First, I do recommend this class and this teacher regardless of anything else that I say in this review. There is no other class available (that I know of) for SUMA students that is similar to this one and Professor Falk is a good and worthwhile teacher to learn from.
Professor Falk is a good lecturer, he’s funny, can be self-deprecating at times, has good PowerPoint slides (available on Courseworks), and definitely knows his stuff. It is my sense that students genuinely like the professor despite any of his minor foibles. The guest lecturers were all interesting and worthwhile.
A review of another of Luke Falk’s classes here on CULPA mentioned that he is disorganized. I’m not sure if that is the absolute best word to describe Falk’s weaknesses but I can definitely see why someone might use this word. Suggestions for Professor Falk: Set regular TA office hours once a week (and don’t only stand around in front of the classroom after class to answer any questions although that is appreciated), proofread problem sets a little more carefully to be sure that they have all relevant info and no ambiguities in wording (the Courseworks discussion board was active because of this), decrease the time it takes to get answers to questions student post on the discussion board regarding homework (work with your TA’s), try to be more punctual and be better at responding to emails.
Just to repeat what I said earlier; This is indeed a worthwhile class and it is taught by a very competent and humorous teacher. I was very happy with my experience in this class, what I learned in it and I enjoyed the lectures (Falk makes the time pass easily). I highly recommend this class despite anything negative said here (the pluses tremendously outweigh the negatives).