His lectures are not helpfull.

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Most boring teacher ever. Bring your discman to class so you stay awake.

He's really boring...he always sounds like he's reading from a term paper.

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So Boring.

AWFUL!!!! Never take thsi class, your better off just learning from teh book.

donald katzner sports his pastel button up shirts every morning, maybe they are used to contrast with his bleak personality. BORING AS HELL. the guy know's what he is talking about but he couldn't teach a dog how to bark. as seen in Case and Fair

Very hard class. It made my freshman year here suck. He gave 4 and 6 question tests. Definately seek your TA for help!

Ever seen Ben Stein? (Clear Eyes, Win Ben Steins Money, Wonder Years, etc) WELL THIS GUY IS A CARBON COPY OF HIM!!! although he is very smart, he is the most boring and unhelpful teacher I have ever had, not worth going to lectures, go to discussions!

the course is difficult if you do not understand economic graphs. Know and understand economic graphs that is what will save you.

The Professor just rambles on and on and on, making the class incredibly hard to sit through. Unless you want your grade based on 3 tests, don't take this class.

One of the worst teachers at Umass. Very unclear, tests are very tricky, for my class, the average test grades were in the 40's. Terrible

NEVER TAKE A CLASS WITH KATZNER!!! His sources are outdated, and he basis his cultural comparison on stereotypes; there was no comparison of economics involved. Our TA spent many discussion periods telling us Katzner is full of****. Attendence WILL affect your grade. He's an old dick and his class is useless. DO NOT TAKE A KATZNER CLASS.

This man is atrocious. His lecture is not clear, he is borderline incomprehensible, he uses confusing terminology for already confusing material, he doesn't use the book much, Only Three tests that make up your whole grade and nothing else, his tests are tricky and hard as well, be prepared for a 5 question test too. He is not good at all

This guy is one of the worst teachers I've had, he just rambles on about stuff and doesn't use power point or anything just writes on the chalkboard. I would not take 204 with him at all. STAY AWAY

The absolute worst class i have taken at umass. The material is already hard and this prof does nothing to make this any easier. Its outrageously boring and it doesnt help that he writes on the chalk board with writing impossible to read. If you can, stay away from taking this class with him. Its horrible to say the least...

So unclear

Not a good teacher. He thinks he does a great job teaching but he does not explain it. He just states what it is. Does not let TA's go over quiz review questions until after the quiz so you are on your own. If you do not use his words, you get no points even if you say what he said in your own words.

Not helpful, and very confusing. The material he teaches you he doesn't explain how to answer the questions and you won't gain credit unless you write exactly how he wants it although you may have the answer correct in your own words. Get a different teacher.

Im the type of student that goes 110% on everything. This professor speaks in advanced terminology that none of this sophomore not junior students can keep up with. When asked to clarify, he just repeats the same garble and looks at the student as if they're the problem.

WORST professor ever. Avoid at all costs

THE WORST professor at UMass. Avoid Katzner at all costs. Terrible person and an even worse instructor. His lectures are unintelligible and he expects you to learn everything from the textbook. If I wanted to learn from books, I would not have enrolled in college. Assignments are tough and his grading is completely unfair. Do not take this class.

He's an incredible guy, however his teaching is quite old-school and I find it be be fairly inaccessible for students who are not "traditional" learners. With only four quizzes and two exams it makes it difficult to get a good grade in this course when these are the main things determining your grade.

This is the worst class at UMass Amherst. His teaching is impossibly confusing. If you zone out for 20 seconds you'll be lost for the rest of the class. I stopped going after the first exam because it was unbearable. He is an incredibly smart dude that could not care less if you learn anything or have any idea what he's talking about.

Katzner is a smart guy, but his teaching style is archaic and he is awful at explaining the material. He makes every definition and theory seem more complicated than they actually are, and the course is extremely back heavy, with the final being worth 50% of your final grade. Do not take a class with him.

All the questions for the quizzes and exams are given to you from day 1 but its impractical to memorize everything. lectures are very stale and i stopped going after exam 1. I would say your ta is the most helpful person for this course. would highly avoid this class if possible because you're gonna have a longgg semester

If you are a person who can't retain anything in lecture (especially with no powerpoints) then you should not take this class. Teaching yourself is impossible. I tried to go to lecture and teach myself but it didn't work. I went to discussion and just listened as people were talking about things I didn't know. Don't take this class.

This is the only class that I have ever taken where I feel like the professor wants you to fail. 4 quizzes worth 25 percent. Midterm worth 25 percent. Final worth 50 percent. That's it. Katzner thinks he is a great guy for giving you the questions beforehand but there are over 200 questions for an exam with 7 questions on it. Don't take this class.

Very old school and his teaching is difficult to understand and is quite dry. He takes fairly simple, intuitive concepts and makes them incredibly confusing.

If you dont need this class drop it now, but some majors have it as a requirement. Katzner is a super smart guy and I know hes doing his own thing, but the final is worth 50% of your grade and the midterm is worth 25%. There are no slides provided, he speaks extremely low, and this is easily the worst class here! Good luck, you will need it.

Awful Professor, if you can take this class with literally anyone else, do it. Very boring classes. If you are currently taking the class, or you don't have a choice in professor. Look at CourseHero for the study question answers. They will be in multiple class folders, but all are possible to find.

Katzner seems like a great guy but not a good prof. Hes not enthusiastic about teaching at all and doesn't seem to be accessible for questions outside class. The reason I passed the class was because of my good TA. Also writes his notes in cursive by hand and refuses to change them so its hard to follow along. Sorry but wouldnt recommend for 203.

Two exams make up 75% of the grade. You can't read anything he writes and he is not fun to listen to. These questions on the study questions are ridiculous and he makes easy Economics concepts way harder than they need to be.

Donald Katzner is a very bad professor. His lectures were boring, his handwriting is illegible, and he contributed nothing towards my learning. Here is how you do well in this class: - Go to discussion sections - Go to your TA office hours - Don't go to lectures. Only use the lecture recordings to answer some study questions - Use the textbook

Professor Katzner is intelligent, but does not speak in a way that makes sense to an average student. Definition of a boomer. Don't attend lectures because you get nothing out of it, he writes in cursive on a chalk board and does not use proper slides. Your TA discussion session will be what saves you. DON'T TAKE UNLESS YOU HAVE TO.

He is really bad at lecturing and is very boring. Reads his lecture notes in class that makes no sense (posted on moodle) and writes everything on the board but is very bad at explaining so it's the same as just reading the PDF. Class is graded only on 5 quizzes (30%) and 2 exams (70%). The TA saves your life though so go to the discussion.

Nice guy but nobody goes to the lectures because they are useless. Go to your TA, learn what they teach you and you will get an A. Also don't buy the expensive textbook because you don't need it. Quizzes and tests are all based on questions he gives in prep material. Prof practically does not run or teach the course.

Awful. Useless lectures and way over complication of what you need from the material. Never skip a TA session and use the study guides, pray on the final (it's 50% of the final grade and can be any material from the semester).

Way too difficult, no one should go through the pain of this class.

This class is way too difficult no one should waste their time on this.

I never Attended his lectures. Thank God it was not mandatory because I could feel my brain cell disintegrate in his class. He is very respected in his field but that doesn't excuse his inability to impart knowledge. Due to his age, his speech is unclear and thoughts are cluttered as well. Not to mention, his syllabus and contents is endless.

Class is overly difficult, textbooks are useless. 75% of your grade is the midterm and final, and every question is open response, no extra credit. Would not take.

Students should know that his lectures are very difficult to understand, his writing is small, and frequently the concepts are unclear. TA sessions are beneficial, and it often feels like the professor and the TA's are teaching entirely different subjects. Overall, many concepts feel still abstract. Class makes me regret slightly majoring in Econ.

Very Honest, take another Microecon class if you can. Grade is based on 400 total points between quiz midterm and final. Had a month of in-person classes and zoomed in the rest of the year. Has taught the same lecture for so long he has all of his lecture notes memorized. Go to TA sessions they help a lot. This course was my final straw to transfer

This class has actually made me want to cry so many times. This is the most difficult course of the economics major. He NEEDS to retire, he cannot teach at all.

Save yourself. Bane of my existence.

I wish I could write good things about this class but I can't. This will probably be one of the most hard if not the hardest econ class you have to take as an econ major. The quizzes and exams are weighted ridiculously, you better hope and pray you end up with a good TA.

The lectures themselves are useless. Visit the discussions and TA hours instead. The overall structure is also messed up. No homework, just quizzes, midterm and a final that is 50% of the grade.

This is legitimately the hardest class I've ever taken. All TA heavy, if you have a bad TA you can basically kiss your grade goodbye. There are 4 quizzes, and two exams all graded all out of a different amount of points and a heavy curve applied at the end. Avoid this class if you can.

Bane of my existence, my TA got me through this class. I've never spent more time studying for any other class. The averages for the tests which are 75% of the grade averaged 61 and 57 uncurved.

didn't even bother showing up to lecture due to his already god awful ratings. he doesn't use a mic or projector in a 250 person lecture hall so I pretty much had to teach myself everything in the course. Wasn't bad but having a competent professor would've been nice. Glad he's finally retired good riddance