2.4
Quality3.2
Difficulty30%
Would Retake249
Reviews30%
Would Retake
249
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
34
4
30
3
43
2
50
1
92
What Students Say
“Lectures are meandering and taught to the students as if we already understand the material”
COP3502 - 1.0 rating“Professor Dobbins does not explain things in a clear way”
COP3502 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
28%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.63 avg changeRatings by Course
CIS3203
5.0
(1)COS3022
5.0
(1)COP3503
5.0
(1)CGS2414
4.0
(6)COP5556
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CGS3360
4.0
COP3013
4.0
COS3022
4.0
CIS4930
4.0
COT3100
3.6
Reviews (249)
Be careful when taking his classes especially the CGS3360. He thinks too mathematically and is usually not very descriptive.
VERY HELPFUL
Never went to class, too boring.
Good lecturer but takes a lot of points in test! Be aware
Nice guy, tries hard, and willing to help students, but gives difficult projects which are poorly explained. Also heavily weights tests, which require you to WRITE OUT long, difficult programs.
I really liked this instructor. One os those, get out what ou put in classes. Very approachable and runs his class well.
knows the subject, but no idea how to teach a class.just because he knows it..dude we are here to learn. difficult tests!not even realizing that half of the class does not get the material and walks out on him during lecture. be aware, be afraid!!
Don't believe the bad reports. The dude knows his stuff and conveys it well.
He is the worst teacher we have ever had. Avoid taking a class with him at all costs. This message should be considered a public service announcement. Run...and run quickly.
Nice guy, tries hard, but his teaching methods are terrible. Maybe it's just me, but learning to program in Java in a lecture class just doesn't work. His tests are awful, not because they are hard, but because they are written in about 5 minutes.
To put it simply: You get what you put in. If you complain about the professor and slack off through the course, you'll do bad.Actually listening to Dobbins and practicing a little Java in your free time will get you a B at least.TAs could improve though.
Knows his stuff and does a good job teaching it. Does the best job he can trying to teach something in a lecture that really needs to be done in front of a computer. He is always late for class though (5-10 min). Tests are very fair and not too hard.
His tests are fair, but the idea of making the homeworks revolve around a single project is flawed. Practicing java requires solving problems of different/unrelated nature to gain a better perspective on the subject...
Worst teacher i ever had. All assignments and tests are extremely vague and you have to guess at what he wants. First test had a huge typo in it that screwed up the first half of the test. Third test arrived 20 minutes late for us. AVOID HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!
class is not so hard if you practice long enough. Good thing about tests are that there is a lot of partical credit. TAs do a good job, dobbins isnt very good at helping out with projects. Very generous on curve!!
His lectures are horrible. He's very boring and dull. But his classes and his tests are very easy. If you know how to study on your own with your book, you'll get a good grade. If you rely on his lectures, you'll be in trouble.
and Soft Eng. Dobbins comes in and doesnt look like he has a plan to teach His lectures basically suck but he does give easy tests/quizzes. He will try to help out of class if you dont understand
Good teacher, considering he has to use a lecture format. Tends to ramble, but is willing to help students who need it. Tests are easy if you actually do a little bit of studying and listen in class. Could do a better job in selecting his TA's though.
I just don't know what to say. It's unfortunate that you can have a fantastic CIS teacher in high school for C++, and then come to a prestigious university and find such trash behind the podium. I just wish the United States as a country would invest more money in the teaching profession...
I got an A out of Dobbins, but he's the worst prof I've ever had. The class was essentially divided into two strata: those like me who already knew the material and could do easily without needing to work hard, and those who needed to learn, but couldn't because Dobbins can't teach, and bombed.
Like others have said, Dobbins is a waste of time. If you know the material already, then you're fine.If you don't know it,you're screwed cuz he sits at the podium rambling. I know quite a bit about programming and he often had mistakes in his lectures. I didn't take a class next semester cuz of him
Worst CS teacher ever. Seriously, I hate this guy and he's a complete joke. Always late to lecture, does absolutely no work whatsoever, no idea what he is teaching (you cant lecture an intro java class). If you want to or are even thinking of majoring in CS you wont be after you take this class.
he doesnt teach****, he lectures about crap. just learn the stupid classes comparator, comaprable, learn your projects, you will learn something, analsysis & design, **** that
I came into the class not knowing anything about Java programming and I know just as much now as when I started. Unless you know all about Java before taking this class make friends or else you will be dropping the class. The way he talks in class makes you want to shoot yourself. I hate Dobman.
This class is so bad I got depressed. If you study on your own you will be fine (TA's help). Even thought this is an introductory class he expects you to be on top of everything - no slack. The lectures do not help at all in understanding the material, but let you know what's going on in the class.
He doesn't commit to helping his students learn the material. He also relies too heavily on his TA's to grade work and does not monitor their grading methods .
Like a lot of ppl already said, Dobbins does not know how to teach Java programming to the students who dont know****. whoever said this class was intro needs to get their head checked
OK, I thought he was a lackluster teacher for Programming 1 and 2. Now, I have no doubt that he's completely inadequate for teaching this class. Very easy, but I have learned ZERO and yet I'm probably going to get an A. We barely made it to Chap. 4 FCOL. take it with Dr.Banerjee--he's really great.
I think he is a good professor, the only complain I have about this class "software engineering" is that we waited one month and a half in the class without doing anything, at the end of the semester it got really busy because we had to catch up because of this waste of time.
Easy class but Dobbins tends to make it so boring. He lectures on and on about useless stuff and that at random times breaks off to talk about other random ideas. Tests are long and very detailed. Always show up late. I dont think many teachers are better, so take it with him. You will just have to really work for the A.
No Comments
Dobbins is the worst excuse for an instructor. He was horrible in class and would lecture on about useless crap and test on stuff he'd never even covered in class. The TA's are useless because they dont speak any English. One of the worst classes I've ever taken
Well..what Can I say? I enjoyed the lectures, and the tests were pretty easy. I needed an extra 50 minutes to sleep...his variable pitch, polyphonic voice does the job.
Quite possibly the worst teacher I have ever had. Avoid this man like the plague
Took two classes with him. I totally agree with the other comments. He made me doubt whether programming was right for me. I only showed up for lectures because that is my principle, but you really do not get anything out of it. Class is dead and material is hard to absorb and confusing. I managed good grades but still learned very little.
No Comments
I've had plenty of bad profs but this is the only one whom I've regarded as just downright stupid. Tests are easy but don't expect to learn much.
He uses as many words possible to say relatively simple things. You have to filter out what he says... it takes the TA 1 hour to explain 3 of his lectures.
It almost seems as it his lectures are from a script. Someone will ask a question, he will **** a response. 10 minutes later, you're more confused and your question is still unanswered. His online notes are unbelievably vague and his project specs are written like a riddle. They arent hard, but he words them so poorly, you dont know what to do.
Vague notes, vaguely written homework assignments and not very easy to follow his lectures but is very wordy when lecturing and answering questions.
changed my major because of this guy. the end.
Very ineffective at teaching. He just doesn't seem to have the charisma and teaching skills necessary to do the job. I ended up dropping the course and changing majors.
I think the comments here are really harsh. He's a slightly below-average teacher but he's not THAT BAD. I have no Java experience (although I do have programming experience) and the class is not that hard for me. The class is boring but better if you can bring in a laptop to practice programming or whatever while there. Take good notes.
I had professor dobbins this last semester and he did not see that bad at first. What I ended up doing was using this really great java for beginners website which helped explained things like recursion, classes, and 2D arrays which is the most difficult part of the class
Dobbins isn't a horrible teacher. He tends to overexplain what doesn't need a lot of explaining, and fly over complicated material that he expects you to know. Things got really complicated at the end of 3022 and you're expected to bring that knowledge with you to 3023. Go to discussion because the TA's are helpful, and you get bonus points for it.
Good lecturer, helpful at explaining things. I didn't have any problem understanding him until the end of the course, with private and public properties. You definitely want to attend all the discussions, though. The class seemed overwhelming in the first week, but then it became my easiest.
For CIS3022 he was not a great lecturer and typically over complicated the topics when discussing them. For cis3023 I've found his lectures to be a lot better, though still a little unclear at times. He is a really nice guy, and if you talk to him outside of class, he answers questions better.
Class was easy for 3022 and 3023. The tests compose a good portion of your grade, so they're really helpful. Other students complain about this class because they can't manage their time when creating the projects, and they end up waiting until the last minute. 10 points of bonus per test. Dobbins is funny and usually understandable.
When you ask him a question, he tells you the answer again but louder....His tests were fairly easy, but his lectures border on ridiculous some days. Towards the end of the course i couldnt even pay attention to him anymore because he talked about random metaphors that didnt make sense. It almost seems like he is Trying to overcomplicate it.
Dobbins is one of the worste teachers at UF. He is responsible for many students despising programming because he teaches it so poorly. His classes are easy to get good grades in, but he won't teach you a thing. He'll just babble and tell horrible jokes.
This guy is terrible. He doesn't go over nearly what he needs to in class in order to do the projects. The projects get too hard at the end. I eventually dropped the class before it got too bad...oh yeah...and the TA's are foreign so they barely speak and English and are of no help at ALL!!! I changed my Major because of this class, BEWARE!
A very good teacher. In CIS 3022, he really wants everyone to succeed and be interested in java so the tests aren't too hard and are very similar to the practice test and the discussion sessions. The class is easy in the beginning but gets a little hard towards the end if you have never programmed before.
Pete is a nice guy who explains things very clearly and precisely. However, he WILL go off on tangents during lectures. Some people don't go to class and do fine. I wasn't one of them. Pete was the first guy who taught me how to program.
he's young and tries to relate to us but the metaphors are too much, hard to pay attention to. However I would take his other courses because he tries hard and I have learned a lot.
Both lectures and projects are excessively boring, redundant, and unclear. Helpful and nice guy, but just not up to the job. If you don't know the material already or don't have friends that do, you will have a hard time.
CIS 3022 & CIS 3023 It gets harder as the class progress but it is doable. I don't know what some people is talking about, I guess is the lazy people.
Great Lecturer. He gives numerous examples and his projects are fun and great ways to learn the material. Very willing to help students inside and outside of class.
He really does know his stuff. In his class you get out what you put in. He may be somewhat hard to understand at times but just starting early on projects and seeing him in his office hours makes it an easy A. Don't believe the bad reviews. They obviously didn't go to lectures.
He repeats himself about 30x per lecture, but the tests and projects are easy. Also, you can learn everything just by going to discussion and asking the T.A.'s. Easy class, pretty good professor.
I had him for CIS 3022, 3023, & COT 3100. I'll take him for Intro to Soft Eng as well. He's a great guy, & a wonderful teacher. I had no prior programming experience. The class had no required textbook so I got all of my information from lecture notes that I took in class. I worked diligently on the projects & tests and got A's in 3022 & 3023.
I had him for CIS3022 and 3023. Personally, I really enjoyed his classes. A couple time consuming projects, but most of them weren't bad. May not be the best teacher, but definitely one I'd try to get classes with rather than take my chances with someone I don't know.
This class was particularly easy but his Java students struggle a bit at first. It takes a while to get used to him but the class is fair.
Not an amazing lecturer, but not bad either. He's extremely helpful in office hours and a cool guy all around. Give yourself ample time to work on the projects (This is programming, folks, it takes time) and you'll do fine.
Taking this class with no prior programming experience was a mistake. Dobbins makes abstruse analogies during lectures and his TAs are very difficult to understand (and they can't understand you either!). Overall, the lectures are boring. I recommend going to his office hours.
It is a crime to say Dobbins is a bad teacher. He is one of the best instructors at the CIS Department. He projects very clear and knows his stuff. In my opinion, those who hate him are the ones that got the bad grade they deserved. There's a lot of programmers-wanna be, but be careful, this is not for everybody. Excellent professor though!
I had no prior programming knowledge going into this class. At first, his teaching seemed a big overwhelming. Actually, his practice tests are almost identical to the real tests, so I suggest you study those. Discussion helps A LOT. I made a mediocre effort and earned a 'B' for the semester. PS, second test is hardest. I suggest you take the third.
Dobbins is nice guy and really helpful in office hours, but I found his lectures to obtuse and hard to follow. You'll get the most of this class by doing the projects, discussion problems (Go to discussion! It really helps and counts towards your grade!), and practice tests. Overall challenging and time consuming, yet very interesting and engaging.
He's not horrible, but not great either. He knows his material, just does not know how to convey it to students with no program experience. Doing projects help the most for exams. Go to TA office hrs, they help A LOT! If you don't do the projects, it will bite you in the end. Exam are fair and a lot of partial credit...2nd exam was ridiculous.
Dobbins is a great teacher! One of the better teachers in the CISE department! The tests aren't hard if you study practice/past tests and understand the discussion practices. There is also A LOT of partial credit given on the tests. I wish I could have had him for CIS3023.
He was a decent professor. His notes from class were useful, but his ability to convey the information to students was not great, and it took a learning curve to understand the notes from class. The TAs in the discussions were really helpful and clarified nearly everything I didn't understand in class. All in all, a good intro to programming
Professor Dobbins has a fun personality but rarely shows it in class. This is a difficult class, and you MUST do the homework. The assignments are assigned it seems a week early, without much information given. Go to TA office hours, GET TONY, he is awesome. The class is difficult, but managable.
Dobbins is a good teacher. However, I wish he could have conveyed information better to help those with no prior programming experience. He talks loud, pronounces his consonants to the max, and sometimes stares at the class for questions rather than asking for them. If you need help, go to the TA, Tony! He's awesome and knows his stuff really well.
This class is very time consuming class, because it's beginning of class for the programming. His first test is easy, and second test is hardest. To be success this course, you need to meet TA alot, and need to study after every class. Not very easy class.
This class is basically for learning how to work in a group. You'll be assigned to a group of 8-10 to work on an open sourced program for the entire semester. Relatively easy, but there is a lot of tedious work involved.
Great teacher. I thoroughly enjoyed his class. I had little to no programming knowledge before taking his class, and I can say I learned a great wealth of knowledge. Just make sure to do the discussion questions he assigns a week in advance, and you'll be fine. Also, make sure to pay attention during his lectures. Laptop in class is a big help
Lectures are practically pointless. Follow his online lecture notes and let the TA's explain things during discussion periods. I made A's on all the Exams and was on Reddit all semester..
He is poor in teaching and explaining things in lecture. I got A's on all exams, but he still gave me an A-.
Definitely the easiest class ever. Attendence is not necessary. I did not go to a single lecture, and the discussion sections were more than enough to learn the material. You seriously aren't into Computer Science if you score less than an A. So much extra credit on tests and drops with an optional final exemption.
He is a good professor, he explains everything well and gives good examples. The discussions were not hard
Class was very easy, but he uses way too many analogies. All the comments say the TA's are awesome, but it depends on the year; mine were terrible. The pace is ridiculously slow, I ended up reading the textbook ahead of the class because I got bored of lectures. If you have prior prog. exp. bring something to lecture to entertain yourself.
Pete is very friendly and sincere but he's not a good teacher. He talks fast, often makes confusing analogies (sometimes his analogies are very helpful, but mostly they are not), and goes off on tangents about material that isn't part of the class. However, his tests and quizzes aren't too bad, if you have a good TA. Lia is fantastic!
Pete Dobbins is a nice guy but a bad teacher. He goes out of his way to use confusing wordage, and makes simple concepts overly confusing. The TA's are hit or miss, mine was absolutely terrible. If you are new to code, do not take this class lightly because you will fail.
If this class was relived in Star Wars, Pete would be the wookie cuz while your programmer peers might understand, if you have no programming experience, you are screwed. This man uses so many analogies, your head will spin. Simply put, do not take this class unless you are ok with understanding chinese movies without subtitles.
Pete is way too chipper. He's okay. Don't buy the BlueJ textbook. Attendance is not mandatory. Grade in COP3502 depends on TA anyway.
Pete was a great teacher. He talks quickly but is very clear with what he's saying. He makes things easy to understand. Quizzes/exams are all very fair and quite easy. Homework was all easy and very fair. Grades were always fair and reasonable. Class was overall enjoyable.
Pete is a grade teacher and one of the best in the computer science department here.
Pete was a good teacher but he was lousy at explaining things. Honestly, I would suggest to take Pete but you'd have to learn the concepts on your own. Your grade is determined by the quizzes and the exams and the homework. Take him but be prepared to do work.
Pete was a great teacher! He actually did coding in class to show you what he was talking about. Subject material was easy and so were tests. 10/10 Hope he teaches more CISE classes so I can take them.
PETE IS THE MAN
From my experience, Peter is by far one of the best professor in CISE. He explained thing clearly. MOst importantly, he doesn't just talk, he showed you what he was talking about in class. That to me make understanding programming a lot easier.
He makes the class very easy and is very supportive to those students who struggle. However, you are extremely ill prepared for a future in computer science if you assume this man is the norm or that this is the level of difficulty you'll face in software engineering or development. I wish he would scrap the pointless work in BlueJ!!
One of the better cise department professors at UF, instructions are always super clear and exams are straightforward.
Pete was the shining light of the classroom. Once he started talking databases everyone was stuck in awe admiring his profound knowledge on the subject. He is definitely one of the best CISE teachers in the department and if you need help he is super easy to reach. He constantly reminds you of his office hours if you have any questions, I love him
Lectures are complete nonsense. HW makes no sense at all and there is no real project in the class. Complete waste of time in going to lectures as they lack organization and content. Many students probably like him because he is easy but, you won't really learn as much taking aa course with him.
Dobbins is a really nice guy and accessible during office hours. He is always happy to explain concepts and homework problems you have trouble with. His TAs were HORRIBLE at getting quiz grades back quickly (he recognized that he didn't ask for enough TA help- shouldn't be a problem for future classes). Study the textbook and the quizzes are doable
He seems to care a lot. There are few grades to contribute to your overall grade so its scary if you bomb one quiz but its okay because he drops a quiz anyways. He's pretty loud too so it can be annoying but overall he's a pretty good prof.
Dobbin is definitely one of the good professors in the computer science department here. He is nice and very helpful. The only drawback is that he can really over-complicate the chapter sections sometimes.
Fairly easy class, 2 exams, 5 quizzes(lowest dropped), no homework. I only studied the day before exams and quizzes and did well on them. As long as you do the practice exercises on the book, you will do well in this class. He is nice, but his lectures are kinda boring.
Professor Dobbins was not very good at explaining the topics. I was confused the majority of the semester, so I was struggling in this course. The TAs weren't any better. I did like that the lowest quiz was dropped and 5 points extra credit was offered along with extra credit on many of the quizzes and exams.
I know it's only been two weeks, but this class has been a nightmare. His lectures are extremely confusing and he doesn't teach from the book or provide any notes or resources, making it challenging to teach myself. He goes off on weird analogies about Arctic ecology and convoluted tangents that eventually muddy any point he was trying to make.
I am so lost in this class right now that I do not even know the right questions to ask! I took this class last semester & that Prof started small & built his way up. I feel as if this Prof is on shuffle skipping around complex topics before he's even explained the basics of Java. Def not a good class for someone with barely any coding experience
This class is poorly structured and extremely hard to access without previous programming experience. Lectures are meandering and taught to the students as if we already understand the material. The textbook isn't referenced so it is incredibly difficult to find resources to learn from, and the grading fell far behind.
Professor Dobbins does not explain things in a clear way. Very minimal access to course materials. For example, were given problems to practice for our quizzes yet were never given the solutions to those problems so you have to try your best and just hope you did it right. The most disorganized class I have ever taken, would not recommend him.
Had him for Programming Language Principles. He cared deeply about the subject and made it interesting. Projects were very tough but were good at learning the material and were well planned out and fair. He definately cares about his work and students more than most professors I've had. would definitely recommend!
This has been the worse class I have taken at UF. The class is so unorganized and unclear that it is hard to learn anything when you do not even know what they are asking you to do.
Prof. Dobbins was overall a pretty good professor and has a lot of potential, BUT: Course is not well organized, presentations need a lot of improvement, Exams are entirely computational and not conceptual (normally a good thing but... not here), syllabus and assignments are very poorly named and laid out.
Pete's alright, but the focus of the class was odd - why have us use a BlueJ-related textbook if you're going to drop that specific program a few weeks in?
If I hadn't coded before, I would've been lost. Doesn't follow syllabus nor lecture notes. He is clearly knowledgeable, but not good at teaching for beginners. Very disorganized in lecture (useless!) and online. Just do the practice problems and get an A. The textbook is helpful, but no one reads. The TAs are lost bc of miscommunications.
Taking Databases with Dobbins changed my perspective on what field of study I wanted to pursue with computer science. I never thought that I would like handling data, but the way he teaches and his ability to help students right after lecture was a real godsend. He structures things to be just hard enough to make sure you learn, without killing gpa
Had dr. Dobbins for discrete and databases, and he was alright. His class was pretty easy. I dont understand why so many people complain about him. His not the best professor, but definitely not the worst either.
Compared to my previous programming professors, hes a major improvement. But the class is disorganized and theres too much emphasis on attending virtual office hours to get information you need. Grades slowly trickle in weeks and even months later than expected. Assignments and quizzes are close to what youll find on the exam.
I was in COP3502 for spring 2019 and I don't see why there is so much bashing against Dr. Dobbins. Sure, his lectures were kind of a drag and disorganized, but they weren't mandatory. You could get by using the notes he posted on the course website and going to office hours with him and the TAs. Grading was pretty easy with +2% EC. I recommend him.
Really bad. Don't expect any grades until 4 years after you've graduated.
Had Prof. Dobbins for "Discrete Structures" and for "Information and Database Systems." He was very passionate, and easy to reach. Sometimes his lectures could lose focus, but overall were informative. Class attendance is optional.
I took this professor for COP3502 which was quite a bit more messy than COT3100, so I'm writing another review because COT3100 has been a much more positive experience. While his lectures are often unnecessarily complicated, the textbook and homeworks can be used to learn, and the discussions and exam reviews really prepare for the exams.
I had Dobbins for Discrete Structures. His lectures in class were a bit hard to understand. Though I personally did not attend class often, I read the textbook and studied the powerpoints receiving over 100% (A). In class he only summarizes the powerpoints he creates, and his class is disorganized. I wish he went over hw problems in class more...
The material is difficult but the professor is not. If you do all the practice problems in the book, you'll be fine.
I had Professor Dobbins for COT3100 and I really enjoyed his class. I think his lectures are supplemental to the textbook and I recommend reading the textbook alongside the lectures.
it was a flipped classroom in a class of several hundred students which is just foolhardy at best I stopped going to lectures and read the textbook instead which is what I recommend if it's still a flipped classroom; lectures were a waste of time
Dobbins is a pretty good prof, he is clearly very knowledgeable. His lectures are semi-useful. Best way to get better is to do all the extra assignments he gives/textbook problems/practice exams. Dobbins clearly cares and will try to help you in office hours.
Dobbins is the man! This class was honestly a great balance of being informative and fair, and I never really felt stressed due to the way he and the TAs worked the projects. We were given test cases to test our projects, and checkpoints where we could see how our project would be graded beforehand so we could fix it. Cool course material too!
Professor Dobbins gave clear explanations, but his lectures were extraordinarily slow. During one of his lectures, he gave announcements for 40 minutes. I ended up just watching the lecture recording afterward at double speed.
Homework and Online quizzes were due weekly and very easy - unlimited trys. Lectures were almost worthless - pre-lecture videos were the actual content, actual lecture was unreadable and went over questions that hardly pertained to class. Exams were graded leniently
When I took Dr. Dobbins for CIS4930 Natural Language Processing, he was possibly one of the worst professors I have encountered at UF. Dr. Dobbins himself cannot complete the assignments assigned to the class as he cannot answer basic questions about them. There is no clear grading criteria, you kind of have to guess what the grader wants. Avoid.
You can learn everything in this class by going through the free nltk book yourself in a couple weeks. The hw specifications are generally poorly written, and exam q's have included regurgitating part of the nltk api and memorizing regexes. I like dobbins as a lecturer and person, but take him for discrete/plc, both are better than this course
Dobbins was stubborn and unprofessional in his NLP course. The spec sheets for assignments were extremely unclear and Dobbins was unwilling to improve them and take any feedback. The exams were disorganized and a technical nightmare which he acknowledges but refuses to take action on. On teams chat, questions were ignored & responses were unclear.
As I type this, a a spec for a homework is being changed about 6hrs before the due date. Every specification has been either extremely vague or poorly written. Grading is often unclear. While an interesting subject, I regret taking this course :(
Dobbins seemed like he was yelling a lot of the time. We were in Carleton, but he had a mic on so this wasn't necessary. I personally really didn't like his teaching style. It was a flipped classroom, which was another negative for me but others may like this. Overall discrete is pretty hit-or-miss in my experience.
Professor Dobbins cannot lecture if his life depended on it. I stopped attending lectures and started to understand the material better. He cares about his students and is very organized, but I would recommend against taking any of his courses if possible because you will end up teaching yourself if you want to pass. Not difficult, but inconvenient
Dobbins is one of those teachers that is boring. Personally, I didn't learn too much from his class and instead depended on the book for learning. His class isn't hard at all and most students tend to pass with a decent grade. Overall, I took this class because it was needed but I would prefer a professor that teaches better
His tests are hard and material makes no sense.
Useless lectures, material is made to confuse you, and way too much homework
Hands down the worst professor I have ever had. Useless lectures, confusing material, doesn't care about students learning. I could go on and on and on. Do NOT take classes with Peter Dobbins you will in fact have weekly breakdowns
Worst professor I've ever had! Most students are confused and overwhelmed by the material
this class is 2x harder than phy2048 if you want a good comparison. exams are harshly graded and not based on stuff we learn
THE BEST! Top quality teacher. You don't find teachers like Dobbins at UF. He is just top quality. Treats you like a friend and makes the class super easy with his grading schemes and teaching pattern.
I'm crying again
Awful teaching. Lectures are useless and he spends most of his time talking about something else rather than the course material. Also makes things so difficult for students. No point in going to campus to take exam if it’s going to be on our laptop anyways
Dobbins is the only professor I have had at UF that doesn't even do the bare minimum when teaching. All he does is poorly explain practice problems (working out the math in Microsoft word). The TAs carry this course and the exams are ridiculous.
Very early on you'll likely realize that there is no point in attending lectures, in person or virtually. Watch the pre-lecture videos, read the textbook, search on youtube and stack overflow. Dobbins' lectures are useless for learning. Discussion sessions are more likely to be helpful, if your TA is good. Exams are most of your grade.
Imagine a bee gets in your ear - you can't tell what it's doing, you just hear a noise and know you're going to get stung. That's this class. Dobbins is a nice guy and will help you out if you ask, but this is admittedly a tough class, and the lectures make absolutely no sense. Be prepared to work long hours and neglect all else for this class.
All the resources offered in this course combined were probably 2% of all the material I had to review to barely pass. I relied on youtube and stack overflow for a vast majority of this course. Watching youtube videos and then attending lecture was like taking a step forward and 2 steps back. Don't go to lecture, don't take Dobbins
Dobbins is the type of god you fear rather than love. The 8 people who actually show up to lecture are called Doblins (Dobbins + goblins). I named my homemade brew after him (Dobbins juice). You need the Dobbins juice to cope with the Microsoft Word lectures. If it wasn't for Dobbins, I wouldn't know how terrible lectures could be.
Dobbins' lectures make little to no sense. There are pre-recorded lectures for the main content of the class and in-person lectures for exercises. I stopped going to the in-person lectures and the pre-recorded lectures never stopped being confusing. I got an A only because I put in a ton of hours googling and figuring everything out on my own.
Dobbins is a nerdy, good guy. He is very passionate but you have to study for this class. Learning this material is not easy and you got to set time for yourself to study and learn the material. This is not a class to procrastinate (unless you are a god at logic and proofs). If you are taking this class and Prog2 DONT PROCRASTINATE
This class destroyed my mental health. The exams are really hard and worth most of your grade.
worst lectures and the exams are stupid hard. When the class was fully online people 100% cheated their way through but with us who had exams in person, we were absolutely miserable. You know the class is bad when everyone's encouraged to do course evaluations to get 1% added to our final grade because anything will benefit us at this rate.
The class is entirely proofs and logic-based math. Many things are common sense but others are barely explained properly. Lectures, as you can tell by every other review, are utterly useless. Dobbins speaks like he's trying to teach an alien English. Tests make up a huge majority of the grade. Easy to pass but hard for an A. Class sucks.
I liked Dobbins in previous class but this class is ridiculously hard. The material is very challenging and the grading isn't clear because you're not given all the test cases. When you go to OH with him, all questions are answered with a riddle. Take with a very little class load. Says 3 credit hrs, feels like 9 credit hrs.
He was... Rather bad. Generally avoid him, take Resch or just wait for Resch. The professor grades on participation, homework, and tests - And those tests are difficult. Very difficult and not based on his lectures.
Dobbins was overall a really good professor. He was extremely caring and does what he can to make the average for the course relatively high. There are quite a few exams, but the exams are fair and go over the content discussed in pre-lecture videos. His main lectures can be confusing but are supplemental. Very organized class. Great experience.
Dobbins was alright. The test are not the hardest thing in the world either, if you do the reviews he post you will be fine. The class lectures are not that helpful, the most helpful ones are the pre-recorded videos and youtube (TrevTutor & Kimberly Brehm). You do not need to do the lecture problems at all, they take too much time, just hw.
Professor is very knowledgeable about the material and wants students to succeed. Altered the way material was presented based on student feedback, making it easier to follow along. All presentations and class notes were uploaded to study from, and exam reviews are made from previous exams.
Professor Dumbbins is the worst lecturer I've had at UF. Somehow, he managed to turn an interesting class into a boring and repetitive topic. Don't take him if you prioritize learning!
dobbins seemed like a nice prof but he did tend to complicate generally simply info, which was a bit frustrating for the 3 quizzes we had and the lectures were not necessary overall for the class. The main thing was a project which I overall found to be very enjoyable and well-structured (better to work with a partner and start the work in advance)
Class had a lot of exams, but all are very easy if you either study hard or just read the book. His lectures are extra credit if you go to them all, but just joining the zoom and doing other work fine. Lectures themselves aren't helpful since he doesn't really breakdown anything into normal people language, just watch youtube videos instead.
Dobbins is admittedly a nice person, but his lectures are difficult to follow and rather useless. He spends lots of time talking about things unrelated to the course material, which itself is already hard to understand. You're better off skipping lecture and relying on videos. Fortunately the tests were easier than the convoluted homework.
Dobbins is a very knowledgeable professor but he makes this class extremely boring.The lectures(which are a extra credit grade) are useless and consist of him rambling on some random stuff most of the time. The exams arent necessarily hard just require a lot of studying so don't take him with an already heavy course load. If you can take other prof
Don't attend lectures for this class. I attended all lectures in person (I'm a Doblin), and only paid half attention because his lectures actively made me understand the material less sometimes. The course content itself isn't inherently difficult, but his explanations are so confusing that the course seems very hard. The tests were fair though.
Class itself is not hard, had four exams but if you just either read the book or study well they are extremely easy. Dobbins lectures are him speaking like he is trying to meet a word count for an essay, but logging into the zoom earns you extra credit. TA's are awesome and crucial to success. Kimberly Brehm on YouTube is key, you are welcome.
Professor Dobbins is very smart but his lectures were almost always confusing and I struggled to grasp the concepts. Thankfully, this class is easy to pass with high marks thanks to the TAs and Kimberly Brehm's Discrete Mathematics playlist on YouTube. Physical attendance was not mandatory; you only needed to join his Zoom meeting for credit.
Professor Dobbins was one of the best teachers I've had at UF. Very clear grading rubric, but to be honest, his in-person lectures are not very helpful. However, this is massively made up by his great pre-lectures that cover everything. Just go over your notes from pre-lecture and do the practice exams and you'll be fine.
Dobbins lectures aren't particularly good. I learned the entire course through the textbook and youtube videos. With that being said, the homework is easy and the exams are relatively fair. As long as you study a decent amount the class isn't too bad.
Lecture attendance is mandatory. Lectures are confusing, handwriting is messy, and don't teach all content thats on the exams, so read textbook if you want to be prepared for them. most of grade is from 4 exams and attendance.
Dobbins has great material to use for the class (lecture videos and the text book). His lectures however were confusing and hard to follow along. My recommendation would be to watch the lecture videos, do the RE and the HWs, and go to office hours. Attendance was mandatory but was recorded through zoom so there was no need to go in person.
Dobbins was one of the worst profs I have ever had. Class is very exam heavy, but he doesn't tell you the layout of exams or give practice exams, just review questions which typically do not help. On top of that, he is not a strong lecturer, so I found myself turning to Kimberly Brehm on Youtube to teach me everything. Take a dif prof in a dif sem
DSA with Prof. Dobbins was one of my better experiences in CISE. The key to success in his class is taking good notes of his lectures + pre-lectures (which are both recorded) so you can make a good reference sheet for his exams, which often have extra credit. HW and readings never take more than an hour max. Would take Dobbins again in a heartbeat
He is a terrible lecturer, but likeable otherwise (he's nice but can't teach). Look at the powerpoints because there are things mentioned there and not in the book. Watch Kimberly Brehm's videos. Attend discussion and the test review by the TAs. IMO tests weren't that bad. Attendance isn't mandatory, but it will give you extra credit!
Lectures were really good bedtime stories. I legitimately fell asleep every single lecture I went to, and it might not be his fault because the content just feels so boring and useless. Sometimes the more he explained the more confused I got. I would say the class's content isn't exactly "hard," it's just weird and strangely structured.
The class is somewhat unorganized but you will learn a lot that will help you in future CS courses. Exams are tough, but practice exams are usually tougher. Not a class you can slack off in, but simply doing your work is enough to make you pass.
DONT TAKE THIS CLASS,very disorganized test heavy,70% of grade was exams which there were no previous exams to study. Also, no clue how the exam was formatted, he was trying to be mysterious or something.Lectures are pretty much useless,uses flipped format for teaching.The lessons don't reflect the level of difficulty, he doesn't go over examples.
- Class is extremely unorganized - Lectures are useless - Your grade hinges on exams
Dobbins's COT3100 class is highly challenging due to disorganization. Confusing and overly long lectures, absent professor, and minimal exam prep make it frustrating. Lack of a course calendar and practice exams adds to the difficulty. Resorting to YouTube or online resources for clarity is common. Would not take this class with Dobbins again.
Terribly disorganized class. Exams are 70% of your grade (of which is locked so you're unable to tell what you have in the class until the end of the semester), and next to no preparation is provided. Lectures are ultimately useless as well, and examples for problems are practically unexplained, forcing you to work backwards from the answer.
Took him last year, and he is a good guy but isn't the best for lectures. He sometimes went off topic and wouldn't focus on having a clear explanation. I understood alot more from self teaching. BUT he was super good during his OH cuz no one attended them. His exams are alright, not that difficult is you clearly know the information.
His lectures were hard for me to follow and understand. He talks very fast, has messy, unorganized handwriting, and gets off-topic sometimes. Concepts were hard and took a lot of practicing to truly understand it. Exams have written portions and more complexity than just multiple choice. I got really bad exam grades but still ended with a B though.
Class is disorganized. Professor is not accessible outside of classroom. Office Hours accessibility is just as tight. Dr. Dobbins speaks in run on sentences with few pauses. Difficult to understand and follow. Instructions intentionally very vague. Vagueness is not a problem if adequate help can be received. However, that is not the case.
Lectures are disorganized and unhelpful, with sloppy/unclear work. You are not adequately prepared for exams at all. Lectures don't help and the study materials do not prepare you well at all. I learned the whole course through youtube.
Very disorganized lectures that are difficult to follow. His handwriting is terrible as others have mentioned. Homework and lecture problems are not good preparation for the exams. I did well, but taught myself pretty much everything through youtube and the textbook.
* Unorganized course * tests two weeks apart * Pre-Lectures are more useful than actual lectures * Programming 2 with this class can be very difficult, due dates for prog almost ALWAYS overlapped with tests. * Study guide for each test (w/ answer key)
Everyone complaining probably waited last minute and didn't bother looking at the linked textbook once. Dobbins taught this class clearly and is an awesome guy, at the end of lectures he sometimes talks about his dog or daughter like a friend to a friend. Follow the linked textbook sections, watch lectures for the specifics and you'll be just fine.
The lectures are good. Quizzes are kinda annoying. The programming project can take a while but if you start early you should be fine. I just wish the lectures had a bit more connection to the programming project.
Honestly, Peter Dobbins is incredibly knowledgeable about Discrete Mathematics, but he's not a good professor. The grading criteria was unclear without knowing my grade the entire semester, not have enough resources to study adequately for the exams, and the lectures provided are usually not the best for learning the material. I wouldn't bother.
The class is very hard to study for, i felt like i knew the content good and still was unprepared for every exam (no previous ones to view). He also never responded to my email about seeing my exam answers and waited until the last day to release exam 4(so that no one could dispute...). If you're good at discrete he's fine but i lost my 4.0 here
The project, divided into several parts, is the bulk of your work for this class, and until you don't wait until the last minute to start working on it, you should be fine. Sometimes, the lectures aren't super helpful for the programming project, but still useful for the quizzes, which are not much to worry about.
Professor Dobbins is incredibly knowledgeable about the subject, but he is not a good professor. Honestly, none of us knew our grades in the class until quite literally the last day to turn grades in. The TAs were lost too. Barely any prep for the exams. The homeworks did not help at all. The only thing that helped was Kim Brehm on YT. beware!!
He yaps so hard idek what is relevant
Professor Dobbins is knowledgeable, but his teaching style can be a struggle. Lectures are disorganized, and exams are not well-aligned with course materials. The textbook and resources like unstuckstudy were more helpful for me than the lectures.
His lectures can be disorganized and confusing, often veering off into tangents. The slides are cluttered with content that ultimately doesn't matter much, as most of the grade in the class depends on a semester-long project. As a result, I found it more beneficial to focus on the project than to attend lectures.
Ask him a question? He will tell you to see you in office hours.
Dobbins knows Discrete really well but is a bad teacher. He assigns pre-lecture videos which are just him reading slides where he does examples in lectures. The only issue is that he rants and gets sidetracked really easily. Unfortunately, this class is required for most computer science-based majors. Check out other resources like YouTube.
I had no idea what Professor Dobbins was talking about most of the class. I am sure he is incredibly knowledgeable however he rambles a lot during lectures and does not convey ideas in an easily understandable way. The exams are incredibly easy but if I had him for a more difficult class I'm sure I would have been tearing my hair out.
The main issue was that the lectures did not prepare students for exams at all. Some questions on the study guide couldnt be answered by most ta's in office hours when I took the class. Most people also did really bad on the exams.
He is a nice guy, but he is one of the worst teachers I've had in my lifetime. I cannot learn because of his teaching methods, I have tried to attend every lecture, but there isn't any point because he's just ranting about random stuff and gets sidetracked that barely has any relevance for the class.
Dobbins leaves the class "as an exercise to the reader". In a class on logic, I could never imagine how illogical his explanations are. If you take him or not, you will not learn from him! The content of this class is super cool, it is simply tragic that a teacher will not teach. He is comparable to a couch which cannot be sat on.
I believe that there are worst professors out there, but he really doesn't help himself. You can actually learn from his pre-recorded lectures and the textbook, but his actual lectures are a waste of time only worth for participation credit. He constantly goes off on a tangent, and the solving one single problem will take forever
This class is entirely self taught. Dobbins knows what he is talking about, but has some of the worst teaching ever so you will only be reading from textbook and watching youtube videos. Exams are also 70% of your grade.
Get ready to attend YouTube university with this class. Like honestly, not a single soul actually learns enough from lectures alone to prepare us enough for the exams that's worth 70% of our grade. I like Peter, but this class can't be like this.
This is one of the worst professors in the CISE department. His lectures are messy and unorganized. Be prepared to use outside resources for the bulk of your teaching. I have no idea how he talks so much but says so little simultaneously. Please take in the fall when it's a different teacher. There should not be 4 exams with them being 70% of grade
No clue what he saying during lectures and I'm not sure if he knows what he's saying either. Goes off on random tangents that don't relate. Get ready to teach yourself. Take a different professor, way better grading scheme and lectures (70% homework and 30% tests with others vs. 70% tests and 30% homework with Dobbins)
He's a nice guy, but he can not teach to save his life. The issue isn't the fact that he does not know the material (he knows it very well), but he is simply bad at the art of teaching. Because of this, most of the students including myself use Youtube and textbook practice problems to learn the content for the exams. Exams are very difficult.
I have an A (so far) by fighting demons every day. Or at least that's how this class feels. Unfortunately dobbins is a great funny guy who is passionate at teaching and tries so hard but the way the course is structured with 70% of exam makes getting an A impossible but passing easily. His lectures are also messy to follow and you will be confused.
I'm sorry, I'm sure he is a great guy privately but he shouldn't be in academia, he is BAD. Not even worth writing a detailed review, he just doesn't care to change. Avoid him at all costs, he makes everything harder for no reason when the material is not that bad. He is knowledgeable but he is not fit for a lecturer. Course structure horrible too
Practice exams and most other class materials are unrelated to the real exams, which are difficult and cover material never discussed in class (they're worth 70% btw). You're better off just reading the textbook and doing the problems in it. Lectures (both pre-recorded and Zoom) are unhelpful, and exam review and discussion sessions are a joke.
Prof Dobbins is nice but his teaching style wasn't really my favorite. His lectures are really confusing, but maybe watch them because he will sneak a topic from his lecture that's not in the textbook onto the exam. I learned most from Kimberly Brehm on yt and the discussion sections. Shout out my tas Carson and Mohammed they are my goats!!
bad grading. bad ta. bad exam criteria. I lost 4.0 here
The entire class is self taught as Dobbins lectures are extremely confusing and hard to understand. Would recommend Kimberley Brehm on YouTube and then going into textbook and reading over it to see anything she did not cover in videos. Be ready to read and learn pretty everything by yourself. Class content is not too hard, but can be confusing.
Textbook bad professor. Exams are nothing like the practice given. Lecture is required, but you're better off feeding squirrels and then putting in the code for attendance that he gives at the last second of every lecture. Nice guy, but him and teaching are about as compatible as Donald Trump and following the rule of law. Take COT3100 OTS.
This professor might as well not exist and your class experience would be the exact same. There is no point in attending his Zoom lectures, and his pre-lecture videos are barely helpful either. If the class wasn't so easy, this would be a weed-out course. Take it in the fall with the easier professor.
Lectures go off topic easily. Not much practice for exams. Take with someone else.
HORRIBLE lecturer. Lectures are disorganized and go off-topic. Pre-lecture videos are unhelpful. Exams are worth 70% and rarely reflect practice problems or what's covered in class. You'll be teaching yourself through the textbook and YouTube. Nice guy, but not effective at teaching. Take a different professor if possible.
He does a reverse lectures which just led to every student not paying attention to him and cramming all the actual material before the exam. He's not the worst and I'd learn on the few occasions where he'd lecture but I'd avoid taking him for this class if possible. Kimberly Brehm will be your go-to if you have Dobbins
Has very very poor grading structure, poor exam structure, and lectures serve little to no purpose nor is the material helpful for his exams which account for 70% of the grade.
It's a flipped class, be expected to learn a lot on your own, either with Kimberly Brehm on yt or through the textbook. He is passionate and well meaning, but the lectures weren't super helpful, though his recorded pre lectures weren't bad. He gets too much hate imo, the class really wasn't that hard. Tests were fair. A is definitely achievable.
Very passionate professor and clearly knows a lot about discrete math and its applications in computer science. However, be prepared to learn stuff outside of class because he will teach some things in a confusing way.
The class itself is easy Dobbins makes it harder then it really needs to be. Lectures can make u more confused I prefer using outside resources. Befriend TA as they usually teach better compared to Dobbins. Exams are not hard but just don't overthink cause 70% exams hurts. I will say to avoid taking with dobbins if possible.
Dobbins is so knowledgeable but he explains this class like we know everything. The class itself is easy. Attend lectures and discussion as some information that is not in textbook is tested. Watch pre lecture and watch videos online. Don't fail exams or. getting A will be difficult (70% exam)
Dobbins, Dobbins, Dobbins. This course was 100% useless to me as a math major, with all of the information taught in it already covered in MHF3202. His lectures were useless, the tests felt like they were never even proofread much less proof-taken. He thought he was teaching a "math class" but he did not have the pedagogical skills to do so.
He was honestly really bad. I think this class is designed to make getting an A nearly impossible, but as long as you lock yourself in the library for the 3 days leading up to the exam and spend them eating, drinking, and breathing discrete math, you'll probably end up with a B or B-.
The flipped classroom made lectures useless. I had to self-learn everything through the reading exercises, homework, and YouTube. No idea what my grade was all semester. Thought I got an A on exam 4 to earn a B in the class, but got a B on the exam. Should be more extra credit opportunities in the class. Poor communication and no real instruction.
lost4.0 here.
Lectures are useless, no content, bad responses to examples, frequent off topic tangents. Exams are decently reasonable. Read the book to learn and watch the pre lecture videos. Do the EC.
The worst professor I've ever had, you can tell he is passionate about the subject but he absolutely cannot teach, yaps so much it's actually impossible to understand what he's talking about. Lectures are absolutely useless and everybody only learned from YouTube. Really bad class structure as well
Dobbins is an amazing guy.. he just can't teach. Typa guy to chill over some beers with but NOT to have as a professor. Major lecture side tangents. 70% exams is ROUGH for a class with only 1% extra credit. Waited until the last few days to release the final test grade to prevent disputes. Disabled grade viewing in canvas for some weird reason too.
Dobbins seems like a great guy tbh and he seems to care about students. However he is an ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE professor. He does not teach at all just rambles about things that aren't related to the class, and the structure with 70% exams is kinda rough. You learn EVERYTHING by yourself not even an exaggeration. I've genuinely learn nothing from him
I learned nothing.
I was ready to give him a 1, felt like I enrolled in a self-study bootcamp. But teaching myself everything built discipline I didn't know I needed. The lectures? Just white noise. I was in an intimate relationship with the textbook all semester and made it through. The tests aren't bad, once you accept you're now the entire faculty too.
unfairly take points off. lost 4.0. all the bad comments true. he is not a bad person, but the course could be better designed.
He cares about the subject, but he isn't the best at teaching. His lectures were very difficult to follow, and he would frequently go off on tangents. The course is exam‑heavy, with 70% of the grade coming from exams, which were challenging. It's a flipped classroom, so you'll have to do about 99% of your learning on your own time to pass this clas
course itself not hard. but he makes it hard for you takes points off when its correct. has a regrading process but seldom change wrong grades. Im confident its a wrong grading A to A-. but I dont need to convince nobody. my only A- cant be changed. Im writing to those who listen, dont take him. we are on our own lifeways, and I wish you nice day.
Simply put, do not take him if you can. He gives next to no information and lectures are completely useless. I spent most of my time learning in Discussion and Office Hours. If you have Dobbins as your professor, you will NEED to spend a lot of outside time learning material as his flipped lecture format makes the class extremely difficult.
Obvious that some people here have a sort of contention with the way Dobbins teaches, some of the grievances here may have some merit, but I believe it is mostly due to Dobbins extreme erudition on the subject. Though keeping up with his during the lecture may be rough, revising with the lecture recordings and the Rosen textbook is invaluable.
BIG BIG trouble. Lots of homework and readings that barely help you. Be ready to teach everything to yourself. Readings + homework usually take 8+ hours if you are actually taking notes and try to understand each bit of material in them. TA's are also useless, don't even bother try to get help from them.
Very difficult.
Lectures are useless to go to, out of our class of roughly 150 10 people go to his lecture. He's a nice guy but cannot explain the material whatsoever. If you want to pass his class read the textbook and do the the questions there, or go to a TA's OH / go to discussion and ask questions there. Not hard but you won't learn anything.
Sucks at lecturing, but a bit overhated - there are worse professors in CISE. Rated him a 3 because I can see he's really trying to improve based on the complaints (decreased the tests category from 70% to 60%), and his tests are easy. I never went to class and read the textbook the night before the exam and always got 100+s
Do not take Dobbins if you can avoid it. Lectures are horrible and impossible to follow. Had to self-teach myself pretty much everything. Class is held in the biggest lecture hall on campus yet has about 30-40 students at each lecture. I went to his lectures for the first half of the year and I just couldn't take it anymore and stopped going.
Horrific professor. Lectures were impossible to follow, he would take 15 minutes doing a problem and not explain what he was doing or the actual answer. YouTube and the homework saved my grade, my genuine advice is to not listen to lectures (only go for attendance) and just watch kim brehm on yt.
This guy is the worst teacher on the planet. He doesn't answer anybody ever. There might as well be a monkey at the front of the class because I think a monkey could teach this class better than Peter Dobbins. Is a pretty nice guy tho
Horrible is too good a word to describe the professor; he removed the pre-lecture recordings, so you can go into class and listen to him ramble for two hours a day about his life, with some class here and there. His exams are worded, weirdly, and the reviews and practice tests are not similar to the actual test. Good luck…
Easy to do well in this class by just reading the textbook. Professor teaches kind of slowly, goes on tangents, you can go to lecture if you're fine with that.
Seems to enjoy teaching, but struggles to get many of the concepts across to the students. Dobbins uses a flipped classroom, so be prepared to read beforehand if you want to understand lectures (most students didn't go to lectures and only used the online textbook/youtube). Concepts are not too difficult, and exams tend to be on the easier side.
Dobbins is not as hard as everyone says. If you are okay with mostly teaching yourself, he gives good supplemental lectures, is a funny/interesting person, is on top of Canvas/due dates, and fair grading. To on track, you need to read the textbook for 3-4 hours a week, and beyond that, tests are not that hard—and neither is the material (Discrete).
I don't know why he's hated so much, this class is not bad. Long textbook readings with homework assigned but given a week to complete. Lectures aren't very useful so definitely read the textbook. Double sided cheat sheet allowed on every exam. Extra credit given for just completing the homework and there is a lot of good practice for each exam.
Ok so not gonna lie I stopped going to lectures after the 2nd week, but he has the course set up great. 40% is homework with unlimited attempts and discussion attendance, with 60% for exams with some ec. Super clear about what's gonna be on the exam and everything is graded quickly. Lectures aren't amazing but discussion teaches you everything.
He can't lecture but he seems pretty passionate about what he teaches. The class is easy enough to where the assigned homework will get you by just fine with minimal studying. He takes feedback, grades and tests fairly, and has pretty good office hours/discussions set up for extra help.
He is pretty boring in lectures, use the text book and Kimberly Brehm. The HW, RE, and discussions are free. No practice tests, hard to study for. Use discussion worksheets and rosen book question to study. Lowk j annoying class. Dobbins can be passionate at some moments but such is drowned out by repetition and side tangents. Yapps alot
Tests sometime recover topics from past lectures without warning, your best bet is to skip lectures, attend review sessions and do all of the practice exam questions as you won't get very far without them and falling behind is a death sentence if you're taking this course blind. The silver lining is that the grade to get an A is 87 test average.
It's a pretty chill class. I stopped going to lectures a few weeks in, but the class itself is very self-studyable through the textbook and practice exams. The difficulty of the content is pretty tame; it is very possible to get an A just by doing the assignments on time and studying a bit before exams.
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