Amazing professor. Challenging exams

Lectures are engaging and well-structured. We had online tests this quarter (so I can't speak to what in-person ones are like), and they were fair and quite manageable. Homework workload is low (one assignment per week). Overall would recommend.

I'm not a math person so this class was a bit rough for me but the professor was great. I took this during COVID and I liked how he made an effort to host a social hour on Zoom for the students in the class to get to know each other.

Wonderful professor. As a freshman, Prof. Gannon was a blessing--he is very clear in his lectures, approachable for help during office hours, and so kind and sweet. He posts lecture recordings online, which is very helpful when reviewing material, and his homework problems are comprehensive enough to prepare for exam material.

His exams aren't exceedingly difficult if you've practiced the material, HOWEVER during COVID they often take several hours to complete.

I would highly recommend Prof. Gannon, and would take another class with him again if I had the opportunity.

Genuinely one of the best math teachers I have ever had. Class was mainly going over example problems and often reflected the homework problems. He is very helpful and engaging. The midterms and finals all felt reflective of the homework as well. Every problem I encountered felt like one that we had either gone over in class or had done a similar one for homework. The exams weren't easy, though. It took hours for me to complete each exam. I got a C on both midterms, but my grade steadily rose with each exam. I got a B on the final. His grading policy is very lenient. I highly recommend taking Professor Gannon for this course. I am very grateful to have had him as my first math professor at UCLA. If you have a great grasp on the homework problems, I'm sure you will do well in this class.

When I tell you the math is the bane of my existence. I was a little worried going into this class just because math is not my strongest area of study but it was actually a great experience. It was his first quarter at UCLA but like I kid you not, it did not seem like he was new to any of this. During his lectures, I was actually enjoying the lectures because he of how clear everything was and how he taught. I could understand most things on the first attempt which actually surprised me because it usually takes a little more time for things to click. He would provide definitions, examples, proofs, theorems, and much more during each lecture which really did help. His lectures are recorded and uploaded to CCLE but for the most part, I attended the lectures just so I could ask him any questions I had.

HW: There is one homework assignment per week and the number of questions depended on the material taught but it was all reasonable. You had more than enough time to complete the assignment. He did not grade all the questions on the HW. There would be half the questions graded for accuracy and the rest were 'you completed them so you get the points.' The two lowest homework grades were dropped which is nice if you have a busy week.

Midterms: You are a given a 24 hour period (usually from 7 am on a Friday to 7 am on Saturday) to complete the midterms. There would be around 14ish questions. There are conceptual questions(true and false) and calculations. The midterms were designed to be completed in an hour but it definitely took me way longer than that to do. The conceptual questions usually took a little longer because you definitely had to think about them and explain your answer. I ended up doing way better than I expected on them and shocked myself. Depending on how you did, either both of the midterms were counted to your grade OR if you did really good on one and did bad on the other, he would only count the good one toward your grade and this was to allow you to get the highest grade possible (the percentage of the final grade that was associated to the midterm section was dependent on which of these two options were taken).

Final: Same format as the midterms but with more questions and it took me a lot longer but that was kind of expected.

I ended up loving this class and Professor Gannon. He exceeded all my expectations. He really did everything he could to make sure we get the highest grade possible and that if we made mistakes, they wouldn't cause our grade to totally tank. Mistakes were accepted rather than punished in this class and that was something I appreciated so much because I was given the opportunity to grow and develop my math skills rather than getting punished for a mistake. He was super kind, accommodating, and clear with his expectations and the material taught. With the fires in California this year, I had the possibility of having to evacuate during one of our midterms and he was totally understanding of the situation.

If you have the chance, take this class with Gannon. It is the best decision you will make and your grade will thank you for it.

I had Professor Gannon for MATH 31B during the fall of 2020. Professor Gannon is amazing. He is kind, helpful, and accommodating. His lectures were clear, helpful, and engaging, and he always stops to answer questions or check to make sure the material was clearly conveyed. He finished the material early to spend time on examples, which closely mirrored the exams. His homework and practice problems were doable and helpful, and he will clarify them in office hours if you ask. Definitely go to office hours! He's not intimidating, and he truly makes an effort to ensure that no one leaves confused. He's also very funny and loves to tell stories with any extra time in office hours.

In terms of info about the class, it's definitely very fair and doable. The first half of the material is a direct parallel with Calc AB, so as long as you do the examples and homework you'll be fine. The sequences and series is definitely the harder of the two chunks of material, so make sure you pay attention in class and copy down the "cheat sheets" or summaries Prof. Gannon provides. And class is 100% worth attending. It makes everything so clear and understandable, plus you get to know Professor Gannon!

For grading, Professor Gannon is very fair and generous with points. The midterms and final (if untimed and online) will take you the whole day to do and check, so get started early. He doesn't curve, but he does give EC for course evaluations and he will round your grade up a little if you're close to an A and he knows who you are! (emphasizing again - go to office hours)

Overall, you're super lucky to have him as a Professor, and be sure to take advantage of the opportunities to ask questions and get to know him! Good luck, and have fun talking about tetris :)