It's been a while, but the complaints I remember: 1) Marked down for inadequate commenting in simplistic computer programs assigned, despite the fact that the syllabus said no programming experience was required. 2) Told us that material wouldn't be on a test, then put it on said test.

Office hours consist of a student asking a question, followed by a 5-second silence, followed by at most five words spoken by Vojta, followed by more awkward silence, and finally repeat (number of repititions depend on how many students are present).

He's not the best professor. He is really shy, so he talks with low volume and usually toward the board... yea.. not recommend to take his class.. his GSIs are nt helpful either.. just dont take it

I stopped going to his lectures after the first week because they were directly out of the book and much less understandable. If you get him, I recommend that you go to the study group sessions at SLC instead of his lectures. Tests are hard.

Professor not helpful. Midterms and finals expected too much out of students and practice tests were misleading. Homework not a good indicator of test material. Being able to do homework does not indicate proficiency. Curves were killer.

Terrible professor, lectures are pretty much pointless as he lectures straight from the book (examples and all) and are also utterly boring. Tests were slightly tricky, but not impossible. Try to avoid if possible.

Possibly the worst class I have ever taken, lectures are boring as hell and exams are not intuitive at all. He likes to throw super complicated arithmetic at you and does not allow cheat sheets like the other 1B classes. Would not recommend AT ALL.

Vojta is obviously a genius in the math field. However he doesn't seem to really care about this entry level course as he just spits out the textbook during lecture. He also doesn't clarify anything further than what the textbook does. On the other hand, exams are fairly straightforward, just study a lot since the final covers the whole damn book.

I had taken AP calc BC before I took his course and it was still ridiculously hard. Definitely take a different prof for math 1b literally anyone is better. Lectures were him reading the book quietly looking at the board. Tests and homework far harder than those of the other professors. Don't waste a semester on this class.

Try to avoid if possible. He actually made me hate math. I had to use notes from other professor to pass this class. Even though his exams were fair, you have to spend a lot of time self studying the material. He might be a good researcher but definitely not a good lecturer.

I am a graduate student in math, so I've gone out of my way to spend my life studying mathematics, and my commitment has been nearly shattered by Paul Vojta. An unbelievably boring lecturer who just piles definition on definition without ever explaining why anything matters. One of the most disheartening experiences of my life. Do not take.

Im sure Professor Paul V. is a very smart person with several many insane achievements throughout his life, but this man cannot teach. He just throws definitions at you, but does not connect it to anything so there is no purpose. I just go home and relearn everything through youtube or khan academy. Best of luck �� ����.

I respect Professor Vojta and his contributions to the field of Mathematics! That being said, I respectfully believe his teaching skills are not for most individuals. I don't know a single person who actually understands his lectures and learns from them. Never have I ever had more anxiety taking any Math Prof than him.

Credit where it's due; this guy is a math genius and has contributed so much to the field of mathematics. That being said, these skills don't translate to his teaching. I've had monkeys for math teachers in the past, but at least their examples were cohesive and their hand writing legible. Would not recommend unless you HAVE to take him.

tips: skip lecture but DEFINITELY watch Paulin's recorded ones, take an adjunct (Math 98, esp with Emily Fleming), read the book, do the supplemental problems, check in with your GSI often. Vojta is nice enough and (obviously) smart but his lectures weren't helpful for me, but i also had never taken calc before his class.

Very sweet man and you can tell he's smart but he can't teach at all. In lecture he just writes textbooks - throws wordy definitions at you and gives the simplest examples that don't show much technique above basic algebraic manipulation. I recommend you skip lecture - look at his notes from class, put it into YT and it'll be doable.

The professor is nice, but he has awful lectures. I ended up skipping all of them because they weren't helpful at all. Only take this class if you are semi-confident in your math skills because you will have to teach yourself everything either through YouTube or Khan Academy.

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS! unless you must please don't you will regret it after his second lecture. He has no teaching skills and so far he's the worst teacher I've ever had.

He is the absolute worst. His grading is not precise, and his lecturing skills are terrible. I would not recommend this teacher.

He once said that he doesnt kno what a "curve" is. Lectures=awful. Dont risk it, take the course w another prof!

Okay so unless you have already come to Berkeley with prior Calculus experience or are willing to self-study a lot I would highly recommend you take this course with another professor. Professor Vojta is an accomplished person but I don't think his accomplishments translate to good teaching skills (i.e. he directly reads from the book all of lec).

I'm sure Professor Vojta understands what he is "teaching" but he is the only one in lecture that does. I feel like I taught myself this entire class via YouTube with some help from my GSI. It is clear that he is knowledgeable about the subject, but if you are not a math genius before this class you won't be one after either

The worst professor ever. I used to like math but this class with this professor made me hate math. The practice midterms were nothing compares to the real midterms. There's weekly quizzes and everything is all fast pace during lecture.

Vojta was during lectures was basically writing from a textbook is the only one that understand what is being taught. He bombards you with homework every single week and does not let you breathe. Once because of a midterm he he had us turn in one homework assignment Wednesday at 6 am, and made the following homework due on Sunday that same week.

Professor Vojta is not a good lecturer. He explains what the math from the book which makes the lectures useless. I did not go to the lectures anymore after 2 weeks and watched YouTube videos to understand the concepts. He is also not very kind. He did not allow students to make exams online or on another moment due to illness. Not recommended.

A lot of people left his class on the first day of class because literally no one knew what he was doing

He mumbles everything and no one could understand a thing he was saying or doing. People started walking out in the middle of the first lecture.

Truly an awful professor. It amazes me how much Berk is paying this guy to teach when his lectures are borderline unintelligible and with 90% of the class self studying to survive. If you have Covid you will fail the class or take an incomplete as he does not care about his students at all. Emails take 1 week to get replied to. TAKE ANOTHER PROF

made me want to die and hate math

I respect Prof. Vojta, but he is a terrible professor. Although, I have to commend him for being the best human thesaurus. He rephrases the textbook during lectures and his writing is very hard to read. The average on midterms were about 60% and despite a generous curve, final grades are decided by cut-offs and you will be competing with others.

please for the love of god don't take vojta if you don't absolutely need to. stopped going to class after the first week because he mumbles nonsense as he reads straight from the textbook. and, even though we're at berkeley, the averages on our midterms are at or below 50% which is insane. please find a new job paul we're begging

Lectures are abysmal. Avoid this class at all cost unless you want to find yourself having to self-study for the entire semester.

None of the lectures were engaging, and nothing about the instructor showed any positive or accepting attitude, the instructor was terrible at explaining concepts and assumed the students already knew what he was talking about. When he taught classes he never looked up from his podium and just copied and pasted his notes. APPLY FOR CLASSES EARLY!

I see every other math professor, doing SOMETHING to accommodate for the lack of instruction and help students on the final: making it MCQ, open note, shortening the final, extra credit, generous curve. Office hours and lectures from Vojita were extremely unhelpful this entire year, literally scribbling from the textbook in inaudible voices.

I came out of this class knowing less calculus than when I started. He will confuse you on things you already knew. He misses the point of almost every question students ask.

Professor Vojta's lectures were confusing and didn't help me learn anything about calculus, so I would advise you not to bother attending lectures. I was able to learn enough from my GSI during discussion section. The work load isn't too bad but beware that you will be mostly self-teaching. If you can avoid Vojta, you should.

If you read these reviews and think he couldn't be "that" bad think again. Terrible lecturer and terrible professor. Only way to do well is if you have taken AP Calc and are willing to put the time aside to self study.

I came into this class with prior knowledge of differential/integral calculus, yet found the lectures utterly confusing and unhelpful. Professor himself seemed like a decent guy, but between his incoherent mumbling and regurgitations of the textbook, I found the class unbearable. Avoid his lectures like the plague and be prepared to self study.

You can not understand what the professor was saying and his writing was very sloppy. DO NOT TAKE.

Incredibly unengaging. Dead silent lectures that only cover conceptual knowledge. Constant mumbling from him and no interaction with the class. Almost every student stopped attending lectures after the first three or so. Self-study is a necessity. I took Calc in high school but couldn't understand anything in this class. Horrible.

Lectures are horrible - only teaches using textbook definitions

The lectures are just regurgitations of the textbook.

You basically have to self study everything.

Personally, this professor overcomplicates the topic while reciting the textbook in lectures. To pass the class, study and practice the material while preparing for the weekly quizzes and midterms. I recommend going to the SLC learning and the Organic Chem Tutor for help.

Although Professor Vojta is clearly well versed in mathematics, the lectures are simply not effective. To each their own, but had I not taken AP calc then I would not understand the class. On the plus side, exams have partial credit and there is a heavier curve since the rest of the class is also struggling. note: no cheat sheets :(

Professor Vojta is very knowledgable in his field, but forgets his students are not. His lectures were not very engaging, and felt like they were targeted towards students who took AP calc in highschool, despite this being an intro course. Self study and don't fall behind on the material--Organic Chemistry Tutor on YouTube will be your savior.

Everyone stopped going to lecture after the first week. He is very well respected in the community, but poor at teaching math. He practically recites the textbook word for word during lecture. His tests were not that hard, and you will do fine. Read the textbook and do practice problems before tests. He curves generously. GSIs are a huge help.

I attended each lecture, though most people skipped them after the first week, and I don't think I gained much by being there. He is an accomplished mathematician, but he lacks the ability to effectively communicate concepts or answer questions / provide clarification. The curve was incredibly generous -- probably the best thing about his class

horrible. just horrible.

His lectures are him writing transcripts of what he says on the board so his notes are literal paragraphs. His homework assignments are on average 30+ problems with multiple parts per week. He spend a lot of time covering proofs that are not necessary for Calc I. He is unaccommodating + his exams are too hard to be representative of course content.