David Catlin - Purdue University - West Lafayette, West Lafayette, IN

Professor: David Catlin

Department: Mathematics

College: Purdue University - West Lafayette, West Lafayette, IN

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MA341MA366
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The absolutely worst math class I have ever taken. Professor Caitlin constantly gets lost during the class by what he was talking. He uses lecture slides that he wrote maybe 10 years ago with countless mistakes, and just mumble through the class. He never prepares any lecture nor review session. Exam he gives study guide with countless mistakes.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MA261
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Catlin has a good heart and is passionate about math but his teaching skills are very sub par. It is hard to learn from him as he stumbles over words and never gives clear explanations. Exams are hard and homework can be a struggle since the lecture notes do not make sense.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MA341
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He is very experienced. If you pay attention you can easily do good. Very respected professor.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MA261
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Not the clearest professor in the mathematics department. Often gets confused by his own notes (which are barely legible) and rarely gets fully through a lesson on time. Doesn't explain the math or work in simpler terms, or attempt to explain his motives when solving problems. However, he is extremely friendly, and very accessible outside of class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MA166
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

exams were incredibly tricky (even after working through all previous exams). I have a friend who is a math major and failed this course the first time

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MA341MA366
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Avoid his classes if at all possible. I feel bad for him because he is clearly nervous - he makes countless mistakes during his lectures, gets confused easily, and can't use the projector. But he also doesn't respond to emails and shows up late to class fairly often. If you have to take his class, just copy his lecture notes outside of class.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MA162
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

First off, anyone who is taking MA162, be prepared! After taking calc 2 in high school and receiving an A, I thought it would be easier a second time around but NO! David Catlin is a really nice, genuine guy, but this guy can NOT teach. I think he reached his teaching prime like 20 something years ago. Knows the material, but can hardly teach it.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MA162
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Catlin comes to lecture with notes written out, so dont expect to actually see how to do problems step by step because he usually loses entire pages of his notes

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MA261
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Avoid at all cost. It's not that he's a bad guy, it's just that he can't teach. His glory days are over, Try to get a different teacher if you can.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MA261
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Def the worst professor ive had here. Although I will say I barely went to lecture. BUT, from the lectures I did go too, he would screw up examples every lecture & get confused from his pre-written notes & if he couldn't figure it out he would just skip it. Since notes are prewritten he flies thru material. Book is needed.. Purdue math is crazy!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MA 261-332
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Catlin is a horrible professor. It is honestly arguable that he knows what he is doing. He will dismiss class early because he forgot how to do a problem. He will move on to something else because he forgot how to solve something or pause 5 mins to understand what he wrote. Oh, and even when class does go smoothly, there are mistakes.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MA 162
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

DO. NOT. TAKE.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MA261
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Catlin doesn't typically work through example problems in lecture as he goes along. He does them before coming to lecture and does a poor job explaining his process, often making mistakes. He is hard to follow and does not do a good job covering the material you can expect to see on homework, quizzes, and exams.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MA162
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

David Catlin is a really smart guy (he went to Princeton) but when it comes to teaching he struggles conveying the lessons. He is willing to help if you ask, but often times lectures can cause more confusion than learning.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MA36600
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr Catlin is terrible. He has no idea what is going on during his own lectures, loses track of problems and ends up teaching you incorrect things constantly. His grading is inconsistent so to get an okay grade on an exam you have to meet with him in his office afterwards so he can correct for his numerous errors.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MA162
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Catlin is known for making a lot of mistakes in his work during lecture, however he is one of the best explainers I've had in my time at Purdue. He has every single step worked out for each problem making it very easy to follow even if it is a difficult problem. Plus he confuses himself at times and that draws a good laugh.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MA162
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Prof Catlin is a good teacher. His lectures are NOT hard to understand at all. If you PAY CLOSE ATTENTION to what he says during lecture, you will find that his lecture covers A LOT of examples which are very helpful for the exams. I barely study the material after class, his lecture is good enough.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MA162
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Catlin is only there for himself. He lacks the disire for student success. He also lacks the courtesy of returning emails and calls. I really wonder who the customer is. Obviously not the student. I would encourage you to arrange for a different professor.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MA162
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Prof Catlin is a nice guy, but a horrible teacher. He often messed up with his notes during the lecture, or would mess up the projector, which someone would then need to help fix it. He goes through his notes incredibly fast to where I could not understand them very clearly. I stopped attending his lectures, because they really weren't very helpful

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MA162
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He does example problems in class, and more often than not gets them wrong. "Just pretend this is the right answer"