One of the best Calc 2 teachers and probably one of the best math teachers I have had so far. Very reasonable and understands the student mindset. Quizzes were fair and on the hard to easy difficulty. Actually she is just awesome and they should let her(and Dr. Berkels) teach all the math classes at USC and it would be a better place.

Very reasonable with grading. Also very understanding of a student's schedule and is willing to help when needed.

She is and amazing teacher and will help you whenever you need it. Most importantly she can teach calculus and help you understand the course.

She helps you understand the material.

One of the best math teachers I have ever had. She is really helpful and has a cool way of explaining math. She makes calculus a lot easier to understand. I would definitely recommend her!

Quizes aren't too bad, she does a practice problem before each one. Mixes up some negatives sometimes but it was an early class. Very reasonable with due dates and very concerned about pleasing students.

She is just wonderful. Helps the students learn and understand the material really well!

She is really nice, and gives lots of extra credit. Explains the material pretty well, and she is very smart.

Very helpful and is happy to come teach everyday.

very understanding with assignments gives extra credit

She gives extra credit and the maple assignments she gives for homework are really easy. She is really willing to help whenever she can, so if you get her stay in that section.

Nice teacher and always willing to help out with any questions. usually very understanding with due dates and grading.

Really chill. Likes to joke around about video games and internet humor. Teaches well and clarifies concepts. No complaints.

Easy going, funny, smart, can best describe her. Got to class, she sometimes gives you hints for the test!

Very easy TA, goes over quiz material, some different teaching methods from the SI leader.

Easy class. Maple was easy. Quizzes were easy. fun to learn

EASIEST TEACHER I HAVE EVER HAD! LOVES HER CLASS

What a boss teacher. if you want your GPA to skyrocket. Take LAFFIN!

Very easy going and helpful. Highly recommend her.

Makes maple easy and gives extra credit. Helps clarify concepts so definitely go to recitation because you might actually understand the concept once you do (b/c it's difficult to gain a clear understanding during the actual class, especially if you've never seen the material before)

Great teacher. Very good at making calculus concepts easy to understand. Always answered emails in a timely manner. Very understanding as far as attendance and making up quizzes. She is probably the only reason I didn't fail calc 2. Definitely take her!

Reasonable professor. Her and Dr. Berkels are a great team with teaching this class.

She is very helpful. She doesn't want you to fail. She will let you make up quizzes. She offers extra credit and will let you use your notes most of the time. She is very chill. You will love her!

Good teacher. Recommended.

She is a very flexable teacher. Laffin is more than willing to work with your schedule and help you out. She does not want to fail you and her effort goes to prove this.

Good teacher, very helpful. Easy grader.

Clear and Easy

Awesome teacher!!

Such a cool teacher. Love her quirkiness. Recommend her!

Teaches everything in a way we can understand. Take her class!!!

Make math fun! I wish I could take this class again just for her!

Gave extra points here and there. Great opportunities for a good grade.

I expect to make an A in this course. She definitely helped us understand the material.

I love her. She let us reschedule quizzes. And she was a fair grader. I did so much better in Calc 2 than Calc 1 because of Dr. Berkels and Melanie.

She was kind of hard. Had an attitude at times but usually ok.

Make sure to go to the recitation right before the test. She gives great hints.

Gives extra credit. Definitely cares if you understand. Can be lenient with slackers at first but if there are too many late assignments then she starts to tighten up. She's reasonable though.

She is a marvelous teacher. I would recommend her in a heartbeat. Make sure to go to class. She gives great hints at how to go about doing the problems in general.

Sometimes was confusing because she didn't know how to do problems but emailed solutions or ways that could help us with the tests or problems themselves.

Was very helpful and wants the students to be able to understand the material and do well, but could have gone more by the teacher's methods. She sometimes gave us "better" ways of doing things which could have been right or wrong (in some cases).

One of the best TA's for 142

Melanie is a fairly well TA. If the professor had explained something that was hard to undestand or you forgot, then she would be more than willing to help. Very nice and easy to understand. Lets you do makeups and cancels class from time to time. Very available. Overall I would reccommend her.

Mel is exactly what you could want from a TA:helpful, intelligent,and most of all understanding of the student life. She keeps the class fun by adding in bits of extra credit for sending her comics. She admits to error, and does what is needed to fix it.This is an admirable quality not found in a lot of professors. Take her for a great lab/recit

Melanie is an awesome TA! She is always accessible outside of class and is incredibly helpful. Life would be great if all TA's were more like her. Take her, take her, take her. Also, tons of extra credit.

Mel is awesome! i love her as a TA and she is super helpful before every test and really helps you understand and helps youo make the highest grade possible! she is also very funny!

She is very funny. She also cares about how we do in the class. Definitely try and get her as a TA.

I have never had a more helpful TA, the only thing that could have made MATH 141 better is if Melanie was the full on teacher instead of just the TA :)

Melanie is the most helpful TA I've ever had! I never understand a word that our professor is saying, but Melanie is able to make everything clear and easy. I absolutely hated calculus, simply because I didn't understand it in high school (I got a 1 on the AP test). Melanie made it so that it is easy to understand and now, it's not so bad!

Best TA in the USC Math department. She actually cares about her students.

Melanie is extremely helpful and cares a lot about her students. I wish she were the actual professor rather than the TA. She is friendly, funny, and keeps class interesting. Try to take from her if you can.

She is more help than the professor is. Very easy to understand and helps out a lot.

Extremely helpfull. Makes things very understandable. MAPLE was actually easy and enjoyable.

very nice

Melanie is really helpful, cool, and ends up helping you understand the subject matter a whole lot better/more than the lecture professor. I'd much rather she taught the lectures, actually.

she is extremely helpful and really wants you to pass her class. my main professor was awful and she really saved my grade as the TA. gives easy extra credit, so do it.

Very helpful teacher. Thorough explanations. Gives answers for homework and gives easy quizzes. Also has a good sense of humor. She also gives a lot of extra credit.

Melanie was extremely helpful as a TA. If I didn't learn in class she would explain it in recitation and was happy to do so. My professor sucked and with her help and all the extra credit she gives it really helps.

Melanie is a great teacher. She made recitation a time for going over all the subjects that our lecture professor was not great at teaching. If you can find her as a TA or teacher for a math class you need to take, sign up for her section!!!

Very helpful teacher, works with the professor to help out the students the best she can.

Great TA and hopefully will become a teacher in the future. Helps out students in anyway she can.

She really tries hard to make sure you understand what's going on! Very helpful!

She was a great TA to have! My professor was not a very good teacher and she would clear up any things I didn't understand. I would highly recommend her!

Great TA! Extremely helpful in making sense of what the Professor couldn't teach

Great TA!!!!!! Genuinely cared about us and our grade in class. Works hard to teach us what we need to know!!!

Very helpful in teaching. When you can't understand the professor's style of teaching, this TA will definitely help you understand any concepts that you couldn't understand before.

Makes sure you do well on quizzes and goes over homework with the class before we turn it in.

Very useful and very helpful, a lot of extra credit points

Awesome TA!!! She is so helpful, and she makes everything so clear! Take her!

She is such an awesome TA! She helps in any way she can, and goes out of her way to make sure students understand the material. If you have to take Calculus then definitely try to get her as a TA!

Extremely helpful! is more than willing to go over homework problems for test and quizzes. such an awesome TA!

Very helpful, knows what she's talking about, fair grader.

She is a great TA! Very helpful!

She is a great TA, she knows Calculus very well and willing to help you in anyway. Grading is fair, I would Definatley recommend her!

Very nice and extremely helpful.

Best teacher I've ever had at USC! She is so helpful and really cares about her students. I enjoyed her class so much that I'm trying to get her to teach a class i'll be in next semester!

Great teacher that helps you out a lot and wants you to do well and willing to help you out!

She makes it easy to understand when solving a problem by breaking the solution down to the simplest form

She is very willing to help you and easy to understand. Would recommend taking her for any math course.

She's a great teacher. She really cares about her students and wants you to do well in her class. I really don't like math but she made it enjoyable!!

One of the best

Very fair instructor. Willing to help if you don't understand and covers what needs to be covered without going into great detail that isn't necessary. Extra credit opportunities and lots of quizzes to help with your grade. Would definitely recommend her!

Very helpful and gives a lot of extra credit opportunities.

knows the topic well, and keeps you interested. Good professor, would give a recomendation. Gives lots of extra credit and retake opportunities!

Mel is a great instuctor! She really wants you to suceed.

I took Mel in the summer and she was great. Really laid back and helps you succeed. Doesn't assign complicated nit-picky problems. Made sure you understood concepts but didn't try and trick you. Gave plenty of opportunities to make up assignments and gain extra credit

Mel is a great instructor. She really wants her students to do well and givs alot of opportunities for you to do so. Take Her!!

this teacher is very helpfull and very simplewhen it comes to her class. She is not stressful at all lets you redo just about everything from quizzes to exams. take this teacher

very good techer and very easy. take her

Melanie Laffin, was a very good professor and also very helpful. I had taken this class in a previous was very unlucky with the teacher i had so i was very thankful to have Melanie this summer. She also found ways for her students to do extra credit to boost their grades. I would DEF take her!

I love her! She's easy, and always helps you with anything that you have problems with. You don't have to do the homework or come to class, and she gives extra credit. I HIGHLY recommend her!

Best math teacher at USC ever! If you can take her!

Melanie is an overall good teacher. She has flexible office hours and is understanding and willing to work with you if you're having difficulty. Attendance is loosely mandatory, but if you go to class, you'll do very well in the class. She offers opportunities for extra credit, and all of her exam questions are from homework are from hw or quizes

Melanie was a wonderful math teacher to have. Easy to follow in class and if you didn't understand something she had good office hours for help. Extra credit was definitely a bonus. I would totally recommend her if you can have her as a teacher!

She's the best Pre Calc teacher I've ever had. She thoroughly explains the material and answers any questions you may have. If you have the chance, take her.

Melanie Laffin, was a very good professor and also very helpful. She also found ways for her students to do extra credit to boost their grades. I would DEF take her

Best math teacher I've ever had. Office hours are flexible and she works with you if you don't understand something. Homework quizzes and tests are straight from the homework so do the homework and you will succeed. Definitely recommend this teacher.

Melanie is a great teacher. You can tell that she really enjoys what she does. She is very understanding when it comes to missing class. Tests are very easy, and you get a cheat sheet. Easy A. Would definitely recommend her.

Mel is a wonderful teacher who honestly cares about her students and their grade in the class. She's always willing to help. Take her class!!

Good Class it was just terrible having it at 8am 4 days in a row. Teacher made class a lot clearer by doing example problems

Pretty easy class. Just get the homework done and the rest of the class is extremely easy. Mel is nice and tries to keep everyone on the same page.

Very helpful teacher. Definitely clarifies the material well during lecture. Very committed to students. Will meet if a student needs help. Positive attitude even when asked to repeat material. Down to earth. Talks on the students' level, not over their heads. Amazing class! Got an A! Gives extra credit work! Made a few 100s on exams!

She is a very good teacher. She is willing to answer any questions you have about the material. I have really enjoyed being in her class.

She is a very good teacher, highly recommended. She teaches clearly and gives you many chances to do well in the class. She wants you to succeed.

Good teacher. Easy class. She will work with you. I hate math, but came out with a good grade

Great teacher, not super easy but if you do you work and go to class you can easily pass! Class starts out hard but gets easier. Highly recommended. Really helpful and will give some extra credit. If you have to take this class take Mels! you won't regret it!

I came into the class hating math and not really understanding it. Melanie was really cool and only taught us what we needed to know. It made the class much more manageable. The homework assigned was useful and not too much. The extra credit for exams was awesome. Also, she allowed a cheat sheet. I definitely recommend her!

Awesome teacher, much better than all of my friends Math 115 teachers.

Excellent teacher. Provides all the needed tools to succeed.

She is the best! she was so helpful and nice and a great teacher. she helps you has much as she can if you have a question and is overall a great person!!! def get her if you can! I was sooo lucky to have her!!!

She is awesome! So friendly and really helpful. She understands that Maple isn't the most exciting thing in the world and makes it as painless as possible. Be thankful if you have her as your lab instructor!

Great teacher. Explains material really well. Do the homework and quizzes and exams will not be hard.

Melanie is a great teacher and really on the ball. You will know all the information you need to complete the material. Always sends detailed e-mails that are really helpful. Explains concepts very well with a lot of detail. She also has a great personality. Very nice and laid back. Best Math TA I've had at USC!

Mel was a great lab instructor. She realized that Maple wasn't thrilling, so she told us what we needed to know and gave us work that was short and got the point across. Definitely try and take her, you won't regret it.

Good TA! The information she gives is concise. She understands maple isn't fun, so she makes it as easy as possible, in order for it to boost your grade in case you don't do well on the exams.

Melanie is really helpful and tries to explain everything, step by step, if the class is confused about a subject. She's pretty laid back and knowledgeable about the subject, too.

Mel is amazing and so helpful. She is very easy going. If you have her as a TA, your life will be so much easier!

She was very helpful and was always willing to step aside to answer any questions.

Mel is a great TA. If you have any troubles with Maple she is more than willing to help you and rarely will you ever feel "lost". She is nice and reasonable and a perfect TA for this class.

Mel is awesome! I didn't understand anything about maple until she became my TA. She answers all of your questions and is happy to help you with anything you need.

very clear which makes the class easy. Doesn't waste time with topics we don't need to do.

Mel is a wonderful TA. I had her last semester for 141 as well and she was just as helpful for this class as the last. She is also very relatable and tries to get to know her class on a personal basis. Get in her lab if you can!!!

She is very helpful, nice, and wants all her students to pass her class with the highest grade possible. I recommend anyone who has this class to take her

extremely helpful

Melanie is a genuinely nice person. She is very knowledgable about Maple lab and Calculus in general. She is helpful, but sometimes she goes really fast, and it is hard to keep up. I would def suggest regularly attending or you will get really lost.

She is an awesome teacher and i had really fun in class. also she is a straight shooter. she tells you excatly everything you need to know NO TRICKS!

She was very helpful and made Maple easier to understand by breaking it down into simple easy steps.

Melanie was helpful and patient. Made maple easy to understand and was happy to answer questions or give personal help. Youre lucky if shes your TA!

Overall a great teacher. She is young so she cuts a lot of the unnecessary bs that other math teachers insist is relevant. She moves very quickly. I'm bad at math and struggled at first but then I started going to ACE and started doing well. Can be kind of scatterbrained but in a good way; sometimes she'll cancel class or postpone assignments.

Clear on what we needed to do, and also very easy to work with or contact through email. absolutely wanted us to succeed :)

A good teacher who understands her students very well and wants her students to do well and only teaches what is important

Excellent

She was super helpful and made maple very easy. If you had any questions at all she would greatfully help you as muchs could

Straight forward and highlights the important, useful topics

Really awesome teacher. Only teaches what is important/useful

Great teacher. wanted everyone to have a good grade.

Awesome teacher. Wanted everyone to receive a good grade at the end of the semester. Super helpful and super nice.

helpful and tried to make maple fun, wanted everyone to do well

Very helpful in explaining and helping everyone to get on track before starting. She didn't leave anyone in the dust, so to speak.

Very friendly, cheerful attitude, got down to business with calculus, taught what was needed and to the point. Didn't add all the extra work that didn't pertain to the class. Learned a lot, graded very fair and added a little make up points for those that did not do well on quizzes. I personally never needed that, since quiz correlated w/ material

Melanie is a great teacher. She will help you if you ever need it. She's a very personable person that talks to all her classmates as they were her friends. Her great attitude and way she teaches her class makes going to class way less stressful. Show her respect and you will definitely get it back from her. All she asks is for you to participate.

Very nice and fair. Definitely would recommend!

Class is not stressful, tests are fair, ample opportunities to make an A in the class. Very helpful and down-to-earth teacher.

Very fair. Helpful with whatever you need.

Awesome teacher

Really nice and as long as you take good notes the class is super easy. Definitely recommend taking her class.

Great Teacher! Must take her! She teaches you everything you need to know for her test, nothing more or less.

One of the best professors ever!!! So helpful and much better than other math instructors

Super easy, we had one in class test, one essay, the rest were take home tests and an optional take home final. Homework isn't mandatory but she gives quizzes most classes on it but they are usually open note and partner so it's fine if you don't do the hw and she is good with makeup quizzes if you miss one! Easy A but you don't learn much

Best math teacher I have ever had. I expected to struggle with Business Calc, as I have never been good at Math. However, she mad everything simple to understand. Lets you use a cheat sheet on every test, including the final. She wants to to succeed and get a good grade. Also drops 20 points at end of semester, to boost your grade

Easy class. Very helpful and understanding!!! We had one essay, which was easy and she helps a lot with that, one in class test, and two take home. Quizzes almost every class, but easy and usually can work with partner or open-note. Got a 'A' in the class and I suck at math.

She honestly is about the best teacher there ever was. If you don't know how to do math at all, you will still get an A. We had one easy in class exam and 2 take home tests which we had a week to do, and they were so easy. She always gives extra credit and she is hilarious. I love her, and if you can take her, TAKE HER!

Mel is the best! She's super accessible and always willing to help with any problems or concerns you may have. Also, the class is super easy and the quizzes and exams are not hard at all. I highly recommended taking her!

She's super helpful and teaches exactly what you need to know. If you pay attention and take notes, you'll pass no problem. If math is your thing, this class should be a breeze for you.

Melanie is the most helpful and dedicated professor I have met so far at USC. She is always available and genuinely cares for her students. If anyone has any questions, she allows you to text her and send her photos of homework. She is a very fair grader and a dedicated teacher. I highly recommend taking this course with her as your teacher.

Mel is one of the best teacher that I have had at USC! She is always available to help, and I feel like she does a wonderful job at relating the material to college students! She is cool and has a wonderful personality! Do your homework, and you will do fine.

TAKE HER! She makes seemingly complex concepts easy to understand. Fair grader, always willing to answer questions, and wants students to succeed.

very clear in lectures. Provides enough help and opportunity to understand and get an A.

She is an amazing teacher. Very lenient, yet requires necessary materials in order for topic to be learned. Definitely take her class!

Take her! Amazing professor that actually wants you to learn things that are important in life. Understands her students and helps out with everything. Very lenient and just an overall funny and friendly person. Excellent and awesome professor, take her if you get the chance!

Mel is amazing! She truly cares about you getting a good grade in the class and tries to make the class the least stressful as possible. You need the book but not the online code so try to buy the book used. If you have to take this class, take it with her and you will not regret it.

Mel is amazing! She always is willing to help and wants the class to be as little stress on you as possible. You do not need the online code, only the book, so try to buy the book used. Take her!!

Take Melanie! She is one of the best teachers I've ever had. She's very clear and instructive with the material and is always willing to answer extra questions. She's also very flexible with scheduling and grading. Attendance is not mandatory but may help bump up your grade if you attend most of the classes.

Best teacher, super chill, likes game of thrones

Best teacher ever.

Great professor! Really makes sure you understand the course information. Very flexible and nice ! SO glad I took the course with her!

If you need to take this class you're going to want to have her! She makes it impossible to fail the class. The quizzes are always based off the homework and the tests are based off the quizzes. She tries to make the class fun and throws out extra credit at times. Definitely the professor to take!!

Really great and enthusiastic teacher, take her class

Best professor! Really great at explaining the material. If you show up and are decent at math you'll get an A!

Very helpful in and after class, will work with you but still won't give anything away. Great teacher!

VERY funny professor with an easy grading system! We take 4 tests throughout the semester and she drops the lowest grade, with no final. Almost impossible to fail unless you don't study at all. If you ever need to take any math class, definitely see if she teaches it!

Solid instructor, has a very strong sense of intellectual humor which I enjoyed, pay attention in class & study a few hours a week and you'll pass.

By far one of the best, most understanding professors I've had at USC.

Melanie is such a great teacher. She makes math so easy to understand and makes class interesting. I would take again.

Melanie was great. She uses her own examples to explain problems and they are so corny but great and easy to understand. She is always offering ways to help boost your grade and speaks her mind; which is great. You shouldn't leave her class with anything less than an 85.

She's a very good teacher. She canceled class about 6 times in one semester and we still managed to cover all of the material. All homework is optional and all the quizzes are open-note. Each exam was cumulative but the study guides she gives are essential a copy of the actual exam. Very easy class, literally go to class and you can't fail.

Amazing teacher. as long as you go to class and take the quizzes and notes its an easy a.

Mel is amazing! Favorite teacher thus far!

For the Business Calculus class she did not consider it to be a weed-out class, rather she tried to help us pass as much as possible.

Great, entertaining teacher.

She tries really really hard to make the course the best she can for her students. You do not want to be rude with her or be a smart mouth, she can hold her own fort, but if you are polite and you show her respect, she will go out of her way to help you and if you put in the work, it will not be her fault if you do not do well in the course.

Awesome teacher, Melanie was really helpful if you payed attention in class and showed somewhat of a drive to succeed in her class. Overall, her class was really easy. She gave a ton of "extra credit" opportunities, thus if you didn't get a b or higher in this class then you probably didn't put in enough work. Attendance was recorded also.

This class was super easy and Mel was a big reason for that. Tests were open note and we ended a week or two early. Just show up, pay attention, and don't be rude and the class is easy.

She gives a quiz every other class, and its open notes. Test are basically straight off the study guides. She does take attendance. As long as you try to pay attention in her class and show up you'll get at least a B.

Mel rocks! Her grading system is great! She always makes me laugh!

Mel was amazing. She taught really well and was very clear and specific on what you had to do to pass her class. She helped whenever you had questions and would do whatever she could to help us.

Great teacher, very easy, and cancels class a lot.

She was such a great teacher. Actually wanted to help you and have you do well in the class. Definitely take her.

Awesome person and teacher!

If you are not proficient in math, take her course. She made me confident in my math abilities and explained problems throughly. She offered extra credit for homework and was willing to help students after class. Truly cares about students. If you need help in math or a GPA booster, take her class!! Best professor in her field.

Melanie Laffin is a fabulous teacher I took her at Midlands and wish she was still there She teaches you so you will understand and includes shortcuts Always has an open door policy One of the BEST teachers I have had she is all about you learning and enjoying math Im not sure however rate my professor seems not to work when I use punctuation