Professor
Pablo Ocal
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - With Pablo, the best way I can describe his teaching is with the parable of him giving us the fish instead of teaching us how to fish. He teaches directly from the book--whatever is said in the book is exactly what he writes on the chalkboard. He introduces us to theorems and then does really simple problems that don't teach us the strategies on how to actually go about solving the problems. I resulted to basically watching all of Professor Leonard online to make up for what I wasn't getting in class. Another major issue was not having recorded lectures--unless he was out for the day then he would record and even those were from the book completely. It was a genuine problem because there was lack of access/risk of spreading disease if someone had a cold which happened to be my case. Although his problems for his midterm/test are from the book completely, the difficulty came up in the fact that some things were just not known how to do. I did serious grinding the last week before finals to clutch up my grade to pass. One positive note is his very flexible grading strategy, basically giving you best case scenario on the grades you got for your midterms and your final--he will drop midterm grades if they don't result in your highest possible grade which is good. Overall, if you have the option to take another professor--who has good ratings obviously--you should take them not for a solid grade but for comprehension and understanding moving forward.
Fall 2021 - With Pablo, the best way I can describe his teaching is with the parable of him giving us the fish instead of teaching us how to fish. He teaches directly from the book--whatever is said in the book is exactly what he writes on the chalkboard. He introduces us to theorems and then does really simple problems that don't teach us the strategies on how to actually go about solving the problems. I resulted to basically watching all of Professor Leonard online to make up for what I wasn't getting in class. Another major issue was not having recorded lectures--unless he was out for the day then he would record and even those were from the book completely. It was a genuine problem because there was lack of access/risk of spreading disease if someone had a cold which happened to be my case. Although his problems for his midterm/test are from the book completely, the difficulty came up in the fact that some things were just not known how to do. I did serious grinding the last week before finals to clutch up my grade to pass. One positive note is his very flexible grading strategy, basically giving you best case scenario on the grades you got for your midterms and your final--he will drop midterm grades if they don't result in your highest possible grade which is good. Overall, if you have the option to take another professor--who has good ratings obviously--you should take them not for a solid grade but for comprehension and understanding moving forward.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2023 - This class consisted of homework, discussion worksheets, a midterm, and a final. Like almost all other math classes, there are two grading schemes, where the second scheme drops the midterm. Grading Scheme 1: Homework 25% Discussion 15% Midterm 25% Final 35% Grading Scheme 2: Homework 25% Discussion 15% Final 60% The homeworks and discussion worksheets were extremely difficult since they were based on accuracy (at first) and the TA was very nitpicky on our answers. Not mentioning a certain theorem or even missing a step could cost you a lot of points. However, during the second half of the quarter, the TA began to grade on completion which definitely saved me a ton of points. The good thing is that the TA would make comments on our homework and discussion worksheets on what was wrong or what we need to do. The midterm and final were essentially like the practice exams he gave us. However, don't rely on just going over these practice exams because the TA is also nitpicky with our exam answers. I remembered how the professor had solved one of the exam questions during a review session, and I understood and remembered it. However, my TA still took off a lot of points for my answer to that exam saying that I didn't really explain my proof. So, the professor and TA seemed to have their own ways to prove the problems. Speaking of the professor, the lectures were definitely not that helpful as all he would do is write down theorems/ideas briefly and then spend a lot of time proving that theorem without using much time to go over examples. Most, if not all, of the examples that he did do were from the textbook, so anyone could've self-studied the class. With that being said, I stopped going to lectures after Week 4 since I realized I would be better off studying on my own. I will say that the professor is nice and approachable at least. Overall, the content is definitely difficult and the homework and discussion assignments can be time consuming since the TA is strict with grading. Even if the exams are like the practice tests, I recommend studying a lot and meeting with the TA to make sure your solutions follow what the TA wants. Although he wasn't as bad compared to what I had heard from the Math 31B students, he was still pretty bad and I would not take a class from this professor again.
Spring 2023 - This class consisted of homework, discussion worksheets, a midterm, and a final. Like almost all other math classes, there are two grading schemes, where the second scheme drops the midterm. Grading Scheme 1: Homework 25% Discussion 15% Midterm 25% Final 35% Grading Scheme 2: Homework 25% Discussion 15% Final 60% The homeworks and discussion worksheets were extremely difficult since they were based on accuracy (at first) and the TA was very nitpicky on our answers. Not mentioning a certain theorem or even missing a step could cost you a lot of points. However, during the second half of the quarter, the TA began to grade on completion which definitely saved me a ton of points. The good thing is that the TA would make comments on our homework and discussion worksheets on what was wrong or what we need to do. The midterm and final were essentially like the practice exams he gave us. However, don't rely on just going over these practice exams because the TA is also nitpicky with our exam answers. I remembered how the professor had solved one of the exam questions during a review session, and I understood and remembered it. However, my TA still took off a lot of points for my answer to that exam saying that I didn't really explain my proof. So, the professor and TA seemed to have their own ways to prove the problems. Speaking of the professor, the lectures were definitely not that helpful as all he would do is write down theorems/ideas briefly and then spend a lot of time proving that theorem without using much time to go over examples. Most, if not all, of the examples that he did do were from the textbook, so anyone could've self-studied the class. With that being said, I stopped going to lectures after Week 4 since I realized I would be better off studying on my own. I will say that the professor is nice and approachable at least. Overall, the content is definitely difficult and the homework and discussion assignments can be time consuming since the TA is strict with grading. Even if the exams are like the practice tests, I recommend studying a lot and meeting with the TA to make sure your solutions follow what the TA wants. Although he wasn't as bad compared to what I had heard from the Math 31B students, he was still pretty bad and I would not take a class from this professor again.
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