Dan Wheeler

I don't even know where to begin. I heard that Linear Algebra was supposed to be easier compared to other math but it wasn't so in this class. I was frustrated most of the time with his teaching style. He basically reread the book. If the book said "by simple calculation, you can get this", he will say "by simple calculation, you can get this". HELLO! I can read the book at home, thank you.

There were two midterms plus a final exam. For the first test, he basically read the topics off of the book and told us to study them. Two people got A's and the rest of us got C or below on it.

Then, during the semester, he got a letter from an "anonymous" person and he basically went off in class since he felt that the person was attacking his teaching style and the author of the book. He was hurt for a while and changed his teaching style for about 4 weeks. (Instead of reading from the book and using the same examples as the book, he thought of his own problems for the very first time!)

Then, for the second test, he gave us more "detailed" review sheet, which helped out a lot of people, including myself. After that 4 weeks, he went back to his old habits and basically, read from the book again. After a while, you just have to put your notebook away and just look at your textbook.

For the final, he gave us review sheet but it wasn't as elaborate as the previous one. Make friends in that class and learn from each other. I wouldn't have pass the class if it wasn't for my classmate who was nice enough to tutor me. I learned more from her than I learned from Wheeler.

Good Luck if you're taking him.

Maybe he's better in another class, instead of Linear Algebra? Who knows!

I feel so terrible because I did recommend people to take him for linear algebra. I felt like I understood a lot when I had him for Calculus 2, but linear algebra was a different experience and I'm not sure if it's his grasp of the material, the book that he absolutely loves to use, or both.

The exams should come as no big shocker. He tells you what sections to look at, sometimes handing you a review sheet with suggested problems on it, and surprise! Problems *very* similar to those suggested problems are on the test.

If you want to understand the subject completely, you might want to take someone else.

I was recommended by other people that Dan Wheeler is a good teacher. Boy that changed since the first day of instruction. He is very unbelievable with his teaching. He lectures straight from the book which is extremely boring. I agree with other reviewers that he is very ineffective. Overall, I DON'T RECOMMEND this teacher at all, unless you want to bore yourself. Good luck!

Dr. Wheeler is an excellent calculus teacher. He is very well prepared for lectures and writes and speaks very clearly. His drawings were excellent, which is very important for multivariable calculus since most functions are in 3 (or more) dimensions.

Dr. Wheeler made it clear through his actions that he cares about being a good teacher, and he cares about his students. There are no surprises. If you go to all the classes, do all the homework, and get help when you need it, you will do well.

If you need to take Calc III, Dr. Wheeler would be excellent.

I agree with what most have said about Mr. Wheeler. In addition:

you spend about half of his office hours WAITING for him to show. To his credit, he does stay longer than what he schedules, but if you're on a schedule, its a huge waste of time to get help for just 15 minutes. Also, he takes forever to explain a problem which is good for some, but not for me.

He is very disorganized. If you hand him anything that is not part of a stack, he WILL lost it despite what he says. Another example is at the end of the semester, he didn't have the grades for homeworks because there was miscommunication between himself and the TA about who was to record grades.

The book he used is horrible, IMO. No examples for the problems. It sucks not knowing if homework will take an hour or five hours because you're trying to figure out one problem.

Like all the professors, he's a smart guy and he explains things well, but he doesn't have a solid command of the subject that I expect of professors. He did not know the answers to some of the questions posed to him by myself and others. This may be evidenced by his having a masters, not a phd. He did say that this was his first time teaching the course which is perfectly undertandable, phd or no phd.

Wheeler is a good guy, cares about your learning the subject, and overall (despite what I said), an effective teacher.

I was told that Prof. Wheeler would be a good teacher to take for linear algebra, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. Prof. Wheeler is a nice person. he is likable and well spoken. He has the neatest writting I have ever seen in my life. However, this is where the positive information will end....This guy is a horrible, and I mean YUCK!!!!, teacher. DO NOT TAKE HIM FOR LINEAR ALGEBRA!!!!

He is disorganized in his presentation. He spends hours on minutia (minute details for those of you out there that are not english majors), while not going over the nuts and bolts of how to do a problem. The first test we took this semester 80 percent of the class failed....scores in the 30's and 40's were common (on a scale from 0 to 100) (OUCH!!!). He assigns the hardest homework in the book, whenever I went to office hours literally half of the class was there needing help. He has a rule that if more then two students are from the same class asking questions about homework, then he doesn't help you. Instead, he makes the students go into the hall and suffer through the work with eachother. The process takes three times as long as it should take.

He is absent minded about assigning homework...but demands perfection from us about when and how we turn it in. He would give homework back if he deemed it was to sloppy or if it lacked a staple (he would except paper-clips or tape). Avoid this guy at all costs!!!

His lectures were straight out of the book. His homework assignments were some of the harder problems in the book. He assigned a sheet the first day of class for homework that turned out to be questions from math competitions. Very difficult, with no instruction or guidance on how to solve the problems. No one could get all of the question right...remember this was done the first day of class! Most of the students were complaining about his teaching style, which was surprisisng because this was a reccomended teacher. He has lost his passion, or drive, or mojo, or whatever...but he makes the course dramatically harder then it should be. Avoid this teacher if at all possible until he can prove that he can teach at the level he used to be known for.

He seemed to be on a sour note this semester. His lectures were straight out of the book. I had him for 227, and he would give examples other than the ones in the book, more like the homework problems he would assign. But this semester he was pretty strict. His homework assignments weren't very long, but he assigned some of the harder problems, some where the examples in the book wouldn't help. And the tests were harder this time around. He seemed to be a little distracted or bothered by something-but for sure he wasn't the Wheeler that I had before. But for sure he is one of the better teachers you will come across if you take a math course.

If you already have a general knowledge of pre-calculus and calculus, make a friend in the class and call them for homework assignments because you will be bored out of your mind! He has a turtle like teaching pace that works great for those without prior exposure to the subject and helps reinforce what you reviewed in the book, but once you understand it..zzzzzzz...zzzzzzz. His exams are easy. He tells you exactly what you need to know and lets you have a note sheet for formulas during the tests. Take him for the grade, not the experience.

Mr. Wheeler can be amusing at times especially with the way he teaches with his color chalks. His lectures may be boring, but if you do all your homework and keep up with everything, it is easy to pass the class. He goes through the chapters very slowly and make sure all the students understands the process. Before exams, he goes over the problems and answer student's questions. His way of teaching may makes everything simple!

Wheeler is the best math instructor I have had so far. His approach to math is easy to understand and very clear. He uses colored chalk on the board to help articulate clearly what he is trying to convey, gives timely feedback on quizes and tests, and he reviews over any questions on the homework with the class. If there is a question about a problem, Wheeler will solve the problem on the board. If a problem is too difficult for him or if he is stumped, he usually solves the problem and during the next class, he passes out the solution. He expects studends to attend every class since he moves at a quick pace. Hard work is necessary for practice exercises or you won't understand what is going on in class. Homework is around 15% of the grade, exams (3-4) are 60%, and final 25%. Tests cover what was reviewed in the homework. Wheeler is very enthusiastic about math and his students. I strongly recommend Wheeler.

Mr. Wheeler did an excellent job in teaching the material without ego. After missing one class, I saw Mr. Wheeler in his office to turn in homework. Mr. Wheeler spent 20 mins. with me to review the material I missed.

Math would be very popular if all instructors made the same effort as Mr. Wheeler

General info: Mr Wheeler has a way of teaching that makes it very easy to remember trigonomtry. Not by memorizing formulas, but by pictures. I found it very helpful in later calculus courses. He is a cool and relaxed guy, and I think most students can feel comfortable in the classroom. His primary concern is to help as many of the students as possible succeed in his course. He demands a lot from you, so don't fall behind on reading the material. A fast-paced teacher, but he tries not to talk over your head.

Tests: Four tests were given, with ample time to finish, no problems that we hadn't already been through in the classroom.

Homework: Lots of homework every week, up to 20 problems. In addition, a take-home quiz twice a week which forms the basis for the final exam. If you can solve all the quiz problems, you will get no surprises on the final. He is extremely particular about neat homework, presentation of your work is everything.

My strongest recommendation in any math course!