Rebecca Sparks - Rhode Island College, Providence, RI

Professor: Rebecca Sparks

Department: Mathematics

College: Rhode Island College, Providence, RI

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH314
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr Sparks gives a LOT of homework! If you can and if your semester is filled with heavy courses, try avoiding her, or your workload will be overwhelming. But that amount of homework makes you get the material after a while. And she teaches very well, lectures are well organized.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH314
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Assigns lots of homework - I averaged 20 hours a week doing it. Never answered a single one of my emails. Would often only give one example in class and assign 40+ problems on topics we didn't cover. The good thing is she explains things well if you ask her.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH139H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

More than I expected for a 100-level class. Clear lectures in class, fair grader, willing to answer questions. Homework is long, but not hard. 2 exams, No final! HOWEVER, groupwork project is completely irrelevant to class and not well explained. Partners quit and she made me finish THEIR work! Would recommend ONLY for classes without group project

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH139H
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Sparks often fails to answer emails and verbal questions, and is often rude to students do who ask for help. Too much homework is assigned, and the final project is to calculate how to retake an old photo, which is totally irrelevant to anything she teaches over the course of the semester. Do not take this class if you don't handle stress well.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: M139H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Sparks assigns a lot of homework each class (usually around 15-20 problems) due for the next class in addition to the semester long project which involves a 10 page paper (double spaced) and a 15-20 minute presentation. She is not the easiest person to get help from and she can be quite rude to students in class when they ask questions.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH213
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

She's an intelligent woman but not a good lecturer and has "a reputation to keep." So she prides herself on being hard as opposed to being helpful. Her explanations leaves more to be desired. she puts the hardest questions of the homework on her exams and there's group work. Calc 2 is hard as it is, pick someone else or take it during the summer.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH248
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very knowledgeable teacher. You definitely have to work for your grade and although she assigns a ton of homework it helps prepare you for the exam. Make sure you ask questions if you don't understand the topic. She will help you understand but you better show effort. She has no tolerance and can be very condescending and rude at times.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH248
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Awesome professor, but makes you worth it. By far the best RICs math dept has to offer. Lots of homework and long lectures, but you will learn something if you do the work. Very helpful. She has no patience for excuses or lazy students. Do the work and pay attention, ask questions, and she's great. Would definitely take again.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: 139
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She was pretty good for the class I took with her, but there was a lot of homework involved. Overall I liked her, but she would sometimes be condescending or come off a little rude (but I don't think she meant it). I learned some good life skills in the class, though.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH248
• Grade Received: 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:

One of the best professors I've ever had. She expects a lot out of her students which is what I liked most about her. Not for the lazy student, but if you really want to learn you will enjoy the challenge and do well. Assigns a TON of homework but always answered questions thoughtfully and really wants students to understand. I would take her again

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH213
• 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:

Dr. Sparks is the best math professor I've had at RIC. She's intelligent, clear, and well-organized. Her lectures are accessible, and she's always willing to help you out if you're lost. She assigns more work than other professors, but if you put in the time, you'll master the material by the time you finish the class. I definitely recommend her!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PUREMATH
• 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 took history of mathematics with Dr sparks where she covered a variety of pue math subjects. I think that she is smart, clear and very helpful. I really liked her strategy of teaching .she gave many challenging assignments and her exams were decent. she is really one of the best professors at Ric.....

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH213
• 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:

Calculus II is really hard so don't go into that class with a cocky attitude. I am very good at Math and I wanted to rip the book in half when I first went to class. A word of advice, when you're buying webassign buy the lifetime one because you are probably gonna have to take the class again. The professor is not the problem, the course is.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof Sparks is very nice and helpful but I did not do well in her class. It is Calculus II and I was already expecting the worst to happen prior to attending class. Unless you are a genius in Calculus you will get a C, D or fail in any Calculus II class. Again professor is not the problem.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH315
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Sparks is a good teacher. She does give a lot (and I mean a lot) of homework which can overwhelm you. I would prefer less actual written homework so I could study the notes from class a bit more. Her exams weren't too bad though.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH315
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She knows the material very well, and really wants her students to learn. However she gave us way to much homework; I often spent 4-5hours on each assignment, and we would only have 2 days to do them. I wish she would go through the proofs in more detail rather than stopping halfway through and leaving the rest as "HW".

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH139H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Made math interesting for people who don't love it. Learned useful things for everyday life. Very personable and homework is already posted online, so you can easily get ahead of yourself. Nice teacher who loves math.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ABC139
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Assignments would either be emailed to us assigned in class or on her website so it was a game to find out what the homework was and they would be posted a day before they were usually due with a lot of problems. It is important to show up for the class because she goes way to fast and you will miss a lot. Book is important for all the homework

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH139H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She definitely knows her craft. However, she is awfully impersonal. Additionally, her presentation of the material often lacks clarity seems rushed.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH238
• 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:

Very knowledgeable, but not great at teaching. I'm not very strong in math, so having her as a teacher wasn't the best choice. Very hard to follow along with her and once you fall behind, there's no hope for you. Also very ridiculous while grading, will take points off for the smallest things, like units/labeling.