Paul Van Steenberg - University of Maine

Professor: Paul Van Steenberg
Department: Mathematics
College: University of Maine
Rating # 1
Overview:
  • Course: MAT127
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 2.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
I skipped almost all lectures bc the way he teaches is so condescending and rude, luckily attendance for the lectures isnt required. I learned everything from just the homework. Attendance/participation counts for recitations. Quizzes weekly. Would not recommend unless you can teach yourself complex math. Good luck if you have him.
Rating # 2
Overview:
  • Course: MAT127
  • 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:
Took Calc II online with him. Never have I ever had a professor be so rude and disrespectful toward students. As someone who struggles to understand math concepts, this class was very difficult and it was pretty much useless to attend lectures, as he only goes through 1-2 example problems in the 50 minutes and does not explain concepts well.
Rating # 3
Overview:
  • Course: MAT127
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
I took calc II with him, and he was always quite aggressive and condescending in the way he spoke to us. He would say mean things a lot and make you feel like you were going to fail in life if you didn't understand what he was doing. In our small group recitation, he was much kinder and less aggressive. Conflicting. I wouldn't take his class again.
Rating # 4
Overview:
  • Course: MAT126
  • Grade Received: A+
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Simply a horrible man. Constantly berated students for not having cameras on and insulted them. Lectures are barely worth going to as he can barely get through one example. Half answers questions. Homework is awful, even he says so. The only upside is you can get 100 on every HW assignment if you repeat the problem, which is nice for understanding.
Rating # 5
Overview:
  • Course: MAT117
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
He is not very helpful at all. Lectures are almost useless as he only goes over one problem per class and almost never has anything to do with the topic on the test. And if you think homework is the solution to helping you, good luck finding any. He says there is some and he talks about how awful it is yet you can never find it. Not good at all.
Rating # 6
Overview:
  • Course: MAT117
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
He is a great guy, but if you are learning these topics for the first time Good luck. For each lecture he goes over one problem and does not explain how he gets to his answers and assumes that you know what he's thinking as he writes and jumps around the board. The hw is impossible to find and are very difficult to complete within a reasonable time
Rating # 7
Overview:
  • Course: MAT117
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Great guy, awful professor. Doesnt teach you anything. He assumes everyone already knows certain topics and will just do one review question each class. Homework? Good luck finding that online. The homeworks are very difficult and almost impossible to locate. He also doesnt assign a due date so youll never know when theyre do, but they are!
Rating # 8
Overview:
  • Course: MAT228
  • 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:
Simply the best professor for Calculus classes you can take, and even beyond that he would be my number 1 pick for a Mathematics class at UMaine. Just be there for classes and put in some work.
Rating # 9
Overview:
  • Course: MAT258
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Paul Van Steenberghe is a great professor. The course was hard but not at all unreasonable. If you do all the homework you will be more than prepared for the exams. I found that the lectures were clear and always worth attending. If you put your best effort into this class Paul will go to the end of the earth to help you learn the material. A++
Rating # 10
Overview:
  • Course: MAT258
  • 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:
Paul is a great guy and a respected prof, his lectures are material heavy so really pay attention and take good notes. Lots of tests and lots of homework. But generally I think he is one of the best mathematics professors on campus. I would definitely take another course with him if I could.
Rating # 11
Overview:
  • Course: MAT228
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
His courses tend to be very difficult and overly confusing. The textbook will save your life, as he tends to skip over some important things in the classes. He's nice, but generally confusing. The tests make or break your grade, and he makes them hard. Make sure you remember your highschool algebra and precalc, you'll need most of it.
Rating # 12
Overview:
  • Course: MAT127
  • Grade Received: B
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Paul is a great guy! You will learn more in his class than you would believe. He will put as much effort into teaching you as you put into his class. If you try hard this guy will definitely go the extra mile to make sure you succeed. Super cool prof, always willing to talk or answer questions. Will try to take him for the rest of my math reqs.
Rating # 13
Overview:
  • Course: MAT128
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Paul is the man, funny, always interesting, sometimes hes not kind to questions in class but helpful with explaining, his test are long, but if you look at all the old test he sends you itll be good
Rating # 14
Overview:
  • Course: MAT122
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 2.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Would not suggest taking his class for anything easier than Calc II, he seems to have difficulty focusing on pre-calculus and would always jumps into advanced math problems and get excited to show us what his Calc III students were learning, often for the majority of class time, leaving us confused and lost most lectures.
Rating # 15
Overview:
  • Course: MAT228
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Steenberg is the best. People who say they don't like him just don't try in his classes. He won't give you the time of day if he can tell you're slacking. If you're engaged then he'll go the extra mile for you. He's heavy on graphing, so you'd better be good at visualizing/drawing
Rating # 16
Overview:
  • Course: MAT 128
  • Grade Received: C
  • Overall Rating: 3.5
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: N/A
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
I failed his class the first time I took it, but I was also lazy. Seriously, Professor Van Steenberg is amazing , and a wonderful man. His test are not easy, but he is willing to help. Very fair with grading. Put in the work and then some (study your homework, practice tests) and you'll be fine. Also, learn how to graph. He loves it.
Rating # 17
Overview:
  • Course: MAT228
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 4.5
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: N/A
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
I took calc III in the 5-week June term. That is a lot of material for just 5 weeks. Paul takes very difficult topics and explains them so they actually make sense. His tests are very long, difficult, and comprehensive. If you show up to class, take good notes, and study a lot you will do fine though! He's a very interesting dude, makes class fun.
Rating # 18
Overview:
  • Course: MAT122
  • Grade Received: D+
  • Overall Rating: 2.5
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: N/A
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Really nice guy, and brilliant professor, but he couldn't seem to dumb it down. I took precalc with him, and while he definitely knew the subject well, it wasn't long before people realized he was jumping straight into calc 2 stuff. He was very willing to help but his lectures weren't very clear. I wouldn't recommend for anything below calc 3.
Rating # 19
Overview:
  • Course: MAT127AND228
  • Grade Received: B+
  • Overall Rating: 4.5
  • Course Difficulty: 2.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: N/A
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
The worst thing I can say about him is that he expects you to be able to graph, which, for me, is difficult. But here's the thing: he actually shows you how to do what he expects. Graphing, while still difficult, is doable now, even in 3d. Very approachable and understanding. Wish I'd had pre-calc and calc 1 with him too. Simply put: He makes SENSE
Rating # 20
Overview:
  • Course: MAT127
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 4.5
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Paul's a great guy, makes calculus come alive. Always seems to have more ways to explain things. Later in the day, I've heard he comes into class pretty baked, but I guess his teaching doesn't suffer for it. He has a lot of hobbies that he likes talking about -- solar cars, trick biking, longboarding. Definitely the coolest professor at UMaine.
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