Historical instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
The professor lacked communication skills. I had questions, so I emailed the professor multiple times just for him not to reply once. My only way to contact was through the TA, and when it was required the professor's assistance but again, there was no response.Rate My Professors ↗
Explains concepts clearly and at a level appropriate for an intro physics class. The class itself can be hard at times, but I found discussions very helpful.Rate My Professors ↗
good teacher who could explain things well. good at answering questionsRate My Professors ↗
Dr. Spike is a great professor. Physics is a hard concept to grasp (at least for me) but he made class engaging and helpful.Rate My Professors ↗
So much busy work. While good at speaking and knowledgeable in content, lectures are extremely large. You will very rarely be able to reach him beyond office hour sand class, including when I had an extreme personal emergency, with very limited accommodations. He is also very monotone and lectures can be dry, especially when demos fail.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Spike was a pretty decent professor for 104, and I preferred his lecturing style a lot in units 1 and 4, he usually goes at a slower pace and emphasizes important concepts that you need for the exam. The labs and homeworks can get a little annoying but the course is setup with a lot of learning outside of class as well.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_81dbdceb665ecba4865c3051",
"source": "legacy",
"source_instructor_id": null,
"identity_basis": "name_only",
"identity_status": "unresolved",
"name": "Benjamin Spike",
"email": "BTSPIKE@WISC.EDU",
"first_observed_at": "2025-12-03 12:33:41.418072+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 29,
"quality": 3.59,
"difficulty": 3.55,
"quality_count": 29,
"difficulty_count": 29,
"profile_id": "rmp:2422922",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2422922",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:52:02.061554+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_0a6dafcdaeb7c047d94f694f": {
"review_count": 3,
"quality": 3,
"difficulty": 3.33,
"quality_count": 3,
"difficulty_count": 3
},
"course_0102faba3a6a173105857f06": {
"review_count": 5,
"quality": 3.4,
"difficulty": 3,
"quality_count": 5,
"difficulty_count": 5
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.6184431769577943,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": false,
"courses": [],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/BENJAMIN_SPIKE--instructor_81dbdceb665ecba4865c3051"
}