2.2
Quality4.4
Difficulty22%
Would Retake270
Reviews22%
Would Retake
270
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
39
4
25
3
35
2
43
1
128
What Students Say
“Avoid him at all costs”
21B - 2.0 rating“Midterms are nothing like what is taught or like the homework”
MAT021B - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
27%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.67 avg changeRatings by Course
MAT168
5.0
(2)MATH168
5.0
(1)MATH21D
4.8
(6)MAT118A
4.3
(6)MAT022B
3.4
(5)Difficulty by Course
MAT21
5.0
MAT17
5.0
MAT17A
5.0
MATC01
5.0
22B
5.0
Reviews (270)
THE BEST Teacher you will ever have! Better than Kouba by far! His midterms and finals are exactly the same as his sample ones and he is extremely helpful. If you are still having trouble he will answer your questions during office hours or you can email him also...by far the best teacher ever!
At first he came off as an ass saying he was not going to be an easy teacher...but ohh was that a joke. I think he just wanted to get some people to drop his class because it was so full that he said that. He was better than any of my other teachers and I hate math. If not the best teacher on campus, he is still the best math teacher.
Great teacher! Highly recommended if you are lucky enough to get a spot in his class!
The Buddha of math right here. He is the coolest guy in the world. Helpful, nice, clear, and intelligent. Desires for everyone in his class to do well. Try to get an early pass time to get into his class.
He's a great teacher...and he's super cute too!
Good teacher. He teaches stuffs that are not covered in the text. If you'd really listen to him, you'd learn a great deal about math and physics.
He may be a cool guy, but he derives everything. He goes into so much depth that is useless. His quiz system is bad, would rather have a midterm. His final was completely different from anything seen in the class. Main negative factor is his final, everyone basically failed and he knows it.
WTF??? Did you just say he was cute? You are either a complete idiot or your blind...I don't know which... Biello was a**** teacher, who couldn't teach, messed every 3rd example up, gave impossible quizzes (some of the TA's gave their kids the answers, thats why he's getting a good rat) and the final was utterly ridiculous. Good Luc
He's really nice and open to suggestions and he gave us chocolate at the final.I heard his class is curved to a B+ average so it's really not hard to do well in his class.Make sure you study for the quizzes because they are easy.Doesn't explain things well, pay attention to the examples.He's an ok professor.He's new, he'll get better with the years
Ok for those of you who are complaining,you probably posted this before finding the ridiculously easy curve he is giving us.He is curving 74% to a B+ meaning if you got 74% in the class(not hard to do)then you get a B+.Yes the final was hard but he is giving us an awesome curve so it is impossible to fail.Nice guy, great curves,complicated lecturer
He is an ok professor, but a really cool guy. Enjoyed his lectures, even though they were early. Is vairy fair with his grading, sets the class up to pass. I liked the quiz system much more than midters. They gave you room for error and to correct your errors. Only bad thing was that he seemed a little unorganized, but that will come with time
Professor Biello is a really cool guy. His lectures are pretty good. He gives quizes every week and they aren't too bad. He drops two of the lowest. His final was hard but he gave a huge curve that it didn't matter. Take him if you can.
He was alright. I think it was his first time teaching. His lectures were pretty disorganized. He didn't make it particulatly easy to learn anything new. Most people in the class had taken AP calc BC in high school. His grading was pretty easy though, meaning I passed when I probably should have failed.
He was really unorganized and not at all easy to talk to or approach.
Biello isn't a bad guy, he knows what he's talking about but isn't the best at explaining it. I took calculus in high school which is the only reason I knew what to do. Weekly quizzes weren't too bad, but got annoying because you just learned the material for the quiz and it was more memorization than knowledge. Final: very hard.
He is an AWESOME teacher. hes very enthusiastic, animated, and just plain nice. His lectures are clear and interesting. The test aren't difficult, he gives you weeks do to the homework, and he go out of his way to help you understand the material. By far, one of the best prof. at Davis. Oh, and the class is great also! :) A+
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I've never been an office hours kinda guy, but I felt like I was struggling with the material, so I frequented his office. He spent much more time than the hour he was committed to, worked through problems, and slowed down for students that worked even slower than me. He was energetic & exciting at 8am. Biello is a friendly, engaging professor.
The quizzes he give are extremely easy. Not to mention they're worth 40%. So basically, instead of taking a huge midterm you can bomb, you can study a specific chapter and get an A on the quizzes each time. I got an A-, without a doubt, the best 21b teacher.
Very easy class. Quizes are straight forward, easy to do. Dont need to study hard still get an A. GOOD LUCK!!
Biello is definetly a great professor. He definitetly knows the material very well and can prove pretty much anything. Initially at lecture he made it seem like his class was going to be really hard, but after the second quiz it wasn't too bad. As long as you grasp the main concept and do some problems there should be no issues. His final was hard.
This class hits like a truck. BE WARNED of his EXTREMELY HARD TESTS!!! He's a wolf in sheep skin?
Carry a noose with you when you go pick up your midterms.
Omg, this teacher's expectations are extremely high Ive done all the homework, understood how to do all calculations but still struggled with all the quizzes and the midterm thus far. Avoid if you plan to feel good about yourself after studying for a quiz or test because the grade you get on your exams will make you cry unless you're a math genius
extremely hard class. collects homework so no matter how long you spend on your homework, if you get ONE problem wrong, your whole homework grade is reflected upon that one problem. cocky teacher as well. thinks hes a good teacher and blames it on his students. tests are hard. barely enough time to finish. WARNING: do not take this class!!
Don't take this class. Worst teacher ever. He will blame the class for failing. He as some serious issues. I hope he gets fired. If you want to fail then go ahead and take the class.
Worst teacher ever. Avoid taking him.Ridiculously hard quizes and and midterms. They guy has some serious problems. He will blame the class for bad grades. He brings the entire class down.
I had professor osserman last quarter and i thought he was bad until i attended biello's class. Biello is a HORRIBLE professor. the Worst teacher ive ever had. (not exaggerating). Quizes are ridiculously hard, hw is hard too, and its not like he does a good job helping us do well on it. Heres a tip for future students: DON'T TAKE HIS CLASS!!
Evil person. Omg don't ever take his class. Horrible professor. Probably the worst professor in Davis. Don't like him at all. Hi quizes are ridiculously hard and he will taunt the class about low test scores. He doesn't care about the students. He only cares about his ego and how to boast it. Professors aren't supposed to fail 1/3 of the class.
He teaches pretty well until you take his quizzes and exams which are extremely hard, I understand what he teaches, he just goes too slow and is hurrying up in the end..but quizzes and midterms..beware!! and expect the hardest problems possible
worst professor ever!!I've never experienced such low confidence and self-esteem until I had this class. Quizzes are RIDICULOUSLY hard, not related to the material at all. He teaches you 1+1, and expected you to know 50 times further. Don't take him unless you wanna fail
I took this class because of the good ratings and comments posted by students he taught years ago. But later realized in shock that this year he changed his teaching method and grading COMPLETELY!!! Quizzes are horrible, problems jumped out of nowhere, and he blame the whole class for not doing well without considering his own problem.DON'T TAKE IT
Unless you are a Calc wizard, you will fail this class. His quizzes are unrelated to the material and really hard as is the homework. He blames and belittles the class for poor test and quiz scores. I quote, "If you don't understand this material you don't belong in calculus, you belong in some remedial math class." STAY AWAY FROM THIS PROF!!!
Truly awful. Astoundingly so. Avoid at all costs.
Like others I chose this professor based on his great reviews from prior students. I don't know if something happened in his personal life but either way something affected his class. He bashed on us for the class' low midterm average, he tries to prove theories but end up confusing himself and therefore the class. I don't recommend him at all.
This class is depression in a box! I took it cause of the great reviews from previous students but I don’t know who he was before, but he's apparently not the same guy. All of the quizzes (one every week) and the midterm all have tricks to them so it’s not good enough that you understand the material, you have to know "math tricks".
Friendly and helpful in office hours, but not a good professor. He often gets confused during lecture and needs students to catch his mistakes. Understanding the homework is no guarantee that you'll pass the class. Tests are very hard and often far removed from what was covered in class. Unless you're a Math major, try and find another professor.
OMG i took his class bc i thought it was going to be easy. NO IT WAS NOT! what he teaches in class was so hard. The exams were total killers. I just finished taking the class and i probably have to retake thanks to his hard exams and lack of ability to teach but the exam was so hard i just wanted to leave cuz my grade would still be the same w/o it
I was also suckered in by previous high reviews. Weekly quizes are very difficult, his lectures are not related to the homework, doesnt help you on the quizes. Midterm and final were just horrible, theres not much more to say except to avoid if possible.
OH MY GOD this class was hell!! His lectures had nothing to do with the homework, the homeworks had nothing to do with the quizzes, and the quizzes had nothing to do with the tests. All were insanely hard! I took him because he had good reviews, but any good review is a false review. No joke. If you don't want to kill yourself, avoid Biello!
Mean of exam was 48% and he blamed on students. No use of going to lecture nor homework. Those don't do any help for the exam. Don't take him unless you want to feel depressed and angry.
If I had written this just after finishing the class, it would look much like those below mine; however, after some time and 21C, I have decided that it was not so bad after all. Sure, the quizzes and tests were difficult and lectures frustrating, but I learned the material. While Biello is not a excellent professor, he is by no means the worst.
Horribly unclear lectures. He would often make mistakes. Never has notes when he's lecturing, so he often gets lost and makes up example problems on the spot he can't solve. One day he told us to throw out our notes from the previous class and he re lectured on it. Terrible professor, terribly unfairly hard, avoid at all costs
This teacher has his ups and downs. His quizzes aren't too bad if you pay attention but his tests are a real challenge. It was a mistake for me to miss lectures (I had him at 8:00AM); if you have him, go to every lecture and be sure to take notes. He gets carried away with proofs sometimes, but he's a nice guy albeit a tough professor.
Terrible professor. Very arrogant and he presents the material in a way that makes you feel dumb if you don't already know it. Tests and quizzes are VERY hard. He starts the class of by saying he wants us to learn, not memorize, but then doesnt give us the tools to do so. Dont take this class if you can avoid it.
Wanted to stab him for the first two weeks but after that it got better. Gets carried away and can be difficult to comprehend but keep trying and you'll be fine. I enjoyed him, let me like math again. You could do worse.
He seemed like a nice guy but then the midterm comes and hits you like a train. I loved math ever since high school and I got a 5 on the AP BC exam, and A's in MAT 21A and MAT 21B and yet I still got a D in this class. This class seriously made me lose all hope in the world and left me angry, depressed, and hopeless. Don't take him. No matter what.
If you want to fail a class, take one with Biello. The midterm was absurdly difficult, and the final was nothing short of impossible. In class he makes careless errors on the board and expects the class to catch them. Class is almost pointless to go to, but he shines in office hours and will help you understand there.
I'll start with the positive. His office hours are very helpful & if you take your time to go there you will indeed get help. Now on the other hand, he assigns optional homework for each chapter, and completing those problems prepared me well and helped me know my material. But his exams are nothing like the problems in the book. Avoid if you can.
Avoid if possible. Reading the text book was more useful than going to lecture most of the time. Especially since the text book doesn't make frequent mistakes.
It's been nearly 4 months since the class has ended and I still cringe at his name. Going to class makes you confused and the book doesn't prepare you for the exams, which are absurdly difficult.
AVOID THIS PROFESSOR AT ALL COSTS. Even if you have a strong math background and aced other hard calculus classes, you will end up failing his class.
He is such a horrible professor. Lectures are incomprehensible and his quizzes aren't even related to homework problems. He babbles on about math he finds interesting, but teaches no practical application of it and tests on questions no one knows about. DON'T TAKE HIM. Drop your math class immediately if you have him your GPA will be saved that way
Professor Biello is a great professor. He teaches with clarity and compassion and does many examples in class. He takes questions frequently and never makes you feel stupid in front of your peers. He tries to use real-world analogies,like comparing variables to street addresses. He is very accessible during office hours; but come prepared LOL
this man should not teach. the book taught better than him.
I thought that this would have been an easy A with a strong math background. Biello made calculus way harder than it should be. avoid him
Very horrible and unclear lecturer. Always talks about how the class undermines his "teaching philosophy" and talks about his dislike for mechanical teachers like Dr. Kouba and Dr. Dad-del. Very unclear in what his "applications of math" are and does not give any fundamental background in an INTRODUCTORY calc course. AVOID HIM AT ALL COSTS!
He seems like he knows a lot about math theory and how math laws came about, but his attitude of letting the students teach themselves how to do problems doesn't go well for an intro for calculus. If you get him attend other lectures or read the book. It's the only way to get by. The quizzes and midterms will drastically drop your grade.
I've literally learned nothing all quarter from this professor and had to teach myself all the material. If you get him, give up all hope on getting a good grade and drop the class immediately to save your gpa
just don't take him. it's as simple as that. The only good thing about his class was that every time he lectured I was left feeling incredibly depressed and angry, which served as good motivation in the gym. Other than that, avoid this man.
I feel bad, because he seems like a nice man and it must suck to be that professor that everyone complains about, but seriously avoid taking him. He has extensive knowledge of mathematics, he's just not a teacher. Each lecture would consist entirely of one or two super confusing examples of some rule or theory that are unnecessary in intro calc.
He's a nice, approachable guy if you stay respectful and courteous. But he has a temper, so don't risk playing on your ipad or iphone because he will call you out in hilarious fashion. He's a hard professor, no doubt about it. But it's not fair to call him a jerk, because he's not. He's a nice guy, a good teacher, but very strict and demanding.
I feel that Professor Biello knows a lot about math. However, his tests are really hard. And so are the quizzes. I am learning calculus, but I feel somewhat unmotivated because of my scores. He is very helpful in office hours and does care about his students, but the class is really hard.
biello makes a good theorist, but a horrible professor. lectures are useless. read the book and understand the main points and you'll get by. the quizzes are hard and the midterm was nothing like the homework assigned. I never went to lecture and the only way I have an A right now is because I get tutoring instead. avoid this man.
He is very knowledgeable about math. I feel that he is a nice guy and approachable. Many students don't like him because they disagree with this teaching style. He teaches with proofs and he emphasizes on problem solving rather than simple plug and chug problems. He wants you to actually try out the problems yourselves to learn them.
The midterm average was a 28% which his curve was just making the score out of 75 instead of 100 points so the majority of the class still had below a C and he blamed us. His lectures are just two extremely complicated examples.He was pretty helpful during the office hours but his quizzes and tests do not reflect the homework problems assigned.
Biello explains concepts very well. His office hours are very helpful. He is a tough grader and his quizzes/exams require you to know more than just the mechanics of solving problems... which is expected at a university level. Overall, I was happy with what I learned and happy that I had Biello..who speaks clear English..something not all profs do.
lectures are good but when it comes down to the tests and quizzes Biello is probably the hardest math teacher.
The problem with this guy is that there's such a huge disparity b/t his lectures and the difficulty of his exams--he's hard. If he's the only teacher available, take summer school or wait a quarter. It's better if you skip this guy and save yourself the stress. If you decide to take him, prepare for devoted individual work. Otherwise, you're dunzo.
DO NOT TAKE unless you can handle it. his midterm and final are impossible and will leave you a mess. be prepared to teach yourself everything from the book and be prepared to get under 50% on the tests even if you are amazing at math
Extremely hard. Don't take him!
Biello is a horrible professor. You will leave confused and suicidal. His philosophical ways are better for higher level math, not 17A. He is disrespectful of other teacher's methods stating that if you want hints, you do not belong in a university. His passion for math makes the lectures long tangents about everything but the subject matter.
His class is challenging and full of low average scores. His lectures are confusing sometimes. I don't recommend his class unless you are good at math.
Horrible, Ive taken calculus before, in High school, adn I did perfectly fine in that class, but I came into this class and for some reason, I felt like I was learning new material.
curve is garbage, he's incomprehensible, and he avoids contact with students. He disabled the chat on smartsite and doesn't respond to e-mails. he's incredibly confusing and a horrible professor. I took calc in high school and never went to class due to his idiocy. Got a B overall because everyone did horribly on the final. AVOID AVOID AVOID
Nice guy, but he gives ridiculously hard tests and quizzes. I would suggest taking him if you're either some major math genius or have three/four classes so that you can devote EXTRA time to this class.
Don't take this guy. Beware that this class itself is hard. Read before and attend all the lectures no matter who the professor is. Biello's style confuses the students even more. His comments discourage the students. The quizes and exams are extra hard which depress the students even more. His grading policies are also unclear. Take someone else.
The mean for the midterm AND Final was 35%.
Quizzes are not that bad, exams are hard, however he is a good guy and is SUPER helpful in office hours. He may seem a little confusing in class at times, but if you read before the lecture it helps ALOT. It is definitely POSSIBLE to get a good grade in his class, but it requires work on your part. Taking his class taught me to be a better student.
Excellent professor if you're good at physical applications and math concepts. Expects a lot from you. Definitely the best math professor I've ever had. However, I got a straight B even though I was in the top 15% of the class. He's a harsh grader, and his tests are insane. Highly recommend for Engineering and Math majors, but not for anyone else.
Extremely hard. And he's arrogant.
I'm sure he's a nice guy in real life but honestly he is the worst calculus professor ever. I already had some knowledge about calculus when I went in to his class but he just left me CONFUSED, I'm surprised I passed. If you can avoid taking his class, then AVOID IT. But if you absolutely can't, then go to a Calc workshop, you'll learn more there.
Awesome teacher! Hard class, but he taught VERY well and was more than willing to answer any questions thrown at him. He was very reasonable when I asked him about my grade. He always keeps the class interactive as much as possible. I enjoy his class and would definitely recommend him.
Difficult class but as long as you do the homework, you should do fine. The professor loves it when you ask questions, so don't be afraid to ask for his help if you're struggling on something.
He is a great teacher. He knows what he is doing and he loves it when students are thinking about the material and ask questions. He actually cares about your performance and his office hours are THE BEST! So if you have him, go to his OH! And ask questions and do your homework on time. Not super difficult at all. The previous ratings are lies!
I love that teacher! He definitely knows what he is talking about. Just ask questions and do your homework. He loves questions and intellectually curious students. He's fair and he won't let you off the hook very easily but that's just college for ya! The kids that rated him as arrogant are probably the ones who didn't pay attention and didn't atte
Absolute garbage. Unclear, unfair, and unsatisfactory in every aspect.
Expects a LARGE amount of work out of you. An 'A' from him would require at least 3 hours of work per day, more on weekends. One complaint against him is that the "core" material of the class, Stokes' Theorem and Divergence Theorem, wasn't taught in class at all, instead we were supposed to self teach it for the final. To reiterate: TONS OF WORK!!!
Great guy. Not impossibly hard until you hit Green's/Stoke's/Divergence. Did OK up until that. We spent only 3 days doing the most important topics of the class though(previously mentioned). It was just too fast at the end. Do your homework. Use your resources. Overall He teaches you so that the topics will stick. College is hard. Suck it up.
The content was hard but he helped as much as he could. I understood examples in class but didn't know what to do on homework. He's fantastic during OFFICE HOURS! Homework not graded but it's vital! Weekly quizzes are half the grade and the final is the other half. Curve is fantastic!! I would definitely take him again.
Biello is everything that is wrong with math and science courses in the UC system. Do not take his courses unless you are interested in learning all of the material on your own.
Very, very bad idea to take him unless you are especially gifted. Arrogant, and it is painfully obvious that he does not care about his students at all.
best math professor ive had at davis. although tests, quizes are extremely difficult, I would definately take a class with him again
Avoid this professor at all costs. He is arrogant, doesn't care about his students, and purposely makes the material harder than it needs to be.
Biello is an amazing teacher. I've never had such a clear math teacher who made concepts so easy to digest. His class is hard, but his teaching is worth it!
After four years at Davis, I am rating Professor Biello based upon all other professors I have taken. Yes, he is the worst I've had - arrogant, difficult, condescending and uncaring about students. Avoid him at all costs. After his class I based my whole schedule on choosing good professors rather on time of day or specific quarter.
Biello is the worst professor I've ever had, in any class, in any school, period. Day 1 of class he boasted about how many people he generally gets the pleasure of failing. Lectures have little to do with the homework, which has nothing to do with exams. Graded homework is IMPOSSIBLY LONG, 15-20 hours min. Exams equally as difficult. RUN AWAY!!
Biello is by far the best professor I've had at Davis(even among non-math professors). Yes his exams are hard, but his lectures make it completely worth it. Expect lots of homework and many hours of studying. If you're willing to apply yourself, there's a lot to gain from taking his class. Even if you struggle, he curves his class quite generously.
The final is tomorrow. No other tests were taken in this class. Reviews written about this class prior to tomorrow commenting about exams are... perhaps self serving? Additionally, everyone in the class cheated on the homework because it was impossible to complete otherwise. Let us hope that fact is figured into your um.. "the" curve.
He treat us as phd student and we are only undergrad. I asks my friends with phd for help in homeworks and even they couldnt figure it out. AVOID!!!
He spent around 5 lectures teaching us stuff that, "you won't be tested on" and that was also not in the departmental syllabus nor in the homework... His only rationale for teaching it was that it was material he finds, "Beautiful." Horrible excuse for a teacher.
Horrible professor final was so hard average on it was like 30% curve wasn't that great either.
He has no idea how to teach the material to students. Attending lectures made me more confused than simply reading the book did. Then his final is not even math. It's proofs.
Ridiculously hard. No curve. Learn from my mistake; don't take him unless you're a math genius.
This was by far the worst class I've taken at Davis. His final averaged 81/180 and he barely curved the class. He is arrogant, unfair, and his tests/quizzes are extremely difficult. Do whatever you can, even put the class off for a quarter, to avoid taking his class. I used to like math until I had him.
One of the best math classes I have had the pleasure of attending. The course is very conceptual by nature, but Biello did a fantastic job of teaching the material to his class! Half of the grade was all doable quizzes, (very easy if you do the homework thoroughly); the final was very difficult, but it wasn't impossible to study for in advance!
Worst math professor I've ever had. He makes the material much more difficult than it needs to be, hoping that we understand "true calculus." Expects way too much for a freshman math class.
Hard class but learned a lot. A grade of 70% becomes an A. Based on understanding calc concepts: you CANT just memorize and get away with it. Go to OH, participate/ask questions, and pay attention!! Quizzes tended to come straight from lecture examples. Most people who complained about him (in my class) didn't go to lecture so couldnt pass quizzes.
He taught nothing in his lectures, and quiz he gave was hard and has nothing to do with the textbook. His lectures were terrible. The best thing to do in his class is to not take this.
Simply he does not care about students at all! I never ever had such irresponsible prof like him
His class is meaningless. He doesn't know how to teach. He is the worst prof i've even met.
He is a big time disaster, do not care about the students at ALL! he is the absolute worst teacher I had ever, did not come prepared and did not curve
Not an easy class. 50% quizes (fine if you do hw) 50% final (curved well). HAVE to keep up with reading + hw, this is not a class where you can do well if you dont. His lectures are pretty good if you take good notes and write down all the steps and details - i recommend rewriting your notes after because if you get everything they will b a mess
Very difficult math class. You need to put in a lot of work outside of lecture, but attendance at lecture is mandatory because examples will appear on weekly quizzes. It is definitely possible to get a B or A if you work for it, but he makes the material harder than it needs to be. The final is near impossible.
VERY bad teacher, poor lectures, comes to his office hours on and off, not answering email. avoid him, avoid him, and avoid him!
Incredibly difficult class with an incredibly difficult professor. No midterms, only quizzes and a final. Had to spend at least 2 hours every day studying for this class. Avoid this professor at all costs
So long as you're listening well and thinking hard, this class is doable. He doesn't teach an easy class, but it's worth it. Understanding the material and cultivating a wonder of mathematics is at the core here. DO THE HOMEWORK. Most of the examquiz problems are taken directly from the book.
Yes. This is a hard class. He makes you work hard for it and makes you understand the materials. This class shows me that thus far I have not had a good foundation of calculus. That's why I struggled. This is also the case for many people I have seen.
Biello is incredibly unclear and goes off on multiple tangents during class time that take away from the actual lecture topic. He never does clear examples and relies completely on random notation of his choosing. His tests do not correlate to quizzes, homework, or lectures, and his class is extremely frustrating. Avoid him at all costs.
Prof Biello does not know how to teach students. He's really big on concepts and assumes you automatically get them and rarely has you do actual math problems w/ numbers. The one midterm was nearly impossible and so are the weekly quizzes which are 40% of your course grade. Says he doesn't curve or give partial credit... Do not take his class!!!!
Never take his class!! Just wait till next quarter if he is the only one left. He doesn't even have his own syllabus and his class is so unorganized.
This is the worst math class I've ever taken. He doesn't go by the 21B syllabus and doesn't include his own. Furthermore, he refuses to use numbers in his example problems and claims that "if you understand one example, you can do all like problems." Do the homework and read the textbook if you want to understand the material.
He's really smart (astrophysicist or something) but maybe he expects his students to be just as sharp as him? His examples are NOT helpful, goes off tangents, and rarely uses numbers in his example, making concepts even more confusing than they already are. Ironically, the textbook makes more sense than him. Try a different teacher if possible.
Worst class ever. Dont take this. Midterms are nothing like what is taught or like the homework
Never want to take his class again. You have to self-study to death to understand this course. It's only two weeks towards the final and I have literally learned nothing from his lectures. His assignments did not even match the lecture he taught. The only thing he taught us is to find a better prof next quarter.
Absolutely the worst math professor. He yelled at a student for asking to use numbers in one of the impossibly hard to follow example problems he did in lecture one day. He is very rude and his lectures make no sense at all. His midterm was nothing like the homework but instead had ridiculous problems. I will not take one of his classes again.
Coming from a strong math background, I thought this would be an easy A. But he just teaches Calculus way harder than it should be. Don't expect such thing as review guide or practice exam. You are pretty much on your own from beginning to the end. Just avoid him at all cost... Find better professor next quarter
This class was very difficult, and the professor Biello is not a very good teacher. His lectures are long and kinda confusing. The midterm and the final were both pretty hard but the weekly quizzes were not too difficult if the homework was done. I would strongly recommend anyone to avoid this professor. He just makes math very confusing.
Professor Biello is a very difficult professor, but his class is not impossible. He focuses on understanding rather than just solving problems with "plug-and-chug" formulas. Grading is 40% final, 40% weekly quizzes (during discussion section), 20% midterm. If you wish to do well, read the textbook and do the homework, especially the word-problems.
His lectures are intimidating because he would add in new ideas (physics, aerodynamics, multivariables) in an unexpected/confusing fashion. it's dead silent in class because ppl either tried 110% to understand or gave up completely. when taking your midterm, really think about how each problems relate to integrals/riemmansum. read textbook 2x.
A physicist who loves to inject a lot of engineering stuff in his calculus course. Really focuses on understanding concepts. His "free office hours after lecture" helped a lot, and saved my passing grade. To get high in his course: Do really well in prior courses, read textbook, really work on homework problems, and try prove the definitions.
I don't know how anyone can leave a positive review. I always did well in math: A in every class and a 5 on the AP BC Calc exam. Yet I didn't even pass his class. Teaching is all conceptual (basically no math) and he doesn't care about his students at all. DO NOT TAKE even if he is the only professor. Better than having to do summer session like me
I liked math before I took Biello. I don't now. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Weekly quizzes in discussion were based on homework with only a few curveballs. Ridiculously hard midterm and final, with no idea of what to expect. Believes in teaching the theory of math, not examples or problems, so 3 math majors in a class of 200 liked him. Don't take him.
he goes off tangent so much and his tests have so many proofs
If you like mathematics, Biello is for you. He teaches for understanding and expects that the homework is being done. (His tests are mostly homework problems with a couple touch-ups.) I loved his lectures, but he could be pretty intimidating (I wasn't sure if he would get mad at me if he wasn't in the middle of explaining how cool math was).
Unless you're an engineer or are awesome with theory, do not take this class, and especially not with this prof. I knew the material, but not how he taught it, and my grade suffered because of it. The grade consists of one midterm (if you failed you were out of luck), ten low weight quizzes, and the final. That was it. No extra or partial credit.
TERRIBLE TEACHER NEVER TAKE HIS CLASS! He ended up failing nearly a third of his class, and before you think "that will never be me!" I know about 5 people that had As in his class and didn't do so well on the final and ended up having to retake the class. Never. Ever. Take him. Avoid at all costs!
Never Ever!!! quiz, midterm, final are not depend on books. I can do all of books' examples and practices; however, I got fail in final.
Biello IS the definition of anxiety. I am one of few doing well, and I feel bad for those who didn't ace all of their previous math classes. He is self-important, defensive, and will give you NO resources for his difficult, reformed math agenda. He doesn't care about students. His quizzes and tests can't be studied for with the text. DON'T TAKE HIM
Very tough class. In lecture he goes through proofs for concepts and does a few examples. Nearly went through an entire notebook for this class. You need to have a good understanding of the material to do well on his weekly quizzes. Average grade for the final was a 40%, but the curve was huge. My 75% overall got curved to an A-.
Biello can be enthusiastic at times and has an emphasis on teaching MAT 21D with an engineering P.O.V. It seemed nice for me at first, but the issue is that his lectures and material can be too theoretical and vague, plus his quizzes and exams are very hard to approach, which is why me and some friends didn't do well. Go for a different professor!!
Biello is the example I bring up when I talk to people about the downside of going to a research university. His teaching is AWFUL. His tests were impossible and you had absolutely nothing comparable to study from. This guy is the worst professor I have had at Davis.
This class is hard for one reason, Biello takes textbook problems and generalizes them. You better be able to do integrals in your head, because the 40% weighted weekly quizzes will destroy your confidence. Overall I enjoyed attending lecture as he provided an engineering perspective and proofs that appeared on the final. Curve is good though.
First, get ready to read and stay up because every homework will be more than 8 pages, double sides. Second, he does not allow students use cell phones during class and sometimes overreacts. Third, talks too much. He does not really know how to teach.
He has a lot of homework daily about 40- 60 questions. No extra credit. He does not know how to teach the class. Do not take his class, you will learn nothing from him.
Prof Biello was a tough professor but I learned more than any other math class I have ever taken. If you don't want to do the work then take someone else. For summer he assigns 40+ problems daily. Half the class dropped. Quizzes are super hard. Got above average on everything and ended with a B+. Happy with that. Overall great experience
Biello does a great job at explaining the concepts in class in a practical sense without loosing the overall concept. His tests are hard, but they are not impossible. As long as you try on the homeworks and do the readings then you will be able to get a decent grade in the class. He will teach you a lot about math and applying it.
Biello is one of those teachers who you think is going to be impossible but end up doing pretty well. During lectures, I always asked questions and sat in the front. I aced my quizzes and did decent on tests. I feel bad for those who didn't ask questions/even try. There is a very large curve, but I call it mercy for those who should've failed
Lots of Homework. Almost every exercise in the book needs to do. And the exams are heavy.
I thought this would be okay, how bad could it really be? Oh was I wrong. I was stressed the whole time, my grades were horrible, the averages on quizzes were like 30-40%, and same with the final and midterm. Curve was really good though. I studied the whole textbook, but he's very theoretical so that's why nothing helps. good luck
Professor Biello is an amazing lecturer, he really knows his stuff and he is very engaged with the class and enthusiastic about the material. The homework sets are large, but very doable if you have good time management skills. He has high, but fair expectations, and I feel like if I had worked harder I would have done a lot better.
Biello is extremely passionate about this topic and loves when students show interest. He gives a lot of homework, hard homework, but he does it to teach you. He is always willing to help students and cares a lot about their success. One of the best teachers I have ever had at UC Davis. Definitely worth taking his course.
Biello is an awful prof. for 21D. Avoid at ALL costs if you want to really understand the material or a decent grade!
Weekly homework takes about 10 hours on average to finish, seriously. Excruciatingly difficult class with decent materials
If you ever think how bad can it be, it can be really bad. He dissed my previous math professors by saying they've taught the materials the wrong way, while teaching horrendously himself. Also he assigns homework like crazy. At least 70 problems due in 2 days. He has less respect for breaks and holidays, saying we should not treat breaks as breaks.
every morning i prayed for a truck to hit the unitrans i was on just so i wouldnt make it to class
This professor is very tough and not easy-going at all. Overall the lecture is boring and tons of homework is waiting for you.
He says textbook is not required, halfway through quarter assigns textbook problems as mandatory homework. He's great at giving confusing lectures and being homework obsessed. Class midterm average is 37.5% l o l
Very difficult professor, if you're not a big fan of math don't take him. However, if you do like math, he is a brilliant professor. He teaches core fundamentals fairly well and relates a lot of topics to real life physical applications. Does not have mercy when it comes to destroying the class on midterms and finals but we can all suffer together.
I'd say an overall look at this guy's grading philosophy is "brutal tests, fat curves." Be ready to read, study, do homework, attend office hours, etc. this guy's style demands a LOT of work outside class but his curves are generous and he's able to recognize when his material or tests are too difficult to handle. He's tough but fair.
Hard tests in which the average was around 40%. Curve was minimal. I got a C despite getting average on everything
Advantages: 1) Inspirational Professor who has the enthusiasm for math. 2) Helpful during office hours. Disadvantages: 1) Sometimes he is absent for office hours without notification. 2) Sometimes the topic mentioned in the class may be unrelated to the content that did not finish in the previous lecture. Conclusion: Good choice for math talent.
He cares a lot about his students, but the class was very hard. I still think that I learned a lot though. The curve was great.
He is very enthusiastic about maths but does not teach well. I found his lectures boring and on top of that he assigns tons of homework. Wait for another professor to teach this class.
This professors is the best one I ever having. Every time I seeing his wonderful faces, I am studying like a mad beaver chewing on a logs. Joseph Biello is numbers ones twos and threes in my bookings. Great man of mathematics. I never leave classes with constipation of my brains. Thanks for the book learnings.
If you are looking for an easy pass, avoid him. If you take Biello, you will have a lot of homework and very difficult exams (he curves). However, you will learn a lot taking his course. He makes you work hard and struggle that way you can learn the material. He is not there to spoon feed you, but is friendly and willing to help. He loves math.
Joseph Biello is the best professor I have ever met. Imagine a Ted Talk from Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Abraham Lincoln and Michelle Obama at the same time and you'll be close to imagining how AMAZING this man is. I think he should quit teaching and take his rightful place next to the Dali Lama and teach mathematical enlightenment to the universe.
Heavy workload, he will assign pretty much every question in the book as homework. I wasn't able to understand his explanations so I relied on online tutorials to learn the material. Take him if you are confident you can learn on your own but personally I would wait for another professor to teach the class.
Do not take in late submission. This quarter is unusual, definitely different from others quarters. Studying online is hard. Im pissed, he gave out assignment on Friday and make it due at 9am Wednesday, 20 probs. I thought its not gonna be due until 11:59. And I was late. He said NO LATE SUBMISSION. I spent hours to get a 0 ok fun
I came into this class with a thirst for knowledge and a liking for math. I expect to come out with anxiety, bags under my eyes, and a poor physical and mental health. He gives you a week or less to do around 10 questions of extreme difficulty, and even warns TAs and calc room staff to not assist in HW; Take this class with someone else.
This quarter is different from usual with it being online, but I don't think I would have enjoyed this class even if it was in person. Biello is rude, doesn't accept late HW at all, and lectures didn't make much sense to me. I definitely learned more looking up the stuff he taught in lecture on Google than in his recorded lectures.
I am taking this class online due to COVID-19. While I found Biello's lectures interesting, I do not feel like the lecture material reflects the homework content. Even combined with the textbook material, I still found myself looking to outside sources to teach myself. However, Biello has made this class very possible to pass, so stress is reduced.
The textbook is required but he never tested us based on that book. In a lecture, he taught us those methods that are neither on the book nor in the syllabus and tested us on those sorts of things. If you take his class, be prepared to study the whole book by yourself and found it's only used to understand his "marvel" methods.
This guy is so smart he teaches his own version of calculus 3 rather than use the book the we are required to pay for! Best part is that sometimes he assigns homework from the textbook which has nothing to do with how he taught it in lecture. He way of teaching is abstract and arbitrary and if you are not on adderall you don't stand a chance.
Although this dude is a genius and his lectures are interesting he doesnt use the textbook and teaches his own version of the class. His timed hws were basically midterms. Even the tas were surprised at the level of difficulty of the questions. I basically had to teach my self the class and in doing so had to double my daily intake of adderal
I'm a huge math geek so I thought that even if he had a low rating I could teach myself the course. I was wrong. His lectures are not clear and are almost impossible to follow in the textbook. Often, he spends so much time on one example just to describe a single concept, but makes it more confusing by the end of it. Homework is another story...
Extremely difficult class. Extremely stressful. Wish I never took it with him because I felt like I was focusing on surviving and getting a good grade rather than learning. Homework literally takes hours and extremely difficult where the lectures do not prepare us for it. Midterms and final was also extremely challenging. He is passionate though.
Professor Biello is very kind and understanding of your situation. However, his class was one of the hardest class I have ever taken. I dont even know what I learned coming out of this class. For the average person, you will definitely struggle. Homework was really hard too. The curve for the class was big though.
Spring 2020. Work was extremely hard and I only did well by reading the textbook and doing all practice problems. However, what I liked about his class was the fact that watching all lectures gave a passing grade. This relieved a ton of stress about grades and allowed me to focus on learning. But, getting an A requires dedication.
We have weekly quizzes, but his lectures have NOTHING to do with the quizzes or textbook. I don't even watch his lectures because they just confuse me more. You basically need to learn the material yourself through reading the textbook. His quizzes are also very unpredictable. memorize the entire textbook since he tests you on random tiny details.
not worth it... i don't even watch his lectures because they make no sense at all. his lectures have nothing to do with the textbook. he doesn't even have his own syllabus and changes content on the quizzes last minute.
The class was atrocious. The final and most of the quizzes had nothing to do with what we were taught in class. Very harsh and unfair grading. The lectures he used also had nothing to do with what we were expected to know from the textbook. Would recommend to avoid him at all costs if possible
his lectures are great at explaining theory behind math but it doesn't matter since his weekly quizzes (75% of your grade) have nothing to do with theory
Worst experience with a math class I've ever had. The class was super disorganized, as shown by confusion about content on quizzes and not having recorded lectures match what we were supposed to be learning. Quizzes weren't impossible, but the final was entirely theory with an average of 40%. Overall, I had to teach the entire class to myself.
One of the hardest math classes I have ever taken. Professor Biello is a nice person but he is not a great teacher. I stopped watching his pre-recorded lectures halfway through the quarter because they were not helpful whatsoever. I had to teach everything myself. I would avoid taking this class with this professor at all costs.
Great guy, not a good teacher (at least for 21c). I learned everything on my own by reading the textbook and watching videos on the AATC website. I never thought Id actually understand the textbook more than the prof. He added a section (not on the syllabus) last minute and was unclear whether thered be a curve. Average on final was around 40%.
The only things in this class for credit are quizzes and the final. The professor himself is nice if emailed, but is not at all a good lecturer. He makes things extremely abstract in order to explain the concept better, but in doing so fails to actually explains how to solve the problems. You do get one quiz drop and the class is heavily curved.
the lectures are useless. he is always talking about things that are not related to the class. no homework for his class. and the final exam is 45% of all grades.
Professor Biello is a great guy. But this was easily the worst math experience I’ve had. Lectures are horrible. They make no sense so you might as well teach yourself. Sometimes We were quizzed on material that we hadn’t even covered yet, or given questions that weren’t even taught in class or on homework’s. Demotivated many students.
For MAT21A. DO NOT TAKE HIM. Biello's class organization is horrendous, and his teaching style is just as bad. His grades are made up of weekly quizzes(35%), one midterm(20%), and one final(45%). All of which contain questions that look nothing like the actual learning from the textbook, lectures, or practice problems he gives out.
Professor Biello is a great guy, but a horrible professor. The pacing in the class was unorganized. The quizzes, which are a huge portion of your grade, are completely different from the homework assigned. He assigned online lectures to watch on top of in-person lectures and doing both were necessary to understand what was going on.
Lectures make no sense and grades are based on weekly quizzes + a midterm and final. You do get some quizzes dropped but it doesn't really matter because of how difficult most of them are either way. I had to self-teach myself this entire course because of how poorly organized his lectures are.
Prof Biello is the most unorganized professor I've had. His lectures were often confusing, and you could easily tell he never took the time to plan them out. He also spent too much time on the first few chapters and then completely rushed through the rest, you end up teaching yourself the whole course.
Biello used prerecorded lectures and covers topics that are only tangentially related to what you're supposed to be learning. Quiz and test problems are mostly based off the textbook. Would recommend another professor unless you love self-studying.
Easy A Only 5 out of 9 quizzes would be graded. No homework graded. But the final is worth 45 percent. Definitely get enough preparation for it.
Dr. B is a very difficult professor. A lot of people will use the Carnegie Rule to reference how much you should study, however, I found that studying for his class was so intensive to where the Rule was the bare minimum. That being said, his 21C course was not unmanageable; as long as you dedicate weekends to studying and work extremely hard.
Cool professor, and his lectures were fascinating, but they didn't pertain to the curriculum. Ended up skipping every lecture for the last 5 weeks and reading the textbook, which worked out. Grade very curved, but I hate that kind of grading, it stressed me out too much. Overall, not horrible, but it sucks that it ended up as a self taught course.
This is for 21A. Biello was a super tough professor because his lectures didn't pertain to what the chapters they were supposed to cover, so he essentially would teach us random stuff. Only upside of him is if you can pass one of his classes, then you can pass any calculus course because of how bad he is
Good lecturer. Attending lecture is necessary. He has weekly quizzes during discussion. Test and quizzes are free response. No graded hw
Take professor Biello if you want to actually learn, understand and discover what this world has to offer. Had him for the summer session and he was nothing but real and honest and most importantly his passion for our success was shown from second to none. Yes, he assigns a lot of work, not to hinder our progress but to better our understanding.
Really easy to obtain B, but hard A. If you get A, you are lucky! Most sections have tough quiz than other sections. The difficulty should be maximum for sure because you have to read all readings by yourself.
Ill keep this short and sweet. Ive been at Davis for a long time and straight up bombed this entire class. Not gonna say when I took it but really was just a fever dream. As Ive said DONT take no matter how fast you want to graduate. Just wait another quarter. If you dont youll pay the cost to retake.
His grading criteria in ALL Math is the same format. I did good cuz I took Calc before.His quizzes are weird cuz he uses the lesson that he's supposed to 'teach' in the upcoming week, and puts that lesson in the quiz the week before, so you have to teach yourself stuff from the upcoming week to do good on the quiz that you are having in THAT week.
This professor is quite unique in that he asks you to watch hour long lecture videos on your own time and then asks you to come to lecture for "problem-solving" sessions. But, after trying both, I realized that the only way to do well in this class is to self-study, and rely on the 20 minutes of discussion time (the rest is taken by quizzes)
despite the exceedingly difficult quizzes and exams that everyone fails (which helps the curve) biello shows a genuine care for his students that you do not see as much as you should. Biello teaches math differently than other professors but shows a genuine care to have you think differently about it which is unmatched
Whole class is graded on the difficult weekly quizzes, a single midterm, and a final. This quarter, the strike happened. So he jacked the curve (a lot: I think 30% is passing, 60% is an A), and made the final optional ~take at your peril. You would only want to take the final if your grade was really low (nothing to risk). Doesn't actually lecture.
Professor Biello grew on me as a lecturer as the quarter progressed. That being said, I was sure that I was going to fail this class, because the weekly quizzes and midterm were extremely conceptual. The final was made optional due to the TA strike, so I lucked out. Not the worst prof, but avoid him if you can, mainly due to his exams.
This professor is definitely quite hard, and may not match everyone's learning styles. His emphasis is to truly understand the conceptual side of the topics, and even though many people might not like that, I personally really enjoyed it. If you decide to take him, be sure to read and watch the videos before every lecture.
Do NOT take his class. His lectures are pointless because he does not finish the questions asked him. His online videos don't even cover the topic properly. He does not give proper formulas for any of the questions. His quizzes are the worst thing seen by humanity. Take anyone else but him.
do not take him as your Mat 21D professor if you are in YOUR RIGHT MIND!! will definitely not pass forget an A. I DID THE MISTAKE OF TAKING HIM BUT YOU SHOULDN'T His lectures are pointless and unclear, expects you to read the textbook to prepare for the exams, no point of studying because even if you do he will never have a sample for you to follow
Do not take him under any circumstances. He will not teach in class, goes over 2 examples and doesn't even finish them in lecture. Expects you to watch lecture videos before coming into lecture. This class is self taught and will have you spending all your time into this class leaving no room for anything else. Quizzes and midterms are impossible.
He cares a lot about what he is teaching and his lectures show that. The class is hard but he is very willing to help students.
Taking a class from him is like playing Russian roulette with five bullets loaded.
If you are really really really good at math and self-study, then take it; he might even save you time since homework isn't part of the grade. In any other scenario, run. He is nice but don't do this to yourself. I am studying for the final rn, my friend in another 21d class has a study guide, and i got the past exams for 10+ yrs with no answers
If you are looking at this to see if he's easy or not he's not the prof for you. He's difficult for sure but if you put in the work you'll get a lot out of this class that will help you in the future. The other reviews aren't wrong but if you take the time to listen to him and do the hw you'll do great in the course and exams. His avg is brutal too
Lectures are from old vids and during class sometimes questions were not answered
Professor Biello grew on me as the quarter progressed. If you go to office hours, he really seems to care about getting to know students. That being said, I honestly thought I would fail this class. The biggest problem is the lectures being poorly organized so that he doesn't get through all the material for quizzes, which are extremely difficult.
Old lecture vids and averages for midterms and finals are all below 50
Lecture time is a waste of time, used as a homework help that gets taken up by few questions. Exams are messy with many unnecessary constants. Lectures are outdated/unorganized 2017 vids. Only book is useful. No solutions when practicing. Before final, average is 50% or lower, any grade below 40% not applied to the curve. Nice guy, big ego.
Does not teach. His "lectures" are recordings from 2017 that are useless, and his in-person lectures are pointless to attend because he doesn't teach in them. Weekly quizzes (40%) in discussion sections, a midterm (20%), and final (40%). Curve was awful, he fails everyone below 40% and doesn't include them in curve. Average of the class was 42%.
I was ok with the class average being 40% bc I was expecting him to give a good curve but NO. Lectures are useless, had to self study through textbook&youtube videos, no solutions to the hw problems (had to find solutions on the internet to self teach myself). Subscribe quizlet+ or chegg if u want to survive in this class
Although he was pretty difficult, I would say his exams were fair given the taught material. No matter where it is taught and by whoever, vector calculus is difficult. I would say the amount D's given out sucks, but at least he's not failing as much people so the cutoffs are fair. As a freshman, I would say this was my most difficult class.
Nice person, but does not teach well. Lectures are basically discussions, so the only resources are his outdated 2017 lectures and the textbook to learn from. Practice exams have no solutions so you don't know how you are doing. Very difficult quizzes but high curve. 60% curved to B-. DO NOT TAKE HIM IF YOU HAVE THE OPTION.
His teaching style is fun, and he conveyed the contents pretty well. However you have to actually think and participate. If you don't participate at all, it's possible that you don't like the course.
Emphasizes generalized problems, conceptual questions, definitions. No graded HW. 20% midterm, 40% final, 40% weekly quizzes (lowest 2-3 dropped). Asynchronous video lectures. Class time generally a waste: talks a lot, does 1-2 HW problems. Inconsistent pacing. Ranted at the class midway through final. Great curve (course avg 42%). Avoid if you can
The class is challenging, but with the right study strategies like using unstuckstudy ai, ChatGPT, and the textbook, you can succeed. Lectures are hit-or-miss, so be prepared to self-study. Stay engaged and you'll get through the weekly quizzes and exams with a decent curve.
Quizzes every week and you are expected to know the material. Always unready for class and flies through everything expecting you to keep up even on new subjects. Overall unorganized and not the greatest at trying to teach the fundamentals.
Rude and extremely biased to non-native English speakerandpeople without a strong math background,whenyou use translator search some word or search for the part he mentions but you don't know, he will yell to you and ask you to get out of classroom even you tell him that you are not playing games but just use the phone to help you learn the stuff.
kuai pao!!!!
逃离这里！就像上个人说的那样！！
son of beach
He is full of himself and speaks to hear his own voice. He puts down other professors and never teaches the content correctly. Last week he spent the whole lecture explaining something wrong and then emailed us after to tell us to scrap our notes for that lecture. You teach yourself in this class or you fail.
Lectures are essentially useless because you won't learn anything due to his quick pace and failure to explain anything. Good personality just awful at teaching in lectures. Will need to teach yourself essentially everything from the book. Self studying is the only way to pass
Doesn't let u use your phone (even if you need camera/translator) for anything and will verbally berate you if you do. Grades so harshly and lectures are rambling, too fast and make no sense. Save your time and sanity and don't take his class.
Everyone review bombing him probably cheated on the placement exam and shouldn't be in this class in the first place. Not nearly as hard as people say, come to lecture and engage and go to TA office hours and you'll be fine. Definitely a class catered towards STEM majors, overall if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen
Terrible class, avoid this teacher!!!!!!
The rating stating the review bombers are from cheaters is far from the truth. You'll essentially need a background in Calc before this class with AP calc or a previous College level course because the professor moves at too quick of a pace for beginners. Glosses over important algebraic steps or concepts and doesn't give any examples for problems.
blah, thinking about his class leaves a bad taste in my brain. If you read this professor biello, Take your time and slow the heck down in your lectures, you go too fast that going to your lectures is pointless, I can't write, think, and learn at the same time bro. Then you complain about no one showing up to your 9am lectures.
This is definitly a terrible classes. The lecture is helpless. There is no any grades from homework, all of them are depends on in person quizes weekly and exams. If you did not get 5 in AP calculus BC, aviod this professor ! If you do not want to fail this class, the only way is study by yourshelf ! His class is killing my university life!
His class was a disappointing experience. Biello himself seems like a nice and intelligent man, and after talking with him a handful of times I do believe he cares for his students. However, that does not remedy the fact that he is completely disconnected with understanding how to teach the material in a way anyone but an expert can understand.
i hate this man
i dislike this man
First of all before anything this professor knows a lot,he has a phd , but taking his MAT21A lectures is a killer, this is not a hateful comment, please professor Biello if you do read this, please explain in lecture mat21a what's we need, we know you know a lot but we need to understand the class, hopefully you take this comment in consideration.
u will understand this comment if u attended to the final today…
Professor Biello is a great guy and he cares for his students, but he teaches Mat21a like everyone in the class has taken AP calc before and his style of teaching doesn't help in learning the material.had to try and teach myself everything. Going to lectures made me even more confused, and the weekly quizzes, midterm, and final were all challenging
At this point I'm not even mad at him anymore just depressed that I was unlucky enough to get in this class.
I learned most of the concepts/topics in this class through the textbook or through videos. His lectures primarily explained why these topics matter, how they work in math (higher understanding), or practice problems. Fair grader; told us quiz topics well beforehand. More suited for higher math teaching as he doesn't really teach new calc kids.
If you get him for 21A just drop the class and take calc next quarter I promise you its not worth it
Very very hard to get A or A-.
Run. Please run
We get midterm average 39 and final average 43(after curve). So guess what do you need to receive a A if A is 85😘. Given 30 percent midterm ,30 percent homework and 40 percent final
Professor is kind but really hard test
The homework for this class generally took me 3-4 times as much time as the homework for 127C which I also took this quarter, and he does not drop a homework score. Most of us agree that the curve was unfair including the students who did well. He's also just rude. He is the worst professor I've ever had and this is the hardest class I have taken.
Awful lecturer and doesn't care for the students passing the class.THE WEEK BEFORE FINALS, he started teaching us 21B and integrals in a 21A class. Just absurd. Class is extremely disorganized and he would give us updates on tests or quizzes the day of. Had to teach myself everything as lectures were a big waste of time.
Biello is a strange case. He explains well why the content matters, but doesn't cover the topic that well. HW is assigned but isn't graded nor collected, but is mandatory to survive the quizzes. The lowest two are dropped. Overall a decent person, even if his politics come up slightly during a few lectures. He seems better suited for upper div math
Please don't take his class. He barely can teach his lectures properly. You basically have to teach yourself how to do this math.
He tended to go off topic a lot in his lectures and forced us to learn some useless delta epsilon thing. He also assigns a lot of homework that I never did, but my friends did say that doing it helped them a lot. Also, his final was very hard. However, he did seem passionate about teaching and it felt like he was actually trying to help us learn.
He is knowledgeable but not great at teaching to students beginning to learn calculus. His lectures usually focus theories and proof which will appear on the midterm and final but not on the weekly quizzes. The weekly quizzes aren't too bad as everyone says, but there are 1 or 2 difficult ones. Also the final was much harder than the midterm.
SUICIDE FUEL. every lecture was 50 regretful minutes i'll never have back. quizzes were randomly cruel & unusual compared to study & lecture material. lots of self study/already knowing calculus is necessary (but i still passed with a 66%)! only coherent lecture was when he brought his dog in. i could rant more but just avoid the stress trust
Biello was a really rough class for people who've never taken any Calc before. Luckily he excluded the AP students from his final curve, leading to a very generous curve. Self studying is vital for the class and the quizzes always have one curveball question. Final was much more difficult than midterm, but he curves it. Don't take for good grade.
He was niceish, did some public humiliation on occasion but "taught" like we already had a strong calc foundation so lectures were confusing. Skips over important steps so his math is hard to follow & his TAs do too. Lectured ahead so quizzes on like 3.5-3.8 as he's wrapping up all of ch4. Seems to genuinely care but can't teach to save his life.
He knows the material well and is willing to accept and correct his mistakes if he makes one. He also seems genuinely interested in ensuring his students understand the material and is friendly. However, he blazes through chapters and material, so if you don't study and practice a lot, you will be left behind very quickly. It's very test-heavy too.
Biello is nice and qualified, but his teaching style is pretty bad. I took AP Calc in high school and passed the exam with a 5 so I expected this class to be easy, but it felt like I was starting over. Exams are nothing like the textbook, and is based almost solely on proofs (ex. prove why d/dx sinx = -cosx). Also, our final had a mean of 98.5/200.
Professor Biello is a very tough tough teacher with harsh grading, but he has a unique perspective on math that will be especially beneficial for aspiring engineers. As long as you do all the homework on time, you're bound to pass the class.
Terrible professor. Lectures were often unclear and much time was spent in lecture on topics that rarely came up on relevant assessment material. Heavy focus on application and real-world examples in lecture that was not reflected on the quizzes, midterm, or final. Spent the last 2 weeks of class on completely irrelevant material.
Chaotic lectures, definitely a class where you have to self-study. The weekly quizzes are doable once you figure out what to study for (proofs/concepts > application). He curved the final before curving the final grade because it was too long and too hard.
Weekly quiz during discussion. Exams are a little hard. Lectures may not be suitable for beginners in calculus. Choose wisely.
Biello was the worst professor I have ever had in my life. I have never done a rating before but Biello was just that awful. His lectures consisted of wild tangents and proofs that had nothing to do with tested material. The midterms/final were completely different than any material designated as HW and the averages were below 50% every time.
awful, could not teach whatsoever, pointless lectures because they had nothing to do with what was being covered on tests. just please DONT take this class or any class with this guy
Professor Biello is a nice guy. But his lectures aren't the most organized and don't really cover everything you need to know for his tests. His hw is ungraded but there are weekly quizzes. However, they don't really prepare you for his tests. You might have to rely on the textbook to fill in all the gaps from his lectures.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
27%
Textbook Required
67%
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