2.8
Quality3.2
Difficulty61%
Would Retake128
Reviews61%
Would Retake
128
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
40
4
14
3
10
2
19
1
45
What Students Say
“He goes through things without making sure the students have completely learned it”
MATH108 - 1.0 rating“Pahlow is great, but don't go into his class for an easy A”
MATH141 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
71%
Textbook Required
53%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.71 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH124
5.0
(3)MATH157
5.0
(2)MATH156
5.0
(1)MATH142
4.5
(4)MATHS256
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
148
5.0
MATH108
5.0
MATH97
5.0
MATH148
3.6
MATH152
3.5
Reviews (128)
Fab teacher. Even though he's knew he's quite clear in what he wants you to learn and is helpful outside of class if you have any questions. I would definitely recommend this teacher (and I'm not very good at math so that's saying something) :)
Mike is a great math teacher. It's a very challenging course, but Mike does a really good job of explaining the material. His quizzes are just like the homework given and his tests are not too hard. I would recommend this professor to everybody!
Pahlow is a great math teacher! Very good on explaining difficult math subjects in the easiest way possible. gives lots of extra credit in the class. just try hard and go to class and you should get a 4.0.
Mike is such an amazing teacher. He always tries to answer and explain every questions you ask in the simplest way. Though sometimes his class is quite boring and flat, overall he is a great teacher. GRCC's students should feel very lucky to have such a great adjuct mathematics teacher!!
He is a young teacher. Easy class and when you had questions, he made sure to answer in the simplest form. Take him if you are not good at math. He will be of VERY great help. Great teacher. Tests are okay if you study. and exam is comprehensive. EASY.
great professor. really helpful
Great teacher, very helpful when needed. Took this as a flex course so didn't see much of him, but when I did he was always friendly and willing to help you figure it out.
he failed to express importance of certain key subjects to the class
He is so cute and so cool. He is funny, and he never puts any pressure on you. His quizes are all from the problems in the textbook. He also gives extra credits exercises. Easy 4.0!
He doesn't spell out steps or clearly explain each new idea,instead he mostly teaches with examples.You will find he quickly and directly covers material,no hw but you must do the suggested practice problems if you want this class to make sense.The challenge here, is of your own responsibility and time management at home(not due to the teacher).
Took PreCalc and he was absolutely fantastic! His grading is very forgiving, because there's extra credit "pre-tests" and he explains things very clearly. Sometimes moved a little fast, but less so than any math prof I've had. I hope I take all of his calc series as well. Great, GREAT Professor!
Anybody who didn't LOVE Prof Pahlow does NOT belong in math. He did NOT require homework, but rather gave quizzes on a few of a set of questions in the book (which he provides). Answers questions on any of them before class, AND offers extra credit. My exam scores ranged from 91-97 and I got 99.3% overall. He's super easy to understand too!
get 4.0 easily
best teacher !
Oh wow!
The whole class didn't understand him. Didn't explain things well at all. Everyone was fusterated. Many people dropped that class including I. No one understood how he did the work. Never let the students work the problem out, just finished it and moved on to the next. Thought the students weren't doing their job of practiceing.
He was more confused by the subject matter than the students. I used to like him and now I hate him.
I took his class in summer quarter. He teachs ok. I didn't learn much from him. Because we only have 8 weeks and we met 2 days a week. Exam is half easy and half hard. He gave us paper hw and wamap. Extra only for HW. 1 essay and group presentation.
Pahlow Mike is a nice guy. If you study his class, your grade at least 3.0up. I did not learn much from him because of the summer quarter.
Doesn't give out much homework, only a couple a problems a week (on average). His lectures can be a bit boring, but he explains things pretty well and takes time to answer any questions.
Anyone who didn't like Mike is going to rate any math professor poorly, because they are no good at math. I've taken many professors and work for others, and I base who I take on this site. PLEASE take my word, he's awesome! Lenient grading, crystal clear lectures. If you're half awake and show up everyday, and are half intelligent, take him!
Professor Pahlow is a really easy grader. He tended to favor examples over explaining concepts in class, so if you are a procedural person, you'll really like him. If you are more conceptional, his class will be more difficult, but you will still be okay.
The worst instructor I have ever met!!!!
He is my favorite math teacher at GRCC. His quizes come directly from the hw. His tests are similar to his inclass examples and he grades easy and gives extra credit on wamap.
Don't take his class.
I took Stats before with another teacher and he was very clear, but this teacher is very confusing and doesn't reply to any of your questions via email. The way he portrays notes doesn't quite help you on your homework :/
His lecture is so boring and lack of organization. He wrote down everything on the whiteboard and "talk" to the whiteboard. He does not face the class. Also, he explains math poorly.
Nobody really understands what he's talking about in class. We read things ourselves.Showing reluctance when you ask him questions.POOR EXPLANATION.
DON'T TAKE HIS CLASS
Mike is a nice guy, his lecture is boring but if pay attention, and come to class daily you would recieve full credits on any homework that he give in class. His test is not easy but not difficult at all. As long as u read the book, you will be fine for the test. You also dont have to bring book to class too.
Really nice teacher, but he's not very good at teaching. I got a good grade in the class because he is a super easy grader. Although, if I plan to continue in calculus I'll have to retake that class because I didn't learn hardly anything.
attend the class and be nice to him. he is an easy grader. dont be lazy and skip class or else you will get a 'normal' score.
After the midterm, you will have to study a lot from book as he has quizzes almost every week. The homework is one attempt However, you will have tons of extra credits for homework and assignments.
I cannot understand what he is saying, so most of time I will discuss the problems with my classmates.
Very Good teacher, lenient on grading just use the practice test in the back of the book
Worst teacher I have had thus far. Belittling attitude, makes every question asked of him seem like it was stupid of the person to ask, has a ridiculous grading system (86.9% = 3.0), and doesn't help you understand HOW to approach a given problem. He just...does it. Tests can hold surprises, too - beware. Avoid Mike Pahlow's class.
Worst teacher I have had thus far. Belittling attitude, makes every question asked of him seem like it was stupid of the person to ask, has a ridiculous grading system (86.9% = 3.0), and doesn't help you understand HOW to approach a given problem. He just...does it. Tests can hold surprises, too - beware. Avoid Mike Pahlow's class.
Literally the worst teacher that I have ever had. I had gotten good grades in math classes up to this point and he just ruined it. I have to retake this class because of him. I warn you. Do not take this class with him.
The worse teacher I ever met. The only teacher ask us use Maple(what hell uncomfortable and inconvenient)without enough guide. If 1 minute means enough. sometimes he seems like did these problem as his homework at class! come on, we need him teach us, not to check his work!!!
Not the best teacher. Doesn't teach, just does the problems on the board. Tests/quizzes were usually not easy unless you knew the material really well. Not a very approachable person. Pros: no hw other than maple labs(which you HAVE to do on a campus computer), exam reviews are given as extra credit, doing good on final changes lowest exam grade
He made me hate my life. If it weren't for him, I would be able to continue in math. Learned nothing. Cried daily. I tried soooooooooooooo hard in this class. Not kidding. I tried half as hard in calc 1 and got a 3.8. I'm not an idiot guys, I'm a math girl, but this teacher ruined it for me! I had to switch to pass/fail.
I have always been the anonymous one on ratemyprofessors site by just looking up the professors without giving any rate. But this teacher is exceptional. Guys... never ever take his class or u would be so screwed. He doesn't have the kindness or at least the respect for any student. He never cares for student. MIKE PAHLOW! YOU ARE THE WORST!
I'll start by saying he is a really smart guy. That being said, he does not explain the material well at all, and expects you to learn from the book entirely on your own. The tests are difficult and very different from his review guides. He is somewhat generous in grading and gives extra credit which is how a majority of the class passed.
His lectures are confusing and the assignments he gives are ridiculously hard. The upside to taking him is that he is the easiest grader and grades assignments and tests immediately. As someone who isn't strong in math, I wish I would have taken a professor who is better at lecture. If you're strong in math, his class will be a breeze.
Came into this class thinking I would do well. Math isn't my strong suit, but I've always managed to pass with an A or B. This wasn't the case this time with this teacher. RIDICULOUS grading scale. NOT helpful will not answer your questions and sarcasticapathetic towards student. Lecture scattered. Quizzesexams tough grader. TOUGH extra credit.
He gave good feedback and clear grading criteria
--No homework, easy quizzes & very lenient grading will lower your expectations. However, tests are 810 difficulty compared to quizzes 510 difficulty. --Lectures are usually pretty confusing and I often found myself laughing at the steps he would take to solve problems and understand what he was doing --Attendance is graded
He tends to stand in front of the board while teaching, doesn't leave room for questions during lectures, and even when questions are asked he doesn't give a clear answer. He is a pretty lenient grader to make up for his lack of teaching skills. Doing the extra credit will help you out a ton in this class. Godspeed if you get this instructor.
Cons: Talks to the whiteboard, hardly ever faces the class, quizzes are 15 min long, not good at explaining stuff, covers up the problem on the board as he's doing them making it difficult to follow along, doesn't do problems correctly all the time and don't you dare correct him or he will make sure that you feel dumb. Pros: Extra Cr. before exam
Don't do it! He's an arrogant individual and if this is the only class left available for you to take, wait until next quarter when a better teacher is available. He teaches by example and then when you get the test, nothing he teaches in on it. Would never take him again, I would rather die! My bff just dropped his class.
Like others have said, don't take him. His lectures are extremely hard to follow and sometimes it seems like he is just talking to the whiteboard. He makes students feel stupid for asking questions which is very discouraging. Don't take his class. He is a terrible teacher who doesn't even teach. He just expects his students to know the info.
He's a nice guy, but the way he teaches the class is really boring and makes it feel never ending. His office hours are very limited because he teaches elsewhere too so you're pretty much on you're own when you take his class.
Attendance is mandatory, you will be graded on whether you come to class or not. There is no homework, but rather he gives worksheets. Overall his teaching style isn't the best, expect lectures until the end of class and no room for asking questions.
He goes through things without making sure the students have completely learned it. Minimal explanations. Writes something on the board, erases it, writes something else. Added an extra homework assignment due to him being bored during the second to last week of the quarter. picks problems out of the book randomly in a lazy fashion for homework. :(
Test and assignment are hard, I learn nothing from this quarter. His lecture are suck.
He doesn't know how to teach. If you want to pass his class, you need to spend almost whole day in the math learning center. Most of my classmates complain about that although they do very well on the WAMAP assignment, however, they do poorly on the exam. He ruined our interest in Math.
He is the teacher that is hard to work with and hou mainly need to learn the math by yourself. Test is hard and he is a tough garder. His lecture is unorganized and made people confused. If you take his class, try to drop it as soon as possible.
His class is the hardest things that i have ever taken. His lecture is confused and if you want to pass this class you need to find someone who can explain everything for you. I passed no credit.
When he is having lecture, it seems that he just talking to whiteboard. He is the teacher that is hard to work with. Don't take his class, or you will regret. His lecture is nothing on the test. If you are not Math kind of person, taking his class will ruin your GPA.
If you take his class, you basically need to learn by yourself, he is tge teacher that hard to work with. I and my girlfriend failed his class.
His class is the hardest classes I have taken. Just be aware of him because he is a tough grader. He is the teacher that is hard to work with.
Lectures are BORING. If you are not good at math, don't take his class! If it is not a required class for the next class(Math&141), I would rather pass no credit. Need to work really hard after class to catch up. He will answer student questions in class(not often). He left the classroom right away and let us have time to ask question. X Take again
I passed no credit for this class, just be aware of him and wait until you could find a good math instructor. Don't take his class
I somehow ended up taking two classes with this teacher and I always had to go to the math center so they could re-teach me everything, or I had to basically teach it to myself. He just lectures and writes things on the board all day everyday and most of the time he makes you feel stupid if you ask questions. Get out while you can..
His lecture is very suck, you basically need to teach yourself for this class. He will makes you feel stupid when you ask him questions.
Lecture from the start of class to the end. Homework is given out as worksheets as well as textbook problems but never graded. Quizzes, labs, and tests will be a majority of your grades, and they can be rather difficult if you don't practice on your own time.
Please drop as soon as possible.
The worst professor I have ever had, the reason that I could pass the class is that I have a friend who is good at Math and could explain everything for me.
His teaching style is suck and made people confused, you will feel silly and stupid of asking his questions. Test is tough.
Every class is just watching him do examples on the board. Monotone voice, hard to keep concentrated. I learned the entire course though WAMAP and the instructional videos offered. Generous grader though, and gives easy extra credit.
I was not happy of take his class, his class is useless.
Don't take his class, his lecture made me confused and no sense. What he is talking is not covered on the test. Once you take the test, you will feel sad.
I was not happy about the class, once I take his class I felt disappointed, lecture are long and confused, test are tough.
You have to sign in each morning before class starts or you don't get credit for attending. Miss 4 dayslose all extra credit. miss 8 dayslose a whole letter grade. He teaches facing the board the whole time, if you raised your hand he probably wouldn't even notice. Allows notes on exams. Tests are simple questions which is good. Not much structur
He is bad and useless.
What he said is not covered in the test, test are tough.
You won't get any help from this professor, his class is not helpful at all. He doesn't have enough patience help student slove their problems, you basic need to teach yourself the Math material.
Hes not that bad as people say he is. His lectures werent the best but his test were still fair he gave us a review of it on wamap. His homework wasnt very difficult and he was a pretty easy grader so he wasn't the worse math proffesor
For the whole lecture, he just talk with himself and the white board. He face the white board and speak to the white board instead of speak with students.
His tests are fair but he's a terrible professor. Lectures were extremely dull and he makes frequent mistakes. I learned very little during my daily classes which forced me to spend hours every day teaching myself the necessary material. There must be a shortage of math professors on the market right now for GRCC to think he is acceptable.
He makes frequent mistakes and will explain a problem move on then return to previous problem all while covering the broad as he writes and explains the problem. I'm lucky to have a math brain and am able to read the book and do online "homework"(not graded) to teach myself the material.
Mr. Pahlow is a fair professor, his home-work is not graded and he gives extra credit exam reviews. If you really want to learn mathematics Mr. Pahlow is great, but don't go into his class for an easy A.
This is for a statistics/calculus class taught at UW-Tacoma. Frustrating instructor. If you've taken a hiatus from any college, he is not the instructor for you unless you are a math whiz. One weekly in-class assignment. Weekly homework consist of 1 quiz, 1 assignment, and 1 case study. Few times he's offered extra credit.
He can be a little condescending when you ask a question in class. Moves very fast during class and isn't always clear in his direction
Okay, I understand that people thought that the courses are hard. But he lectures fairly and his exams portray the lectures. I would personally take his class again as he is a good instructor! He is interested in the subject and gave good explanation of the concepts.
he is so bad! Don't take class with him
Not the best prof but not the worst either. Lectures most of class period and it can get boring to follow along, but his exams are example problems he went over during class so pay attention and take notes. Gives extra credit review assignments for the exams which I highly recommend since they are identical to exams. Final is the easiest ive taken
It's a math class so you will have to work. However you will either need to be doing a lot of learning on your own or struggle you way through the class. The teacher has examples and teaches you how to do the example but doesn't tell you why or how you can apply it to other problems. The final is all chapters together with concepts mix not taught.
Very good math professor! The test is easy, and there is few homework every week. He grades by so few things.
Good Professor, pretty easy to pass, the test is exactly the same as taught in class, only one WAMAP per week.
He talks at the board rather than teaching to the class. Easy A, but painfully boring to sit through class. Attendance is MANDATORY. No tests or quizzes.
Best math prof ever!! You dont do anything during class which makes it kind of boring but he does the work on the board & explains every step. If youre lost just ask him questions. There are NO TESTS OR QUIZES. Theres a textbook but I never ever read it, easy A. Weekly projects that are super easy.
what kind of math class has no test or quizes please ellaborate i am taking him next quarter for calculus 4. The reviews are from Precalculus 1. How is that possible what is the grade breakdown? is there even a final.
At the begining of the quarter he said attendance was mandatory, but he didn't actually enforce that. There is no tests. We did all of the homework in class. There is one weekly case study. I got the textbook and never opened it. He won't move on until someone answers his question or says something so there was a lot of awkward silence.
Literally the easiest math class. No exams, instead there is a case study due every week. Its a small project thats super easy. Along with weekly homework assignments. His lectures are clear and honestly I dont know why his rating is so low, hes great!!
He hates to answer questions so if you struggle good luck!
During lectures, he skips teaching the actual concept and goes straight into example problems, skipping tons of crucial steps. When people ask questions, he acts annoyed and clearly doesn't try to help you understand. However, his tests are almost identical to his reviews and he is a lazy grader, so you can easily pull at least a passing grade.
This class is very easy for a math class because there are no tests. A few of his assignments had unrealistic expectations. Overall I would recommend because Im terrible at math and got an A.
Very well done for an online class, offers extra credit and help if needed. He really puts in effort, is kinda a lazy grader.
I took his Hybrid class and at first he made clear that it is mandatory to show up to class but he never enforced it. You are required to take tests in class (theres 6 minus the final test- cumulative). He absolutely hates answering your questions and helping students, he acts as if its an inconvenience. In this class, youre on your own.
Professor Pahlow was my favorite professor for this quarter. You have daily updates, weekly assignments, and case studies. Make sure to finish all assignments and watch YouTube videos for content you dont understand. He responds very fast. I procrastinated a lot but this Professor was very understanding and gave lots of great feedback/extensions.
Class was great, as long as you keep the pace, homework and casestudies every week. He also respond very quick to email and questions.
This professor is garbage at teaching online, he just copy and pasts YouTube videos instead of taking to time to do them himself so that they would be more applicable to the problems you are actually doing in class. One ends up having to teach themselves everything right out of the textbook. A robot could do a better job explaining assignments.
I loved this class and it was super easy to do well in. Daily notes and YouTube videos were posted each day and they were super easy to understand. There were no "tests" but the weekly case studies were 100 points each so they took up most of your grade. Weekly homework assignments were short and there was a bonus case study for E.C. with no final.
I really enjoyed Prof Pahlow's class, he was supportive, helpful and quick to respond. The homework was easy (Youtube videos attached to most problems were incredibly helpful) and directly applied to real world examples (some were even fun). The best part? No tests! The weekly case studies were a great way to apply math to real life.
Very fun teacher. I sat up front and would joke with him in class. I wouldn't take him again though because I feel like I didn't learn much from this class. Each week is a completely different topic. May just be this class though and not the teacher. Only 2 assignments a week that are very easy. If you like math you'll love this class.
Mr. Pahlow is one of the best math teachers I have ever had, not just in high school, but in college as well. He gives clear instructions for all of his work; homework is generous and reasonable. If you take advantage of the extra credit and pay attention in class, you will love his teaching style and his class.
Mr. Pahlow was an incredibly accommodating, respectful, and patient teacher. He graded exams for partial credit, was willing to take worksheets late for full credit, and offered 45 extra credit points for HW. If you show him you're willing and eager to learn, he will be there to help you. He also rounded up my grade to a 4.0. Very nice.
Michael was one of the easiest professors I've had. We didn't have ONE test, exam, or quiz! Topics changed weekly and we only had one class a week and homework consisting of some exercises and small "projects". Everything was honestly so easy! I feel like if you want to really learn a lot, you should not take the class. It was enough for me though.
I did this class during winter. He is a good teacher, and one does not have to do exams, what he tells you to do assignments and projects which happen in our day-to-day life. Really positive teacher and easily approachable for his class. One of the best professors in the school department of mathematics.
Very forgiving HW/exam systems. No final, retakes for every exam. I had to retake calc 2 and was terrified but this teacher saved me from just giving up. He also teaches his class from a more engineering perspective and less of a math major one, which helped me a lot. One of the most reasonable teachers I have had, but his lectures move FAST.
The professor took his work seriously and gave lots of examples for clarity of the topic. Always gives a constructive feedback and help you explain the process.
There are not many interactions because this is an online class, but still a great class in my opinion. Everything was well organized on WAMAP. Homework every day & have to do 4 mandatory exams, he'll give you credits for written work on the test, pretty a fair grader. You'll learn EVERYTHING BY YOURSELF so be active, but you can find him for help.
I've struggled with math class my entire life throughout all my school years. This is the first math class I've ever aced. Mr. Pahlow provided many easy-to-understand resources to help us learn the material at our own pace.
While there was a lot of homework, he provided videos for help and gave up to three tries for the same problem before having to get another one (something I didn't see before). Very easy to access him outside of hours, and replied quick to all messages. He's very understanding and solves the problems with you if you need it.
He only send out YouTube videos for the lectures. The test are also super easy.
Easiest grader I've ever had at GRC. If a tough grader gives you 50 on an exam, he would give you 80. Around 40 extra credits/quarter, BUT NOT applicable towards exams. Mandatory attendance, lots of group work and hw is heavy. Exams are very close to the exam reviews. I just found his lectures quite hard to understand, got a 3.9 anyway so, not bad.
In my opinion he's a decent teacher. Theres just projects after projects WEEKLY along with weekly hw. Those projects contain essays. Essays for math is just too much especially when you have other classes going on or other necessities.
Super easy class. Teacher very passionate
An extremely laid back professor. Theres homework weekly, although as long as you put in the effort into doing them, thats what counts. His classes are extremely fun as well, as we get into doing origami projects at the end of the quarter.
great professor. his class was fun and went by smoothly. learned a lot without actually stressing over any of his assignments.
If you want to actually learn anything, dont take this class. If you just want the credit, take his class. I learned absolutely nothing. Like literally nothing. He doesnt teach at all he just gives you stuff to read. Spoke to him once the entire quarter.
If you are dreading calculus, this is the class for you. The assessments are incredibly easy because they literally come right out of the homework which is done on WAMAP and comes with a video of how to work the problem attached to it. If you get all the standards right by the end, you can skip the final. Prof answers messages right away to help.
He's a laid back grader, but his quizzes and homework are different. No extra credit. Don't take his class if you do bad at quizzes as its a 25% for the grade, and the final exam accounts for 30%
This was a great professor. Assignments were clear and he had videos on each homework question if you were stuck on a problem. He responded in a timely manner through WAMAP. Exams were one question about each standard and you only needed to pass once to get full credit, you only needed to take the final if you missed one of the standards.
The class I took was 151 and he sends the tests online very good
He's an amazingggg professor! He does plenty of examples together with the class during lectures. However it's best to have bit of background knowledge about the new math topics u will be learning . The tests are pretty easy to do since it's just like the homework's from wamap. The tests are online and with a time limit and you have to show work.
Teaches mostly with example, easy to pass class
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
71%
Textbook Required
53%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.71 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH124
5.0
(3)MATH157
5.0
(2)MATH156
5.0
(1)MATH142
4.5
(4)MATHS256
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
148
5.0
MATH108
5.0
MATH97
5.0
MATH148
3.6
MATH152
3.5