He spends lectures showing how to come up with equations needed and gives virtually no basis on how to actually solve problems. I took calc BC so it was manageable for me. HW is very tedious, but section saved me. Problems on midterm/final are easier. They assess basic knowledge of concepts, no curveballs. Very fair. HW is essential to passing.
Brilliant mathematician, poor teacher, at least at this level. Also I literally can't remember If I bought a textbook for this class, so don't waste the money.
Terrible professor. At times he seems as if he is confused himself on the subject matter and makes many mistakes. I had to teach myself most of the time and to get through the course I've had to rely on CLAS and section which are a must if you have Agboola for lecture. Prepare to teach yourself and don't even bother wasting time going to lecture.
If you ask a question, he uses it as an opportunity to make fun of you. He skipstoo many steps and also makes a million mistakes during lecture. Only does proofs in clasHARD TO FOLLOW. TAUGHT MYSELF THROUGH THE TEXTBOOK AND I'M NOT GOOD AT MATH. He assigns a lot of homework and its difficult! But midterm was much easier than homeworks and lecture.
Legend
Agboola is possibly the worst math professor I've had at UCSB, he is very unclear on what we need to know for exams & is disconnected on how students are doing in class. I loved the class and the material, I just wish I had a better professor. Put in a crazy amount of effort but really small mistakes on exams cost me BIG TIME on final course grade
Gave way too much HW. Hard class by it's nature. Tough midterm, Final was easier in a way, but still hard to ace. You really have to spend A LOT of time on this class if you want to get an A. Don't recommend you take math 8 while taking other hard courses (math or otherwise). Professor was very unclear on what we needed to know.
I have to say looking back on him teaching Math 3B, he really hates his students and thinks way too high of himself. He's really intelligent, and his British accent and random moments of saying "bloody" make the class laugh, but his lectures are really confusing and his tests aren't any easier.
I really liked his accent, and hes a very intelligent man, but he assumes everyone will be able to conceptualize calculus in the same way that he can. He doesnt like memorization, he wants you to be able to conceptually come up with the formulas yourself. Very helpful if you have already taken calculus before.
I honestly don't understand why he has so many low ratings. Although his homework was pretty difficult, the midterm and the final exam were much easier and were pretty fair. During lecture he actually proves several calculus concepts that my teachers in high school would skip over. Overall if you do the work, you can get an A with minimal studying.
He was bad. Made lots of mistakes during the lecture which students would have to correct. Easy at first because it was review but once we went into new territory, it was hopeless. He is a terrible communicator and his jokes not amusing. First time I received lower than an A in a math class. Granted, I didn't try hard, but he was so uninteresting.
DO NOT GET THIS TEACHER. He is HORRID. I did final in high school calculus and passed the AP test but this class tore me up. His lectures are extremely unorganized and do not make any sense. My TA was horrible as well. Tons of homework but try to do it all bc that is the only way you will pass.
His homework is ridiculously long and very difficult so difficult that your TA might struggle with helping you. Lectures were basically proofs of the concept that you're supposed to apply (not good). Listening to his lectures at 8AM made me want to bash my head against a brick wall. Midterm was quite easy, final was harder, longer, and more complex. Also, agboola is terrible at teaching physics applications of integration/calculus.
Agboola is a very brilliant man, however he is not a good professor to teach at the freshman undergraduate level- as his method of teaching and unhelpful nature are difficult to work with. I've LOVED calculus for years, and did very well in AP. Agboola's exams are very basic but I did struggle a bit with homework and lecture.
I would not recommend ever taking a math class from this professor. He is very unreasonable and doesn't help during office hours. The homework assignments were incredibly long and tedious. The midterm and final were very hard and many people couldn't finish in time. If you're looking to learn calculus, I don't recommend taking the class from him.
class wasnt too hard. i took math3a as a freshmen for fall 07, and the lectures were prettybasic compared to the homework. first midterm was pretty easy, final was on the tougher side. somehow i pulled off an A. all in all pretty good teacher and class
He is not a good professors. Tries to be funny at times buit really isnt. Not good at teaching calculus i learned more from CLAS. If you have a strong calculus background then this class wont be as hard. But if you struggled a bit in high school then he will make it your understanding worse
Interesting class... Definitely was not fit to teach this class. For all those who have taken calc it is a breeze.. if you haven't, i highly discourage you from taking it. brilliant man... in string theory, but not differential calc.
It's calculus, it sucks. And Agboola doesn't make it better. I vaguely understood calculus before this class, but not anymore. He has an accent, but that didn't really matter.
if you have a fairly strong calculus background, he's not so bad. i was able to follow him most of the time. rough course, but i don't know if there was anything agboola could have done about that. it's not easy material. staying awake is a problem though, because even though he's funny and quirky, it's still calculus. take a nap before class.
TERRIBLE teacher. absolutely horrible. he is obviously a very brilliant man.. but he really cannot teach at this level. i get the feeling that he thinks we are grad students when we are for the most part first years.. he does have a cool accent and funny quirks.. but in all honesty AVOID AT ALL COSTS, unless you are a fan of hell..
Speaks in a very good british accent and is passionate about his work but is one of those people who does not know how to teach.
he was a good professor and I liked him a lot and I learned a lot and he is ver smart!!!!!!!
Tempremental man who is obviously passionate about math and says silly things all the time. He's gone from throwing yardsticks across the room, and rolling his eyes at a student question, to making jokes and being hilariously quirky. His lectures went from more than easy to understand to way over your head. Take CLAS, they'll sort it out for you.