Gillen, Katharina  

Dr Gillen is quite demanding but also provides you with all the information you need to know. She is extremely helpful in office hours, and you can tell she is genuinely interested in the betterment of her students' academic lives. She also happens to be an empathetic human being with positivity and enthusiasm that is absolutely contagious.

She was a great teacher.. she noticed difficulties in students.. she help us out so much. She made physics interesting, even though she is kinda weird. The work isn't two much.. all homework is through mastering physics. Her tests are exactly the same as the homework and classwork examples, of course with different numbers. I'd recommend this teacher to anybody.. if she was teaching physics 132 i'd have her.

Good teacher, clearly presents material, helpful, fair tests. I strongly recommend her for lab. Pretty easy grading, just dont be late. And dont take her early in the morning if you can help it. Shes loud. Especially when standing near you.

No, just no. She\'s not very clear and her grading is unclear.

She\'s nice and she\'s really good at physics but she is really strict on policy, for one thing, that\'s for sure... But I disagree with the person below - her grading is clear, it\'s just sometimes the material isn\'t. I guess there may be more posts around this time because the midterm was just a couple days ago xD

She is really funny which makes the class go by fast, but she doesn\'t do any example problems in class so it makes it hard to understand the material... i did all of the suggested reading and that is hte only way i understood the material.

I thought she was a great professor. After having Mottman for 132, she actually taught me physics. I never went to office hours, and just studied her review sheets, did the homework problems, and reviewed the clicker questions. She uses i-clickers which is great cause it makes class a little more fun and you conceptually understand the physics better afterwards. Her quizzes and midterms are fair, and the final is a little more difficult but not impossible. The only downside was in the lab, she had us do error propagation although she realized that it was hindering our ability to finish labs on time and stopped it around week 7. Be prepared to stay all 3 hours in lab by the way. I would recommend her for all those who can do homework even tho its not collected. If you can do that you'll pass the class with a good grade.

....Call me Kat....Kitty Kat... that was probably the most fun thing i experienced in her class. the power points were helpful, but it never really did it for me.. the material was hard i thought, it takes examples and explaining... which Kat usually was good at. she gives an equation sheet for the mid terms and final, but it is just a list of the eqns out of the book. so they help a lot if you know it already... but they don't do much unless you can distinguish between every variable.

Kat was a really good teacher. She presented things clearly during class. She did not go over everything during class tho and would tell you to read certain powerpoints on your own,and when she says this you MUST read them because there can and probably will be test questions on it. Her quizzes are straight from the homework which forces you to do it which is good but the homework is not turned in. She is funny and helpful during office hours. The tests are kind of tricky. you need to study. I studied quite a bit and I got an A- in the class so it paid off. just going to lecture prob will not suffice although she does do some good example problems in class. Overall, I would recommend her and would probably take her again.

Wow, I can't believe Kat has such a low rating. I thought Kat was a great instructor. She has a quiz nearly every week taken almost verbatim from the homework, there's only ever 8 problems that are assigned but never collected. Her midterms are pretty tricky but that's why the quizzes are worth more than the midterms. Also, I failed both midterms, but did great on quizzes, and still passed the class! So I think she's a very fair grader. She understands that some students struggle with time and test anxiety, much like myself. She's super nice and funny in class and in office hour. All the power point lectures are posted online and she posts solutions to the homework problems. Over all, I'd take Kat again if given the choice and I highly recommend.

Katharina is a decent teacher. I would suggest taking her for physics 132 if you have the choice. She doesn't cover everything in lecture, so you have to at least skim some of the assigned reading. If you do each homework section to the point where you can do them without the solutions manual, then you will do well on the tests. If you follow her suggestions you will do well. No tricks to her teaching, she tells you what you have to do to get a good grade and it is spot on.

I had her only for lab but man it was awesome. She's very nice, cares about your learning/understand, and gives you the answers to the lab report questions if you just ask. Our lab writeups are a lot shorter than some of the other teachers, and you can leave class when you finish. One day I got out an hour and a half early from our 3 hour lab. Bless Dr. Kat.

Professor Gillen knows her stuff. Go to her office hours! She is more than happy to go over problems and exams with you. Homework isn't collected but there are weekly quizzes that relate to it so I would definitely recommend doing it. Her equation sheet is pretty detailed. She did require the use of an iClicker which I found inconvenient at first but was beneficial when going over material and for taking attendance. Class wasn't always very exciting or interactive (I had her for studio) but I enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, Kat is not the best professor in the studio setting (2 hr block, 3 days a week) for physics. She expects lab reports to be completed outside of the lab time -- rushes through these labs, and will spend 30-40 min at a time for a single class exercise. She would rather you spend that time confused with the problem you have had no experience with instead of showing everyone an example first. If she changed the order she did things, the class could be a lot better. While the iClicker is helpful for participation, she shrugs when you miss your answer and does not care about your grades to a great extent. Only positive is she will not be rushing through material since you will be just sitting around waiting for her to explain the class problem anyway. I have already taken phys132 before by the way. I would not recommend this studio class.

Professor Gillen was a nice professor. I could tell she cared about her students. However, her style of lecturing is pretty inefficient in my opinion. She usually lectures for 15 minutes, then gives us an example problem to work on for 45 minutes. The thing is, she always gives us problems that we have no idea to do cause its a subject she hasn't taught yet. I don't know why she would give a problem from a section she hasn't taught the class yet. I mean, at least do an example with us first. So, we're all working on this problem that we have no idea to do, and she walks to each group one by one and spends like 10 minutes on each group while the rest of the class is waiting, then after we're all done, she goes to the front of the class and says the EXACT SAME THING THAT SHE SAID TO EACH GROUP. This class was a whole lot of waiting and doing nothing. I wasted so much of my life in this class waiting to find out how to do a problem. None of this would happen if she did an example problem with us first, then had us work on a similar problem after independently. She works ass backwards in my opinion, and for this reason I didn't like this class all that much.

Gillen was a really solid professor. She has very clear slides and is very good at answering questions. She is helpful during office hours. She grades tests pretty hard, but again overall she was above average. Ask questions when unsure and you'll be fine. I would recommend her.

KAT IS THE BEST. She is so good at explaining everything, and she will always discuss questions or any confusion in order to make sure the whole class understands what's going on. She posts all of her lecture slides on PolyLearn and basically everything else. She is very helpful during office hours and will work with you on a problem all the way through. You have i-clicker questions to account for attendance, and you can miss 3 clicker days before it affects your grade. We had labs 1 or 2 times a week, and probably half of them were graded. You can miss 1 lab without it affecting your grade, but Kat is very reasonable. She will tell you what is generally on the tests, so you know what to study. We had 2 midterms and a final exam. Pretty reasonable questions. Kat is also the sweetest lady ever and super funny in class. Take her if you can! I can't say enough good things about her.

I wanted to learn physics in the class but instead I learned about busy work. Disappointing!

Stay away from Dr. Gillen if you want to learn physics.

Kat is super awesome! One thing I learned is office hours are SUPER helpful! She lays out the class in a way that is easy to follow. You know your expectations and all you have to do is follow through. There are no surprises which makes for a less stressful class. Physics in general requires a lot of work to be done so it’s not just Kat who is assigning readings and homework’s. If you want to do well do those things! They really do help even if it feels pointless. Quizzes are easy if you do and UNDERSTAND the homework and midterms are tricky but doable if you study. Once I went to office hours and asked some questions before the midterm and literally all three were on the test so I flew through those! She’s all around a great person too, she cares about each individual succeeding in her class no matter the circumstance or goal!! Would 100% take her again

Dr. Kat is one of the nicest professors I have ever met. She wants everyone to succeed and it is clear that she genuinely cares about everyone's learning. Go into her office hours if you need help, she is very clear and patient with even the smallest questions. Sometimes, her lectures can feel short and it feels like you have to learn a lot of material on your own which can be challenging but overall she is very helpful and clear in class and out of class. If you are struggling I recommend getting a tutor and not just relying on office hours because there are usually lots of people there and it can be hard to answer multiple individual questions. We had no midterms in this class and just weekly "quizzes" and a final so it is important to stay on top of the material. Overall, nicest professor, sometimes can be a little vague, LOTS of material in the class to cover. But I would say that if you work hard in her class and genuinely care about the material, you will pass.

Perfect teacher. Laid back, homework due once a week, goes out of the way to help. Good lectures, really likes helping. Two midterms and a final had 3 parts, equations, concepts, and problems, equally wieghted, so knowing equations and concepts got you into C range without doing any calculation. I hated parts of the class because the homework is worth 30%, so missing one mastering physics was worth 2.5 percent of your grade. Keep the solutions manual around in case it gets to the last minute because its not worth it to turn in "your best effort" when you know a problem is wrong.

Dr. Kat is simply awesome! Even though it's most likely her first quarter teaching here, she will definitely make some improvements here and there. For starters, she presents all of the material in a straightforward, no-nonsense manner (she doesn't quite derive everything to death), and her exams test you on everything gone over in class and on the homework (her tests are indeed very fair; no tricks, and you can easily get an A or B on them as long as you've done your homework and paid attention in class). Also I will mention that she occasionally rips a problem from the workbook to put onto her exams (so be sure to do those problems as well). A couple of things though, she should definitely get a different grader for the written hw, as the written hw is what kills everyone's grade, and the grader is extremely brutal to say the least - it seems he/she wants you to write an entire paragraph explaining the answer to the problem; for chrissake, I chose engineering as my major, NOT ENGLISH! Also, she takes a lot of time for recitation in lab, which eats up a good hour, and I was always trying to get out at least an hour early. But all in all, I've learned a lot more from her than any other physics prof. that I've had. Plus, she occasionally makes a joke here and there in her lecture to liven things up (sometimes she walks right into a funny without even knowing it!), and what can I say, she's pretty cute too.

Great professor. Presented the material well and made it easy to understand. The only problem I had was with her picky grading. She puts too much emphasis on getting your units right and showing every step to the right answer.

I loved Kat. Make sure you go to class. She has clicker questions for participation as long as you answer them you get full credit whether right or not. She doesn't collect hw but picks a couple problems from it for the quizzes. She's really caring and wants to help her students.

She doesn't really explain the concepts. Mostly gives formulas and expects to memorize. Overemphasis on non-concept material such as units, drawings, certain professor-specific things like solve for variable first, etc.

I loved her! She made the class so much easier than I expected. She is really nice and willing to help students out anytime. She has a German accent, but that didn't affect understanding at all. It actually made her funny and approachable. Homework isn't collected, but as long as you do it, you'll be fine on the quizzes and tests. Her midterms were easy, and she basically held your hand through them. The final was slightly harder, but totally doable. Overall she was a great professor, and considering how many bad physics professors are out there, you should be relieved to have her.

Kat was a nice teacher, always responds quickly to emails, fairly nice, and always willing to help people. She tries to give a quiz every week and the quizzes are usually really straightforward. She is incredible for giving partial credit (that's what saved me on the final) and she is funny too. She breathes really heavily when she laughs and it's hysterical, she is a bit sassy when responding sometimes which is cool. She assigns up to 8 problems of homework each week but doesn't collect them (DO THE HOMEWORK! IT HELPS!), and her iclicker sessions are the best part of the class. It's a bit slow paced, usually we'd spend 15 minutes of explaining clicker questions, 10-15 minutes of lecture slides and then the remainder just setting up an example problem. Her examples in class are way easier than the homework and are more like what she'll have on quizzes. She for some reason has expectations for us (COLLEGE STUDENTS...) that we will actually read the textbook and when we don't finish a problem in class that we will do it at home and have the answer for her next class period (Oh honey...we're students, we dont finish the stuff you're supposed to teach) and there's usually a good awkward silence a week when she waits for an answer and nobody did the problem. She doesn't care much, she loves physics!! BEWARE! Her final is a nightmare! The midterms are fine, and quizzes are good each week, all that's straightforward OR just easy, but her final was the hardest test i've taken at Cal Poly so far and it was like a nightmare i couldn't get away from. Her partial credit is a saving grace! Would recommend her, cause the rest of the physics department isn't as good

This class was one of the easiest classes Ive taken so far. If you took physics in high school this class will be a breeze. I do however recommend doing the homework because she puts homework problems on the quizzes (even do the hardest ones because she occasionally surprised you with those on the quizzes). First midterm was simple and straightforward, second midterm a little harder, and the final about the same as the second midterm. If you do the homework and pay attention in class you will be fine. Overall a pretty entertaining class, great professor, she is very straightforward and always willing to answer questions. Also weirdly obsessed with cookies so don't let your phone go off in class haha

Kat is a great professor, especially considering some of the physics department can be pretty rough around the edges. She is very passionate about both physics and the success of her students. Every day, she is laughing and having a good time to make class better. As for course work: she assigns weekly homework that isn't required, but is recommended by her for a better grade. DO THE HOMEWORK. It will help a lot. Her quizzes consist of 2 conceptual questions and a problem taken straight from the homework with some numbers changed around. There are 5 total and she drops the lowest one. Be well prepared for the quizzes because they can easily make or break your grade. Midterms are definitely fair. The first one was not too bad, with the second one being a bit tougher. As long as you study the homework and the in class problems then you should do well. The final is a pretty long one with a lot of potential info to cram in, but it is absolutely doable. She gives you all of the equations you could ever need for the quizzes and tests which make it easier. You overall grade will be 25% quizzes, 20% x 2 midterms, 25% final, and 10% in class iClicker questions for participation. Definitely go to office hours too, they are very helpful when you get stuck. Overall great professor; great attitude and good at explaining all the material and helping to overcome the student difficulties and misunderstandings.

Learned more in my high school class. Take someone better

Disastrous experience. Absolutely scarring. Her midterms are ass.

Kat has been my favorite professor I've taken yet. Her personality is what made her the best. She's an extremely genuine professor that cares for her students beyond an average professor. She was extremely useful in office hours and even stayed an hour past when her office hour time was over to help with a problem. If you do the homework (even if it isn't due) and go to office hours you'll do fine. Overall, just take Kat.

First off Kat is a very lenient and offers a lot of office hours and is very helpful in them. She gives 4 quizzes and drops your lowest one and each quizzes structure are 3 questions with 2 short questions (first 2 questions are sometimes multiple choice or sometimes free response but VERY short) and one free response which is literally a question from the homework. The class is so easy and she teaches so well and posts literally everything online. Her lectures cover the material really well and covers the concepts really good. She also gives worksheets which help a lot and they will help for the tests. The tests and quizzes are based on the i-clicker questions, lectures, and homework. She assigns reading but you don't have to do it, just do the homework problems and the workbook (she posts the solutions to both and you don't even need to buy a workbook). The homework is not big it usually is no more then 14 problems and the workbook is usually 21 questions but you can complete it really fast. The homework and workbook are super important if you do both you will easily get 100 percent on everything. Also she makes her midterms based off the workbook she LITERALLY takes problems similar to the workbook. Every time she says there is something conceptual its going to be related to a workbook problem. If the homework is completed you will never get stuck on the quizzes, midterms, and final. I would recommend Kat in a heartbeat.

I had never taken physics before and was really worried about it, but Kat was extremely helpful and sweet. She genuinely cares about her students and offers a bunch of help in office hours. She is very organized and posts all the worksheets, homework, and workbook solutions online as well as lecture material. Attendance is required but her lectures and inclass worksheets are very helpful and the iclicker sessions are kinda fun and usually take up a good chunk of the time. The 4 quizzes are easy since the 4 (out of 6) point question comes right from the homework and she drops your lowest quiz score. There are two midterms, the first was easy but I bombed the second (my own fault) but she gives a bunch of partial credit which saves your grade. Her final was doable and she told us what each question basically was on, each question was basically like the quizzes or midterms. You should definitely do the homeworks since they're on the quizzes and tests. I never looked at the workbooks but you should probably do them too. Overall, Kat is a great professor and I would highly recommend!!

Condescending professor that favors certain students.

First of all, I was blocked into this class first quarter and didn't know what to expect. I had never taken any kind of physics before in my life, and I was so lost during the first 5 weeks of this class while practically everyone else knew what was going on. If you've taken high school ap physics 1 before and understand it well then you don't need to worry for this class, because most of my friends who did received A's and B's and literally never studied. There's no midterm which is really nice, but there's 6 weekly assessments that get harder and harder each week, and she allows you to drop one weekly assessment grade. The average for some of our last weekly assessments were somewhere in the 60's for the entire class, while other classes had an average of somewhere in the 70's for the exact same quiz. She also allows you to miss up to 3 lectures until she starts deducting participation points from your grade which is super nice of her to do. Her lectures aren't very engaging and people were always on their phones since you don't really learn any concepts from the lectures. I found that the learning packets she gave us were the most helpful in learning concepts. The plicker questions were also great in learning concepts, but some of them came straight from the book. Also, they were sometimes super basic/easy compared to the weekly assessments. I didn't know how to study for this class until halfway through the quarter, and I failed most of the weekly assessments, but I found that the best learning strategy is Khan Academy, joining a study session, and going to her office hours. Her office hours are VERY helpful. I would recommend going every time you can if you're lost on a concept. She knows how to teach 1 on 1, but she doesn't do a good job teaching an entire class. Overall, there are better physics teachers out there but she's pretty average and not terrible. She's also super nice and tries to know everyone's name.

Dr. Kat is one of my favorite professors ever. She's passionate, energetic, funny, and all around awesome! And as a side note she's also cute as a button with her slight german accent, aber achtung! If you don't pay attention or put in the effort for this class you're screwed. But cereally what did you expect? You're taking the intro to RELATIVITY(pioneered by friggin' Einstein) and quantum mechanics(pioneered by ALL of the smartest mofos of the early twentieth century), two scientific fields that the general populace can't make heads or tales of...of course it's intellectually demanding what the fuck did you expect?

Dr. Kat is an amazing professor! She has a clear passion for physics and for the success of her students. Modern Physics (211) seems like it would be a difficult class to teach since most of the topics were so abstract, but Dr. Kat did a great job at explaining the material from start to finish. She is very approachable at office hours as well. Her tests are incredibly fair, come to class take notes, do the homework, and you'll pass. Put in a little extra work (go to office hours, re-read the textbook, etc.) and you'll get an A. I highly recommend Dr. Kat to any student, though her teaching style may be better suited for upper-division physics classes.

Dr. Kat is wonderful. She can be a stickler about some things, like showing your work and turning in homework at the beginning of class, but she is also really clear about her expectations. She presents the material very clearly and is great at answering questions. Any questions she couldn't answer immediately she would always get back to us on after a few days and was very supportive of us continuing to ask tough questions. She can be funny sometimes, but that's far from the reason to take her. Take Kat if you want to learn a lot and have a clear, smart instructor. Don't take her if you want to get by easily.

Kat is so awesome. She's so enthusiastic about lasers and it's contagious. She always brings energy to class and makes an effort to learn everyone's names. Class feels so much more like a discussion with a fun mentor than a normal lecture. Kat's definitely one of the more funny and friendly professors that I've taken a course with. She's also very understanding of difficulties and clear about her expectations. You won't regret taking a class with her.

I took Kat for optics in fall \'08 and it wasn\'t too bad, the hw/tests were fairly easy and she\'s a really nice person, BUT if you turn in a lab or the hw even A SECOND LATE she\'ll smile and give you a BIG FAT ZERO, so beware...

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!