Steven Sax

This professor has taught: MATH013

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Steven Sax MATH013 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/07/2024	he is genuinely the best professor I have had literally ever. I'm horrible at math but have breezed by in his class which I thought would be impossible for me in math. He goes through every topic super clearly and makes sure everyone understands before moving on. He cares SO much about his students succeeding and is one of the nicest and kindest people ever. He is alway happy to give extra help after class and is so understanding to anyones concerns. TAKE HIM!!!
Steven Sax Anonymous 01/27/2024	Professor Sax is very patient with students, and he is thorough in explaining concepts. He is so nice and won't continue to the next topic until everyone understands the current topic. He responds to emails in a timely manner and is very flexible with office hours. Definitely take a math class he's teaching, especially if you need a professor who's going to be patient with you and not rush through everything.
Steven Sax MATH113 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2023	The other reviews are right - he’s one of the better college professors and math teachers I’ve had. Just do all the homework on schedule (there’s a lot and you have to keep pace) and ask questions if you need help. It’s easy to fall behind but he’ll help you, especially if you take initiative.
Steven Sax MATH013 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/12/2023	Professor Sax is hands-down the best math teacher ever! He is patient and genuinely cares that each student understands the concepts taught in this course. I love the sense of humor in his teaching, which provides insightful ways to connect concepts and build a framework to make math enjoyable. Thanks to him, I am not scared of math and intrigued to learn more about this subject. I never thought I would feel this way about math until now. He has great office hours support to ensure my questions were answered.
Steven Sax Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/06/2023	A great professor! During lectures he explains the concepts clearly and in simple terms so he was very easy to follow along with. He drops the 2 lowest quizzes and has some opportunities for extra credit. He can be a little wacky at times but it honestly makes class more fun. I wouldn't listen to the negative comments about him because he is always willing to talk to students after class or during office hours. He would always post test reviews to study with that mirror the real test which were a huge help. He also grades hw which helps give a boost in your grade. Overall a 10/10 professor.
Steven Sax MATH113 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/21/2023	Overall a fine professor. He explains things well, is clear about how the grades are calculated, and gives opportunities to improve the grade by throwing in an extra quiz and dropping the lowest. He posted supplemental videos and charts too.
Steven Sax MATH113 Expecting a B Anonymous 08/20/2023	He's excellent, one of the few professors that really goes out of his way to help you. Really flexible about people's summer work schedules and allowed extensions on homework. He made the subject interesting too and that's a big plus because I actually looked forward to coming each day. His tests can be difficult but his sample tests are good preparation, and the grading, by a TA and him, seemed fair. I don't know why he got a couple bad reviews but like the one after said, you need to give it a chance and you'll see him shine. He helps motivate you to shine. The only con I guess is there's a lot of homework every week, but as noted he will give extensions. I recommend him.
Steven Sax Expecting an A Anonymous 08/17/2023	Professor Sax is bright and enthusiastic about teaching math. He'll try to answer any question and he makes the environment very comfortable. I feel like I can ask him anything, and it helps. There may have been some technical problems in the beginning but it was minor. Faulty tablets be darned, I'll take him again any day (hopefully will for 120).
Steven Sax MATH013 Expecting an A Anonymous 07/31/2023	I agree with the majority of reviews that he is a great professor, and really wants everyone to do well. He may come across strict at first, but Professor Sax is really understanding and tries to work with everyone. My schedule is complicated and I had to work during a major test, and I think another professor would have just said it's my problem, but Professor Sax was so accommodating and really helped me catch up and do a makeup exam! Also, he'll stick around after class for office hours every day to answer everyone's questions, and he'll stay late a lot of days. I believe he's genuinely a nice person who goes above and beyond. I wouldn't call it an easy class because there's homework every night and at least one test or two quizzes every week, but his sample tests show exactly what kinds of problems are on the real exam and if you study that plus do the the homework then you should get an A. I agree he had some issues with his wifi and especially his tablet, but I think the school should give the professors standard equipment instead of each one having there own setup. I took another online class that had problems too. I wish Maryland had in-person summer school anyway, and I think he said it's the first time he taught this online (though not sure what he did during Covid). I didn't think his background was noisy or distracting though so I don't know what the other review was talking about. The bad review was right at the beginning of the course, but you need to stick with it and you'll see he's good.
Steven Sax MATH013 Expecting a W Anonymous 07/20/2023	This is a class you want to avoid with this professor- he is confusing and all over the place. If you are struggling with math, he will get you even more confused. He rushes through the summer course lecture and then there is the time pressure to submit. It takes five minutes to submit, once you upload and create a file- if all goes well. Any student should have a ten minute time to do the work for this separately. He complained so much about using the white board. He is not very literate in digital processes and it is really a quite sloppy way to teach. You are better off taking it with another teacher. He is all over the place as well as side-tracked in, after 30 minutes, if you are lucky, you may have learned something. You are on your own, you have to be good in math if you want to pay him to teach you ten percent of something. I don't know why students are subjected to pay for teachers that cannot deliver. It is a nightmare. They need to be replaced and also at this time, each teacher who lectures online live should at least have the ability to know how to use digital tools, they are called professor for a reason, but not all of them are doing this. This professor was so ill-prepared at the beginning of the class and had background noises and it was quite distracting. If this is someone's job, they need to make sure, that their work place is quiet, remote or not if they do lectures. This is ridiculous. As the other person said, avoid him at all costs.
Steven Sax MATH013 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/18/2023	He is an awesome professor and really cares about how well the class does. Go to class and do all the homework like he suggests and and A is very easy. The format of 013 was not the best as I am not a fan of standing at the blackboard and doing problems but once you get into 113 it is a lecture format and he is really good at explaining concepts. The exams were exactly like the homework. The one bad review is the farthest thing from correct- he is a great prof and always wanted people to succeed.
Steven Sax MATH013 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/15/2023	Professor Sax is one of the best math teachers I've ever had. His expectations are very clear and he's always willing to do more to help us learn and do well in the class. He sticks completely to his syllabus and gives ample chances to redo homework and even redo quizzes if he feels it will help us learn the subject better. I felt he always had my back and I knew exactly what I had to do for my grade. That doesn't mean the class is easy, but if you put in the time then he will put in overtime. I've emailed him questions late in the evening and he would email me back the solution an hour later! Also his practice exams show exactly what you need to know to ace the real exams and the final turned out to be just like his practice final. Take his class.
Steven Sax MATH113 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/14/2023	If you need to take Math 113 then definitely take it with Professor Sax! Even if the only class he's teaching is the 013/113 version and you placed into Math 113 directly, still go through the 013 just to have him for Math 113 - it's worth it. He knows his stuff and is very clear when he shows how to do a problem. He's very generous about late work, drops multiple quizzes and he goes through practice exams which are super good preparation for the exams themselves. They're like the same content and same format, and he goes through them the week before the exam. He also answers any problem you want especially during office hours. He remembers what topics you were having trouble with and he'll even email you before the final to make sure you understand those topics well. He really cares and I'm happy I had him for my professor.
Steven Sax MATH113 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/14/2023	This class moves very quickly and the professor sometimes rushes at the end. It’s not entirely his fault and you can tell he’s trying, but he takes a lot of time answering people’s questions and doesn’t always manage the class well. One student kept interrupting and he gave in each time. I think he wants to go faster and get into it, but uses a lot of patience to slow it down and you can tell sometimes he’s frustrated too. If I designed this course I would make the 013 part much less and give more time to do Math 113 because that’s the course that counts. I still like Professor Sax and I agree with the other posts that he wants to be helpful. He’s very good at showing how to do a problem step by step, and he likes to make connections between the topics we learned, like transforming functions. I think someone said he teaches Math 120 and it will be interesting to see how that goes.
Steven Sax MATH113 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/14/2023	He will do a lot of office hours and review sessions and they really do help. His lectures are good but sometimes get a little long winded. What I like best is when he goes over homework problems. If he just spent every lecture going over problems then it would be perfect. His exams are just like the practice exams (except the second one). He’s humble enough to admit any mistakes he makes during lecture but just don’t insult him or blame him for the class going too quickly. He himself said it goes very quickly but if you blame him then he’ll just get defensive and it’ll go nowhere. Everything else about him is great. He’s very understanding about making up missed work and he also drops the lowest THREE quizzes which is awesome. I recommend taking him.
Steven Sax MATH013 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/14/2023	Prof. Sax was overall really helpful and kind! The 013 section consisted of daily group work but after the placement test the class was set up just like a regular math lecture. It was definitely not easy getting there every single day, but it was crucial because the course moves at a quick pace. However, if you ever feel behind or need help, Prof. Sax is very receptive to office hours and will always make himself available! Just a few things to be aware of: he cold calls A LOT (so really make sure you are paying attention or following along), there is nightly homework that he will collect at random (try your best to keep up with it), there are weekly quizzes (he drops your lowest 3 scores), he will randomly give extra credit, and there are 3 exams (not including the final). Prof. Sax always provides additional resources like online videos and makes practice exams that are exactly like the real exams. If you show up, put in the effort, and show that you care then he will try his best to make sure you do well in the course.
Steven Sax MATH013 Anonymous 01/03/2023	He explains things well and posts helpful videos and notes. I liked that he was flexible about making up missed quizzes and homework and dropped the lowest quiz. He also gave chances to do extra credit which helped me a lot. Make sure to come everyday to class because it moves very quickly and in two days you're on a completely different topic. His lectures are not dry but he will repeat a concept that he thinks is important many times and I think the time could have been used to go over more examples. I never went to office hours but a couple times asked him questions after class and he was always helpful.
Steven Sax MATH113 Anonymous 01/01/2023	He is nice guy and really tries to help everyone. For the first exam he didn't provide a study sheet and it showed in the exam scores, but for all other exams he did give study sheets and practice problems and they were spot on! The exam problems were very much like the practice problems and quizzes so if you knew how to do those you'd be fine. And the professor was available anytime to explain anything, so if you put in the effort to go over the practice problems with him in office hours, then you could ace the exams.
Steven Sax MATH013 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/28/2022	Honestly I wish other professors were like Professor Sax. He's a nice guy who's passionate about teaching math and reminds me of those wacky nerdy professors that you'd expect to be at working at MIT... but we have him at UMD! He was a fair grader, dropped the lowest quiz, and gave you full credit for homework if you try every problem. He tried to make his lectures interesting by adding a little philosophy and humor which I liked, though it was not necessary and probably threw some people off. I'll say this advice: if you show you care about math or even just care about doing well in the class, this man will be your best ally and strive to help you succeed! But if you make the grave mistake of blowing it off or blame him for giving too much work, then he'll take it personally and it'll be hard to ask him questions in class. I think he's used to teaching way more advanced classes or Math majors but he needs to know how to teach Freshmen who are mostly just taking the class to fulfil a requirement. But I also do think he learned how to do that better as the semester continues. All being said, again if you just treat him and the course respectfully he will be on your side. He'll be available anytime to do office hours and will work endlessly to help you understand. For that I think he's great.
Steven Sax MATH013 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/27/2022	I thought he was a decent professor who actually cared about my understanding the subject. I’m not sure why the previous post said all that, I mean I passed the placement test and took 113 with Professor Sax and so maybe I got to see more. The 013 part was a little all over the place but I think that’s more the course than the professor. It’s this very rigid schedule where everyone is doing problems at the blackboard every day. I talked to other people in 013 and maybe one thing that could have been better was they switched around groups everyday but with us I was with the same group and eventually a couple of them merged so I really didn’t get to do much while Professor Sax worked mostly with the “group leaders”. But when I came to office hours he was great. He didn’t mind staying as late as it took and I think it helped me pass the test. The best advice I can give is go to office hours and ask him one on one. Same for 113- he was very helpful and seemed to care a lot, and I did a lot better in the course than I thought I would.
Steven Sax MATH013 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/12/2022	AVOID HIM AT ALL COSTS!!! Because of my performance on the placement exam, I was placed into MATH013, and it was the worst 5 weeks of my life. Professor Sax is an arrogant, rude, and unhelpful professor who caused me to fail my placement again and have to take MATH003. His teaching method is all over the place and makes things incredibly confusing, and then when you don't understand his way of teaching, he'll get sassy with you and basically say you're the problem. DO NOT TAKE HIM UNLESS YOU HAVE TO.