David Pincus

This professor has taught: MATH141, MATH213, MATH221, MATH241
Information Review
David Pincus
MATH241

Expecting a B
Anonymous
10/16/2024
Really nice guy and will answer any questions you have.... but he absolutely sucks at teaching. He makes everything so complicated for no reason. Its like he is transcribing the textbook onto a blank piece of paper, but with horrible handwriting. All I need is the equation and then 10 problems walked through, not a copy of the textbook in front of me. He also has little to no confidence when lecturing. He's a fairly easy grader, but if you mess up an exam your grade is cooked the rest of the semester.
David Pincus
MATH241

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/24/2024
I felt like it was impossible to learn anything from the professor. Learned the material exclusively through Justin Wyss-Gallifent's YouTube series and doing questions from the textbook after. Would not recommend unless he is your only option which he was for me.
David Pincus
MATH241

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
02/07/2024
Seems nice, not a great lecturer he just reads off a slideshow which is essentially just a textbook definition and example problem. He didn’t really explain things too well imo but you could keep talking to him and eventually he would say something that stuck. Basically went through the course teaching myself from the textbook, the tests aren’t too hard or tricky but there’s no curve so you can’t really mess up too much.
David Pincus
MATH241

Expecting a B
Anonymous
01/18/2024
Pincus is friendly, but his teaching falls short. I learned only from the textbook and online videos since class materials are limited. He can not teach even if his life depended on it - all he does is post screenshots from the textbook and ramble on for an hour. You would learn more from reading the textbook than actually attending class. Daily quizzes boost grades but add lots of stress and force you to study the night before class. Exams are okay, but Pincus doesn't curve grades. If you fail one exam, you are basically done for. If you're good at self-learning, go for it; otherwise, think twice before signing up.
David Pincus
MATH241

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/15/2023
Super helpful, responded to emails quickly. Sometimes the lectures can be a bit all over the place and "textbook"-y but he explains everything very thoroughly
David Pincus
MATH241

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/13/2023
He's alright. He's a nice guy but pretty bad at teaching however he cares about his students and is always willing to answer questions and emails back really quickly. He's generous with partial credit on the exams and daily quizzes. Matlab projects are also easy.
David Pincus
MATH241

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/13/2023
Pincus's teaching style does not suite a lot of people. His lectures can be difficult to understand if you haven't revised the material beforehand. When it comes to answering students' questions, Pincus is great at clearing any confusion, and he really does go the extra mile to help you understand a concept if you ask for help. Overall Pincus was good instructor.
David Pincus
MATH241

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/07/2023
Pincus is a very nice guy. If you e-mail him, talk to him, or just reach out he is one of the nicest professors I have interacted with. But he cannot teach if his life depended on it. I exclusively learned the class material off of the textbook or online videos I could find. The slideshows and example problems we get are only one per chapter and you get thrown into the homework fire. You have daily quizzes at the end of class that are a nice grade boost but they cause a lot of stress if you do not know what you are doing as you spend all of lecture trying to figure it out. And the exams itself are alright, there is always one question that most of the class does not know. But the worst part is Pincus will not curve anything. You gotta tank it or just get a good grade. If you are able to learn alot by yourself and off minimal resources go for it, but if not I would not sign up.
David Pincus

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/05/2023
Only read off of the slides and did not go in depth on concepts. The exams were not too bad if you studied textbook problems and previous quizzes. Having a quiz every class forced me and my friends to be studying the previous classes content, leading us to miss the current classes content. I pretty much had to self-study the whole class.
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/11/2023
Good guy but dam does he does not curve enough, compared to other sections I would have had a A- minimum, the class is designed to be impossible but he tried his best. His lectures were not great(just reading from textbook), but his office hours were good
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting an A
Anonymous
02/02/2023
Professor Pincus was a great calc 2 teacher. He gave practice exams that closely resembled the actual exam. He taught the concepts clearly with tons of examples and was extremely helpful when you went to office hours. To do well on the weekly quizzes, you have to do suggested textbook problems because they are very similar to the quiz questions (some questions were copied directly from the textbook). None of the 4 exams were curved but he curved the final grade to make up for it. I would take one of Professor Pincus' classes again
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/24/2022
Good calc teacher with fair exams and preps students well with practice exercises and practice exams.
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/08/2022
I recently had the pleasure of taking Calculus 2 with Professor Pincus and it was an exceptional experience. Professor Pincus is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the subject, and it shows in the way that he teaches the material. He is able to explain complex concepts in a way that is clear and easy to understand, and he is always willing to help if you have any questions. One of the things that I particularly appreciated about Professor Pincus is his dedication to his students. He is always available for office hours and is more than happy to help you if you need it. He has a great sense of humor and his enthusiasm for the subject makes the class enjoyable and engaging. Overall, I would highly recommend Professor Pincus for anyone taking Calculus 2. He is an exceptional teacher and I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from him.
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/08/2022
The other reviews on this professor raise some suspicion. While he certainly isn't a bad professor by any means, he is far from the best calc teacher I have ever taken, and all of the other review for MATH141 coming on 11/07/22, I would question if this rating is genuine. To do well in this class, you have to do very solid the first 2 / 3 exams, as there are 4 midterms and a cumulative final. Luckily, the lowest exam gets drop! :D yippee! However, despite how great this sounds, exam 4 is the killer. With the HIGHEST score on exam 4 being a 70 last year, the average coming out to around a 50, exam 4 is always the one dropped. So, if you are able to keep your cool and get relatively high scores the first few exams, you'll be sitting pretty. I enjoyed Pincus, but I cannot in good faith give him 5 stars, simply for the large spike in difficulty that comes with exam 4. Pincus, if you read this, please stop teaching the hardest topic in the class in the week over Thanksgiving as a video. Explaining it in person, even if it was rushed, would likely largely improve the exam 4 scores, singlehandedly removing the one flaw I see in your teaching.
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting a C+
Anonymous
12/07/2022
I'm so sorry, we wrote the last 5 5-star reviews(the ones on 11/07/2022) as a joke, but after the last exam average was in the 30s it wasn't funny anymore. Take this class if you want to self-learn the entire thing and have a mental breakdown. Horrible at explaining, ask him a question and he will freeze, ramble a half answer, and move forward. This class is 100% an avoid, the workload wasn't bad but you just don't learn from him, HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO TEACH! Going to class is pointless, he's such a bad teacher, he spends the entire time going over proofs without actually teaching. The entire class stopped showing up and is watching youtube videos(Online chem tutor for the win), as going to class is a waste of time, and you won't learn the topics. Even people with Calc AB/BC couldn't follow his classes, his strategy is to read out loud the textbook but skip any explanations. I can't emphasize how bad he is at teaching, there are units where the entire class just didn't learn a topic. No curve, again we gave those 5-star reviews as a joke. DO NOT TAKE PINCUS. He's not a bad person or mean, but he doesn't know how to teach, we all had to self-learn the entire year and that made it hell.
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/07/2022
This man is a saint, he is helpful and kind, and will give you extensions on the hw if you need them. He is thoughtful and doesn't care if you are on your phone in class, and will explain in depth the solutions and proofs. Would reccomend.
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/07/2022
Really appreciate the hard work from Mr. Pincus! When attending office hours, he does not stop until he makes sure you understand the material and are prepared for the next units. He also is a really nice professor and understanding.
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/07/2022
Actually the best teacher of all time. He is what is known as the GOAT. If you struggle in math, take his class, he does not move forward unless everyone understands the material and he is extremely clear when explaining problems. 10/10, would take his class again.
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
11/07/2022
Super Helpful Professor. Probably the easiest A I've gotten in any math class. Like WOW. His notes are clear and concise and takes the step above for each of his students to succeed.
David Pincus
MATH141

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/07/2022
Greatest professor of all time! Amazing teaching, makes sure you understand every concept before moving on. Lots of extra practice in-class. If you plan on taking 141 and you aren't taking Pincus, you are making a mistake.
David Pincus

Anonymous
12/04/2021
David is a great TA by always going over the confusing lectures in discussion and summarizing the main concepts. While math isn't my best subject, David really goes the extra mile to make sure you understand the content.