Panunto, Michael  

Dr. Panunto is a number of things: very relaxed, not boring, but not the best instructor. He was my professor for 121 and 122 lecture classes and I hardly did any work for the class both quarters. There is one homework assignment due each week, and one quiz each week. However, by the middle of the second quarter he had stopped giving quizzes altogether. This may be due to the fact that he was chapters behind all of the other 121/122 professors, but it was still nice. I usually skipped class once a week and only studied the weekend before the midterms and finals. He was helpful when kids had questions, so all together a decent teacher. After hearing other students' experiences with the other 120 professors, I would definitely reccomend Panunto.

Panunto makes the 131 lab very easy. He writes up your lab reports and all you have to do is fill in the blanks. You will never be in lab for the whole three hours; I was never in there for more than two. Every now and then he would finish the lab with a tricky question that would frustrate everyone, but for the most part it was as easy as possible.

Panunto was a really good teacher. I learned a lot in his class even though I wouldn't normally be interested in physics. There's homework due once a week and a quiz at the end of class once a week. the midterms are show your work problems and are very doable if you've been paying attention in class. The main thing in this class is to write down all the notes that he writes on the board. They are very, very neat notes (which is very nice!) everything is easy to understand and I would wholeheartedly recommend Panunto to anyone. very nice teacher

Though it didn't piss me off (I learned all this BS last year in AP Physics), I think the rest of my classmates were pissed that he lectured a week behind the homework assignments, forcing the class to learn everything on our own. I'm not to fond of his curce policy either. He uses that standard deviation mess which probably threw my A down to a B. "Quit whining, you got a B" you say? Well when you get stuck with other teachers that bend you over and have their way with you, you NEED the extra grade point. But I digress... He brings in "toys" occasionally to demonstrate some concepts, I personally think that he gets too much of a kick out of them than a grown man should. Overall, a decent teacher who exceeds the norm of crappy teachers that I have.

I got a B- for the class, but this professor is not so good for lecture. He didnt pick up the pace although we were a week behind on the materials. The homeworks assigned by the phys department is not easy at all, time consuming and some of them are difficult. He never goes over homework problems until we turned it in, it seems like he expects all the students to go to his office hours to get help or something. His weekly quizzes are pretty easy, midterms and final are difficult. Although you get to pick 5 out of 6 problems on the midterms/final, they are rather difficult, each of the questions consist atleast 4 parts, a b c d and so on. The final was so difficult, the questions were nothing like the homework problems or any examples that he presented in the class.

His lectures didn't do anything for me, I learned more than this last year in AP physics. I only went to class to turn in homework of one day, and then to take the quiz the other day, and slept during the entire class. If I had put the slightest bit of effort in I would have easily gotten an A. The midterm was cake, the final a tad more dificult, but totally manageable nonetheless. Take him if you know your physics, he was a week behind in lecture and didn't care to pick up the pace at all.

I don't think Panunto understands what it is to teach. He assigns homework on material he has not covered, and then makes the students turn it in so his incredibly harsh grader can grade them. Then, AFTER the homework has been turned in, he teaches it. Although he does eventually teach the material decently, it is very frustrating to try and do the homework by teaching yourself from that shitty book. Also, he does a *horrible* job preparing the students for the midterm and final. His example problems in class are all pretty easy, but the midterm and final are VERY hard, NO WHERE NEAR the level of the class material. He put a question on the final that he had *mentioned* one time in class, and that we had done no homework on. Also, 20% of your grade in this PHYSICS class is based on a WRITING assignment.

He is the BEST lab teacher. Not only were we out of the lab in less than 2 hours each time, but there was no write-ups. He'd give you a packet for the lab, and all you'd have to do is fill in the blanks. He made lab fun, because there was not a crap load of work, so you could enjoy doing the lab, and take your time. Great lab professor.

I took Panunto some quarters back (it may have been his first quarter here, or maybe second). I thought he was pretty good (though we never had a writing assignment, so he may have changed stuff since then). He's certainly better than some other physics instructors you could have (*cough*Schwartz*cough*). Anyway, the main reasons I'm writing is to point out that his PhD is NOT in philosophy. If the previous guy had an above-room-temperature IQ, he would probably know that back in ye olden tymes, physics was referred to as 'natural philosophy.' The fact that the PhD certificate mentions 'philosophy' is a throwback to that fact; it does not mean his PhD is in Philosophy. Seriously, use a little common sense. Would they let someone teach a physics class if his doctorate's in phil? Don't think so. With that sort of logic, it's a miracle if you passed the class at all...

One B away from a 4.0. But I won't take it out on Panunto, even though it's probably just because of a minor technicality mid-quarter on his essay (yes, you do have to write an essay). But I'll be fair and give him a C, what he deserves. He IS John average physics teacher. He's not boring, but nothing really distinguishes him. He's not funny, he doesn't have any weird quirks, he just gets up and talks about physics for an hour and a half. Homework is somewhat annoying. He explains things fairly well, but he doesn't listen to students and generally answesr questions they never asked.

Don't take this guy if you don't already know physics like the back of your hand. Not a single student I talked to thought they learned ANYTHING from this guy's lectures. I got a 98% in HS kenematics (had ALL of the same scope as his class), yet I get a C in this guys class? Why, you might ask? Because of lame stuff like I was able to solve the most basic of physics problems without a diagram (minus 15% total grade) Basic crap. I ended up tutoring his other students cause they needed someone who actually cared about teaching the material instead of doing stupid demos that nobody gets since they don't understand the subject (or they're too bored to care)

Dr. Panunto is a great proffesor. Not only that he know physics really well, he can explain them better. His lectures are clear, straight-forward and very physics-oriented. You can take really good notes from attending his lectures, and just study them for midterms and finals. He collects homework and gives a quiz every week, so you wont fall behind his class. Final grade account for homework, quiz, 1 midterm and final. I took him for both physics 131 and 132. I think i learned a lot from him. GREAT prof. take him if u can.

Dr. Panunto is a terrible professor. His doctorate is in philosophy not physics. He teaches you how to do the homework after he collects it. He never gives enought time for his quizes and they cover material that he just lecture on that same day. His homework is very carefully graded to give you as few points as possible. The only reason I am not totally screwed this quarter is because i got an A in 131 and 132 and make frequent visits to the tutoring center, which i never did in 131 or 132. He is also worthless in office hours... I ask him a question from the homework and he wrote up all the equations which I had previously written out and stared blankly at it for 20 min, then he was like I'll have to think about this some more. Enough said.

I learned that if I were to take up hunting, I should shoot deer, not bears, because a bear will hunt me back if I successfully wound it. Fascinating! I didnt know that the key to production and operations management was so brutally simple!