Balthaser, Larry 
Cumulative GPA: 2.17/4.00 with 12 evaluations
Presents Material Clearly: 2.17
Recognizes Student Difficulties: 2.00
Physics Department, Cal Poly, SLO
Full Statistical Analysis
Evaluate This Professor
 
PHYS 130
Sophomore
Grade Earned: A
General Ed
5:28 pm, Apr 22, 2008
  This guy's an excellent teacher. Fuck all the assholes below that don't agree.
 
PHYS 132
Sophomore
Grade Earned: A
Required (Major)
3:37 pm, Dec 16, 2005
  Two words....pendulum dildo. This guy is a walking, oscilating, penis.
 
PHYS 201
Freshman
Grade Earned: A
Required (Major)
6:02 pm, Jun 2, 2003
  He is one of the worst teacher ever!!! He knows nothing about what he is teaching. The only reason i got an A is because i tool physics in high school. He is also impossible to understand. He goes over one problem for the wholel lecture. He spents most of the time laughing at himself.
 
PHYS 121
Sophomore
Grade Earned: B
Required (Support)
9:17 pm, Apr 2, 2003
  His lectures were impossible to listen to and his tests didnt really test what he taught he was a dork that spent most of the class laughing at himself
 
GEOL 201
Sophomore
Grade Earned: A
Required (Major)
8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001
  This is a great teacher...He made the class interesting. I never thought geology would be so interesting. There are a lot of slides in the class, ppl tend to fall asleep during the slides, (don't do it, stay awake). Slides are an important factor, u need it for the tests. There was no homework. Just a few easy reading assignments, but the real reading was just from ur lecture notes. He is one of the best lectureres i had. Maybe because the subject was interesting..Take good notes, don't fall asleep or skip class and u will get a B for sure.
 
GEOL 201
Freshman
Grade Earned: B
Required (Major)
8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001
  He is a very interesting lecturer for such a boring subject (rocks, etc). It wasn't ALL boring (volcanoes were cool), but it can get to you after a while. DO NOT SKIP CLASS. If you go to class and do none of the reading, you can still probably get a B. Go to the slide review before each test and draw the slides. Tests are a bit tricky, but it's on a curve. Overall, if it's a required physical science for you , you might as well take it.
 
GEOL 209
Sophomore
Grade Earned: A
Elective
8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001
  He's a riot! Don't worry about being bored.
 
GEOL 201
Freshman
Grade Earned: A
Required (Major)
8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001
  Balthaser is a good teacher. Even if you're not really interested in geology, it's still a good class. The reading is boring, but he makes class fun even at 8 a.m. He is so funny and sarcastic and has such a dry humor, and it's all somehow relevant to the subject. He doesn't go off on tangents but makes geology interesting. The slide reviews before every test are also very helpful.
 
GEOL 201
Sophomore
Grade Earned: A
Required (Major)
8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001
  Balthaser makes geology so interesting! A lot more interesting than the book. He tells corny jokes that always made me laugh... even if they werent that funny! There are slides that you have to memorize for each test. And there's a slide review before each test- dont miss a slide review! You must attend them. There is no homework. The tests are fair and he curves them a little bit. Go over the old tests from the reserve room in the library-if you do well on the practice tests, you'll do ok on the actual test because he kinda just rewords the questions. Or he'll ask the same question from a practice test, but give different answers to choose from. Overall, a very good professor. I would highly recommend taking him.
 
GEOL 201
Junior
Grade Earned: A
Required (Major)
8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001
  Very knowledgable with a bit of a sense of humor.
 
GEOL 203
Sophomore
Grade Earned: A
General Ed
12:08 pm, Mar 30, 2000
  This guy is actually very funny, although sometimes you'll be laughing at him. He has a weird sense of humor and a really strange laugh, but he presented the material fairly straightforward and his tests aren't hard. Make sure you go to the reserve room and get the old tests he puts on reserve, the tests are almost exactly the same! Also, he offeres extra credit. He's a nice guy, and doesn't rag on people for being late. I enjoyed his class more than taking chemistry or regular geology.
 
GEOL 201
Junior
Grade Earned: A
Required (Support)
11:20 am, Dec 7, 1999
  Balthaser is a good lecturer who tries to make generally boring material intersting and succeeds. He is always making corny jokes and shows a lot of slides, many of them coming from local geological features which adds more interest to the subject matter. "Be that as it may" he is a good instructor and the class was pretty easy.
 

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