Professor
David Penneys
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Most Helpful Review
To start off, Math 3B involves Calculus BC concepts as well as multivariable calculus and a little bit of linear algebra. As such, this course requires you to learn a lot in only one quarter and therefore, requires you to put in some effort in order to understand the concepts. Professor Penneys is an amazing professor who really cares about his students. Everyday during lecture, he always has a lot to go over, so he doesn't waste time. It is easy to get lost in class because he goes through the material fast, so be sure to raise your hand and ask questions. He likes to give hints on what he likes to test on during lecture so pay close attention in class. Whenever I had questions with the lesson or homework, I would go to his office hours and get help from him. Professor Penneys may seem intimidating during his office hours but he's there to help you learn. Also, be prepared to go up to the board and work out problems. He says it's a great way to understand math, and I completely agree. I learned so much whenever I had him guide me towards the answer, rather than him just working it out himself. As for grading, he offers two different grading scales. One that is 20% quizzes 20% midterms x2 and 40% final or 20% quizzes 20% higher midterm and 60% final. He will automatically choose the higher of the two. Also, Professor Penneys stressed at the beginning of the quarter that he has generous curves, meaning that an A is not necessarily a 90% and up but lower. With that said, he said he will never curve up (i.e. an A is a 92 and up). Overall, I recommend Professor Penneys for Math 3B. His class challenged me to think more analytically when approaching problems, which is a useful skill for other classes later, namely physics. Overall Grade: A
To start off, Math 3B involves Calculus BC concepts as well as multivariable calculus and a little bit of linear algebra. As such, this course requires you to learn a lot in only one quarter and therefore, requires you to put in some effort in order to understand the concepts. Professor Penneys is an amazing professor who really cares about his students. Everyday during lecture, he always has a lot to go over, so he doesn't waste time. It is easy to get lost in class because he goes through the material fast, so be sure to raise your hand and ask questions. He likes to give hints on what he likes to test on during lecture so pay close attention in class. Whenever I had questions with the lesson or homework, I would go to his office hours and get help from him. Professor Penneys may seem intimidating during his office hours but he's there to help you learn. Also, be prepared to go up to the board and work out problems. He says it's a great way to understand math, and I completely agree. I learned so much whenever I had him guide me towards the answer, rather than him just working it out himself. As for grading, he offers two different grading scales. One that is 20% quizzes 20% midterms x2 and 40% final or 20% quizzes 20% higher midterm and 60% final. He will automatically choose the higher of the two. Also, Professor Penneys stressed at the beginning of the quarter that he has generous curves, meaning that an A is not necessarily a 90% and up but lower. With that said, he said he will never curve up (i.e. an A is a 92 and up). Overall, I recommend Professor Penneys for Math 3B. His class challenged me to think more analytically when approaching problems, which is a useful skill for other classes later, namely physics. Overall Grade: A
Most Helpful Review
I slept through all of Dave's lectures. He makes an effort to get to know people who come to office hours/talk to him after class. he lets you use a cheat sheet which is pretty cool. he is the only professor who promised to make the final more approachable after we failed both midterms, and actually carried through with his promise. A shame I don't need to take more math classes. Final Grade: A
I slept through all of Dave's lectures. He makes an effort to get to know people who come to office hours/talk to him after class. he lets you use a cheat sheet which is pretty cool. he is the only professor who promised to make the final more approachable after we failed both midterms, and actually carried through with his promise. A shame I don't need to take more math classes. Final Grade: A
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2016 - Professor Penneys is a mediocre professor. He teaches exactly out of the textbook which is not effective considering tests use problems that vary significantly with the formatting of the textbook problems. Because his lectures was mostly out of the textbook, his teaching style was mostly one-dimensional. The examples used were textbook examples and because of this, it gave little incentive to show up to lecture. His grading policy made up for this. Having the 20% quizzes,20% midterm 1, 20% midterm 2, 40% final breakdown of our grades or the second option of dropping the lowest midterm was very helpful and needed. His tests were mostly straightforward and doable. Nothing extraordinarily surprising. What I think would make me more successful in his class would be more examples in lecture that I could not find in the textbook. Overall, Penneys is a great person and all I wish out of him as an instructor is to put more effort in ensuring students' understanding of the material instead of just writing stuff down I can look up in a textbook.
Winter 2016 - Professor Penneys is a mediocre professor. He teaches exactly out of the textbook which is not effective considering tests use problems that vary significantly with the formatting of the textbook problems. Because his lectures was mostly out of the textbook, his teaching style was mostly one-dimensional. The examples used were textbook examples and because of this, it gave little incentive to show up to lecture. His grading policy made up for this. Having the 20% quizzes,20% midterm 1, 20% midterm 2, 40% final breakdown of our grades or the second option of dropping the lowest midterm was very helpful and needed. His tests were mostly straightforward and doable. Nothing extraordinarily surprising. What I think would make me more successful in his class would be more examples in lecture that I could not find in the textbook. Overall, Penneys is a great person and all I wish out of him as an instructor is to put more effort in ensuring students' understanding of the material instead of just writing stuff down I can look up in a textbook.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2015 - I took his 33A in my first quarter and he made me want to transfer away from math major. I couldn't follow his lecture at all. When I asked the students sitting around me if they understood the lecture, they all said they had no idea what the professor was talking about. Some upperclassmen said Penneys was the fastest lecturer they'd ever had. Although he is interesting and the class was vibrant, I will never take his class again! I studied everything by myself and went to TA and math tutoring center nearly every day and got A-
Fall 2015 - I took his 33A in my first quarter and he made me want to transfer away from math major. I couldn't follow his lecture at all. When I asked the students sitting around me if they understood the lecture, they all said they had no idea what the professor was talking about. Some upperclassmen said Penneys was the fastest lecturer they'd ever had. Although he is interesting and the class was vibrant, I will never take his class again! I studied everything by myself and went to TA and math tutoring center nearly every day and got A-
Most Helpful Review
I had Penneys for 33A (not H) this past quarter. He was an expert in linear algebra and it was part of his own research, so he definitely took the course to another level in terms of his expectations (heavily focused on proofs and deeper understanding rather than easy computations). It was very difficult to keep up with him in lecture but we got used to it and the key was reviewing the notes after class and trying to understand everything he talked about. His exams were pretty fair in my opinion, and I got in A in the class, which I'm pretty proud of considering the level that he expected from us. Overall a good prof.
I had Penneys for 33A (not H) this past quarter. He was an expert in linear algebra and it was part of his own research, so he definitely took the course to another level in terms of his expectations (heavily focused on proofs and deeper understanding rather than easy computations). It was very difficult to keep up with him in lecture but we got used to it and the key was reviewing the notes after class and trying to understand everything he talked about. His exams were pretty fair in my opinion, and I got in A in the class, which I'm pretty proud of considering the level that he expected from us. Overall a good prof.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2015 - Very chill professor I am selling my textbook Differential Equations by Polking in a binder in excellent condition. No notes or highlights, and in mint condition. Text me at ********** I can meet on or around campus. Selling for $65 with price negotiable. I used it for Math 33B
Fall 2015 - Very chill professor I am selling my textbook Differential Equations by Polking in a binder in excellent condition. No notes or highlights, and in mint condition. Text me at ********** I can meet on or around campus. Selling for $65 with price negotiable. I used it for Math 33B
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