Jean-Pierre Langlois

Professor Langlois is an interestng character. His teaching style takes some getting used to, especially for analysis. It isn't a straight line. He calls it an exploration. He doesn't give magic formulas that solve all of the problems; rather, he gives his students the tools required to figure out the formulas. This is rather uncomfortable for even many math students, but if you're willing to take that kind of class then you'll really like Langlois.

he's an anal mathematician who doesn't know how to admit a mistake. when i took him for calculus, he made no attempt to teach , all he did was give a pompous lecture. i don't advise taking him for calculus, take him for another course.

ironically i took him for another course and did much better, i think he doesn't have patience for freshmen.

Let me tell in summary how awful Langlios is. He has absolutely no mercy of who you are. Going to lectures is an ABSOLUTE HELL!!!!!!I notice that he doesn't show any interest in teaching basic calculus, and the limited of time during the office hours. He is ABSOUTELY NO HELP AT ALL. Don't ever ask him for any help. He would tell you to go talk to your classmates and get help somewhere. His horrible attitude of thinking that we are nothing more pathetic beings treated as if we are mathematicians. Not only he treated us that way, he is ABSOLUTELY RUDE to students when they ask questions. The Math department should not allow him to teach basic calculus for these reasons. However, his lectures are somewhat organized. For all of those who wants to take MATH 227, be warned and pay very close attention to what you will expect in the next few paragraphs.

To be very honest, this teacher lacks patience. This is quite contrary from most of these reviews. I am getting a feeling that most of my classmates aren't even close to understanding the concepts. He jumps around from topic to topic leaving me very uncleared when I do his homework assignments. He rushes through the material making it very hard to understand. While he explains the concepts, I don't think he does a good job showing us how to solve problems. Instead, he talks about it and just showing us the answer. How can you know for sure to get that answer? We here to learn. Teachers are suppose to clarify concepts to us.

He thinks our class knows the topic as if we are elementary school kids, but were left on our own. Are you kidding? Calculus II should not be taught as if we had already knew. Many of us are learning new material. If you think about asking simple algebra questions, forget it. He WON'T answer this question. He thinks this is such a waste of time and effort.

The second thing this teacher needs to work on is to be a "teacher". I want him to at least make an effort to teach these concepts more cleary. I don't want him to continue to rush through his lecture so he should speak more slowly. He needs to think how students can manage his material if he keeps on teaching the way he does now. He also needs to have more committment in class. He should at least stay a few minutes after class when we have questions and concerns.

The third thing he must work on are quizzes. The big problem is he only has one question. If you make a mistake, it can really screw you up. I wish he gives out more questions on his quizzes. However, he allows you to bring a sheet of notes for quizzes and gives partial credit if you make some mistakes.

Another thing I notice is how he tries to be stringent. I mean when he is not in a good mood, he imposes his strict rules. One day, he told us that if he catches anyone with a ringing cell phone, he would kick that person out. He also said if he catches this same person one more time, he would permantly kick out that student. Good teachers don't go into these personal business. They would instead make a lot of effort making sure that everone understands the conepts.It's very desruptive if the cell phone rings in class, but I don't think he should go into anyones' business. He should just concentrate teaching. We are adults. We can handle little things.

The only good part of his class is the use of cheat sheets during our qizzes and exams. Don't expect him to explain concepts clearly to you. He expects you to read the texbook after his lectures. I find his class very dissapointing. If you are the type of person who needs guidance like me, DON'T take this class. Overall, I would not recommend anyone to his class unless you want to be on your own.

Note: Don't expect any help from him. His office hours are not any help at all. He WILL NOT guide at all even if desperately need help.

Update (12/30/2003): Whew!!! I got Cr.

Dr. Langlois is an excellent chalkboard lecturer, he is well organized and clear. His English is very good as well. All in all, he is an adequate teacher.

The main downsides to taking his class are the homework, quizzes, and outside of class availability. He only collects one question out of all the homework, and all quizzes are only one question. So if you screw up that question, you will get a low grade on the quiz.

As to out-of-class availability, it is very minimal, he basically runs out of the class at the end of lectures. So you will have to rely on the TA (about 5 people showed up in recitation)

I would recommend taking one of his upper level classes, as I don't think he's really all that interested in teaching basic calc.

I have to say that I was disgusted to read the two previous reviews on this teacher. In my opinion Langlois is a wonderful teacher that is very organized and fair. His lectures were concise and to the point-I feel that I got a good grasp of the subject from his lectures, as did most people.

His exams and quizzes are more than fair. He gives review sheets for the midterms that are almost exactly like the exam. You are allowed two sheets of notes back and front. Plus, he allows notes and ny kind of calculator you want. For quizzes you are allowed on sheet of notes. The quiz problems are similar to problems he did in lecture and are not complicated.

Maybe Langlois isn't the friendliest person on earth, but a teacher is not supposed to be your friend. I think his personality is OK. The only time I saw him being rude was when he would walk around the classroom after he had given us a sample problem to work on in class, he would make not so nice comments to people that were doing the problem incorrectly.

I am in total agreement to the cell phone rule he implemented. I find it extremely rude and disruptive when a person's phone goes off in class and the teacher is lecturing. YOU KNOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TURN IT OFF! It's like you giving a speech and someone's phone going off-you wouldn't be happy about it.

All in all, I would highly recommned this teacher to anyone taking calculus classes. He is a wonderful teacher that has great lecturing skills and is more than fair. However, I could see how someone that was STRUGGLING with the material and had DISCIPLINARY problems would give this teacher a bad review out of spite. GROW UP! You're in college now, not high school.

If you want someone to scratch your a@$ and hold your hand I'm sure you can find someone in one of the remedial classes or at home. If you can't handle math at this level you shouldn't take this class..ever...Dr. Langlois is a jewel. He is one of the most versed in this subject. He know's his stuff well. If there were a Nobel Prize for intelligence he would be a good candidate. He is very upfront with people but that does not make him a rude person, even though it may seem like it. Furthermore, criticizing his attitude is not going to help you pass the class, studying is. Our job is to tolerate everyone. I find him to be a good-hearted person. He does not want to "screw" anyone over. He is quite humourous and smiles more than any professor I have ever had. If you don't want to go to his class to learn you can at least go to just listen, he is a character and his knowledge is contagious! In addition, not to be sexist, but his penmanship is amazing for a guy. The only criticism I have is that of his office time "availability". He is not fair with tests and quizzes, he is merciful, but that doesn't allow slacking off. In this class the emphasis is placed on understanding the concept. You can memorize as much math as you want, but you will eventually need to be able to get to the heart of the problem. That's all I will say. He is a great teacher but you have to do your part, as in any other class you take. I highly recommend and empower you to take this professor for any class.

It was very hard for me to grade Dr. Langlois. I cannot grade him low because he clearly knows his subject - but he's just an awful teacher if you are even the least bit intimidated by math. If you are a math major, if math is one of your passions, if you are already very strong and comfortable with the subject, chances are you will enjoy Dr. Langlois very much.

If you are just trying to finish your mandatory year's worth of math for a science degree, if math is something you have to work on, and you still need to remind yourself of basic algebraic principles: Welcome to Hell. Be absolutely sure your Calc I instructor taught you well, and you remember every drop of it.

Seriously. Do NOT take his class if you don't know algebra like a second nature - he will NOT answer algebra questions and he will be extremely annoyed that you asked. Do NOT take his class if you just want to memorize formulas and plug and play. This guy is serious about his subject, and he doesn't care about how good you are at computation - he wants you to understand proofs.

His exams are outrageously complex. If math is your passion, you will probably love them, thinking of how clever they are. All others, you will be in agony.

What bothers me the most about Dr. Langlois is how incredibly rude he can be. I can see having little patience for students asking remedial questions - but you could still answer them quickly and abruptly, with perhaps an admonishment for not remembering such a simple thing. But instead he chooses to look at you as if your brains were composed of dung, tell you that a kindergartner could figure it out, and not answer your question. If you want help, you could go to his office hours, but be prepared for a tongue lashing.

He does make it easy if you are at all grasping the material - he grades quite low (I believe 50% was a C) and allows you to bring a page of notes to every quiz and exam.

Also, the tutors on this campus positively *suck* at this level of math. If you need help, either find another teacher who is willing to meet you at your level, or hire somebody.

Langlois is a good teacher. He has a distinct French accent, but you can still understand him easily. As for his personality, he seems down to earth and not too conceited. He's even funny sometimes. His tests are a little challenging, but he has a very generous grading system (all grades drop down 10%: an A starts at 80%..). He assigns homework that he never collects, but you should do some of it in order to do good on the quizzes. There's nothing much more you could say about him, he's entertaining, and an easy grader.

Dr. Langlois is probably one of the more stimulating teachers in the Math department. He is something of a tyrant, and he is entirely comfortable yelling at students when the mood strikes him. He is not partial to stupid questions and will react irritably when asked one. He mellowed out considerably after the the withdrawal deadline, however, after the ranks had thinned somewhat. He teaches primarily through proofs which is more challenging but ultimately more effective. His boardwork is outstanding, especially for a math instructor. Definitely the best I have ever seen. His tests and quizzes are very easy - perhaps too easy. My lone complaint is that he does not collect homework and assigns only 3 or 4 questions per section. Some self-motivation is therefore required. Weekly quizzes count for 50% of the grade. Provided you are not easily intimidated (or suffer from a irritable disposition yourself) then be sure to take Langlois for a math class. It was all very amusing. Adieu.

Prof Langlois is a good teacher and knows his stuff. He never piles on homework but he expects you to do any homework he gives you although he usually never checks it. If you're good in math you should take his class but most people find it difficult to stay awake during his lectures. overall a good professor and i plan to get an A in his class.

Prof. Langlois asked for quite a bit of feedback from his class as to how he was doing, and how the class was going. Very unusual and welcome from a math professor. His lectures go through proofs clearly, he uses examples well, and his homework is thorough without being overwhelming. I highly recommend him.

As a student, there's really not much more one can ask for from Prof. Langlois regarding class format and grading policy. Although he administers homework, quizzes, midterms, and a final exam (comprehensive) just like all instructors do, he lets us use notes and a calculator (but not a graphic calculator) even for quizzes. Every week we have a 5-minute quiz, which we may use one sheet (both sides) of notes. The quizzes are fairly easy because each quiz is based on a problem resembling homework-type problems in the text. For midterms and the final, we get to use two sheets and four sheets of notes, respectively. Moreover, though he doesn't grade on a curve, Prof. Langlois grades on a lenient scale: 40%-D, 50%-C, 65%-B, and 80%-A. Finally, if he thought many of the problems were fairly hard on an exam, he might just give everyone a few extra points. As for his speaking skills, he does have a French accent, but he articulates well in which everyone in the room can hear him clearly.