Ting Jiang
Information | Review |
---|---|
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/24/2025 |
Ting is genuinely a nice person and very lenient and flexible. Literally, she just gives you back points if you were able to explain your case against why you think you were right (even if it's not correct), she gives back some points to you anyways during office hours. Now, I will say she is definitely not the best lecturer in any form. I never ended up going to her lectures because she wasn't able to teach properly and just speaks jargon most of the time. What saved me in this course was Justin's Notes (God bless Justin). His notes were just mwah, it helped me understand all the concepts without going to any lectures at all, along with watching YT videos of the one and only, Abdul Bari (the goat). I did pretty decent on Ting's exams, and her exams felt pretty do able to me personally. What I found challenging in this course were the weekly online quizzes as some of the questions were actually wack and difficult to answer, and tanked my grade a bit from that. Additionally, I actually had around an A- initially before the final (including all grades except the final), but I kinda bombed the final, which by the way was 30% of my grade, which brought me down to a B. Overall the course is pretty do able and actually great with Ting. Just study well for the final, unlike me hahaha, and you will do well in the course! |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/24/2025 |
Nice person, okay lecturer. A lot of people say the strategy is to sign up for her sections and attend Justin's lectures instead - you get the better lecturer and better exams. I didn't do that and felt the class was just fine. Some of her explanations for algorithms or concepts were a bit unintuitive, but it clicked for me later after minimal self study. I personally found that Justin's notes were good for overviewing concepts at a high level, while Ting's slides were better for reviewing specific details and the why/how of certain concepts. Again, I didn't attend Justin's lectures, so I don't know if what he says out loud fills in the gaps in what he writes and makes it stick. I found her office hours very helpful. She's willing to put in the time to explain tough stuff and answer stupid questions, she's pretty responsive with emails, and she takes student feedback on adjusting the difficulty of midterms. I feel bad giving her a 3/5 and she'll probably improve (this was her second semester teaching I think?) but I think it's accurate to my experience. All in all, you won't go wrong with her. Just put in the work and you'll be fine. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/24/2025 |
She co-taught with Justin so I ended up not attending lecture at all and just looking at Justin's lecture notes, and also Justin's lecture videos from Spring 2021. I really liked Ting's exams: There were no curveballs, a lot of partial credit, and if I put in the time to study it wasn't too difficult to get an A on them. I can't speak on her teaching ability as I did not go to any lectures but she seemed super kind and helpful on piazza, emails, and office hours. Her slides were also excellent (Not as good as Justin's notes but that's understandable honestly). Overall, I found this course to be pretty chill and the material in it to be engaging and interesting. I would definitely recommend taking her for 351. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/22/2025 |
As other students have stated here, Ting is a nice person and seems approachable, and she clearly cares about her students' success. She’s somewhat active on Piazza and provides helpful advice on how to study and succeed in the class (e.g., prioritizing topics for midterms and the final). Unfortunately, the language barrier makes it difficult for her to communicate the material in a way that resonates with everyone. If you're comfortable understanding it, then more power to you. But for more security in your grade, I’d suggest the following approach: Attend Ting's first 2–3 lectures to gauge how well you can follow along. Then, consider attending Justin's lectures (I started around the Big-O/Big-Omega/Big-Theta topics) and see how you find them. Personally, I found Justin's co-teaching more helpful for understanding the material, even though it meant waking up at 8 AM. By the middle of the semester, I stopped attending Justin's lectures in person, instead reviewing his notes when doing the homework. I also used office hours to clarify concepts and help others out, which helped me practice the material. Occasionally, I’d attend Justin’s 8 AMs just to refresh my understanding. In hindsight, I probably should’ve been more consistent with attending Ting’s lectures, as my exam grades weren’t as high as they could’ve been. Grade Breakdown: MCQs: 7.69% Homework: 15.38% Exams: 46.15% Final Exam: 30.78% Total: 100% Most of the MCQs were straightforward, with about 14 in total this semester. You should be able to score 100% on most of them, though the number of MCQs and homework assignments may change each semester, as well as the number that are dropped. Many students, including myself, used a group chat to compare answers, and we attended office hours for clarification on more open-ended questions. While I didn’t go to Ting’s office hours, I’ve heard they’re helpful. The TAs for both Ting and Justin were shared this semester, and there were a few associated with Ting’s sections that I found especially helpful toward the end of the semester. As for Ting's exams, there’s a good amount of partial credit, so even if you make a few mistakes, it’s rare that you’d need to request a regrade. However, exams accounted for roughly 77% of our grade, so even if you perform well on homework and MCQs, you still need to do well on the midterms and final to get an A. If you handle exam pressure well and avoid small mistakes adding up, you should be in a strong position for this class. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/20/2025 |
Ting is a really nice and understanding professor. I had friends who took Justin and he didn't let them submit their homework even a little bit late or retake any quizzes; this one time I forgot about a lecture quiz and I emailed Ting and she was so kind and understanding; she let me redo it without any real explanation. Also she's super young so she's chill like I have literally seen her at the dining hall with her friends. I will say her lectures were really boring and hard to understand at times because of her accent so if you want to learn stuff with organized notes, go to Justin's lecture. I also 100% recommend taking Ting over Justin despite the reviews because, I cannot stress this enough: her exams were SO MUCH EASIER than Justin's. Justin exams always threw some kinda curveballs at you where you really have to understand the core of the concept or some crazy detail in the psuedocode while Ting's questions were mostly straightforward. The cheat code for this class is to source the exams from the previous semester because she reuses a lot of questions so keep that in mind it really helped me practice for the real thing, even though she did supply her own practice exams. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Anonymous 05/17/2025 |
i was able to follow along with her lectures fairly well but everyone is different, a lot of my friends in the section just went to justin's lecture instead. since she co-teaches with him, you have tons of resources to work with. exams are very fair, very similar to the practice she gives out and there isn't anything crazy, she will tell you exactly what's on it too. i'm giving her five stars because she's super sweet and wants her students to do well, she will probably improve over time |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/12/2025 |
The only reasons I'm giving her 2 stars instead of 1 is because she's nice and she co-teaches with Justin. I'll cut her some slack in saying that there is a language barrier present. However, aside from that, Ting's lectures were not very informative and felt bland and disengaging, since she would mostly read directly off her slideshow, providing little to no further explanation on the topics. She also was unable to answer questions people had during lecture, making it hard to learn challenging topics. I got straight C's on the first two exams without relying on Justin's notes; I only went to her lecture and looked at her slides. Later in the semester, I decided to go to Justin's lectures, and I've never looked back since. His lectures were much more engaging and he broke down each algorithm in a very simple manner. I finally felt like I understood the content that was being taught. I got a much higher score on the third midterm just from going to Justin's class. This could be observed in the fact that Justin's lecture retention through the semester was pretty high; many seats were filled towards the middle/end of the semester, whereas there were only about 30 people in Ting's lecture out of 200+ students towards the middle of the semester. Overall, I'd say only take her if Justin's seats are filled, and if you don't want to suffer with Kruskal. She's not a great professor, but looking at Justin's notes and attending his class will save you the struggle instead of using her resources. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/10/2025 |
Professor Ting is a fantastic instructor. She is extremely organized and always willing to help her students succeed. Her slides are very informative and are posted on Canvas, which makes it easy to follow along and review material. The class is structured very well with clear expectations, and there are no surprises when it comes to assignments or exams. If you're ever confused about the homework, I highly recommend going to her office hours—she’s approachable and explains concepts thoroughly. While the class itself can be challenging, Professor Ting’s clear teaching style and support make a big difference. With some effort, you’ll do great. Overall, I highly recommend taking her class! |
Ting Jiang
Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/09/2025 |
Justin and Ting were co teaching this semester. Ting is fine. I personally stopped going to her lectures during the third week of the semester and instead just read justins lecture notes and sometimes attended his lectures. The best thing about ting is that her exams are very very fair, I would not say easy but there is typically 0 curve balls and the questions are pretty cut and dry. Tbh the strategy would just be to go to Justins lectures and/or read his notes and then just take her exams(duh). |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/09/2025 |
I don't think Ting's lectures are as bad as people made them out to be but her biggest problem was that she sometimes made difficult concepts more complicated to learn. So the best thing you can do is briefly read Justin's notes before going to her lecture, because she will on occasion, give hints on exams Her exams are very fair, and there are no curveballs (higher averages than Justin's) And she's very helpful in office hours if you need help whether it's lecture material or exams Oh yeah she has snacks in office hours and you're free to take some Overall I think she's fine and it's just her 2nd semester I'm sure she'll improve later on |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/06/2025 |
She's fine...? She has an accent, but you'll get used to it. Ting and Justin are co-teaching (at least for this year) so you share a lot of the homeworks/exams. I just can't say I learned much from her, sorry :( - 3 midterms. - 1 final. - Around 11 homeworks. Only counts the top 10 homeworks. - Around 14 mini multiple-choice quizzes due every Friday except on exam days. Drops the lowest 3? 2?? Idk I can't count. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/05/2025 |
Her lectures can be a bit confusing in the beginning and a bit unintuitive as she uses Herve's slides. A lot of people stopped going to lecture after the binning of the semester, saying they are a waste of time. But guys! I disagree, I think once you get used to her lecture style, she can be very helpful and will sometimes give out hints for the exams during lecture. Exams are fair, and she provides a lot of practice material though homework, MCQs, and additional practice resources. Overall, she is very sweet and want's her students to succeed, and is very helpful in office hours. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/03/2025 |
She has an easier exam than Justin. Don't suffer through Justin's 8 a.m. if you are not a morning person. Just take her and use Justin's notes to study since they co-teach. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/01/2025 |
She tries her best as a professor, but her lectures are essentially a waste of time. While she's not hard to understand, her notes are confusing and pale in comparison to Justin's. Sometimes Ting even has a quarter of her screen covered by something in Mandarin. While Justin's lecture retention is very high among professors at UMD, hers is very, very low, with only around 10 to 15% of the class still going by mid-semester. Kruskal might have a better retention rate. Exams are pretty fair and are typically easier than Justin's. Her practice exams (usually the last sample that they give you) are harder than the actual exam she gives, at least in my opinion. Averages aren't great, but that's because most people just rely on Justin's LaTeX notes instead of actual lecture material. Can't say anything about her office hours or how she structures the class because she co-teaches with Justin. The two sections she teaches have as many differences as Justin's and hers do. Overall, it'd be best to take Ting if you're able to go to Justin's lecture every MWF but want easier exams. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/30/2025 |
Setting aside the co-teaching with Justin, Ting did next to nothing to help me learn anything. It was quite difficult to follow her and understand her thought process when going over any topic within the course. The best thing you can do is not go to the lecture and just read Justin's notes and pray that the exam isn't too hard. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/23/2024 |
She's a pretty boring and unhelpful lecturer, but this was her first semester so I'll chalk it up to that. I was surprised by how fairly the exams were graded, you get a lot of partial credit in some places that you would never expect to (put a completely wrong answer for a fill-in-the-box question and got 4/5 points for it lol), and in general the exams are pretty fair. She always holds a review session before every exam, and they are very helpful, she tells you almost exactly what's on the exam. I will say she benefitted a lot from co-teaching with Justin and Herve, and if she's not co-teaching with them after this semester then I'm not sure how much of this review will hold so take it with a grain of salt. Overall, you'll be fine with her, just study. |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/20/2024 |
Ting is an okay lecturer and a nice person. She uses Herves slides which I found very unintuitive. Also, the pacing of the lectures feels off, but this is her first semester lecturing here so this probably will improve. She benefits a lot from coteaching with Justin. His notes teach you everything you need to know, and the course organization from him is good. The exams Ting wrote were fair with averages in the B- range. Just make sure you show up to the review lecture the class before the exam; she tells you what’s going to be on the exam there. Overall, Ting is a good choice if you don’t think you’ll make it to Justin’s 8AM or if you’re trying to avoid Kruskal. |
Ting Jiang
Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/16/2024 |
bad lecturer decent exams saved by justin's notes / coteaching |
Ting Jiang
CMSC351 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/15/2024 |
Ting is an ok lecturer but i always found myself getting bored during lectures and wouldn't pay attention. I stopped going to class after the 2nd week and was still able to do good because she was co-teaching with Justin. Justin's lecture notes and latex notes online were what got me through the course and they really helped with the homeworks and MCQ quizzes every week. There were a good number practice exams that you can use to study for exams which was really nice. The reason she gets 4 stars is pretty much because she co teaches with Justin |