Richard Baker - University of Iowa

Professor: Richard Baker

Department: Mathematics

College: University of Iowa

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CALCULUS1
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Would not recommend. He didn't post midterm grades until December. The practice problems he gave for the exams were super easy compared to the exam questions. His office hours were unclear, and he mostly wasn't available outside of class. Take a different professor or take the class online. TBH I mostly learned from the book.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH1850
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you dont know complicated math terms you will be lost in lectures. He explains things as if everyone in class has taken advanced math classes for years, despite it being an introductory course. The TA and Khan Academy are the only reasons I passed the tests. He also talks in circles during lectures, making it near impossible to follow.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH2560
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

DO NOT HAVE THIS PROFESSOR. He was very disorganized, hard to read his handwriting, it was very difficult.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH26
• Grade Received: D+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Just not good at explaining concepts

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CALCULUS1850
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I'm sure he's a great guy outside of the classroom, but he does a very very poor job at actually teaching. Most of the class is based around his awful jokes and the dated notes he puts on the board. I learned very little about calculus. Thank God this was my last math class. ever.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CALC1
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

All he does in lecture is laugh at his own jokes and reads off his slides (from 2012). He just copies down the examples problems (with the wrong work). His tests are 8 questions and one is worth 20% of the whole test (but you don't know how to do it). Best part of class: the notebook we keep of his stupid quotes. Beware

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH1860
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Actually lectures about 10% of the time. Spends the entire hour doing examples. So if you don't learn the concepts on your own outside of class then you won't understand his examples, making the entire "lecture" useless. Literally the only reasons to go to lecture are the attendance and to hear the exam dates because he puts NOTHING on ICON.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH1850
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Don't take his class if you're bad at math.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH1860
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's not a good professor. He reads off the hand-written notes from the board. The notes he uses are from 2013 (some are even from 2002). There are only two midterms (both 8 questions) and a final (10 questions). No partial credit for problems. The curve is the only thing that will save you so avoid his class at all cost because you won't learn.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CALC1860
• 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:

If I could give a 0 I would. He went too fast, I had to take pictures of his notes and copy them after class. You will have 8+ pages of notes every class. Doesn't explain when going through problems. He is kinda funny, and his TA was nice. Other than that, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS WITH PROFESSOR BAKER.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH1850
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hes a very funny good guy but an awful professor. Makes no sense in lecture. Does not use a + or - scale and gives no partial credit on tests. Tests are multiple choice with a 20% question thats nearly impossible so 20% of your grade is based on a 1/5 guess. Says the curve will get rid of bad questions but thats doesnt work on multiple choice.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH1860
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He doesn't teach, only reads off the slides. Do not take.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Please do not take this professor. You will regret it. The tests do a terrible job of reflecting the standard problems that you practice. They are strange and worded very in a bizarre manner. All the questions are multiple choice and there is 8 of them so students will randomly get higher or lower scores.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 22M026
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hard to follow in class, makes awful jokes that are hard to listen to. Puts notes on the projector and then just rewrites all of that work on the chalk board. Always does the work wrong on the board, and mumbles while writing it down. Test are 8 multiple chose questions so if you guess right on the 20 point question, you can go from a C to an A.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CALC1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

extremely difficult to follow

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CALC1
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Bad teacher, makes me wanna sleep every single time. Always talk to himself during lecture. Nobody ever laughs at his jokes.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is the worst professor in Iowa. Scroll down and see what people say. Don't waste your time and money. I got an A on his Calculus 2, but I will avoid him at all cost, if I need to take another math course.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: 22M025
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

so brofessor baker as he refers to himself is not the best teacher and tests are very hard. im talking with a 20 percent you can get a c an on exam. Only people that are actually good at math will get an A because his tests have two problems that are very hard, but its not hard because of the calculus, but because of mathematical communication.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CALC2
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Avoid at all cost if you must take him just hope for a good curve

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH1860
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Attendance is mandatory. Midterms are 8 multiple choice questions, two of which are nearly impossible. Also, the practice test is nothing compared to the actual exams...