The first two midterms for math 34a i did well on and werent too bad, I had a B plus average. Then the final came along and everyone, including myself, bombed it since it was so difficult! And for homework (which he gives TONS of by the way, and its not easy) I got a B on too, but he made the final out of so much that failing it made me get a D.
TERRIBLE professor. Reads right off of the slides and goes too quickly. When you ask a question he gives a vague answer and expects you to now understand b/c he "explained" it again. WORST PROF IN NORTH AMERICA.
What is taught in class, or shall i said read directly off the slides, is not what is tested on. There is a ton of homework, between 50-70 problems a week, which most of the answers can be found in the back of the book. His teaching style is awful and if possible avoid the class
He basically just reads off his slides and then expects everyone to understand.
He definitely knows what he is talking about but doesn't realize that all his students aren't geniuses. He's always skipping steps in the lecture. H entries to make jokes to get a response out of us but it just doesn't work. Whether you go to class or not, it won't make a difference. Definitely sign up for CLAS.
Chuck is a funny guy but he CANNOT teach. His test preparations are easier than the exams and homework. And his powerpoint have way too many errors. I go to lecture every day and learn absolutely nothing.
Does not know how to teach at all. Had to teach myself the whole quarter to get a "B" in the class. Please avoid this class at all costs because he is such a horrible professor.
The class is based of lectures where he mostly just does examples, and doesn't explain how he's doing them, so when you get to the homework (which there's a ton of) and the tests, you're pretty much lost. Cool dude but not a good professor.
I have never taken Calculus in high school but if I had, then I would have passed this class. This class was impossible for me to take and it was hell. I failed horribly even though I went to lectures, CLAS, and the sections. The book is useless and lectures are definitely not worth going to with no explanation to his examples. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
I never took calculus in HS; I've never seen any of this material. I failed miserably. Despite attending lecture, CLAS, math section, math lab (12-5 pm MONDAY-FRIDAY) & office hours I still didn't understand. His lecture is confusing & HW is barely comparable to his test.(LOT of word probs) TA's &CLAS might have been helpful if taught the same way.
Really bad professor, doesn't teach expects you to pretty much learn on your own, lectures are confusing, none of lecture material on test. Assigns a lot of online homework & puts the hardest problems on the test. Don't take this guy!!!
Chuck is an okay guy, but he has no idea how to teach math effectively. His lectures consist of horizontally formatted problems pasted onto PowerPoint slides, and he reads off solutions with no actual explanation of the concepts. Having taken Calc in HS, I was able to self study and earn an A, but anyone who is new to Calc should AVOID him.
Let me start by saying that I love school, and I love math and I am overall pretty good at it. This being said, Akemann's class is IMPOSSIBLE. I got As on both his midterms, and a 20% on his final. He cannot teach the material and when left to study I had no idea that material I should focus on. I went to every one of his classes, and still failed.
I usually like math but he made the subject so completely unclear. If I hadn't taken calculus in HS I would've been 10x more confused and even then I don't understand how this man is a professor. Don't bother taking the class with him, wait for another professor to teach it.
Akemann is the worst professor I have ever met. His lecture slides are a complete mess, he has no idea how to explain difficult problems. When I went in to see him during office hours he simply did the problem I had trouble with instead of explaining it. Go to CLAS instead. And watch out - his final is composed of the tough HW problems you skip.
He does not prepare you at all and skips steps during his explanation of material. His first midterm is easy, 2nd one is challenging, and his final is ridiculous. He fails at being teacher and should retire already.
Chuck is probably the worst math teacher I ever had. He basically goes off tangent by talking about his family and reads the lecture slides. Went to 50% or less of his lectures. First midterm is very easy but don't be deceived since the 2nd midterm gets difficult. The final is ridiculously hard af and he doesn't prepare you at all.
The tests given were very hard and the professor tested us on obscure topics. Most of the test questions were either never gone order, or very hard versions of things we had already learned. He only curves the test by a couple of points, but he doesn't curve to the class as a whole so if everyone does bad, then the entire class gets a bad grade.
Literally the worst class I have ever taken. The homework is excessively long but he puts some of the homework problems on test, so he says. It's hard to tell because it's hard to study 900 homework problems before the test. In my opinion, the tests are 100x harder than the homework. Every question was a curve ball. Awful, awful, awful lectures.
Akemann is a very nice guy and clearly knows the topics he's teaching (at least for 34A). Expect a fairly large amount of homework each week, but know that completion of this homework is absolutely crucial! The first midterm is super easy, the second is a bit harder. Put in the work and you'll be fine.
Avoid taking his class at all cost. He is a horrible horrible horrible teacher.
Taken for a pre major. Hes cool but he moves on without clearly explaining himself
Chuck does not teach clearly. His lectures seem to stress topics that aren't very important to the class. The textbook is useless; there are no solutions in it. I felt very mislead as he assured us that certain topics would be covered on the tests but many were not. The test problems were harder than lecture or homework problems.
Prof. Akemann is hilarious but not a strong teacher. He obviously knows what he is talking about but doesn't explain things well in lecture. I had to do a ton of learning on my own to make up for unhelpful lectures. However, he seems like a really good guy and is super funny!