I took an in person Physical Science class of his and enjoyed it thoroughly. Professor Valk class was a very practical "basic scientific education" type of class. He is a bit disheveled and sometimes late to grade but the content is ?EXACTLY? what he says it will be for quizzes and tests. Easy A for anyone with a scientific background.Very helpful.

He isn't organized and this bothered me. As the term went on I started to understand how his un-organization worked, that helped. I was having trouble and asked for some help. He did everything he could to help. His class is hard, but if you ask for help he will work with you. At first he may seem all over the place but there is a pttern. :)

This class is very difficult. However, this teacher is very amazing. Not only can students tell that he really knows the material he teaches, but he is also very helpful and will work with the students to make sure they understand the material as well. The difficulty aside, I really recommend Dr. Valk for at least one science class.

I'm taking him for an online class, I really like him as an online teacher (and I've taken many). I met him for an observatory night, he is very passionate & hyper about this subject. He does give a lot of work but they are not hard to complete what so ever. It just consumes more of your time than usual. He shows very exciting things & programs.

good professor. lots of work, no essays,

I took this class online and there was a lot of busy work but it was all fairly easy. You get to retake quizzes until you get the desired score. I would reccomend him for sure!

Easy teacher! I took him for physics 1 and all of the exams were exactly the same as the classwork he gave but with different numbers! Got an A easily!

I highly recommend Valk. He explains astronomy really well, he is an amazing teacher. He really cares about the students.

Professor Valk is organized. He is the best professor from Polk State college. I don't have anything to complain about him.

Physical Science is HARD. If you take this class online you have to be able to teach yourself. The quizzes can be taken up to 10 times (which is needed) I recommend printing the quizzes because the answers for the midterm and final will come directly from quizzes. If you work hard on your homework assignments, get 100 on all quizzes you will pass.

Great teacher. I took his Astronomy class last fall and learned so much. Lots of work, but worth it.

He is awesome. Just wants you to learn what is necessary. You don't have to be a rocket scientist. Ba-dum-tss. Pun intended. It is just him talking and playing some videos about astronomy, which is very interesting, but it can be boring. Just do the work on MasteringAstronomy and take the tests on desire2learn, and you will do fine.

While an brilliant man this teacher of Astronomy can be a space case sometimes. He is truly passionate about his subject and he is willing to help you understand if you don't get a concept. He tends to repeat himself a lot. It's not too bad, but you'll get bored sometimes.

This class requires a lot of work and dedication, but you will not leave it without learning something.

Great Professor! Really knows the subject. Made a boring topic really interesting at times. Highly recommend taking his class!

The homework in this course pretty involved, so it took a lot of time. But Professor Dirk lets you take what are essentially practice test repeatedly until you have a grade which you are satisfied with. He really knows Astronomy. Plus, he's hot.

As long as you practice the homework, you'll pass the weekly quizzes and as long as you rework and practice the quizzes, you'll pass the tests. He is very helpful and works out any questions about the hw or quizzes for you. Lab write-ups are easy and hw is participation based. Took him for Physics I&II got an A each time.

Awesome subject, worth taking the class.

He will work related problems to help you better grasp the overall concepts.

One of my favorite professors at PSC. Really good-natured guy and very smart. Always willing to explain in greater detail, never condescending, and very understanding as far as grading is concerned. Do the home-work, show up for class, and you're guaranteed not to fail.

Great Professor!!!! As long as you do the online quizzes (everything else came from those questions) and do the work, you should get an A.

If you have to take Physics and this teachers class conflicts with another. Drop the other class! This teacher is hands down the best I have ever had, out of any subject. I don't even like math heavy classes, but Valk makes it interesting. If you need help, he's there for you. Responds to email within 24 hrs. He genuinely cares about his student.

Anytime I needed help he was really cool about it. However, this was the hardest class I've ever taken. I've always been interested in Astronomy so I thought taking it for an elective would be great! I've never had so much homework to do in my life. His deadline dates are really weird. Had to withdraw from the class because of how difficult it was.

Professor Valk is one of the best professors at Polk State. I was completely lost in Unit 2; I went and seen him during office hours and he went over the material with me. Then he posted to the online forum of the same material to help further. There is a lot of homework, but a great class! He is so nice! Work hard and ask for help!

Great class! Great Professor! I loved this class, and I wish I had room to take more of Prof. Valk's classes. It was definitely not an easy class, but if you try you will learn so much.

Do not skip class! You will not get the grade you wanted. He requires the book but i went through the course without it, if you pay attention and write down everything he says then you won't need it. His class is fun, ask questions! Hes very open and will answer anything after class even unrelated. Just don't forget to do all the assignments!

The quizzes look intimidating based on how many questions they are but answers are easily found within the book. We used the book a decent amount. Gives plenty of practice to guarantee a favorable grade. Lectures include lots cool pictures and videos of space stuff. If you don't want to deal with math in a science class, this course is for you.

Good professor. Homework is optional but recommended. Classwork given every lecture but is not graded on correctness. Light 3 question quiz every week. Tests and quizzes contain no surprises, all content on them been discussed. No practice/review is given for exams and quizzes, except for final which only contained a Q&A review day. Gives formulas.

Awesome professor! real easy and he makes you get interested about the universe with his lectures! easy going teacher, stress free, just do the work and you'll pass.

Just make sure you listen to his lectures and you'll be fine in his class. He has a lot of online component, but Google is your friend ;). His tests aren't too hard, but studying the practice test helps a lot. He's a chill guy, and if you're confused then he goes out of his way to help. Strongly hints at believing in aliens lol

As long as , you do your work & keep up with the material and give yourself time to study you should be able to pass with an A. Repetition works best to learn the information the more time you see it the better chances of understanding the material. I would take another class with this Professor. He don't mind if you ask questions.

Really easy class. Once a week you have a quiz due and a 8 question homework assignment that asks questions that are covered very bluntly in the lectures. Tests have the same exact questions as the practice quizzes. As long as you put in the effort and use the materials there to help you, easy A.

He's a great professor overall. A homework assignment and quiz are due every week, but they are a good way to keep your grade up. Super easy class. Monotone lecture voice, but he throws some jokes in once in a while. Overall great class and interesting material.

This is a pretty hard class (but I'm not great w science anyway) but professor Valk is very helpful and the work is helpful in learning the content. Even though this is a hard class, I made a group chat and worked w some of the other students on the harder things. I would take it again.

Weekly quiz online quiz & 8 HW questions, google & text book are great if you don't listen in lecture. Practice quizzes will be extremely useful on tests. HW will help boost grade. Easy class, even if you dont like science & there's no math in this course. Professor calm but will make jokes and is extremely passionate about this topic.

Very good professor I will really recommend him for phi2020

Super awesome professor. Really clear on everything, every week you have a homework assignment, quiz, activity, and discussion post, except exam weeks. I can get everything done for the week in maybe 5 hours total, less on a good day. The final project is really enjoyable to do and his grading guidelines are clear and fair.

To anyone reading this who is worried about taking Physics, don't be. Prof Valk breaks things down to a very understandable level. Class is super organized and I always knew what was due when. Quizzes are a big part of the grade but the expectations for what to study are clear. Labs are actually fun. I walked away with lots of useful knowledge.

Professor Valk really cared about his students. Giving clear feedback and always encouraging us to go the extra length. It was not an easy class but he made it enjoyable.

Although this class was not easy, it was made clear what needed to get done in order to get an A. Professor Valk gave good feedback on assignments and encouraged the class often. I am not a big fan of science in general, but if you can read and follow instructions you will do well.

Professor Valk is a great professor that really makes learning interesting. The class feels more like a learning experience than a class, and gives you a practical application of the subjects taught. You can get by relatively easily if you take shortcuts, however, if you are truly going for a deeper understanding of the class it is a lot of work.

Professor Valk, in my opinion, is an amazing professor especially since this was an online course. His notes in the reading guides were very helpful and the way he creates the questions for the homework ensures that you truly understand the information. His feedback on assignments is thorough and his grading is fair. No late work!!

Professor Valk was amazing professor. He is very fair and easy you just have to put in the required time for the material.

Prof. Valk was a great caring teacher. I was nervous to take physics but he made the class very easy and understandable. We had little homework which was just calculations, quizzes and lab reports. The labs were enjoyable. Quizzes are exactly the same as the homework and notes so study and put in effort and you will pass with an easy A.

Prof. Valk is a great professor, as an engineering student who has taken courses at both UCF and PSC, he has easily been the best lecturer I've had and delivers a quality overview of the topics in calculus based physics. I would definitely recommend him to anyone back at my university or at PSC.

Professor Valk is an amazing mentor and he truly cares for his students. He is passionate about his job and works his hardest to make an enjoyable work environment. If someone was missing from class, he would ask the other students about them. While the class was somewhat difficult, Professor Valk sets you up right on track to get an A!

Professor Valk is a caring mentor who is passionate about his job. I remember on day one, he took a picture of everyone and their name on a card so he could learn names. The idea of the class and work was daunting at first but it became so easy. Professor Valk sets you up perfectly to receive an A with the optional homework that replicates quizzes.

Great professor! Genuinely cares about how his students do in his class. I took him for Physics 1 and 2 and would take them again with him.

The course material for the online summer A class consisted of quizzes (50 multiple choice q's), homework assignments (8 short answer q's) and activities which ranged in length and difficulty. One of these each per chapter. The assignments were all open book and the only test was the final.

The set up of the class was super clear and easy. Every week you have a quiz, discussion, homework, and activity. While it seems like a lot, as long as you manage your time, it's easy. The midterm and final are all questions from the quizzes, so just study those for the midterm and final. I read each chapter to understand it, but its not necessary.

I took the online FT session and it was a lot of work. For FT, every week there are 2 quizzes, 2 HW assignments, and 2 activities. There are two weeks where the assignments where 3 instead of 2. Quizzes are 50 questions, HW consist of 8 questions, and activities a few questions. Prof. Valk does provide all the tools you need to succeed.

Valk is probably the fairest teacher I dealt with. He gives a lot of partial credit and will clarify what you did wrong. I took him for both PHY2048 and 2049 and Valk was nothing but spectacular.

Took both PHY2048C and PHY2049C with Professor Valk. If you do you due diligence (watch lectures and do practice problems) you shouldn't have an issue passing this class. Professor Valk responds quick, always willing to help out students struggling to understand concepts and is a fair grader.

Awesome class, especially if you're a space nerd like me. His lectures were incredibly helpful and you can do most of the work based on those alone. Professor Valk gives you all the tools you need to succeed and more. I had a problem accessing my textbook and with a quiz and he was very quick to respond and cares a lot about his students' success.

I have taken him for four semesters!! This man is one of the best teachers I have ever had. He made me fall in love with physics! He explains complicated topics clearly and eloquently. He offers many resources and is always available for questions. He holds you to a high standard, but he genuinely helps you reach it!!

This professor is amazing, I took him for my first physics class w/ Calculus and he is a very understanding professor. He has high expectations for his students but he is also willing to help you. Quick feedback and a partial credit system really help, that even if you get the wrong answer he can see you used the correct methods and gives points

As long as you pay attention to the lectures, do your practice homework, and ask questions, you'll pass for sure.

There's a lot of weekly homework in the class which can be annoying, but they really help you get the material and can cushion your grade if you don't do well on tests. I liked answering the homework questions as I read through the textbook because all the answers are there. Just do well on the homework/quizzes and you'll be fine on the exams!

Valk's is an easy science course if you need the credits. He responded to my emails quickly and was super friendly. Each week there's a small quiz, homework, discussion post, and an activity. I finished everything within a day if you put your head down. The quizzes are very easy and the midterm/final questions come from the quizzes.

I took this class as a dual-enrollment credit and had a lot of fun! I was able to manage this class with 7 other ones, and it wasn't too difficult. Homework projects took some time, but the activities were fairly easy. I was able to complete all 4 weekly assignments in one day.

Absolutely amazing! Gives very good feedback and provides the tools you need to succeed. Definitely one of the best professors I've ever taken.

Professor Valk was an amazing professor! He was always willing to answer any and all questions I had on the material, and he did so thoroughly. There are 3 assignments a week (quiz, activity, and homework). As long as you stay on top of these, you'll be able to ace this class.

Professor Valk is an amazing teacher! I have taken him for PHY2048C and PHY2049C. He provides great lecture videos to view at home and will walk you through the subject in person as well. He answers any and all questions you give him and makes it easy to understand. He always makes the class fun and interesting. You won't regret taking his class!

AMAZING PROFESSOR. He makes the week workload a little bit heavier, so the test and exams are not as heavily weighted on your grade. Honestly, I learned so much more this way! i def would recommend!

Unpredictable. Inconsistent schedule makes it difficult to plan for future classes. Course is fast paced so the inconsistency makes it harder. Quizzes and exams are minimal so mistakes cost more. Only word problems. No multiple choice. He's a great teacher. Patient. Admits his own mistakes. He really tries to make challenging material palatable.

I knew nothing about astronomy before this class, but Professor Valk really made the subject super interesting! His lectures are really great and engaging, and you can tell he has a passion for what he does. Homework is generally easy written responses, everything else is multiple choice tests. Learned a lot, definitely recommend him!

Great

amazing professor

He's a really chill professor. The class is fairly paced; if you start early in the week with the lectures and regularly practice the homework problems, you'll definitely do well.

Amazing professor, quizzes for every chapter you will do well if you do the worksheets he provides and he goes over them before the quizzes. Study and you will get an A, final is cumulative.

Lectures are online and pretty good. Classes are usually a lab or a class study before a quiz with tests sprinkled in there. Lab reports are simple if you follow the guided questions. Get a study group, it makes it easier. Just be ready to study for a bit outside of class and you'll get a hard-earned A.

Prof Valk is a great astronomy professor. I learned a lot throughout the entire course. There is a decent amount of work - a discussion, written homework, activity, and quiz every week, but it was not hard if you watched the lectures/read the book. 3 tests and a final exam all honor locked, consisting of quiz and homework questions so not too hard.

You can tell he's passionate and very knowledgeable. His class can be tough but he provides students with everything they need to succeed. Easy to reach. Honorlock quizzes. Kinda hard quizzes and homework. Exams can be daunting but he curves. Group labs. You have to really put in the work to get that A. He's great overall and he's very nice.

This professor was genuinely amazing; he made everything much more understandable and was a lot of help through the class.

Weekly, doable workload. Fair grader: if you answer FRQs in just one sentence correctly, that's full points. Midterm/final proctored but your exam/final grade is basically how much you care. I wasn't very good at astro but I was able to squeeze an A by grinding the question banks provided, no tricks. If you make a genuine effort, you'll do well.