MATH 3250

Paul Bourdon is probably the most enthusiastic math professor I have ever had. He comes to class every single day prepared and excited, which makes the entire class interested in the material. Furthermore, I was scared that this class would be really difficult and I would not be able to follow the lectures, but he offers so many platforms to ask questions and go over the material. You go to class everyday ready for the curriculum for the day. I could not recommend him enough. He takes a complicated subject and makes it interesting and clear.

If you can, take this course with Bourdon. He does a very good job of explaining concepts and seems to really enjoy teaching the class. Homeworks are super helpful (many are not required) and do not take too long. Great professor, great course.

Prof Bourdon is very enthusiastic about teaching, excellent at answering questions, and works really hard to always be prepared for class. I would really highly recommend taking diff eq with him. Bourdon runs his class a little differently than what you've probably seen in other math classes, but it works very well. Everyday there is a handout packet which has definitions, examples, and places for you to work out problems that you go through to learn new concepts. He also uses the document camera to do examples, gives webassign readings + problems, iClickers questions in class, and a Piazza online Q&A forum which is really helpful for students to ask for and give help. There's also plenty of opportunities for extra credit and grading isn't too tough. A lot of linear algebra concepts come up in this class, so although not a requirement, it would be really helpful to have before taking diff eq.

Paul Bourdon is one of the best teachers I have ever had. He is extremely organized and has notesheets everyday that double as study guides when it comes to an exam. Speaking of study guides, he makes an extensive one before each exam that ensures you know anything that could pop up on the test. Don't take this class unless you are interested in Math, but it has been my favorite class at UVA and Bourdon is the man.

Paul Bourdon is the best professor I have had during my time here at UVA, out of any department. He absolutely loves math, specifically differential equations, but even more so, he loves teaching, which is rare to find amongst professors in the math department at UVA. He is available out of class any time you need him and is one that encourages questions rather than making his students feel stupid for asking them. He sets up the course so that the final grade is made up of more than a few test and quiz grades. There are 3 unit tests (14% each) which are very fair if you study the (quite extensive/cohesive) study guides and practice tests that he provides and a final exam (20%). There are weekly quizzes in the discussion section (20%) which are made up of 2-3 of the week's respective homework assignments' questions and 1-2 definitions which he provides you with on a weekly basis. Basically, if you do the homework and ask questions when confused, you will be successful on the quizzes. Also, the most interactive part of his class are the daily iClicker questions (10%). Again, Bourdon is very knowledgable about how students best learn math, so he encourages students to discuss/collaborate on these iClicker questions, which really does help everyone understand the material and make friends to work with throughout the semester. There are also short WebAssigns (8%) due before most classes, but they actually help prepare you for what you're going to learn in class that day instead of wasting your time. Lastly, he offers many extra credit opportunities throughout the semester in the form of weekly reflections, posting/answering Piazza questions, and doing real-life application based Mathematica "projects" with a partner (which are actually quite fun and not difficult). Overall, I do not think you would regret taking this course with Bourdon at all. He is very fair and truly cares about each of his students. You will learn a lot and have fun doing so in this class!!(:

Best professor I have had at UVA! I came into this class thinking it was going to be impossible and tedious, but it was just the opposite. Bourdon makes it easy to grasp concepts through a million opportunities to learn (WebAssign readings, workbook problems, class notes that double as study guides) in a way that's about as enjoyable as a math class can be. You can really tell he is passionate about the subject and loves to teach. The tests were pretty doable and the weekly quizzes helped me keep up with all of the material as I went -- the tests and final do not count for that much a piece and he gives you the opportunity to replace your lowest midterm score with your final exam score. Great class, highly recommend!

Paul makes ODE interesting through his passion and effort. Unlike many math professors who seem bored during class, Paul demonstrates that he not only enjoys the subject but also teaching and passing along his knowledge. In addition, he is willing to put in the work to make a great class and help his students in any way he can.

By far best math teacher I’ve had at UVA.

There are already so many rave reviews about Professor Bourdon, and I agree with them all completely. I just want to add that I had him Spring 2020, during the (hopefully only) coronavirus outbreak, and he handled it so so well. He cares more about teaching and his students than any professor I've ever had, and that feels really great and refreshing since its often not the case. He does tend to overwork himself a little, but he's really the best. There's not a better professor to take this class with!

Professor Bourdon is the best! He only teaches DiffEqu in the Spring so be sure to take it with him! He truly cares about his students and teaching and makes everything super clear. I had him when everything was on Zoom and his class was honestly my favorite. He made online school almost feel like an in-person class. He walks you through some of the written homework problems in the instructions and the other problems are generally related to classwork or WebAssign homework. Everything we did in that class had a purpose so nothing felt like busywork. Our exams were 20 minute oral exams on zoom but were completely fair. Most people got As! Since you only had 20 minutes, he made sure you understood the general concepts, definitions, theorems, and procedures behind Differential Equations so nothing was meant to trip you up. He is also very relaxed and personable so speaking through problems was not intimidating. I highly recommend making use of office hours too! These will make you more comfortable talking through math problems before the oral exams (if these still happen after Zoom University) and will show him the effort you are making! He is very willing to help and works very hard to help his students. He also made 3 weekly Piazza posts a requirement as part of our grade which was super helpful to get help from classmates and Prof Bourdon himself. As long as you put the work in that he requires, you won't need to spend an insane amount of time on this class, and you'll learn and hopefully enjoy it along the way!

Bourdon is the Bob Ross of mathematics. Seriously. His excitement for the subject is truly infectious, and even in the lame online schooling environment, his engagement made all the difference.

Differential equations is a tough subject, but I felt that this class was graded extremely fairly. Exams were administered orally, and while this did seem daunting at first, they were graded leniently and Prof. Bourdon is the perfect person to give them.