Rodrigo Trevino

This professor has taught: HONR258P, MATH246, MATH246H, MATH274, MATH310, MATH401, MATH410, MATH430, MATH452, MATH498E, MATH642, MATH643, MATH858T

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Rodrigo Trevino MATH498E Expecting an A Anonymous 05/18/2024	Fun Professor! The class was hard, but rewarding. As long as you put in a meaningful effort, it’s an A.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH401 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/19/2023	Great class, Dr. Trevino was very fun and the examples made the class fun to be in.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH401 Expecting an A DenialWhammy 12/16/2023	Didn't go to class except for groupworks. From the lectures I did go to, he was relatively clear. You'll find more use just studying from the online textbook, which gives you all the information you need to prepare for exams.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH401 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/11/2023	Solid teacher. He does a lot of interaction with his students in this course, even when he is lecturing. He also does a good job at explaining the meanings and derivations behind formulas, which I think is helpful so that you have some context for what you are actually doing and what it means. He does a lot of groupwork assignments, which I liked because it is so rare in college math classes to have the opportunity to work with peers. The exams are inconsistent - the first one was super lengthy and computationally heavy, but the rest have been very fair. He is also using Justin's notes (which are very good) but I'm not sure how well he knows them - when you ask him a question about homework or groupwork it seems like he's reading the question for the first time. He still gives good answers, but it just doesn't seem like this class is a huge priority of his, although I will say he did seem to be putting in more effort towards the end. Overall, very "decent to good" kind of teacher. Not amazing, but you can easily get a solid grade and learn about the material.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH401 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/08/2023	Very fun class, the professor kept the activities fun and his teaching style was generally relaxed but still made sure to cover the topics well
Rodrigo Trevino MATH498E Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/03/2023	Really cool class. Basically a giant semester long group project where you get to work on some interesting stuff. Highly recommend it for anyone looking to take an interesting and challenging class without the risk to your GPA.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 01/03/2023	This course is extremely rough, mostly because of Trevino's course structure but also because of the amount of content covered in the class. The course consists of only 10 assignments, meaning you have to do well on most of them to maintain a high grade. Lectures are overly conceptual and examples are given few and far between. The overly difficult Matlab assignments are required to be done on your own and you get no instruction on them during lectures. Thankfully, the TA was generous (or maybe lazy) with grading them this semester. Exams are fair but still hard just because of the amount of content. I'm not sure if it's Trevino or just the MATH246 class in general, but this course needs to be rewritten from the ground up.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 12/17/2022	Lecture: not many examples, sometimes hard to follow. There are a lot of examples on his syllabus to go though with explanations though Tests: straightforward, no trick questions just solving Matlabs: take a long time if you do it solo, but grading is fairly lenient (?) also gets deadline extended often Grading: seems like he does a decent bit of partial credit and he curved +5%(or more) on my final grade
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/16/2022	If you want a good grade take literally anyone else. The average GPA for Trevino's MATH246 is a 1.76, lower than any professor for this course that I've seen. More people fail/withdraw than get an A or B. No curve at all. Lecture's are very poor. Tests are fairly easy if you do the practice problems he gives you. If you see any good reviews they are most likely for his upper level courses, which I suppose he must be better at teaching than differential equations.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/01/2022	These reviews had me worried before classes started, but it turns out he's a pretty good professor. Lots of people in the class were complaining about him but many didn't show up consistently to lecture and almost nobody went to discussion section. If you actually go to class and study a few hours a week then it's not that bad, although it's not necessarily easy either because of the nature of the course material. The textbook for this course is free online (you still need to buy a MATLAB textbook for ~$30 though) and comes with ample practice problems, and he tells you which problems to practice for the exams. He does teach a lot of theory, which some people might find a bit confusing at first, but he usually runs through multiple example problems which cleared stuff up for me. Additionally, discussion section was mostly example practice questions, so if you are confused during lecture definitely go to discussion. The most difficult part of this course was the MATLAB since you basically have to learn it by yourself by reading the book, but it was pretty easy to finish them in a few days at most (just remember that Google is your friend). Definitely not necessary, but I do recommend taking linear algebra before this class since the later part of the course has a lot of similar concepts.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH452 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/17/2022	Dynamics and Chaos is his area of research, so he really knowledgeable in the material. The class is really small and I feel like that caters well towards his teaching style. There is 1 group work every other class that is graded for effort and completion and homeworks are graded leniently. The first exam was also very fair. His lectures are clear and organized but nothing amazing. He's an overall solid professor and I would take him again.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/21/2022	My review for Rodrigo will be "standout" to say the least. Let me first break down the logistics of the grading for his class and perhaps why he isn't as appealing to other students: Your grade is only comprised of 4 midterms, some MatLab projects, and the final. Rodrigo doesn't curve, and from his announcements does not seem apt to bump people's grades. I thought Rodrigo was good for many reasons: from the first day of class he was incredibly explicit with his grading policies and what your grade was going to be comprised of. He gave us a very helpful online textbook (I assume created by the UMD math department?) which you could use to learn, study, and practice from. Before every exam, he ALWAYS was explicit with what kind of content you were going to be tested on and provided a slew of practice problems (through the textbook) which you could use to practice from (all practice problems had worked out solutions!). The MatLab projects were simple due to the fact that the problems for them came from a textbook that showed you exactly how to do each question. Simulink was a bit ehhhh but everything else about the projects was straightforward and quite doable. I think I personally found the greatest amount of help through the GSS for this class though. Although I personally never went to a review session in person, the worksheets and mock exams provided through GSS prepared me quite well for the exams in this class. Rodrigo is a nice guy if you ever do talk to him. Just... if you're a bad test taker and bad at MatLab you might be setting yourself up for failure if you choose him. If those two traits don't apply to you though, he's a great guy and a fine professor for diff eq, despite what the rest of these 1-star reviews for him may say :).
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/18/2022	Trevino is not nearly as bad as some of these reviews make him out to be. It's true that his lecture style focuses more on providing a solid theoretical foundation for differential equations than applications, but this only serves to make things a lot easier to understand when you go back to the textbook to actually internalize the material. If you work out of Levermore's and Justin's notes when studying and make sure to do practice problems, understanding the material is easy if you paid attention in his lectures. He's definitely not a perfect lecturer, but he's not the devil. His exams are incredibly straightforward and easy. You will need to study on your own, but if you know the material I promise that you will do well. That being said, there will be a few more bumps than usual if you have not taken Calc 3 or Linear Algebra beforehand; I didn't and it definitely meant I had to study more, especially for the last unit of the class. The MATLAB assignments are also not terrible if you take the time to read the textbook and aren't averse to Googling. They are 20% of your final grade and only 5 out of 6 are graded, and Trevino pushed every single deadline back. He's not the most compassionate professor but he is at least responsive to student concerns. The bottom line is that this course covers a lot of material by policy and does not have Linear Algebra as a prerequisite, which is in my opinion a mistake. Seek a better professor if available, but don't stress about it if you're confident in your study skills or have a good track record with prior university math courses.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 05/18/2022	Yeah.... this class is just about what everyone else is saying. The only reason I'm giving this a two instead of the normal 1 star is because I thought that the tests felt at least somewhat fair. They're based off of the problems from the textbook, and if you can do those you can do fairly well on the test. But that's the nicest thing I can really say. To start off, here are the upsides: - There's no homework in this class, nor are there any quizzes. This is nice if you want to learn DiffEq at you own pace. - The textbook is free and every problem is thoroughly explained. As stated earlier, learning these questions will help you greatly. - The GSS Sessions are amazing, the GSS Leader effectively explains everything. - He pushed back every MATLAB assignment except the last one. But now here are the problems: - No homework/quizzes is nice and all, but that means that the only grades are the 4 exams(15%), MATLAB(20%) and the final(20%). I got above average for every exam, but I messed up the last one(mind you, two days before the final) and my grade tanked. - He does not teach MATLAB. At all. The TA's don't really know the material either, and the textbook you have to buy for the questions are practically useless. This would be fine if they were easy, yet they're all long and complex. As stated earlier, he didn't push back the last MATLAB. I should note this one was due the same day as Exam 4, and two days before the Final. The class average for this one was 6/19. - As stated before, he does not curve, despite the horrible average. To pull a direct quote: "Please do not message me about extra credit work or curves. I will not respond to those emails. Have a great summer." If you can self study, then maybe you'll be okay. If you're only okay at math, and have no choice but Trevino for MATH246, Godspeed.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/13/2022	Trevino may be a good professor for math majors taking 300-400 level courses, but anyone taking him for MATH 246 should avoid taking his class like the plague. I took this class because he was the only option for freshman, and although I got an A, it might have been my biggest mistake in course selection yet. I'll be entirely honest here. I only went to the first 3 lectures before I realized that everything taught in the class is explained way more comprehensively through Justin's notes. In those three lectures, I found his teaching method to be needlessly confusing. He constantly used convoluted notation that was rarely seen elsewhere in the course, and 90% or more of time was spent solely writing proofs. If you aren't a math major or don't have a real need to learn the "pure math" behind every method to solve DE's, he is the worst professor you can take for this class. My thoughts here are only reinforced by what everyone else in the class's message group has to say about his teaching. Time and time again in this class, Trevino has refused to accept any responsibility for his mistakes. The most apparent is the severe discrepancy between his grade distribution for 246 and other professors. You can chalk it up to poor teaching style or lack of applying any curve, but either way there's a severe fault here that he blames on the students of his class. Expect 5 to 15 hours of work for each of the 6 MATLAB's given in the semester. These get progressively more difficult and don't expect any help for Trevino in class or by request. I don't think he is a bad person, but you have to be significantly more uncaring than most to give the last midterm 2 days before the final exam. Last and most difficult MATLAB assignment was due on the same day too.
Rodrigo Trevino Anonymous 05/12/2022	One of the worst professors at this school. Lectures are completely useless, he doesn't provide any help if you don't know what you're doing. Provides a list of topics for the exams and then the exams cover content not shown. Had an exam question that 40 minutes in no one could solve due to having to divide by 0. WHen asked about it he laughed and said "oh silly me." DO NOT TAKE THE QUEEN OF THE CATSKILLS
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/12/2022	Trevino is one of the worst math professors I've had, and wouldn't recommend him to my worst enemy. Here is a list of a few red flags I noticed while takin this course: - The average on one exam was a 63, and he didn't curve it. - Our last midterm was two days before our final - When I was reviewing with a friend who had a different professor for the final, I noticed there was a good chunk of content that she had covered and I had not. Trevino's lectures are also genuinely terrible to the point that I sometimes just left in the middle because I would learn more studying Justin Wyss-Gallifent's notes on my own time. Do not take this professor if you can, I took his class because I had other classes I wanted to take during the other professor's times, and in hindsight I would adjust my schedule drastically just to avoid this professor if I could.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 05/11/2022	If this is the only professor you have room for in your schedule consider this me on my hands and knees begging you not to do it. I promise you don't need it this bad. Take it another semester. For reference, I have friends in other math classes where test averages are low-mid 80's. This last test, the average for Trevino was a 63. That is ridiculous, especially for a class I've heard will be curved little to nothing and considering tests will be about 80% of your grade. MATLAB is for some reason a part of 246 and also looking at my friends MATLABs vs mine I see fewer and more basic questions where as mine could have around 6 questions that take me upwards of 6 hrs to fully figure out. He also can just be plain rude in regards to questions about grades or assignments. Possibly better for upper level classes as based on the reviews I see people are much happier with him in those classes, but as for 246. please, please, PLEASE do not.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 05/11/2022	DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. If he is the only professor you can take I suggest you wait a year. Apparently, 33% of 246 students get a D or below as their final grade, that doesn't include people who have dropped the class. He doesnt even have good lectures, they are super confusing to follow or understand, and the only way you're going to learn is if you do it all yourself.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 05/11/2022	Do not take for Differential at all costs He goes over a lot of theories in lecture which is great except he ONLY goes over theories and never how to actually solve any problem. His lecture "notes" are virtually impossible to learn from and you basically have to self teach yourself the entirety of Differential. This year 80 percent of the grade for the course was exams and the other 20 percent were MATLAB's. This wouldn't be too bad but every MATLAB after the first one is extremely difficult, time consuming and very harshly graded. You also have to teach yourself MATLAB, Rodrigo stated one the first day of class he would not cover any MATLAB at all (despite being 20 percent of the grade) and he stayed true to that (The TAs did not know how to help with the MATLAB either). This class is passable if you have taken this class before or have a very easy schedule with an absurd amount of free time
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 05/11/2022	Rodrigo is a nice enough guy, and he definitely cares about his students. With that said, his teaching is AWFUL. He focuses almost entirely on theory and neglects to do examples. His notes are very difficult to comprehend. I knew about 10 students in my lecture and EVERY SINGLE ONE did some or all of the following: stopped showing up, used Terrence's videos from remote learning, used Justin's notes, etc. On top of that, many people failed/performed significantly worse in this class than is typical of them. Look at the grade data and please do NOT take him if you want to pass this class or (dare I say) even do well.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 04/18/2022	If you are considering taking Trevino for differential equations, I would first point you to the "View grade data for this professor" button on the right side of his PlanetTerp page. Make sure you look at the grade distribution for Math 246 only. Awful, right? Of course, grades are not everything, but that chart should be a huge red flag for anyone considering taking him. If your schedule can only accommodate taking him, move things around or take this class another semester. As other reviews have pointed out (some in favor and some against), he spends a large portion of his lecture time writing out the proofs for the concepts and little time applying them. This is why you will see great reviews for his 400 level courses, which are only taken by math majors, and low reviews for his other courses, which are taken by a variety of majors. Pros and cons from my experience in this class: Pros: - The exams are pretty straightforward and he is very clear about which sections are covered and gives you a set of problems to practice for the test (which he uses as the basis for the questions he writes). - He is, in his own words, generous with extending the due dates for MATLAB projects (more on them below). - He does seem to care (in general) about his students' well-being - The GSS leader is usually helpful! Cons: - Unless you enjoy bogging yourself down into mathematical proofs and can easily follow 20 variables being used on the same page, his lectures are extremely difficult to follow. - The MATLAB projects comprise 20% of the final grade and are extremely challenging. Little help is afforded by Rodrigo (his office hours are conveniently scheduled at a time when everyone has classes), and the problems that are assigned are both long and complex. - You end up teaching yourself everything - both the course content and the MATLAB (can be a pro or con depending on the person).
Rodrigo Trevino MATH430 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/03/2021	He is a great proferssor. He cares a bout the class. He explains very good. One of the best professor that I have ever had. If you want to take his class, take it. I dont know why he has this average rating in Planet Terp. I think it is because MATH 246 is a course that everyone has to take. Therefore, many students that do not like MATH take it. And, obviously some of the students blame the professor when in reality they do not study hard like should be.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH430 Expecting an A- Anonymous 03/24/2021	The reviews of his 246 confuse me, because I feel like he's the exact opposite of what's described. You can tell he cares a lot about the class. On top, he's very responsive and passionate about helping students. Lectures are clear and entertaining. Exams and homework are fair and graded quickly (we have a good grader too!). The text used really sucks but I can live with that. Overall the course is organized and enjoyable. Highly recommend.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH310 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/09/2021	Took his MATH310 section in Fall 2020 and honestly, he was a really good professor. He explained the concepts well and made an effort to help us if we didn't understand, as well as being pretty approachable with regards to grades and other items.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 04/14/2020	Absolutely terrible professor. Would constantly mess up in lecture and provide an insufficient curve at the end of the semester. All 246 professors are questionable but don't take him.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 12/16/2019	Teaches directly off of Levermore's notes and cannot explain anything when classification is needed. He does did not address students' concerns. Avoid him at all cost
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/15/2019	Averaged professor, not very responsible, make mistakes occasionally. Grading is fair, but the mean of class is very low, he gave a little(not very sufficient) curve. His lectures are confusing, but that's not his fault, the MATH246 has unreasonable material to cover. He doesn't give exam practice, and not even publish solutions for exams. This is why I would say he is not responsible. His exams are easy, immediate results of the online book's formula. If you are the kind that heavily rely on lectures and review materials, don't consider him. And try to not take 246. This course has too much to learn. The study advice is: must read online book, at least remember the formulae. Do practice exams of Levermore class, its online.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Expecting a D Anonymous 12/14/2019	Terrible professor, uncaring human being. Rodrigo is easily the worst professor I have had the displeasure of having. His teaching style was inconsistent, and the only thing that was consistent was that it was terrible. He copied the online notes (written by Levermore) word for word in class, and tried to administer math quizzes on Canvas - which to me was a sign of laziness, since he didn't want to grade anything himself, dumping it all on our TAs. Additionally, his exams were different than other sections, often containing errors, and he did not curve. When I emailed him on multiple occasions requesting to meet and discuss how to succeed, he never replied. He also only had 2 hours of office hours weekly, on one day, during peak class times, making himself unavailable. Additionally, he missed many lectures for personal trips to "relieve stress." He blames our class's low scores on us, and ridiculed us for not taking linear algebra first - even though it is not a prerequisite. Rodrigo, as a professor, does not represent the quality or type of education the University of Maryland is acclaimed for, and even though it was his first semester teaching it, I strongly feel it should be his last. I will admit some of my strong wording is out of disappointment in failing the class, but that aside, the fact still stands Rodrigo was not an effective teacher, and did not care about his students. He even had the audacity to email us after the exam and tell us he though the grades were good enough, and that if we failed it is exclusively our fault, essentially telling us to f*** off. The way in which the email was written struck me as very unprofessional, and oblivious to the fact he is a terrible professor. If you can take this class with anyone else, do it. I sincerely hope to see Rodrigo removed from the faculty of UMD.
Rodrigo Trevino MATH246 Anonymous 11/14/2019	He is not a good teacher, he focuses too much on the theory and does not go through enough examples. When people ask questions he half answers them, but in a more confusing way. He makes numerous mistakes in his lectures, which does not help comprehension, and he is married to the most convoluted mathematical notation. If you take his class be prepared to learn everything on your own.