2.2
Quality3.3
DifficultyN/A
Would Retake91
ReviewsN/A
Would Retake
91
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
5
4
19
3
9
2
31
1
27
What Students Say
“One of his hobbies includes folk dancing; we enjoyed watching him at a festival”
MATH140 - 4.0 rating“great sense of humor, enjoyable, A+++”
MATH140 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.20 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH255
5.0
(1)MATH512
4.3
(3)MATH151
4.0
(1)MATH153
4.0
(1)MATH504
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
MATH1401
4.3
MATH104
4.0
MATH
4.0
MATH117
4.0
MATH415C
4.0
Reviews (91)
No Comments
One of his hobbies includes folk dancing; we enjoyed watching him at a festival.
great sense of humor, enjoyable, A+++
No Comments
Pointless lectures, he rambles on and doesnt teach very well.
No Comments
good teacher...uses good examples in class which relate very well to the easy exams
This was the worst math lecturer of the 4 math classes i had to take.....he mumbles a lot, cant hear what he says....he's really smart but its hard for him to come down to a student level,nice guy though
He is a funny guy. Exams are easy.
Constantly makes mistakes, puts stuff not taught on exams
terrible
Rambles. Review sheets make the exams easy.
Lectures were a bit boring at times, but were usually very informative. Really nice guy, very smart. Highly recommend him.
Pretty quirky. Lectures can be boring but are generally well laid out and helpful. His exams are not difficult and he gives review sheets with all need material. Definately not a bad professor.
My worst math teacher yet. He can't talk clearly and he is very unhelpful. I questioned the grading of my midterm and he told me that he didn't grade on a consistent basis and that I would receive whatever grade the grader thought I deserved. HORRIBLE teacher and very unhelpful...Dont take his class
This is the dumbest teacher that I have ever came encounter with. The exams consist of one regular math problem, and a lot of stupid proofs or some twisted problem that the teacher cannot even solve.
He's a little different. He definately loves his math. I easily got B's on the midterms without going to lecture. ...just a little spacey, but a nice guy overall
Wierd...but a good instructor, knows his stuff. very helpful.
Worst professor I have ever had and probably ever will have.
This teacher is a nice guy but EXTREMELY confusing. I dont think I learned a thing from him. I had to teach myself and have my recitation teacher teach me. His 2nd midterms are always impossible. Our recitation teacher couldnt even solve some of this problems.
He is a decent teacher and nice guys but he rambles on and goes on tangents; sorry Prof, but the fashion scheme has to go. It looks like we could organize a picnic out of your attire.
Alright this guy seems nice.. but if you go to lecture u'll leave more confused than u were to begin with. take my advice.. skip out his lectures.. do the problems urself and go to recitation. oh and don't dare go to his office hrs..it smells and he has binoculars on the windowsill! u've been warned
No Comments
Very unclear and horrible public speaker.
No Comments
Omg this is the worst math teacher i have ever had!!! All he does is ramble on the whole class. Like other people said, you leave more confused than you did when you walked in. I only went to class for the notes. Plus be careful what you say :) he has really good hearing!!
Make sure you pay attention... this guy makes mistakes, a lot of them. The first one being when he wakes up in the morning to shower and wear some antipersperant... enough said.
Horrible.
Well, he seems like he means well, and he deffinately knows his stuff, but he just doesnt know how to convey it. He skips around, makes BIG mistakes, and yeah, hes just not good. If it werent for my TA, i'd be soooo lost!
Horrible. I went to about five lectures and just stopped going. If you're fortunate enough to have a good TA, you can probably afford to miss most of the lectures. He truly does make the lessons harder than they really are. Avoid the name "Conrad" when scheduling at all costs. If you can't avoid him, just take the class another quarter.
he makes it more difficult than it is, and makes lecture completely worthless to go to. hope you get a good TA, and it won't be a problem.
Hard to understand and follow...not to mention hard to stay awake in his class.
Hilariously out of touch with reality, but very good at teaching partial diff eqs.
This guy is a total bum...He understands what he teaches but no one else does. He rambles and makes lessons much more difficult than necessary.
You fall asleep in lecture, he "teaches" exactly word for word from the book. Just sleep in your own bed and read the book later. He once referenced "Andrew Jackson.. for all the history buffs" when he had a number that was ??.?18281828.. who the heck knows what he's talking about. He's very spacy and I started going to another lecture.
Wow...I took most of this stuff in High school and understood it, but when he teaches it, it makes absolutely no sense. He just starts writing stuff without explaining why, or how it is relevant to the answer. The only way I passed this class is because my TA was amazing.
Confusing. Wasn't as bad as some math profs i've had.
He's a very intelligent, nice guy...way smarter at math than i could ever be. don't worry, he helps you if you need it!
Unclear in all aspects. Pray to god you have a good TA, or you will fail miserably. He writes stuff on the overhead without explaining why it is relevant or showing how to come about a real answer. Stay home and read the book, the examples in it are more useful than trying to decifer your notes If its possible, find a different lecture to attend.
don't bother going to lecture, it won't do you any good. read the book and teach yourself, cuz god knows he won't.
No Comments
sooo pretty much i NEVER had any idea what he was talking about in lecture. i had him for 2 quarters in a row and everything i know, i learned from my TA or from reading the book. the exams for the most part are hard. he puts evil spins on problems you normally know how to do and it messed you up.
First of all, I can understand why all the bad ratings from the lower math-class students - but for 512, he was very good and VERY fair! 512 is a hard, TIME DEMANDING and challenging class, keep that in mind! Immediately find a group to study with since the homework will be very long and hard.
Not a very good professor. Stutters quite a bit and is irritating to just watch him "attempt" to explain things. Read the book and you'll be fine, just don't expect a good lecturer.
He is the greatest teacher I have had at OSU so far. I think he is a decendent of Newton or some other great mathmatition. He was awesome!!!
Worst professor I've come across at OSU. Reads from overheads some with mistakes, goes too quickly, doesn't explain anything well, and is bascially useless. Pray for a good TA, and if all else fails, do what I did and sneak into a better lecturer's class.
I seriously could have learned more math from a goat with a piece of chalk taped to its head.
I'm pretty sure Eric van Fossen Conrad is out of his mind.
he is boring and skips loads of steps while attempting to teach the material
he sucks
Conrad is a joke, if you have the misfortune of getting him as a lecturer, go to one of the other professors. By far one of the worst i have seen at OSU. Tests are difficult and are not like the practice problems.
stopped going to his lecture after the second week of school simply because his lectures were so incoherent. very awkward and gets embarrased when he (frequently) screws up example problems. i managed to get a decent grade by studying on my own and doing homework. really a nice guy, just a bad teacher
He just puts a couple slides on the overhead and then reads them. I didn't learn much at all from him. I snuck into Prof. Schouecker's lecture and learned so much more! If you do stick with Conrad, prepare to teach yourself Math from the book, and if your class is like mine, he'll wear the same plaid shirt for the first half of the quarter.
He is horrible. I've never had a stronger dislike for a professor. He is very unprofessional, wearing sweatpants to every single lecture and coming unshaved and greasy. He isn't the least bit helpful. Everything I learned was straight from the book on my own or in recitation. Heck, my TA should have taught the class!
i don't know what others experienced in other classes but i thought he did an all right job in 512. explained everything more or less OK and gave a fair amount of useful homework. the exams were as expected and there were no surprises at all. i asked him a few questions throughout the quarter and he did his best in answering them.
This guy sucked...he is a joke
do no take the C series with him, he makes the lab grade useless and you never know what the difficulty of the exam or quiz will be.
Being a freshman and taking this my first qtr of college, I wasn't wise enough to think to sneak into another prof's lectures. I wish I had. This guy dressed and spoke like a hobo. He constantly had to be corrected by students for making errors on the overheads. He never answered questions in class, and simply was not in his office for office hours
He was a witty guy, often made jokes that most people didn't laugh at. I went to his office hours a few times, and I really do recommend it. You get to know them better and it makes a good impression. Lecture was kind of dull, I agree, and I had a good TA, so it evened out. He did tell me that he would like people to talk in class and ask ?'s.
complete idiot, drop his class now, if you want to learn something take another teacher. i frequently went to another profs lectures because this guy was useless
I understand where some of the other comments are coming from. Conrad is kind of a quirky guy, but overall, he is a very fair and intelligent professor. He was quite clear about expectations, and made efforts to give every student an opportunity to get a good grade. Sometimes hard to understand, but mostly this was when he was going in depth.
Difficult to understand in class sometimes -- he seemed to get confused while explaining some of the topics. Overall, the homeworks and exams were fair. If you really want a good understanding of the class, take it with someone else.
His lectures are a little rough to get through but his tests are not terrible. He is a really nice guy and very forgiving. He is also not afraid to admit when he has made a mistake.
This class is relatively easy, but when asking for help it's easiest to just go to the MSLC and get help. Conrad is very rude and condescending. he mumbled more than anything.
I understand what people mean from their prior comments, he is a bit spacey sometimes, messes up sometimes too, but they are normal HUMAN mistakes, sometimes because he doesnt understand the technology he is suing in class. Otherwise, he is a great prof. extremely knowlegable talk to him during office hrs. if you have problems.
DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, AVOID THE HEADACHE AND MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT IN ONE OF HIS CLASSES. IT'S LITERALLY AWFUL. I'M SURE HE'S AN OK GUY OUTSIDE OF THE LECTURE HALLS BUT IN TERMS OF LEARNING FROM THIS PERSON MY EXPERIENCE WAS VERY POOR AND AFTER ASKING AROUND A LOT OF PEOPLE FELT THE SAME WAY. I KNOW OF MULTIPLE PEOPLE WHO STOPPED ATTENDING CLASS.
He is by far the worst teacher I have ever had in my LIFE! He cant explain anything, he is always making mistakes, and he uses the worst examples in his teaching. If you do have him, do yourself a favor - dont attend lecture, go to tutoring at MSLC and learn it yourself. He is a total waste of time.
I think this guy is an alright teacher, but over the years I have found that I require someone who is totally gentle to explain things to me or I just start crying and stop going to class out of frustration! Conrad is a bit rough around the edges and I found asking him questions nerve-wracking, so I probably would try to avoid him in the future.
The class was pretty easy for me overall but that's because I took AP Math I in high school and got a 5 on the AP Math AB exam. If you took calc in high school it'll definitely help because Conrad can't explain things very clearly a lot of the time and he makes a LOT of errors. Look at examples in the book and do the homework, you'll do fine.
Not good teacher... hated lectures and pointless to go to anyways.
I had a lot of trouble understanding him and though it seemed like he knew what he was doing he often got confused explaining problems on the board. His office hours weren't much help, because he told me not to worry about a certain topic and it was on the quiz next day.
I would not recommend.
had him for math 148 wasnt clear most of the time also sometimes wouldnt know what he is talking about i would not reccomend
this was a pretty difficult class he was not very clear but i mean interesting just to watch during lecture, just quizes three labs and a mid and final, not horrible, but i would try to find a diff professor
not helpful at all would totally stay away from him
He is HORRIBLE at explaining. Don't bother showing up to lecture, you can get an A without it.
Lectures are useless. Do homework and go to a recitation now and then and you'll easily get an A.
He probably knows what he is talking about but it does not show in lecture. Sometimes he trips up on words and does not fully explain concepts. A few technical errors interfere with class as well. He does post lecture notes online which partially help. Just make sure you read the book and go to tutoring hours.
Conrad is definitely a weird mathematician type, but I thought he did a fine job of teaching Math 566. There was a lot of material, but when it came time for a test, he basically spelled out what kinds of problems he was going to give. Pretty rough homework grader, but the curve was forgiving.
Didn't make the class interesting. Wasn't helpful when questions were asked
His lectures are worthless, and the current textbook is riddled with typos and errors. His explanations in class are vague and complicated. He doesn't seem to be able to easily answer questions, either - it appears they make him nervous.
The class wasn't that difficult, but the prof was a jittery talker and not very clear. Made errors on problems in lecture, and put several vague questions on the exams. The new textbooks is HORRIBLE and full of errors, but you have to use it every day for hw problems. I had to retake the course even tho i always attended class. Get a good TA.
I do not seem to think he is as bad a prof. as everyone else. I found him to be pretty concise and clear in his explanations. It had been 8 years since my last math class and I felt Conrad did a good job explaining the concepts and problems. Very organized and structured class. Posting the notes online helped, and I found the exams to be fair.
I thought he was a decently good professor. He explained things in a clear way and was willing to explain things in different ways if people did not understand. He was very nice and willing to help. If you do the book problems you will be fine. Pay attention to the problems he does in class. His exams are the same problems with different #s.
Very jittery and anxious professor. Vague most times. Don't bother going to lecture if are sure to do the online practice problems and read/review through the chapters in the book. DO attend the lecture reviews before midterms and finals, these actually are helpful!
Does not explain the material well. If you have a question, just repeats the definition and thinks you should understand what he is talking about. Speaks like he is above you (knowledge wise) so it is hard to comprehend what he is trying to say in plain English.
This was a great class. Proofs are satisfying & logical-for the most part. Students are of course required to put fourth effort and STUDY ON HEIR OWN LIKE GROWN UPS, but that is to be expected in a higher-level course. Conrad knew a lot about math history, and that made lectures interesting.
To put it simple I would have been better off with a book or the web homework because both my math teachers lec and rec didn't help me one bit. Conrad is so monotone that it made me want to fall asleep.
After reading reviews before taking this class, I thought that I would have yet another awful mathematics teacher, but I soon found out that this was not the case. He has actually been the BEST teacher Ive had in the Math department. He can be hard to understand but he really does just want to help. Lots of hw, but lets u know what to study 4 exams
He's not bad but he just continues on and rambles endlessly about the subject. He explains what he's doing to some extent but not enough to help you understand if you really need it. Attending lectures is pointless, just an hour of nothing.
He was boring to listen to, but he was a good teacher. I understood him and ended up getting an A out of the class.
Class Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.20 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH255
5.0
(1)MATH512
4.3
(3)MATH151
4.0
(1)MATH153
4.0
(1)MATH504
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
MATH1401
4.3
MATH104
4.0
MATH
4.0
MATH117
4.0
MATH415C
4.0