Judy Smith

School: Drexel University
Department: Mathematics
Location:Philadelphia, PA
Overall Rating
rated by 20 students
Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
Rating Comment
Overall
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Easiness
 Pros: Sucks at teaching
Cons: Really sucks at teaching
-You cannot find someone more dumb than Judy in all of Drexel
-Constantly had to correct her
-Failed to answer basic questions
- If you want to learn math, go with someone else
- She is an easy grader if you attend lecture and pretend to be more clueless than she is
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 Pros: Awesome math professor. Like most, she's only good if you meet her half way and do your half of the work. She explains concepts well and goes over things time and time again IF YOU ASK. She's basically a grandmother teaching math. Also her quizzes are straight out of the homework.
Cons: Makes small mistakes during class and takes time to go back and fix them.
At least for when I had her, she was the coordinator of the whole Math 121 course, so she made the exams. That means she knew exactly what's on them and knew what to prepare us for.
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 Pros: Truly cares about her students
Her quizzes are more challenging than other professors, however since she makes the exams, you feel well prepared
Is ALWAYS willing to help you
Sit in the front row!
Cons: Homework is necessary if you want to do well on the quizzes
Judy is honestly one of the best math teachers I have ever had. I have never had a math class where when the 50 minutes were up, I did not want to leave immediately. Judy really wants to see her students succeed and is willing to help if you ask. Her quizzes 100% prepare you for the exams and if you don't feel confident she will help you in MRC, however I never needed it. Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend Judy if you actually want a teacher who WILL teach you calculus, and someone who is not afraid to admit when she makes mistakes.
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 Pros: Allowed four absences
Cons: Takes attendance
Exams can be hard
Exams make up a big portion of the grade, so if you're a bad test taker like I am, it sucks. You can miss up to four absences without it affecting your grade. Mrs Smith is an okay teacher but really isn't that helpful if you ask her questions outside of class
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 One of the best professors that I have ever had. This woman really knows how to teach mathematics and if it wasn't for her I don't think I would have had such a firm grip on calculus my freshman year. Her teaching style is very easily understood and her lectures are interesting and helpful. She gives a lot of good advice on the exams as well. I would definitely recommend her and I hope that I have the pleasure of being in one of her classes again one day.
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 Judy Smith is a very nice professor, she has a grandmotherly way of teaching. She can get a little lost sometimes in lecturing or doing problems, but you end up learning it eventually
Overall
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Easiness
 Pros: Nice teacher
Easy grader
Cons: Makes mistakes
Can be hard to follow
Class can be boring
About me:
I'm pretty lazy when it comes to math and being a bio major I find it pointless to spend all my time doing calc. I also NEED somewhat interesting teachers to keep me up. Here is what I experienced in Judy's class:
Workload:
Going into this class you can expect minimum classwork and a lot of homework. Weekly quizzes are a must. The homework is optional but I had to use the book for every section of this course in order to prepare for the exams. If you don't know Calc II you will probably have to spend a bunch of time going over all the homework problems.
Grading:
The great thing about her is she gives 80% of the points just for setting up the integrals and the right train of thought. Even if you mess up on the calculations she won't take off a lot of points. Study the set up for the equations and you will def be in the 80's for tests and quizzes.
Class-time:
Class can be extra boring so if you are the type that needs an interesting teacher to keep you awake, forget about Judy's class. It's pretty much dry math (mostly trig) all throughout. Overall I would recommend her only for people who already have a strong background in integrals.
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 Pros: Willing to help you if you need it.
Knows her stuff.
Cons: Course is tough.
Nightly homework.
Judy is very nice if you get to know her. She spent extra time helping me in the resource center and wasn't happy until I understood the concepts she was teaching.
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 Pros: great for those who have already taken calc once.
helpful on telling us on what's important for tests
helpful outside of class
Cons: really confusing for people who have never taken calc before
writes something different on the board and says something different
Overall
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 Pros: 1) She's one of the only math professors who doesn't speak broken english
She's a great teacher, I think, and she helps a lot.
Overall
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 Pros: 1) She speaks english well
2) The homework is optional, but if you do it you should ace the quizzes, and the exams, because the quiz questions are homework questions and the exams are basically based on homework
3) Attendance is optional, but attending will obviously help you pass
4) The professor is really nice
Cons: 1) Some people have a hard time learning from her
She's one of the only math professors who actually speaks english well
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 She is great. She's tough and doesn't take bs but she is good! She explains everything very well, she cares about her students, and if you work with her and make a decent effort, she notices and will bump you up and help you out.
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 Judy is the best math teacher ever. She knows how to motivate her students and is just an amazing teacher.
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 Pros: -She knows her stuffs.
-She cares for students.
-You won't be scared of mid-terms (her quizzes prepared you all)
-Grade kind of easy. As long as you show her how to do the problem, you don't need to do it correct but get full credits.
Cons: -Her voice is monotonous, which makes class boring.
-Sometimes she make mistakes and it takes her long to correct them.
-Quizzes are more difficult than other professors.
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 I've seen some not-so-good reviews for her, and I really can't understand why. As a freshman starting in Calc III who always just slipped by in the tough math courses in high school, I found her teaching and grading to be extremely helpful. Although sometimes I felt like she gave me more points than I deserved, I always knew that she could tell what was going through my mind from what I wrote, and she consistently rewarded that. I'm not the best math student, but I was able to get a B in her class and learn a lot. I often felt bad for her because of how people in my class chuckled at the mistakes she made on the board because I appreciate when a teacher can admit to making mistakes. Professors who can do that, like her, grade the most fairly because they can see where students went wrong. Overall, she is very dedicated to her work and students and although she lost me a bit sometimes, she is a just professor who will give you the grade you deserve (or better) based on how much you actually know.
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 I loved Professor Smith's class! She is such a sweet and caring teacher, and gives every student an opportunity to ask questions. She genuinely cares about how you do in the class, and her exams are very doable. There are some challenging questions, but overall, you should do fine on the exams if you do all your homework and pay attention in class. Her weekly quizzes usually come from the homework assigned during the week, so if you just keep up with the work, you should do great in her class!
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 Smith has no accent so there's no worries about understanding her. In my opinion, she's a very caring teacher that grades very lightly. However, when she teaches, she also makes many mistakes when explaining problems. It's kind of like having an amateur but caring teacher, she wants the best for you and is willing to explain problems out for you, but she still makes mistakes when she explains problems. Still a solid teacher though.
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 Course was very boring, didn't teach just put examples up on the board for us to do. Didn't help enough just talked and had us do examples. Had us do worksheets that had a ton of problems that were due every week. Tests were ok, but she but the hardest possible problems on them. Wasn't easily approachable. Seemed like she would help you if you seeked help though. Wouldn't retake
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 I thought she was an excellent teacher. i ended up failing calc 121 first quarter and had to retake it. i had a foreign teacher first quarter and and he wrote the notes on the board as they were directly out of the book and to me it was like learning a new language. i would have to take like 4 pages of notes with my old teacher and not understand a thing. with professor smith i thought she was excellent and didnt move on to another section until she knew most of the class had a good understanding and i only had to take up to like 2 pages of notes tops a class. she was very thorough and explained where everything came from and worked liked it did. definately reccomend her!
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 The material for this class is really not at all difficult, if properly presented, and therein lies the problem. The math just seemed to have been presented in a rather hapshazard, free-for-all kind of way that made it difficult to follow sometimes (Gauss Jordan was a nightmare!). Fortunately, I had a fantastic recitation instructor who was able to reteach everything that was supposed to have been taught in class. The first exam was entirely too long; half the class didn't finish in the alloted time, and the homeworks seemed altogether, rather pointless. I got tired of being lectured on the classes ever growing poor attendance when I was there for every single lecture, no matter how frustrated I got (I wasn't even one of those many that got up and left during the middle of class, even when I wanted to, or talked straight through lecture, of which there were plenty, and she didn't seem to be able to control them). She's willing to answer questions and talk to students, but often when you talk to her, you get the sense that she's really not hearing you, at all, so her answers aren't always all that helpful. I think she means well, and she does care about students, but needs to improve on her planning and organization. If you take her, hope for a good recitation instructor. Otherwise, look for another section.

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