APMA 2130

Prof.Shafiei is a great teacher, but seems kind of aggressive in his teaching style. However, if you really try to pay attention, his lectures are very informative. Definitely go to his office hours if you end up taking it with him, they are really helpful especially for written homeworks. I don't really recommend differential equations as a class unless you are required to take it, because the time commitment is way too rigorous for a 4 credit class; there are written homeworks, webworks, pre-class/in-class, and videos — keeping up with all of that will feel like a part time job.

Pretty good professor. My course was entirely based on worksheets, so it didn't really matter who the teacher was. Prof Dizaji was very kind in helping me in out in class and office hours, so kudos to him for that. He did assign way too many worksheets to fill out though.

ODE has a flipped-classroom structure, and as a result there isn’t much direct lecture from any of the professors. However, Professor Dizaji’s lecture style is sometimes hard to comprehend or follow. I feel that most of the course’s difficulty comes from the class structure and the fast pace. The actual content isn’t that difficult, but it’s annoying to have to self-teach the content given only preclass and inclass worksheets. It would be nice if the class had some more resources to learn from, like videos.

#tCFF24

So much homework and yet I still didn't fully understand some of the concepts. Class is basically just him talking about the preclass for 5 minutes and then you do a worksheet for the rest of class. Not very much help from TAs or the teacher so it's up to you to figure it all out. First 2 midterms are really easy and then it ramps up a lot for the rest of the semester. Written homeworks also suck.

TDLR: Professor Dizaji is a very qualified and friendly instructor for this class. I didn’t like the class structure. ODE is fun if you don’t get lost. Good luck.

Just like most APMA classes, you have 4 midterms and a final, which, in itself, is very grueling and not specific to ODE. The midterms and final are very doable, especially if you have a decent understanding of the topics. However, due to the flipped classroom structure, the moment you fall behind on a topic, you will spend twice as long trying to learn the concepts, and the time it takes entirely depends on your experience with self-teaching. As someone who has completed Khan Academy courses on my own and has a solid foundation in calculus, I didn’t have any issues grasping the concepts. We would have times where most of the class would be trying to finish the in-class worksheets until the end of the class. It is essential to fully understand the pre-class worksheets and, if needed, watch online videos, because the in-class worksheet will build on the pre-class material.

The instructor for this was very approachable, and all the TAs knew what they were doing and were very helpful. Unfortunately, the instructor would only go over the pre-class material and then answer questions during the in-class session, per the class's structure. I didn’t like this approach because I thought I could’ve understood the concepts more quickly and better if Prof. Dizaji had been allowed to give a whole lecture. The complex topics start after the Laplace transform, mainly because you’re left in the shadows about what Laplace really is, and the fact that they gatekeep the Laplace table for a week.

I hated the flipped classroom structure. We would basically go to class to finish the in-class, get a signature, and leave. It gets to a point where you don’t know what you’re doing, and your only goal is to finish the class and leave. This structure puts you under unnecessary stress and a sense of urgency, and you end up learning less than you would from a structured lecture. TAs check the in-class worksheets for mistakes, but you will lose 0.5-1.5 points every five worksheets. They ended up dropping 8 of your lowest worksheets, but still don’t mess these up; they’re a good portion of your grade. Homeworks are moderately hard, besides the Laplace homework that will have you drowning in partial fraction decomposition.

Difficulty: This class is easier than Multivariable Calculus and harder than Linear Algebra. Midterms and finals are fair. Concepts are complex but aren’t hard to learn.

Tips:
Take linear algebra before, especially if it’s a required class. The last 3 weeks will be 10x easier if you’ve already taken linear algebra.
Use your collaboration opportunity for the homework.
Ask the professor if they can put you in a group with people you know will do the work (groups are made in the third week or something).

Overall, the class isn’t too bad, but the structure makes it feel frustrating.