excellent

Seemed like an interesting guy. Many times I got the sense that he felt he had better things to do than teach this 100 level class. I found the class hard but in the end I got a B in it so I can't complain. I got my science credits and didn't kill my GPA.

GREAT CLASS!! Ackerman was excited each day to teach us about weather. He was quite funny and constantly made fun of himself. Test are very easy if you read the textbook, answer the review questions and look over notes. I would recommend the class to anyone!

Lectures were pointless because and reading the book really wasnt that helpful because the exams were hard. One thing I liked was that he gave a review sheet every exam but the multiple choice were too hard to decipher.

The material is not particularly hard, and Ackerman provides some helpful study guides before each midterm - which he then curves upward. The TA's are all very knowledgeable, but if you choose to take the lab section, pick Hester (hands down the best). Ackerman gives little in-class assignments, but they are graded on completion. GREAT CLASS.

The class was fairly easy as long as you attend lecture and read the material. The exams were straight forward and the prof isn't mean or boring. The TA seems a little off but besides that the course is pretty good for a science class. And a lot is done on learn @ uw such as quizzes and slides are posted.

Ackerman himself is a very enthusiastic professor and shows obvious interest in the subject. His lectures don't really prepare you for his tough multiple choice tests, however he does take 3 of top 4 tests. Reading the book is a MUST to get a good grade. The 1 credit discussion is NOT WORTH the extra work.

This class was very hard. Prof Ackerman was NOT available outside of class. He didn't care about the class. VERY hard to pull off a good grade in this class because the multiple choice exams were very challenging.

Steve is a great, enthusiastic professor. It's a college course, of course there are homework and exams that are meant to challenge you. Never felt he or the exams were unreasonable. Great freshmen/sophomore class.

Horrible lectures that were extremely boring, but attendance was effectively mandatory due to stupid in-class, randomly done assignments. One example is when he decided to make us draw a face and turn it in for credit. He is never available outside of class, but the biggest flaw is how disorganized and chaotic the class is. By no means an easy A

The class wasn't as easy as everyone made it seem. However, if you take some time reading the book, you can pull of a very good grade. He tends to stay on topics that are really unimportant with respect to the tests. I highly recommend reading the book and highlighting and or taking notes from it. It's really the only way you can keep up.

tests not so easy. he spends about 40% of each lecture doing pointless in class exercises and wasting student's time. it is not worth your tuition dollars to take this class. he is not available out of class and does not care about this class. for the amount of money we pay for these classes it is unacceptable that he is not available to students

Too much for a 100 level class. His multiple choice are difficult and confusing at times. His TAs are very rude and not helpful.

Steve Ackerman is the man. This has been my absolute favorite class at UW. He does an amazing job incorporating humor into the lecture to keep things interesting. Four exams total in which you take your top three scores. All are pretty easy (36 MC and 2 short answer). I would highly recommend this class to anyone who needs a phys. science credit.

Very enthusiastic.

Awesome Professor! Class was well organized and fun to attend. Best professor I have ever had in college. Great college experience

VERY unorganized lectures. Most of the test material comes from the book but some is from lecture. You have to work in this class if you want a good grade. Interesting class overall.

Class requires work. Not as easy as everyone said. Unorganized lectures. The textbook helps a ton for clarity. Lots of easy in class assignments and homework help your grade but make attendence necessary. Steve seems like a great guy, but he's not helpful to outside of class. TA's are helpful. The 1 credit discussion is a lot of extra work.

Steve is awesome! He's a little spacey sometimes but he makes lecture interesting. He really cares about students getting good grades though, and lets you drop the final. There are a lot of in-class assignments (SUPER easy) and little online quizzes but you can use you book and they really help boost your grade. REALLY EASY PHYSICAL SCIENCE CREDIT!

Steve is a very confusing lecturer and going to lecture is not helpful (except for the pointless in-class assignments). He knows his stuff but gets confused when he tries to explain it to an entire class. His tests are tough, but he wrote the textbook, so read it to help you on the test. He likes to spring homework on you so check Learn@UW OFTEN!

This class was not hard at all. very straight forward. He wrote the book, so its all pretty much in there. a good lecturer, and a funny guy, you dont have to go to class to get an A, but I enjoyed it.

Ackerman tries to make the class fun, but winds up just wasting your time with clapping and useless in class activities. Pretty easy, but so frustrating! The TA's know it all, and the prof is constantly making errors during lecture.

very disorganized class...he is basically a stand up comedian but he tells you nothing in class that you need to know for the test. Never gave a syllabus, assignments are randomly given, it is a class designed for freshman with little structure and no required thinking. not too easy either.

Going to lecture is pointless except for the in class activities he randomly gives. On-line quizzes are easy. Tests are hard- tells you what to focus on, but what he tells you is not on the test. Thought this would be an easy A or B- it is not. Do not take this class if you are just looking for science credit- there are better/easier classes.

The class is pretty much an easy AB if you show up to lecture and do some reading. Ackerman is an enthusiastic, down to earth guy that somehow I would trust with anything even though I've never talked to him 1 on 1 before. He just gives off that kind of vibe. If you can take a class with this guy, do it.

This class rocked and Steve rocked! You had to read the textbook to get an A, but that really isn't much to ask. It was important to go to lecture, but you'll want to go because he is so interesting He tells stories about his wife and daughters and is really entertaining. He was really helpful and there was extra credit. TAKE THIS CLASS WITH STEVE!

Not an easy A, but it's definetly reachable. Class attendance is important because he gives random, easy in-class assignments. 7 or 8 easy homework assignments. There are relatively few points, so getting stuff in on time is important. He has incredible enthusiasm for teaching, which makes the class more interesting. His book is pretty helpful.

Never knew what he was going to cover in class, however what he did cover was explained clearly, and he answered all in-class questions immediately. Read the book on the material he covered in lecture and it's a pretty easy class. Review sessions are very helpful too.

He is ALL over the place with his lecture. It's pretty much a waste of time to go because nothing that he says really makes sense. But he does random give in-class assignments so you really can't skip class. We spent two lectures looking at smiley faces that people drew - waste of time! An A or A/B is possible, but you do have to study hard!

Ackerman is very entertaining, but is all over the place when it comes to lecture. Since we use a textbook he co-wrote, read the book before you come to class to try to help with his disorganization. Overall, OK class.

I wouldn't say it's an automatically easy class, but you definitely have chances to do well. Ackerman is funny and interesting, and he loves what he teaches. If you're confused, you have several knowledgable TAs to help you understand. Go to the review sessions before the exams and read the book!

I don't blame the guy for trying, but his enthusiasm almost detracts from learning. I couldn't take notes worth the paper they were written on. He is knowledgeable but very scattered in lecture. It didn't help that I wasn't that interested in the subject matter.

while I agree that berazow is a good TA, if you really want to know your stuff go see Brian Kaplan, best AOS 100 TA in madison

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Enjoyed the class, was obviously interested in what he was teaching. First exam was easy, and then it all goes downhill from there. Has some trouble explaining himself sometimes. Did not enjoy the fact that he added more assigned readings after the last day of his class. Should not screw his students over like that.

He is a really nice guy but the class isn't easy by any means. Its doable but you definitely have to work hard if you want a good grade. I would say easy to get a B but more difficult to get an A. But reading the responses on rate myprofessor before i took the class, a few people just said how great he was and didn't really specify that it was hard

The kind of guy you would love to have as an uncle. He's awesome, his class is really boring though. He knows his stuff (he wrote our textbook).

Steve is a great lecturer because he makes the material interesting. His style works to keep you attention. However, the power lectures sometimes feel too long. Beware, he gives in class assignments!

Swell guy. Loves his job.

Makes the class really interesting, and doesn't get too in depth about anything. No math either, which makes it a really good class to fill your science requirements for non-science majors. He's really funny and entertaining, too.

He was an excellent and energetic professor!

Fun! Made an interesting class and steered my studies into environmental science. An easy "A" as well, which is always a plus.

One of my favorite professors! Extremely interesting and funny --but knowledgable as well!!

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Weather and Climate was the easiest class

Offers plenty of Extra Credit

very entertaining lecturer. tests are very fair!

lectures are boring and the TAs suck, but he offers a lot of extra credit that really helps. the tests are kinda hard, but if u do extra credit its easy to get an A

Never there. Funny. TAs sucked, and he knew it but still didn't show up to class.

I had him in a different semester than the rest of these comments and he was very helpful and professional, and maybe missed one lecture the entire semester. He makes class worth going to with his experiments and overall fun. By far my favorite professor thus far.

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Great teacher...when he was there. By the time of first exam he had been there less than 50% of the time. As semister progressed he got a little better but still I would say less than 70% of the time he was there. The TA's could not teach for their life. People would leave if he was not there.

The guy used to do stand up comedy...what more do I need to say. If you need an easy science course and your normally don't like science, take this class, it makes the weather interesting.

Great Professor. Very Peppy. Was hardly there this semester though which made it kind of hard and his TA's suck. Lenient curve so that helps. Extra credit opportunites. Would recommend him, but don't count on him being there more than half the time.

Funny and Peppy

Very nice peppy guy! It's very helpful that he wrote his own text book. That way you could study right out of the book! But this semester he was hardly here.. His TA's SUCK

horrible teacher. if you're going to teach a course, it'd be nice to show up. the TA's are incompetent. don't ever take this class with ackerman.

He's awesome!

HE IS THE BEST PROF. EVER! He made things easy to understand with fascinating demos and was really funny! A great guy and I'd definitely recommend the class!

It wasn't a terrible lecture--I liked him, but I'm just not a science-oriented person, but I managed to get B's on the tests. To be fair, I'm not one of those people that overly studies, so I could have done better.

very good lecturer; tests are fairly easy

Does an excellent job of making a class on weather actually entertaining. Fun class and the tests aren't as bad as everyone says.

He is funny

His tests have nothing to do with lecture!

you guys are insane. he constantly contradicted the book and was so high on being a cool professor he was not helpful at all.

Excellent professor. Power lecture never seemed so short. Tests are a little tricky, but manageable.

A brilliant prof. Really makes the subject interesting. Probably the best I had at UW.

Awesome energetic teacher, class is easy and fun!