Homework every week, midterms were not bad but final was pretty hard. He should focus more during lecture on what we needed to know in order to complete the homework, since some questions were fairly difficult. Prepare for a lot of self-study on how to solve the problems. Lectures are long-winded but usually helpful. Overall a decent professor.

He is a good professor, but his lectures are often really confusing, but helpful. The class didn't have too much work, but you should spend a little extra time to make sure you understand the concepts. The midterms were straight forward, but the final was waaaay harder than the study guide he gave us. Don't bother getting the textbook.

Teaches using a combination of lecture slides and examples on chalkboard, which is quite effective in math. Gave hard homework questions that required considerable effort to complete. Tests are based off of understanding concepts, so understanding the homework is mandatory. Great professor overall; he challenges you to truly grasp the material.

Homework twice a week, 2-3pages each time. Super tough professor at MATH 117. 12 students get c or lower.

Pros: As midterms has just passed, his tests are not tricky comparing with other professors here as far as I know. Besides, he is not an boring guy. Cons: prepared for a quiz each week. Fortunately they are similar to hw problems so it's not too bad. He might also spent a whole lecture dealing with one problem, which might be pointless sometimes.

Pretty decent professor. Tests are similar to homework so if you work hard no need to worry too much. It seems like grading is fair too. Better than 90% of LD math teachers here I guess.

Homework was harder than tests. If you do and understand 90% of it, you will do well.

Taking Math 6A with John Helms is the best thing that's ever happened to me at UCSB. I would marry him so hard tbh but really though the topics were interesting and he is one of the few helpful LD math professors here

This class was not necessarily difficult, but since he gave us practice midterms and finals, it turned out to be a difficult class due to his expectation on the actual midterm and final. He literally follows the textbook which was kind of nice but pointless at the same time. Make sure to go to CLAS andor watch videos on how to solve the problems.

Definitely would not recommend taking this professor. CLAS is the only reason I passed the course. He spends all of lecture on a single example problem, which is often very complex (he even admits this), and then expects you to be able to apply those concepts to other problems even though he never explains the general concept behind the example.

He's alright I guess

Into to Analysis is already a tough class - Helms really pushed us and I really appreciated that! I enjoyed his teaching style - plenty of opportunities to participate and ask questions. Final was tough but not impossible. Do all of the assignments and take this class seriously and you will be a better mathematician at the end of it.

Had a quiz in each section, but was pretty easy. If you gave it a good effort you received 50% for it. Had practice tests that were very close to the actual thing, very helpful. Lectures are good, his basic math was off some times, but the actual material for the class he could do no problem.

Really tough class. Helm's lecture is of no use and his arrogance can be intimidating. Be prepared to spend a LONG time each week struggling with the hw. Don't know how he curved it but 50% was about the average hw grade for the class. 60% of the class got a C or lower on the first midterm. Final was just as hard as the midterm.

He is a really good professor. Lectures are organized and everything is clear. He want his students pay enough effort on this class to get a good grade. Always helpful during the office hour. The content is difficult but this is a MATH8 class.

not great

He goes over all concepts very thoroughly. There are open note "quizzes" almost every class and section is just group problems. The book is not really needed, but can be a good resource for homework problems. He is crystal clear about what is going to be on the test, which is derived entirely of problems from the quizzes and practice tests. Easy A+

He comes across as arrogant, and rude but is a fair teacher overall. His office hours are not helpful at all! The CLAS is the most helpful asset, the sections are always super hard not so relevant problems the hw can be difficult online. The tests are the same as the practice tests, and quizzes are easy if your up to date on material. Hes fair

John is definitely a nice professor. He explain all definitions and all examples with full details. Homework is a little bit difficult than what he taught during lectures, but reasonable. He will provides helpful practices for exams, and the exams will stick to what he provides. COOL GUY!

Helms is very good at teaching, but the amount of homework was a bit much. The exams were reasonably close in difficulty to the homework. I would recommend enrolling in his course, he seems genuinely interested in helping students learn the material. Mandatory attendance (10% of grade) was irritating, though.

good professor, hard homework but easy midterm and final... he gives u practice exams so just do them and make sure u understand the material... super easy to get an A if u just try to understand the material

Difficult class, but so is every intro proofs class. Overall great quality, material will be tough if this is completely new. If familiar with logic and structure of "real" mathematics, then shouldn't be too bad. Very helpful in office hours. Difficult homework sets, but doable. Expect to work many hours to even pass. For an A, work really hard!

Not difficult at all, I may even say he is easy! Go to clas. He has weekly quizzes that are EXACTLY like the written homework. If you can do those, you will for sure get A's on the quizzes; it helps so you don't fall behind. His hw is harder than the tests, but it WILL prepare you for the exam. Gives practice tests and allows one notecard on exams!

John Helms is very nice and eager to help. But his lectures are overly complicated and unclear. I already knew most of the material he was going to cover, but I needed to take the class for the official credit. Sometimes I had no idea what he was talking about, but because I already knew how to do the problems, it wasn’t an issue for me.