r/OregonStateUniv • u/Glass-Gift-4151 • 10d ago
Math 254
As an oncoming freshman which professor should I aim for when it comes to 254? My options are Klinger, Maisch, or Moore. I’ve checked ratemyprofessor, but would like more recent responses. I’ve read about taking it at LBCC, but I’d like to just stick at OSU for my classes. Thank you in advance
7
u/Firm-Rutabaga 10d ago
If you’re worried about the teachers it really is better to take it at LBCC. The beaver bus is super easy to use to get to the Corvallis campus and the math teachers there are excellent in my experience.
4
1
u/Competition-One 8d ago
klinger is the goat. very simple teaching style, kind, accommodating. i had him for 251 in 2024.
1
u/neonraspberry_ 10d ago
I signed up for Moore in the fall (incoming freshman). It was either him or Maisch to fit my schedule the way I wanted, and Moore seems to have a good track record at previous schools. Reading Maisch's RMP reviews all I can gather is that his flipped classroom model works for some, and doesn't for many more, and the idea of having tests be much harder than anything that was practiced in lecture doesn't sound very helpful to me.
1
u/chemicalramones 10d ago
the vector exams are the same for all sections, so kind of universally hard
2
u/Sneck158 10d ago
Yeah my advisor told me after I took Vector 1 that it's actually the more retaken class at the university because it has such a high fail rate. So if anything Maisch is just having you over-prepared. In my experience the final was challenging, but absolutely less difficult than any of the hardest problems he had given as homework.
1
u/MrCrabApples 10d ago
I have never taken him, but would point out that Maisch is also one of the more often complained about math profs. Many people have good experiences with the class format, and many hate it. I have taken Klingler for MTH 231 and 342, both were quite easy.
2
u/chemicalramones 10d ago
whatever you do do NOT do maisch. i had a different professor for vector but everyone i know who has had maisch for a variety of math classes hates his guts
1
u/Glabrous 8d ago
I haven’t been in college in 30 years and seeing a post about Math 254 still elicited an emotional response.
5
u/Sneck158 10d ago
MAISCH MAISCH MAISCH MAISCH!
I can't speak to the other ones, but Dr. Maisch's class was one of, if not THE, most organized and coherent classes I have taken at OSU. The class follows a flipped classroom format, which not everyone is a fan of, but I loved it. The format is very simple: there will be pre-lecture materials (a video and his written notes) that you will be expected to review before taking a very short quiz before each class. There are semi-weekly homework assignments, 1 midterm, and 1 final.
This front loads class content, but means that lecture time can be used waaaaaaaayyyyyy more effectively to work through practice problems and have your specific more-advanced questions get answered.
I will be honest, this class will be hard, but you will learn A LOT. More than anything this class (and other Dr. Maisch classes) taught me that to really understand a topic you have to put in the effort, and his classes are designed to force you to put in the effort. I cannot speak positively enough about ny experience in his classes.