1.7
Quality3.8
Difficulty14%
Would Retake93
Reviews14%
Would Retake
93
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
5
4
4
3
9
2
22
1
53
What Students Say
“He only assigns one quick Mathematica assignment, two midterm tests, and a final”
MATH113 - 4.0 rating“The man is way too old to still be teaching”
MATH125 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
35%
Textbook Required
62%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.00 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH689001
4.0
(1)MATH315
3.0
(1)MATH114
2.3
(8)MATH213
2.0
(1)MATH113
1.9
(27)Difficulty by Course
math325
5.0
MATH108
4.8
MATH214
4.7
MATH112
4.5
MATH125
4.3
Reviews (93)
he goes through the trouble of proving things but forgets to really express how to do problems. Then tests you on things that are 100 times harder than anything practiced. No one scores [point value] high on tests, but you can still get a good grade.
I loved this class! Pay no attention to these other fools! I found Mr. Lawrence to be helpful, entertaining, and always leniant with due dates and class attendance...YOU WISH! Don't ever, ever, ever take this guy. Chances are, he hates you already.
As everyone has stated, this guy is horrible. I swear he comes to class doped up. He shuffles around the room like a confused herion addict. He mumbles at the board and doesn't explain anything. I was forced to retake 108 because of him.
horrible teacher but a nice guy.
hate to pile on, but he is really bad. AVOID LAWRENCE at all costs!
he does alot of work in his head, u can't understand him half the time, and he has a hearing problem.
You have to be a dumbass to fail his class. If you show up to his class regularly you'll end up with a B, thats for sure. He is not good at explaining though
So unorganized, he jumps around chapters to chapters. Also he postpones exams alot. 3 times in the row. There is something like RCT once a week, which is not told in class registration book, and seems he leaves problem solving part to it. What shall people who can't go there do?
No Comments
I had him for Calc 1 (Math ???). He actually yelled at commuters for arriving late on rainy days. He treated all of us as if we were in the fourth grade, and was consistently condescending. IF you want to learn math in it's purest form, study your butt off with this guy. If you are the least bit mathematically challenged, take a different professor
This guy moves and talks like he is 100 years old. He doesnt explain HOW to do things but just does random problems from his head, some of which dont even work out. His tests are incredibly hard. (My first test was sub-30% which was about average.) I recommend a tutor if you have to take this class with him. (Unless your a genius!)
if you arent especially good at math and like to have a clear explanation on problems.... do not take this prof. although he is very smart and knows everything... he doesnt explain things very clearly/well and you can get lost VERY VERY FAST! look elsewhere now! Before its toooo late!
This guy cannot hear, he mumbles, and his notes are so scattered you cannot make them out! Just to give you an idea how old this guys is MY DAD HAD HIM AT MASON! He on the other hand was smart enough to drop him! The material is easy enough to learn by yourself, just do the homework!! Good luck!
This is for the math professor, James F. Lawrence (goes by Jim). The problem w/ his lectures is that he tries to cover all the topics with one big advanced problem. Nice though. My exp. with him is that if the entire class does bad on an exam, he will let you redo the probs you missed for 1/2 credit He tends to give a matlab/maple assignment.
Pretty easy. His final was tough though because even if you got an A+ in everything else, i was still possible to get anywhere from a D to an A.
Incredibly hard! OMG! Do not take!! If you do take it, you must do the hmwrk to understand the material.
In order to do well in this class, you must attend every lecture and do every single homework assignment and DO NOT get behind! With that being said, you should be doing this with any class anyway so really its not too bad, just study hard. Not to mention that 10% of your final average is just showing up to recitation.
I myself took him twice and from my experience: he's useless in the class but if u do the homeworks, u'll ace the exams because the tests are very very similar from the homeworks. Nothing is outside the homeworks. Comparing to other professors, his tests are way easier. I'm not a smart person at all but still got A- in his class. DO YOUR HOMEWORKS
He's a really nice guy, but definitely should not be teaching anymore. I didn't graduate on time because of his class. He is very confusing and doesn't really know how to convey his ideas to the class. I am a math teacher and I could never understand anything he was conveying.
Lawrence seems like a nice enough guy but he is a terrible professor. He is way to old to still be teaching and can barely hear. As a result of his hearing he does not speak loud enough even when using a microphone and students in class will often talk in the back of class at normal volume without him noticing. His notes are very disorganized to.
He's an excellent, clear lecturer, if you can hear him (so stay close to the front if you want a good grade). He explains things far better than the textbook, so come to class and do your homework, even though your grade is entirely determined by 3 tests - skip class and the difficult material will kill you.
I came to class, did the homework, sat in the front, and still failed miserably. Nice guy, should have retired a long time ago.
Worst professor I've ever had. He has a hearing problem and he barely knows the material himself. He was solving a problem in class that he made up himself, and didn't solve it before he actually got to class. He will drift off sometimes and forget what he was previously talking about. Grade is based off 3 test and attendance. AVOID AT ALL COST
Avoid this professor at all costs.
You don't have to attend class because he posts all the notes on a website. Buy the textbook because you will be teaching yourself the material. This class is not that hard, but the professor isn't going to teach you anything. There are only three tests and 4 online quizzes that you can take as many times as you want.
Dr. Lawrence is a great professor. Do not believe the comments. I had him for 113 and 351 and every time, I got an A+. For a 106 class, if you don't do the work you can not expect high grades. You can't bs math either you know or you don't. I took 106 and Aced it, it's really not that hard if you study and go to office hours.
STAY AWAY!
Professor is nice and easy...but not so helpful. I barely understand anything he teaches in class. I came to his office for help several times, and he didn't do very well explaining. So either seek help from TA or you're on your own with a text book.
Professor Lawrence has a real hearing issue ! He cannot hear you and he speaks very low
This class is pretty easy if you've already taken Calc but if you haven't ur gonna get an F. Prof. Lawerence is weird. One day he was going on about geometric series and it had nothing to do with what we were doing. I don't know if Prof. is helpful or not 'cause I never needed help.
A nice guy, but needs to speak louder during lectures. He also needs to be more clear when explaining problems. However, his tests are not that hard, they are brief and concise.
He's terrible terrible professor, gives tricky and hardest tests ever when he's useless in lecturing. He is polite and nice though, but that doesn't have anything to do with being a good professor.
This guy is extremely smart but he just can't teach. Like people have stated, he is pretty much deaf. This class was 90% exams and 10% quizzes, so you pretty much screw up the class if you screw up a single test. I learned more from the recitation instructor than I did from the lectures so I didn't go to class. He makes really tough exams also.
#1) He's easily confused by his own (unclear) lecture, and often has to start over in the middle of class! #2) He DOESN'T respect the basic concept that success is as much about understanding the theoretical concept as it is about practicing the problems (Solving DE problems is a SKILL). His exams bear little resemblance to assigned problems
Lectured straight from the book in a way that was somehow actually more confusing than simply reading the book. Does not curve, even when the average on the final was a 61 and contained uncovered material. When the average is 2 percentage points away from failing, that's not the students' fault for not knowing the information, it's the professor's.
Terrible teacher, lectures were just impossible to pay attention to. AVOID AT ALL COSTS! The first 2 tests he gives are easy if you can get help and do the homework elsewhere but the final is just impossible... please AVOID AT ALL COSTS! take math next semester or something... just avoid......
AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!! He is a god awful professor who doesn't really care if you pass or fail. He gives a 10 question final after only two other 10-18 question exams on which he tries to trick you. Recitation does not help at all and the quizzes are not similar to HW at all! Save yourself!
The final was absolutely unimaginable...Don't take him you will regret it
If you have already taken calculus, this class is fine. I got an A because I knew everything from calc. in high school. However, his lectures are terrible and will confuse you more than help you. The TA during recitation was much more helpful. If you are new to calculus, this class is suicide.
Worst teacher I've had this entire year. I'm actually going to go to the review board and submit a complaint about this professor. He does not cover the material and he'll confuse you. When you go to his office hours he rushes you and you don't get clarification. If you haven't taken calculus before please go to another professor.
math teacher... taught clearly and was accomidating. math class means u have to practice. smoking pot and taking tests doesnt seem to work(for me at least). did good job. i am a believer in math..
This professor is excellent for upper level courses. He designs classes more as a discussion and learning experience than as a lecture of things to memorize. If you want a list to memorize, don't take him. If you want to discuss and learn, he's very interesting.
I couldn't hear him from the second row... But if you ask for help, he's there. Not a lot of tests, but he goes over things really fast in every lecture.
Not bad, but patience is needed with his teaching style. Tests range from basic material like "How many partitions are in a set of 1, 2, 3, ...., 19" to tricky true and false questions. Homework from the textbook isn't graded, but there are some assignments that you do at home that are graded. I miss out on class at times and I am still thriving.
He is senile. Slow, incompetent, and his voice is 80% gone. you cannot hear him unless you sit in the first row in the middle of class. what is better is that he can't hear you unless he is in your personal space. Gives no partial credit. Funny person to talk to but clueless when teaching college math. He should retire.
Lectures were long and not very helpful. The recitation instructor was the only reason I passed the class. Homework is assigned, however I found myself googling practice problems most of the time and the tests did not reflect the problems from the homework. He is a very nice in person, so if you find yourself struggling do visit his office.
I would not recommend Lawrence if you've never taken Calc before. It was an easy A only because I learned everything from AP Calc in high school. His lectures were confusing and you have to sit in the front of the room to hear him. Homework problems were for review, nothing was collected. Went to his office hours once; he was nice and helpful.
I highly suggest not taking this professor if you are a visual learn and have never taken calc. He never writes out what he is doing, and he just expects everyone to understand what he is saying. You will have to do a lot of self teaching and studying.
Professor Lawrence is very knowledgeable on his field of study, as he often goes off on tangents during lectures, but if you just pay attention to the essential material, you should be fine. He only assigns one quick Mathematica assignment, two midterm tests, and a final. If you go to office hours, he will take the time to explain the material.
Easy class and wants students to do well.
He's really a nice guy. Not the best at teaching though. Recitation helped me learn, also utilizing his office hours helped. He's extremely smart, I just don't think he can put the material in a way that most people can understand which would've been helpful since calc 2 is super tough. Quizzes every class as attendance!
I had to retake this class and didn't study as much as last year but his exams are pretty easy. He gave curves on all exams bumping you a whole letter grade. He is hard of hearing so you need to speak loud if you want him to notice you.
He knows math, just not how to teach. He is on in his years and cannot hear or speak very loud so questions take long to be answered. Quizzes every day. No blackboard use. His lectures are very ambiguous in what he's attempting to convey. The textbook is good so self-learners who are good with math will be ok. I can't recommend him though.
I usually ended up finding myself more confused after attending his lectures, and so I had to turn to Kahn Acadamy to clean up the mess.
Lectures are convoluted with no structure and Lawrence uses many examples that are extremely difficult to follow. Lectures are also dry and boring. Better to skip class, but you can't because of daily quizzes. Quizzes are T/F on concepts he tried to teach. Exams are hit or miss. Either exactly like reviews, somewhat similar, or totally different.
His lectures are a torture and you can't skip them because he gives quizzes everyday, which are worth 10% of the class. If you can teach yourself the material and stand the lectures you'll be fine. Exams are not difficult if you do the homework and study for them. There three of them, worth 30% each.
He's a super nice guy, he just can't teach. I taught most of the material myself and found his lectures very confusing. True and false quizzes every lecture so you can't skip. Utilize recitation and go to his office hours because he'll give you an extra boost if he sees you're really working for it.
Held onto a B the whole year without attending a single class, only to find out I had been missing daily quizzes not mentioned in the syllabus. Grades came out and I ended with a D because of the quizzes. Lesson learned, never skip class no matter how well you know the material. Would take him again his tests were easy, class expectations unclear.
He speaks softly and does not hear well. The class is very boring and sometimes he gives notes on things that are not going to be on the test. He's a very sweet and smart man but I would never take his class again.
Often makes mistakes, dosen't follow the book, is very hard to understand, and I'm not even sure if he has a lesson plan, there's no flow in his lectures. He makes what should be an interesting class into a complete mess.
Awful teacher. You can barely hear him and when you can, his explanations are very long winded and not very easy to understand. The man is way too old to still be teaching. Other students in other MATH 125 classes got easy A's. This guy cover stuff from Discrete 2 in his Discrete 1 class.
Speaks very softly and explanations are confusing. Do not take him if you can avoid it.
Exams somewhat easy, but that does not mean much if what the professor is trying to teach rarely gets recieved on your end, not really good at teaching and talks very softly, but respects students. Recitation and lecture attendance counted as 20% of your overall and these were based on quizes, 3 true or false questions.
I went into this class with prior experience in probability but somehow Lawrence was confusing that I'm not sure I know probability anymore. He talks VERY quietly and slowly and he CANNOT hear anything you say and his lectures are all over the place. His exams were difficult simply because I COULD NOT LEARN ANYTHING FROM HIM. He's a nice dude tho
I have never experience a professor like this before. I've dealt with terrible professors, but this one is definitely a unique one. This professor is so awful at teaching that he needs to be studied by educators. I've never failed a class ever in my college years, this would be the first class and it is my last semester. AVOID! AVOID! AVOID!
I have never written a rating, but it felt that it was necessary. James F Lawrence is the worse professor at Mason. I did not learn anything in his class because he really does not teach.
Worst professor at George Mason that Ive ever encountered. He stopped assigning us homework and just told us to do whatever problem in each section. This professor is for sure not organize and Im pretty sure he isnt planning the class either. It seems he just shows up to class unprepared and just does whatever he thinks will work.
The worst prof!!!!!
Math 290 sets you up for a future in mathematics by teaching you about proof, and how to structure them. Math 290 is by far one of the most important classes a math major can take. Lawrence didn't teach us how to structure proofs. Avoid at all costs.
Worst teacher i ever had. He speaks very softly, and his exams are very hard(taking into account that he cant teach at all.) Do yourself a favor and take any other teacher.(If you are stuck with him, be aware that for math 125 sometimes an extra class is added during the first week of the semester)
You have weekly quizzes, around 3 to 10 questions, usually every Monday and Wednesday. These are your only grades. That's it. Then the final. Lectures are pre-recorded, Prof just goes over slides. You can't go back on quiz questions (presumably to prevent cheating), but 20 questions are dropped. Curved my 69 to 70 without asking so that's nice.
Lectures were prerecorded in which he just read off the slides and worked out a couple problems. Two "tests" every week which makes up most of grade. Optional HW problems from textbook, but the book is not worth it (explanations were lackluster). Found extra help on YT when topics were confusing. Final was pretty long.
Just do yourself a favor and drop the class.
2 quizzes each week and a final exam. He reads off his lecture from his notes (not helpful) and sometimes has nothing to do with the quizzes. He gave up on assigning practice hw middle of the semester and stopped responding to discussion board. Glad he curved grade (probably no one did well). Final was all true/False. good guy but not good prof
I feel bad for him because he seems very nice, but sadly his method of teaching is extremely flawed and he just speaks so quietly. It's kind of hard to teach yourself everything in a rigorous course like this. Find another professor.
AVOID
A terrible teacher. My study group and I all got A's yet we didn't learn a single thing. 2 weekly quizzes on material that has NOTHING to do with his lectures OR the textbook. Then he gives a final completely true or false. This man shows up to get the check. Avoid at all costs if u actually want to learn probability for ur major. (-some1 w/ A+)
Most assignments were true/false and fairly easy, and for proofs and written assignments gave opportunities to retry for full credit
This has got to be the worst prof. I have had at Mason. He comes in first day of class unable to work the projector to display his video lectures. We had to watch the videos on our laptops while he sat quietly in the front. This class would better serve an online format as the in-person lecture is just watching the videos he posted online. Avoid.
Prof Lawrence is a sweet gentleman, I took his summer Math 113 course online, it was mostly based on quizzes with an optional final exam, the class is mostly independent - driven (lectures are only useful for questions) so I recommend only taking it if you have a background in Calc 1, overall I recommend taking his class he's a caring prof
Funny guy, but respectfully dude needs to retire. He has a hard time hearing, and His paper that he takes notes on is usually out of the camera's view so u miss like 40% of the notes. Forgets to assign homeworks so he just dumps a bunch of homework at once (this semester assigned 19 assignments 1.5 weeks before finals, not a good time).
Prof. Lawrence is awful. Lectures are a waste of time as most of it is spent with him trying to align the paper with the doc cam. What little we cover in class is no where seen on exams, and the homework is done through web assign. Which doesn't align with the course at all he assigns the entire book and sets the due date as the last day.
Terrible class, terrible quizzes, and terrible exams. Avoid at all costs.
BE PREPARED TO STUDY ON YOUR OWN FOR THIS CLASS!!!. He does not know how to work technology and spends most of the time talking to himself because he can't get the projector to display what he's doing on the paper right, so your just stuck there trying to make out what he's trying to teach. GOOD LUCK CUZ U MOST LIKELY ARE GONNA NEED IT!!!
I'm so sorry if your taking Lawrence. He doesn't know how to work technology and most of the time talks to himself because he doesn't know how to adjust the paper on the projector, so you end up just sitting there confused for most of the lecture. Organic chemistry teacher is gonna be your best friend for this class. Good luck.
He spent most of his time just talking about the problems he made and just showing how to solve them; he did not apply any theory on why he got the answers he got for any of his problems. Therefore most of the class did not get how to apply what he did to harder problems.
AVOID! I hate so say it because he seems like a sweet guy but he cannot teach in the modern world. First day he was unprepared did not even have his Canvas set up at all. In addition his lectures are incoherent, he quickly goes over a set of slides without giving you time to write anything down then goes to do his problems that are not related.
A really nice man, but he has dementia and immense mental decline. I took calculus before which is the only reason I didn't get a C. I would have gotten an A, but on a test I asked "is this answer simplified enough?", he said yes, and then marked my 100 to a 90 for not simplifying it enough. Don't take any class of his unless you already know it.
He removed all the homewords and every test was take home except the final, good teacher but he talks very quiet so it is neccary to sit as close to his desk as possible if you want to hear anything.
He seems like a nice guy but he speaks extremely quietly and often forgets to put on his microphone. He doesn't make the practice problems provided for midterms/finals so the questions you study may not appear on the test, and questions on the test may not have been on the practice questions.
The Prof is on such a mental decline and cannot hear. Whenever questions were asked he asked for people to repeat it 2 times+. He explains the material poorly and in a manner thats hard to understand. He also has no slides, no TA, no office hours. You basically have to teach everything to yourself and get random pop quizzes whenever he remembers.
This. Professor. Does. Not. Have. Notes. For. His. Own. Class.
He has an immense mental decline. Forgot to give us quizzes in class after the second or third week so our grade was pretty much just from exams. Ran into him outside of class once and he genuinely didnt remember that I was in his class, and might have forgotten he was even teaching a class. He's really nice, but its hard to learn from him.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
35%
Textbook Required
62%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.00 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH689001
4.0
(1)MATH315
3.0
(1)MATH114
2.3
(8)MATH213
2.0
(1)MATH113
1.9
(27)Difficulty by Course
math325
5.0
MATH108
4.8
MATH214
4.7
MATH112
4.5
MATH125
4.3