Howard Trottier - Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Professor: Howard Trottier

Department: Physics

College: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: No
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

If youre taking this course as a GPA Booster, dont. Exams are incredible difficult mainly because they consist of roughly 95% trick questions. Lecture slides are useless as theyre just pictures with occasional words every here and there. He seems like a nice person but the way he writes his exams makes u feel as if this course is a prereq

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: Audit/No Grade
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I took this course as a "GPA booster" but it was the opposite. His lectures are all over the place. For the midterm, he gives you a practice exam which is sort of useful. But, final exams he gives you practice short answers for prep and for some versions uses the exact same questions, for the others they get hard questions from small parts of book.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

The professor isn't bad, he is an interesting man with great passion for astronomy. However, the exams, labs and assignment grade percentage wasn't divided equally and the final ended up being 50%. His lecture notes aren't very helpful to study and prepare for the exam so make sure you take good notes during lectures.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Howard is a very nice prof who encourages students to come to his office hours for help. However, his lecturing style is all over the place and its hard to follow and apply to exams. You're better off reading the textbook and learning from Google. Lectures often not relevant to exam material. Exams also consist of many trick questions. Watch out!!!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Howard Trottier is very friendly and approachable. However, his lectures are sporadic and unorganized. He gives you assignments to do on Canvas that have little relevance to his lectures. Also, the assignments are MC and short answer and are supposed to help prepare you for the exam but they're totally different as there are lots of trick questions

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: No
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Trottier is an amazing prof. The concepts in this course are fairly simple, and Dr. Trottier makes them fascinating. I took this course in the Spring 2018 term, and can say with absolute certainty the people complaining slacked off, assuming they could do nothing and still do well. Prepare as though it were any other course, and you'll be fine.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Lectures were disorganized and hard to follow. Talks fast and even completed slides for lectures were scarce making it harder to follow. Im unsure how he won a teaching award? Also constantly changing office hours was rediculous. Astronomy is cool topic but he made me dislike it.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This lecturer is so lost in his thoughts he doesn't know what he is saying; he does not decide with speed and conviction. He tries to engage students for impact with his breakout questions, but fails. He needs to learn how to organize and plan his office hours 'cause it changes every week. Tests are hard and test your ability to adapt proactively.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

SAVE YOURSELF!!! READ WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SAYS FROM THIS SPRING SEMESTER 2018. PHYS 190 WAS NOT A GPA BOOSTER AT ALL LIKE WHAT PEOPLE IN OTHER SEMESTERS SAID. THE AVERAGE FOR THE EXAM WAS 60%. TOO MANY TRICK QUESTIONS. I DONT KNOW IF HE CHANGED THE LAY OUT OF THE COURSE THIS SEMESTER BUT I'D STAY AWAY. if i knew how hard this was, the regret!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I enjoyed this class. Sure, his lectures aren't necessarily the most organized, and his excitement sometimes gets in the way of his teaching, but the material is interesting and not actually that hard to wrap your head around. Mileage may vary, but between the textbook and lectures, I almost never needed extra help. Read the book before each class!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Howard's kindness and passion for astronomy equals his inability to explain concepts well & make informative slides. He gives interesting demos but tries to simplify concepts to a point that confuses students. I had to find a PDF of a similar textbook to understand lectures. There's a 50% chance he won't answer your question in class - go to hours.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Many might think it's a grade booster. This is not the case. You can get good grades if you buy the textbook. This is because the prof himself isn't the best teacher, and his slides are very informative (relative to the content of the tests). Therefore, if you want to succeed in this course, buy the textbook!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: No
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

NOT A GPA BOOSTER SAVE YOURSELF

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Stay away from this course. Firstly, the material is dense and ridiculously complicated. Secondly, Howard gets lost in his own train of thought, so it's hard to follow along at lectures. Thirdly, the exam questions are mind bending and very specific. Do yourself a favor and take something else, the only thing this course will offer you is stress.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: No
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS FOR AN ELECTIVE! This is THE hardest 100 level class ever. Prof is very disorganized and the average on exams is like 60%. Lectures are confusing and hard to follow. Labs and assignments are easy but not worth much overall. I think he changed the class this semester because concepts were extremely complex for an intro class.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I don't know if he changed the course this semester, but it was much harder than the comments below led me to believe. The exam felt like a series of trick questions and he is generally a bit scatter brained. His passion for the topic makes him a little too excited and his lectures end up coming across in a tangled mess.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Howard cares a lot about astronomy, often encouraged questions and wanted to make sure the class understood the material. The midterm was mostly q's from the assignments which were not too hard if you use the textbook. Labs are easy and somewhat enjoyable. The final was hard so be prepared to review. Class is optional but it really helps to go.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

The most passionate educator when it comes to their field of study. One of the most caring, understanding individuals. Always willing and excited to help. Exams quite fair, although you need to study hard for the final, as there is lots to know, but it was fair. First time taking Astronomy, and I am lucky to have it taught by Howard :)

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

EASIEST CLASS EVER! I rarely went to the lectures and didn't read the textbook but still got an A-. Study the assignments because the two midterms and final are basically the same questions. Howard has a lot of office hours and is really helpful and passionate about astronomy. Definitely take the course!

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHYS190
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This is the easiest class I have taken at SFU. I took the exam today and it was pretty much 70% if not more from previous assignments, quizzes, and practice exam. There are no surprises with his mid terms and final - Howard tells you what to study. If you find them hard you're not putting enough effort in. Read the textbook, go to class, and pass!