MATH 221B
Stephen Bigelow
3.4
122 reviews

122
3.4
MATH3A . 13 Years Ago

HORRIBLE! Lectures are unbearable because there is always a technical problem and he does a horrendous job explaining concepts. His pace is too fast and he cannot teach. He is a nice guy but not a good professor for math. CLAS was the reason I passed this class.

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MATH3A . 13 Years Ago

Nice guy and tries to be very helpful. However, it was impossible to learn anything more useful than conceptual ideas from his lectures. They had almost absolutely nothing to do with the homework half the time, and the homework was often very difficult. His tests seem easy when you take them, but were graded somewhat harshly. Curved my C to a B.

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MATH3A . 13 Years Ago

He enjoys calculus, and knows it very well. However, he is not the best lecturer. He lectures entirely in html, which is both good and bad. The html pages are easily accessed outside of the class, but they are of lower quality than chalkboard notes. I suggest you read the book before attending class.

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MATH3A . 13 Years Ago

Seemed like a nice guy but had a rather hard time actually teaching the course. Assumed we knew some of the concepts and kept teaching us things that he said "weren't important." TAKE CLAS if you take this class! Again a nice guy but a rather incompetent teacher.

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MATH3A . 13 Years Ago

He's a very nice guy and his grading is very generous. Its easy to get an A or B if you've taken calculus before. The tests are pretty easy. His lectures are hard to follow though. He only uses html format to teach and does not do example problems relevant to the homework. Easy grader, smart guy, but not the easiest to follow through.

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MATH3A . 13 Years Ago

this guy is amazing. after just going to his review lectures just before the midterms and final, i literally learned all of calculus. i did not touch the book, as a matter of fact i didn't even own one and i still thought it was ridiculously easy. love this guy

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MATH3 . 13 Years Ago

Did not like Bigelow at all. Nice guy but garbage teacher. CLAS is what got me my B.

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MATH3A . 13 Years Ago

Great personality, but it's obvious he's too far in calculus to teach such a basic class. Smart man but find it difficult to lower himself to the basics of calculus. Homework was hard and not connected well enough to lecture, TAs help a lot and the tests aren't as hard as the homework. Also, he curves ridiculously, F = C- :)

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MATH3A . 14 Years Ago

Bigelow (or otherwise known as Sbiggy) is by far my favorite math teacher I've had so far. His explanations can get pretty confusing at times but he knows and loves his stuff very well and if you listen enough you'll understand the material fine. He's such an awesome guy, totally recommend.

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MATH3 . 14 Years Ago

Hands down the worst professor I've ever had. I have learned nothing from the lectures, and the homework did not prepare me for the exam. This is my first time ever seeing calculus and now I hate it.

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MATH3A . 14 Years Ago

Terrible teacher. Lecture useless. Office hours also useless. Completely oblivious to the fact it is some students first Calculus class, and not everyone is a Math professor.

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MATH3A . 14 Years Ago

Bad teacher, goes off on tangents.

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MATH3 . 14 Years Ago

Bad at teaching and boring

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MATH3A . 14 Years Ago

Loving his class, although many people complain about understanding him, I find that I you do some reading in the book/looking the material before the lecture it makes it far easier to understand. Personally I'm loving the class and he has a great personality, and is really fun to listen to. It's also pretty clear this guy loves math, and is a pure mathematician at heart. I've never really enjoyed math before his class, and it has turned me into a math lover.

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MATH111 . 14 Years Ago

He certainly knows the material very well. I found his teaching hard to follow most of the time. He was extraordinarily helpful in cases where I asked questions. If you take his course, I suggest asking for clarification or feedback, because he is very smart and he is likely to be able to figure out your errors rather quickly.

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MATH3C . 16 Years Ago

the most straightforward and easy tests i've ever taken. his lectures are almost impossible to follow though and his multi-media enhancements of lecture were useless. i hardly went to class but i had the best clas tutor ever and got an a.

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MATH3C . 17 Years Ago

His lectures were boring and hard to understand. He tends to ramble a lot and go off on tangents. Overall he was an okay professor. The tests were pretty straight forward. CLAS helped me a lot in this class.

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MATH108A . 17 Years Ago

He takes a bit of getting used to, but in the end, if you're OK with proofs, midterms and final are pretty easy. HW is not to bad, either.

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MATH108A . 18 Years Ago

he really is a good teacher. Everything is straight from the book and he really wants you to learn the info. it may seem hard at first but he gets you through it. If you take 108a make sure it's with him.

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108A . 18 Years Ago

He did go off on tangents a lot, and seemed nervous in front of the class, but he's genuinely interested in helping people do well. His tests were extremely easy, and homework was infrequent. His lectures tended to be a bit vague with references to 'clever things' that would make the proof work without a concrete example to intdroduce the idea.

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MATH8 . 18 Years Ago

meh...he definitely tries. he just isn't one that has been gifted with teaching skills. his tests are reeeeeeeeeeally easy. the material is pretty easy though

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MATH8 . 18 Years Ago

Interesting teacher. He sometimes goes off on tangents. Amusing ideosyncrasies. Test and midterm was extremely easy...but that could be because the course was easy.

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MATH227 . 19 Years Ago

I love Braids!! Fun and useful to see how Professor Bigelow thinks about things.

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MATH8 . 19 Years Ago

Like above, So-So. He trys but Lectures just not clear. little homework. See him during his office hours thats the best time.

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