Pau Atela - Smith College, Northampton, MA

Professor: Pau Atela

Department: Mathematics

College: Smith College, Northampton, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is reason I stuck with math major! I love him. He is a nice man and a great teacher!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MTH212
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Pau is super passionate about math. He can get a little off track during class, but his love for the subject is contagious and it makes it worth it. You definitely have to do the reading to completely understand the subject, but he's a fun dude. (+ sometimes he brings his dog and lets her walk around on the tables. it's great.)

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MTH212
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Really confusing lecturer. He beats the simple topics into the ground & skims over the confusing stuff. Hes passionate about math, but hes just not good at explaining it. I barely learned anything from his class and had to reteach myself a lot of Calc III stuff when I went on to higher math/physics classes. Also, his lectures dragged a lot.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I took linear algebra with him last year. He is one of the better professors in the math department. His lectures are easy to follow and understand. And as long as you take notes and do the HW, you'll do okay. He is such a nice and interesting man.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MTH112
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

A nice guy but he's not very good at teaching. I never gained anything from the his lectures because his explanations are so roundabout and hard to understand. He's also disorganized, hard to find during office hours, and often cancels classes last minute. It's an easy A but if you need to take a class that builds off 112... good luck

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MTH212
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Pau is great! He loves math, and it really shows in his lectures. He opens your mind and makes you think abstractly, which is great! He doesn't profess on every topic, but is very accessible for questions - I would highly recommend taking a class with him!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PRS309
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Definitely take Art/Math Studio with him if you can! Never had a strictly Math course with him, but making art with him is crazy and a blast. If you aren't open to exploring new concepts or thinking about how you could change your art then this course isn't for you. But, if you want to try and stretch your imagination go for it!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MTH112
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is an amazing professor and an even better mathematician. His style of teaching takes some getting used to, but that's because he is so uniquely crazy about math. He helped me understand so much and made a subject as boring as Calc 2 fun and clear. Wants you to work hard and inspires you to do so!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MTH112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Atela is so passionate about Maths and that is so contagious! This class was amazing, it got me thinking about Maths on a whole different level. Definitely take this class with him!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MTH112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I feel like a lot of people are giving Pau Atela crap because he makes you work hard and think in non-traditional ways. To me, that is a plus! It's true that he doesn't do problems step-by-step in class all of the time, but he instead devotes his class time to getting students to really think about the applications of their math. I love his class!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MTH112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Pau Atela is wonderful! He is always very excited about his topic and he is there to help students that are eager to learn. His class IS very work-intensive and he doesn't go over how to do problems in class. However he has after-class sessions to go over problems and he is always willing to help. He will open your mind to new math wonders!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MTH112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I absolutely love this professor! He doesn't go over specific examples a lot in class, but I have become much more open-minded about math. He teaches us how apply math to the world. And he's very friendly and nice, and will try his best to help. Do a lot of practice problems outside of class: he has a hands off approach, and keep an open mind!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MTH112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His explanations in class are contradictory and confusing, he takes two weeks to grade and return homework which he refuses to review in class. He has TAs grade the homework and what he says in class does not match up with the book.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MTH211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

make everything as confusing as possible!!!! Both the textbook, which is downloading free on line, and his lecture are useless!!! His grading for the test make no sense at all!!!!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PRS309
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

definitely take Art/Math Studio with him! It's very free form and fun and crazy. I think I love him. Not good if you want regular graded assignments, but great if you want to make art projects and get ideas from weird/fun math concepts.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MTH212
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

fun

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MAT111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

sorry to say it, but epic fail! i minored in discrete math (opposite of calculus) & it may have been due to him, but i majored in CS which is more aligned w/ discrete. ive never wasted so much time in front of a computer used as a babysitting device to dumb down calculus. hes prob great for those who need calc 4 as a prereq, not if ure interested

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MTH114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Really funny and entertaining, but hard to understand. Left the class with a greater appreciation for math in the scope of the universe, but not in the scope of academics. Would recommend... but only if you want to understand math theoretically.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MTH114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Cutie Pau says and does the most hilarious things. One day he tried to explain "successive approximations" by throwing chalk around the room! So many quotable things from that class! He can be kind of confusing at times though but he's super nice and wants to be helpful.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MTH114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Very funny (he calls everything his "sister"), nice, and extremely helpful in office hours! Really enthusiastic about the subject matter and wants you to be, too. Take his class!