enjoyed taking the class with him.

Van Wyngaarden was a very good professor; he made the material interesting to the student. He explained things very clearly and his test grading was fair. He liked to crack subtle jokes during class and his famous answer on how to solve any problem is "well, you just do it!" I think he had a contract with Nike!

This guy spends about 75% of his time deriving formulas and doing fancy math to explain physics. Granted, its very difficult to understand physics without math, but, you definitely can't understand physics without physics. Between this guy and the book we're using, its almost all math and little physics, which sucks because Wyngaarden knows his stuff. The few times he actually talks physics he is very clear with his explanations, but overall his lectures are a waste of time. His tests are fair but he tends to not give enough time and he punishes severely for little mistakes.

I personally loved this professor!!! Incredible depth of knowledge about what he's teaching. This man knows physics. Homework is somewhat important (just to get the help in your grade at the end), but the tests are made from in class examples. I agree with the post a little below about the exams. There's a HUGE curve, so don't feel bad if you got a 40% ;-) VW's sense of humor is pretty corny, but is subtle and very funny when he actually follows through with something clever. I can't emphasize enough that for the type of material that he presented, he really knew how to explain it. In short, VERY good professor. Take him!!

Van Wyngaarden is a tough guy. He doesn't bother to hide his disdain for students who do poorly or don't pay attention. After our midterms, he actually got mad at the class because the average was so low. On the other hand, there is a big curve and he lays out the class in very simple terms so nothing is unexpected. For each of the midterms, he tells you what sort of problems there will be, and if you study those things the tests were actually pretty easy. Just make sure you take good notes. Most things on the tests come right from his notes, so if you go to class and take notes you shouldn't have any problems. The homework was helpful, but a lot of it doesn't follow what he's doing in class. So I'd say the most important thing is to pay attention in class and make sure you know what he's doing. If you can do that, I would definitely recommend him.

"Ok", Wyngaarden is a good professor and seriously makes up for a shitty book. Basically all you need to know has already been said, tests are made up of class examples, and there's a huge curve (I had an F going into the final and ended with a straight C). The first 3 questions on my final were exact questions from the midterms, which I had written on my note sheet. The material gets complicated after relativity but it wont be a problem as long as you actual do the homework and don't fall behind.

Every homework assignment had its solutions posted online and he handed out solutions to the exams the day the graded exams are given back to the students. By studing the solutions and studying the few examples he goes over in his lecture, I was able to do fairly well on the exams and final. He also has a large curve, although I think its a set curve he decided before hand. Off the top of my head, it was 88% - A, 66% - B, 44% - C, 22% - D.

The first part of the class was very clear and easy to understand. Once you get to wave functions, it will get much, much more confusing. He does a good job of explaining it; it's just not material that you will absorb from the lecture alone. The tests are well matched to the material and he stresses application and understanding above the slapping of numbers into equations. That said, they start out easy and get much more difficult.