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Saunders, Karl

Cumulative GPA: 2.71/4.00 with 69 evaluations
Presents Material Clearly: 2.78
Recognizes Student Difficulties: 2.80

Physics Department, Cal Poly, SLO
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PHYS 121 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 8:18 pm, Mar 5, 2013 Report Evaluation		Saunders was great! Very friendly and helpful if you ever ask a question or go to office hours. He explains things in a way that are easy to understand. I would strongly recommend him. Also, I enjoyed his accent.

PHYS 301 Senior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 12:51 am, Feb 8, 2013 Report Evaluation		In my opinion, Saunders is the epitome of a good professor. On the teaching side, he presents the material clearly and with passion. His teaching style utilizes student participation, methodical writing on the board, emphasis on principles, and a reasonable workload. He challenges you on many intellectual levels but makes sure to clarify all sorts of student difficulties. In addition, he's involved in pretty interesting research and is a good adviser for physics students. I hear some people complain but they seem to have no concrete reasons to hate on Karl. If Saunders taught some liberal arts course he would get a 4 but he happens to teach classes that aren't really a joke so you're bound to get the people that just can't handle it. If you want to learn, take Saunders.

PHYS 121 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:22 pm, Aug 21, 2012 Report Evaluation		Dr. Saunders is not the type of professor that will fair you just like that but he also doesn't give A's just like that. You do have to do some homework and read, put in the time and effort. He is a fair grader and you can go talk to him about your grades and maybe work something out! Super helpful during office hours, will even let you correct your homework that you just turned in if you tell him that you didn't understand one of the problems; he does this because the fact that you showed up means that you care and want to learn, are putting in some EFFORT. The class isn't difficult, it does have its ups and downs like any other class but he makes it great, he has a great personality and truly does care and wants to help, GO TO OFFICE HOURS WHEN NEEDED, you will learn tons. Enjoy!!

PHYS 121 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:50 am, Aug 21, 2012 Report Evaluation		Dr. Saunders is the absolute man. All of his tests and quizzes are always fair. Beyond that he is a great professor and a great man!

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 1:50 am, Aug 19, 2011 Report Evaluation		As far as physics professors go, Saunders is pretty good. He tries hard to explain the material and clearly and does a good job of it. If you've taken physics before in high school this class should be pretty easy for you unless you fail when it comes to physics. If you're new to physics I would still take Saunders. His class isn't that difficult. Make sure you understand how to do the homework and in-class problems because that is what his midterms and final are based off of. If I could go back in time I would still take Saunders.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 9:42 pm, May 28, 2011 Moderated Comment		I graduated Poly last year, and took this class 5 years ago. It was my second quarter of my freshman year. He doesn't help students in his office, doesn't teach.

PHYS 141 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 1:18 am, Apr 22, 2011 Report Evaluation		Great Prof. Great if you like step-by-step and interesting lectures. If your not going to go to class do not take Karl, he grades accordingly. I would retake Karl if I could.



PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:07 am, Mar 8, 2011 Report Evaluation		I definitely would recommend taking Professor Saunders. He is a very enthusiast teacher with an entertaining Irish accent. His grading is pretty straightforward with Homework being 5% (Online Mastering Physics along with turning in a written copy), Quizzes being 20%, And three Exams (increasingly worth more... 20%, 25%, 30%). Review the power point questions for the quizzes and tests. TAKE GOOD NOTES IN CLASS. The example problems that he does in the board almost mimic exactly what he test you on.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 1:06 pm, Feb 18, 2011 Report Evaluation		Professor Saunders is a great physics teacher. He breaks down material as it should be-both quantitatively and qualitatively, and does an nice job. He is always helpful in office hours and is a very caring professor towards the students (he wants them to try first, but he'll help them the rest of the way). I highly recommend him.

PHYS 141 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 10:43 pm, Jan 11, 2011 Report Evaluation		Prof Saunders is one of the most PASSIONATE professors i've had, and gets worked up and excited throughout class hoping to inspire you to pay attention. He calls on people randomly sometimes, the weekly quizzes aren't too bad if you pay attention during class and study the notes (but actually read the powerpoint- he'll put questions on the quizzes directly from the pp- that if you hadn't read it you wouldn't have put together) but especially through an entry level phys like 141, his ENERGY and enthusiasm over the material and making sure everyone understands is incredible. And Saunders is just the man. Go to his office hours and talk to him about anything- and he has a great Irish accent

PHYS 141 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 11:18 am, Dec 15, 2010 Report Evaluation		Saunders has a very specific way to do physics. That\'s both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is, if you stick to his method, you will do very well in the class. His midterms and finals are strictly based on homework, quizzes, and in-class examples. However, if you have to eventually take another physics course you may be screwed. His way of physics is simply setting up problems with specific variables, completely foregoing the concepts. The book was useless as the homework was online, and his office hours were very helpful. For those who have never taken physics this guy has a pretty easy learning curve as I found out, and to be honest I believe I deserved a B, and it is very easy to do well without putting much work in.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 6:25 pm, May 20, 2010 Report Evaluation		Colonel Saunders was an awesome teacher. I started the class great, but began slacking off. His quizzes are pretty striaghforward and all you have to do is study the powerpoint problems he gives you. He is also very helpful in office hours and can explain any problems. My low grade was because of my poor performance but would take him again if I had the chance.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:52 pm, May 11, 2010 Report Evaluation		Saunders is just an average teacher. If you can get someone else, do it. He has a very specific vision of how physics problems should be done and subtracts points from quizzes/tests even if you get the RIGHT answer but in a slightly different way. Most of his quiz/test questions are concluded with something like \"Solve using methods learned from class\" which translates to \"Draw little acceleration arrows exactly where I do, or I will write \'-1\' where they should be\". His teaching style is also frustrating, as he insists on facing the projector at the side wall where half the class can\'t see. Also, he makes you print out your own PowerPoint slides and class notes (I never did). Basically, as I\'m writing this, I\'m remembering how bad Saunders was. Don\'t take him. He sucks ass from a straw.



PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 2:16 am, Apr 3, 2010 Report Evaluation		I feel like Karl doesn\'t give u a chance to try any problems in class so u end up just watching him do really hard problems really fast so u have no idea what is going on and then ur supposed to go back before tests and figure them out. I SAY HE ISN\'T GOOD AND I GOT A B+ SO THAT MEANS SOMETHING. im not trying to bash on him but his teaching methods were not very good.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 5:52 pm, Mar 21, 2010 Report Evaluation		I, at first, disliked Professor Saunders\' way of teaching with his numerous variables and sub various and such and thought it was EXTREMELY tedious and confusing since my high school physics teacher has never done that before. But later on, you realize that it\'s so helpful to have those annoying variables and it clarifies your problems alot and allows you to work more efficiently. I got an average of B for the quizzes, A- for the homework, and a B for the midterm. But.. I failed the final. It was extremely hard in my opinion and nothing like what he previously tested us on. I studied for at least 9 hours a day for three days straight before the final and do not have bad studying habits and I know I can study. But overall, I still think he is a great teacher despite what I got on the final which I totally expected after I took it. If you take his class, you need to spend a good amount of time outside the class studying and doing homework and paying close attention in his classroom.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:26 pm, Mar 20, 2010 Report Evaluation		In my opinion, I think Saunders is a great physics professor. The only reason I think people downgrade him is because most people hate physics with a passion and give up on the class. I understand physics is hard, especially if you haven\'t taken it before in high school, but he really clarifies physics from his lectures. I was ok at physics in high school, but taking physics with Saunders really made me understand physics a whole lot better. Take advantage of lecture notes because his formatting of physics makes your life easier, though some may be tedious. Also, go to his office hours. I got a B because I paid more attention to other classes, but, if I focused a lot more in physics, I think I could have gotten an A. He is very organized and straight forward with instructions. You will never be unclear of his instructions.

PHYS 141 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 2:45 pm, Mar 17, 2010 Report Evaluation		This class is pretty fast-paced. Homework is due at least once a week and there\'s a quiz once a week. One midterm and a final that weren\'t too bad. I wouldn\'t take this class if your major has nothing to do with physics, because it\'s pretty hard to follow, but you do learn a lot. Saunders is really enthusiastic about physics and tries to keep it interesting.

PHYS 121 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 10:50 pm, Dec 16, 2009 Report Evaluation		Professor Saunders is extremely clear in his lectures and very easy to follow. He does an excellent job of explaining the material and helping his students out. I thought his exams were tough even though I studied a lot. I guess just study in groups. He is a very good teacher and a funny guy. For some reason he always reminded me of Gumby! Probably his quirky smile. Very good guy, very good teacher.

PHYS 141 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 5:06 pm, Aug 25, 2009 Report Evaluation		I had absolutely no experience with physics before this class. I read his polyratings before I enrolled in his class and even though they weren't that bad, I was still concerned about this class and the level of difficulty. Well, Karl ended up being pretty nice and pretty clear in his lectures. I have no other physics professors to compare him to, but I followed his lectures pretty well by just taking notes--my notes being just the sample problems he does in class. I never did any of the homework (they weren't required for the summer session) and I only read the book sometimes. I also had a D average in quiz scores, because I didn't read the book or I barely reviewed for the quizzes. So you'd think my grade would be pretty bad, right? WRONG. I ended up with a B in the class, and this is after I got a C- on the second mid term. I resigned myself to at least a C as my grade for this class, but I started studying my notes a little more in depth during the second half of the quarter and I figure I kicked ass on the final to bring my grade up. He slants the grading on the mid terms and final: for instance, a 75% is a B, 85% and above is an A. What is intimidating is that if you don't get above a 50% on the final, you will fail the class regardless of the grade you had going into the final. And I heard he DOES fail people witout mercy. But I think he can also be sympathetic in the grading, too. I know he was with me. Oh, he has some cool demonstrations, but not as cool as others on here made them out to be. Go ahead and take Karl, he's not bad at all and if I can get away with a B in this class after my lazy and poor performances in class, so can you! :)



PHYS 121 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 4:30 pm, Aug 17, 2009 Report Evaluation		In short, Dr. Saunders is a pretty cool teacher. the one great thing about him is that he is really understanding. he is always willing to help out in office hours, and always willing to explain things that aren't clear. as for the test, do all the problems he did in class, and you'll be fine. i am not very good at math, and i pulled off a B in this class. just do the hw problems and the class problems, and you'll be solid for the test. if you get the chance, take him. i don't think you'll regret it.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 3:22 pm, Apr 11, 2009 Report Evaluation		Long story short, take Prof. Saunders. His tests are difficult, but you will learn physics. His lectures are awesome, hands down the most clear and organized class I've ever taken. If somehow you get confused in a lecture, I almost guarantee he'll set you straight in office hours. Take him. Do it.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: C General Ed 3:53 pm, Apr 3, 2009 Report Evaluation		He is an alright teacher. He warmed up to the students after a while. READ THE BOOK FOR EACH CHAPTER BEFORE CLASS THAT WEEK. It makes so much more sense. I was struggling to pass the class because I copied the solutions manual for the homework, never went to office hours, and didn't read. Reading the book helped me be able to actually do the homework and finally understand his lectures. I hadn't taken physics in high school. People who did, seemed to do just fine without reading the book. There is weekly homework, two midterms and a final, and weekly quizzes at the end of the week that are super easy. His final was also a joke, it was so easy. I think he was trying to raise some grades. I don't know. He raises every midterm grade by an entire letter grade and the final by two letter grades. Just spend an hour reading the each chapter each week and you will be fine.

PHYS 133 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:45 am, Jan 5, 2009 Report Evaluation		Saunders is a decent professor. He is really understanding, and wants to see his students do well. However, he assigns his HW with the mastering physics program and also requires all the work for the solutions be provided on paper. Not a horrible request, but what got me was the workbook HW included. I have had other professor who just want to see the workbook completed. But Saunders graded the workbook for correct answers which was a pain, because sometimes the workbook can have difficult questions. My real problem is that I messed up on the quizzes and then had to save myself with midterms. He has a quiz every week, two midterms, and a final. The quizzes can be tricky so watch out, the midterms and final aren't to bad if you look over the quizes and have followed along with his examples in class. One final thing is that not everyone is good at PHYS 133. It can be a difficult subject to understand at the start. But you need to just work on your HW and pay attention in class and it should be fine.

PHYS 133 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:24 am, Dec 15, 2008 Report Evaluation		Saunders is not as bad as people here say. He does expect a bit of work on your part, but its the same as any other class. He extends hw due dates when he knows students are struggling and all of the material on his tests are covered in his lectures

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 10:17 pm, Apr 2, 2008 Report Evaluation		Saunders is a nice guy but his lectures are hard to learn from. You will definitely need to study from the book and do alot of work on your own, but the class is more than passable. Be sure to understand all concepts as problems from the tests are often something more complicated than you'll have addressed previously from the book. He's extremely helpful during office hours if you have trouble with anything, and is pretty easy-going as far as turning in your homework past the due date if you're having trouble with it.



PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 3:15 pm, Mar 30, 2008 Report Evaluation		Take someone else if possible..

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 11:27 am, Mar 18, 2008 Report Evaluation		Not a great teacher. Went through the examples, but was really unable to actually teach on a level where students would understand. Very anal retentive about following the book, which is ridiculous. The book, by the way, is bad at teaching.

PHYS 133 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:35 am, Aug 11, 2007 Report Evaluation		This lab was by no means a cinch, or even that much fun, but that is no fault of Karl's. He is a very fair, helpful guy who takes the time to explain the material and will answer nearly any question you ask. He is a bit of a stickler for presentation, but once you get used to it, its not bad. He really makes you understand what youre doing, which helps the lecture material seem simpler. He's got a cool accent and will even help you once the lab is over. all in all, a great guy and a great teacher.

PHYS 133 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:38 pm, Apr 1, 2007 Report Evaluation		He presented the material pretty clearly, and his midterms weren't that hard. Quizzes were cake. His final was aight. I ended up w/ a B+, almost got an A, but it was me that fucked that up. It was because of the 1st midterm. so i'll warn you, he's pretty heavy into the conceptual stuff, which is not that hard to understand, but on the midterms he'll throw a conceptual problem in which you'll have to set up an integral for. he show you in class, but when i studied for the midterms i thought he wouldn't put something like that on it, so i just brushed it off. big mistake. got a C+ on the test 'cause of it, even though i aced the other problems. But i got a 95% on the other midterm, so you just need to watch out and study the conceptual and integral stuff when he goes over them in class. he'll also throw in a few hw problems as well. Master Physics is a real bitch, to the point when you want to go outside and impale someone w/ a spear, but that's not his fault. One thing he needs to work on though is to go over the more complex problems on hw (which you have to turn in on master physics), and it kinda leaves you dry as you don't know how to solve them, but he does cover the material pretty well. The best physics teacher i've had so far (my last 2 were crap), and like it says below, he's a professor you'd like to have a beer with...or get high with...or shoot up crack with, whatever.

PHYS 133 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 2:27 am, Mar 19, 2007 Report Evaluation		he sucked

PHYS 133 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 7:12 pm, Feb 26, 2007 Report Evaluation		I have had some truly awesome physics teachers, and he is easily one of the best that I have ever had. He really loves his job and does everything that he can to make sure that you are both enjoying and understanding the material. I would recommend him to anyone, and I would most definitely take his class again.



PHYS 133 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:01 pm, Jan 11, 2007 Report Evaluation		Saunders was awesome. One of those guys you can tell really loves his job. The guy is chill, i've even seen him downtown a couple times. If you stay on top of the workbook theoretical stuff things will make a lot more sense. He really pushes theoretical. He uses Mastering Physics which can be a pain. One of the best professors in office hours too. Take advantage of that as much as possible. He's one of those professors you'd like to have a beer with.

PHYS 133 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 6:29 pm, Dec 19, 2006 Report Evaluation		This is the second time I've taken Saunders, and is still one of the best professors I've ever had.

PHYS 133 Freshman Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 9:57 am, Nov 17, 2006 Report Evaluation		Alright, first off Karl is by far one of the best physics professors on campus. He is one of the few teachers that will try as hard as he can to answer any question fully and if you ask a question that he can't seem to explain or answer on the spot he goes home and thinks about it and gives you an answer the next time he sees you. He is a fair teacher and wants you to learn in his class. Now I know some people don't like him because he was harder than they had hoped, but physics isn't supposed to be like in high school where your teacher gave you an A cause you had the potential to do well. This is college where grown-ups come to learn. So if you are a student who thinks that physics teachers shouldn't try to teach you anything and just give you an A you are probably an engineer. All I can say is that Karl is a great teacher and if you think he is too hard or unclear maybe you should change major to something that doesn't require physics cause you probably wont last.

PHYS 133 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 9:43 pm, Oct 30, 2006 Report Evaluation		Was very helpful, especially in office hours. He emphasizes the concepts, which is good in Phys 133. Definitely recommend this guy.

PHYS 606 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Elective 11:00 am, Aug 6, 2006 Report Evaluation		Like the directions say this is not to rip on a professor. Saunders is an AWESOME professor. He is always willing to answer questions. I have had him for 132, 133,taking him for 302 and have done research with him. You would be lucky to get an opportunity of taking this guy. And everybody who bad mouths him obviously just isn't trying hard enough themselves and they need to shut their trap. TAKE THIS TEACHER!!

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 8:57 pm, Mar 29, 2006 Report Evaluation		Well, you wouldn't know it from my grade but I worked so hard in this class. I really did. The problem is is that Dr. Saunders expects you to learn everything from the book and only work out like 2 problems in class. It's really not good because there will be like 4 questions on the homework having to do with a section that has less of a page of information in it (we use this book because a prof at cal poly wrote it). Saunders is a nice guy and is very helpful in office hours. If you've never taken physics, try someone else. if you have GOOD GOOD GOOD understanding, go ahead and take Saunders. (HE HAS A COOL ACCENT!!!)



PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:43 am, Mar 27, 2006 Report Evaluation		GREAT Professor!!! In high school physics, I didn't understand ANYTHING that was taught. I was scared to try it again. Well, Saunders was an excellent choice! He clearly presents all of the material and uses relavent examples and demonstrations to help present the concepts of the class. The midterms and final are not that difficult, they mimic problems done in lecture and in homework. He does assign a lot of homework, but it takes hardly anytime at all to complete. He gives occasional quizzes which are also pretty easy. He also is very generous with partial credit. Highly reccomended!

PHYS 121 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 3:47 pm, Mar 22, 2006 Report Evaluation		pretty rad professor. very clear with his lectures and if you have him for lab, more power to you. he's real laid back in lab. grading is fair and the final was pie because you only had to choose 2 out of 6 problems to grade for your final exam!

PHYS 121 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 4:15 pm, Feb 21, 2006 Report Evaluation		Awesome teacher. Very knowledgeable and always more than willing to help. I strongly recommend him. Sexy accent too...

PHYS 121 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 11:35 pm, Dec 28, 2005 Report Evaluation		saunders is extremely cool, yet you do have to keep up with the hw, still though he'll take any legitimate excuse you have and will still give you credit. also though he is wishy washy about his syllabus he will always change it in the favor of the students. he's a pretty damn good teacher

PHYS 121 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 2:30 pm, Dec 28, 2005 Report Evaluation		Nice teacher who is Mr. Low Expectations. A really easy class because the tests are direct from the handouts and from the homework. Just study the homework and handouts and you will do really well. There is no challenge at all. He probably thinks that you are a moron incapable of learning any physics but, you are good at memorization. Does he care about your learning?? Obviously he does not. (he does care about student evaluations of course).

PHYS 121 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 2:31 am, Dec 21, 2005 Report Evaluation		Great teacher. He does a very good job of answering questions and trying to apply the concepts to real life situations, an overall nice guy. I dont know what tests the previous person took because the questions on the tests are the EXACT same as examples in class and from the handouts he gives you, he even tells you this before the first test. I thought he was a very generous tester, the questions were easy compared to the ones in the homework and he gives a lot of partial credit. Also we only had to do 4 out of 8 questions on the final.



PHYS 121 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 1:12 am, Dec 19, 2005 Report Evaluation		I read the previous evaluations and they are true. He is disorganized and he seems pretty unexperienced, particularly when he is testing what we know. Exams seem pretty random as if he wrote the problems the night before or he copied the test from someone else. Things are really easy and slow for about 8-9 weeks but the last week (after the course evaluations) he becomes a tough instructor. The final is much harder than the other tests. I guess he needs to show that he has standards. Bottom line: prepare the final really well; do not trust this guy, he does not care how much you learn in his class.

PHYS 121 Senior Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 12:04 am, Dec 5, 2005 Report Evaluation		I had saunders for the basic phys 121, and I found him to be an excellent teacher....I dont know about his other classes as he seems to not be getting such hot reviews, but for this class I felt he was relatively straightforward , and he was pretty thourough. Also he's really a pretty cool guy. However, His grading is a little frustration as far as how much things are worth, i.e. all the homework is submitted in class and online, with half credit given to each for a total of 15% of your grade. The lab for the entire quarter is 5% of your grade...so if you forget to submit online a couple times you just screwed yourself. BUT as far as teaching goes, I liked this professor.

PHYS 133 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 2:37 pm, Oct 26, 2005 Report Evaluation		A very unexperienced instructor. You do not know where he is going with the class. His use of class time is extremely poor. His exams do not reflect what he does in the lecture. The tests seem like a random accumulation of examples from the textbook and homework than problems designed to test your understanding of the material. Be aware of the final!!!.

PHYS 133 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 4:10 pm, Sep 2, 2005 Report Evaluation		The class was easy. You do not learn anything new with this instructor. Midterms and grading are easy, homeworks are not so bad and he is nice during office hours. However, the final is four times as hard as any midterm and he is all of a sudden a tough grader. Furthermore, you can't find him the week before finals. In short, after catering to the students all quarter, once the students evaluations are done, there is a huge change in his attitude. Take him, if you want an easy B, but be aware that you need to study quite a bit harder for the final.

PHYS 132 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 7:02 pm, Jul 29, 2005 Report Evaluation		I appreciated the Irish accent, he was a nice guy, but he's not a very good teacher. This was his first year teaching and it showed, so maybe give him some time and he'll get better, but it seemed that I learned ABSOLUTELY NOTHING from him. I don't even know what it was about his teaching style, but it was just aweful, I wouldn't reccomend him, but don't hold off on taking a class if he's your only option.

PHYS 133 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:34 pm, Jun 27, 2005 Report Evaluation		You do not learn anything with this professor. He is too easy. He seems very nice and approachable, but once the evaluations (which is his top priority) are done, his nice-guy attitude will change. Unlike the midterms that are too easy, the final will be much harder. Prepare the final well, go to his office hours to suck up. Study the examples of the textbook since they will be in the midterms and in the final.



PHYS 133 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:58 pm, Jun 20, 2005 Report Evaluation		I think that he has definitely improved since I took him in the fall for PHYS141. I must say, out of the other physics professors at our school, he is definitely one of the better ones. He actually enjoys the material he's teaching and is very approachable. Granted, he isn't prefect yet, but it's because this was his first year. Definitely a lot of potential here.

PHYS 606 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: N/A Elective 1:41 am, Apr 1, 2005 Report Evaluation		The previous comment was obviously written by one of the biggest assholes on campus. I swear, the administrators of PolyRatings should just automatically delete comments from freshmen. I guarantee that Dr Saunders is not scared of little punks like you, some people just sweat more than others. And how would you match up to such public scrutiny? Would we read about your scrawny little arms, buck teeth, pale acned face, backwards capped so that you look like every other asshole on campus? And your last comment further proves you are a little cunt. You're lucky these comments on Polyratings are anonymous. XYZ

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 5:39 pm, Mar 29, 2005 Moderated Comment		Karl pretty much sucks. If you like to take teachers that you can respect dont take him. He is wishy washy on shit, does bad examples and plays with the demos too much. His pits are always wet, hence being nervous from being scared of his students, get some confidence Karl. He tries, i'll give him that, but if you try and are good thats one thing, but he tries and just sucks. He may know physics, and study theoretical elasticity, and what not, but give me a break, how can he have a PHD, shit man. Oh well. ... GOOD THING YOU ARE TEMPORARY.

PHYS 132 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 5:07 pm, Mar 29, 2005 Report Evaluation		He is really good at helping out with problems you are having during office hours. He encourages students to ask questions. He is good at explaining concepts and is very approachable. He does use mastering physics for homework but understands about computer program gliches. He also tells you what is going to be on the tests and holds review sessions out of class for each test. Take him if you get the chance.

PHYS 132 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 3:50 pm, Mar 23, 2005 Report Evaluation		Dr. Saunder is very straightforward with this lectures and tests. He tries to intersperse a few workbook problems in the lecture, which helped with understanding the concepts he explained. His tests were straightforward with no real surprises. He does include some simple problems from the reading that he didn't cover in class- you either know it or you don't, no real way to guess. He isn't lax on the grading, but he adjusted the grading scale so it came out fair. My only complaint was that he used the online Mastering Physics for homework, which occasionally has some problems interpreting answers, although half the homework points where from turning in the assignment so that helped balance it out.

PHYS 132 Sophomore Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 11:18 am, Mar 23, 2005 Report Evaluation		ok, Dr. K is new to this school and teaching in general and i've had my fair share of new teachers and he's not different from the rest. He grades super hard and his tests include combinations of problems that he never goes over in class. In office hours he's awesome, however. Problem is that he should be transfering some of that usefullness into the classroom. I think the Dr. K has huge potential to be one of the best physics professors in this school; he loves what he does and he loves teaching it. It's just that right now i don't believe he is being fair with his harsh grading and his lack of ability to present the material in an efficient manor. Most of the time in class he is trying to figure out how to present the material. However, he has gotten way better since when he taught 141. He's doing nothing but improving... just wished i had taken him 2 years from now... then i might have understood the stuff better.



PHYS 132 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 4:29 pm, Mar 21, 2005 Report Evaluation		ok i had karl for 141 and 132 and he definitely got more organized this quarter. I did also knowing his teaching style. For the first midterm i got a 75 with studying about 8 hours. for the second midterm, it was on a friday at 4, i studied every day monday - thurs in the library from 6-11 pm, then skipped all my classes and studied till 3:59 and got an 88, which was the second highest grade in the class. so i did about 28 hours of studying for that midterm. For the final i made over 200 notecards for the concept and reading questions and studied double what i did for the second midterm. LUCKILY, it was my first and only hard final so i could concintrate on it 100%. anyways the final was so thick it could stop a bullet and had none of the questions from my notecards but they were bullshit derived questions like deriving archimedes principle. the problems wernt like the review problems either. it was definiely a curveb all final. i feel sorry for people who had a calc or chem final thrown in there cuz u are screwed if u do there just isnt enough time in the day. If you wanted to get 100% on the homework it re quired several office hour visits a week and about 5 hours. and you better do it cuz its worth 20% of your grade. incredibly easy to get a c cuz its curved to a 60, really easy to get a B cuz its curved to a 75, and absurdly hard to get an A cuz it was at a 90... doesnt make sense cuz the highest score on any of the midterms was a 91...and i bet people were crying after that final... bottom line, if u want to literally be brainwashed (like redoing the midterm in your dream or waking up next to your girlfriend sayin "no thats a a double slit not a grating, and and one atmosphere is 101,300 pascals, and one atomic unit weighs 1.661*10^-27 kg", yes get used to that notation you will need it for the countless hours of mastering physics) you WILL be brainwashed if you try to succeed in this class like i was and i am so glad im done with it and i can sleep with a clear concious.

PHYS 132 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 7:34 pm, Mar 16, 2005 Report Evaluation		I have had Saunders for two quarters (141 and 132) and he is definately worse this qtr. He is very over the top on grading. Even if you can do every problem from the book and from homework, you might still get a 70% on the tests because he feels that you only have a 70% understanding on the conceptual answers (even if you have the right answer). He is paranoid about students cheating, and would be better fit to teach high school physics. He isn't terrible, but I would take a priority to take him. PS... he has the worst pit stains every day, which is pretty funny.

PHYS 132 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 10:48 pm, Mar 15, 2005 Report Evaluation		FYI Sunders: most profs don't strive to take up any more than 2 hours for a final! Ok, just in case he reads these things, thought I'd write that. Class was one of my least favorite as far as support courses go. Two midterms: 20% each, final: 40%, and hw: 20%. Some extra credit available too, but I'm not a talk in class type of person so that doesn't really apply to me. Think he likes rewarding people like himself...

PHYS 132 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 9:45 am, Mar 9, 2005 Report Evaluation		He's "OK". Which means there are definitely worse professors out there but I'm not in line to take him again. If you are taking him next quarter I wouldn't try to bail or anything. I'm only doing this evaluation because he spends entire class periods deriving formulas already given in the book. How about some problems? I know deriving formulas helps you understand context but we have to read the book in order to pass his exams anyway. Also, he's a Knight suck-up so be prepared for lots of "I love this book" etc. Wonder why he was considered for full professor so early....?? Hmmm...

PHYS 141 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 7:15 pm, Mar 8, 2005 Report Evaluation		If you want to review high school physics, take him. It is so easy to get an A: just go to office hours, laugh at his jokes, and study the examples from class and the textbook. Midterm and final are based on those examples.

PHYS 132 Senior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 12:00 pm, Mar 1, 2005 Report Evaluation		nice guy, fair grader... ...i just hope they make him a full-time professor so he'll have enough money to buy some anti-perspirant



PHYS 141 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 2:39 pm, Feb 20, 2005 Report Evaluation		The class is absurdly easy, no challenge whatsoever. Is this what YOU ARE PAYING FOR?? Midterms straight from textbook and the homework. He asks you to bring to class this workbook with exercises, some of which are somewhat helpful if you are still in high school, but CalPoly is after all college. In short, if you want an easy A without working or being challenged, take him (but do not forget to laugh at his jokes). If you want to learn something more advanced that just high school physics,

PHYS 141 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 2:22 pm, Feb 16, 2005 Report Evaluation		An OK lecturer. He thinks he's funnier than he is, which is why most people laugh at his jokes I hope... Other than that, he can be kind of grating in class if he doesn't like you. His grading policies (esp. hw) are over the top. It seems like he puts as much effort into class grade breakdown as teaching the material. If you like demos a lot, take him. If you like to see problems done, don't.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:03 am, Jan 7, 2005 Report Evaluation		I hated going to Dr. Saunder's class. Ya, he has this cool Irish accent, but he makes you bring your book and workbook to class every day. Beware, don't forget those things or he will ream you in front of the whole class.It never happened to me, but there were some unfortunate others. Umm.. his first midterm was extremely easy, but I got a 45% on his second midterm which was nothing like his first one. The second midterm was all theory and if you didn't explain a solution the way he wanted, than you were screwed. I know a person that got 20% on that midterm and he/she understood physics more than me. I am pretty sure he will improve as he teaches more classes, but from my experience, I would rather not take him again.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 5:31 pm, Jan 4, 2005 Report Evaluation		Karl is a nice guy. I just hope that you do not know too much physics comng into the class, he doesn't like you doing the work any way but his own. He doesn't care if you know the right answer, but practically shouts with joy when you get a wrong answer. Decent enough teacher, but he had all the usual "new teacher" problems which I am sure he will be working out in the quarters to come.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 3:56 pm, Jan 4, 2005 Report Evaluation		5% extra credit for going to class should be reason enough to take saunders. he's a nice guy and totally willing to put in lots of effort to help us out. I thought the first midterm and the final were shockingly easy, where as the second midterm was outlandishly hard. I imagine he is going to adjust that next quarter. My biggest knock on the guy is that in class pretty much all he did was the examples from the book which very unhelpful cuz we can just read those. overall good guy.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:19 pm, Jan 3, 2005 Report Evaluation		I earned an A- in this class. It was fairly easy for me, however it was a lot of work. The grading was a bit harsh but all you have to do is stay on top of things. The midterms and final were completely fair with at least half of the questions coming directly from the book and stop to think questions. His review problems assigned for studying helped a lot too. He was also extremely friendly during his office hours and always encouraged us to attend. The material was presented in an interesting manner...besides, you get 5% extra credit for showing up to class.



PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 12:36 pm, Jan 2, 2005 Report Evaluation		I really enjoyed taking Professor Saunders's class. The material was boring and easy, but he still made the class worth going to. He presents ideas very well, even if his grading can seem a little harsh. One question on the second midterm was worth 50%, and messing it up hurt. Even so i would definitely recommend taking him if you can. He is very good, just do the reading and the homework. The people here complaining about his putting them on the spotlight, well how else are you gonna learn that you should have done it? He really is a great professor and deserves a much better score than he has so far.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:46 pm, Dec 17, 2004 Report Evaluation		Professor Saunders seemed like a good teacher that presented material clearly at first. There was enough homework to understand that would help to understand the material, but not too much, and the homework that was assigned was graded fairly. After the first midterm, when the material became harder, his lectures became less helpful while his grading became tougher. The second the style of his second midterm was completely different from his first midterm, making the test and his grading unfair. Professor Saunders is a nice guy outside of grades.

PHYS 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 5:24 pm, Dec 16, 2004 Report Evaluation		This was the first class Prof. Saunders ever taught. He was a pretty nice guy, if you were nice to him. He had a little trouble with his tests... it was very hard to study for them because they were always completely different every time. However, as he continues to find his own teaching style, I think he will become a great teacher. In a year, I can definetly see this guy getting a three from his students, however, he just needs to find his way of teaching first.

PHYS 141 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 9:36 am, Nov 3, 2004 Report Evaluation		well the guy can teach i'll tell you that, but overall as a person he is a complete ass. he likes to degrade you in front of the whole class. if two people in your class dont read expect a quiz. he will sit there and ask why you didnt read and not accept the simple fact that you didnt. i did learn quite well from his lectures, though being afraid to attend because i didnt do my homework, or read the night before doesnt help me learn either. overall as a profesor he is top notch, as a person he is an asshole.

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