Joel Bellaiche

Im taking this class as a Pass/Fail so i dont really care about my grades so this review may be biased. I think he's really quite bad as a teacher. You dont understand what hes saying sometimes and you just go in and copy the stuff he writes on the board.ive really learnt nothing much, and the little part that i do, i gain it from doing the homework That said, he tries to be reasonable and he knows when students are facing difficulties i.e when hwk is too much or finals clash with other subjects. He is quite accomodating when it comes to this Quite a couple of students score well too, so i guess this should be considered an ok class(personally i found it hard but i guess if you just memorize his midterm practices it should be ok). But if you want to learn,forget taking him

This prof seems okay enough teaching the class. The usual fare workload with weekly homeworks, but he sucks when it comes to being responsible outside of class. The whole time he talks to the board, and runs as soon as time is up. It's hard to catch him. When you do, he'll be nice though. HOWEVER, remember to check homeworks with him. He's quite irresponsible with handling homeworks and losing them. So you might end up with 0, and that's just too bad because he ignores you after that and never tries to fix stuff. Mainly, if he made a mistake, he will avoid you for as long as he can. You'll never find him. Take him if you want easy homeworks and tests. DONT take him if you are one of those people who will cry after finding out half of the things you did were lost by the end of the semester

Bellaiche is not all that bad actually. take his class if you have taken calc in highschool. it will be a breeze. his problem sets can be really difficult but they are doable. midterm and final resemble practice exams.

A nice guy, but pretty mediocre on the teaching. His accent and handwriting are very difficult to interpret which definitely impact my grades as I have trouble referring to what he is specifically talking about (n or m, v or u, capital or lowercase). His teaching is very heavy on proofs, which is pretty useless if you are not going into mathematics. Skip this class, if you can.

First of all, let's be fair to Joel. His accent is AWFUL, but only for the first few days of class. Eventually, you get used to it, and his handwriting is not bad. It's just math, verbal explanations aren't even necessary if you can follow his basic steps, which he writes in painstaking detail on the board. Everything is explained, over and over, and reemphasized in later lectures. It's basic, but you come out of the class with a comprehensive understanding of each problem and every proof that goes into it. He also does his lectures without any notes. It's amazing how the proofs and examples just come out of his head. He truly is brilliant, and a very nice man. And he's just so darned likeable!

weekly hwk, 2 midterms (20 percent each) and 1 final (40%)

Do not let his thick French accent deter you! Try to get used to it for the first few classes before you switch out. He is a very clear lecturer if you can understand him, and he writes everything out clearly on the board even if you can't. Problem sets are pretty easy and not very time-consuming, and if you can't get a problem just go to the help room you should be fine. The weekly textbook assignments are useful if you are confused about any topics, and I would HIGHLY recommend looking at them before exams, because he bases many questions off of them. The exams are doable, like more difficult versions of the problem sets. There were very generous curves on them so the final grades were very inflated.

This class is like a roller coaster ride. The lectures jump around a lot, and the problem sets aren't too difficult. Be prepared for a few short, but very involved problems. And while the homeworks aren't too bad, out of nowhere come the tests, which are ridiculously hard. DO THE PRACTICE TESTS!!! They are basically alternate versions of what you will face in the midterms/final. Joel is a nice guy, but his accent is a bit dificult to understand, and his lectures are pretty boring.

His accent is really horrible; worse than his sometimes illegible handwriting. But he is a really good guy who knows his math. I recommend this class to anyone who likes physics; he tends to put lots of physics applications on hw and exams. Proofs too, sometimes. But generous grades. Odd habit of literally running out of class before anyone can talk to him, though. As if he were scared of his students.

This class was pretty easy. Problem sets are due every 1.5 weeks. Sit up in the front since his handwriting is barely discernable. His accent is pretty heavy as well. Besides those two complaints, he is an excellent teacher. I still got an A in his class. The midterm was easy but the final was definitely not cake. Just look over old problem sets and old exams he posts.