Student Instructional Rating Survey, Fall 2012

What do you like best about this course?:

THE TEACHER IS THE BEST!!!! He is extremely funny and nice. He knows everything about the topic and is extremely enthusiastic and engaged in his teaching its very fun to sit in his class. by far the best teacher in mathematics i have had. he messes up once in a while but the students and him joke about it and continue on. he cares about his students a lot and takes the time to learn the names and have students even answer some questions in his lecture

There were many options given for the student to learn: office hours, free tutoring, and second chance club.

The teacher had a very strong will for the students in the course to succeed and devoted his own time to help whenever he could.

the instructor is very helpful and clear

The way the material was taught and the attendance quiz at the end - it helped me realize whether I understood the lecture properly.

BEST PROFESSOR

Use of the chalkboard, no powerpoints

I would have to say that Dr. Zeilberger is the best professor (or teacher) I have ever had. He was the most enthusiastic, the most to-the-point, the most blunt and practical, the least beat-around-the-bush of all the professors I have ever encountered. He did little short of inspire me to even think of pursuing teaching as an option. He was articulate, bright, and always on the money. I genuinely looked forward to his lectures, which were ALWAYS taught by CHALK AND BLACKBOARD, (SOMETHING THE PHYSICS DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO TRY AND IMPLEMENT), and he made his point clear by having print outs before class , and then ending class every time with a review quiz of the material covered that day. He gave out practice exams and had study sessions and office hours. He gave the students a plethora of options, and it was quite literally up to the student to be responsible enough to study and practice the material. I never, had to go home and RE-LEARN a topic, because I did n't understand it in class. He was able to cover it so well, that after just one lecture, I grasped the concept enough to do the homework.

the teacher is awesome

Definitely the teacher - he put up guides, went through examples, gave tons of incentive to do well.

Dr.Z makes the class very interacting and fun, and gives students many chances to do well.

The professor was excellent at lecturing .

The best part was that the professor made the class entertaining and the attitude was great.

Everything but the trigonometric identity bullshit.

I really love the teacher's enthusiasm during the course, making it that much easier to learn such a difficult subject. My favorite part of this course was the amazing professor.

I love the entusiasm of Dr. Z. He made coming to class at such an early hour the most enjoyable experience. He made learning the material easy, and he made it fun. Best math class I have ever taken. His dedication to his students was amazing, as he learned almost all of our names and he takes and hour out of each week for free tutoring. Awesome professor.

Good teacher interesting material.

dr. zeilberger's enthusiasm

The professor.

The professors lax attitude and dress.

The professor. Dr. Z. taught amazing. I learned everything he was saying. His ability to keep me up in such an early morning class and to understand such a difficult subject is impressive.

The practice exams helped a lot for the exams. He held many tutoring sessions and office hours, that really helps. Willing to take time out to help his students.

Professor Zeilberger is a great lecturer and provides all necessary resources you need. His website makes class material organized.

I hate math and i am terrible at it, but dr. Zeilberger is one of the smartest and fairest teachers i have met. he is organized and very detailed.

The instructor presented the material in an easy to understand manner.

This course was amazing. Even though i hard Calc 2 was supposed to be the hardest class from all the calc classes, I found it really interesting under the hand of Dr. Z. He gave his best to help his class and his interest for this subject is beyond anyone's definition of limit.

The professor was strongly interested whether the student fully understood the topic or not.

Dr. Z

I've always loved math and love learning new things that can be done with numbers and formulas.

It was paced well, material was pretty clear.

If you were teaching this course, what would you do differently?:

nothing he is amazing the way he lectures

Do problems on the board that are more likely to be on exams.

I would change nothing about this course.

fewer homework problems

I might do a really quick review before the lecture and give the students a challenge problem.

Fine as is

Nothing.

nothing

Yell less.

Nothing

Probably go a little slower in the coursework.

I would leave it the same as the professor did a great job teaching the material.

We would begin the first class by going into the courtyard and burning a trigonometry book. If you say, "trigonometric," or, "identity," you get two warnings before failing the course.

Nothing, i feel that the professor did a fantastic job.

Nothing; Dr. Z is awesome.

Way too much work. Assign less work.

Nothing.

I would present the material in a more organized fashion. At the beginning give an overview of the formulas to be covered then delve into the material. I thought your TA's did this well, and I learned a great deal from them. I would also suggest on keeping the side tangents to a minimum.

Nothing. I couldn't have taught it any better! Maybe provide more information about Math in general like the career if you wanted to but in terms of the actual course, it was perfect!!

Not give so much homework. Maybe just give out the more difficult ones.

I would assign more homework, but I think the workload was just right. I would also upload practice exams to the website sooner before the exam.

Go over more problems that are like the exam

Dr.Z has done his best and i dont believe i can do anything to improve this class. No one can take his place.

Nothing, the course was great

Nothing

not a damn thing.

First of all, I would act a little more encouraging to students. After the first exam the professor "strongly recommended" half the class to essentially give up. This is harmful to student learning and can pretty much ruin their outlook for the whole semester. Many students simply come across roadblocks and simply getting poor grades does not equate to mental inability to master material.

In what ways, if any, has this course or the instructor encouraged your intellectual growth and progress?:

he has taught me more and beyond. he has made mathematics an extremely fun topic

I was able to solve problems more effectively.

I have learned how to study for math classes thanks to this instructor. In my previous high school years, I struggled with math greatly but this teacher's methods and handouts have really helped me.

challenging but instructor is very helpful, tutoring sessions, etc

His tone of voice, made one pay attention and stay focused during the class.

Gave money to those who had correctly his mistakes, making us learn more.

Dr.Z actually made me very interested in higher mathematics course and made me enjoy this class.

The course has made me more interested in calculus due to the lectures that the professor gave.

My interest in Calculus increased and prepared me for the next level.

The instructor took the material and talked about its practical applications. He was also blunt about the obsolete nature of certain sections so long as a student is familiar with the Maple program.

This course/instructor has helped me to look at complicated problems and approach them in a more sensible way.

Dr. Z just knows what it is to be an amazing teacher and he makes his students want to succeed in his class. He does everything he can to help us achieve our potential.

Expanded my mind numerically.

Dr. Z You are a terrific teacher. You have mastered the art of teaching. You care about your students and you take your class seriously. I have learned more in your class than what any other calc teacher could ever teach me, Thank you for making this semester wonderful. Not only are you a great teacher but a great person as well. You are funny, modest, and humble. Thanks for being such a great teacher. Taylor Picillo

I believe calc 2 is a difficult subject and Dr. Z presented the material in a manner that was definitely acceptable and I learned a great deal in this course.

He made my decision to be a math major more definite and certain. Thank you!

Gave out incentives when students found errors in the book or exam practice.

Professor Zeilberger has great analogies that he uses to relate calculus to everything. I've learned more about Calculus now and I can enjoy the challenge it presents.

He was great. He encouraged us to like every part of Calc and he held tutoring session and was available to the student when they needed help. Whenever a student forgot a formula, he made us write 10 times which helped us memorize. Other professor wants the student work to be perfect, but Doctor Z wants the student to understand and he doesn't mind if the student make mistake, as long as he or she does not make that mistake over.

This course has shown me how hard I need to work in a class.

Really made class exciting. For an 8:40am class, it was always hard to wake up, be alert and focused. But his methods and personality always kept you awake and excited. He always knew how to make the class interesting and get everyone involved even with a lecture hall of probably 100 kids.

I have gained some interest for calculus. Also, managing to get things right in this very difficult course is encouraging.

Other comments or suggestions::

when scheduling courses, sign up for zeilbergers class!

Great class, amazing teacher. No complaints at all except maybe for the teacher to cut down on absences from lecture class.

Best Calculus professor ever

Great Professor!

Dr. Z is one of the best professors I've ever had!

Amazing professor. That is all I have to say.

One of the best professors I've had so far, the other being Neil Sheflin.

SCC is the greatest idea in the world. Give my professor an award.

Awesome class and teacher.

Greatest professor I have had and probably will ever have at Rutgers.

Good job but harsh grader. Not too easy, but a challenge.

Best professor ever!!!!!

He is a really nice guy. Even though sometimes he will scream at you, but it meant that he cared for his students.

I think the practice exams are great preparation for the exams, though the exams always seem to have a tricky trig question in them. I'd prefer more practice exams and for them to be put up sooner before the exam because I find it hard to finish all of them in time.

Very good instructor, very funny

He is Amazing. I hope him all the best and continue sharing his knowledge to his fellow students.

Great class!

He's an amazing professor, wish he could teach all of my future math courses.

Professor seemed like some students simply shouldn't be here and it definitely seemed that way. Very harmful to student motivation.