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Corcoran, John

Cumulative GPA: 3.00/4.00 with 33 evaluations
Presents Material Clearly: 2.71
Recognizes Student Difficulties: 3.19

Electrical Engineering Department, Cal Poly, SLO
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EE 348 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 2:22 pm, Jun 15, 2006 Report Evaluation		Take him for lab. He's really easy because he tells you what values to use for the circuit before class and if you don't finish any of the labs, he lets you just simulate the results on the computer. He is also very helpful when you're not sure what's going on

EE 409 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 12:56 am, Apr 28, 2006 Report Evaluation		The one and only electronics prof I thought anything positive of here at poly. . . well I dont know why I'm writting this as this is his last quarter here. . . i guess its a tribute. . . .to one of the nicest people you will ever meet and best professors . . .will be greatly missed

EE 449 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 10:25 pm, Jan 23, 2006 Report Evaluation		Corcoran rocks!!! Take him for lab. He is truly an asset to Cal Poly!

EE 348 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 8:16 pm, Dec 20, 2005 Report Evaluation		Corcoran is by far the best lab professor I have ever had. We all know how difficult, frustrating, and time consuming EE labs can be... especially with the huge/complicated circuits that only work 10% of the time. However, with Dr. Corcoran, he will help you out along the way, and give you credit for what you have done and allow you to simulate the parts that didn't actually/physically work for equal credit. He knows that it's the concepts that matter, not whether or not you were lucky your chips weren't burnt out or your resistors aren't pushed in all the way. My lab partner and I went into the final with a 98% grade (lab reports, lab quizzes, lab demos) BEFORE the extra credit we did was added in. The lab final was a bit different from what most people expected, but as long as you did the labs and wrote the reports up correctly, there's no reason why you shouldn't have learned what you needed to know already. Professor Corcoran is my #1 choice for lab instructor for any course out of all the EE professors - actually, make that out of all of Cal Poly.

EE 308 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 12:17 pm, Dec 19, 2005 Report Evaluation		Prof. Corcoran was someone that I was skeptical about when I first signed up for his class, but would have regretted for the rest of my life had I not taken him. This guys knows everything about the material he lectures on (and much more), is a super nice guy to talk to in office hours, and goes out of his way to help you. He is always prepared and gives you plenty of heads up on what to expect on his quizzes (no exams, only quizzes throughout the quarter - but with no calculators, and no notes). His final wasn't too tough, and as long as you learned all the main concepts studied throughout the quarter, there's no way you couldn't pull off an A. Take him over any other professor for the electronics series of courses, you won't be disappointed at what you will learn and the grade you will earn.

EE 308 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: A Elective 12:55 pm, Aug 30, 2005 Report Evaluation		Oh, good ol' corcoran. Ya gotta love him. Definitely take him for lab. Lectures are hard to follow, but he's better than most of the alternative teachers out there. You really can't go wrong with him, unless you suck.

EE 212 Junior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 6:42 pm, Apr 28, 2005 Report Evaluation		Realy nice guy but a horrible lecturer in my opinion. Quizzes are easy but you must have a very clear understanding of the material if you wish to do well on his exams which is hard to do with is rambling during lecture. If you take him and want a good grade then have a study budy and be prepared to be "self-teaching".



EE 346 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 9:44 pm, Apr 1, 2004 Report Evaluation		Alright. If there's anyone who knows what's going on and more, this is your guy. Corcoran knows way too much about the material that you can expect a full in-depth explanation that will last 10 minutes to a simple 30-second question. This is not necessarily a bad thing, unless time is against you, which in the 306 labs it is most of the time. Very good professor... he actually has a sense of humor too. :) Very fair with grading. Easy A so long you do what you're supposed to.

EE 211 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 12:26 pm, Feb 25, 2004 Report Evaluation		He's a pretty good teacher, I messed up because I didn't pay enough attention to the test itself. He's a great guy in his office hours. Go to his office hours, work a little, and you'll be fine

EE 211 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 9:02 am, Aug 6, 2003 Report Evaluation		I did better in this class when I stoped going to his class and listening to his way of doing everything that was different from the book and previous knowledge (112). Stick to the book, its actually pretty good.

EE 211 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 11:43 am, Jul 30, 2003 Report Evaluation		I found it very diffucult to follow his lectures. I found myself (along with some fellow students) better off not going to lecture here and there. He lectures too fast and uses different methods than the book. Our regular book had one way of solving the problems, our Schaum's book another, and his way. Getting the homework done was most important. If the class did not do well on a quiz, he would appropriately take care of it. The material was interesting but I would not recommend taking him if you don't have too. Expect to do a little more reading on your own than normal if you take him.

EE 212 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 11:45 am, Jul 22, 2003 Report Evaluation		Good teacher. Sometimes gets a little long winded and confusing in his lectures but makes up for it in office hours. Easy tests, just study the practice tests he hands out before hand.

EE 302 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 11:35 am, Apr 8, 2003 Report Evaluation		Control Systems is his specialty. He did a great job presenting the material. He used Blackboard for all projections and all lecture notes were posted online. This class was very organized and interesting. I'd definately recommend taking him for this class.



EE 212 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 1:06 pm, Feb 7, 2003 Report Evaluation		This guy is okay... he's not the best but he's really into the subject. He doesn't do a great job explaining the material, but good enough that it's not too difficult to understand. His practice test that he gives out helps a great deal, his tests are decent, and he's a pretty fair grader.

EE 208 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 6:45 pm, Jan 31, 2003 Report Evaluation		I can understand the mixed reviews for this particular professor. I feel bad saying anything negative about him because he really is a nice person and friendly and helpful in office hours, etc. HOWEVER, not everyone has time to make it to office hours (I went maybe once). Truth is, his lectures were really hard to follow. Most of the time I walked way feeling I got nothing out of it, even if I TRIED to pay close attention. My best advice for this class is to try to study the examples in the book and really seriously concentrate on the practice exams, doing the problems over and over again until you get it. As for the partial credit on exams, he explains that if you make a calculation error and get an absurd answer (for example, a negative current that should NOT be negative), you should at least write a little note explaining that you realize it's wrong, and why. Otherwise, he assumes you don't understand the theory and you're just doing the math without really thinking about it. I bombed the first exam but once I learned how to handle them, I ended up acing the final. STUDY THOSE PRACTICE EXAMS and good luck!

EE 208 Junior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 6:00 pm, Dec 19, 2002 Report Evaluation		Gees... Corcoran is terrible! The lecture is a joke with him just mumbling to the board and covering nonrelavent material. His only grace is that he hands out practice tests before each midterm and the final. The practice tests are almost exactly like the real tests with changed numbers and some different circuit configurations. The homework doesn't help too much either. His grading also needs help. On 2 tests, he took off all points (meaning I got a 0 on the multi-part problem) because I missed the first part and that wrong number went through the rest of the problem (even though I did the rest of the problem correctly).. he needs to learn about PARTIAL CREDIT!

EE 211 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 2:09 pm, Oct 1, 2002 Report Evaluation		i think Dr. Corcoran is an ok lecturer. He is very nice and friendly in both class and office hours, but his lectures are not easy to follow. his grading is fair only if u study most of the materials by urself.

EE 208 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 4:08 pm, Aug 7, 2002 Report Evaluation		Corcoran is a really great guy. Unfortunately I had his class in the afternoon and he would put on the overhead and the whole class would promptly pass out. Great in office hours, always willing to do whatever was needed to help you understand the material. Midterms and grading not bad at all, just make sure you do the homework and you should be fine.

EE 211 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 11:47 am, Aug 1, 2002 Report Evaluation		Lectures were hard to understand and he often made mistakes on the board. His tests were a breeze. He gives you a practice test which is almost exactly the same as the midterm, except with a few minor changes. Take him if you learn well from the book.



EE 208 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 3:31 pm, Feb 6, 2002 Report Evaluation		excellent teacher. his lectures are usually confusing and frustrated, but just ask him questions in office hours or lab and you will have no problems. very approachable, very friendly and genuinely cares about how his students are doing and whether they are learning or not. best EE teacher i've had since i've been here.

EE 211 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 6:19 pm, Oct 23, 2001 Report Evaluation		Corcoran is a good teacher because he is willing to spend any amount of time necessary to make you understand the material. I highly recommend him for lab because of this, however if you find another highly rated professor for lecture I would take him instead. Midterms were no more than one page front and back, and the final was hard. He posts homework in the library before it is even due, but I heard he doesn't do that anymore. I used to just go into the library and copy the homework he posted the night before it was due. Make sure that if there are any Pspice problems you go and do them. They count a lot--I lost 2.5% of my grade because I didn't go to one.

EE 208 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 1:35 pm, Sep 5, 2001 Report Evaluation		Corcoran is an excellent professor. He will always take time to explain the material so you understand it. I think he is a bit harsh on his grading for not giving partial credit.

EE 208 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001 Report Evaluation		He does an excellent job in the lecture of covering the material, and the exams were not unreasonable. However, his real skill lies in his office. If you miss something in his (or a previous) class, he is extrordinary at helping you catch up.

EE 208 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001 Report Evaluation		Corcoran is a very personable professor. He seems to be able to understand what level the class is at very well. His tests are very fair as well as his grading policy. He has a friendly, approachable demeanor that complements his industry experience to relate important concepts. I also had him for the lab section, where his understanding of what the students do and DON'T know really shines.

EE 211 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 12:53 pm, May 19, 2001 Report Evaluation		Professor Corcoran is very devoted to his students, and he is a great lab professor. His exams are reasonable. I have heard that he is very helpful in office hours. Unfortunately, his lectures are terrible. There is no cohesiveness to his presentation, and his thoughts are incomplete and scattered. He makes SO many mistakes on the chalkboard that it is impractical to interrupt the lecture every time. I have attended every lecture, but I might as well have missed all of them. Everything I learned in this class came from hours of reading the textbook.



EE 248 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:45 pm, Apr 3, 2001 Report Evaluation		Was very helpful in lab. If you had problems he was always glad to help you out.

EE 208 Sophomore Grade Earned: Withdrawn Required (Support) 9:42 pm, Apr 3, 2001 Report Evaluation		Though he was very helpful at his office hour, his lectures were very hard for me to follow even when I had read before the class, and by the looks of the rest of the class they were having a hard time also.

EE 211 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 7:47 pm, Jun 4, 2000 Report Evaluation		Professor Corcoran is by far the best instructor in the EE dept. He cares a lot about his students and makes a considerable effort to help answer questions in office hours as well as in class. He didn't give midterms, but his quizzes were fair and comprehensive and the final exam was decent. I can't think of a prof in the EE dept I'd recommend more highly. :)

EE 211 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Elective 5:07 pm, May 25, 2000 Report Evaluation		I didn't like corcoran at all. His lectures were horrible. He was hard to follow and always made mistakes. No one in the class had a clue what he was doing most of the time. It seemed like he was just pulling shit out of his ass and putting it on the board. I didn't learn a damn thing in his class. HW wasn't bad, he has all the answers available. Quizes weren't too bad but you have to learn the material on your own.

EE 211 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 12:56 am, Apr 3, 2000 Report Evaluation		Corcoran is a great EE instructor. He makes sense, is pretty funny, and (most importantly) is a fair grader. The best EE teacher I've had so far...

EE 208 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:41 pm, Dec 6, 1999 Report Evaluation		If you have the opportunity, take John for every EE class that he teaches. He's the first, and only, teacher that truly seems to want you to learn the material and do well.



EE 208 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 4:43 pm, Nov 19, 1999 Report Evaluation		Excellent professor who will help you with ANY EE class you are taking. He gets a little scattered in lecture at times but nobody is perfect. Basically tells you what is going to be on the quizes if you listen in lecture. Found it to be an all around pleasant ezperiance and learned a ton.

EE 208 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 1:55 pm, Jun 16, 1999 Report Evaluation		An amazing professor. Genuinely cares about his students. If you have a problem understanding the material, don't hesitate to go this office hours. He'll go beyond what he's required to do to help you out. Very approachable, and very helpfull. I'll recommend this guy to anyone

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