Joseph Matyas

Matyas is a cool guy with an odd sense of humor, but his lectures are just so BORING. It's sad, but even he knows it. He hands out a one-page lecture outline of the topic that will be discussed that day, which makes it free reign for anyone to leave right after signing in on the roll sheet to do so. It was so funny to see people leave, one right after another during his lecture after they would sign in. (Hey, Im guilty of it.) It was even funnier when he would make comments about the people who were leaving. Like, "Hey, I know where you live!" I just wished he would incorporate more of his humor into the lectures themselves; I'm sure it would keep the students alert and engaged. I know I would've been more likely to stay.

Key to getting an A in this class: Read the chapter, do the homework (only 3 problems! You have no excuse!), and do the exercises ahead of time (chances are, you wont have enough time to do it during lab). That is ALL you need to understand the material and get an A on the quiz every week. (Be sure to go to lab!) Anything he writes down on the board, really, is irrelevant. His lecture notes are typed out, but in paragraph form, which make it hard to decipher the main points. I find the book much easier to read and understand. So much so, that I decided to keep it after the semester ended.

Im fortunate to have taken a statistics class previously, in which I learned a hell of a lot more. I looked at this class as more of a review.

This class was a breeze. Aside from the work being easy, he bumps your grade up one whole grade if you have perfect attendance in lecture & lab, so you'd be a fool not to get an A! ;o) Because there is a quiz every week (open book/notes), there is no final (i.e., it's just like a regular class day). I dont know how strict the other TAs are, but Don was EXTREMELY laid back. I like to think of lab as a free internet surf period.

If all you want is an easy grade, then take Psych Stat with this instructor. Homework is easy, and the quizzes are easy, except for the last one. The lectures are basically read from the outline that is handed out at the beginning of class. I guess he is a pleasant enough man, but the overall experience is like watching paint peel. If you want to learn something, don't take 371 with Matyas.

Prof. Matyas is what a teacher should be. He is outgoing, funny, a great teacher, well prepared, makes class interesting and it is very fun and easy to learn from him. He jokes a lot in class, but these jokes help you remember the material. The assignments are easy, for the quizzes he basically gives off the answers by telling us "I fel a quiz question coming", and if you do the readings, or just attend the lectures and listen, you can get an A. Best of all is that if you don't miss a lecture throughout the whole semester, he raises your grade by one letter (this being because he doesn't give extra credit assignments). Overall, he is an awsome teacher.

I think Matyas must've paid off his students to write most of these reviews, because I don't know anyone who can sit still during one of his lectures. Sure he's personable and approachable, but his lectures are painful to sit through. He imbeds so many ideas into his run on sentences I lose interest within a few seconds. He looks at his watch constantly and is always saying he's going to finish early, then he runs 5 minutes over the alloted class time. At times his speech drags and meanders, and other times I think he's just reading from the book. Be sure to do your homework and go to every lab - you can easily skip the lecture...or just bring a pillow and nap for 2 hours.

Joseph Matyas is by far the funniest and most animated teacher ive ever had.. He actually did not know EVERYTHING he was teaching us, but if we had any questions about it, he would help us find the answer or someone in class would help--lots of guest speakers also made the class quite interesting--I HIGHLY recommend Matyas for any class he teaches..

Prof.Matyas is WONDERFUL. He's humorous, friendly, and very organized. his lecture is very Important !! not only he gives sample questions of the quizzes (sometime he gives exactly the same questions for the quizes), but you can also get rewarded with an arbitrary FULL GRADE BOOST. On top of that, if you were wait listing or wants to try to add in his class, DONT give up to try it, because 90% of ppl who tried to add in his class this sems actually got in.

Take his class..im highly recommend you !!

Prof Matyas is a great professor with a good sense of humor. I was really turn-off from taking segement three's human sexuality classes and i'm glad that this class seems more sane than the other two classes i took. He is also an easy grader and he even boost one whole grade up if you have perferct attendance! Highly recommend taking HMSX456 if you are taking segement III's humansexuality.

If you want to learn do not take this class with Matyas. He has no idea what he is talking about it. If you want to get an easy A this is the class to take. Matyas is not ready to teach this class, he is not secure about the messages that he is trying to convey. Matyas please do us a favor, stop teaching this class. Try to find something else to do!!!

Professor Joe Matyas is a terrific teacher in my view. I never liked statistics, I never liked MATH. But after taking Matyas class, he made statistics sound more interesting than I thought it would be. He is very humerous and cuts in jokes during his lectures, which keeps us on top of things. He isn't serious like most teachers are when they lecture. He is calm, cool, and very helpful when it comes to students questions. Every lecture, he hands out a lecture online for the days topic which is word for word and very clear and understandable. He makes psychology statistics into something fascinating rather than boring. There are labs once a week as well, and each lab there is a 10 point quiz which is open notes, open book quiz. There is only one exam, the final, which is also open notes and open book. One last thing, if you come to EVERY SINGLE lecture, you qualify for a 20 bonus points added to your final score raising you up one letter grade. Professor Matyas is the teacher to take for PSY 371. He has everything students want, a great attitude, great speaker, great humor, and just someone to talk to.

Dr. Matyas is a wonderful man and a great professor. I have taken both his stats class and his research class, and I found them both exceptional. He can take the most intimidating subjects and make them easy to understand.

The research class gives students a very solid understanding of the basics of research, and challenges them to write a proposal paper in APA format. ( It is not necessary to actually conduct the study.) The beauty of the assignment is that it allows students to pick an issue which truly interests them, and to begin to think about the kind of research they might want to do in the future.

The research proposal is a 3-step process, consisting of an idea paper, a rough draft, and a final draft. Dr. Matyas makes a lot of valuable comments when he returns the drafts, and he has the most beautiful handwriting I have ever seen. I mention this only because it is so refreshing to be able to read the comments on a paper without having to guess what they say...

The tests are straightforward, and cover material that comes mostly from the lectures (which are very interesting.)

I recommend both of these classes HIGHLY!

I have had problems with math since I was a child and had already flunked out of another stats class at state when I took Prof. Matyas' class. Not only did I end up getting an A, but for the first time, I understood what was being taught, even if I asked him to explain it more than once (he didn't make me or other students feel stupid or embarrassed, either-on the contrary, he wanted us to understand).He was sympathetic to the fact that many of us were psych. majors and found stats difficult.The labs were especially helpful as they were smaller classes than the auditorium style lectures. This was the first math class I didn't dread going to, and didn't feel like crying in the bathroom after, but instead felt privileged to have had Prof. Matyas and wished he would teach other subjects as I would take another class from him in a heartbeat.

Joseph is absolutely one of the best instructors I've had so far. He is always in his office (office hours or not) and always willing to help. He takes time to write out outlines to make it easier for the students. His labs are extremely helpful. His grading is extremely fair and clearly stated. He is friendly, personable, and funny (unlike some of the other unsympathetic jerks I've had). I have always been terrible in math and stats, he made it so much easier for me to understand. I cannot imagine taking any other professors for these two classes. Cannot say enough about this man, he is just a phenomenal person and great professor.

Joseph Matyas is a wonderful instructor. He is friendly, humorous, very very organized, and he makes stats seem a whole lot easier than it actually is. He is always available during his office hours if you need him, but if you read the book ( which is very clear and simple to understand) and go to every lab you shouldn't really have any questions. Make sure you definitely go to every lab, not only does he give sample questions of the quizzes, but you also get points which add up and can make a difference in your grade. He gives a quiz every week but thats alot better than clumping up tons of information into only a couple of tests. The only challenge is the final (its cumulative), but if you stay on top of everything from the beginning you should be fine.

Joseph was able to take a very boring subject and make it interesting. He is very fair and very organized. He allows you to use your book or notes during tests which helps a lot. He always brings a grade sheet to the lecture so you know exactly where you stand.

Joseph Matyas is one of the most animated instructors I have ever ever had. The class is worth taking for his humor alone. For the first time stats. student, the course can be difficult at times however. His lectures are very dense and his teaching style is difficult to follow at times. As long as you pay attention in class and go to the labs you will be fine. There is no homework. There are quizzes every lecture (you can use your notes, book,...practically anything goes), and there is only one true test: the final.

Jospeh was a solid instructor. He actually managed to make this class interesting, as odd as that sounds. He has a great sense of humor, and is willing to work with any student who has questions or feels as though they may be falling behind. More interaction between the professor and the students would make Joseph's class even more fulfilling.

Joseph Matyas is a very charming and humorous instructor. Sit close you don't miss anything. He hands out anal outlines almost word for word what he lectures on. You won't miss anything that way. He doesn't like to teach for too long so he doesn't give long, looong, lectures. He's interesting where Stats is generally not. I tried to take Stats twice and hated it. He was the best one.