What do you like best about this course?:

Dr Z is excellent, and the class is really well organized by the lecture handouts that Dr Z prepared. I can easily use those handouts to preview or review the class, and really learn a lot.

Professor made sure we understood the material well. Didn't make the class unnecessary hard, maybe it was tough but his pedagogic method and crystal clear notes made the class comprehensive

Taking it with Dr. Z was a great experience as the rigor of the course and his grading policies motivated students to learn a great deal more than other sections. The material we learn is also highly applicable to real world problems.

There were plenty of example problems that were both interesting and helped better understand the course material.

There was never a dull moment.

It was interesting learning about the different ways to calculate probability.

The detail and the knowledge about probability in everyday situations.

Professor Zeilberger brings an enthusiasm to the course that is (in my 5 semesters here) unmatched by any other professor in the physics or mathematics department, with the possible exception of Dave Maiullo (Physics).

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

Nothing really to add. Quizzes and homework prepared me of tests and enhanced my understanding and interest in probability theory

I would make the grading policy a little less strict (>92 is an A).

I would mention the superb TA more. He was an excellent TA but I think he was sadly unappreciated.

Not waste class time treating the students like middle schoolers. Not artificially inflate the difficulty of the course by requiring a flat 92% for an A.

I would not only give 40% of the possible points if someone makes a silly algebra mistake. This is a probability class, so if the probability part is correct, I think only 10-20% of points should be deducted for a silly mistake.

Nothing, save that I would schedule it later in the day ;)

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

Prof. Zeilberger is a free soul. He is not afraid to say what he believes even if it goes against the status quo. He is extremely prompt and a truly caring soul. I wish to be him in the future. No only because of his academic achievements, but also the freedom and personality that he still has. It is sad to see a hopeful old man, when the old men just hopes and not does. This old men does what he hopes. He puts the math where his mouth is. Truly amazing

The weekly quizzes and homework assignments kept me on top of the material we were learning at the time. His online pdf notes along with lectures helped to solidify understanding of the material. He also followed the schedule to a tee and as such, the course was paced very well.

I have a much better understanding of probability concepts.

Dr. Z encourages frequent review on knowledge learnt.

Dr Z really cares about his students and WANTS them to do well. He’s reachable by email and holds very informative office hours. If you don’t understand something, he makes sure you do.

He's forced me to earn a topic I did not like before this.

Professor Z is relentless in his insistence that students doing poorly come to see him for tutoring and office hours. I personally did not need them much.

Other comments or suggestions::

He my nigga

Yelled at students.

I know there is a lot of material to go through, but sometimes the lessons felt rushed towards the end and Dr Z's handwriting would get difficult to decipher.

He is a very knowledgeable professor. The lecture notes he gave us were more straightforward and clear than the textbook examples. The only thing I found inappropriate was when he would give people personal commentary on their quizzes and exams in front of everyone. I personally wasn’t too bothered but it is really not my business to know someone else’s grades. It also took too long to hand back everything because of this.

It was very impressive that he was able to learn mostly everyone’s names in a 70 person class.

Awesome teacher, so much energy in the morning it's phenomenal. He makes it interesting and is very enthusiastic. I can tell he is passionate about mathematics.

There was too much information trying to be covered in each lecture, so he either rushed through certain topics or didn't get to them. Also, he spent too much time being concerned about attendance when attendance is not part of our grade.

Every professor in the mathematics department (or indeed any department) should be encouraged to sit in on one of Professor Zeilberger's lectures. Regardeless of whether or not they follow the material, I'm certain they will be inspired by the passion, humor, and due diligence that he puts into every topic. The use of attendance quizzes for a meter stick on his own effectiveness every lecture is welcome. His postings of twice-weekly problem sets that are not necessarily mandatory but unquestionably helpful are invaluable. Professor Zeilberger remains the only man at Rutgers I trust with keeping me awake through an 8:40 class.