Professor
Sherry Gong
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2018 - Lectures: I had 8 AM lectures so half of the class was still waking up but she really tried her best to make the lecture interesting. Homework: extremely light workload, like 10-15 problems per week. She didn't even collect them. You just had to come to the discussion to take weekly quizzes that are exactly the same homework problems. Tests: Professor Gong is new but her tests are fair and straightforward. On our midterms and finals, there were 50 points available but she only graded them out of 40 points, which honestly saves my grades so many times. TA: Matthew Stone is a godsend, you're probably fine without going to lecture. Just reading the textbook and attending the discussion most likely suffice. Warning: I came into 31A thinking it was just Calc AB and I barely passed the first midterm. Don't underestimate the course, take your homework seriously, read the lessons before and after class, make sure your algebra is solid and you would probably ace it!
Fall 2018 - Lectures: I had 8 AM lectures so half of the class was still waking up but she really tried her best to make the lecture interesting. Homework: extremely light workload, like 10-15 problems per week. She didn't even collect them. You just had to come to the discussion to take weekly quizzes that are exactly the same homework problems. Tests: Professor Gong is new but her tests are fair and straightforward. On our midterms and finals, there were 50 points available but she only graded them out of 40 points, which honestly saves my grades so many times. TA: Matthew Stone is a godsend, you're probably fine without going to lecture. Just reading the textbook and attending the discussion most likely suffice. Warning: I came into 31A thinking it was just Calc AB and I barely passed the first midterm. Don't underestimate the course, take your homework seriously, read the lessons before and after class, make sure your algebra is solid and you would probably ace it!
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - **Extenuating circumstances warning** I took the final for this class in the middle of a raging virus epidemic (which is still going on as I speak), so perhaps the situation can speak more or less for itself depending on when you read this. However, I strongly believe that a person's true colors show during times of intense distress and difficulty and Sherry Gong is something of a hero. She had sent us almost a hundred emails constantly trying to help us and figure out a solution to online finals while also being fair and accommodating to the fact that every one of her students were affected in different ways. She not only made the final exam collaborative and open book, but also offered real time personalized help on the practice exam and final. She even accounted for the fact that in an almost 200+ class there may be people who have less friends than others and went and found groupme collaborating groups and other resources for their benefit. I have, in my life, seldom had a teacher who cares this much about the well being of her students in times of incredible anxiety and distress. As grateful as I am to the medical professionals and other society members who help us through times like these, I don't think teachers get enough credit for the amazing work they do. Thank you Sherry and no matter what grade I receive in this class, your commitment to our success in times of hardship is something I will never forget.
Winter 2020 - **Extenuating circumstances warning** I took the final for this class in the middle of a raging virus epidemic (which is still going on as I speak), so perhaps the situation can speak more or less for itself depending on when you read this. However, I strongly believe that a person's true colors show during times of intense distress and difficulty and Sherry Gong is something of a hero. She had sent us almost a hundred emails constantly trying to help us and figure out a solution to online finals while also being fair and accommodating to the fact that every one of her students were affected in different ways. She not only made the final exam collaborative and open book, but also offered real time personalized help on the practice exam and final. She even accounted for the fact that in an almost 200+ class there may be people who have less friends than others and went and found groupme collaborating groups and other resources for their benefit. I have, in my life, seldom had a teacher who cares this much about the well being of her students in times of incredible anxiety and distress. As grateful as I am to the medical professionals and other society members who help us through times like these, I don't think teachers get enough credit for the amazing work they do. Thank you Sherry and no matter what grade I receive in this class, your commitment to our success in times of hardship is something I will never forget.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - To be frank, although she's a nice person, Professor Gong was not a very good lecturer. She was super confusing and her lectures were all over the place, and with abstract algebra that was pretty much a death sentence given how difficult it is to grasp normally. She went out of her way to help as much as she could in office hours which was nice, but her lectures to the class were so hard to follow that she made a class that should have been decently easy (light workload, straightforward exams) into a class that I and a lot of my friends in the class really struggled to understand and do well in. She also went WAY too fast to follow, and we ended up finishing in like 6 weeks and spent the rest of the time going over stuff from 110B when none of us understood the stuff we were supposed to learn in the actual class we were in. I hate to give her such a bad review because she seems like she's trying really hard and I'm sure with time her lectures will be much more clear and rehearsed, but for now I would recommend choosing another professor if you have the option because unless you're a math genius you'll have a hard time self teaching enough from the book to do well in the class. Professor Gong (or anyone from the department) if you're reading this, thank you for doing your best, I appreciate your effort and help during the quarter even if it was hard for the class to follow. For the future I would recommend preparing your lectures more thoroughly and making/following lesson plans strictly- I think if you had more clarity in what you were trying to teach us and an organized, structured plan on how to do so you'd be a lot more successful getting your students to understand algebra!
Fall 2019 - To be frank, although she's a nice person, Professor Gong was not a very good lecturer. She was super confusing and her lectures were all over the place, and with abstract algebra that was pretty much a death sentence given how difficult it is to grasp normally. She went out of her way to help as much as she could in office hours which was nice, but her lectures to the class were so hard to follow that she made a class that should have been decently easy (light workload, straightforward exams) into a class that I and a lot of my friends in the class really struggled to understand and do well in. She also went WAY too fast to follow, and we ended up finishing in like 6 weeks and spent the rest of the time going over stuff from 110B when none of us understood the stuff we were supposed to learn in the actual class we were in. I hate to give her such a bad review because she seems like she's trying really hard and I'm sure with time her lectures will be much more clear and rehearsed, but for now I would recommend choosing another professor if you have the option because unless you're a math genius you'll have a hard time self teaching enough from the book to do well in the class. Professor Gong (or anyone from the department) if you're reading this, thank you for doing your best, I appreciate your effort and help during the quarter even if it was hard for the class to follow. For the future I would recommend preparing your lectures more thoroughly and making/following lesson plans strictly- I think if you had more clarity in what you were trying to teach us and an organized, structured plan on how to do so you'd be a lot more successful getting your students to understand algebra!
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