Robertson, Mike  

Robertson is absolutely, ridiculously stupid. He really brings down the sophisticated line of Cal Poly professors. This guy is either constantly high or really just a male-equivalent airhead. He doesn't present anything directly. He never knows what he's talking about during class, so the only way to salvage your grade is to turn to the book, but then he disagrees with the book half the time. This sux because class revolves around HIS theories of Math, not the rest of the world's view, and then he changes his mind daily on what he does agree with and what definitions are in mathematical terms. He'll state something you think is important, then say "that's my answer for today, anyway" like he could really care less about what he's 'teaching' you. I use the term teaching VERY VERY lightly when speaking of him. So basically your screwed. He's constantly disorganized and confused. The class is based on 7 weeks of bookwork + lecture (40% of grade), 2 weeks of group projects/presentations (40%) and the final (20%). oh, and when its your turn to present your projects, he actually chuckles at you and ridicules your work, humiliating you in front of the class (just happened to me 2 days ago). Nice guy, this one. He believes he knows all when really he knows nothing. He just needs something to do everyday, so one day he decided to work at Poly. I completely DO NOT RECOMMEND HIM!! If you like feeling constantly lost and uneducated, feel free to take him. But if you actually need structure in your life and want your money's worth of education, pick someone else immediately! And one more thing: he's in desperate need of a razor, not only for his chin but also his balding head!

I am actually currently taking this class and decided to glance through Polyratings to gain some "perspective". The entry prior to mine describes this teacher PERFECTLY! Do not choose Math 112 with Robertson as an easy way to end your math career. Take a legitimate math course. He can not get an A on his own test, let alone teach you how to. Beware I am barely surviving.

Okay so let's start on the positive side. He is very understanding if you have to miss class or miss a test and you can make it up at the time most convinent for you. However, the way he teaches this class if just weird. He disagrees with the book actually you don't really need a book in this class it's not worth the 100 dollars for it. So we learn his method on things, but he doesn't even agree with his own method sometimes. I thought I was going to fail because his tests and the way they were greaded was terrible. Luckily, he grades in this really strange way. Group projects helped and there was an essay test at the end worth a lot. (which again he couldn't really decide what the topic would be on). Luckily, it was an essay though so anyone strong in English can probably accomplish a lot on that test like I must have to bump up your grade.

Robertson was the craziest guy I have ever known in my life. The only thing I enjoyed about class was that he would always wear really funny clothes. He didn't agree with the book, but he also didn't agree with himself half of the time - every day he had a different answer for the same problem. And then he would get lost in his work while explaining something on the board. Half an hour later, he would turn around and we would all wonder what the hell he had just done. Do not use the book because it is the most wordy and unhelpful $100 you will ever spend. I skipped the class 9 times but found no disadvantage in doing so, because even people who came to class everyday were just as confused as me! I would ask him due dates, and he would shrug and avoid directly answering my question. All I can say is to ignore the book and just watch the examples he does in class because they are similar to the problems on the tests. But don't get too high of hopes, because what might be the correct way of doing something on Wednesday might be completely incorrect on Thursday's test.

Robertson is such a weird guy. And it doesn't help that the topics in 112 are the weirdest math I've learned. Truly strange. BUT this class is super easy. I never studied for tests and passed. There's 3 tests, including the final, and a project that your supposed to do for a couple weeks. My group did it the day before. The topics he gives are weird, and you have to apply math to them. Basically, this class was easy so just take it, but be prepared to feel like your in another universe.

This class is the EASIEST math class I have EVER taken! You don't learn actual math, you learn about how math can be fun! I only went to class half the time, my friend went the other half and we swapped notes. The concepts are so simple that you don't even need to go to class to understand them. Mike Robertson is LEGIT and probably one of the most laid back professors you will ever meet.

I had a very difficult time understanding his method of teaching. This class should have been a piece of cake for me, but I found myself confused about material I knew from previous math classes after I left Mike Robertson's class. When it comes to tests, he is willing to look over your tests to find out where some errors were. On two out of the three exams we took I ended up bumping my grade from a B or a C to an A because he would allow us to explain our answers in some situations. Other than that positive aspect, I would say, look for a different teacher.

This teacher teaches in a way that is not very understandavel by his students. He expects us to be like geniuses and we are not all like that. He is boring and doesn't clarify what he means. He gives us quizes and doesn't clarify what is on them so we study the wrong materials.

He sometimes presents the material in a awkward way, but he is always willing to re-explain what he says either directly to you individually or to the whole class. He gives lots of chances to redeem yourself.

Personally, I did not like this teacher. When I went to his office hours was very degrading and looked down upon you for not understanding the material. He could not present subjects in more than one way and I felt it was an inconvienience to him if you asked questions. I took this class in High School and got an A and if it weren't for that class I know I would have failed this class. There were no homework but quizes every Tuesday and Friday and 3 tests plus a final which was worth 40% of your grade. The only thing that made this class berable where his little jokes during class.

He tries to act like he knows everything and when he makes a mistake, he'd make up some garbage excuse to make himself look better. He tries to convince us that his grading policy is really easy, but you'd be surprised to see your C turn into a D. If you were smart, you'd chose another teacher. I wonder if he was the one who rated himself because he is nothing close to a 4 average.

Mr. Robertson was one of the best math teachers I have even taken. He knows how to explain principles in many different ways. The best part is that he isn't concerned with the monotonous busy work that often makes math a chore. Take him if you want to learn the material, get a good grade, and actually enjoy math once in a while.

This guy was awesome. Okay, he's a little bit intimidating with his overly-bushy beard and long hair but all-in-all he's a good guy. It got really scary when he came in for the tests with his long hair not wrapped up in a ponytail... I gave Mike a great rating because he tries hard to make sure his students know the material. If you need ANY help whatsoever, he has daily scheduled office hours that are open for students(even students that are not even in his classes!). One time he noticed I needed more help on a topic so he scheduled a time during his day off(Wednesday) and worked with me one-on-one for an hour. Quizzes(10%, drop lowest 2) were once a week on Tuesdays and tests were composed of two midterms(20% each) which were fair and a final(50%) that was not too hard. I had a lot of trouble understanding Calculus because I was calculator dependent(oh by the way, you can't use calculators!) and Calculus was new to me; but I would suggest Mike Robertson as a teacher for Math 141.

He is by far the worste teacher i have ever had. He will attack you if you dont know the answer spending more time talking about why you should know the answer from 3rd grade than actually teaching. He is a complete jerk who makes you feel like an idiot if you ask questions. His test are totally unfair because they are not curved and he gives to many (about 15) to be finished in the alotted 40 minutes. DO NOT TAKE HIM!!!!

This man spends more time on the theory of caclulus and wanting you to know definitions in terms of notation you will not use during the class. I felt the focus of the class was off, and the material should have been presented differently. He was a nice guy, i just didnt like him as a teacher.

Robertson wasn't too bad of a teacher. He may seem a little crazy at times, but he presents the material well. I got an F in the class because I never went to class, so make sure you go. He gives you problems to do, but doesn't collect them, I recommend you do them in order to learn the material. Tests and quizzes are not too hard. 85 is an A, 75 is a B, and 65 is a C, so that is nice. I am taking this class again, and he is my teacher. If you have questions, go to office hours and he is happy to help. He wants everyone to get a passing grade. I would recommend him.

Mike is great. No homework collected. He did, however, asign homework (optional) and he gave you comments if you chose to do it. There are weekly quizes and the tests are most excellent. He wont try to trick you with extremely complicated problems, everything is straight forward and general. He is a funny man, which makes class fun. Definately take this teacher because you will perform well in addition to expanding your knowledge because he teaches at a relaxed and comfortable pace.

If you have had calc before, you can easily pass and get an A in this class. If you have not, i would find it much more difficult. he is pretty boring most the time, and only has occasional interesting comments about math. His tests are pretty straight forward if you have done most of hte homework. He is okay.

The first day I walked into class I thought "what have I gotten myself into?" This guy looks a murder suspect or something a little outta wack with his long mullet like hair-do. But once he started teaching, I was thankful to have him. He presents the material in a very easy to understand way. Last quarter I failed Math 141 with another teacher, but with Robertson I pulled of a B, and actually understood what was going on. His A's range from a 100-85, which was really nice. He makes sure you are well prepared for tests, optional homework, endless office hours, a great teacher! Take him if you actually are planning on passing!

NOt a good teacher...unless u have a real good math and calc background.. if there was a worst teacher award he would definatly win...he knows math VERY WELL...but does not know how to teach it...confused alot of students so his office was overcrowded all the time...gave 15 min for quizes but annoyed me beacuse he talked while u took it....makes alot of mistakes in lecture but then makes a bullshit azz excuse why he did...OHH YEAH,,,, he talk softly,,,,so if you wanna hear him well,,,sit in front of the class dont take him

Ok, I felt this teacher taught the material well. I had never had calculus before and I feel like I really learned it well. BUT I felt he had a very poor grading system. He makes the final worth 50% of your grade. I seriously think I deserved a B because I had a B going into the final and I thought I did good on it. It didn't even occur to me that I might get a C, so when I saw my grade I was shocked. He wasn't very generous at all when it came to grading. He would take off 7 points out of 10 just for making one little mistake but you obviously knew how to do the problem. Basically, if you want to learn the material but not necessarily get a high grade, take him.

Prof. Robertson was a good teacher. He wasn't very exciting or enthusiastic but I felt that I learned what I needed to know. His grading system is fair and quizzes and exams weren't too hard as long as I did the homework for it. By the way, he collects homework now but it is worth much. Overall, I think I would take his class again.

This guy is an excellent professor. He explains the material very clearly and always provides time to go over problems that people have. He's very friendly and going to his office hours is never a problem. There aren't any realy surprises on his tests or anything as long as you do the homework, youll be fine. He takes most problems straight from the homework anyway, and the heardest problems you see will never be on the final. I definitely recommend this teacher. There are a lot of quizzes but it gives you a chance to raise your grade. Homework is optional but if you do it he will raise your grade on your quizzes. TAKE HIM!!

I failed this class for two reasons: 1. I didn't study enough. 2. I was not smart enough to follow Robertson's lessons. He is a very very hard teacher but he is also very willing to help you with any problem you may be having. If you do the homework (which is assigned every night), and study for the quizzes (which are once a week), you should be able to pass the class. Study very hard for his tests and go to his office hours OFTEN. Do not take him if you do not want to put a lot of work into this class. You will find yourself taking the class over like I did.

Mr. Mike Robertson definitely tops my list of incredibly terrible teachers. This guy is a carbon copy of the fat guy from the android's dungeon on the Simpsons. He's quick to criticize any minor infraction you might make, and he's not afraid to make the entire class aware of it. One time he hovered over a student's shoulder while she was finishing up her quiz, and totally critiqued her mistakes in front of the class. He then finished up by saying, " It's not going to get any better, so you might as well turn it in." If math is a subject that you're struggling with, I highly advise you to AVOID this teacher. He's insensitive, intimidating, and unhelpful.

NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I EVER SEEN SOMEONE WHO RESEMBLES A CARTOON CHARACTER AS WELL AS THIS MAN. I SWEAR TO GOD, THE COMIC BOOK GUY ON THE SIMPSONS WAS INSPIRED BY HIM, I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE SURE OF ANYTHING IN MY WHOLE LIFE. oh yeah, he's a crappy teacher to boot. "but aquaman, you cannot marry a woman without gills!"

This guy is a total hippie!!! Other than that, he is a really good teacher and explains himself very well in lectures. He makes time for students to meet him in other than in office hours and really tries to help.

Mike is a really great guy. His office hours are excellent and he is more than willing to help you. He will go out of his way to help you if he knows that you are really trying. His policy on midterms is really nice too. He will let you earn back SOME of the points you missed if you come in and show him that you know how to do the work. He will not just give you the points back though. You really have to show him you know how to do the problems. This was a lifesaver for me since I simply made some dumb mistakes on the midterms. The only problem I had with him was the fact that some of the midterm problems did not match the homework or quizzes all that well. His policy on midterms and office hours make up for that though. If you are willing to work, Mike will not leave you hanging. He is definitely not a bad choice for Math 141.

This is the best Calc 141 review course I could have ever taken. Period. Grading system is follows: 10% quizzes, 20% midterms (2 of them), 50% final. Two quizzes a week, with each quiz covering two sections and usually consisting of 2 problems or so. He gives 5 official problems per section, but lets students know they should do more if they plan to pass because for engineers, calc 1 should be easy enough to do blindfolded. All the homework does is improve quiz scores, nothing else, so you could do no homework the whole quarter, and still get an A.(Which is what I did) The 2nd midterm, covering chapter 4 is the hardest, but that is because of the material, not because of his teaching. As for the problems on the quizzes and tests, they're not hard, very simple compared to high school calculus. And he allows you do avoid all last minute arithmetic. There is no need to simplify. 2+2 does not need to be written as 4. Oh, and as a bonus, he doesn't care if you leave class early. If you know the material, you can skip class, or if you've had enough of the lecture, you can just walk out the door. Doesn't hurt his feelings. Go to his office hours if you need help. He explanations of specific problems are concise. Overall, a great teacher.

This guy you need to avoid at all costs. I had to drop his ass because he was so freakin confusing. The first day he rolls in and starts explaining how there is no such thing as a number line. What? I got a migrane every day for the whole 2 weeks I took this guy. He has these mini-quizes every day and you don't have to turn in homework. This guy sucked so much balls.

As you can see from the grade, I failed this course. I worked hard in the class and still failed. I thought it was just because calculus was harder in colleg. Since it was my first math teacher here at Poly I didn't think to blame my grade on the professor. I had to retake the course this quarter to realize how truly awful this teacher was. If you feel like learning calculus on your own, by all means, take this teacher. Don't bother going to office hours!! I went consistently for weeks and not only did I not get any help, the teacher couldn't even remember my name! There's no doubt that this teacher understands calculus, but I would recommend taking another teacher if you want to understand it!

Dr. Robertson is a trip. This guy looks, and acts, like he doesn't have a care in the world. He is so laid back, I never even heard him raise his voice. The worst thing about this class is that the final was 50% of your grade (which is why I got a C). The class is not stressful at all, which was really nice. Overall, this teacher wasn't as bad as I thought.

If you are an engineer. this guy is for you. He only requires you to know the basics of a concept. For example, if there is a set of problems in your book 7-25...they get progressivly harder. He expects you to know how to do the first couple, thats it. You have quizes every tuesday and friday. they are cake tho. he tells you exactly whats on them. Office Hours helped me a ton, he is great in them, very helpful. He is a funny guy that keeps the workload light. Grade is no collected homework, 2 quizzes a week (2 are dropped) and 2 midterms and a final.

roberston rocks. he's real cut and dry, but he teaches what you need to know. he's the kind of teacher who cares that you learn the material and are prepared for 142 or 182. great in office hours and in lecture. take him and you'll learn calculus. mike robertson, you're my hero

This class was really easy as long as you showed up to the classes. He gives a practice midterm before each test and each midterm is exactly like the practice one he gives you.

So, basicly, I took calc in high school, didn't learn shit, and went into calc in college thinking I knew it, after failing it 3 times, I retook Robertson because, like his polyratings say, hes a pretty chill guy. He knew my situation, knew that I needed help, and when I was in his office hours getting that help, he really showed me how to do stuff right. I think hes a great teacher because of the way he teaches, he sort of tries to be funny, but its more dark humor. The sound of his voice put me to sleep more than a few times, but this is calc one stuff, pretty fucking boring. If I had to go on in math, I'd definitly stick with this guy because of his grading style, the quizzes and how they help you, the practice midterms, and his chill teaching style. Great job Mike.

Take this man if you can get his class. WOW i was lucky enough to experience Big Mike. He's is a great guy, very sympathetic, lets you take make up exams no problem whats so ever. Lecture wise he's great by making the material seem very simple. he doesn't go to fast, is open to questions, is always willing to hang out and help you (especially during his office hours). He also does not believe in extreme simplification so you don't get to frusterated with getting the exact right answer. I still see him to this day even though i am in a different math class. very laid back, awsome teacher great guy. TAKE HIM!!

Really Cool Guy. No wierd stuff. Straight forward class. You get what you give. Kinda boring though, but he tells funny stories sometimes. I would recommend him.

Great teacher. Very laid back. Very helpful when students have questions. Only reason I didn\'t get an A was because I didn\'t ever do the SUGGESTED (not collected) homework. He was flexible for when I took my final so I didn\'t have two on the same day. He was extremely helpful when I went into his office hours. Best math teacher I have ever had. Take him if you get the chance.

I just posted, but forgot to mention something. He divides the final into 3 parts worth 100 points each. One for each section of midterms. If you do better on the final than a midterm, you get the score you received on the final. Theoretically, you can not take a single midterm and still get an A.

He wasn\'t the best teacher, but I ended up with a B+ because of the way he grades. I got an F on two of the midterms and was able to get points back because I got a B+ on the final. I had a D before the final and got a B+ in the class. Study a ton for the final and you\'ll be fine.

Overall decent teacher. He is in his office hours all the time and likes helping students, but that couldn't make up for how far behind I fell during class. He moves through material incredibly quickly in class, keeping a very boring tone and style. He makes the midterms way more complicated than they need to be. His grading system is quite liberal, but I don't know anyone who got an A and only very few got B's. Personally, I would not re-take him if I had the chance. I just want to understand the basics of Calculus, pass the class, and move on. In his rather egotistical mind, he feels we're all idiots unless we understand everything perfectly, the explanations behind it, and feel the drive to put a lot of time in it. Sure, that may define him to some people as being a "good teacher", but I personally couldn't find the amount of interest in the class that he was asking out of us.

For a person who has no previous knowledge of calculus, this teacher made me feel real bad about questions that I needed to clarify some terms and notations. During class he would say, the material should be easy because you took in high school. I studied the material but was lost most of the time because even though his notes were to help the student find the answer in a easier way, he did does not explain well where he got the numbers, or why he did it that way. I would NOT recommend this class who does not have prior knowledge of calculus, BUT if you have taken calculus before, then you can pass the class. This teacher has a good personality and is very smart, just does not know how to teach to someone who is not a mathematical professor like himself. I also went to his office hours, did help, but made me feel like a idiot for not knowing the material.

Mike is a smart guy, but a terrible teacher. His method of teaching leaves students extremely confused, and mocks them for asking questions. He likes to tell people to "go back to middle school" if they ask to clarify a concept.

Robertson is an okay teacher. I had AP Calculus AB in high school and his class was difficult for me. He is incredibly smart and only references the book maybe once in a quarter. He just doesn't really know how to teach his knowledge. He can be rude sometimes when you make dumb arithmetic mistakes. GO TO OFFICE HOURS. Take a group with you and ask questions on all of the problems and he will pretty much give you the answers. Robertson is very picky about details. If you use the wrong preposition he takes 5 points off on that explanation, which I think is a little overkill considering problems are about 15-20 points each. If you have had Calculus before and get this professor, do not think it is an easy A. Pay attention in class and take notes. Study for the midterms and final and you will do fine.

This is going to be a tough class for you if you've never taken Calc before. Mike likes to take multiple shortcuts when doing example problems and isn't very eager to explain his steps. I didn't find him to be very approachable; he comes off a bit rude when answering questions in class, and he usually mentions that the concepts are so simple that a 4th grader could understand them. There are homework problems which he writes himself due twice a week, three midterms, and a final. Definitely do the homework carefully and thoroughly because it makes up a large portion of your grade. The final is comprised of 3 sections that reflect each midterm. If you show improvement on the final, he will raise your midterm grade. However, he grades pretty harshly and cares a lot (maybe too much) about your word choice and takes off points in intervals of 5. Not an easy class, but it's not impossible if you put in the effort.

ALL OF THESE REVIEWS REGARDING JAMES/MIKE ARE LIES. He is a horrible man. All the people that like him are basically the smartest ones in the class. Like most of my friends that took this class with me foreal struggled. We all had to take the supplemental workshops to try to pass this class. He sucks so hard. He tries to implement philosophy into his teaching which doesn't make sense at all since you're like learning about math... His grading also sucks. He would give you homework and projects that doesn't match his lectures at all. He gives you theoretical bullsh*t that has nothing to do with Calc 1 most of the times. Also, he is not funny. I'm counting on his final to save my life because I failed the midterms, but he lets you replace your midterm grades if you do better on the final. So yeah fingers crossed, and don't take him. I b=obviously had last rotation for registration so I got stuck with him. I'm telling you the truth. Someone has to tell you... Cuz no one will. ty (I took calc in HS btw, so if you have no prior calc experience, you're basically screwed)

just... don't take him... don't do it man... don't...

He lectures in the most complicated way that he can make it. He has Calc 4 expectations for Calc 1. I took calc in high school, went to office hours 2 to 3 times a week and not only did he continue to not only forget my name, but that I was even there for almost as many hours as the class itself. If you also make a general arithmetic mistake, he tells you that you don't know what you're doing and to come back when you've learned the material. He literally told me that he didn't want to pass me since halfway through the quarter and there was nothing that I could do about it.

He is a really smart man... but a horrible teacher. He is really mean and not helpful. When you ask a question after his confusing wrong algebra steps he says "oh go back to middle school" what a dick man.

I have never given a Poly Rating before, but I have finally felt the need to for this professor. Robertson is a smart man do no get me wrong, he is just a terrible teacher of the information. The way he presents the information to a calc 1 class it feels like he's teaching one of his calc 4 classes. I went to office hours frequently and he still wasn't anymore help in office than in class. His unorthodox style of teaching made it to where I actually hate math now and I hope I never see another math problem in my life. IF ANYONE IS CONSIDERING TAKING ROBERTSON, JUST DON'T DO IT. TRUST US ALL ON THESE RATINGS DON'T TAKE HIM, EVER! -A Concerned Student

I LOVE Robertson. Best professor I have had so far. He has some flaws, for example, he moves really fast during lecture. He is extremely intelligent, and expects all of his students to comprehend what he is saying as fast as he does. Do not even bother asking him questions during lecture, he will go on a rant and waste the precious 50 minutes that is already not enough time. His office hours, however, are endlessly helpful. He will let you sit in his office hours basically all day until you understand the material perfectly. He is SUCH a GREAT teacher one on one! AMAZING!! If you really want an A, you can get an A. It is definitely not an easy A, but it is so worth it. He also replaces your midterm scores with your final score if you do better, so even if you fail the midterms you can still get an A in the class if you do well on the final, which he provides so much help for. I love him, wonderful professor. Office hours are KEY.

First, he is such a prick. Second, all he does all class, every class is problems. He does a few examples and shows you just how to do problems exactly like that. He gives us no explanations for how to actually do problems in this section(unless you count the "and that becomes that" that he says while doing the problem). He completely throws out the book and teaches us HIS way, which in his opinion is superior, but it only makes sense to him. His midterms are usually around 200 points and they are really hard. AVOID TAKING HIM IF YOU CAN!

Man, just do not take this class. This man is smart, but he contradicts himself in lecture, and if you're taking calc for the first time, you feel almost helpless. He's insanely arrogant too, and just isn't pleasant. Switch out or just drop the class if you get this inbred excuse of a man

Robertson could be a cool guy, but honestly don't take him. I went into his class retaking 141 and it was the worst idea ever. Not only are his lectures confusing and always differ to him talking about his cats, but he is the strictest grader I've had so far. On the midterms i would get as much as 10 points off on a question because i failed to put a parentheses around my x. Only good part about his class is that you can fail every midterm, get a c on the final and you'll end the year with a C. That's the only reason i passed. If you get stuck with him i highly recommend taking the support workshop and also making sure to study the material every week cause youre not gonna learn it in class thats for sure.

i never took calc in highschool so initially, this class was a struggle. Once i figured out the way mike taught, the class became so much easier. He has his own way of teaching things, but honestly i think he's a really good teacher. he will explain everything to you if you attend office hours and is easy to talk to. I feel like i learned a lot from him. he has 3 midterms and one final. If you perform better on the final than the midterms, then he will replace your midterm grades with your final grade. He's a nice guy and a good teacher and i would definitely take him again for calc 4. He has some funny stories up his sleeve too.

oh, Mike. Weird dude. To take his class and be successful, you have to understand how to decipher awkward-speak, if that makes sense. He says a lot of random shit and a lot of shit that seemed to confuse some people, so it takes a while to understand what he means most times. I would take Mike again, but there are definitely better math profs out there. The way his class is set up is you do 15 assignments, with 2 free ones, 3 midterms, and 3 parts in his final. If your final grades are higher than your midterm then they get replaced and you could easily get an A, but I took this class during Corona so who knows how easy his finals actually are. lolol

I took Math 141 with Robertson this quarter. I had an easier time understanding my AP Calc class in high school than it was this class. His lectures don’t usually make sense and is a very strict grader. Any tiny mistake you make, you’ll loose a lot of points. He never explains the steps he uses. Much if his lectures focus on why something does something instead of how to actually solve it. Overall, DO NOT take him if you have no calc background or have the slightest struggles with math.

This class was so much more difficult than it had to be. Robertson has an incredibly strict way of teaching and emphasizes math analysis throughout the course. For example, you will be required to precisely WRITE and Explain what limits mean. His teaching methods are incredibly theoretical as he wants you to understand the precise and exact ways of understanding calculus. Roberston goes completely off the book. He assigns like 3 to 5 homework problems for each hw assignment that are 90% of the time hard as fuck and require you to go to his office hours to understand how to do them. He will get frustrated at you for writing out basic algebraic steps. Dude's also a smartass. Once asked him how he did a certain step in a problem and he replied by saying "By placing this piece of chalk on the board". He seems physically unable to teach as well as he can barely hear students when they ask questions and most of the time just ignores students. The exam difficulty is inconsistent. There was one exam that he gave us that he later stated was way too difficult to give to us and regretted making it that difficult. Overall, PLEASE avoid this professor if you can. I also took business calc before coming in here and wasn't new to derivatives and integrals and still struggled. The only reason I passed was because of corona.

The only positive thing I have to say about Robertson is that he clearly knows his math. However, he is unable to teach Calc 1 to college students (most of which are only taking it as a GE) in an appropriate manner. The average midterm scores were 58, 69, and 53. He did not curve any of them or offer opportunities for more credit. I have already taken IB Calc 1, so the fact that this class was challenging was mind-boggling. Robertson is a very rude professor who is rather judgmental of questions and is not very empathetic. One girl asked a question and growled at her (yes, I am serious) and said he was going to "try to answer civilly" because the concept "should not be so difficult to understand". He has no patience with helping students and is rather rude about it. Someone once asked a question in the middle of him doing a long problem (just to ask a clarification before he continued), and he yelled at them about how they "ruined the flow of the problem". Someone else once asked how he wanted us to answer a specific type of problem on the exam and he answered with "however you want to, that will vary culturally". He is unclear as to his expectations for answering questions. He terrified me, as well as other students, and created a hostile classroom environment in which people were afraid to ask questions.

He is a fabulous teacher. Really understands the material and explains it to students in a good manner. The class consists of no homework, some quizzes, two midterms and the final. He also supplies students with practice midterms so the students are familiar with the format of his tests. He tells all his students to come in during office hours because he claims that he does better one on one. And he does. He has a set schedule for the course and sticks to it. Spends a couple of days on important sections and one day on easy sections. And he does not mind letting the class out early if no one has any questions. Midterms are average. He gives a lot of partial credit based on how far you get through a problem (correctly). The final was extremely difficult. If you can get him, do it!! I highly recommend him.

Mr Robertson is a great guy to have for a math teacher. Even though sometimes his lectures are hard to understand, he always incourages you to go into his office hours, and when you do, he is more than willing to help you understand. He knows that this is not easy course material to be given in such a small period of time and tries his best to make everyone understand that wants to learn. If you are willing to go into his office to get help, then definitely take his class.

Mike was kind of a nice teacher but his grading on tests was super strict. I understood the material forwards and backwards and yet could not score above a low B on any test.

This is a great teacher. I don't want to sound too geeky, but he gave me a philosophy on how to deal with integrals of many types. Not just "Remember the formula," but if it's convenient enough, derive the formula. I'm only a freshman in my second quarter, but I have to say, this has been my best teacher.

Mike is definitely one of the best professors I've had here at Poly. He really cares about how people do in the class. There is a chance to redeem yourself if you do bad on the tests...the more important point for him is for you to understand the material. And thats awesome. He's a really fair grader on the midterms...and especially the final! He's also a really nice person and down to earth and cool to talk to and he has this cool hop he does after he finishes a problem! I'd definitely recommend taking him if you have a chance...some of the lectures are a little monotone...but he cracks a few jokes at times.

Mike is a modest man with an incredible intellect. The most underrated teacher at cal poly. For anyone who is going to accomplish anything in life Mike is second to none. Yeah, that was directed at all of you morons who probably never gave two sh*ts about math and then trashed Mike because you got a sh*tty grade. Mike's teaching is so methodical, he has it down to a science. This guy can compress 4 hours of studying into a half hour of lecture, it is really incredible. He presents material in a way that you really understand the greater concepts behind calculus without having to write confusing proof after confusing proof on teh blackboard. A lot of people find it very easy to hate Mike because he does not sugar coat anything. Indeed, though he has a wonderful personality when he wants to, you can see his life experiences, from his upbringing in Santa Barbara to his tragic car crash a few years ago, in his mannerisms. An incredible individual. If you have 2 pennys worth in that noggin of yours, be bold enough to disregard these other simian reviews and TAKE THIS TEACHER!

Mike Robertson is an amazing teacher. If you have the opportunity to take a Math class with him, it would be to your benefit. He is one of the best math teachers I have ever had and that says a lot. He explains things throughly and if there happens to be something you missed he will gladly explain it to you. He wants you to learn. He has many office hours which are a major plus, not too many teachers do. His grading scale is great, one of the best I have seen. He teaches in such a way that you won't need to memorize the countless formulas there are in calculus. Don't get me wrong there are a more than few basic formulas you do have to know some but he teaches you basic tricks which you can attack most problems with out a formula. I have read some of the comments on poly ratings and they say he is a very laid back teacher, this is true; however, it helps when teaching math. He won't make you remember everything about every topic, only the vital stuff applies, there is a lot cause lets face it its a math class, but he won't teach you things you won't need. He will comment on them and show you how to do the math parts with application problems and not focus primarily on non math topics with those application problems. Other teachers believe they must cover everything in a class and that your supposed to know it precisely, i think this isn't a good approach. Mike's approach is much better. I think if I were to have taken this class with another professor I wouldn't have really learned all I have with Mike. Because of his style of teaching and how he approaches math, I feel that I have learned the most I have ever learned out of a math class. He taught me to think with my brain and not with a calculator. And because of that very reason I learned everything I needed to know do be successful in his class. Basically if you want to learn Calculus and be good at it, take his class. His tests are fair, you know what is expected of you because he will give you a real test from one of his last class' before each test so you uderstand the layout of the exam and know what you are supposed to know. I just got done with the final, so I don't know my grade yet. I think I did have a low B average going into the final, and I think I did the best I could, so I hope to recieve a B as the final grade.

He's pretty different and he has his quarks, but after you get used to him, he's actually pretty cool. He is fair and practical with the workload, and his midterms/final are totally straightforward. Perhaps the best part about his class is that we ALWAYS out early, sometimes as much as twenty minutes (for a 50 min. long class, that was pretty good). Strangely enough, he gets through all the material and presents it in the most basic way possible. Definately recommend him.

Let me get to the point, he is very good at explaining things on the board if you ask. He likes to curve grades. He even drops a midterm and will replace the other one with the final as long as you learn the stuff well. He makes up points for midterms :). He shines in his office office hours and answers the most simiple questions.

This guy can be alright, but as a teacher, he's got a few things to learn. He has his own guidelines in his own mind (that he never really makes known to the students) for what is correct and what is incorrect to ask him. He actually can be helpful and understanding at times, but you have to be careful how you word your questions, because if you do it the wrong way, he'll make some jerkass remark and walk away. He knows his stuff, but it's difficult for him to convey it well. If you're looking for a class where there's actual interaction and communication between students and teachers, look somewhere else. He's very self-absorbed, never looks a student in the eyes, very nonchalant, and very condescending, even to the students who try being kind to him. He finds it hard to understand that other people can actually have problems understanding the material. Wow. What a guy. Well, with hope he might improve, but for all purposes, I would avoid him.

Don't let his polyratings fool you. This guy is not what he turns out to be. His midterms are ridiculus and his final is insane. He doesnt collect hw and doesnt even clarify what problems he wants you to do. His twice a week quizzes are stupid because they arent even close to the hw. The biggest problem is that he only does like one or two problems on the board for notes and expects you to master the material. His lectures do not help comprehend the material which is difficult as it is. Avoid him if you can, unless your just flat out good at calculus.

Mike is a really chill and relax professor. His lecture sounds like he doesnt really care, but you realize its his calm way of speaking. He makes math relaxing. Comparing his lectures to the actual book, he made the material look REALLY EASY. His grading scheme described below is true. Final replaces midterms. But they can be really tough and tedious. Some concept problems or two. I would defintely take him for any math class again. It just seems way easier!

His class lectures are very interesting and he keeps them fun. Goto office hours they help you out the most. its one of the best math classes ive ever taken. I definitely recommend him.

Mike is such a chill dude. At first I thought he was just to far out and abstract, he always talks about abstract math stuff. But, once the quarter started rolling he was awesome. He lets you do test keys for past exams and GIVES YOU POINTS for them, so it helps a ton if u messed up on an exam or even if you did well and want to get a little boost. Also, his office is almost always open, even though it says his office hours are 1 hour, hes there for two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. He's very helpful and easy to talk to, Definitely take him for Pre calc and calc.

His tests were hard to me, I dont know about others, I had a low grade going into the final but he has a policy where he will replace your midterm I,II scores with certain parts of the final if you do better, which is what saved me because I studied! He is a nice guy, but comes of as a mean guy sometimes if you have a simple question here and there, but I mean to understand the subject you have to master the simple things. Great grading policy, laidback class, doesnt waste time on useless things. Great office hours, he is here almost all the time, I would not mind taking him again.

TAKE HIM... BEST TEACHER EVER

One of the best math teachers that I've ever had. He tells you exactly what you need to know, and helps you out if you don't get something. His office hours were especially helpful. He doesn't assign any homework, but he does give quizzes every week. If you do a couple problems of homework a day and do well on the quizzes, then you'll do well on the midterms.

Dr. Robertson is awesome. I had a C- in his class because i struggled to grasp a few of the lessons. However, his final is basically 3 half midterms. so if you do better on the final than you did on one of the midterms then he raises your midterm grade. So for those of you that everything just clicks later in the quarter, especially in cumulative math courses, this is a great class. Also, he teaches the topics so that you actually understand what you are doing and not just following steps.

He didn't explain things well, but when you asked a question, he made you feel like you were stupid and should already know this stuff. I would not recommend his class unless you already have an understanding of the material to be presented.

high all the time

Robertson is a boss. I had him for 141 and 142, and I wish I couldve finished the rest of the series with him but he didn't teach 143 when I was taking it. He literally gets straight to the point and kinda does everything his own way so if you wanna do well on his midterms, go to class and don't expect to learn shit on your own out of the book. He also has extremely dry humor that not everyone understood, but I personally think this guy is hilarious! Also an extremely fair grader. 3 midterms, one final, and 1-2 quizzes per week. He doesn't collect homework. This sounds like a lot of work but trust me it's not. The quizzes help you more than they hurt you. He also drops the lowest grade per "bundle" of quizzes. Basically the lowest quiz per chapter. There are a shit ton of point to collect so its not an impossible A. Easy B FOR SURE unless you're an incompetent idiot who doesn't belong in a college level calculus course. For the midterms, you get to make a "key" and get back a point per every 5 points you lost which is AWESOMEEEEEEEEEE. And technically, you can ace this class while failing every single midterm because the final is split up in 3 parts; whatever you get in that specific part of the final, COVERS UP the corresponding midterm. He's also extremely helpful in office hour. I struggled a lot in calc 2 because I took it a year and a half after taking calc 1, but robertson really took the time to work with me. I studied my ass off for the final and ended up with a B. I definitely recommend that you take him. Definitely my favorite professor at Poly so far.

Mike gives tons of quizzes and 3 midterms then a final. The material is not that hard if you listen and pay attention during class. He is really helpful during office hours too. The good part of his grading system is that there are plenty of opportunities to improve your grade, especially with the final exam. I would recommend him if you're planning on going to class and intend to at least kind of learn the material.

I had a D- the whole quarter and ended up with a B+. If you do good on the final, it will replace the 3 midterms!

Robertson was my favorite professor of the quarter. He presented the material in a good, clear way and was an entertaining lecturer, which can be difficult for a math course. His grading system very much rewards work and gives a huge second chance for students who put in work. I failed my first mid-term and was struggling to fight back from a D for most of the quarter. I started preparing for the final during the middle of the quarter, studying every day, because I knew I could turn it around. I ended up acing the final and the class. An excellent professor, I highly recommend Robertson.

Best math teacher I've had. 142 has a lot of tough stuff most teachers make you memorize. Robertson always shows really clever ways to think through problems so you don't have to memorize as much

He always takes shortcuts. Although that might seem ideal, it really is not because if you fall behind you can't really rely on your book to help you out. He mumbles a lot when he teaches. He's cool, but it's hard to learn much from him. He tries to make things easier for his students, but it just seemed more difficult for me. He skips a lot of steps when teaching a new lesson because he does a lot of them in his head since he's been teaching the material for almost 20 years. He makes his students feel foolish when they ask him questions.

Robertson's a pretty good teacher. He's fair and presents the material pretty clear for the most part. He teaches some things differently from the book, so if you don't get it you can't just read the book because he wants you to do it differently. He's always available for help in office hours so there's no excuse not to learn what you need to. The way his class is set up the final is broken up into sections that correspond to the midterms (3 of them) and if you do better on the final section corresponding to the midterm, that score counts for both. Don't get behind because you think you can just make it up on the final though. I did that and I got the flu the day before the final so I couldn't learn everything I needed to and I ended up getting a B- in the class when I know I could have gotten an A if I had managed my time better. Overall he's a pretty good teacher.

I'm kind of split on Robertson. He takes some adjusting to. He has you graph in an untraditional way and does not follow the book, which makes it hard to compare notes to. He teaches in kind of a rambling fashion, but whatever was unclear then he explains very well in office hours. he has homework due twice a week, which helps your grade if u do it fairly well. When he grades tests, he takes off by 5 even for small errors, which can harm you if you keep making that same error. On the bright side, the final is split into three parts correlating to each midterm. If you improve on that section of the final, he will raise your midterm grade. Overall he's ok, I wouldn't mind taking him again, nice guy.

I took this class my first year, and another with him my second year. Im now a fourth year and robertson is still my favorite teacher i've ever had at cal poly!!!!!!!!!! He's funny, he's chill, he's brilliant. Sometimes he can seem attitudey because he is so smart he doesn't get what you don't understand. If you do really stupid mistakes like add wrong he gets annoyed lol. His GRADING IS THE BEST IVE HEARD OF. you have 3 midterms which actually helps a lot. then the final has parts 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the midterms. if you do better on any final part, it replaces that midterm. example: you fail midterm one, but get a 100 on part 1 of the final-- you get a 100 on that midterm grade and still benefit from the 100 on the final. So basically, if you get it by the end, you get it!! I wish more teachers graded this way. Hes friends with the other bearded math dude and they have a cute picture outside their offices. he is seriously so chill. I think the bad reviews on here are all people that are bad at math and easily frustrated and probably didnt go to office hours. or if you like kato, really different fast non-theoretical teaching, you may not like robertson. I hated kato and most people that liked him didnt like robertson. I will never understand. also, i had test anxiety really bad (now im in the DRC) but he let me take a test in his office once. he grades very fairly and doesnt take off for mistakes he understands. i would take another math class just to gain knowledge from him and i dont even love math. I like his classes that much.

This is a great professor to take for Math 142. The way he structures his class and the grading was very helpful to me and many other students who did not do well on some of our midterms. For example, I got a D on my first midterm, B+ on my second, and C on my third... not so great. But then it was time for the final. The final is broken down into three sections (one for each midterm). If you score better on the section of the final that correlates to the midterm than the actual midterm, it replaces your midterm grade. If that makes sense. This is true with any section of the final and midterm. Because of this I was able to replace the grade of my 1st and 3rd midterm and end up with an A- in the class which I did not think was even possible after I got my first midterm back. I do think it is a fair way to do it though. If it takes you longer to understand the concepts, you are not punished. His grading is layed out very well. 1000 Points total, 160 of those were from graded homeworks, 180 for each midterm, and 300 for the final (100 each section). Besides just the grading stuff, I think he's a cool chill guy in general who I liked. I would definitely recommend taking him.

Take this teacher. Mike is the most unintentionally funny and interesting guy you will ever encounter. He is an avid believer in doing is what is right, and you can tell he has a commitment to his students. I got a C in this class because I was joining a fraternity and taking a 3 other hard classes at the same time. He is brilliant too, sometimes too much for his own good. He will leave you in confusion after his lecture quite frequently; go to his office hours. I never did, hence my grade. The people who I knew who went said they were extremely helpful. Sometimes classes will be super helpful and other times he will break off into weird stories or tangents, listen to these. He actually has a lot of valuable things to say aside from math that are interesting. Finally, his grading system is pretty forgiving. His final has the potential to replace all three midterms depending on how you do in each corresponding section of the final, so if you get it in the end, it doesn't matter if you didn't get it earlier. I have a pretty good idea of who and who not to take because I'll be the first to admit I'm no super genius, so go ahead and take this guy. He really is a quality human being and someone who cares. We need more people who care at Cal Poly.

I remember talking to one of my friends in the dorms about my math professor. We would both talk about how bad our professors were, almost as if to one-up each other. I didn't know how a professor could do a worse job teaching, so I was confident I had the worse professor. I then found out my friend also had Robertson, but for calc 1, and it all made sense. Unless you are already confident with all of the MATH 142 material going into this class, Robertson will only confuse you and make the content way more complicated than it needs to be. Robertson teaches in a way that relies entirely on your mathematical intuition instead of teaching us how to solve problems. For example, for teaching integration by parts, he forces us to use his extremely convoluted technique that you can't watch videos on or learn outside of class instead of teaching us the way that 99% of other math classes are taught. He does this because it "shows the derivative" of each term or whatever but the reality is I still can't tell you how the hell he wants you to do it and I can confidently say this is true for about half the class. It's great if you're already an excellent math student and want to learn all the theory and ins and outs of calculus, but the reality is it just makes life more difficult. He does this for almost every topic btw. I got next to nothing out of this class and am currently taking the next class online, which has been so so so much easier to understand so far. Don't take this class, you will regret it.

Professor Robertson has got to be the most unhelpful Math Instructor I have ever had. I ended up with a B in the class, but to be perfectly honest it would have been impossible without my Workshop and a couple of guys I studied with day and night to get through his class. He is however a really nice person. He is great to talk to in his office, but that is about all that gets done because he is ineffective when it comes to teaching the material. He can't get across how to do anything. He understands it all perfectly and it is as if he assumes that we understand it too?! It is difficult because he doesn't get the ideas across well and then when you go to do the homework you don't understand it. It is very difficult. He collects homework twice a week. At first it is A LOT, but then it slows down to doing just a few problems each assignment. The tests are very difficult, but he has a unique grading policy about the final. Basically if you do poorly on both midterms and well on the final he will give you the grade you earned on the final with a minus attached to it. Good luck if you take Robertson.

I would never take this teacher again. He wasn't able to present material very clearly. He isn't very good at answering questions in class. I noticed that one day that a person in the class had his hand raised and Mike looked like he was looking at the students but he never noticed the hand raised. This happened more often than not. Going to his office hours were a waste of time. It seemed like he couldn't wait to get you out of his office so he could continue with what he was doing before you came in.

His notes during lecture are extremely unorganized. It seems as if he does absolutely no preparation at all. He shows no enthusiasm for math, very boring lectures. Often when a student asks how he did a problem he will say "You can't ask a mathmatician how he does it." He assigns homework and it's extra credit towards the quizes if you turn it in. But the questions on the quiz and tests are worded poorly and he is inconsistent with partial credit. He asks a lot of definition questions and they have to be worded exactly the way he wants it in order for you to get credit. I spent the entire three hours on the final. Good things about him: if you fail the midterms but do well on the final, you can still pass the class. His lectures are worthless but if your good at learning the material on your own this can be a good thing because you'll never have to go to class.

He was obviously taught very well, because he knows everything, unfortunately he won't tell you what he knows, only that he knows it. He gives explanations as, and i quote, "because that's the way a mathematician would do it." He cannot explain anything. He babbles the whole period, even while you're trying to take a test. Homework is assigned most nights and collected every tuesday and friday. His grading is incredibly subjective, whatever he feels you should get, which can go either way. Don't ask questions either if you have low self confidence because he will tear you apart. His lectures did not cover what was on the homework or on the tests. The tests weren't hard until the final which somehow i guess i got a D, and was expecting a B-A. So that killed my grade. He has a huge curve though so that helps. He is very laid back, comes in late a lot, and never grades tests. Doesn't take teaching seriously.

"Mike" is possibly the worst math teacher at Cal Poly. The material wasn't too difficult, but he made it way worse than it had to be. His lectures were very unorganized and half the time it was hard to tell what he was getting at. There were very very few examples ever shown, and I had to rely on the book and classmates to get through the quarter. He made students feel stupid every time they asked a question, like we should already know how to do everything. Once he even said "never ask a mathematician how to do something" ..now isn't that why we're here?? Mike gave tons of homework that was due twice a week, and quizes every week which were extremely difficult. His grading system was confusing and if you ever went into his office hour to get your tests/quizes back (since he is too slow to ever return them in class soon after they're given), then you will see how unorganized his office is with rubber banded stacks of papers everywhere. His midterms were very hard, probably because he didn't give you much in depth notes to study from, and never really explained homework questions. Do whatever you can to NOT take him, and warn all your friends. I've heard he is better with lower math classes but I wouldn't even take a chance. Let's fire this hippy! Who's with me?

Mike was an ok teacher. I dont know why everyone complains about him. He made some of the stuff much much much harder than it had to be (just by explaining it in a confusing way) but he was very fair in his grading and testing. He gave many opportunities to raise your test grades. I'm sure there are better teachers but he is ok. He spoke about calculus like it was some battlefield that Mathematicians and Physicists were fighting on. "If you were a physicist, youd do this....but we are mathematicians"

Mike Robertson is a very capeable and helpful teacher. I think that his downfall is his people skills. Because he was quick to point out your mistakes and suggest that you go back and learn how to integrate (when in calc3), I did not like his teaching methods at first. After a while, I realized that he actually wants to help his students learn, but might have lacked the people skills necessary to convey it. He is very helpful in office hours to current and returning students. He is impartial to his students- he won't judge you on your homework or class attendance, and won't be condescending towards you for not doing well on a quiz or test. He is a very fair grader, and at least in my class, structured it in a way that you could still get an A if you did really well on the final while having bombed the midterms and homework/quizes. I would recommend this teacher to everyone who has the chance to take him that can look past his people skills and appreciate him as a teacher.

Dr. Robertson is a very smart man and I will definitely give him his credit where it is due. The only problem with his intelligence is that he lacks VITAL people skills that can make or break a quarter. I am a person who needs to ask questions in order to better, or more fully understand. His answers are merely repeating what he said (which is the cause of the confusion) and in a condescending tone. He also makes it so that you don

I've written good stuff here about Mike already. And by Mike, I mean James Robertson. While reading this, just realize if anyone before me is talking about a soft spoken teacher who is really easy, and really laid back, with a final worth half your grade, they're talking about James Robertson, not Mike Robertson. It's easy to get confused because James Robertson's middle name is Mike, and he likes to have people call him by his middle name. It's why the syllabus says jroberts, not mroberts. Just wanted to let everyone know because they may be writing reviews for the wrong Mike and such.

PEOPLE. Mike is a great professor. In fact, he's the best professor I've had since coming here. I took him for 142 and was so happy with the way he taught the class that I took him for 143 also. Now, I can understand a few of the complaints against him, however, most of the time those problems are not Mike's fault. If you are the kind of person who needs a homework assignment every night and need someone to hold your hand through every step of every problem, then do not take Mike. You will not do well. If you can handle the responsibility of deciding what homework you need to do and what homework you can skip, and you can connect previous material to new stuff without being told exactly how they're related, then take Mike. He's a great professor and a great guy. Finally, the best thing about his classes is that he only grades you on a subject once. What I mean is, he has a "checklist" of things you should know before you leave his class. If you do something well on the midterm and then tank it on the final, you're midterm grade on that subject will be the one he counts, and vice versa. Thus, if you end up doing really poorly on your midterms, you can replace whatever sections you did poorly on by doing well on the final. This makes studying for the final unbelievably easy because you know what you have to do well on.

I'm a math person and I got a C in this class. Robertson isn't a very good teacher, some days we would come to class and he would tell us to put our pencils down cause it was time for "math appriciation" and for another lecture he recommended that we pull out a big piece of butcher paper at home and work out a bunch of series and sequences on our own instead of him teaching it to us. He has 4 hw problems due everyday that he writes himself, and 4 board problems that students get called on to do at the beginning of each class. One nice thing that I didnt take advantage of was that the final was made up of 3 sections, the first two covered each of the midterms and if you did better on those sections on the final then they would replace your midterm grade. If you can take someone else for this class.

Robertson wasn't a very good teacher because he doesn't explain the concepts very well, he just expects you to learn them on your own. I got an A but that is because i studied my ass off and i went to office hours frequently. There are 2 quizzes a week which replace homework being collected. So if you do the homework, the quizzes will be easy. The midterms and the final are medium difficulty. The guy is a little weird and if i had a chance to go back i would not take him.

Although I pulled off a decent grade I would not recommend this teacher to anyone, unless they are interested in independent study. He is a hands off teacher that expects us to get a "big piece of butcher paper and learn how to do the problems ourselves". Thats how he works. If you ask a question he will saay I don't know and tell you to figure it out on your own. The homework is not turned in and the tests are hard. You can get partial credit by explaining what you would do in a problem if you had the right equation, which is the only thing that saved me on the final.

Mike is awesome!! He is great at dealing with students during office hours, and is incredibly fair about grading tests. If you feel that your exam wasn't scored fairly, he will be more than willing to listen to you and give you a few more points. He doesn't assign homework, so he will assume that you are doing problems on your own. That was a bit weird for me at first, but in the end, I felt like it worked to my advantage because I could stop studying after I felt I knew that material. I recommend Mike to anyone taking math 143. He is an awesome professor!!

Robertson, what a funny guy. He will definately give you a chuckle in his lectures, and I actually enjoyed this class. Before taking 143, I heard horrible things about it from upperclassmen like they would never tutor for 143, or that it was the hardest of the Calc series. But I thought that robertson made it easy to learn. I also took the math workshop to this class, which helped. You might be tripped out about the sequences, series, and the different test you learn in chapter 12, but the way he teaches helps you to grab the concept. As for the class, he gives 2 quizzes a week, but don't freak out bc they are basically from the hmwk. Oh, and you don't turn in hmwk, so if you are one those people who aren't motivated to do hmwk unless it is required, get another teacher. There are a couple midterms which aren't too hard, but there are good things about them. If you do ok on them, depending on how the rest of the class did, he will let you correct the ones you missed for a certian amount of points, which can get you that A or B or C. If you totally bombed the test, he lets you retake the test, not the same test though. His office hours are good, he has tons of old midterms, and will give them to you for test prep. Final isn't to bad. If you wanna pass 143, take him, but mind you he is a bit quirky!!!

Robertson is hands down one of the best teachers I have had at Poly. His lectures(which rarely take up the full 50 minutes) are very objective and cover all the material you will need to know for quizes and tests. Grading is based on 2 quizes per week, 2 midterms, and a final. The tests should be easy if you show up to class and take decent notes. Take Robertson if you get the chance, if not for his great teaching style, then for his stylish beard.

Great professor, very helpful in office hours. More than fair grading. I would suggest anyone who needs to take a math class to take it with him. One of the better math professors at Poly.

YOU MUST TAKE ROBERTSON!!!!!! Hes my favorite teacher I've had at cal poly. he really teaches the material well and makes you understand it. he gives you suggested practice problems to do every night but doesn't collect hw. he gives quizzes twice a week but they're super easy if you go to class and he drops the lowest out of every 5. my favorite thing about his class is that hes really forgiving. he gives 3 midterms and the final has 3 sections on it so if you do better on a section of the final than you did on that midterm he raises your midterm grade. you could theoretically fail all the midterms and still get an A in the class. hes really helpful in office hours and hes a really funny guy. also, i believe his name on pass is james robertson but he goes by mike. so if you're trying to register for his class just know that they're the same person!

A really good teacher. Funny, Interesting (if you are an engineer), and most of all a good teacher. He does not collect hw and only has quizzes and his midterms. He is always willing to help during office hours, he replaces your midterm scores if you do better on your final. Had him both for 142 and 143, and was spoiled by his teaching skills.

I think that Mike gets a lot of bs from students that dont really care about his class or the material in general. Yes, he does things differently from the book, but at the same time he makes it easier for you to understand. Yes, he rambles a lot and talks to himself a lot to the point where it makes you kind of confused during lectures, but after a while you get used to him and you understand what hes saying and the purpose of it. There were 3 sections in the course. A midterm after each section (3 midterms overall). The final had 3 sections, and if you do well on those sections, they can replace the section you didnt do particularly well on, SO hypothetically, you can actually ace the class even if you failed your midterms (only if you do well on final). You had an assignment due every Tues/Fri and a quiz on the same day, but the quiz is ridiculously easy and the assignment is the harder one. For the assignment and any questions in general you should most DEFINITELY go to his office hours because he will help you out so much. This guy likes conceptual stuff. Your midterms/final are based on assignments/quizzes, not so much on the book. Do everything his way, copy everything he writes during lecture, listen in class, dont be one of the dumbasses that go to class to make fun of him and you will definitely do well. Study with people, study with him, do the suggested/optional homework for practice, ask him questions (in office hours), talk to him, get to know him. He only cares about you if YOU care (your demeanor/impression is very very obvious). He doesnt put names to faces, so dont be so offended if he doesnt know your name, but he will most DEFINITELY know you by your face.

he likes to take off as much credit as possible. hate him

I took him for the summer quarter, which is a super condensed into 5 weeks. At first I was worried that since calc 3 is such a hard class for most people and I only have 5 weeks to grasp the materials that would normally be presented in a 10 week span, I'd be screwed completely. He said he normally doesn't collect hw in the regular quarter, but he did for the summer quarter to make sure we're on track. He is honestly the best professor I've had at cal poly and truly cares about his students. As long as you put in the effort and go to office hours for help, an A is easy peasy. During the regular quarter, he would have 3 midterms and a final which consists of the SAME materials and almost the SAME problems from the 3 midterms. If you do better on any section of his final that corresponds to the midterm, he'll replace your midterm grade with that. His midterms are super straight forward as long as you do hw and ASK FOR PRACTICE MIDTERMS. How I studied for midterms/final was ask him for previous midterms/finals and practice on those. Then I go to office hours and go over each problem with him to make sure I'm doing it right. He doesn't throw curve balls and hopes for the best for his students. His ability to show examples is lacking, but if you don't understand anything just go to office hours. Just do it. I also took physics during the summer as well so this was not the only class I put time and effort into. I hated calculus until Mike came along. Dare I say it, calc 3 is my favorite in the series and I still remember everything clearly because Mike drilled it into my head. Take him if you want to truly learn the materials.

He ridiculed me for asking a question on material he did not present clearly in class. Our class had an average of 50% on the midterm and he just said, "That's a lower than I expected" He did not do anything about it, no review to help us, no curve. Overall terrible teacher. I would never take another one of his classes. I'm sure he's a smart guy, but he's an awful teacher. I very very very strongly recommend that you do not take any of his classes.

In my opinion, Mike is one of the best teachers at Cal Poly. You either love him or hate him. His class is fast pace and challenging, but you leave the class with a full understanding of the covered material. Instead of the other math teachers that present formulas to follow, he presents material so you are forced to understand what is happening and why you are doing it. The only thing that Mike struggles with is his student interaction. He only knew my name because I came into his office hours every week and was one of the few math majors in the class. Don't even bother asking questions during class. He will tease/be condescending. Go into office hours if you have questions. He'll be more understanding there when he sees you making an effort to learn. Overall, great class and overly prepared for Calc 4.

Mr. Robertson is by far the worst math profession I have ever had. If you ask a question in his class or give a wrong answer he start ridiculing you in front of the whole class instead of helping you. He teaches the topics his own way when it comes to things like projection and cross product and says the book does it wrong. He also grades very harshly. Instead of breaking homework points per problem he makes each homework assignment out of 10 and takes off a point for each mistake. You could answer 4 out of 5 parts fully correct and still fail. This also happens when he grades tests. DO NOT TAKE HIM HE IS THE WORST TEACHER YOU WILL EVER HAVE.

He only has 15 homework assignments in the class, and allows your tests to replace quiz scores as well as allowing grades on sections of the final to replace midterm and quiz grades. Explains concepts really well during office hours and is understanding of conflicts students have.' Liked him so much I'm taking his MATH 244 course next quarter.

Professor Robertson was a pretty solid calc teacher. The class is broken into 3 section, each with a pretest and midterm, and a section of the final. That section of the final can override both the midterm and the pretest, and the midterm can override the pretest grade if you do better. If you do good on the final, you are set. He is super chill in terms of missing class or tests and is great help in office hours. I took basically the same class in HS but I actually learned a ton of stuff from Robertson. His methods of projection, for example, make way more sense than what I had previously learned. The only bad thing is homework is graded extremely harshly, but he encourages you to argue for points back, and that he teaches pretty slowly (which can be good). Overall great professor, enough so that I signed up for his class next quarter.

Before I talk about him as a professor, let me just say, he is a really sweet man (the majority of the time) and if he wasn't horrible at teaching, I would only talk well of him. That being said, don't take him! His degree is actually in Physics, so, he's not actually that interested math. In office hours, he once said that he was tired of teaching math. I spent many hours in office hours which I believed helped my grade, or at least he learned my name. I probably would have failed the class if it wasn't for all the random weird stuff he does to the grades to help you. I got a D on the first midterm, and I believe a C on the second one. I don't remember what I got on the final (I don't think I checked because I was more than happy with the B I got in the class). He was actually pretty helpful in Office Hours, only if there's a lot of people there, you're only going to get one or two questions answered, so go at 8 if he still holds his office hours at 8. Class was pretty boring, and the other people were right about him talking to himself randomly and going on tangents. The tangents were sometimes interesting or funny, but frustrating because he wouldn't be talking about the material that we were all desperately trying to understand. Also, the stapler thing is true, but he told us its because students leave staplers in his office/classrooms and he just keeps them.

Robertson was awesome the entire quarter. I was initially pretty intimidated at the beginning of the course due to his older ratings, but he quickly became one of my favorite professors of the year. The lectures are easy to follow, and his office hours are fantastic. He provides plenty of practice problems, and is a pretty fair grader. Overall, I would highly recommend him.

Sit in the front, he's quiet.

Robertson was a very interesting man. He has a way of making his lectures humorous without actually trying to do so, although his lectures fluctuated from being the most helpful thing in the world to the polar opposite from day to day. He would sometimes lose track of his own work in lecture and proceed to either spend 5 minutes trying to fix that mistake, or just brush it off and move on without fixing it. He is MOST helpful during office hours, and I would not have gotten through the course without some of the information he gave during office hours.

Robertson is not the best teacher i've ever had. He presents the material in an easy fashion, and then you get to the homework and it's nothing like his lecture. He gives a quiz twice a week, three midterms, and a final. His midterms can be very easy or insainly impossible. Though I am not too fond of the man, his grading scale is great. He allows you to correct your tests for extra points, and will add points to your midterms for doing better on the final. His office hours a kind of unhelpful. I resorted to hiring a tutor to actually understand the material. I am going to avoid him in the future.

Robertson was a good teacher with a great grading policy. He graded really hard on tests and quizzes but the first two quizzes and the lowest two quizzes get maxed to your highest score. He also lets you do test corrections on the midterms which can greatly bring up your grade. He is very helpful in office hours if you want to go over material or the midterms. Overall it was a good class and I would take him again!

At first Mr. Robertson gives the impression that he did too much LSD as a kid, but once you get passed that and his hair, he actually really know his stuff. His teaching method is very different, but it works. Keep an open mind and you will succeed. He wants you to succeed, he has office hours ALL DAY LONG, go and see him. I'm waiting to take calc 162 until he teaches it.

Mr. Robertson is an awesome teacher. He can sometimes be confusing during his lectures. But, he is extremely helpful in his office hours. He really does his best to help every student. He gave 2 quizzes every week, but they were fairly easy. He also let us redo our midterms to earn a better grade, which really helped. If you have the opportunity to take his class, DO IT. He's a really great teacher!!!

I highly recommend this professor. He wants you to do well in this class and makes it easy for you to get an A or a B. Yes his lectures can be kind of boring and he rambles a bit, but overall he teaches the class material in a way that makes it easy to understand. There are 2 quizzes every week (1 quiz if there is a midterm that week) and 3 midterms and the final. He tells you exactly what is going to be on the quizzes. And he gives you a study guide for the midterms and final and the test questions are exactly from those study guides but with different equations/numbers. Also, he lets you correct your midterms and get up to 20 points back. If you do better on one or all 3 sections of the final then he replaces the corresponding midterm grade with the grade that you got on the section of the final.

Mike Robertson was.. interesting to say the least. He is a strange guy. I will say that I loved his class. He gives 2 quizzes a week. DO NOT bomb these quizzes. They really are fairly easy. Just study for 20 or 30 minutes the day before a quiz and you will get an easy A. Quizzes are a good way to rack up points. Take advantage. Go to his office hours at least a week or so before midterms (there are 3 midterms) and the final. He makes his class very easy to pass. In order to fail his class, you would really have to not care at all and not give an ounce of effort. You literally could not show up for any of the three midterms, and then kick booty on the final and get a good grade. E.G. if you get 90% on page one of your final and you got 30% on your first midterm, He'll take the 90% and replace your crap grade.

I highly recommend Robertson for 162. Sure, his lectures were boring and seemed like they had no real point, but he was cool because he sort of realized that the math department's course load was bogus. He dumbed down a lot of the stuff and glossed over stuff that was more trouble than it was worth. Plus, there was no due homework!! The only time I did any outside work for this class was right before a midterm. You take 3 sets of 5 quizzes, which correspond to the 3 midterms. He drops your lowest quiz score for each set of 5 (even a missed quiz counts as a low score!) and replaces it with your highest of the 5. The quizzes are on Tuesdays and Fridays, which kinda forces you to go to class on Friday. Before each midterm, he hands out a practice test. If you can work through the practice test, you will get an easy A on the midterm. For the final, just look back over all your old tests and you will be fine.

WORST TEACHER EVER. Don't take him, he's insane. Horrid grader, doesn't teach. I regret taking him so much. If you don't do things in his stupid way, you get the whole problem wrong.

He is a great math teacher especially if math is not your subject. He teaches it in a way that makes you feel that math has been your subject all along. Ya he is a different teacher, he is different, he can joke and play with you but he makes you want to learn it. GO TO OFFICE HOURS to really get the material

Mike was a great math teacher. Best I've seen at Poly. I know of no other teacher that is as easily accessible as him. I went to his office hours at 5 in the morning, and he was there, willing to help. His lectures were a bit confusing, but when I went to office hours, he cleared it up quick, and made the material super easy. Not to mention he watches Homestarrunner.com cartoons, which is cool. If you go to his office, he always has something interesting to say. Great teacher, great guy. The only reason I only got a C was because at the end of the quarter, I spent all my time building an Architecture model, and studying for physics, and slacked off on math, and bombed the final, which was easy. Take Mike if you can!

Mike's class is really unique. Its not at like a typical calc class; he runs things in a much more different manner. It's much more about understanding the material and labeling graphs than doing u subs (he won't let you do them)and solving a normal diff EQ. Mike teaches and asks for very unique things from his students. The class has three midterms, and a final which is like a midterm and a half long (3 equal parts of half midterms). If you do better on the final than the midterm it corresponds to, he'll change your grade on the midterm. His class isn't really that hard, and he's pretty easy going about people in the back cheating. In class, asking questions can sometimes provoke a roast, but in office hours, he's a really helpful guy. At first, I didn't like Mike, but by the end, I loved the guy. He's a funny little goob, take this guy for 182

Mike's class is really unique. Its not at like a typical calc class; he runs things in a much more different manner. It's much more about understanding the material and labeling graphs than doing u subs (he won't let you do them)and solving a normal diff EQ. Mike teaches and asks for very unique things from his students. The class has three midterms, and a final which is like a midterm and a half long (3 equal parts of half midterms). If you do better on the final than the midterm it corresponds to, he'll change your grade on the midterm. His class isn't really that hard, and he's pretty easy going about people in the back cheating. In class, asking questions can sometimes provoke a roast, but in office hours, he's a really helpful guy. At first, I didn't like Mike, but by the end, I loved the guy. He's a funny little goob, take this guy for 182

He's a fair grader, and for the midterms he allows you to do test correction for more points. As for him as a teacher, he thinks the material is common knowledge, and makes you feel dumb when you ask a question, but overall okay class.

This teacher is excellent. I didn't have math for 2 years and came to Poly confused and oblivious. Mr. Robertson was willing to work with me everyday for an extra hour after class. He accomates all athletes and understands the situations we are put in. He allows you to make up points on tests, and bases 20% of your grade on EASY in class quizzes. If you have an F in the class and get over a 92% on the final he'll still give you an A! It's hard to fail this class though because he gives great lectures and invites students to visit him during his office hours. He's even willing to come to school and tutor you on his off days! As you can see I think highly of Mr. Robertson and highly recommend his class to everyone and anyone.

Mr. R is an excellent teacher, and I most likely would have been able to pass his class had i attended every once in a while. Dont miss class! you wil l be lost, otherwise he goes relativly fast but he is a good guy who wants to help his students, deffinitly take advantage of his office hours

Mr. Robertson was a good teacher and got the point across. I took Calculus in high school last year, so it was easy, but some of my friends hadn't and struggled with the class, but if you do good on the final, you will get a good grade. I recommend him for Math 221.

Although he looks like the unabomber, he's a cool guy who is very encouraging to visit him in his office, where he is more than willing to help you. A good teacher.

He's as exciting as a calc teacher can be. You take two quizzes each week but they're easy if you do the homework. If you need complete silence to take a test, then he's not the right teacher for you. He tends to incessantly talk to himself during the quizzes. But, he gives you a review before the midterms which is directly what will be on the midterm. If you bomb the two midterms, you can still get an A in the class because the final is the only important thing, basically. One thing to notice about him is the way he says the words 'slope', 'close', and 'calculus'. If you've seen "Office Space", he's about as normal as Milton. Overall, it's not a hard class at all but he can be a little fussy and tends to dance on his heels when he gets excited about the math.

this guy is awesome. he never spends the full hour of class each day. he is very knowledgable on calculus and he is a very nice guy. i would recommend him to everyone. the only problem i had with this class was that the final was worth 40% of your grade. now that can be a good thing, but i dont like classes that put so much on one test because it basically negates what work you have done for 10 weeks. great professor though and he is understanding about office hours and missing days. GREAT ONE PROFESSOR TO TAKE.

He presents the material as if we are all taking the class over again and should be familiar with it already. Be prepared to spend a lot of time out of class learning the material because it's hard to grasp based on his lectures.

This guy is great. An A is 85% and your final can replace the midterms- I ended up with an 84.4 a B+ and he went out of his way to get me an A- not an A- but he gave me an A a definite must take, keep in mind though that the class is by no means easy- you need to put in lots of time if you want a good grade- overall a good prof.

Absolute best math professor I've had in my entire life. He is fun, entertaining and quite lovable, plus, he gives you plenty of breaks and is generous in his grading. His humor and personality may be a little odd, but he is understanding and makes math fun. (if that's possible). I would recommend him to anyone taking Bus Calc. HE'S AWESOME

It says not to rip on professors but this dude is really a total joke. The quizzes & tests were not the problem because i recieved a cum. grade of 82% before the final. The final was a complete travesty. Mikey passed out the death test and i was among 4 in a class of 23 that failed. 8 of which recieved D's and the only reason 4 blonde girls in the back passed is because they cheated. Please take heed and listen to me when i say STAY AWAY.

I just wanna say he is not very good at teaching. Take those most recommended teachers if time allows.

Thanks for the last evaluator. I was wondering how come so many ppl saying good things about mike robertson because it doesn't make much sense. Well, now i know that the good things actually goes to James Robertson. Anyway, I am not here to blame him but i really don't think he is a good teacher. I really doubt that if he really know the material. If you are a math major, aviod him at all cost becuase you are not going to get anything from him as a preparation for math 412. If you are not a math major and just wanna pass the class, he might be a good choice because he doesn't assign much hw and his exams are quite easy. That is my advise. Note: To me, Mike Robertson is not ready to teach yet. I give him a D.

People, make sure you are in the right page. Because this guy is Mike Robertson, NOT James Robertson. James Robertson is the great teacher whereas Mike Robertson sucks. Don't get confused between the two because James Robertson has a middle name Mike too. That's all I got to say. Mike Robertson Sucks.

Robertson is a good guy, but his teaching style did not work for me. He did not go over the homework problems in class. He did not take very many questions from the students. Most of our lectures consisted of only a few example problems and then we were let out of class about 15 minutes early. If you are good at reading the book and picking up the material on your own he could be a good teacher. If not, I wouldn't recommend him.

Robertson is pimp of the year. He is super helpful in his office although he enjoy when students actually come to like hang out and learn, and arent anal retentive students that have to get an "A" or they will die. If you want to learn and enjoy the causual aspect of understanding the concepts instead of doing every problem out of the book excatly, then Robertson is the man for you. Once again, Robertson, is pimp of the year.

Robertson's grading policies are really fair and he makes it easy to do well in his class. During dead week he lets you take each chapter test again and you get the better score. He is really big on partial credit and doesn't make you do any busy work. He doesn't collect homework, but his assignments are very usefull if you do them. I would definitely recommend this professor.

Robertson is a very laid back dude who loves poker and is very good at it. he is also a good professor, he knows what he is talking about and will not bore you in class and you get out early almost everyday. He gives homework that is not collected and 2 quizzes a week (2 are dropped). You can retake any of the three midterms over during dead week and he will let you keep the higher one. He is very good in office hours and will answer any question. He is a very chill guy and will give you points back if he thinks you deserve them or if he makes a mistake grading your test. I would recommed this teacher to anyone who is already decent at math because it will take a lot of independent study to get a good grade. Nevertheless, Robertson is legit.

Overall, this guy was good. He's very laid back, and is extremely helpful during his office hours. He is also a fair grader, and will let you correct your midterms to get points back. He also curves generously. However, I did think that his lectures were a bit difficult to follow at times.

I don't know why his rating is not higher. I loved this guy. First of all, he curves the class so an 85 is an A, which is sweet. Then there is no homework collected, so you don't have to deal with those stingy TA's that grade hmk. Then you can retake all the midterms, he'll work with you to give you back points, and I really like his lectures- he's just an awesome guy. I wish I could take this prof for every other math class I have left.

Mike knows his stuff and presents material very well. His tests are pretty challenging, and he grades tough. Take him if you can handle a lot of independent work, because he has 2 quizzes a week and no hw collected. But, I thought he taught well, just graded tough.

PERSONALITY: Mike is a pretty chill guy. He's a hippie. That explains quite a lot actually, but don't let that make you think he can't teach. He's probably one of the most personable professors i've ever talked with. LECTURES: His polyrating doesn't do justice to this man's ability to present the math to you in its clearest, distilled form. By that i mean his lectures focus on the material to be taught, and that alone. in his examples he uses functions that will not require any form of calc-2 substitution to convolute things since that would add extra difficulty that does not pertain to the actual bit of math being explained. That keeps the integration clean, so you can focus on the important new material. In his opinion, the set-up is the most important part. Being able to put everything in the right place before the integration step of the problem counts far more that the rest of it, with the logic being "well, if you can't even piece together all the fragments of the treasure map correctly, you're probably not going to find where the treasure is anyway so no point in randomly digging holes in the ground." This is reflected in his tests. They are typically pretty distilled, like his lectures, and the final integration of any double or triple integral problem may count for anywhere from zero points to maybe 10% at most. As a matter of fact, sometimes he will tell the class to just quit after setting up the integral(and doing the integral anyway will net zero extra points). FINAL THOUGHTS: Mike's a good guy and a good instructor. Office hours are aplenty and i've probably been to at least 4 hours of it per week even though i didn't necessarily need it, rather it was just so convenient and very helpful when i did need help. If Mike had MATH 241 at a later time (not 8am) in the day, i would've added that class to my next quarter without a second thought.

Robertson is a good professor. His lectures are interesting and informative. 10% of the grade is pretty much given in the form of quizzes. He drops the lowest quiz score and the quines are quite easy. Homework is not collected but you still have to study because the tests are considerably more difficult than quizzes. That said, everything is reasonable and he is very helpful in office hours.

Ive taken this guy for all of my math classes up to this point because his teaching style really speaks to me. He's very relaxed and won't tell you more than you need to know. His tests are very straightforward and he won't trick you. You don't have to turn in HW but he'll do the problems in OH or class if you ask. It seemed like some students didn't like him but I think they were just bad at math or lazy. If you go into his class trying to learn, you should be fine. I liked him best for Calc 4 and worst for linear1 but he's definitely qualified to teach them all.A

Mr. Robertson is a rather good teacher, I don't see why everyone's giving him such bad reviews. He's very chill, and he does seem to talk to himself while he teaches (which I find entertaining). Like any class, sit at the front to get the most out of it. You'll hear his weird little mumbles, and sometimes they're useful. He does have is own way of deriving and integrating, he'll tell you about his little mnemonics, and they might not work for you anyway. I personally never found office hours very useful because he would use the time to focus on grading. When I asked him to walk me through a problem, he wrote something on the paper that made sense to him, but not in notation that I'm personally used to (maybe that's my own issue). When you need help with a problem, ask him about it in class and he'll write it out in a comprehensive way. Do the homework, at least the odd-numbered problems where the answers are in the back of the book. If you want extra help, dedicate your time to a study group or workshop.

This was really hard posting this because I don't want to be the Poly Rating that says "I like him or don't like him" so I am simply going to describe to you my experience with Mr. Robertson and what I saw in class. Mr. Robertson teaches the material clearly for the most part. If my classmates and I would have questions about a problem he would seem to be irritated and unenthusiastic to help the student. This is mostly because he felt that the questions were about subjects that should be known from previous calculus classes. During tests and quizzes he walks around the room and points out students flaws openly during class. He has lots of office hours which are always open for his students to get help. If you miss anything on the test he will Gladly let you know where you messed up. I always felt prepared for his tests because they are relatively straight forward. Mostly what I experienced was that on every test he gave I would answer the question 90 percent right, but my little math errors would lead me to zero points on a 30 point question. He rarely ever gives partial points where it seems there should be some. I would say that if you like a teacher that will push you to in an unmotivated way to be perfect in every problem you do Mike is the Lecturer for you.

Now that I am almost done retaking calc 4 from previously receiving a D+ in Mike's class I decided to write a review on Mike. He is the worst instructor on Campus. Blunt I know, but if there are any students on campus who love math and enjoy learning he is not the teacher for you. He takes short cuts in his method of teaching which leaves the student confused and scrambling to understand how he gets his answers. After taking his class I felt robbed of my education. He makes fun of students in class and his office hours are basically a lecture about how he thinks students have "personal problems" within themselves and that's why they do poorly on exams. Its Really a joke being in his class. I am almost done with retaking Calc 4, with a different professor, and I have received As on all quizzes and tests. This is because the Professor actually taught the subject well and did not take short cuts anywhere! Oh... one more thing... I saw MANY students from Mike's Calc Class retaking calc 4 with me. I remember him saying during the third week of class that he thought retaking a class is a good way to learn... I did not think anything of it until the end of that class. Hopefully others will see this and try to avoid this professor.

Great dude, but watch out, if you ask him a question he knows that you should know he will let you know you should know it. Gives out practice midterms which are fairly helpful and grades very forgivingly if you have been paying attention in class. Take him if you have the chance!

I loved Mike by the end of the quarter it just takes time to understand him and his style of teaching. He is pretty intimidating at first, its somewhat hard to ask questions during lecture and he doesn't really like outside input while he's talking but that's only because he wants to present all of the information fully and clearly before other people try to understand what they're missing, that is why going to his office hours is crucial to fully understanding the material and getting all of your questions answered and I think that is why a lot of people don't like him. If you have the time in your schedule to go to his office hours then you will get a lot more out of his lectures and be able to understand the depth of knowledge that he imbues in his students and his advanced ways of thinking about problems.

I don't know why people give Mike such a hard time. I thought he was very good. He presents the material pretty clearly, and his grading policies are EXCEEDINGLY REASONABLE. He doesn't design tests to trick you or make you run out of time. He goes out of his way to ensure that all exams are representative of the homework and that you have enough time to finish them. Plus, the graded homework is very minimal, so you don't need to worry about doing a shitload of problems each week. His only drawback is that he can't hear students well, so he has a hard time recognizing what students are having a hard time with. Overall, I would highly recommend him.

Mike is the GOAT. Without a doubt my favorite math professor I've had yet. The man is very straight forward in his teaching style and very fair in his expectations for homework and exams. Honestly the best part of his class is getting there like ten minutes before class starts and listening to Mike say whatever pops into his head, which can be absolutely hilarious. he also loves to do this arm swinging thing after he finishes explaining a concept which adds to his casual yet super comical character. 241 can be challenging at times but Mike does a good job of explaining things in office hours if you need help. He also holds a lot of office hours on weekends, which says a lot about how he wants to be available for students, something most professors do not do. to use his own favorite word, Mike is a pretty "cooky" chap. 10/10 recommend taking Mike.

Mike is hilarious. Like watching him be a person made this the most fun math class I've ever had. Mike is going to make you work though. He's a bit of a harsh grader but is super willing to debate any and all points lost. He also really works to make sure you have a chance to improve your grade. He replaces the two lowest homework scores with perfect 10s and allows your final grade to replace your midterms. If you're good with math Mike is a really great teacher to have. If you need a more loving helping hand he might not be your guy either way though he's a hoot

Strongly advise to AVOID Robertson!! Homework isn't too bad, just 3 or 4 problems due twice a week but his grader sucks and won't hesitate to give you 0 points if she just doesn't understand your process at first glance. Sometimes he gives you points back but usually he won't. The tests are very straightforward and he gives practice midterms that are similar. EXTREMELY not clear in class/skips steps bc he just does it all in his head and when you ask for an explanation of is process he tells you "well I just now how to do it because I've done it a lot" or "you should know how to do this by now" and moves on without explaining it. Just not a positive experience being in his class, If theres no other option I would highly recommend the workshop because it saved me in this class!!!

I regret taking this class. Don't get me wrong, he's a chill professor; in fact he lets you make keys for your midterms (after they've been graded) and you can get points added to those midterms. I got like an extra 10-20 points on each one because of this. So it's pretty easy to pass or maybe even to get a B. But to get an A you have to work your ass off like I did, unless of course this shit just comes naturally to you even through bad teaching methods. He didn't present the material well; I had a VERY hard time understanding, and I only understood when I went to workshops or from reading the book which is pretty difficult to comprehend itself. So even though he's chill (like REAL chill), he's not a good teacher. Just average, or maybe a little below. But hey if you don't care, take this dude. But if you want an A and not use up all your free-time hours studying, take a different guy.

ANTON KAUL or HARVEY GREENWALD...WHY AREN'T YOU TEACHING MATH 244 THIS QUARTER....WHY?!?!?!?

I took 244 with Robertson this quarter. He wasn't bad at all. All of his questions reflect the lecture notes, so just go to class. All I did was study the quizzes and lecture notes. I took him for 142 and 143 as well, definitely recommend him for any lecture.

wow. I can't believe I got a B in this class. That's one good thing about Robertson is if you do well on the final, it boosts up all of your midterm grades as well. As for the course, 2 weekly quizzes, 3 midterms, and a final. If you want an A in this class, you are going to have to devote a lot of time to TRULY understanding the material because most times he does not teach it as well as he could. I did the homework regularly and still bombed a couple midterms, but studied my ass off for the final even though i felt i understood 95% of the material and it helped me alot. Don't get me wrong, he's a really chill guy and is helpful at office hours and whatnot, but sometimes he can shoot you down without trying to. Not a bad teacher, overall.

Mike Robertson is legit. I got an 86% in his class and got an A-. He also doesn't make you do all the ridiculous bonus problems, just know the basics of the material and you are set!

For this class, you either get it or you don't. For me I studied my a** off for the 3rd midterm and I still got a 130 out of 200 and then for the final i studied my a** off again to try to erase the 130 out of 200. However, I got a worse score. As for the teacher, he is great. He knows his stuff and teach the way the book teaches it. He teaches in a way that is more comprehendible and use dry humor alot when he teaches. Overall i would recommend him if you dont feel like doing any work but in future classes you might get loss because he doesnt do any of the application problems.

Professor Robertson is one of my two favorite professors of all time (MATH professor Bryce Jenkins is the other). His teaching style is extremely laid back, but very easy to learn from. He is, himself, laid back and very approachable. His grading system is the fairest I have encountered, and as long as you learnt eh material by the quarters end you are OK. His office hours are by far the most beneficial of any teacher ive had at Poly, and he knows exactly how help the students out. I hope I can take Prof. Robertson again in the furute, and would recommend him to anyone taking a class he teaches.

Robertson is absolutely terrible at explaining everything and is by far the WORST teacher I have ever had. When students ask him \"why do we do this\" or \"how do we know what to do\" his answer is \"because I said so.\" He never once answered a students question correctly and he frequently makes mistakes working problems on the board. I got A\'s on all three midterms and then a low D on the final and ended with a B+ in the class. Can\'t really complain about the grade or his grading system which is fair, but if you don\'t understand something you\'re screwed because he doesn\'t know it either. The final exam problems were significantly more difficult than the midterms and he even put one on that we never did in class.

Funny thing but this guy is actually the same man as James Robertson and the other guy has a higher rating than Mike. Well from MY experience, Mike was a great professor. I\'m a slow learner and I honestly consider myself to need more help than most others. Needless to say, I went to Mike\'s Office hours for at least 2-3 hours/week for tutoring. And boy, did that help! Robertson is one of those guys where if he sees you (the student), making an effort to learn the material he well sacrifice his own time to tutor you (and raise your grade). There is no excuse to miss his tutors as he was pretty much in his office for at least 3 hours every day of the week. I didn\'t do most of the HW and instead practiced the problems he gave me in his office hours which well-prepared me for his exams. The class consist of 15 Quizzes (10%) 3 Midterms (20% each) and a final (30%). The cool thing is if you bomb one of more of your midterms but IMPROVE on the final, he will substitute your previous midterm score with the new and improved one on the final. So theoretically you can still pull of an A give you ace the final. Go to his office hours. You will learn both the material and some interesting things from Robertson. It is not uncommon for him to start a conversation about some random news feed or scuba diving. A very interesting guy and a great teacher given YOU go to class and get help in office hours when you need it. Take Robertson. Oh yea, its Mike not James. He\'ll kill you if you call him James...

Mike Robertson is seriously amazing! His name when you register for classes is actually James Robertson but he likes to be called Mike. I don\'t know why he have such bad ratings as Mike Robertson. If you don\'t understand something in class, go to his office hours! They help so much! Although I only go the day before a midterm. His quizzes are only worth 10 percent. So it\'s really nothing. He drops the lowest quiz score for each section of quizzes. There are three. I honestly don\'t know how people don\'t get A\'s in this class. All you need is a 85 percent to get an A. I was able to get a 95 percent at the end. His midterms and final are easy. He gives you a study guide before the midterms and final. Sometimes he gives two! Just do those study guides and you\'ll be fine. If you don\'t understand something on the study guide go to his office hours! Take notes! I love the way he presented his notes!! Don\'t miss class because the book teaches you nothing. There\'s no point of even buying a calpoly edition book that cost 100 + dollars. All you really need is to go to class, take notes, do the study guides, and you\'ll be able to get an A. If you fuck up on a midterm, you can replace it if you do well on the final!! Take him for linear!!!! Don\'t miss an opportunity like this! His class always get full during the early rotations! :]

I took Mike (aka James) Robertson because after reading a few poly ratings reviews, I had the impression that this would be a laid-back professor. The problem was that he was too laid-back. Ladies and gents, he\'s a hippy. One of the main reasons that I did not like him is because he did not have his lectures organized. The work that he did on the board was never enough, and many times hard to follow. I consider myself a good note-taker, but the notes I left with were not very helpful, and the book I used was sub par. So I was not doing very well. Another thing! He will not shut up. He keeps talking the whole 50 minutes. Only half of what he says is really what you should be listening to. The other half just confused me. We had a quizzes twice a week, which were pretty easy if you did your homework (which wasn\'t ever collected btw). During these quizzes, he talked constantly! It pissed the hell out of me. I was so close to telling him to shut-up, but was never daring enough at 8am. I actually ended up withdrawing from the class in the 9th week of the quarter. Two weeks before finals, I had a serious head injury and wouldn\'t be able to catch up. So now I\'ll have to take it again, and will in no way take Robertson again.

He was a cool teacher. You can tell he really enjoys mathematics and I would go to office hours every week and have him give me some random problems to solve and besides that i didnt do much homework and I got >90% on all the midterms and final so I can't complain. He is definitely an unusual person, but hey hes a mathematics professor and hes interesting during lectures.

Robertson was one of my favorite professor thus far at Cal Poly. He is very laid back and he understands his students' struggles. He really knew what he was talking about and he makes his lessons very easy to follow and understand. He doesn't assign homework but he gives you suggested problems to do form the book. From the very start, he tells you that he doesn't like the book and recommends not to use it, so it is your choice to buy the textbook or not. Personally, I just got the PDF file but didn't bother to look at it. Just pay attention in class and ask questions when you need help. He has quizzes every Tuesdays and Fridays, but they are easy. When you don't have a quiz, he will give you a midterm. There are three total and five quizzes per "sections." Before midterms, he will also email you past midterm questions for you to study. I found them extremely helpful and worked on them as though I was really taking a midterm to prepare myself. He will also do the same for the final which he divided up into three based on the three midterms. Overall, if you are going to take 244, I would highly recommend taking it with this guy. BTW, this guy is also James Robertson, but he goes by Mike.

Mike is a really laid back guy, but his class is exetremely difficult. Sure he gives you his previous midterms/final and he won't try to trick you on them, but his midterms/final are next to impossible. The questions he asks will either take forever to do or are just extremely difficult. Oh and don't make a mistake either when doing all that work or he'll knock you down for that. He also gets mad when everyone fails his quizzes so try not to do that. I don't recommend him.

One of my favorite professors yet. Robertson is incredibly unique. He will talk to him self from time to time, but he's so nice you got to love it. His lectures are incredibly easy to follow, goes at a slow pace. He can answer any question you have for him very clearly. He sometimes can make you feel dumb, but not because he's mean, but because I believe he is a literal genius and sometimes doesnt get why people cant understand some things. I HIGHLY recommened taking Robertson. We have 3 midterms, 1 final and 10 homework asigments. It's very hard to not get an A with Mike.

He is the smartest professor I have had so far, but is actually one of his downfalls in a way. It's almost like he is so smart that he gets confused when you don't understand something because he finds it so simple. Either way he knows his stuff and if you are willing to put in the time at office hours so that you can clarify your questions rather than doing it in class, then he can be really helpful and it is interesting to watch such an intelligent person teach.

Robertson's class is very straightforward. Homework is due twice a week, which you should go into office hours to look at with him if you're unsure of your answers, and the tests are very similar to the homework. He's patient, even though it may not seem that way, and he will answer as many questions as you need to ask in order to understand the material. I've taken Robertson twice and he's been my favorite professor at Cal Poly so far.

He's a pretty cool dude. He goes on tangents at the end of class or in the beginning. His tangents are pretty funny. As a person, he's a quirky dude. As a teacher, he's aight. Homework due twice a week (super straightforward). Three midterms that are very similar to the homework. He gave past midterms as a practice for the actual midterms which worked out really well. He drops 2 homework assignments. I think he replaces a midterm with a final part? Anyways, he's pretty straightforward. His midterm questions are worth huge points and he wants it done the way he wants, especially proofs. You need to make sure you don't deviate from how he wants it or else he marks you down. He's also a really smart guy so sometimes he explains things and expects you to get it right away or see it from his way when really, you don't know how he got there. I would recommend him for linear.

Having taken this class already, I was in for a surprise when I took Robertson's section. If you can't keep up with his style the first week, you will find it hard to pass the class. He is particular with everything for this abstract Linear Algebra and Differential Equations class. Talked to people around who were taking MATH 244 and they were learning it differently, because their professors were flexible with how you interpreted the concepts. Even though he is a chill guy, I do not recommend him unless you can go to ALL of his office hours and work every single one of his own problems with him. If I could, I would have taken a lighter courseload because this class is time consuming.

First of all this was a class designed to teach future teachers to teach math. He had no concept of this. he would rag on the author of the book, go off on tangents that had nothing to do with the subject, try to cram complicated concepts down our throats, but never explained anything. this guy, among a number of other instructors needs to take an education class on HOW TO TEACH! i learned absolutly nothing in this class and got a B! not to say he was easy, he was extreemly nit-picky when he graded... i don't even know how i got a B since i got C's on the tests! anyway, I would take this class again with a different teacher, eventhough there aren't any better choices for us lost LS students...

Dr. Robertson is very understanding of his students. He teaches the course well and allows students to redeem themselves on exams. On the third midterm, the superposition principle was suggested as a hint...just remember what he said when he showed you how to analyze bubbles or refer to the textbook beforehand. He's more than willing to work with any trouble you have during office hours.

would hella recommend for math 344. he's super straightforward with midterms and tests. a couple of problems of homework is usually due two or three times a week. compared to your other 344 professors, this class was super chillax.

344 was very straightforward with Robertson. As a whole, the material wasn't difficult either. Robertson often had trouble identifying students' problems, but the material was so straightforward and easy that it didn't matter for the most part. I would recommend him for 344.

I was extremely skeptical of Mike Robertson when the class began. I really disliked him. That being said, he grew on me a lot over time. His teaching style is just a little different I guess. He is a very strange guy lol but he is very nice. He teaches the material pretty well (but he will occasionally skips steps and confuse students until they ask). I will give it to him though. His exams are very straightforward with no bs on it. There's homework due twice a week, but its usually a couple of problems that he wrote, nothing that bad. He will also check your homework over before its due, so he will tell you what to fix. The best part about Mike is his office hours though. He has a ton of office hours for students to go to, and often adds hours on weekends and off days and works around the students' schedules. He really wants to see his students succeed which is a great attribute for a professor. Overall, I do recommend him. It will probably be easier than most other teachers.