3.2
Quality3.8
Difficulty48%
Would Retake153
Reviews48%
Would Retake
153
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
56
4
22
3
22
2
14
1
39
What Students Say
“Horrible, very bad experience, nightmare”
CSC165 - 1.0 rating“He recommanded to all students to sign up to Piazza(the discussion board)”
CSC236 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
26%
Textbook Required
48%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.00 avg changeRatings by Course
MAT135
5.0
(4)MAT135Y
5.0
(1)MAT196
5.0
(1)MAT325
5.0
(1)APS163
3.7
(13)Difficulty by Course
COS220
5.0
CSCS
5.0
CSC247
5.0
CSC165
4.4
MAT197
4.3
Reviews (153)
Very cool guy, but csc238 still stinks.
Nice and helpful guy, but pretty useless notes/lectures.
he's really lame at times....238 stinks
he is nice.. but the course still sucks
induction prove my azz
starts out seeming like a nice guy, but can turn nasty quite fast if he wants to
nice guy, even though the course stinks
Horrible accent. Stop drinking Coke and teach us something
kinda difficult to understand him at times
This guy is the main reason i passed this course! he is the MOST patient, humble teacher i have EVER met! (prob it helps if you are sincerely trying to get help too...) very smart. and amusing. he was a TA tho, not a prof
Sexy guy!
Obviously knows his stuff and how to communicate it, and I love his intelligent humour. But who wouldn't like a guy who can bring CompSci and Shakespeare into one room!
smarter-than-you attitude, lack of enthusiasm in course material, and obvious feeling of great self-importance adds up to one terrible prof.
Good prof....with fair tests.....reasonably hard with minimum expectations from students....
ALRIGHT
If all profs were more like Dr.Cohen, we'd all be in a better situation at U of T, I think. If you ask for it, he'll help you, whatever it takes. And he speaks English, a new concept it seems in this department.
Great prof. Tests are fair, has a sense of humour, explains concepts clearly.
I enjoyed every minute of his classes. Some people thought his comments were arrogant but he lightens things up for us and tries to teach it to us so we can like it AND learn it. I appreciate his extra efforts when asked.
personality is pretty. lecture is ugly. together is pretty ugly.
I had him as a TA way back when. All around great guy, and great teacher.
One of the best profs at UofT. Thanks to him i was able to actually understand what was going on. He actually tries to explain all the concepts, not just writing some examples from the textbook.
Great Prof....quite cocky but can be a good thing
I think he is nice beyond nice. and I love his voice
His notes are not too helpful because he focuses too much on unnecessary theorem proofs and not much examples were given. This seriously makes his lectures a mental torture. You can enter the lecture energetic but you get out exhausted. Try his office hours or go to Stanzack if you are struggling.
Excellent professor, he can joke around as your friend. Great personality and very helpful during his office hour
Looks hot, sounds hot, acts hot!
[ accent ] + [ tough math theorems ] = [ failure ]
He is a good professor, he has a sense of humor, he understands the material very well and puts it in "big picture" context. But, he can be hard to follow. I felt that he expected too much from the students in terms of understanding the material fast. If you are a strong student, then I think he will be a good professor for you.
He doesn't teach us what we're supposed to be taught but rather stuff that he finds interesting, which REALLY sucks for when test time comes around (since there are different profs in this course). He also said "If you're not failing students you might as well go around kicking homeless people." Take what you will from that...
Rewrites all proofs which are already in the txtbk. Explains badly and with accent. Cannot distinguish Rn and Rm, which makes linear transformation impossible to learn.
Unless you want to learn 257 don't take this course with him.
he's really a good at teaching, but only what he's interested in. During 237 we learned about the foundations of modern set theory, logic, and elements of analysis leading to modern differential geometry instead of what was on the curicullum. This sucked when the test came around.
Great prof. Funny, doesn't just rattle off notes.
He's Great. I'm glad I didn't miss a single lecture! (Ok, i missed one, but that's it!)... try searching "Shai Cohen" on google. You'll find some very curious pictures... hehehe... just do it. You'll see what I mean
Best Professor I had in first year by far. Also the only professor I had who fully understood questions in lecture and was able to answer them in a clear, concise manner. His insights into life are even more intriguing than the math you will learn with him.
To be honest, he will focus more on his life than the course. He speaks clearly, but he teaches to "prove" he knows this stuff, but not to embue that knowledge to his students
Too bad I suck at Calculus, so much so that even an absolutly fantastic professor still couldn't even help me.
got a lotta rules.. but lectures are crystal clear. answers are very good, got a great sense of humour
Great guy and a great prof. Extremely clear and easy to understand. Will make you actually like math. His tests are quite challenging however!
AMMMMAZING GUY!!! Got >65 in high school calc, 80 in his class. Not easy though...
Really.... it seems that his teaching skills just went down the drain. He does not give a rat's crap about whether we understand the content and he just keeps on going and going and going....
A funny guy, but not a very great teacher in my opinion.
Very Good
Does barely enough examples. justifies his laziness through "efficiency". he expects you to read before lectures. his classes are more like discussions about the material. He would be an excellent philosophy teacher.
Professor Cohen would show up to class 30 minutes late and take up the rest talking bout his day or why he was late. He never used examples and finished the course early. On the last day he was 40 minutes late and didn't do any review.
The first day of class, he told us he ends up with more students at end of term. Not true this yr. At least 50% of the class is gone, flooding to other prof's lectures. It is difficult to comprehend his speech (even tho you understand it) and his writings. You will need to work 3 times harder to understand the material from him. Play 4D tictactoe:S
very vague...
Topics include: Proving that baseball isn't a sport with math, Using logic to show that Baba O'Reilly is Teenage Wasteland, bad jokes, good jokes, and still getting all the info (and more) across. Had him for two courses. Comes across best if you're already good or interested in mathematics.
Really encourages students to go beyond what's expected
I found him very interesting, but I didn't learn very much. He was constantly digressing and it seemed as though he was more interested in impressing his students than teaching them. He seems like a fair marker though.
He taught 188 and 186, omg was he mind boggling. Very philosophical, abstract, only people very passionate of math would enjoy his class. Not clear at explaining things, and never used examples. Pretty disappointing as he seemed like a nice guy.
Useless
The class average before the final exam was 57%........... that is the worst average I have ever seen for any class in first year. His tests are super hard and he says he's going to make them easier, then after everyone is destroyed by it, he says "Whoopsy Daisy, wtv we can just bellcurve 5-6% later"
awful prof
Absolutely useless professor and tests are overly difficult
Useless. As a professor he's okay. Not the best, but not the worst. As a course coordinator he's terrible. He makes the hardest tests. His first test was rediculous, so he promised to make the second test easier to make up for it. The next one was even harder. He'd rather crush you then test you on anything remotely useful.
I failed his first year course, MAT197. I should have studied harder. Cohen is more difficult to understand than other professors. The common complaint is he thinks everyone is as smart as himself. The class average was a 55.5 before the final... but admittedly I was lower. It's a hard course, remember.
Failed 197, hardest course I have ever taken. By no means am I blaming him for my poor performance, but the averages were consistently low. During 196 there was a cheating incident and with just my luck I had a "suspicious" exam. I felt that he was pushing me to take the fall just to make himself look better. Luckily it all worked out just fine.
He really loves what he does and it shows!
Great prof. Extremely challenging but also very inspiring.
Assignments are just for torture, even the other prof in the course said the assignment is unfair.
Disaster Professor! Why would the papers be so hard?! You should be in the Battle Of Math Professors making papers, not here in an undergrad university. Its a shame that so many people like me suffer because of him "challenging" you at exams. Failing don't make you learn, I swear.
His assignments are just tortures...
Gets off topic
This was the hardest math course I've ever taken, and I failed miserably. Make sure to have a good understanding of all concepts before the exam. And remember to pray for your life if Shai Cohen coordinates the course.
Knows what he's talking about but unfortunately assumes it's just as easy for everyone else. Eloquent speaker but not comprehensible enough. Assignments were overly difficult and students had to figure out material on their own. Interesting guy but not my kind of teacher.
Great guy, awesome sense of humour, but assignments and tests will violently crush you. If you have a chance to attend his non-academic seminars, do so because he gives inspiring speeches. Other than that, steer clear of any course he's coordinating
The highlight of my week!I love the fact that he gets off topic.I dont go to lecture to hear exactly what the textbook says.His classes are extremely interesting.The assignments and tests require understanding of the matterial,a bit of intelligence and some hard work.All those are easy enough if you are truly interested in math or cs!
Excellent prof! Definitely one of the few great profs at U of T.
Best prof I've had at U of T so far. Made me actually interested in the material, instead of just learning and regurgitating formulas. Ask him questions if you don't understand something, and he'll do a great job of making sure you understand before he goes on. Sure, his tests are hard. Study.
Awesome prof and tries hard to make the class good. Very passionate about teaching and math. Yes, tests are a bit hard, but not too much more difficult than the tests in other courses. It's U of T. Definitely not a class to be missed.
Very cool prof, super nice guy and totally enthusiastic. Tests are hard but the course is hard, so. Ask questions and do your homework and you'll be fine.
This guy makes calculus more intuitive and exciting.
Extremely hard, feels at times like he's hard to show off how smart he is, but a skilled lecturer whose helpful during office hours.
One of my favorite professors at UofT. Really made me love everything about theoretical computer science. Doesn't read from the textbooks, tells jokes and anecdotes. Sometimes it feels more like philosophy than CS. Yea his assignments are hard and there's a lot of work. Study, ask questions; he's always there to help.
He's very unorganized, not prepared for every lecture. Topics are jumped from one to another without any clue. Makes easy topics seem harder. Bad prof
If you have him, the only thing I can say is good luck.
He is a good teacher but he most of the time waste's our time with unrelated stories and examples of his life.
Tells a lot of stories but his teaching abilities are amazing.
Great prof. Really funny. Lots of stories. His tests are the hardest.
Tough Exam
Absolutely phenomenal Professor, He is a genius. However most students are not geniuses so you might find his lecture lacks clarity or his remarks off-topic sometimes.
So inspirational professor. His lectures are crystal-clear and he still somehow makes time to explain stuff in a very interesting, unorthodox way. Personally, I love his style of teaching.
His online videos are not clear. He specifies lots of unimportant steps. His words are weird and not related to the course sometimes.
He recommanded to all students to sign up to Piazza(the discussion board). In fact, he showed up to the discussion board in the first month only so there are many questions you posted on the discussion board left not answered. In his lectures, he often got off topics and talked something not important, but tests and assignments are harder.
Very useless lectures, always telling some useless stories, and run out of the topic every single lecture. Used to post the wrong answer for a question multiple times. Marking is extremely slow, we haven't get back the first midterm even we are going to write the second midterm. We don't even receive first problem set up to second one is due.
Horrible, very bad experience, nightmare.
If you're thinking about taking his class -- stop, do not enroll. In summary: 1) Lectures are complete disorganized and unrelated to the course content. 2) Shai has little to none time to support students. 3) No marks are posted until almost the final exam. 4) Tutorials are useless. 5) Problem Sets and Quizzes are full of errors.
the term test is just a nightmare, i am impressed by that he really teaches nothing during lectures and makes the test incredibly hard and we don't even have enough time to finish it .
"I am English Major", he said. He work for Mathmathtica Department, but teach CSC165. Useless lecture, so much irrevalent boring story. So many mistakes on problem set. Waste your tuition. The exam is extremely hard, he believes that most people should not be able to complete all the question. DO NOT TAKE HIS COURSE. ITS JUST BAD.
Barely teaches anything then makes overly difficult term tests and assignments. Little to no practice or preparation given for them. Tutorial and quiz material is ahead of the lectures or he teaches on the day of. ONE office hour for two big classes. Rarely comes on Piazza. Doesn't respond to his emails. Still don't have Problem Set 1 marks.
Problem sets are just nightmare, midterm as well. The marking speed is slowest I have ever seen. I should not take this course at summer.
i've never thought this course can be hard like this
its like he grades to see how many marks he can take off
I'd like to say despite how the summer course was ran, he was a wonderful and phenomenal professor. He really showed me the true spirit of mathematical thinking (and actually got me of all people to like it). The course itself though isn't supposed to be too hard (or interesting for that matter), but Shai defied all of that. Would take him again!
Shai's teaching is very inspirational. As for the difficulty, it's actually easier than my eco206 class.
No help for students outside of his packed 1 hour office hour, says he will look at Piazza, the online forum used, but checks once a month. Insanely long times to mark (Still waiting over 2 months for our first problem set, along with problem set 2,3 and test 2 mark ). I do not recommend taking a class with him.
I found his online lectures to be extemely clear and helpful, and Im taking him again for APS163 this semester. His in class MAT188 lectures are frusterating as he goes off topic, I may end up stopping attending his in class-lectures.
Goes off topic every now and then on things that aren't related to the course. Office hours are alright if you can get to him. Tutorials are probably better for getting a grasp on material.
Tends to go off topic nearly every lecture. Knows and understands material really well, however, not the greatest at explaining. Should've spent more times running through examples rather than ranting about Bahen.
Although the assignments are quite hard, but finally get curved a lot.
Incredible professor. If I could take every one of my courses with him I would.
Awesome dude. He's so consistent it's astonishing. Also funny
Shai is very knowledgeable and teaches well, however he tends to go off topic a lot during class. But you're in good hands because his videos are very helpful and he curves a lot.
Shais my guy. Would not take again
incredibly inspiring, intelligent person with a great care for the success of students!
His videos are particularly useful during COVID-19. Inspirational
He assigns things and doesn't answer questions, very incompetent teacher!
Professor Cohen gave very good lectures, and provided very good answers on piazza to all student questions (when another student didn't answer first). The assignments are VERY HARD but then comparitivly, the exam isn't so bad. Beware: if you take multiple classes with Professor Cohen, he can and will tell the exact same joke in each class.
Best teaching experience by far.
Super chill prof and very knowledgeable. Explains everything clearly
Shai's a funny guy. Great videos. Its like he's sadistic or smthng with his exams. Doesn't think ahead.
He just doesn't really help... You need a lot of initiative to figure it out yourself
Really chill dude and does loads of good examples in class to prepare the the exam. He is so knowledgeable about vertually all math concepts.
Absolutely amazing
Undoubtedly the best prof in eng faculty
My goat. Came to university in hopes of finding professors like him. He has so much depth of thought and really makes his students think. His class is difficult but in the best way possible. He forces students to unlock their full potential. Gives really interesting insight and talks to students as equal. Really engaging guy.
Mad hard final exams but there's always a juicy curve! One of the funniest and most approachable professors I know, takes the effort to get to know some students by name which is very sweet.
Shai cohen is a great guy. I liked that he took personal responsibility for giving us non-course-related advice. Now his lectures are quite difficult to understand, but this course is admittedly highly abstract. You either love him or you unfortunately just can't understand his lectures. Overall, great guy, you lucked out if you got him.
Great Prof, I really like his lectures. Yet the homework and the exam is just way too hard and way too "interesting".
Before lectures, go through Pre/Post Class Readings. Lecture will be very proof-based and theoretical if you don't. Shai Cohen is the GOAT
Great Prof, or I should say one of the best in Faculty of Eng. I like his lectures soo much.
BIG UPS PROF. COHEN. HE ALWAYS STANDS ON BIDNESS WHENEVER SOMEONE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH OUR CLASS TRIES TO ENTER MID LECTURE. Teachingwise, his lecture were okay for me personally, they can sometimes be confusing since he loves delving deep into proofs. However if you are genuinely interested in math, I dont think there's a better prof out there.
Always answers students' questions and makes lectures entertaining. The assignments are challenging but he gives great tips about them if you attend his office hours. His pre-recorded videos are very helpful, although some sections aren't as detailed. Wish he went through more examples during the lecture and his exams are very tough. Solid prof!!
Often gets side track and does a poor job of delving deep into material. Had to rely on just past notes posted other calculus teachers to achieve a good mark rather than his teaching.
Confusing marking scheme and returns mark towards the end of the course. Thus through the majority of the course you barely have a idea of where you stand.
He is bad
Hardly focuses on the material and goes on tangents. Also frankly does not care for his students concerns within the course as he does not respond on pizzia and does not give a clear indication of marking scheme.
Prof Cohen is an excellent and entertaining professor. He understand the high school math teachings and helps us translate university math into understandable information. He takes his time to make his lectures entertaining and uses synonyms for most of the course topics. Overall, a great prof.
Interesting lecture. Benificial.
The professor has a distinctive teaching style, requiring active engagement from students. The course is challenging, but the pre-recorded videos and Unstuck AI can be helpful for study prep. Consistent effort is key to success in this class.
Shai is nice for inspirational speeches and the sort, but it's difficult to learn in his class. I feel bad for saying it because he's such a genuinely funny and amazing guy, but he often goes off topic to talk abt political and societal stuff in lectures. Not saying that it's bad, but having that happen right before the midterm is crazy...
I had calc II with Shai as an online course with no lectures and online weekly hour-ish tutorials. The exam format was so that about half of the questions would have sub-questions in them, each related to the answer you got from the previous one. You would lose the entire mark if you didn't know how to solve the first sub-question.
Never reply and never communicate
Shai kinda just teaches whatever he wants during lectures, often going on long tangents that have nothing to do with the course. This works well for developing an appreciation for the nuances of math, but not for midterm/exam prep. Otherwise, he teaches very well, and is overall a very nice person. Shai is the father figure I wish I had growing up.
Professor Cohen is passionate on mathematics therefore he always focus on proving theorem during lecture. For student who has strong interest in math, attending his lecture will be a great choice. Read all of the PCEs before lectures and do practice problems, you will be fine.
Goes off topic in lectures a lot, but when he actually does teach concepts he is very good at teaching them. If you find him in a smaller class (such as rewind sessions) he can teach you very well. Course was terribly disorganized but that was Siefken's fault not Cohens.
Walked into the lecture expecting to learn math. I walked out knowing nothing new about math and got lectured on philosophy half the class like put the fries in the bag lil man.
Amazing lad. Reignited my love for math after horrible mat188. I would let shai cohen do things to me.
No clear grading rubric. A real freshman-year trauma.
Unsuccessful comedian who switched over into being an even worse teacher. I just hope for the future generations of uoft students his marking scheme becomes clear
Good prof. But the lectures were ok
He just sucks at teaching, for some reason chooses not to explain things fully ever and just skips steps without saying why??? Had to resort to watching YouTube videos to learn things cause his videos were unwatchable.
he teaches like you already know the material
Funny, likes to give random inspirational speeches in the middle of lectures. Gets off track once in a while. Doesn't have slides or post lecture notes, everything is done on blackboard. His lectures are good for practice when you already know the material. Definitely do PCE's and read the textbook.
Favourite fall semester prof. Lovely guy who genuinely cares about his students. Goes into the occasional inspirational tangent, but he is generally pretty good at teaching calc/lin alg. Go to his office hours, he is very nice in person. Textbook is not helpful, read PCEs, watch videos, and do practice problems. All teaching is done on blackboard.
This guy teaches as if you know the material, and provides vague examples. He goes off on tangents about politics or his day. The only time I learned was when someone came and substituted for his class. Go to another professor.
I stopped going to his lectures after the first midterm and my grade shot up 20%. He spends the entire class going over the most irrelevant niche sub topics that have 0 benefit. Stay home and study using PCE's and textbooks and its a free A. don't waste your time
Really good professor, his lectures are always fun to attend (super interesting guy). He sometimes goes off-topic, but its always pretty interesting. He is very caring towards students and is super helpful, especially during office hours. I've never opened the textbook, the PCEs, practice questions, and other course content is all you need.
He is quite entertaining and incorporates metaphors, similes, and random talks into his math heavy lectures. Although, eventually you realize you have to actually teach yourself the content. He covers the bare bones basics well, but you will need to do any remotely different application of those concepts on your own. Amazing guy, decent teacher.
Lectures are amazing!!! Both calculus and linalg. Recommending taking if you like math. You'll enjoy.
Amazing professor with a somewhat unorthodox teaching style. Prefers to use chalk and blackboard if available and doesn't use slides (maybe except for classes in MY 150). Overall very enjoyable lectures with thorough proofs and interesting tangents. KEY TO DOING WELL IS READING AND DECONSTRUCTING THE PRE-CLASS ESSENTIALS.
Reading textbook is 100% more useful than lectures
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
26%
Textbook Required
48%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.00 avg changeRatings by Course
MAT135
5.0
(4)MAT135Y
5.0
(1)MAT196
5.0
(1)MAT325
5.0
(1)APS163
3.7
(13)Difficulty by Course
COS220
5.0
CSCS
5.0
CSC247
5.0
CSC165
4.4
MAT197
4.3