3.1
Quality3.0
Difficulty47%
Would Retake94
Reviews47%
Would Retake
94
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
19
4
25
3
22
2
16
1
12
What Students Say
“He is the best calculus professor I've ever had at WPI”
MA1024 - 4.0 rating“He's also super nice and loves when students come to office hours”
MA1023 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
26%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.15 avg changeRatings by Course
MAC01
5.0
(1)ME1023
5.0
(1)MATH
4.0
(1)CALC4
4.0
(1)MA1030
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
1022
4.3
MA1021
3.5
MA1022
3.5
CALC2
3.3
MA2051
3.3
Reviews (94)
No Comments
very apathetic
Not hard if you do the homework, and read the book
No Comments
I HATE MATH MOVIES!!!!!
Hes an average professor and his courses are VERY HARD!!!! BEWARE!!
The course itself is not that difficult. Do the homework and the tests will be all right. He is not out to trick you, only test what you know. Overall a good professor once you get past the accent and speedy explanations which can lose you.
I thought he was the man. He knows his math, and he teaches it pretty well. His classes aren't that difficult if you do the homework. His quizzes were just copying HW out of our notebooks, and his tests were fair. Math films/essays are bad, however.
this class is easy to pass if you do all your homework and study for the tests. he gives sample problems for the test, which really helps. i had no trouble with his accent, but he says some words really funny. it makes his lectures fun!
I thought he was excellent. His tests were pretty easy, and so were his assignments. He didn't explain the projects very well, and he didn't really clarify when we asked questions, but I blame it on the language barrier. He sincerely tried to be helpful.
Hes a cool guy. I mean the language barrier can be quite catchy at the beggining but once you get used to it youre all set. instead of saying vector he says wector and**** like that. and he has this funny movement in the hand when he writes ont the board
The concept of "Math Movies" is stupid and wasteful. He fully implements his TAs. A sincere effort will give a B, unless you were never prepared for the class anyway. He is very smart and knowledgable.
Very difficult to understand, language barrier, but tries to help as much as possible.
an awful professor. his verbosity had a tendency to frustrate students. his class is passable if you can stand him.
Terrible professor. This man is unapproachable, not very nice and failed all of my friends and everyone i knew personally who took the class. Avoid at all costs.
This man was one of the worst math teachers I have ever crossed paths with. He was difficult to understand at best. He mumbles and has a thick eastern european accent.He is a dull, unnaproachable man who gave me the destinct impression from the first day of class that he had absolutely no respect for any of his students.I have no kind words for him
Awful hes awful
Very easy professor. All tests open notebook/book. Accent is thick but you get used to it.
Really easy, if you do the homework. Open book, open note tests, quizzes are problems from the homework.
An easy class if you do the homework. Annoying because he always assigns the problems that involve the most writing, algebra, and arithmatic. It's supposed to be a calculus class.
Do the hw and you should be ok, but the guy is an ****, does not like to help students, and has the strong foriegn accent like 75% of the teachers at wpi...
Class was hard and you hate the class while you're in it, but once you are out you miss his homework and test policy. Do the homework for the quizzes, the quizzes are questions from the homework and you get to have your homework in front of you. The tests are open book, open note. This may seem easy but know the concepts before going into the test.
He was the best Calculus teacher I have had so far. If your not a slacker and actually do like the 8 problems he assigns a night...its an easy. He is good at explaining things and his accent really isn't bad.:o)
Awesome professor.. I had an average of 100 in the course with little effort
He is the best math professor I've had yet. He gives open note quizzes and tests and is very fair and open with the students.
He is the best math professor I've had yet. He gives open note quizzes and tests and is very fair and open with the students.
AWSOME PROF
Good prof. Open book and open notes quizzes/tests. Learned more from him than any other math prof.
Probably one of the best professors that I have had so far at WPI, great guy and very clear teacher. If you do the homework and understand it you should do fine on the test and quizzes.
GREAT teacher. Open notes/book quizzes and tests. I highly recommend him.
Excellent teacher. Open note/book tests and quizzes make for an easy and enjoyable class.
the quizzes are easy considering they are copied homework problems but the tests are pretty challenging and he doesn't explain the 3D stuff too well
Very difficult compared to what I thought I was getting into after reading these reviews. Almost NRed. Tests are challenging, quizzes easy.
Good professor. Gives lots of homework which you copy for your quizzes. Nearly half your grade is handed to you in quiz and lab grades. His accent is not strong.
(MA 1024 as well) ABSOLUTELY take his class. All you need to do really is the homework and you pass the class. Quizzes are literally copying from your homework to a paper. Tests are open note and open book. Teaches theory and examples. Easy class, and the dude has an awesome mustache too. SO EASY compared to other Calc III and Calc IV classes!
Too easy? Not sure if 7 weeks was necessary in order to learn the material taught in that class. The mini-projects done in pairs are a good exercise though. Open note everything
Quizes are open note and directly from homework, Tests are challenging but open not. An easy class to pass but not an easy A. I don't feel like I learned anything but I got a decent grade.
quizzes are easy, tests are WAY too hard. easy to pass class, hard to get an A
Very bad at explaining things. Throws formulas at you but does not give either the motivation or derivation or even just why they are useful. Not rigorous enough to be a good math class, even considering it's application-oriented. Not so good at understanding student's questions either.
Course material is difficult and hard to follow. Quiz problems are taken directly from the homework and are open note. Tests are much more difficult, although ALL QUIZZES AND TESTS ARE OPEN NOTEBOOK/BOOK, VERY HELPFUL. Very manageable class if effort is put in.
His class was decent. There was a lot of homework, but as long as you kept up with it when it was assigned, it was manageable. All of his exams were open notebook and he gave homework quizzes where you just copied down random homework problems from your notebook. He is not very approachable if you don't understand the material, but overall he's ok.
He is a really nice guy. There is a large amount of homework but it can be done with MATLAB and it speeds up the manual calculation. Quizzes are homework problems and open book. Tests are open book as well. He is an applied mathematician so he stays away from proof and focuses on example problems.
A good amount of homework after each class, but quizzes are straight from the homework, and tests are open book and open note. Tests are hard, and each is worth ~20% of your grade. Don't take him lightly, but it can be an easy A if you try.
Good professor. Quizzes are just homework problems. Homework is given everyday. Homework problems are from the text book. Tests can be kind of tough, but are open bookopen note, so they're manageable. He is very clear in lectures, I was rarely ever confused by what he was explaining. I would take another class with him.
He is the best calculus professor I've ever had at WPI. His quizzes are from the homework so if you keep up with the homework you'll manage it. His exams are also pretty easy. Before the exam he gives test preview and he gives sample questions and they are so similar with the exam questions. Open booknotes.
Prof Yakovlev was great. Quizzes open note and directly from the homework. He's very clear and concise. The homework does a really good job preparing you for the tests. 10/10. Would recommend.
Calc 3 is the class that everybody complains about it, but taking it with Yakovlev makes it totally doable. He gives weekly quizzes but the problems are taken directly from homework- as long as you do the homework, its a guaranteed 100. Also, his exams are open notes. He's also super nice and loves when students come to office hours.
Open book/open note quizzes about once a week with problems taken directly from the optional homework. There were 3 tests (all had 5 pts extra credit available) which were also open book, but DO NOT take them lightly. They're a lot harder than the homework problems, so make sure you know your stuff and are not just relying on your notes.
Yakovlev constintently explains the material transparently and assigns relevant homework. In both Calc 2 and 3, his weekly quizzes were just copying the homework onto the quiz, so if you knew the material well, it was not necessary to do all of the problems. The practice problems for his tests were always similar to the actual test. Great professor
I'm not sure if he always does this, but our quizzes and exams were open note/text/HW. QZs were made of exact HW Q's and you could copy directly. Exams were fairly difficult even with notes. I started missing a lecture or two now and then at the end of the term and still got an A in the class. He has a slight Russian accent but leads a good lecture
Great professor. Used to be tough but he revamped most of his classes and now they are incredibly fair. He has realistic expectations for you in his class and is very thorough and clear in his lectures. A fair grader and all around great guy. Weekly quizzes for 50% of grade were based off homework too which was nice. Definitely reccomend.
He is not clear and is not really helpful when you ask him questions. Makes this class a lot harder than it should be
Professor Yakovlev's class was very difficult but extremely rewarding. Go to the test review sessions, do all of the practice problems and make sure your homework is correct.
Prof Yakovlev is great at explaining concepts and has a lot of good clear examples. The quizzes are problems from the homework and are open notes. So do the homework. He is one of my fave professors and I would definitely take another class with him
His grading criteria is very fair. Your quizzes are 50% you homework. So, technically if you did your homework correctly you have a guaranteed 50% each quiz. The tests are fair and not difficult if you understand the material. I believe his lectures are real clear and concise. Make sure to go to math tutoring if you need help!
Quizzes were based on homework so as long as you do the homework, all you have to do is copy the work. Important to do reading outside of class as he's pretty example heavy over concept heavy during the lectures.
Lecture attendance is not mandatory, but conference definitely is. Just keep on top of the homework and you'll do well. Also, his hands are 40 years younger than his body. It's incredible.
Absolutely fantastic. The quizzes were just the homework so if you did the homework right, you can get a 100 easy. The exams were tough but fair.
Vadim is a god of a man. He once held a video lecture where a TA walked in a played a video and every student stayed and every student took notes. Vadim is truly the best professor at WPI and will be the best instructor you will ever have.
His lectures are really helpful, the grading criteria is amazingly fair, he has the best interest of the students in mind and really cares that everyone understands.
Wonderful professor. Homeworks are long but I would consider it a necessary evil. Help sessions are held before tests. Tests aren't bad if you know the material. Go to class, he does a lot of helpful examples. Quizzes are questions off of the homework so do the homework and stay caught up on it. Practice problems helpful before exams.
Normally I suck at math but Yakolev is a good professor. Homework is not graded, but half of the weekly quizzes are hw problems - (free points). His lectures are boring, but he takes clean and organized notes and posts them online. Two exams, each worth 25%, rest of the grade is based on weekly quizzes. Good professor for diff EQs.
Old school. I like his note taking style; he projects himself writing out the notes while he teaches so it is easier to follow. His quizzes are easy because they are the HW problems. Beware of his website queue of HW problems which he updates regularly. Tests are hard but you get open notes/txtbook.
This professor is clear in lecture but moves faster than others for the course. He is rude to students when they ask questions and does not answer them well. He sets up test review sessions which are nice, but they are led by a TA so the quality is not great. The exams tend to be much harder than the classwork. but he allows notes for exams.
wont give you credit unless you complete problems the way he wants
Very boring lectures, but pretty informative.
Professor Yakovlev gives a lot of homework. I mean a LOT. Expect to spend 10-20 hours per week outside of class doing the homework. The lectures are pretty dry, but not terrible. I wish he would spend more time explaining what is actually on the homework and what we are tested on. He spends far too much time on Riemann sums and Sigma notation.
I am taking this class during quarantine. He is not that good at explaining theory since he makes no sense, but at least his examples often make you understand. His hw is tough compared to lecture problems and often makes no sense, and quizzes are bad because he gives no partial credit. If you won't give partial credit just make it multiple choice.
His notes really dont help with what he wants out of quizzes which are based off a terrible textbook yet he doesnt explain the concepts thoroughly in class. the class itself is easy in the beginning allowing us to perform well regardless of his poor teaching style, yet it does get worse
Calc 3 is difficult but the tests are open note so you should be set. Homework quizzes in class but open note the homework is based off the book so you should have all the answers correct. If you do the homework and try to understand the material you will be fine. Very good professor and seems like a decent person.
Nothing is his fault your hole class can fail the test and its all on you guys, he does not tell you what you do wrong on your mid terms of finals, and it supper defensive when you email him. You can loose almost all credit on home work for it not being neat enough. Don't expect partial credit or event credit for correct answers.
Worst professor I've had since I've been here. Rude when students ask questions. One girl asked "what should I do if I start struggling in the class?" and he said "just stop struggling." That's how he answers most questions. Only had 9 grades for the entire term. 2 exams and 7 quizzes. If you miss more than one conference you fail automatically.
Dude went completely off script compared to other professors teaching ODE and his (pre-recorded) notes were constantly full of errors. The only reason I passed was the TA's conferences. Super passive aggressive as an individual as well and had an overall "I don't socialize with the lowly undergrads" attitude. Hope he gets his karmic balance.
The only way I passed was because of the TA, the professor basically had no connection to the class. The best way I can describe it is that he was teaching for his own understanding and not for that of the students.
Absolutely terrible. Does not take suggestions from students and thinks the material is far easier than it is. The only way I'm even close to getting by is because of my conference with a TA. If someone asks a question he is rude and says we should already know the material. Will never take one of his classes again.
All of the lectures were recorded and sometimes very unclear. The TA was AMAZING. The content was interesting, but this class was more work than my other classes combined. I overloaded with this class and chem 1020, which was a lot, but not impossible. The only way to survive this class is perfect time management.
Prof Yakovlov was far better than the other professor I had. He presents challenging examples in class and the homework can be difficult. Exams are heavy in algebraic calculations. You will be over prepared for the final if you have him. Hw based quizzes were a great way to do well in class. If you want to improve your math understanding, take him.
Gave really good examples on the notes. If you do the homework and practice tests you'll be fine.
Professor Yakovlev is obviously very knowledgeable. However the way he expresses his knowledge can be hard to understand. His lectures oftentimes go longer than the class period and there are "supplemental videos" that cover material we didn't get to in class. Also expect homework after each and every class. Much time is spent after class on hw.
Homework Based Quizzes will save you in this class, you will be wildly unprepared for Test 1 because he teaches new material up until the day before the test. His lectures are boring and very information heavy, I would leave lecture feeling like I knew less every time I showed up. Discussion is mandatory attendance for extra credit TA was useless.
Very middle-of-the-road: not the worst, but very clearly not the best. Lectures aren't great, and homework is often advanced concepts that the professor didn't cover during class. Quizzes are the same as homework and he lets you use notes, so quiz grade is free, just do the work. Material is going to be taught til right before the exams, heads up
Lectures were information heavy. He taught up until the tests which left us unprepared for the content on it. Poor explanations for a majority of the concepts. What he didn't finish explaining in class would be taught via "video supplements" which would be posted late at night. Went to office hours and he acted like I wasn't supposed to be there.
I thought his lectures explained the topics very well and his grading was fair. He gave two exams, weekly homework (dropped your worst grade) and weekly short quiz in discussion.
His lectures are not engaging in the slightest. His grading scheme makes it easy to fail if you lose your footing If you are into doing homework, his quizzes are easy to pass, but it is a LOT of homework, get ready to abandon your hobby or club for a while If you are not good at taking tests, this is NOT the class for you.
His lectures are difficult to follow. Very information heavy without much explanation. Skips steps in examples, leaving students feeling confused and lost as to how he got the answer he did. His English is not the best (not his fault) but it also adds to the confusion aspect of his lectures. Questions on tests are very different than homework
his notes are very messy and not straight forward. he gives lots of examples and not straight definitions and methods. Lots and lots of homework that are used on quizzes. tests and quizzes both open note which was good. teaching itself an be improved.
Took Calc 3 with him, and it was pretty easy, as long as you did the work. All of the exams were open note, and there were homework quizzes about once a week- so make sure you are caught up on all of the homework in this class (including the additional homework problems.) Honestly, I would have him again. The class is well organized.
Overall a good professor, tests are open note so nothing too crazy about them. As long as you go to the lectures and do the homework you should be fine.
Would not recommend taking MA1022 with this professor. Very lecture heavy, although half of the lecture is spent asking your friend what he just wrote on the board because it's chicken scratch. Be prepared to learn the topics outside of class because in-class examples are rare. Not saying hes a bad person, just lecture heavy.
Typical WPI professor. He teaches us to be math monkeys with no conceptual understanding of what we are doing. I would recommend skipping lectures and teaching yourself from the textbook. There are ~45 minutes of homework assigned per lecture. Tests and quizzes cover basic understanding and are complete jokes if you do the work.
Lectures are incomprehensible, notes are chicken-scratch. Tons of homework everyday for at least a good 2 hours a day, tests are okay but they're worth way too much. You're better off with a different professor. You're going to be self-teaching yourself through youtube videos in this class
The unequivocal lord and commander of the daunting monstrosity that is calculus. This man can split the integrals like the seas. I'd go as far as to wager that this man founded calculus alongside Sir Isaac Newton. The pure aura generated from any theorem created by this being is a true work of art. Vadim be with us Ehhnnnnnnnnnn.
Amazing lecturers spends at least half of the class with examples and gives very clear expectations of what you are supposed to be learning. Writes notes at your pace so you never feel like you are in a rush. Tests and quizzes are simple but fair and was open note. Had him for Calc 2 and wanted to take him again for Calc 4 based off that experience
Amazing lecturers spends at least half of the class with examples and gives very clear expectations of what you are supposed to be learning. Writes notes at your pace so you never feel like you are in a rush. Tests and quizzes are simple but fair. Builds a solid foundation for integral calculus you won't forget.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
26%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.15 avg changeRatings by Course
MAC01
5.0
(1)ME1023
5.0
(1)MATH
4.0
(1)CALC4
4.0
(1)MA1030
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
1022
4.3
MA1021
3.5
MA1022
3.5
CALC2
3.3
MA2051
3.3