Hardest class I've taken. He had no idea how hard to make the tests, since he's very smart and struggles to think down at our level. I did enjoy lectures, he was passionate and left me at a loss for words every time (I was lost). The few people who understood everything made sure to let everyone know they understood everything. Generous curve.
He's a passionate lecturer that's for sure. But that's really as far of credit as I can give him. Most times I felt I was learning significantly better from just youtube videos. Not the best at making his lectures easy to regurgitate. Doesn't provide much if any resources besides "go read the textbook". Doesn't post any notes. Best to avoid.
Lectures are super thorough and you can tell he really loves teaching algorithms. You have to make sure you're ready to understand and paying 100% attention during lectures though because if you get distracted even for a few minutes, you will be completely lost. Exams are really hard but very good prep for CS internships and interviews.
Prof is super knowledgable about subject, but bad at explaining concepts to those seeing them for the first time. Lecture material not provided outside of class, and exam questions are confusing.
Professor Lokshtanov is disconnected from the course material and doesn't understand its difficulty. While he is a passionate lecturer, he gives exams harder than his lecture materials where the averages are low Ds and Fs. He isn't good at breaking concepts down and teaching at our level. I loved the material just not how he teaches it.
Algorithms classes are hard. However, they are essential for coding interviews, so quality of instruction is really important imo. I also took 130A with Lokshtanov. You can tell from how he teaches that he is both incredibly knowledgable and also invested in helping you understand the material.
Great lectures, he has a deep understanding of the material. But you REALLY need to practice algorithms, he won't be lenient on the exams. I see a lot of people blaming him for the low avg on midterms, but this is probably the most important class in CS, and it's good that he's preparing us for interviews. Algs are not supposed to be easy.
Very difficult HWs, Exams were not too easy either but were graded generously. Be ready for lots of work
Took during covid. there are no exams, only hw and programming assignments. hw is a bit hard but programming assignments are easy and can give you extra credit. He drops lowest assignment. I never went to lecture or section, got a B. his lectures are decent.
Keep in mind this was taken during COVID but here is my experience. The entire grade consisted of 4 HW assignments, which were a bunch of questions often involving proofs, and 3 programming assignments. Programming assignments had option for extra credit and were challenging in a good way. Hw not as fun but not bad and they made me better at proofs
Professor Lokshtanov is one of the best professors I have had. He is often very rigorous and makes you work hard for your grade, but is always happy to answer questions and go back to explain confusing concepts. CS138 is a class with inherently difficult concepts, but I felt that he taught me well and prepared me for future theory classes
put too much of his lecture on deducing things on textbook. not very interested. attending lectures only because he is handsome.
A good professor. He cares about students. Although some problem is challenged, but it is worth to learn to how to solve them.
His lectures were great (lots of intuition for theorems etc) and he always took the time to answer students' questions in detail. Over half the class missed out this quarter by not attending lecture and instead watching recordings. I suspect the previous reviewer was one of them. The class was difficult but Prof Lokshtanov was an excellent guide.
Prof is nice in person, but lectures are not clear and hws really hard. Recommend not taking him.
His lectures kind of lost me at times and his lecture notes were hard to read in my opinion. However, he does know his stuff and is a very nice professor. Homework and programming assignments take a long time to do but the deadlines have always been manageable.
Surprised I couldn't find any review for Prof Lokshtanov. Wonderful professor! He loves the material and it comes across in his lectures. He's great at explaining complex ideas in simple terms. Class is challenging in all the right ways, definitely a professor you should look for!