Denny Gulick

School: University of Maryland
Department: Mathematics
Location: College Park, MD
Overall Rating
rated by 20 students
Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
Rating Comment
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Easiness
Pros: EXTREMELY HELPFUL
cares about students doing well
will answer any questions
does a great job presenting the material
cracks jokes at 8 am to keep people involved
Cons: In general the class is difficult for people without a firm background in Calculus
Never be afraid to ask him questions he is always willing to help a student, He will explain things a different way than the way in class if you ask, he is also willing to draw it out for the students.
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Pros: Nice guy.
Explains thoroughly.
Cons: Not the best lecturer (on the better side, yet never among the best).
Difficult exams/quizzes.
I had him at 8:00 A.M. EVERYDAY!
Lecture for M/W/F and discussion for T/T.
He's a nice guy.
He explains with silly jokes.
I found him to be not the best lecturer though.
His exams and quizzes were difficult.
Webassigns are the pain.
I sent him emails and he responded in timely manner.
I would recommend Dr.Gulick, only if you are well-versed in Calculus.
If you have a choice, i'd definitely recommend Justin Wyss-Gallifent.
Overall
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Pros: Very funny
Very Optimistic
Easy Quizzes
Cons: Moderately-Hard exams
Quizzes EVERY week (usually on Friday's)
Worksheets ever Tue. and Thurs. and they're hard
Very Quick with subject
Yeah, Professor Gulick is a character. He is SO funny and so optimistic about math. He is a VERY challenging professor though. Engineer math is no JOKE and can easily be too much if you don't catch up. It involves a lot of studying, but to some (not me), can be easy to grasp and do. I really recommend reviewing notes at night, study and do a few homework problems, and ask questions (never in class though, since you only have 50 minutes of lecture).
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Pros: Easy quizzes
Cons: Unnecessarily goofy
not the best professor
Denny's tests and quizzes are easy compared to those of other professors, but as he doesn't convey the material as well as other professors that teach the same material, they seem moderately difficult.
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Pros: Great Lecturer. Cares about Students. You learn a lot. Funny! He says "You follow" a lot which is funny. He is so goofy looking.
Cons: 8 am class.
I had Denny for Math140 and Math141. You either like Denny or you hate him. No middle ground. Kinda like President FDR. People either liked him or hated him. I thought he was great. I liked him a lot. I got a B- in 140. And a A- in 141. He goes over things very clear. He is funny but that's because it's 8am in the morning. Probably the best choice for Calc 1 or 2. Exams were in the middle. Some of them were medium and some of them were on the challenging side. If you have a chance to take him he is great. If you are a freshmen reading this: Calc 1 and 2 are a weed out classes. Work your butt off and it will pay off. Go to review sessions and office hours they will help.
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Pros: Great teacher, his tests are pretty easy, especially if you do the previous exams on koofers and umd test bank, best teacher for calc I
Cons: He gives quizzes every friday, it's so tempting to skip because it's an 8am but each quiz is 10 points so you really shouldn't skip more than once. He also gives a quiz on the day before Thanksgiving but gives you all the answers
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Pros: Great Teacher
Knows His stuff
Passionate about teaching
Cons: Gets confused sometimes
will stop class if someone is using their cell phone to stop the student
Best calculus 2 teacher take him if u can even tho its an 8am
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Pros: Very passionate instructor, extremely energetic, especially at 8am. He wrote the textbook, and he writes the final, so it is nice having a professor who can give you a better sense of what is on the exam.
Cons: Sometimes moves too quick in lecture, and it is hard to stay awake sometimes with early class. The exams are usually fair, but they are often difficult.
I have had him for both MATH140 and MATH141, and I have enjoyed him. I have learned a lot while being challenged.
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Pros: For a calculus professor, he's surprisingly good at explaining things.
He's funny and quirky.
He holds reviews before each exam.
His midterms never cover content from before the previous midterm.
Cons: His tests have relatively challenging questions.
His tests are very comprehensive, but he definitely knows his stuff and loves it.
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The best MATH140 teacher. I took his class, and then switched out to take it with another professor and regretted it forever. Although his class is at 8am, he is much better than the other professors. My friends would skip their lectures and attend mine to have a better understanding of what was going on in class. Sign up for calc with Denny!!
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Pros: Gulick is the professor known for having fixed dropping calc averages at UMD, he is very clear about what to know and how to solve the important problems.
Cons: Lecture moves at a blinding pace and questions often get misinterpreted or left unanswered.
Whether you come into math 140 having taken calc one or not, you will learn something new and feel positively challenged at one point or another during the semester.
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Pros: He's funny.
He is willing to help.
Cons: He explains concepts in difficult ways.
His exams are a bit tough.
He has pop quiz once every week so students must show up.
He explains in more difficult way than it could be.
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Pros: most of the test material is based on examples in class
Cons: discussion period is completely pointless
easy to pass the class, but despite him saying no calc experience is needed, you definitely would fair better if you took calc before
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Easiness
Pros: Better of the MATH141 professors, he writes the textbook and writes the final exam
Cons: Treats you like an idiot if you ask a question, uses a baby voice if you go to his office hours, gives hard exams
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Easiness
Pros: Does many examples in class
Cons: Does not show all the proofs. Doesn't curve test grades. 8 am class
Honestly, I don't know why Denny Gulick is so highly regarded. He is a decent teacher but I'm not a huge fan.
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Easiness
Pros: Very good at teaching. Humorous and knows his stuff (he wrote the book)
Cons: Because he wrote the book we study, you have to really study in order to get past all of the tricks he throws at you in the quizzes and exams. Exams are sometimes very hard.
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Pros: best teacher ever. he loves to teach and it shows. He also knows his stuff, he wrote the book used at this school
Cons: none. he is great
Take him and only him. the other calc teachers are not as good.
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Easiness
Pros: He's really smart and knows what he's talking about. Communicates the material very clearly to students.
Cons: Even though he's a very good teacher his exams were sometimes tricky.
Overall he's really good and you'll learn a lot from him
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Professor Denny Gulick was my all time favorite teacher! He is the most enthusiastic and funniest professor I have had last semester. Even though the 8am lectures were deathly, it was worth it. He teaches the concepts so clearly and if you attend all the lectures you should definitely be able to get an A or B. He is all about helping you so that you can get a better grade and learn more about calculus. I dont think I have met a person that knew more about the subject, I mean he wrote the book you use for the class...so while he expects more from you, he teaches you everything so that you are prepared and if you need extra help he is always willing to help. He's always cracking jokes and doing things to grab your attention. BEST PROFESSOR, if you have to take this class I would recommend taking him.

However on the down side this class was extremely challenging even though I had taken AP Calc and passed the exam (I wanted to just retake the class before moving on to Calc II since I had taken Calc I junior year). While the concepts are not difficult you have to apply them in more challenging ways and the exams were pretty tough, I always felt like I didnt have enough time.
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Good professor. He knows how to convey the material very well but can sometimes leave you scratching your heading asking, "How did he...?" He likes to get the class involved and is overall a nice teacher. His exams can be hard if you don't prepare but if you do all your web-assign problems and have no trouble you'll be set. Best calculus teacher you can get.

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