Awesome guy. Really laid back. All of our tests were Take Home. He knows his stuff.

He tried really hard to make class interesting. I found his tangents interesting, because he knows what he's talking about. Real Easy, No HW, and Take Home Tests

Dave is a good guy, and a great teacher. He did a lot of fun demonstrations in class which made it fun. His exams are pretty straight forward, he provides practice tests that help, but homework is what preps you most for his tests, he also lets you bring a note card to the exam. Overall a good professor!!!

If you want to learn something DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS. But if you don't care and just want a good grade, go for it!He can't teach for crap but he gives out great practice tests and offers extra credit.

Offers lots of extra credit opportunities. Take the problem solving course to get his practice tests. He's a good, funny teacher

He's a great teacher no matter how other people think, always gives 100%.

He could be a great comedian of the century! I love the way how he teaches physics, specially his sense of humor and kindness that makes everybody happy!! I strongly recommend Dave to everyone. I think he is a genius sometimes.

Dave is a great teacher, mainly because he is genuinely interested. Personal problems forced me to take an "I" but Dave is still helping me learn the material. Only one take home test and it is difficult, test are not open book/note, but he is really good about explaining anything not understood, so it is not an easy "A". Great instructor.

A great teacher!!

He was not an easy teacher!!! I am telling you now,if you don't study your butt off, forget a good grade. He can be the nice guy but also an evil when the grade comes. Now I am just pray and crossing my fingers to pass..

Class was easy if you try. Tests are more focused on his own material as opposed to material out of the book. Enjoyed his passion for the material and you can tell he loves teaching. I appreciated his dedicated to the role and anyone who says otherwise needs to grow up and realize what college is about. Thanks for your insight dave, keep it up.

Dave does a lot of lecture, if you miss class you will miss the material. Extremely helpful and responds quickly to email. Once you understand him, you'll love his teaching style.

Taken as online class. Mostly reading chapters from the book and taking short quizzes online. Some questions are poorly worded, can take some time to reason out what he meant. Gives tons of extra credit on tests though.

Easy to listen to, not easy to hear. When you can actually hear him he's a great proffessor, most of the time he talks really quiet.

Best Physics professor at SLCC! He is willing to do whatever it takes to help students and there is more extra credit than you can handle. I learned a lot from him and aced the class. The only ones who did poorly were those who hardly ever attended class and just tried to memorize stuff for tests.

Excellent professor that really cares about the students. He gives you multiple chances to raise your grade. You will have to study really hard because the class isn't easy, but Prof. Schaffer makes the material understandable and he really loves teaching. I got an A.

Dave is excellent. I wish I were staying at SLCC so I could take all my physics courses from him. He explained astronomy in a way that makes it captivating. He cares a lot about his students understanding the material. He explains any concept and will chat with you after class if you have questions. He wants you to get a good grade. and I did. A+

I took this online. He really makes you work for a good grade. You basically need to read the textbook and review the worksheet he posts online. If you do both, you will do very well on the tests. I averaged about a c+ b- but he adjusts all the quizzes and test down so your points are worth more at the end. Hard, but I learned a lot.

Dave is a great teacher i took with him both physics 2010 and 2020 i got an A+ in both. he gives a lot of homework but they are very very helpful. his tests are not easy but if you showed up to the class and you did the homework then you got it! he's very nice and willing to help you...if you want to understand physics then TAKE HIM! he's funny too

Professor Shaffer is the helpful professor I have ever had. It's easy to fall behind in his class, and he knows this, so he's always willing to help students catch up during his office hours. He's also really friendly and understanding about the whole "bad student" thing. Definitely not a pretentious jerk.

I took this class online. Qustions in the quizzes and tests were difficult. I read every chapter, subsection, and side note of the book and only scored an average of 85% on quizzes and tests. He said that he includes extra credit questions but I have yet to see how it will help my grade :/ I'm a 4.0 student and I'd be happy to get a B+.

I'll keep this brief. He is a very good professor and he thinks outside the box, he is funny and good but knows what he is talking about. I don't think he is the type you want to take online but his in class is awesome. he helps you when needed and always listens to whatever you ask. he isn't very strict, just make sure you don't miss class.

he is a fair grader if you do your best and show up every class period you should be able to finish with an A. he gives plenty of opportunities for extra credit and you should take those opportunities.

Not the perfect Professor for everyone, but he was the perfect Professor for me. He is willing to help everyone, but he is a bit unconventional. If you are just trying to get your physical science credit you might want to consider another class, but if you have any interest in physics this is a great class to get you started on the concepts.

Great guy! Just a little confusing on test questions and expectations.

I don't know what these people are talking about. David is a great professor! At times the material can be hard to follow but it's physics. I went to his office hours early on and asked a lot of questions and ended up switching to a physics major after this. He made difficult topics like special and general relativity easy to grasp. Great class!

There is a lot of homework and reading. Buy the e-book. Tests are open book/note. If you get the e-book it's cheaper and you're able to use the search function. He is a more than fair grader. There are 5 EC questions on every test and he gives EC opportunities in class as well as on your project. He has an obviouslove for physics!

Dave is an amazing teacher I had him for both Physics 2010 and 2020. He helped me really learn the material and helped us prepare for the tests well, his pretests before the tests helped so much. He is the funniest teacher I have ever had, which made the physics bearable. I would recommend him for anyone wanting to succeed and learn physics.

Best teacher I have had to date. I know of 2 other physics teachers at the university of utah and westminster and Dave is by far the best. He understands how physics should be learned and how difficult it can be. Provides extra credit and is quick with his replies. Truly cares about the students learning experience. I had him for 2010 and 2020.

Schaffer messaged regularly to keep in touch with the students. The work is divided up by chapters with a test and they have due dates, so you can't work ahead.

You can tell he really loves physics and wants you to enjoy it as well. I personally really enjoyed this class and on the final project, once I got past the overwhelming part, it was actually a lot of fun to do. Just keep in mind with Physics that you have to think differently.

I wouldn't take Physics from anyone except Dave. He is a great teacher! The homework is online and every homework assignment comes with extra credit. If you show up to class and do the homework you'll get an A. He lets you use any handwritten notes on tests. This is a huge help for this class. Take his class. He sends a pretest for every test.

I took this class online, I've taken physics before but this teacher was so thoughtful throughout the entire course, he always updated his online students and gave many options to succeed in his class. He made sure that you had access to materials and if you had questions, he would reply back with very detailed answers to help. Loved this class

David was pretty cool. He's not strict or anything but does remind you to finish assignments and tests. He's pretty lenient but as long as you do the work(doesn't matter how to him as long as it's done). He responds pretty quickly to emails(within a day).

Dave really wants you to learn the overall concepts without you getting paranoid about grade. Gives intermittent extra credits if you attend lectures regularly. If you are engaged in his class and put in the effort you will get an A. He gives pretest solutions before tests, which are pretty close to his tests. He makes his lectures super fun.

Dave is an awesome guy. He sends out a lot of stuff on canvas, do yourself a favor and actually read it, I wish I had started to earlier. Most of the stuff he puts on the tests he sends out ahead of time and he lets you make up points. He loves questions and is easy to side track, but he really cares that you learn to learn from equations.

He's disorganized and has crappy handwriting, so it's easy to get lost if you don't pay attention. SO helpful 1-on-1 so don't be shy! He gives you so many tips and tricks to succeed. Videos, online tutoring, algorithms, helped with take home tests and point recovery, TONS of XC. You only fail if you slack. Easily one of my favorite professors here.

Mr. Schaffer goes over what he can in class but he gets distracted easily. There are about 6 assignments a week with a test at the end but its all online. He was very easy to contact with any questions and even offered to help me get through my required project. He does offer occasional extra credit which is great. Extra credit is sometimes in HW 2

Easy A. Great teacher didnt even have to take the final because of the amount of extra credit I had.

Having graduated from the UofU and taken my share of science classes, Prof. Schaffer is by far the best I have ever had. You may find his teaching style a little different (but more entertaining) but I promise it will pay off for much greater understanding and overall problem solving skills He truly cares about your success and teaches that way.

Interesting lectures and overall a good dude

David loves physics and tries to help students find that love too. He gives so many handouts about learning how to learn from equations, etc. He spends the entire lecture time on the board working out problems. He loves helping students when they get stuck. Offers an extra credit project. You get what you put in.

ONLY REVIEW YOU NEED: Professor Schaffer is a wonderful professor. Extremely knowledgeable. People complain about the workload but its no more than any other physics class, I found it to be pretty light. There are plenty of Extra Credit opportunities. Very accessible. If you put in effort everyone can get an A in his classes. EZ Test Corrections

He is a little scatter-brained, like most physics professors, but if you pay attention in class you can follow along when he does examples. It helps to read the chapters. Chapter hw sucks and is frustrating but doesn't weigh too much on your grade. He gives a lot of e.c. which is great! He is very caring and wants everyone to succeed now and later

Professor Dave is a very kind person. We brings experiments to class, tell corny jokes, and wants you to succeed. Tbh though lectures were boring, he's not the best lecturer. Be prepared to self study, work his pretests, and ask him to publish the worksheets he has written on different units. LOTS OF EXTRA CREDIT! Mastering physics hmk sucks

The lectures where engaging because he had a lot of visual aids/ demonstrations. You could bomb the tests but still get an A because the weekly assignments and projects should pad your grade. If you're taking this as a GenEd its a good class to take but I would probably be harsher if this was my major.

Great guy and good teacher. The online homework is absolute trash. Tests were decent. Handwriting was encrypted sanscrit.

I like how passionate he is in his class. He will also excuse your late work as long as you communicate with him. He is an easy grader.

Dave is awesome. Highly recommend him. His lectures can be tedious at times but I think you'll find he really cares about his students, and the grade they receive. He offers loads of extra credit and make-up points for exams as you'll sustain as Dave puts it "battle damage." Homework sucks. Study and work through his pre-tests and you'll do fine.