Historical instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Easily my favorite STEM professor at Madison so far. Funny and passionate dude who grades extremely fairly with a generous curve. Lots of small tests instead of big midterms. Lectures are never boring, but he does go on tangents fairly often.Rate My Professors ↗
What more could you ask when there is no midterm + 80 is a A + 50% of the grade is free if you do homeworks and go to labs?Rate My Professors ↗
Prof Walker sometimes forgets what actually comes naturally to us, especially since some of us only took introductory HS physics before this course. He also goes on tangents unrelated to the lecture itself which can leave you wondering what you were supposed to learn. Otherwise, he is a super nice guy who really wants to help his students succeed!Rate My Professors ↗
Nice guy but hard to follow. Very passionate but that often leads to tangents in lectures that involve physics way beyond what we knew. Lectures were a bit hard to follow and often not relevant to what was tested. Did his best to help with the grade/relieve pressure. Minimal homework, completion labs and generous curve.Rate My Professors ↗
Thad will tell you that everything in the class is easy which, in a sense, it is. However, it's only easy once you understand how to do it and he sometimes struggles to identify what students know and what comes easily/what doesn't. He cares about his students A LOT and wants to help Lectures start strong but get less helpful over time.Rate My Professors ↗
Great lectures, lots of short homework assignments, and several quizzes rather than more traditional exams. For learning about an infamously difficult subject like quantum mechanics, Prof Walker is a solid choice.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.
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