Best math teacher ever, totally new approah to calc, wrote the textbook!

hard class but nicest prof ever...wears combat boots & has pink hair

greatest math teacher ever, easy to talk to, willing to answer questions

gives way too much hw.. but very nice and fair

You have to work in this class, lots of hw probs, but tests are fair

She's an awesome teacher! very easy to talk to in class or out! VERY fair!

A great teacher, helps you when you don't understand. Understanding and fair.

She is a really nice lady...I feel like I learned a lot. Take her!

Best All around Prof. ever! do HW and get her help! don't just go to class

Laura is the best... she is cares about her students and knows her stuff!

hard work, but well worth it. very indepth, great job puttin it all together :)

very good teacher, she is a genius yet somehow can teach things to you in a really simplified way. a lot of homework, if you do the hw you will be fine

shoot yourself now if you have to take 231. laura is great, but the class very time-consuming and difficult. tests are hard but fair. tons of homework. too in depth unless you are a math major.

massive amounts of homwork, randomly collects it so you have to do it to make a decent grade. tests are killer. showing up to class, taking notes, and about 2 hours of homework/studying each night should pass you.

Hard material and lots of work, but GREAT teacher. VERY helpful!

verrrrry hard class. two-semesters long so she goes into way too much detail, needlessly. if you can, take the 235 class and get it over with in one semester. otherwise, laura is VERY nice and willing to help.

hard, but you will learn alot. i suggest taking this class if you want to brush up on your math skills or if you need it for your major. make sure to go to her office hours.

Kick ass professor who cares A LOT about her students. Will help in any way possible and explain things in a variety of ways until you understand that. Must do the reading but she wrote the book so it is easy to read... you'll love her!!!:)

i hate math, but laura has made it a little more bearable. the class's pace is a little fast for me, and there is a huge amount of homework every night...tests are hard, but not unfair. i'm sure she's better than most math teachers

laura is by far THE best math teacher you could have...there is a LOT of work, but she is fun, very good at explaining things and cares about her students...def go to office hours if extra help is needed!!

The best math teacher i've ever had. Alot of work but if you actually do the homework then its not so bad.

Really good teacher...class requires a lot of work but nothing unbearable...material is somewhat difficult but she is willing to help everyone..take her if you can

I thought Laura was one of the absolute BEST professors I've ever had in my college career. She's fun to be around in and out of class and always willing to help a student in need. She's an awesome at teaching and actually caring about her students.

I love Laura! She's so funny and her notes are really well organized. I had already taken calc in high school and still loved her class. Take her!

Laura is a great professor. She is hilarious! She is always willing to help you during her office hours. Tests are very hard, but she curves. A lot of work is involved for the class, but as long as your keep up with it and go for help, you'll do fine.

Laura's by far the most incredible prof i've ever had. She's very well organized, so you always know what to expect. The book is easy to understand because she wrote it day for review before once a week quizzes, lessons 3 days a week. If you stay on top of the work, you'll be fine.

Both semesters were hard but Laura is probably the best professor to teach... anything

Too bad she had to leave on maternity. Great teacher! Very interesting class. Helps you out a lot. Have to do the homework but not always collected. Interesting class. Makes you understand Calc a lot better

Laura is THE BEST CALC TEACHER! she is cool as hell,you can IM her if you have homework probz and she wrote the book so she knows what she is talkin about. Go to her office hours if your having problems, she will help u! ONly bad part, she assighns a lot of hmwk and most of it doesnt get collected.

HARD, but if you are willing to do the work its worth it, helps if there are smart girls in your class to help, you know who you are ladies, great prof, need more like her here, if you do the work and go to class, she will take care of you grade-wise, she understands you don't want to retake the cla

She is really nice person.. She always wears a black T shirts it looks friendly to me..^^ We don't have a class in every wendseday!!

Very hard... great professor but expects everyone to be a math major. Do the work, study hard and ask questions

Laura is great teacher. Our class was Origami, so most of the time we spent folding paper, but as long as you do the work, it's easy to get an A. She's way better than a lot of the other math professors at this school and she's really laid back and helpful.

She's AMAZING! Such a great teacher and is funny, personable, and interesting. She'll answer any question and is completely fair in grading. Her lectures are not only entertaining but also very clear and helpful! A+ Teacher!

Really good teacher.

Laura Taalman is a great professor,young and really funny. Fairly difficult class because on tests she really asks that you understand the concepts, not just shortcuts. Attendance is only mandatory on test days. You have homework but she doesn't check it. You can turn in your homework though to boost a bad test grade. She's a very good professor.

Laura is awesome. She really pushes you to do work, her tests are challenging and be prepared to work for a good grade. She doesn't use a traditional grading scale, makes up her own. Excellent at teaching and getting material across, DO THE HOMEWORK. Take her, but be prepared to study. I love Laura!

Laura is a great teacher. She is very difficult, but I took her for discrete mathematics (intro to proofs). If you are a math person then take her take her do it! She will prepare you so well for upper level math.

Self- Directed learning class, students are teaching themselves and teaching eachother but Professor Taalman helps to guide everyone along. I think this class was very helpful when it comes to teaching and it was a very easy A

She is a really cool teacher. Take her for 245.

Laura is a very helpful, kind, and funny (at times) professor. The class is by no means easy (it is calculus after all), but she does her best to make sure everyone makes it through with at least a C-. She uses her own book, which is very straight forward and helpful. If you pay attention & do the work you'll do just fine in the course.

good teacher. not too difficult of a class. but not easy either. have to learn to use latex. use latex to type up milestone homework. reading quizzes every day. the final is weighed very heavily. she's very laid back and always has office hours. i'd recommend taking this class with her. very good professor.

Laura is probably one of the best professors I've had so far. We used the textbook she wrote for this class so she obviously knows what she's talking about. She's very eager to help and do whatever it takes to make sure you pass the class. The material itself is not easy, but if you do the homework and study, there is no reason you shouldn't pass!

Laura is one of my favorite professors at JMU. I generally HATE math, but I loved taking this class. At first, I hated the team-based learning but it ended up helping a lot. All I have to say is DO YOUR HOMEWORK and don't fall behind. I got an A- but I worked my butt off, but you can do the same. Definitely the best calc teacher you can get.

Laura is the ideal professor to take Calc 235 with! She was very clear with her explanations and regardless of how stupid the question may have seemed, she was very enthusiastic to explain it so that you would understand. But homework is extremely important. Exams reflect homework problems and attendance is mandatory so you don't miss anything.

Take Dr. Taalman! She's absolutely amazing! She wrote the textbook and knows what she's talking about. No homework, grades are based on tests and quiz's and to do well you have to put in a lot of work and effort.

Laura is awesome and really nice. But exams and quizzes are the only grades in this class and they are always HARD. If you're not interested in math, this might not be the course for you.

Math 235 isn't that easy but Taalman definitely makes it passable. She uses her own curved grading scale and you get to use your notebook for 10 or 20 minutes at the end of every test and quiz. She's also super sweet and clearly very enthusiastic about calculus. Definitely worth taking the class!

This was an independent study class, and it was amazing! Dr. Taalman is incredibly helpful with anything you need, and very very knowledgeable! Fantastic teacher! Much take if you get the chance!

She's a wonderful teacher! She requires that the reading be done before class but she's really helpful when you get into class! A very funny person and extremely nice. :)

Laura is the best!!!!! Take her! She is so sweet and cares.

Great teacher who knows everything about 3d printing. Fun and everything a professor should be, take her.

This class is very independent because you have to read/ do A LOT of (optional) homework problems yourself. It can be difficult to follow along in class because you pretty much teach yourself and she moves quickly. However, she is more than fair with her grading and she wants you to succeed! If you're a fast learner, I would recommend her.

Very independent, you kinda have to teach yourself, if you don't learn that way take someone else. Not easy but a very fair grader!! Very helpful if you make an effort to see her after class!! She wants to see you succeed and if you try she will

Overall good teacher, very clear about want she expects and very friendly. Always willing to help and I really enjoyed the class and learned a lot.

TAKE HER!!!! Best professor at JMU! Laura really knows her stuff and does a fantastic job explaining the material. She expects her students to come to class having read the section a head of time and then goes over the material and answers questions in class. Take good notes! You can use your notebook on tests and quizzes!

3D Printing is a lot of fun already and Laura makes even more so. She uses a relaxed teaching style and relevant technology current events to get students excited about the technology. She also challenges students to expand their creative and technical skills throughout the semester. Great for graduating seniors who need the 1 credit lab.

At first, i wasn't crazy about the flipped classroom thing. It's really hard at first. But after a couple weeks, it gets a lot better. It actually helped me learn a lot and I think i did better because of it. However, Im not crazy about how she isn't available much outside of class. I wish office hours were better.

The flipped classroom worked well for me. Everything was explained very well in class and all questions were answered clearly. I skipped class a lot, so I ended with a B, but if i hasn't skipped I would have gotten an A. So don't skip and you'll do really well

Have fun teaching yourself calculus. If you can master(3 out of 3) 15 out of 18 quizzes you will get an A in the class. The only problem is she doesn't teach and don't even get me started on the pigtails.

Dr. Taalman is one of the most friendly and caring math professors I've ever had! That being said, her class is quite difficult as you are expected to teach yourself the entirety of the material in this course. The grading is a bit strange, but allows you to focus on only the things that are difficult for you. Great professor, hard class.

I had her for my freshman year in math 231 it was a very casual class. You can definitely pass without reading much of the text and there are a four question quiz at the end of each week all being open note and based around the homework. She was a good professor but it does feel really self taught when you aren't paying attention.

She's AWESOME. You can retake up to 6 quizzes during the entire semester, and every Friday she holds help sessions for anyone who wants to sign up for them. The only mandatory class is on Wednesdays, and her class is super flexible. Very caring woman as well.

If you have to take math 231, take Dr. Taalman. As long as you read the textbook and seek out help when you need it, you will do well; she sets the class up in a way where your grade will not be destroyed for not doing well on one quiz/test. The material is difficult, but its calculus, so what more can you expect. SHOW UP TO THE LECTURES!!!!!!!!

this class isn't too bad but it is very important to read the book and use all the resources she gives you. also she is very helpful if you are struggling. if you start to fall behind then you really need to reach out or else you'll fail.

Dr. T is a great choice. The online class set-up is really helpful with managing course work for other classes or your schedule in general. There is 1 mandatory lecture day a week, but participating in 2 allows you to earn retake points. HW is the major chunk of coursework here, quizzes test your skills developed in HW & lecture. Funny, easy going!

so AMAZING. makes everything so easy and welcoming. Very organized, responsible, and willingly ready to help you. ANSWERS SO FAST. online class is so organized and the best experience you will get.

Dr. Taalman has been an absolutely fantastic professor this semester. Despite the circumstances and online format, she makes it feel as normal as possible. Office hours 24/7 and is happy to answer questions. She does operate on a flipped classroom model, so if you don't function well with that I wouldn't recommend Dr. Taalman but otherwise great!

Tough class but really great professor who actually cares about her student's learning, and how well they do.

I took Dr Taalman's online class and really enjoyed it! Because it was online, I can't say how a normal class would be run, but I really enjoyed the way she set up her class in a virtual setting! It was difficult to learn during the virtual lectures, but she was had multiple ways to reach her with questions and was always prompt with answers!

Class is very organized and structured so it makes it easy to not procrastinate and remember all of the assignments. Professor is very helpful and responds to emails 24/7 very quickly. Class is kinda hard because it is calculus, but I think professor made it the easiest it could be. Could retake quizzes for full points.

Dr. Taalman does care a lot about her students, which makes calculus feel slightly less scary. That being said, it still is a very difficult class, but she does try to provide lots of assignments to help balance grades. She also doesn't have tests, instead, she has weekly quizzes and assignments that stay consistent throughout the semester.

Incredible teacher. Incredibly organized. Very understanding, compassionate person. I've learned so much from her class. She only does monday lecture but it is very informative and concise, which makes relevant information easier to find IMO than comb thru 3 lectures on different topics. She also links resources. She's very responsive on piazza.

Going into this class is difficult, but Dr. T's support and understanding make the course less stressful. She gave multiple chances for easy grades to boost your grade because she knew some quizzes were challenging. Attendance in the class is to earn extra points for the week. Dr. T had to be one of my favorite professors with all the online class.

Dr. Taalman is one of the best math teachers I've ever had. There is one homework assignment and one quiz each week, and she gives many opportunities for bonus points. She's also super nice and helps you if you need it.

Dr. Taalman is a really great math teacher. Her class is structured to help you and make sure you succeed. You have weekly homework, and take a quiz every Monday on the information learned the past week. BUT she offers a retake week for the quizzes (3ish retakes) and so many opportunities to raise your grade. She cares about her students.

Very accessible. She allows quiz retakes and extra credit! Even if you aren't good at math like me, you will be able to average a B.

One of the most chill and laid-back professors I've ever had. Homework assignments are clearly explained and take no time at all. They clearly enjoy what they teach and they understand that things can come up if you miss class or turn in an assignment late. Very lenient on attendance and gives an asynchronous "mental health day" every month.

Very accessible outside of class thanks to piazza. Will have your question answered within 5 hours. The structure of class was Monday 5 question quiz (kind of hard), Wednesday group work, Friday homework help. Offers lots of small extra credit that slightly boost your grade. Very considerate to people who are more introverted when asking questions.

Dr. Taalman is great! I'm bad at math, but this class was super easy for me. There's homework each class but you can almost always finish it during class. There are no exams, and your "final" is just a group project that is graded leniently like everything else. They also give asynchronous "mental health days" on Fridays throughout the semester.

At first, I didn't like the way we weren't allowed to use calculators. But after taking the class I realized that understanding the concept was a whole lot better. Every week there was a quiz, and there werent any tests besides the final. Cheat sheets were allowed, and I recommend watching the Homework resource videos (saved my grade)

MATH 232 is a hard class, but Taalman makes it manageable. Weekly quizzes but no midterm makes the stress levels managable. You can even retake a certain ammount of quizzes which is really nice. Ask questions on PIAZZA and start the homework ASAP. Would recommend.

Very fair, caring, and understanding. Wants students to succeed and gives very simple "extra credit" assignments to boost your grade. Class structure is straightforward and helps students get started on assignments early so they don't feel overwhelmed. Do the homework, use the help resources, and prepare for the quizzes, and you'll do great.

There is a 5 question quiz every Monday. You get the option to retake up to 6 quizzes, which was very helpful for my grade. There is weekly homework due every Sunday. HW is solely online and you get 100 attempts per question. She is so nice and understanding. Class isn't mandatory but there are many free in class bonuses so go to class!

Super sweet! The class was much more conceptual than any other calc I've taken before which made it harder. She responds quickly on Piazza at any hour. There is no midterm- only retakes for the weekly quizzes. Her whole class is based solely on points which helps because the final is only weighted to the equivalent of two weeks of class.

Dr. Taalman is so understanding. She doesn't lecture so textbook is a must. She's great but too lenient for me personally. It was way too easy to slack off which is why I didn't well. It's really up to you to do put the work in to do well. Homework due sunday nights, short quiz mondays, midterm is quiz retakes and retakes before the final too.

Dr. T is awesome! She really cares and is very passionate about what she is teaching. She is nicest and sweetest professor I have ever had and is so lenient on grades. No tests except for the final, weekly 5 question quizzes but you get a one-sheet. The quizzes aren't bad as long as you take time to study and engage with her lectures.

Taalman was absolutely great and had a really good rubric and system and actually wants you to learn the material. I will definitely be taking her for 232 next semester!

Teaches very well, very caring. You will have a test every Monday on the previous week subject but you get to bring a sheet of paper to write what ever you want on. You have no mid term instead they you retake quizzes you got the lowest score on and your grade can only go up. There is also lots of extra credit every week.

I liked her. The class was very structured (I had her 3 days a week). 1st day: Quiz over last week material (VERY) mini lecture. 2nd: Mini quiz (if you get it right, 5 bonus points, if not, not harm to the grade). 3rd: ask questions about things like homework. She only "teaches" through the textbook which can be difficult but is quite accessible.

Every week we would have homework, a quiz, extra credit, and a day to go over any questions from the week/homework. If you did bad on a quiz there would be an opportunity to make up the grade, and with all the extra credit and the homework grade it won't be to bad for your grade. She clearly knew what she was talking about and how to explain it.

She was super easy! We only had to buy a game as a "textbook" & all the assignments were easy. We had a short quiz at the end of class, but it was just about what we did that day. We never had any tests & our final was just a group project. You work with the people you sit with at the beginning of the semester a lot so just keep that in mind.

She's a great prof. Not a whole lot of lecture. Monday is a quiz on the previous week's material and kick-off lecture, Wednesday a mini-quiz only for bonus points and lecture, and Friday go over questions on the homework. Lots of extra credit opps. No midterm and you get to retake 3 quizzes. Quizzes are multiple choice with no partial credit tho.

Dr. T was a great professor. She had 6 retakes during the whole semester and she had mental health days spread through out the semester as well. We also had a quiz every Monday but it was five questions and are very simple. Also for each quiz and the final you get to have a one-pager whatever you want written on it.

This is my second time with Dr. T and they are amazing. There are so many opportunities for extra credit that if you don't do well on tests you can still do well in the class. All you have to do is show up to class and do the homework and you should be fine in this class. One of my favorite professors at JMU.

Prof. Taalman is an excellent instructor who really wants students to succeed. With weekly quizzes, homework, and retake options, the class is structured to help you learn. unstuck study was a great study aid alongside the textbook.

There are multiple choice quizzes every Monday, but attendance based assignments are given throughout the week to balance out the grades. Attendance is not mandatory but it will help your grade a lot. There are mid and end semester quiz retakes as well.