Dr. Spike is a good lecturer, even if his tests had averages around the 60% mark. He is accommodating of his students' needs, and you can tell he has a passion for the subject. I am not a strong student when it comes to physics, but I found the class to be fairly manageable. Overall, he is well-organized and does a good job with lecture.

Dr. Spike makes 103 at least not totally awful. His co-lecturer is a different story, bur Dr. Spike is good

Just an average prof. Yet his lectures are much clearer compared to his sub lecturer, considering Dr.S is the course coordinator. Beware that he often disappeared for weeks, leaving piazza questions unanswered. Exams are tough as you don't get points for showing work. But if you can do quizzes and homework on your own (eg. no AI), you will be fine.

Professor Spike is a good professor that cares about his students. I had him for 103/104. One way I found success in the class was to focus on lecture content, weekly quizzes, and practice exams when preparing for exams. Cramming did not work for me in this class. Dedicating some time each week to learn the content really helped me do well.

I loved Dr Spike! I was not disappointed. Some reviews here says he's difficult, which I think is only true if this is the only science course you need for your entire degree. 103 is really not that bad if you've experienced the hells of ochem and calculus. I recommend taking either this or chem 103 first since the content overlaps

This professor has lectures that are elementary level and then writes exams that are meant for physics doctorate students. Our exam averages were in the 50s which is way worse than any other class i've ever taken and I'm a stem student. Do yourself a favor, and just don't.

Dr. Spike is a great guy, his lectures are much better than other physics professors. He's the best you will get at UW. He is very nice and helpful during office hours. Class has lots of points outside of exams, but exams are tough, I mean it is physics.

Explains physics concepts extremely clearly and prepares you well for exams. While the class is hard, he is an amazing professor for it!

HARD CLASS. SO HARD. physics in general seemed so hard on tests. Benjamin was nice...but those exams...nearly impossible to prepare well for.

Constantly swamped and we don't get feedback. Prelecture, lecture and "bridge sets" (homework questions) due 4 days of the week, quizzes and bigger homework assignments due twice a week. Get a subscription to Chegg if you wanna pass honestly, it's saving my butt as far as explaining the material.

He was pretty nice and a good lecturer. The best way to prepare for exams would be the examples in the textbook and practice exams. Fairly average class.

Very good teacher and gives clear explanations of difficult concepts. I had him for both 103 and 104, and I am glad that I did! Only complaint is that he sometimes struggles to finish the lecture slides (but this seems to be a common issue in the physics department).

Professor Spike is very kind and a concise lecturer. His exams were fair. My only complaint would be the general structure of the class: poor communication about grades/exams and a very disorganized structure in general. If I had to take physics again, I would want him as one of my professors!

Spike and Timbie are two of my favorite professors (they co teach) and I had them for physics 103 and 104. They were awesome both semesters. I felt that their exams were always reflective of what we did in class, so nothing was too hard on the exams. They were also really nice.

Many people on here said no notes or partial credit but thats not the case anymore. You are allowed an entire page (front and back) of notes on the first exam, 2 for the second, 3 for the third, and 4 for the final. Before going online (COVID) you could get partial credit on some questions but most are multiple choice (so the answer is there!)

Professor Spike is very good at teaching and you can see he loves the material. His teaching style is effective. He co-teaches the class with Professor Timbie and I had both of them for 103 too. They are both nice and try to make the class fun since its online. Exams reflect class material well but are challenging, and attendance is mandatory!

His lectures were very confusing and hard to follow. Exams were very difficult, with mandatory discussions and labs that were equally confusing and frustrating depending on your TA. He's a nice guy, but it's an extremely difficult class. Would not recommend.

Dr. Spike is a clear and concise lecturer and his tests reflect example questions given in discussion and lecture. Very solid professor for physics 103 and 104. Would recommend to anyone taking this course at UW-Madison

Dr. Spike is a sweetheart, but his lectures were very bland and hard to pay attention to. I really struggle with physics and pretty much had to teach myself since the lectures are just random problems without explanations.

Physics 103 was quite easy and Ben was the best lecturer. He is straightforward and gave applicable examples.

Ben Spike is overall a fine professor, his lectures are just very monotone. Your discussion TA and the pre-class videos will do most of the teaching in this course. If you want an A in this class I would definitely recommended going to the help desk once a week and signing up for the PLC.

Tests were not an adequate way to measure student's mastery of the material. They were riddled with trick questions with one wrong answer completely dropping your grade a whole letter. No Notes allowed, No partial credit. Disappointed in this class

He knows the material really well and made few mistakes in lecturing. Obviously cares about physics, not so understanding on partial credit for your grades. Every question on the exam is worth 8 points. Each question you get wrong drops you a letter grade. No notes during the exam. Barely curved (90% and above is an A)