Math 32A is a hard class but Radko was a great professor. Her exams are fair, and doing the homework will help your grade. Also a huge curve.

Professor Radko is not a great, but is still better than many of those in the math department who throw things and move on. Professor Radko usually introduces the concept first, explains it, derives the formula, and finishes with one or two easy examples. For some easy concepts, her explanations were concise and easy to understand. But as the class moved to the second half of the quarter, she failed to maintain her pithiness and made many mistakes. I still remembered that she confused herself with global max and min for ten minutes until a student told her the right way to do the problem, which was extremely embarrassing. Her examples came right from the book, and many people ended up reading the textbook by themselves.

Two midterms, one final, and homework counts for some percentage. Two midterms were easy, as far as I concern, and she even put identical textbook example on the second midterm. Go to the test bank and check the past exams. The final was a little bit harder, but still all questions were manageable. (Check the textbook examples) The class ended up being a fierce competition among those who can almost get the perfect score.

She never tests abstract theorems and derivations, so you might consider her as a “good” professor for a good grade. I got A- with the first midterm 37/40, the second 36/40, and the final something like 82%. She guarantees 25% A and A-, but clearly there were more A- than A. I would recommend this class, but don’t lose yourself in a high expectation.

Radko mainly teaches straight out of the book, so I never went to class and just learned out of the book. The weekly hw quizzes are annoying. The course is not a lot of material but multivariable can get tricky. Her midterms aren't too bad, but the second one was rough. It involved a lot of tedious computation that was completely unnecessary. Beware 20% of her midterm is multiple choice which is where I usually missed most of my points because the multiple choice is tricky. I got 47/50 on 1st midterm, 31/50 (average) on 2nd midterm and dropped that midterm and made my final worth like 60% and got a 76% on the final, and average was like ~60% for final and got an A- in the class. I was happy with that. I got an A in 31b if that means anything.

Radko is nice. Her handwriting on board is clear and her midterm and final are not that hard. Just her accent and soft voice may be a problem to students. But overall she is nice.

Radko is nice and always willing to help, inside or outside of the classroom. It's nice to have in a teacher. I'll never forget when she gave me the best advice ever for test-taking, and I used it and it helped me ace the final. It's a method of test-taking that helps you when you've already gotten a pretty solid understanding of the concepts, but for some reason haven't gotten the best grades on exams..

Definitely get to know Radko. Take her courses, no regrets.

Oh and what's the secret? I'll leave you to figure that one out.. >:)

I had Radko for both 32A and 32B in my freshman year. She was the perfect introductory professor to college math - though kind, approachable, and available, she is also assertive and confident enough to get things done.

You probably won't find anything earth-shattering about her lectures, but you won't have much to complain about, either. Some people have pointed out her soft voice and moderate accent. Honestly, you'll get used to her accent and teaching method in the first day or two (if that), and if her voice is too soft for you, try sitting near the front. My friends and I have had no problems understanding her. Yes, yes, she teaches pretty much straight out of the book. But it works. Her notes on the board are very clear, concise but complete. She will typically introduce a topic conceptually and check to make sure everyone understands what's going on before diving into examples - which is nice because it helps you solve less straightforward problems in addition to plug-and-chugs. And she'll even make you laugh sometimes.

The weekly homework assignments are perfectly reasonable in difficulty and length - you won't be done in 15 minutes, but they won't eat up your week, either. Just about right. She often tosses in one or two tricky problems at the end to get you thinking, but you'll be able to do them if you set your mind to them. Make SURE your answers are all correct, because the TAs spot-check three problems on each assignment for correctness. Yes, you will get docked a full point out of 12 for dropping a negative sign. This is typical for UCLA math classes. So check those answers. To compensate for this, Radko drops your two lowest homework scores - once again, perfectly fair.

She's kind and helpful in office hours if you do get stuck on the homework, need help with the concepts, or just want to say hello. Unlike some professors who place their office hours at inconvenient times to deter students, she even has a "last chance" office hour just before class on the day the homework's due - quite convenient when you've been pulling your hair out the night before over that damned last problem.

I stopped going to discussion in the middle of 32A and didn't go at all in 32B. Go if you have a helpful TA, or ask around about a good TA since the discussions all seem to be at the same times. Otherwise, it's not mandatory or necessary unless you want to pick up your homework.

Now, I think what most of you here are concerned about, unfortunately, is the grading/exams. In short, Radko gives you what you deserve. She understands that waiting for grades is stressful, and therefore typically posts exam grades within one day - REMARKABLY fast. Her midterms and final can be tough and/or tricky, but I haven't yet come across a question I considered unfair. Besides, the entire class is curved, so you should WANT difficult tests because, provided you understand the concepts, they allow for you to shine above those who merely memorize. No, I didn't get a solid A in her 32A class - but I did get what I deserved. And I a learned a lot while doing it!

SPARKNOTES VERSION: Radko's a solid professor who cares about her students and will help you succeed through clear lectures, approachability, and fair grading. Definitely recommended!

I took 32A fall quarter of freshman year and thought Professor Radko was great. Once you get used to her Russian accent and soft voice (she speaks through a small hand-held microphone), you'll see that lecture is clear and easy to follow. She writes nice and organized notes on the board (that's if you pay attention). Her method of teaching is basically going over examples of the concepts. So, it might be useful to familiarize yourself with the chapter in the book before class. I thought 32A material wasn't very hard, so I didn't attend office hours. I went once and her office was filled with kids. She assigns homework weekly (each hw is worth 12 points) which is due every Friday. At the end of the quarter she drops the 2 lowest homework grades. Radko gives 2 midterms and 1 final of reasonable difficulty. If you understand the concepts (not just memorizing steps and such) and how to apply them, the class should be relatively do-able. She even gives you practice midterms & it's easy to find old midterms in the test bank. Be aware: she grades like this...the top 25% of the kids get A's, then the next 25% of kids B's and the rest she decides. So if you want to get an A in class, you'll have to beat out the other students in your class and stay in the top 25%. All in all, I'd recommend you to take her for math.

Radko was the best professor I had in my first quarter at UCLA. Although her examples came from the book, she clearly explained how to do everything. I was able to do all the homework assignments after listening to her lectures. Her first midterm had four free response questions, and five multiple choice questions. The second midterm had five free response questions, and no multiple choice questions. Her multiple choice questions were all conceptual. Their difficulty were very similar to the difficulty of the homework assignments. If you were able to do her homework assignments, you shouldn't have any trouble on the midterms. Her final was slightly harder than the midterms, but they were do-able. I would recommend studying for the tests by redoing the homework assignments and studying the concepts.

It took time getting used to Professor Radko's softspoken voice and her accent, but after the first two weeks, her lectures were easy to follow. However, she pretty much took examples from the book, which meant that the only reason to go to class was to turn in homework. She gives you all of the assignments ahead of time, so if you're the kind of person that skips class, just make sure to show up on Fridays. She always got our exams graded in a very timely manner, which was nice. It was my first and only (so far) A- at UCLA, and but that's because it took me some time adjusting to the way her exams were structured; 4 questions, and 5 T/F questions (where NO partial credit was given for this part). Our final was extremely hard, but the curve was generous.

I am currently taking this course and I am very pleased with it. She is an extremely fast grader and a responsible teacher. However, I don't attend her lectures. Her accent and soft voice make it difficult to understand, but if you read the book carefully and do each and every homework problem to the best of your ability, you will get a good grade even if you don't attend lecture. Her midterms are challenging but fair. Its usually a bunch of easy problems twisted around to make it a little confusing. But grades were announced in 24 hours, so I knew my standing in the class when the drop deadline came.
She is a very nice professor who actually cares about her students.
The only problem I found was that since she mostly teaches 32B, the class webpage for 32A was full of errors.
The coverage for this class is chapters 13 to 15, but since she always teaches 16-18, on the first day of class, I was extremely confused when the syllabus stated we were covering chapter 16!
I highly recommend this professor for 32A, but Im not sure about 32B.
Oh, and there are weekly "turn-it-in" homeworks, two midterms, and a final.
If you miss a midterm, your grade does not get affected (well, technically it does).
The remaining midterm and your finals counts for more.