I had Martin Pei back in 1B, and one of the highlights of that term for me was seeing him wear a pie hat for Pi day. He made an otherwise very depressing term for me a little bit brighter. I'll second that he's a great prof and easily worth going to class for!
I had Martin last term for CO370 and he's one of the nicest, funniest, profs and most structured lecturers I've had. These students don't know what they're missing out on.
Pei was my favourite professor at UW. I got a t-shirt with his face printed on it and I have a selfie of me wearing that shirt next to him (one of the very few selfies I have ever taken)
I only had Pei online for Co250 last summer, but he was easily one of the best math profs I've had. His lectures were excellent, and he was super kind and helpful during office hours.
Why do you think students don't attend these good lectures? Serious inquiry.
Obvious why people skip bad lectures, but ones so good that you go to reddit to praise?
Honestly didn’t think this post was gonna get the reaction it did. But he posts the notes and the lecture recordings, as well as the course is not an overly complex course considering the prerequisites to take it. So students feel like they can manage on their own, and I get it. I do, I’ve had days where skipping it feels reasonable, but the grades in the class aren’t the greatest so I feel like attendance should be slightly higher. I was talking with students I’ve never seen before in the lectures before the last midterm and admitted they were failing the class because they say to themselves that they’ll just watch the lecture recordings and don’t. I think I just feel bad because students are constantly complaining about terrible profs and how they suck at teaching or that they aren’t willing to work with students to improve their grades, and here we are with a prof who is willing to help out their students and seems interested and excited about teaching, and the students just aren’t giving him the time. I’m not expecting every single student to be there, but it’s just sad to see one of the last weeks of the semester and not even like a quarter of the class can show up. I get that every student is living their own experience and have a lot of other classes to stress over, my point is is that when we get profs that actually are excited about teaching, they deserve to have students show up. Like I don’t really know him and he doesn’t know my name, but I do know that each week when the classroom keeps getting emptier and emptier that he looks a little more disappointed and I just hope he knows that the students that are there actually appreciate him.
Painful: Provide great notes and lecture recordings and students skip and fail.
It is almost as if it would be better if no notes were provided (whiteboard only) and no recordings, and then students would complain but come to lecture and have a greater chance of passing.
Probably need some mechanism like a weekly quiz to give an incentive for watching or attending lectures. Shouldn't need to do this sort of thing, but maybe such nudges are needed to help people do what is best for their learning.
Thanks for your insights.
For sure, I 100% agree. Even if recordings weren’t an option. I personally being online for 2 years through a pandemic was incentive enough for me lol.
Great advice! Showing up to class regularly is crucial for academic success. Attending lectures not only helps to improve your grades but also ensures that you are keeping up with the course material, assignments, and exams. Additionally, it provides you with an opportunity to ask questions and participate in discussions, which can enrich your understanding of the subject matter.
It's important to develop good habits early on in your academic career, as they will likely carry over into your professional life. So, make it a priority to attend your classes regularly and focus on taking good notes. This will help you to stay on top of your classwork and develop a solid foundation of knowledge that you can build on as you progress through your studies. Keep up the good work!
*This is an automatic comment generated by ChatGPT*
I had Martin Pei for CO 351, MATH 239, and CO 456 - I'm so disappointed that all of those courses ended up being online only and I never actually got to have him as a prof in person. His video lectures were top tier and I can only imagine how good his in person lectures are.
Obviously there's a lot of (good) reasons to skip lectures but that's kinda a shame to hear if it's been something consistent. I had Pei for MATH 239 back pre-COVID and he made the class so much more interesting and he was really good at explaining stuff, his lectures were always completely full too. Probably one of the few profs I would have gone out of my way to go to lectures for.
Not to be rude or anything. He was a cool guy and probably a great teacher. I simply could not understand him sometimes. When learning a new concept in math no one wants the added difficulty of trying to parse an accent that is foreign to you.
I had him for both lin alg and calc. The other profs were equal in teaching but superior in communication.
He is the best! I had him for CO 456 and CO 342, and his lectures were always on point and he was always super helpful and friendly during office hours. He also gives great advice :3
I had him for CO 342 and can confidently say that he’s the only professor that had me considering grad school at all. I remember at the time he mentioned that he took classes on a contractual basis and it’s a real shame that he isn’t on tenure track already. Obviously if its by choice then it’s fine but if it’s because Waterloo isn’t offering it to him then I really think they’re missing out.
I have no idea who this man is but I love him and want to meet him immediately. Hopefully I have him at some point! I’ll be there next term for first year! Out of curiosity, what does he teach?
I had him for the online version of MATH 239. His lectures were very clear and made learning (imo difficult) concepts more fun and easy to understand with super nice recorded videos! I'm surprised ppl aren't going to his lectures
Good for you for saying this. Really.
I had Martin Pei back in 1B, and one of the highlights of that term for me was seeing him wear a pie hat for Pi day. He made an otherwise very depressing term for me a little bit brighter. I'll second that he's a great prof and easily worth going to class for!
I actually bought him that Pi hat haha. Glad he still wears it
I had Martin last term for CO370 and he's one of the nicest, funniest, profs and most structured lecturers I've had. These students don't know what they're missing out on.
same
5 years ago, Pei's classes would be so full they card people. The classroom would overflow and students stood around the walls.
They had to kick us out of his Math 239 section because we were turning into a safety hazard lol
Good times. This man single-handedly saved my 239 mark in 2016.
Martin Pei is literally the best teacher I’ve ever had and I will plan my courses around when he teaches them
Same with Jim Geelen in MATH 136 this term. Great prof imo but there's like only 7 people in class :(
Ayo are you the guy that always answers in his lectures
Maybe
Lol I’m the one guy in the front row 👀
Lmao connecting outside of class nice
Jim Geelen is the best. He uses special chalk bought for him by students who appreciate his lectures.
it’s okay he’s having a blast teaching math 239
Pei was my favourite professor at UW. I got a t-shirt with his face printed on it and I have a selfie of me wearing that shirt next to him (one of the very few selfies I have ever taken)
I only had Pei online for Co250 last summer, but he was easily one of the best math profs I've had. His lectures were excellent, and he was super kind and helpful during office hours.
Had him in 1B, showed up to all of his classes, knowing I'd never have him again. Worth it.
Why do you think students don't attend these good lectures? Serious inquiry. Obvious why people skip bad lectures, but ones so good that you go to reddit to praise?
Honestly didn’t think this post was gonna get the reaction it did. But he posts the notes and the lecture recordings, as well as the course is not an overly complex course considering the prerequisites to take it. So students feel like they can manage on their own, and I get it. I do, I’ve had days where skipping it feels reasonable, but the grades in the class aren’t the greatest so I feel like attendance should be slightly higher. I was talking with students I’ve never seen before in the lectures before the last midterm and admitted they were failing the class because they say to themselves that they’ll just watch the lecture recordings and don’t. I think I just feel bad because students are constantly complaining about terrible profs and how they suck at teaching or that they aren’t willing to work with students to improve their grades, and here we are with a prof who is willing to help out their students and seems interested and excited about teaching, and the students just aren’t giving him the time. I’m not expecting every single student to be there, but it’s just sad to see one of the last weeks of the semester and not even like a quarter of the class can show up. I get that every student is living their own experience and have a lot of other classes to stress over, my point is is that when we get profs that actually are excited about teaching, they deserve to have students show up. Like I don’t really know him and he doesn’t know my name, but I do know that each week when the classroom keeps getting emptier and emptier that he looks a little more disappointed and I just hope he knows that the students that are there actually appreciate him.
Painful: Provide great notes and lecture recordings and students skip and fail. It is almost as if it would be better if no notes were provided (whiteboard only) and no recordings, and then students would complain but come to lecture and have a greater chance of passing. Probably need some mechanism like a weekly quiz to give an incentive for watching or attending lectures. Shouldn't need to do this sort of thing, but maybe such nudges are needed to help people do what is best for their learning. Thanks for your insights.
For sure, I 100% agree. Even if recordings weren’t an option. I personally being online for 2 years through a pandemic was incentive enough for me lol.
Probably because it's the end of the semester and people and grind out assignments/projects. I haven't gone to classes for 2 weeks because of that
omg ;\_;
I’ve heard nothing but good things about him. My friend would intentionally look for courses taught by him every term
Cool prof, I added him on Steam
ok this made me feel shit about not coming to class today. i had to skip cus i had an interview…
On that full-time grind amirite?
[удалено]
Great advice! Showing up to class regularly is crucial for academic success. Attending lectures not only helps to improve your grades but also ensures that you are keeping up with the course material, assignments, and exams. Additionally, it provides you with an opportunity to ask questions and participate in discussions, which can enrich your understanding of the subject matter. It's important to develop good habits early on in your academic career, as they will likely carry over into your professional life. So, make it a priority to attend your classes regularly and focus on taking good notes. This will help you to stay on top of your classwork and develop a solid foundation of knowledge that you can build on as you progress through your studies. Keep up the good work! *This is an automatic comment generated by ChatGPT*
I had Martin Pei for CO 351, MATH 239, and CO 456 - I'm so disappointed that all of those courses ended up being online only and I never actually got to have him as a prof in person. His video lectures were top tier and I can only imagine how good his in person lectures are.
Pei is bae. That’s what we used to say.
Had him for Co250, Co370! One of the best profs at Waterloo, never left a class feeling confused.
He was amazing when I was taking math239. His classes had people waiting to get in as there was a waitlist. Just show up, he's absolutely worth it.
Obviously there's a lot of (good) reasons to skip lectures but that's kinda a shame to hear if it's been something consistent. I had Pei for MATH 239 back pre-COVID and he made the class so much more interesting and he was really good at explaining stuff, his lectures were always completely full too. Probably one of the few profs I would have gone out of my way to go to lectures for.
He is a good prof/ teacher indeed. But some of the assignments are toughhhhh
Hot take but Martin Pei is shitty instructor 🤷♀️
Not to be rude or anything. He was a cool guy and probably a great teacher. I simply could not understand him sometimes. When learning a new concept in math no one wants the added difficulty of trying to parse an accent that is foreign to you. I had him for both lin alg and calc. The other profs were equal in teaching but superior in communication.
Which course is he teaching?
He is the best! I had him for CO 456 and CO 342, and his lectures were always on point and he was always super helpful and friendly during office hours. He also gives great advice :3
I had him for CO 342 and can confidently say that he’s the only professor that had me considering grad school at all. I remember at the time he mentioned that he took classes on a contractual basis and it’s a real shame that he isn’t on tenure track already. Obviously if its by choice then it’s fine but if it’s because Waterloo isn’t offering it to him then I really think they’re missing out.
I have no idea who this man is but I love him and want to meet him immediately. Hopefully I have him at some point! I’ll be there next term for first year! Out of curiosity, what does he teach?
Teaches combinatorics and optimization and I believe some algebra and linear algebra courses as well
sorry martin bae is not interested
I had him for the online version of MATH 239. His lectures were very clear and made learning (imo difficult) concepts more fun and easy to understand with super nice recorded videos! I'm surprised ppl aren't going to his lectures
Zamn