APMA 1090

Too easy.

Very boring. Just study outside of class and do all the practice tests.

He is a nice person but spends too much time explaining easy concepts and not enough time on the hard ones. Hard to understand his explanations most of the time and will be a hard class if you don't already have experience with the material covered.

He would fit the definition of a person who didn't want to be there. He has an extremely monotone and dull voice which makes learning harder. His tests are hard af and in particular, I remember there was a question that involved trying to decipher what Homer Simpson read from a newspaper. I realized after that problem that he pulled it straight out of the back of the textbook. Also it was kinda weird how he kept putting in his eye drops in the middle of class. I would say I don't recommend this class but it's not like you have a choice.

Professor Fulgham is a great person, and if I knew him outside the scope of this class I think I would write an overall very positive review. He really wants to see his students succeed and if you see the notes beforehand and pay attention to only his lecture (not the slides) in class it is quite enjoyable. He clearly has a passion for the subject and will be appreciative of anyone making any observations or key points in his class. I really do enjoy math, it has been my favorite subject since I was a kid, however the pacing, weighting, and difficulty of this class has sadly made me doubt myself. We ease into the subjects rather nicely, but then it is very rushed by the end of the year, maybe learning two new units every class period. The tests and the final exam take up a whopping 70% of the grade, meaning you have only four chances to really pass. Speaking of the exams, if you don't have a very in-depth understanding of the material, chances are you are getting a low B at most. I took Calc AB my senior year and this is the equivalent of that, and I am getting out of the class BARELY with a C-. Hui Ma is a little bit more receptive with hints and information about the exams than Fulgham is, and does way more group activities in class (practice exams for example). The practice exams and Webassigns don't prepare you for the tests even though they say they do, they are WAY more easier than what you will be tested on. Try to review your past midterms and worksheet questions, and make use of the practice problems in the back of the textbook since oftentimes exam questions are the same format just different numbers.

I would like to reiterate that Professor Fulgham is a wonderful person. He cracks jokes in class and seems like a very chill dude. His teaching style is mainly lecture based and it's not quite something you can take notes on, so try to make sure you are awake and attentive in class to really understand his perspective. I do wish that he would change the pacing and weightage of his course, and perhaps provide more extra credit opportunities/emphasize the ones in the beginning of the year.

Prof. Fulgham spends a lot of time explaining the basics of topics. He simplifies them so much that you almost zone out every lecture. Then on the worksheets and tests the questions are way more advanced application problems that you feel underprepared for. He’s a very nice guy and is basically always in his office in the afternoon so you can always pop by and he will help you out. The tests look absolutely nothing like any of the study guides so keep that in mind. Instead you should look at the chapter reviews from the textbooks and difficult webAssign or worksheet problems. I found it helpful to mark the questions I struggled with throughout the semester and then redo all of them before the test. He has review days every week which are great for asking about questions. GO TO THE TA OFFICE HOURS!

If you have calc one background, then this class will be easy. Otherwise, be prepared to self-study the whole semester. Professor Fulgham spends the lecture time explaining easy concepts, so you'll have to learn how to apply them, and you'll have to prepare yourself for more challenging problems in the midterms. Professor Fulgham is very approachable, and he's willing to help if you come to his office during office hours, but the lectures alone are not sufficient. The worksheets don't make much of the final grade, so utilize them to check your understanding. Make mistakes in them and seek help from the professor and the TAs because that way, you'd make sure you know the concepts well. Start the WebAssign assignments early because many take much more time than you expect. As for the midterms, there will be a test review. Start with that and make sure you know how to show your work for all the questions, and if you have time left, review your mistakes in the worksheets and WebAssign. If you follow this study plan, I don't see any reason you don't ace the midterms.