Ken Golden - University of Utah

Professor: Ken Golden

Department: TBD

College: University of Utah

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH2210
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

how you pass ken's class: go to his test review sessions since he basically tells you the contents of the exam, be prepared to find lots of help online for the tough stuff, read the book. His lectures are 60 % him rambling about examples that 90 % of the class won't understand due to lack of experience, I respect the man, but never again..

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CALC2210
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Golden has a different approach vs other professors in math but he is great. He uses many examples that apply to various different fields too. Golden is lecture HEAVY, so every little thing you learn in lecture will be on the exam. Take good notes and know your math well.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH2210
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Take this class if you're good at math and is a self-learner. Go to his lectures if you love physics, chemistry, and rocket science. Otherwise, take it at your own risk.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CALC2210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I suggest starting with Calc I to judge if his teaching style works for you, because he has a very intuitive understanding of mathematics and can only explain it using physics. If you haven't taken physics/don't understand physics, I would steer clear. He also rants and starts late and ends late, which is very disrespectful.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH2210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's a good teacher if you already know the material. I don't think he realizes its not a physics or engineering class. Will go on rants that only kind of have to do with the topic. He will also talk for the first 20 minutes, then go 5-10 minuets over because he didn't get everything done. I have no retention from his class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I was surprised to see the low reviews, I loved Ken. But I did take calc in high school so this class was basically review for me. His tests were basically the same as his review but easier, and he got them graded and in canvas like an hour after we took them which is crazy. This guy is a gem and he loves showing videos of penguins

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Go to exam reviews or get notes from someone if you can't go. He doesn't post lecture notes online, so you need to go to class. You'll do well if you go to lecture and watch the calc 1 videos on the U's math website. Don't buy textbook. He really loves math, but I think he'd be better teaching calc 2 or higher. It's hard for him to go down to calc1

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CALC1210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

An extremely smart guy who's passionate about math. However, he is too intelligent to be teaching this level of math, and his lectures are dense and difficult to understand. He goes off topic and fails to clearly present what's needed to know. The review sessions he holds for the tests are a must!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

"It's so obvious, don't you see it!"

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Fantastic professor, but sometimes goes a little too quickly, which makes it hard for people who aren't as talented with math to digest the material. Never required to use the textbook; I wouldn't waste my money on it if I took Calc 1 again. Super nice and helpful during office hours, but he's pretty busy. He curved the exams and class too!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CALC1210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Golden assumes the class already has a understanding of calculus and this makes it a little difficult. He connects his lectures to the real world and this is helpful. While some of his examples are confusing, he is an amazing teacher. He does everything to give hints for exams and will give as many points back on missed questions.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

/Teaching is obviously isn't his main focus. He only teaches with single long examples that are always physics focused, it made the class impossible to follow along without a physics background. He also is an incredibly harsh grader, I got 70% on a test when I had 19/20 questions right. He just looks to take away points. Poor experience.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

yeah, he's a genius, but he shouldn't be teaching calc 1. I think he would be suited for more advanced classes. He assumes we know what he is teaching already or we can just pick it up really fast. I some times couldn't keep up with his lectures because he would move on to one topic, do one example and move on. but he's a nice guy and willing 2help

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CALC1210
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Ken is a very knowledgable professor and has taught many advanced courses which means he will often go over ideas that are a little more complicated than an entry level class should have. He also goes over material extremely fast, our class was way ahead of other classes and it would have been nice if he would have slowed down.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH2210
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Ken is brilliant, no doubt, and somewhat entertaining. I thought that he did a solid job breaking down the calculations. Conceptually, however, he overestimates his students every once in a while. Homework is really not bad in this class. He's passionate about teaching and often ties the material to real-world scenarios.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH2210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ken is a little too smart to effectively teach calc 3. Most of the class is spent showing proofs rather than relevant examples. However, he really does care about student success. He is really nice and generous with partial credit. He also gives out a lot of the test questions at review sessions before the tests which is nice.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH2210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Brilliant but has no business teaching lower level math classes because he spends the majority of lecture time showing the class how much he knows while not connecting it to the class or teaching in an organized fashion. He spends his time talking VAGUELY about a ton of upper division maths and the class is a waste of time where not much is learned

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH2210
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His lecture is really bad. He will not teach you anything in the class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH1220
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Golden was a fairly good teacher, but a lot of class time was not spent on what we needed to know for the test. A lot of what we learned was either not on the test or could be learned in a different class.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH1220
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ken Golden is a great professor. If you attend every lecture and write down some of his "favorite" problems, you should breeze through the exam. The key to this class is going to the Math Lab. If you can comfortably get through the homework and the practice exam, you should receive an A on the exam. 1220 is much harder than 1210 so study harder.