Joshua Holden - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN

Professor: Joshua Holden

Department: Mathematics

College: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Despite what a lot of students say about Dr. Holden, I have had a diverse range of Rose math profs and thought Dr. Holden was one of the best. His guided notes make following lecture easy and allow for easy reference when studying outside of class. His lectures are engaging and he offers plenty of redemption opportunities

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Marginally average is the best way I can put this. He does seem interested in the content and helping students learn, but on the same page he doesn't hold very many office hours and it sometimes takes him three weeks to grade exams.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Holden was one of the WORST profs I've ever had. Not only did he grade with an iron fist, he also showed a general lack of ability to communicate the material in an effective way. Additionally, when I approached him for help I was told to "study more" because clearly I had never thought to try that. If you have can take someone else, do it.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Holden is a very good person. If you ask for something you're likely to get it. But under no circumstances should you opt to take this class. He uses DyKnow and forces you to take notes on Surface Pros. He's not a good teacher and expects you to know things he hardly teaches.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Goes through notes way too fast, every example has something to do with maple and he doesn't explain what he did in maple to get it. Uses a program called DyKnow it can be troublesome and the tablets used in class can randomly shut down which you lose your notes. Doesn't work through examples just shows you maple and moves on.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MA381
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dyknow was used very poorly and created an unhealthy learning environment.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MA375
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Had him for MA375 and the lectures were pretty solid. He used something called DyKnow which is weird and complicated at first but after you get used to it its pretty useful and interactive. HW can be pretty hard sometimes but he's always willing to help and tests arent that bad if you understand the hw.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CSSE474
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Avoid his theory of computation at all cost. It took a long time for him to grade your homework and quiz so that I didn't know whether my answer was correct before exams. So, I made the same mistake in the exam and lost half points of that question.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I had Dr. Holden for Calc 3, and while the subject material wasn't terribly difficult, I thought he made it confusing. I found it difficult to nearly impossible to follow along with the notes through DyKnow, and I didn't think the labs helped me absorb the material any more than regular homework would have. He was friendly though

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MA112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Holden is a really good professor. Calc 2 was described to me as being the hardest class you take freshmen year but I actually enjoyed it with Holden. Projects are challenging but do-able. Tests can be challenging but not impossible. He is friendly and willing to help with questions. I learned a lot in his class and was prepared for the final.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MA112
• 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:

Dr. Holden is a good professor. His teaching style is slightly unorthodox because students take notes on a tablet and do things such as mind-dump mondays and tell me tuesdays. However, he does these things so students can succeed and feel comfortable in his class. His tests are relatively straightforward with a few difficult questions.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MA112
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is a little bit different than most professors. His lectures are very fast paced, but he likes to use a ton of visuals which made material easy to learn. His exams were difficult because they required a good understanding of the material. If you can do the homework problems without any help then you can get an A on the exam. Very picky grader.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MA112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Gimmicky. We do things such as "Mind Dump Monday" and listen to his "Tell me Tuesday". These do not help with comprehension of calculus, or anything at all. DyKnow is disengaging; it creates a barrier between him and his students. Not very good at explaining things in class. Often takes a very long time to grade assignments. Not a good teacher.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MA275
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His hand writing is horrible and it's almost impossible to learn. He's really smart, practically a genius, and he's really friendly. But when it comes to teaching, he goes far too fast and doesn't do things in an not understandable way.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Go through notes too fast. Dyknow isn't the best for a math class. Also loves to "check" maple to prove something but doesn't ever show clear work. Most of the time have no clue what to expect on the tests cause the hw is no where near related to the tests . If you get him good luck.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you're not already good at math, I wouldn't recommend taking a class with Holden. However, he is very good at helping if you go to his office or shoot him an email. He's very laid back (he'll even let you call him Josh). There was always a bonus question on his test, but don't expect extra credit for anything.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I thought Dr. Holden was very fair and not a terribly tough professor. He was more than willing to help any student. If there were lots of questions in a lecture he'd slow down for us. But for the most part he speeds through notes with few and poor notes. His tests are straight forward, no tricks but not easy. Felt extremely prepared for the final

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Notes were taken on tablets, which is nice because you don't need a notebook but you also don't learn as deeply in class so if you can't handle learning outside of class then don't take his class. He will help you if you ask, even through email. He has labs for MA113 while other professors don't. They help you learn but it's still lost class time

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Holden used DyKnow and Maple a lot for lecture, and I didn't like it. He went through things really quickly. He does whatever he can to help you, but he isn't very effective in office hours. I would not recommend.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MA113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Rushes through things in class, only uses DyKnow and Maple to explain. His test were horrible due to the fact they weren't anything like the homework or the problems we did in class. Would not recommend him.