- Home
- Search
- Michael Willis
- All Reviews
Michael Willis
AD
Based on 83 Users
I really enjoyed taking this class with Dr. Willis. I had to switch to 32A a little late in the quarter and I was worried about getting a spot since I was behind some people on the waitlist. Dr. Willis cared about my situation and assured me I would be enrolled off the waitlist. His tests does have some proof questions but these proofs are based closely on topics discussed in the textbook and class. I highly recommend taking this class with Dr. Willis.
It wouldn't let me write a review for 31A but I took 31A over fall Q and wow i love Dr. Willis. He's such a great lecturer, his explanations are super clear and concise. The homework load is extremely manageable and the midterm wasn't bad at all. The only thing was that the final was pretty challenging but otherwise great experience.
I took this class virtually during COVID
First of all- I am terrible at math. I always have been, so keep that in mind with my review. Willis used an iPad to write lecture notes and shared his screen with us as a method of learning. This was my first calculus course, and Willis moves fast. The lectures are recorded and posted on CCLE along with his lecture notes. Then there is Sapling homework (think a more difficult form of IXL) and written homework from the textbook due each week. There are discussion sections held by TA's but they aren't mandatory and don't count towards any grade or extra credit. I think someone who puts in effort or is more talented at math would do just fine in this course.
Professor Willis is basically that one cool professor you wish you had for every class. For any would-be students of his reading this in the future, this perspective is from a student who took his class online during the 2020 pandemic. He broke down the material from class very well. He essentially took a topic that many may find hard and made it easier to understand. His lectures were at a good pace and he always interacted with the chat. He gave basic examples for all of the content he lectured on. The discussion sessions and office hours were very helpful to me when I was stuck on a problem. I would definitely recommend going to his office hours when you are stuck on the material and want direction. As for assignments, he gave us written homework on GradeScope and online problems on Sapling. I did have to shell out a bit of money for Sapling, but the digital textbook was included with it. He normally gave us until Friday to do the assignments, but he did extend the deadline or omit one of the two types of homework on weeks where things were a bit messy. Such as during midterms. Basically, he understands that we're all humans here and gives us reprieve sometimes. He also assigned a reasonable amount of homework, in my opinion. The written homework was usually only 6 problems, but that wasn't always the case. The number of Sapling problems tended to fluctuate more. He gave us practice exams for the midterms and final. The actual exams were all open for a 24-hour window and were open-note, final included. And finally, if personality is important to you, you might end up loving this man. He often joked with chat and was genuinely helpful. He's also not the biggest fan of pizza. Take that as you will.
Dr. Willis is very adept at explaining concepts; information is presented in a very clear-cut fashion. As long as you attend lectures, take homework problems seriously, and spend time on the practice exams, you should be fine.
Professor Willis was very accommodating and understanding. He actually listens to what the TAs have to say about the students and uses the feedback to adjust homework deadlines. He'd sneak in the occasional joke during lectures and did an excellent job breaking down the concepts. He emphasizes understanding why the calculus works rather than having you memorize formulas without a cause. His tests were fair but challenging, and we had 24 hours to complete them (2 midterms and the final were given). Overall, he's a great professor who cares about his class and his students, and the online format was flexible.
Willis is a great lecturer, super clear information. Not a bad class overall but you definitely have to do your work
Willis is an amazing professor. Weekly homework assignments are both written (Gradescope) and online (Sapling). They are graded, and as long as you do them you won't have any problems with this class. Midterms and final are 24h and open notes. Not that difficult, just make sure to be rigorous and clear when answering the questions - they care more about the approach than about the answer.
BEST MATH PROFESSOR!! Super easy to understand, and the HW and tests are very straightforward. All of the TA'S and the professor were super helpful during review sessions. As someone who is not the best at math, I found Willis easy to understand and engaging.
I really enjoyed taking this class with Dr. Willis. I had to switch to 32A a little late in the quarter and I was worried about getting a spot since I was behind some people on the waitlist. Dr. Willis cared about my situation and assured me I would be enrolled off the waitlist. His tests does have some proof questions but these proofs are based closely on topics discussed in the textbook and class. I highly recommend taking this class with Dr. Willis.
It wouldn't let me write a review for 31A but I took 31A over fall Q and wow i love Dr. Willis. He's such a great lecturer, his explanations are super clear and concise. The homework load is extremely manageable and the midterm wasn't bad at all. The only thing was that the final was pretty challenging but otherwise great experience.
I took this class virtually during COVID
First of all- I am terrible at math. I always have been, so keep that in mind with my review. Willis used an iPad to write lecture notes and shared his screen with us as a method of learning. This was my first calculus course, and Willis moves fast. The lectures are recorded and posted on CCLE along with his lecture notes. Then there is Sapling homework (think a more difficult form of IXL) and written homework from the textbook due each week. There are discussion sections held by TA's but they aren't mandatory and don't count towards any grade or extra credit. I think someone who puts in effort or is more talented at math would do just fine in this course.
Professor Willis is basically that one cool professor you wish you had for every class. For any would-be students of his reading this in the future, this perspective is from a student who took his class online during the 2020 pandemic. He broke down the material from class very well. He essentially took a topic that many may find hard and made it easier to understand. His lectures were at a good pace and he always interacted with the chat. He gave basic examples for all of the content he lectured on. The discussion sessions and office hours were very helpful to me when I was stuck on a problem. I would definitely recommend going to his office hours when you are stuck on the material and want direction. As for assignments, he gave us written homework on GradeScope and online problems on Sapling. I did have to shell out a bit of money for Sapling, but the digital textbook was included with it. He normally gave us until Friday to do the assignments, but he did extend the deadline or omit one of the two types of homework on weeks where things were a bit messy. Such as during midterms. Basically, he understands that we're all humans here and gives us reprieve sometimes. He also assigned a reasonable amount of homework, in my opinion. The written homework was usually only 6 problems, but that wasn't always the case. The number of Sapling problems tended to fluctuate more. He gave us practice exams for the midterms and final. The actual exams were all open for a 24-hour window and were open-note, final included. And finally, if personality is important to you, you might end up loving this man. He often joked with chat and was genuinely helpful. He's also not the biggest fan of pizza. Take that as you will.
Dr. Willis is very adept at explaining concepts; information is presented in a very clear-cut fashion. As long as you attend lectures, take homework problems seriously, and spend time on the practice exams, you should be fine.
Professor Willis was very accommodating and understanding. He actually listens to what the TAs have to say about the students and uses the feedback to adjust homework deadlines. He'd sneak in the occasional joke during lectures and did an excellent job breaking down the concepts. He emphasizes understanding why the calculus works rather than having you memorize formulas without a cause. His tests were fair but challenging, and we had 24 hours to complete them (2 midterms and the final were given). Overall, he's a great professor who cares about his class and his students, and the online format was flexible.
Willis is a great lecturer, super clear information. Not a bad class overall but you definitely have to do your work
Willis is an amazing professor. Weekly homework assignments are both written (Gradescope) and online (Sapling). They are graded, and as long as you do them you won't have any problems with this class. Midterms and final are 24h and open notes. Not that difficult, just make sure to be rigorous and clear when answering the questions - they care more about the approach than about the answer.
BEST MATH PROFESSOR!! Super easy to understand, and the HW and tests are very straightforward. All of the TA'S and the professor were super helpful during review sessions. As someone who is not the best at math, I found Willis easy to understand and engaging.