Heather Calahan
Department of Mathematics
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2.2
Overall Rating
Based on 29 Users
Easiness 1.2 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 2.5 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 1.2 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 3.2 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

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Reviews (25)

2 of 3
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Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
March 5, 2010

Worst professor ever. She can make math 1 harder than multi-variable calculus. It's all a bunch BS. Her examples she does in class make no sense unless you're actually good at math, but if you are you probably wouldn't have placed into math 1. That's exactly it, you place into that class because your math skills need a little work, but she makes it the most difficult math class possible. She's a nice lady, but a shitty math professor. Avoid taking her class at all costs.

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Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
March 5, 2010

I love math, I just don't love math+Calahan.
Grade: C-
pretty much fucked me over, don't take her class, i'm not sure if anyone even got an A

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Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 21, 2010

Hardest teacher I ever had. People say college is supposed to be a time to challenge yourself but not when the teacher's on a completely different level. She really did care about her students and did want us to learn but her final and midterms were ridiculously hard. Good lecturer but you couldn't follow your lecture notes when you got back into the room. Her board was always a mess. If you really really want to learn at the expense of your grades and your precious college hours in comparison to student in a different precalculus class, then you should sign up.

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Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 19, 2010

Good and Bad News.

Good: She is a really good teacher. Her lectures are as engaging as math can be and you will learn a lot.

Bad: She is never available to meet with you outside of her really large and clausterphobic office hours in her tiny office.
Her tests are REALLY hard. Like, as prepared as you are you will still fail. Though they are curved, there is always going to be that one kid (especially at UCLA) that gets an A+ on the impossible tests. She gives homework tests every other week which are not that bad but her midterms and final are INSANE.
She gives a lot of homework. More than you can imagine. Me and my study buddies would average 5 hours spent on one weeks homework. One time it took 8 hours. Though there might not always seem like that many problems, there are many lettered parts to each one problem.

In my opinion, there is more bad than good. I would not recommend her to a friend. And, for what its worth, I have heard Professor Greene is easier and better...

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Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 9, 2010

So, if you want a real evaluation of this professor, you'll read this.
Heather Calahan.... When you first meet Heather Calahan, you love her; she's funny, she's nice, she's young, and at first glance, you think she's a wonderful teacher. However, DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THIS. If I have had any bad teacher in my life, Heather Calahan is number 1 on that list. She is the worst teacher that will ever work at UCLA. I feel like I would do better in a graduate math class other than this class. Her homework problems are ridiculous. Her warm up problems are bullshit. Her tests are fucking JOKES. She thinks that she is teaching you the proper way to solve math problems, but she basically ends up making it harder than it really should be. EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM in her class has to be derived. You have to know how to derive the half-angle formulas, how to derive slope-intercept form, how to derive the unit circle, etc, etc, etc. And NOPE, you can't just memorize the unit circle, because then you wouldn't be learning anything! She thinks that deriving everything will help you, but in actuality, it does not. What it does do, is confuse you more. If you are smart, you will not take this class. Save yourself the time that Calahan wastes. She has no idea how to teach, and she basically has no heart. Oh, and her TA's don't know how to teach either. Her last final was basically a physics test! I have never done so horribly in a class until this day. And if you do end up taking her, I have two words for you: GOOD LUCK. AVOID HEATHER CALAHAN AT ALL COSTS. LISTEN TO ME. Oh, and before I end this bullshit, here are the few phrases that she says in class, that get really fucking annoying:
1. Shine that. 2. Ta-da, how do you like me now? 3. What are you smoking, Calahan? 4. TRY THIS! 5. Recall...
FUCK THIS PROFESSOR, SHE NEEDS TO BE FIRED! AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID!

Helpful?

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Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 6, 2010

Looks young and acts nice. Her class was too focused on concepts which confused a lot of people because she taught everything in a long way. Lots of emphasis on proofs. Try to avoid her if you want a good grade in your math class.

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Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 5, 2010

I personally thought she was a GREAT professor, but don't think that this is an "easy A". Math has always been my best and favorite subject, but her tests were definitely difficult. Every problem is conceptual, not just a simple plug-and-chug type of problem. Expect word problems that combine several chapters and concepts. However, I thought her lectures were very effective and well organized. She was entertaining to watch and used real-life examples. She cares very much and is very approachable for help. The homework/quizzes were tedious but do-able and not worth a lot of your grade. Overall, I would choose this class again if I had started the year over.

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Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 5, 2010

The worst teacher I've ever experienced in my life. Ruined my first quarter of my college career. Avoid teacher at all cost and if possible, take with another teacher/ another quarter. Just not worth your time unless you have a very good background in Math. She seems really nice at first, but she's not.

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Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Dec. 24, 2009

Avoid at all costs

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Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Dec. 22, 2009

She has a great personality, but the midterms and especially the final are like Lucifer's child on paper. Unlike the midterms, there are NO definitions or derivations, just a bunch of problems that combined so many aspects into one with difficult-to-simplify parts (just to find a start to the problem, not the answer). A bunch of girls were literally crying near the end and everyone left the room looking pale and purple-lipped. Personally, I was unable to answer a whole problem at all, just bits. Because of this, I thought I'd only get like 8 or 13 points out of like 230. However, to my huge surprise I scored right around the class average! You might guess what that says about her Final. Personally, the only reason I didn't barf (because I literally felt it at one point), is because I didn't want to dramatize the moment by looking like a looser and getting my shoes dirty; but the thing really was that bad. My advice: GO TO HER OFFICE HOURS RELIGIOUSLY. That test was nearly as painful to see as a protesting monk lighting himself on fire.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
March 5, 2010

Worst professor ever. She can make math 1 harder than multi-variable calculus. It's all a bunch BS. Her examples she does in class make no sense unless you're actually good at math, but if you are you probably wouldn't have placed into math 1. That's exactly it, you place into that class because your math skills need a little work, but she makes it the most difficult math class possible. She's a nice lady, but a shitty math professor. Avoid taking her class at all costs.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
March 5, 2010

I love math, I just don't love math+Calahan.
Grade: C-
pretty much fucked me over, don't take her class, i'm not sure if anyone even got an A

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 21, 2010

Hardest teacher I ever had. People say college is supposed to be a time to challenge yourself but not when the teacher's on a completely different level. She really did care about her students and did want us to learn but her final and midterms were ridiculously hard. Good lecturer but you couldn't follow your lecture notes when you got back into the room. Her board was always a mess. If you really really want to learn at the expense of your grades and your precious college hours in comparison to student in a different precalculus class, then you should sign up.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 19, 2010

Good and Bad News.

Good: She is a really good teacher. Her lectures are as engaging as math can be and you will learn a lot.

Bad: She is never available to meet with you outside of her really large and clausterphobic office hours in her tiny office.
Her tests are REALLY hard. Like, as prepared as you are you will still fail. Though they are curved, there is always going to be that one kid (especially at UCLA) that gets an A+ on the impossible tests. She gives homework tests every other week which are not that bad but her midterms and final are INSANE.
She gives a lot of homework. More than you can imagine. Me and my study buddies would average 5 hours spent on one weeks homework. One time it took 8 hours. Though there might not always seem like that many problems, there are many lettered parts to each one problem.

In my opinion, there is more bad than good. I would not recommend her to a friend. And, for what its worth, I have heard Professor Greene is easier and better...

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 9, 2010

So, if you want a real evaluation of this professor, you'll read this.
Heather Calahan.... When you first meet Heather Calahan, you love her; she's funny, she's nice, she's young, and at first glance, you think she's a wonderful teacher. However, DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THIS. If I have had any bad teacher in my life, Heather Calahan is number 1 on that list. She is the worst teacher that will ever work at UCLA. I feel like I would do better in a graduate math class other than this class. Her homework problems are ridiculous. Her warm up problems are bullshit. Her tests are fucking JOKES. She thinks that she is teaching you the proper way to solve math problems, but she basically ends up making it harder than it really should be. EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM in her class has to be derived. You have to know how to derive the half-angle formulas, how to derive slope-intercept form, how to derive the unit circle, etc, etc, etc. And NOPE, you can't just memorize the unit circle, because then you wouldn't be learning anything! She thinks that deriving everything will help you, but in actuality, it does not. What it does do, is confuse you more. If you are smart, you will not take this class. Save yourself the time that Calahan wastes. She has no idea how to teach, and she basically has no heart. Oh, and her TA's don't know how to teach either. Her last final was basically a physics test! I have never done so horribly in a class until this day. And if you do end up taking her, I have two words for you: GOOD LUCK. AVOID HEATHER CALAHAN AT ALL COSTS. LISTEN TO ME. Oh, and before I end this bullshit, here are the few phrases that she says in class, that get really fucking annoying:
1. Shine that. 2. Ta-da, how do you like me now? 3. What are you smoking, Calahan? 4. TRY THIS! 5. Recall...
FUCK THIS PROFESSOR, SHE NEEDS TO BE FIRED! AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 6, 2010

Looks young and acts nice. Her class was too focused on concepts which confused a lot of people because she taught everything in a long way. Lots of emphasis on proofs. Try to avoid her if you want a good grade in your math class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 5, 2010

I personally thought she was a GREAT professor, but don't think that this is an "easy A". Math has always been my best and favorite subject, but her tests were definitely difficult. Every problem is conceptual, not just a simple plug-and-chug type of problem. Expect word problems that combine several chapters and concepts. However, I thought her lectures were very effective and well organized. She was entertaining to watch and used real-life examples. She cares very much and is very approachable for help. The homework/quizzes were tedious but do-able and not worth a lot of your grade. Overall, I would choose this class again if I had started the year over.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Jan. 5, 2010

The worst teacher I've ever experienced in my life. Ruined my first quarter of my college career. Avoid teacher at all cost and if possible, take with another teacher/ another quarter. Just not worth your time unless you have a very good background in Math. She seems really nice at first, but she's not.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Dec. 24, 2009

Avoid at all costs

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Dec. 22, 2009

She has a great personality, but the midterms and especially the final are like Lucifer's child on paper. Unlike the midterms, there are NO definitions or derivations, just a bunch of problems that combined so many aspects into one with difficult-to-simplify parts (just to find a start to the problem, not the answer). A bunch of girls were literally crying near the end and everyone left the room looking pale and purple-lipped. Personally, I was unable to answer a whole problem at all, just bits. Because of this, I thought I'd only get like 8 or 13 points out of like 230. However, to my huge surprise I scored right around the class average! You might guess what that says about her Final. Personally, the only reason I didn't barf (because I literally felt it at one point), is because I didn't want to dramatize the moment by looking like a looser and getting my shoes dirty; but the thing really was that bad. My advice: GO TO HER OFFICE HOURS RELIGIOUSLY. That test was nearly as painful to see as a protesting monk lighting himself on fire.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
2 of 3
2.2
Overall Rating
Based on 29 Users
Easiness 1.2 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 2.5 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 1.2 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 3.2 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

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