Hung-Ping Tsao

"ME SPEAKIE NO ENGRISH"

Thats about it. He is acceptionally smart, but he cant speak or teach to save his life. He grades on a HUGE curve, or else he would fail everyone. 8% or higher will get you an "A". He is very nice so its hard to say bad stuff about him, but he needs ESL lessons.

I was hesitant to enroll in Professor Tsao's class (after reading the reviews here), but frankly, I didn't have much of a choice. I gave his class a shot and I'm glad I did! He really is NOT as bad as some people make him out to be! Sure, he may have an accent, but don't let that discourage you. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in a few days, but like someone else said, try to sit as close to the front of the room as possible.

Some points: Spring Sem '02 * He must've changed the testing format. Instead of 4 tests, he only gives 2 midterms and a final. However, if you fail a midterm, you may choose to retake it during the finals block to replace the bad grade. * He assigns homework in the syllabus but he doesn't collect work. * Class consists of lectures and going through a bunch of hw problems to prepare us for the midterms. * You could study by just scanning through your notes and practicing a few times. That's why you should make sure to attend every class. You don't even need the book except to look up problems. * Contrary to what people have said here, the tests were fair and he doesn't give "hard numbers" to work with. In fact, he made sure the numbers weren't complicated -- maybe because he stopped allowing the 1 sheet of notes this semester. * The only problem with the tests was they were a bit long (10 problems). It was hard to finish all the problems in 50 mins but don't worry too much. He grades on a BIG curve plus he gives quite a few points for effort anyway. * He teaches unorthodox solving methods and personally, I liked them! His methods are designed to be shortcuts.

Overall, I'd recommend him to people who are just aiming to pass the class, but like others have said, he may not be the best teacher for everyone. Nevertheless, I thought he did a pretty good job.

He does his best at teaching. His accent makes it difficult to understand him sometimes, but after a while, you get use to the accent. You might want to sit in front of the class because he does talk in a very soft voice. He occassionally cracks a funny joke and his exams are not that difficult, but you would really need to study. As long as you study a little bit you have nothing to worry about because he curves his grade and of the 4 exams, he replaces a good grade with the worst one, and lets you take the worst one over. He answers the questions well, and doesn't seem annoyed at questions, but he works out a lot of the problems with you.

Basically, take this teacher if you have already taken a math class previously, especially if it is up to calculus, and study a little bit before an exam, and you will do fine in the class.

Tsao is definitely a tough teacher. After the first class, I was wondering what I got myself into...His accent is quite thick which makes it difficult to understand what he is talking about most of the time. If you take his class, it is essential that you follow what he is doing on the board. Even if you don't understand what he is saying, you can pretty much figure out what he is teaching because he works out tons of problems on the board.

As stated in other posts, he doesn't check or collect your homework, but you should at least atempt to figure out the problems he assigns because he solves them on the board; therefore, if you can't figure them out on your own, at least you can know what you were doing wrong.

His test are almost impossible, but don't let that scare you because he grades on a big curve (at least that's the perception I got based on my scores). On the first test, I got a 70%, but I ended up with an A. None of the questions on the exam are a breeze. There are few questions (7-10) and they all take time to work through. Even if you can't figure out a problem be sure to show your work because he give credit for trying.

It is obvious that Tsao is a very smart man, but that doesn't necessarily make him the greatest teacher. I gave him a C+ overall because he is not a teacher that everyone can take and do well in. If you are not strong in Math or if you care about getting really good grades, you shouldn't take him.

Mr. Tsao is a very good math teacher. Even though he spoke in a very soft voice, and mumbled at certain times, what he said was understandable by the context of what he was doing. He doesnt check homework, which, for some people, is a good thing. His tests are HARD. I did not take the 1st one seriously and received a D. I ended with an A in the class, due to his way of substituting your best grade for your worst. Overall, I recomment this teacher because he is fair, nice, and knows his math. Also, he has a very unique way of teching: he uses unortodox methods that are not in the book, so getting the book is not that important if you have always relied heavily on notes.

On the first day of class, Tsao was very, very confusing. I couldn't understand the words that were coming out of his mouth- first of all, I had to sit in the back because the room was so crowded, and second, he mumbles his words. After that, I knew I had to sit in the front for the rest of the semester.

His tests are very hard. He doesn't give easy problems with easy numbers. He wants you to work your way into solving the problem. Also, he mostly wants you to work out a problem the way he wants you to. But that's a good thing because he teaches you a better and much easier way to do it. So I actually found myself understanding the way he teaches- he wasn't as confusing anymore.

Tsao is very, very intelligent. He knows what he's talking about.You just need to understand him too.

I think that everyone gives this guy a hard time because they are ignorant. A great teacher is somebody that can teach anyone true, but a great student can learn from anyone as well. In the beginning he is hard to understand, but you learn after a while. And if you pay attention he actually teaches you easier ways of doing things. This is a hard class don't get me wrong, but he gives you lots of chances to pass. He grades on a cure, allows you to make up a midterm and replaces the final with the lowest grade on one of your midterms if it was higher. I mean you could fail all the tests and still come out of the class with a decent grade. Really all you have to do is try and show up. But if that's not your style then don't take the class.

Math is definitely my worst subject. And taking a math course with this professor has me at my limit! Truly though, Hung-Ping Tsao not that bad of a teacher. I think his problem is that he knows the material so well, he goes through it quickly and doesn't see it from the student's point of view as confusing sometimes. He often implements his own "shortcuts" to textbook problems which makes things much easier at times for the students. Despite reviews that say otherwise, he pauses often during lectures and offers a chance to ask questions, but since the material is covered so fast, I'm usually so lost I don't know what to ask anyway.

The two midterms we've taken so far have been 10 questions long and 7 questions long respectively, which is kind of bad because if you miss one or two problems, you throw off your grade. However, he does grade fairly on a semi-curve system and gives partial credit if you set up the problem right but get the wrong answer. The questions are directly from homework problems, so if you understand the assignments you'll be okay. I would recommend this class only for people who can learn on their own and grasp mathematical concepts extremely quickly. Truthfully, I'll be lucky if I get a C, but I think it's due more to my lack of understanding math concepts than the fault of the teacher.

Professor Tsao is very intelligent in the field of math, but unfortunately when it comes to teaching, its a totally different story. He speaks very softly, so you gotta take the front seat to hear what he says. He can do the math problems, but he lacks in the explanation bit, i guess he needs to improve in his english. Although i got an A for his class, i seldom attended his class becuase i never understood anything he said. Me and 3 other friends of mine practiced math 2 times a week and we had lots of group discussion. Thats the only way i learned math. I dontknow for you guys, but for a foreign student, we pay around 800USD per subject so its not worth it at all.

None the less, i wouldnt recommend him to anyone, unless you know you are very good in math. I am an average in math, but i did well in his class becuase i had group meetings for this subject. Dont bother going for his lecturers becuase its even more confusing in what you read in the text book

His upside is that he allows you to bring in 1 sheet for the midterm and exam, and u can write down notes. Basically i wrote down all the formulas as there's alot. ANd also few examples on how to do questions. He grades paper based on the curve, so its quite good.

There are students who score in the 90's alot (like me) and ppl who also get an average of 30-45%...

If u are weak iin math and want to improve in math, dont take his class, you wont learn anything.

I took this class sprin/01... my advice...STAY AWAY, unless you want to suffer the agony of trying to teach YOURSELF the subject. Mr Tsao does not speak of word of english that you can actually recognize. the book was written by him and the lectures consist of going over the book ...WORD for WORD...

THERE ARE A LOT OF BETTER TEACHERS OUT THERE FOR THIS CLASS..... TAKE ONE OF THEM!

Tsao is probably a intelligent person in Math and probably can solve any math problem given to him. But when it comes to teaching thats another story. His teaching methods are difficult to understand and the formulas that he uses are vague. Almost the whole class is totally lost during his lectures. If I knew he was this kind of teacher I would have drop the class in the very beginning instead of getting a credit for the class.

I went into this class not knowing about teacherreviews.com. If I had looked up Tsao, I would never had taken his BA110 class. I like math, and I find math someone easy but understandable none-the-less. This guy can not communicate to save his life! This accent is sooooooo heavy that it took me about a month to just understand what he was kind of saying. The book he uses is one that he made up himself, and it EXTREMELY HARD to understand. He lectures straight out of the book, word for word, so basically find someone in the class that knows that they are doing and have them teach you! His "midterms" (he has 3) are from the questions at the end of the chapters, which he says is homework but never collects anything. The final at the end is over the last chapter you learn (over 50% of the final), and then off of each midterm (35-40%). It totals out to 20 problems. He is fair on his grading, because he gives you points for the work you do. To reacap: DO NOT TAKE THIS TEACHER IF AT ALL POSSIBLE!

Mr. Tsao is a very intelligent man, and knows the material very well. However his teaching skills leave something to be desired. His lectures are hard to follow and understand. The entire grade is based on 4 midterms, and there is no collected homework. I don't recomend this class unless you are comfortable with the material and don't mind putting alot of time in, out of class.

I am currently taking this course because I need it in order to graduate. Mr. Tsao does have an accent and speaks in a soft voice, but don't let his accent disturb you, we have to be tolerant, after all we live in San Francisco. Mr. Tsao is a very smart person who has his own method of teacching which is not as difficult as it looks at first. The bottom line is that one has to read the material before the class, do the homework problems, and practice, practice! In order to understand the subject, you must do all of the above and if still too difficult, then look for help from a tutor. I have heard through other students though, that he does not like to tutor during office hours and this can be a problem since office hours are supposed to serve as a venue to meet with the instructor in case of any problems we might have with the course. Mr. Tsao, if you read this, maybe making a little effort and try to accommodate your students during office hours.

Prof. Tsao isn't as bad as what other people make him out to be. I have to admit that, at first, I dreaded going to his class, because I could hardly understand him. But I stuck with it and I learned that he's not bad at all. He curves all his exams so easily that it's almost impossible to fail. In order to get a good grade in his class (as I have found out just this semester), it is vital that you go to all the lectures, do all the homework problems (which isn't that much) and copy everything he writes on the board. The material is going to be foreign, but once you do the homework, everything will make more sense. Prof. Tsao's exams are difficult, but with enough studying--not to mention his leniency in grading--anyone can get a good grade. You just have to be patient and be willing to learn. I highly recommend Prof. Tsao.

Dr.Tsao maybe boring, but i think his class isn't really that hard. Its just that his tone of voice is very hard to understand and that's makes it hard for student to also understand. He has his own method of teaching and i think that is great because he can show us a easier and faster way to work out a problem. He has two Midterm and 1 final. He evens allow a 1pg. note front and back. How can anyone not take advantage of that and fail their exam. Just go to class everyday and take lots of notes! Most of his notes is on the examine. And just keep up with the homework you will do just fine!!

Prof. Tsao is an ineffective teacher. He does not entertain questions and often is annoyed when you do ask. He is also extremely unaccomodating should you have a problem and would like to set up a meeting with him or make different arrangements for tests. Considering this is a GE class and a required prerequisite for any business class it is important that you have a solid foundation but you will not learn it here. Although he does allow a page (front and back) of notes to his exams (2 midterms and a final)it is still difficult to follow his method of teaching. His homework is done for practice (never turned in) which is helpful. Bottom line: You must depend on yourself to seriously read the material . . meaning, teach yourself. I would suggest that it would be more helpful for you to find a tutor or go to the math tutoring lab rather than ask for his explanation or help. Believe me, I've tried.

In the beginning, I thought I was going to fail this class. But after awhile, it isn't as hard as it seems. But you really need to go to every single class session. Miss even one and you're doomed. There are 2 midterms, both consisting of ten problems that you must do. You can bring a sheet of notes, front and back so that's the good part. But one problem I always had is that he teaches the material without telling us how to use it or what it is. He would teach the material and I would understand how to do it but I would not know WHEN to use it. Also, he never asked the class if we had any questions so I was the first student to raise my hand and ask a question. And after that, others started to ask questions too and once in awhile, he would ask if the class had any questions. Also, he has a bit of an accent and speaks with a very low voice. I can barely hear him sometimes. There is homework but you don't have to turn them in. They are for practice but I would suggest doing them. They are not much to do. But overall, I don't think I would want to take Dr. Tsao again. Once is good, I learned. But twice, no way.