Home       Professor Search       Professor List       Evaluate a Professor       About Us       Contact Us       Gu, Caixing  Cumulative GPA: 2.24/4.00 with 118 evaluations Presents Material Clearly: 1.96 Recognizes Student Difficulties: 2.21 Mathematics Department, Cal Poly, SLO Full Statistical Analysis Evaluate This Professor

MATH 241 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 1:16 pm, Mar 26, 2013 Report Evaluation		Looking past the heavy Chinese accent, Gu was a very knowledgeable professor and very helpful. He really knew what he was talking about and you could tell that he loves what he teaches. He would come to class prepared. Every Friday, he will give you a quiz and every Tuesday, he will collect homework. The homework will really help you with your quizzes and exams. Sometimes, however, he would start talking too fast, which, with the accent, would make the lesson too confusing to understand. ASK QUESTIONS! His exams were very difficult, so you really need to practice the lessons before you come to class. There are days when I had to read ahead and start doing homework for future lessons in order to stay on track. Overall this class was challenging but at least I was able to learn from it.
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 3:57 pm, Jan 29, 2013 Report Evaluation		First off, let me start with saying that I did NOT take calculus in high school. Yet, I was able to come out of the class with an A-. People are way too hard on Gu. Sure he has an accent, but give it a a few days or a week, and you'll get used to it. Gu is a really smart, and tries to convey his knowledge to his students. He tells you what topics will be on the tests and quizzes which makes studying easier. The only problem was the homework grader. Make sure you do your homework very neatly because it can give you extra points. Overall, Gu is a good professor. People need to understand that Calculus isn't going to be easy and it takes effort to learn and master. Instead of blaming the professor, perhaps the students with lower grades should look at themselves first.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 11:49 am, Dec 26, 2012 Report Evaluation		Oh God why
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Major) 7:20 pm, Dec 10, 2012 Report Evaluation		======================Overview====================================== Gu is definitely smart and knows his stuff, but the problem is that he can't teach at all. As others have stated, he stands in front of the work he does on the board and talks while doing so (so he is basically talking to the board) and then he asks if you have questions, but everyone is scrambling to comprehend and write down the mass amount of information he just spat out. He does have a thick-accent and at times was difficult to comprehend, but if you actually paid attention in class, like I did, you grow used to it and might even have a good laugh at his accent on certain words. ==============================Class Structure============================ The class structure is pretty basic. Homework and work is worth nothing while the 2 midterms and the final are your grade pretty much. (I believe it's a 20/80 split). Attendance isn't mandatory so if you have already taken calc, don't bother to show up. He curves the tests which is good if you have already taken Calculus before, but bad if it's your first time. Unfortunately for me, this was my first time taking a calculus class so I got screwed over by those who had taken AP Calc AB or BC. Thanks guys :P =============================Lectures================================= His lectures are undeniably confusing. Class will start and he'll just start writing on the board and start talking. I personally think it helps to know WHY you are doing something, but instead he just does examples. He constantly made mistakes and always had to be corrected on certain algebraic things. Also, he confuses the class to the point where no one has a clue what they're doing. He'll ask for questions and it will be awkward silence for the next minute or two as people attempt to gather their brain back up. He takes the most simple concept and turns it into the most confusing concept, for example, sketching curves. I had done curve sketching no problem for the past few years, but after GU explained it, it took me a while to comprehend what he was talking about and why. For a confusing lecture, just use PatrickJMT or Khan Academy for a supplement. There will be MANY times where he'll assign you homework that when you look at it, you'll be like, "This wasn't in the lecture!" or "What the heck is this!? We never learned this!" For chapters 4 and 5 I had to heavily rely on PatrickJMT for better quality notes than Gu's. Good luck especially with his related rates and his optimization lectures. He skips over important algebra with the intention of it being "just algebra" even though it's crucial to the problem. In short, his lectures were horrible. Confusing and often had no purpose. I felt like I was walking through a thick fog of confusion. Use Youtube videos for confusing lectures as there will be material that he will not cover. He vocalizes the algebra and only writes the answers on the board, so there is no way to connect problems and steps. ==============================Office Hours============================= Many times I have walked into his office hours for help on homework and it's always the same answer..."Ohhh this. This is a special case I didn't go over in class." Then he would proceed to tell me how to do it and confuse me even more. It was quite apparent that his lectures did not cover all of the information necessary to complete the homework. Also, his grader was very inconsistent with test grading and homework grading. If you have a problem or a question on the grading, just ask Gu and more than likely he'll agree and give you points for it. ============================Midterms and Tests================== First off, as I stated earlier, if you have taken AP Calculus before, you'll have no problem on the tests or midterms. However, if you haven't, good luck. Gu constantly tells the class to study by "re-doing the homework." Well I did all of the homework again and some extra problems and I still ended up getting F's on both midterms. I went to office hours as much as my schedule could deal with and I still ended up failing the class. I confronted him one day about the difficulty of the tests compared to the homework and he said it simply "not true that the homework is easier than the test." Gu also under-plays the tests by telling "if you can do the homework, the test will be easy." But that is incorrect. On Gu's 2 midterms and tests, he puts on INCREDIBLY difficult algebra on basic problems. Not only is it difficult, it makes you feel like a dumbass when you get -7 on anti-derivative questions you mastered on the homework. In short, you may know the material, but still get a bad grade due to the confusing algebra he puts on the test. It's confusing and awkward to deal with. I found his midterms to be excruciatingly difficult, but his final wasn't as bad in my opinion (I did spend, however, 17 hours studying for the final alone and still failed it). Gu will be helpful enough to tell the class what will and won't be on the test, but only if this was true. For our final he told us there would be a related rates problem OR an optimization problem. Instead, he put both on the test and only had 2 U-Substitution problems on it when he told us there would be at least 4. So don't listen to Gu when he tries to help. TL;DR: Study your butt off on material even if you know it. He will trick you into thinking it will be easy, but it won't be. He puts very difficult algebra on the test so study all possible algebra on a problem
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 12:47 pm, Dec 10, 2012 Report Evaluation		People are too harsh to Gu. Yes, he has an accent which does it make a little more difficult, but he is definitely not impossible to understand. You adjust to his accent in the first week. He is super smart. For some reason, when students ask a question, he never answers the actual question, but misunderstands it for something else. I was in AB senior year, so this class was almost entirely review for me. 1 quiz every Friday- 2 problems. HW collected Tuesdays, if you do it neatly, grader will give you an extra point. 2 midterms, 1 final, drop lowest quiz score, and curved overall. Take Gu, it will be challenging, but he's a good teacher.
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 1:19 am, Dec 4, 2012 Report Evaluation		His accent is heavy and he speeds through his problems. But he wants you to succeed. He curved the midterms, which were not very hard, and honestly I had more of a problem with his TA homework grader than Gu's test grading. If you took calc in HS, don't sweat it. If you haven't, take the support course.
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 3:50 pm, Dec 3, 2012 Report Evaluation		Caixing Gu is a below-average professor. He has a heavy accent (not exactly the issue) and stands directly in front of the work he writes up on the board, so it is very difficult to follow along with what he is doing. I find it hard to hate him because he is not out to fail you --in fact, he wants you to pass his class. But if you are new to Calculus (or just bad at like me) then do yourself a favor and get a tutor or a spot in a support workshop. This is the only way possible I can pass this class. He doesn't mind if you are present or absent, for as long as you know the material and pass the homeworks and quizzes/tests you can be out as much as you'd like. But on the contrary, showing up to class doesn't do you much good either. It only provides a base of what you will inevitably be bringing to your tutor. Go to his office hours and make an impression so that he knows who you are each day, perhaps he will actually remember you and feel sympathetic towards you if you are faiing his course like me.
MATH 143 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:56 am, May 15, 2012 Report Evaluation		When I found out I had Gu the first week of Calc 2, I was seriously pissed off, therefore leaving a lot of room for lots of improvement. Caixing grew on me like he did on every other student. His office hours are goddamn helpful, it's 10 minutes of your time. You never have to show up on a Tuesday. He explains the book as best as he can due to his accent and yeah he's not the best at explaining but the midterm and final reviews will be a lecture that gives you everything you need. Take this man, get used to him. He's a fun and loving guy and I wish he taught Calc 4 Fall 2012 so I could take him again.
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 12:36 am, Mar 10, 2012 Report Evaluation		Caixing Gu is basically your average professor. I'm an EE so we have plenty of Teachers with Chinease Accents. He presents his lectures adequately, and his tests are of the average difficulty you expect from an Engineering course. If you're in Calc 2, and you feel like you're being shafted, be prepared because this is what you should expect. Roll Tide.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 11:36 pm, Feb 21, 2012 Report Evaluation		I'm Chinese and I lived in Taiwan for a year but I still have a horrible time trying to understand his horrible mainland-Chinese accent. Example: L'Hospital's rule -> Lopidus loo. It's possible to translate what he's saying but to translate, frantically write your notes, and also understand the content at the same time is impossible. I have to teach myself Calculus II because I'm sure as hell not learning it from him. He knows his sh-- but he is UNABLE to convey it clearly. As he's lecturing he'll ask a question about a simple calculation to the class and NO ONE will answer because no one knows what the f--- he's talking about. I'm also in the extra workgroup and all of the people in it with me never know what section he's on because he doesn't mention it unless you ask and no one knows what he's talking about EVER. As a Chinese student, I recommend a professor that can actually speak English.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 5:41 pm, Jan 5, 2012 Report Evaluation		Gu is not the worst teacher you can get, but it would be a lie if I said his tests aren't hard. I got A-'s on both midterms and a C on his final and ended with a B in the class, even though I also got an 100% on quizzes and A's on hw. He makes it so it is very hard to get below a C but at the same time, also very hard to get an A. (I think he said only 7 people in the class at most will get an A)
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 5:02 pm, Jan 4, 2012 Report Evaluation		Gu is a lot of things, but a good teacher really isn't one of them. I had a fairly easy time with his class, but only because I could teach myself Math outside class. Others, however, were not so lucky. Even if you can work your way past his THICK Chinese accent, Gu's explanations are often not up to par, and you often walk away bitter about your prospects on the homework. Most everyone does poorly on the Midterms, but if you study his "examples" you should be able to pull your way through. Oh, and the final counts for 58% of your grade. That's a big deal. If Math really isn't your strong suit, do yourself a favor and find a better teacher.
MATH 244 Freshman Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 2:41 am, Dec 19, 2011 Report Evaluation		Gu's lectures left almost everybody in the class confused, but nobody really spoke up so he just kept moving. He would ask the class clarifying questions and the room would remain silent for awkward lengths of time. He openly gave up on the students in the class and started spoon feeding us just enough to not fail the exams. I didn't do a single homework assignment but still managed a C. He curves pretty hard. I'm guessing the average grades were extremely low.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 11:35 pm, Dec 13, 2011 Report Evaluation		DON'T. Professor Gu. is by far the worst teacher I have ever had. None of his explanations make sense and lectures are so confusing that you would be better off not going to a single one of them. I've seen problems from other classes and Gu takes calculus to a whole new level. While teaching he will repeatedly put you down by saying that problems are easy, trivial, obvious, or standard. Drop the class or waste a quarter of your year.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 3:24 pm, Dec 13, 2011 Report Evaluation		I'm surprised I managed to get a B+ in this class. First off, let's take a look at the grading rubric. 22% for each midterm, 36% for the final, 10% each for participation and homework. He offers to let your final grade take the place of your lower midterm, meaning if you failed one of the midterms that final ends up being worth 58% of your grade. Some people may like this kind of grading, others may not. Depends on the type of student you are. However, because of how horribly Professor Gu teaches, you're going to be spending a lot of time figuring out the material on your own. He spends way too much time on Chapter 8 and speeds through the material covered in Chapter 9, so his preparation for the class is obviously lacking. Even if you get past his accent, it's very difficult to follow what he's saying. I would recommend avoiding Gu if possible. If you do get him, then prepare to dedicate a lot of time to this class so that you can do decent. The only good thing about his course is that he has a generous curve and he says he tries not to fail people unless they do really, really poorly in the class.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 8:56 am, Dec 13, 2011 Report Evaluation		Mr. Gu is by far the worst teacher I have ever had! Even if you can muddle through his accent, his examples are difficult to follow and he skips so many steps. When asked what he did, he just says it and moves his hands in the air and says, "Is so easy." Avoid this teacher at all costs!
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 4:04 pm, Nov 10, 2011 Report Evaluation		Straight up the worst teacher I've ever had in my life. I get his accent, it's not really an issue. The only thing you should know about his background is that he was raised in a place where failure was not an option and as such he expects you to know everything right after he teaches it. When he says problems are easy, they are usually hard. If you ask a question he will answer it but only the part he thinks is hard and call the rest "obvious" or "easy". I was lucky enough to have very good math teachers up to this point. I got a 4 on the AP Calculus AB test and this is first grade I've ever received below a C in my life. Drop the class unless you have already taken AP Calc BC, if you have, then you should be able to review and pass the class. If you haven't, you better join the study session and start studying 2 hours a day, because this teacher doesn't teach.
MATH 244 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 3:39 pm, Feb 28, 2011 Report Evaluation		AMAZING MATH TEACHER. People complain about his "extremely thick" accent but honestly what else could "delivative" be? If you have heard an Asian accent, you will be fine. His accent makes things hilarious if anything. Weekly homework graded every Tuesday, 6 points correctness and 4 points completion, but they are all odd problems so how can you not get it right. His examples are extremely clear, and he takes his example problems and puts them on the quizzes, then puts them on the midterms. So easy. I got 100 percent on all quizzes and both midterms. He gives you ample time for all tests too. Just great.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 6:21 pm, Feb 27, 2011 Report Evaluation		Everyone gives Gu a hard time, and for good reason, but he's really not a bad guy. He doesn't explain things all that well and he doesn't give very good examples, but if you ask enough questions, he'll do his best to explain the material to you. I honestly think, though, that the only reason I passed his class was because I was in a workshop and also he curves REALLY nicely.
MATH 142 Sophomore Grade Earned: D Elective 8:06 pm, Feb 18, 2011 Report Evaluation		If you can take another professor get out. or pay a translator of the chinese language to help you out during class. Lots of hw a quiz every friday there was a quiz you will want to rush so you can leave. Teach yourself from the book and good luck
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 3:32 am, Feb 12, 2011 Report Evaluation		Yes, he has an accent. It took me all of about 5 minutes to get used to it. I had already taken Calculus in high school so most of the quarter was review, but even when we got to the new stuff I didn't have any trouble learning in his class. Quizzes were easy, homework collected weekly, exams fairly difficult (but he curves generously). I would take him again, and I plan on trying to take his Calc 4 class.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 11:21 am, Feb 9, 2011 Report Evaluation		Professor Gu's Calculus II class was a sort of ongoing joke for my friends and I. His mannerisms, accent, and lack of English speaking skills provides a little bit of levity to an otherwise boring class. I think he has all the right intentions as a teacher, but he is not very clear on most of the material. Having taken calculus in high school, I already knew most of the material, but if you are completely new to this material, I probably would not suggest Gu. And one more thing: his quizzes are misleadingly easy, because his actual exams are much harder. Overall, Professor Gu is a cool guy, but he has a hard time with certain areas of English language, which makes the material he is teaching hard to understand.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 12:05 pm, Jan 8, 2011 Report Evaluation		I really loved Gu. Yes, he has an accent. But you get used to it, and learn to love his mispronunciations. He does his best to present the material in a way the class can understand, and his teaching style was perfect for me. He assigns homework almost every day and the homework for that week is due on tuesday. There are weekly quizzes every friday, but if you do the homework the quiz is fairly easy. There are two midterms and a final, and he curves. I really enjoyed his class and learned a lot. I would definitely take him again.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:57 pm, Jan 4, 2011 Report Evaluation		His accent doesn't take that long to get used to. The only thing I missed was that "etch" was actually "x" and not "h". For the most part he assigns homework everyday, but not always. If, in one week, we only had to turn in two assignments, he would usually let us turn it in next week when we asked.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 12:42 pm, Dec 15, 2010 Report Evaluation		All of the claims about Dr. Gu\'s accent are true, but I personally did not find it to be a problem towards me understanding what he had to say. The trouble wasn\'t from his accent but from him trying to say so many things at once and therefore speeding past key points crucial to understanding the material clearly. Maybe if one read the book before class, they would be able to understand him more easily. He assigns daily homework which is collected once a week and gives out weekly quizzes. These aren\'t so hard to screw up on and could help your grade a considerable amount. Midterms can be tough. He decided to drop an entire 10 points from the total possible score because everyone bombed a certain problem (as the below person mentioned). The final is similar to the midterm.
MATH 142 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:13 am, Dec 15, 2010 Report Evaluation		Gu was a little hard to understand but the class was always entertaining. You could tell he wanted to say so many things at once but had a hard time putting the words in english. Be prepared to hear \"parabora\" and \"triangurar\" a lot. Honestly though, unless you\'re a math prodigy you\'ll need to put in some serious work to get a decent grade. His midterms are hard, so hard that on the second one he had to drop a whole problem (midterm only had 6) because the whole class missed it. My grade was due to office hours and the workshop which was a phenomenal learning experience.
MATH 304 Senior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 3:40 pm, Jun 15, 2010 Report Evaluation		Don\'t really know what I can say that everyone else hasn\'t. He thought he was smart enough to teach the class on the fly and make up his own examples, which largely resulted in him making a ridiculous number of mistakes (at LEAST 1 per day). He was overly thorough in his notation, which was often confusing to the class as a whole, as he rarely kept it consistent either. In addition, our final was literal 50% based on material taught in the last two lectures and 2 extra homework assignments he assigned after the lectures had finished. He was awful. If you are a self motivated learner, don\'t go to class, because you are way better off just reading the book on your own.
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 3:20 pm, Mar 14, 2010 Report Evaluation		This guy, was the best. I don\'t understand why he has such a low grade on Polyratings seeing as how his linear class was absolutely amazing. He explained things well, and helped immensely with questions that people had. The only reason people might\'ve misunderstood concepts was because of his rather thick accent that you start to look forward to because they\'re sometimes so hilarious that its just an hour of comedy because he\'ll repeat it. I\'d take him all over again if I could.
MATH 143 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 2:09 pm, Mar 14, 2010 Report Evaluation		Happy Gu! He\'s NICE... BUT his teaching style didn\'t work for me at ALL. I basically gave up trying to learn in class, and stayed home for an hour trying to figure things out =/ That\'s the only reason why I MANAGED to bring things up to a D (I had a flat out F before I rage quit). He just makes a lot of mistakes, goes back and erases things and doesn\'t tell you WHY or wth he\'s doing.. MUMBLES important information... =/ If you DO have to take his class, sit at the FRONT. And maybe ask lots of questions so you can figure out what he\'s doing. i don\'t really think teaching\'s his thing.. he knows what\'s going ON, but teaching isn\'t his cup o tea.
MATH 418 Senior Grade Earned: B Elective 3:46 pm, Dec 23, 2009 Report Evaluation		Avoid Dr. Gu at all costs. His in-class examples and proofs merely followed those presented in the book with fewer details and in a less clear way. The lecture is thus useless, and you are better off simply reading the book will teach you much better (That\'s what I did for many of his lectures)--This is saying something as the book he chose for this class was also not very good. He assigns A LOT of homework, way too many repetitive problems rather than a few good ones. His responses to questions in class or office hours were equally worthless. If it is possible, take any other mathematics professor at Poly. They will be much, much better.
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:06 pm, Dec 15, 2009 Report Evaluation		gu spends a lot of time facing the class and writing things in the air with his fingers. he also likes to talk about things that he admits has no important to the class or what you will be tested on. he also tends to skip steps when doing examples because \"it is so easy. you can just do in your head.\" he is really good in office hours if you ask really direct questions, but in class he just kind of rambles.
MATH 143 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 4:51 pm, Aug 25, 2009 Report Evaluation		Alright, here's the deal. First day of class I honestly didn't have a clue as to what he was saying, so much so that I was VERY tempted to drop the class and just take it the following quarter. But I stuck with it. I didn't learn much of anything from Gu himself, but I did learn material from reading the book, going to a math workshop, and looking at how the solutions guide solves the problems. These helped tremendously. I ended up getting a B+ on the first mid term and 100% on quizzes, but I FAILED the second mid term WITH the curve. I feel like Gu was just too strict with the grading on the second mid term--he BARELY gave ANY partial credit on that one. Doesn't he want his students to pass, so he doesn't look bad? Anyway, many students got some points back on the second mid term after talking to him and letting him know that he was too red-pen-happy on the test. Eventually you begin to learn a new language (Gu's language) and his accent doesn't seem THAT bad after a while. But that does not mean you will understand what he's trying to teach you. Most of the class was still lost. When it comes to preparing us for the mid terms, he will give us a hint as to what the test will look like, and then when test day comes, you'll realize the test is NOTHING like he said. For example: for the second mid term, he said there would be 6 problems; 4 on infinite series/Taylor series, and 2 on vectors. He STRESSED that there would be 2 problems on chapters 13 and 14 (after infinite series), yet the test ended up being ALL series.He also doesn't want to go over sample problems that could show up on the tests. He DOES recognize when students are lost though, but his explanations just can't be understood by the students. He knows his stuff, he's very smart and he's probably a great teacher in his own mind. But he simply cannot express his teaching to students. He rambles way too fast and starts a new sentence before ending the previous one. I guess it is partially the students' faults though, because whenever he asked if we all understood, we just nodded with blank stares. I only did that because I resigned to the fact that I would just teach myself this material anyway. Gu did say Calc III was the hardest of the series. I wouldn't say the material is that bad; it is all pretty doable. But his teaching just plain blows. He must have HEAVILY curved the final grades, because I somehow ended up with a B in the class even AFTER failing the second mid term. To those who take him: Good luck, you will be fine. But try and find a math workshop/study session for the class. It helps!
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 8:28 pm, Jun 24, 2009 Report Evaluation		Lectures where very hard to follow, mostly because of communication issues. It might be in yor best interest to find an English-Chinese translator to take lecture notes for you.
MATH 344 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 12:04 pm, May 19, 2009 Report Evaluation		Delivative and Integrawl. story of Gu's life. Cant understand a word he said the entire quarter. Laprace Tlansfolm.... It sucked my balls. Avoid at all costs.
MATH 143 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 10:35 pm, Apr 23, 2009 Report Evaluation		Do NOT take this teacher. First off his accent is extremely hard to understand, second he can't even make complete sentences. He makes stupid Calc I mistakes wait no he makes algebra I mistakes like foiling. Yes, he is smart, but what good does that do when you can't make complete sentences or communicate complete thoughts. I've had teachers with accents before, but this guy is the absolute worse. He claims that things are "obvious" or "simple" when they are clearly not.
MATH 244 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 3:36 pm, Apr 13, 2009 Report Evaluation		Gu was pretty chill. He did a decent job explaining some complicated stuff. He's not my favorite math prof, but I didn't have any trouble with his accent and his teaching style was effective. He was very generous on grading, only subtracting a few points for bad algebra even if it completely threw the final answer off. Just some advice, don't wait till the last minute to clarify the final few weeks of material. It's probably the hardest stuff in the course.
MATH 344 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 11:46 pm, Apr 7, 2009 Report Evaluation		I got an A in the class, but Gu was just a BAD teacher. We didn't get through all the material, and Gu did a poor job teaching what we did go over. He goes at a slow pace through the quarter, then tries to jam everything down your throat at the end when he realizes that he has been teaching slowly. He always makes a mistake during lectures and works at his own pace.
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:34 am, Mar 29, 2009 Report Evaluation		The teacher has a thick accent that you will not understand on the first day. It does start to make sense as time goes on. Lectures and home work are easy to follow. The teacher writes a lot on the board because it is hard to understand him when he speaks. Midterms are impossible and the class is not curved until the end. I felt like I was getting a low C the entire quarter but it came to a B after the final which is easier than the midterms and the amount of curving. Don't expect to understand why you are using the information shown to you. I went through this class never understanding what linear analysis is.
MATH 344 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:00 pm, Mar 22, 2009 Report Evaluation		Gu is an AWFUL teacher. Great guy, smart guy, linient guy, but none of that makes up for being a really horrible teacher. Don't take him. The material is confusing and difficult enough without having him to teach it in an entirely noncoherent way as well. But if you do have him, watch out for the final and ask him as many questions as you can about the tests.
MATH 244 Graduate Student Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 8:32 pm, Jan 6, 2009 Report Evaluation		Caixing Gu is a badass mother trucker One time in class a student tried to ask a question. Gu proceeded to take out his phone and text his mother. Another time a student gave him a supposedly "impossible" problem. Gu then showed him his homework from third grade which had the problem solved correctly. Another time on a quiz a student put "no solution". Gu told the student to get on his knees in the front of the class and then tea bagged him. When Gu passed out the first midterm a math major in our class jumped out the window. When Gu passed out the final, instead of saying "good luck", he said "I'll see you next quarter".
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 11:32 pm, Dec 24, 2008 Report Evaluation		This is a teacher that is very hard to understand in two MAJOR ways. One, he has a heavy accent, which is hard to overcome. Second, once you start to understand the words, it is hard to understand what he is trying to say. He is a very smart man, however, horrible for learning math. Best advice, do all the hw and ask what is going to be on the quiz on fridays, that way you get an easy 20%(you'll need it). I didn't do that and suffered. Other than the first test, they are extremely hard(INCLUDING THE FINAL). Avoid this teacher if you can.
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 9:37 pm, Dec 16, 2008 Report Evaluation		This is a very boring class. It's not entirely the professor's fault -- the concepts are just really dry. Gu does a good job most of the time of glossing over the theory, but he is obsessed with proofs. There are quizzes weekly (that gets old), and homework is collected. His tests are straightforward, though, and there aren't any surprises on them. Overall, not the best professor, but not the worst either.
MATH 344 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 11:22 am, Aug 18, 2008 Report Evaluation		OK so Dr. Gu is a pretty interesting guy. He really does know the material very well, and if you are on the same page as him, he will explain the math pretty clearly. One of the biggest problems for me was that I had his class first thing in the morning and most of the days I was pretty tired and not prepared to learn crazy math shit. I would suggest going to his morning class well rested and awake or a lot of the material will fly over your head (due to both complexity and his strong accent). Overall, he is a great guy and really does like teaching. If you don't understand anything, then go to his office hours and talk with him there. I feel that I understand the concepts he is teaching me much better in a one on one setting rather than in lecture. I was always amazed at his ability to remember exact problems from tests and/or homework without needing to look them up. I honestly thing that he is one of the smartest professors at Cal Poly (he is just at a different level than any other professors of mine). If you think you are really good at math (and I mean you truly understand these concepts), then you should take him. He has the knowledge and ability to explain some amazing things.
MATH 143 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 2:21 pm, Jun 20, 2008 Report Evaluation		Gu is an interesting guy. He does have a strong accent, but you get used to it by the 2nd/3rd week. He is really knowledgeable about the material, barely needs notes to give a full lecture unlike many teachers. He does make some dumb mistakes on addition/subtraction but when it comes to the complex and theoretical material he knows it very well. His tests are fairly difficult but he curves them to have a C+ average. Overall a good teacher that wants his students to succeed in later math courses
MATH 344 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 8:28 pm, Jun 11, 2008 Report Evaluation		For those of you who might be curious, I am the same guy that knocked Gu for the way he taught 341. 344 was entirely different. His lectures were decent and he even adjusted his plan when many students got series problems wrong on the first midterm. Plus, he was lenient when I got sick and was out over a week. No matter what you have against this guy, you have to give it to him, he tries. He may be a little difficult to understand, but if you can't, go to his office. He will do all he can for you to pass his class.
MATH 244 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:59 am, Mar 31, 2008 Report Evaluation		10% HW, 10% quizes, 20% for each midterm and there's 2 and 40% final. This is the second time taking him for a math class and he's solid with the material. If you go to class, take notes and do the homework you'll do fine. Make sure you understand everything though because you'll use it a lot in upper division courses.
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:51 am, Mar 26, 2008 Report Evaluation		Gu was a great professor throughout the quarter. My only gripe was the difficulty of the final. A large portion of the final came from the last few lectures which were rather difficult.
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 6:16 pm, Mar 10, 2008 Report Evaluation		Gu is a PIMP. He knows it too. Rather than throw up a whole lot of theorems on the board, Gu lectures by using tons of examples. These examples are really helpful when approaching the homework. The homework is rather hard, but you can just get the student solutions manual. People always complain about Gu's accent. They are just whiners. It's hard to understand Gu for the first day or so. After that it's easy. Oh yeah and his name means "Happy." Take this class and you will be Caixing! Easy midterms class average 79 & 80.
MATH 244 Graduate Student Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 2:26 pm, Mar 9, 2008 Report Evaluation		Gu does not teach what you need to succeed in higher level math classes.
MATH 143 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 7:30 pm, Feb 20, 2008 Report Evaluation		Caixing Gu, or should I say Gu Caixing as it would be ordered in China, is one of my favorite math teachers of all time. Unlike most math professors, he collects the homework he assigns (which is actually a blessing in desguise). His grading system doesn't place much weight on homework, but it is significant enough to force students to be caught up with the lecture. Most people comment on his hard Chinese accent, however I believe it made his 9 a.m. class more entertaining than confusing. Before each test he tells you exactly what material will be covered. He is energetic, goofy, and overall a very enjoyable man.
MATH 143 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:25 pm, Jan 20, 2008 Report Evaluation		Good teacher. Doesn't go into too much detail as he should in class, but will clarify any questions you have during office hours. His accent is sometimes hard to understand, but if you are able to recognize old material it will become clear. The midterms aren't hard if you have done all the homework and understand it. He curves the final grade at the end and it usually helps the grade go up.
MATH 143 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 10:24 pm, Jan 11, 2008 Report Evaluation		Not a bad guy, he does have a strong accent, but is understandable. The class is a bit hard, especially the Infinite Series, but doable. He doesn't go too much into detail, he just explains how to do the math, and make it work, which works. He collects homework which is good (he doesn't assign too much) and has weekly quizes (which I manged to continuously fail every time). His tests are short, but more interesting, and one good thing is that he will never put a problem on the test that is not of the same difficulty type as the ones from the HW. He heavily curves the tests and class, so you can hope to get a good grade. He does a lot of examples and tries to help you as much as he can, he also seems to confuse himself a lot, but he's a decent teacher.
MATH 143 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 5:54 pm, Jan 1, 2008 Report Evaluation		So Gu is a bit difficult to understand: parabola sounds like "parabora" when he pronounces it but as long as you are paying attention you should be fine for understanding what he is saying. Lectures are tricky because the material is tough, especially during infinite series so study and review as he goes through material. We had a quiz every friday that was 2-3 questions and covered the week's material. Two mid-terms that were fairly easy as long as you have been keeping up with homework and doing well on the quizzes. He gives lots of homework questions on exams so there aren't too many curve balls if you are doing your work. Final blowed. There is just so much material to review that it is hard to get every question right. Then again, every math final is tough so just study hard and dont procrastinate. Overall, he curved the exam grades and is very liberal with final grades so the class isnt bad.
MATH 143 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:46 am, Dec 14, 2007 Report Evaluation		Gu is very difficult to understand during lecture. His accent is not a problem, but he will press on even of no one understood what he is trying to explain. Most of the class was lost. His Hwk is to the point and not very long. The quizzes are every Friday and cover exactly what was on the Hwk. Hwk is due every Tuesday. His tests were hard, but he curved them a bit to make them fair. He is extremely nice and helpful during office hours, but you will need to consult the book a lot to learn some of the material.
MATH 143 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 10:19 am, Dec 7, 2007 Report Evaluation		Gu is a smart guy. Just not a good teacher. I ditched his class half way through the quarter just because he wasnt good at explaining the material well. I heard mixed reviews about his office hours, but i never went because they were always full. Even if he is better in his office hour, I wouldnt be able to learn from him since I cant even learn from him in class. There are weekly quizzes and homework. Two midterms and a final. Even if you fail horribly on both midterms, he gives you a chance to pass if you do well enough on his final. The exams weren't hard, it's just you have to go to lecture if you aren't capable of teaching yourself math. DONT TAKE THIS GUY!! If you end up taking Gu make sure you go to a teacher's office hour that you are familiar and comfortable with.
MATH 143 Freshman Grade Earned: F Required (Major) 1:04 am, Nov 29, 2007 Report Evaluation		Could not understand him, when I finally listened extremely hard and could understand the words he was saying, I had no idea what he was trying to teach. They guy is a smart man, just not good at teaching. Avoid
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 1:44 am, Oct 5, 2007 Report Evaluation		Oh man... Gu... Alright, this guy is nice. He's intelligent and he means the best to all his students from what I remember. Here's the problem: I could barely understand this guy. He has a heavy accent. Parabolas became prarboras and triangles became triangulars and calculus became cakoolus. More than often I couldn't understand what he was saying, or the material he was going over, or follow his algebra or the steps he was taking to approach a problem. I couldn't get myself to attend his class sometimes because I just couldn't bear it. Sometimes we'd ask for help on a homework problem or a problem in the book and he'd go the wrong way on it and spend a half hour trying to figure it out. The kicker is the times when he says "It's magic.". He'll spend too much time on a problem, won't be able to figure it out, stand there and look at it on the board for a few minutes, turn to the class and declare that it's magic. He then moves on with lecture. The next week he'll turn around and put the same difficulty problem on his tests. His daily quizzes were brutal. Sometimes they would be of moderate difficulty, sometimes they would be a near impossible difficulty. The reason why they were so brutal is because he allocates the last ten minutes of class for the quiz and the problems take fifteen minutes. Sometimes he'll forget he was supposed to do the quiz and give it in the last five minutes of class, making it impossible complete adequately. His tests were hard. There was two or three obscure trig identities on every one of his tests of six or seven questions. He collects homework every week and that's probably the easiest part of his class. This man is the source of all my woes in calculus thus far. He passed me with a D, and I don't know why. I did not do well in his class or learn the material. I actually wish he had given me an F so that I would have to retake the course. I had to move on to MATH143 the next quarter to continue with my major's chart and take PHYS133. I failed MATH143 that quarter because of my lack of knowledge in the MATH142 material. Now I can't go back and take MATH142 because I won't get the credits I need for this quarter to stay off academic probation, so I'm stuck taking MATH143 again. Hopefully this time around I'll have enough time to learn MATH142 AND MATH143. If you find calculus easy, you can take this guy. Otherwise, I'd avoid him. I would honestly hate to take another class with him of this degree of difficulty.
MATH 341 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 8:33 am, Sep 25, 2007 Report Evaluation		I dropped this class just before the deadline. In the 1+ weeks that I spent with Caixing, I found the course hard and the teacher inept. His lecture plan was to have us present proofs from the homework; he didn't teach us anything. While he did give some leniency on HW due dates, he also was hard on grading in presentations, repeatedly docking points for inconsequential things (ie grammar, formatting). Do not take Gu for 341, I feel really happy I got out of his class.
MATH 143 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 11:06 am, Aug 7, 2007 Report Evaluation		Gu is ok, just ok. His tests are not hard its just that he doesnt teach very well so they will seem hard to his students. YOu are probably gonna have to teach yourself a lot from the bok\ok so be prepared. He is nice in office hours and I swear that going to office hours made him more forgiving when he graded my test. He curves ALOT so pray you are in a class with dumb ppl, thats the only reason I got an A. Ppl say he has a bad accent but you really get used to it. just sit in the frount and watch his lips, it really does help. Overall I would say take someone who can teach the material better but if you want a class with less of a load take GU
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 2:04 am, Jul 3, 2007 Report Evaluation		Gu was pretty straightforward. Homework was collected once a week. He usually gave quizzes every Friday. The midterms weren't too difficult and he curved each one. My only complaint was that he wasn't much of a help in office hours when I asked him about related rates. His accent isn't that bad.
MATH 433 Senior Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 6:14 pm, Jun 29, 2007 Report Evaluation		Bad...just bad. He stinks. I've given him positive reviews before, but this class was a nightmare. Unless you're a consistently-strong student, stay away from this man.
MATH 333 Senior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 10:28 am, Apr 4, 2007 Report Evaluation		I've had Gu before, for 344, and thought he did much better in that class. First of all, I'm not an engineer, and neither have access to MATLAB nor any idea how to use it. Yet it's required for this class. He assigns an absurd amount of homework, so don't procrastinate. The midterms and quizzes were totally reasonable, but the final came out of nowhere. It didn't help that there were around 80 nasty formulas to memorize. Oh well, it's a lot of work, what do you expect? The accent isn't that much of a problem, so don't use it as an excuse. He's an incredibly nice man who is willing to work with you if you talk to him.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 7:36 am, Apr 1, 2007 Report Evaluation		To pass this class is very simple: do the homework, make sure you understand it, and do the homework again before the midterms. For the final I spent only the morning in the library reviewing concepts, and pulled an A in the class after utterly failing the first midterm and setting the curve on the second. I would have taken him this coming quarter for 143 but cannot because of scheduling conflicts. If you can get past his poor English and have the discipline to do the homework it should be easy. I reccomend getting a copy of the complete solutions manual, as some of the homework problems are very hard to solve w/ on your own.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 9:25 pm, Feb 28, 2007 Report Evaluation		dr. gu...he has an accent that is a bit hard to understand at first, i.e trig functions are now "trigga funcions" and triangles are now "trangulas". he knows his material, but he's not the greatest at explaining things. homework load is absolute bullshit. nightly homework: 1-39 odd, 41-47, 63-67 odd. thats about average, and its really ridiculous to do 4 of those a week. first midterm was insanely hard, he was actually laughing when we went into the room because the class before mine found it so difficult. not funny when the class average is less than 55%. i took calc bc my junior year in high school, and got a 4 on the AP test. im not a math genius or anything, but its not like the material has changed from 2 years ago. but for some reason, I'm really struggling in his class. i won't go as far as to say he's a bad math professor, but i wouldn't recommend him.
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: F Required (Support) 12:59 pm, Feb 23, 2007 Report Evaluation		horrible. don't take him unless you can understand him... it's hard. it's like taking two foriegn languages in one class... gu and calc. ughh thank god it's over
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:55 pm, Jan 8, 2007 Report Evaluation		Gu has big time problems saying basic terminology so understanding the concepts in an intro calc class like this is quite difficult. Also by the time that you realize that the word "etch" means the letter "H" all you can do is laugh and not pay attention. Very hard to pass i think if you havent had calc before...but through and through he did give lectures and quizzes and homework....so basically as with any other class ATTEMPT to understand the concepts and read the book on your own and you will get by Gu and his "etch" ways...
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 8:35 am, Dec 31, 2006 Report Evaluation		Very good teacher. Provided us with all the information neccesary to pass the class. Told us exactly what would be on all the tests, quizes, and final. I only went in to his office a few times for help (first time taking calc) and he showed me what I was doing wrong very quickly. If you can't get by his accent perhaps you should not be in college. Do every homework problem, clarify if you don't understand, and you should easily pass the class.
MATH 344 Sophomore Grade Earned: F Required (Support) 10:16 am, Aug 14, 2006 Report Evaluation		Gu is a knowledgeable teacher, but he lacks in clearly explaining it to us students. There were multiple times where I felt completely lost in his lectures, and if you ask a question he sometimes doesn't even answer your REAL question. The accent makes things difficult too. Plus this is one of the final math classes required of engineers, so its not an easy class either.
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 5:05 pm, Apr 10, 2006 Report Evaluation		Caixing Gu! Even his name rules. This guy is so funny to listen to. Take him!
MATH 344 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 6:56 pm, Mar 28, 2006 Report Evaluation		I had Gu for 241 and he was great, but he completely dropped the ball when it came to 344. He had a very difficult time explaining it to us (granted, it is difficult material) and he gave a TON of homework at first until we complained enough about the workload. I wasn't able to learn much at all until the week before each test becuase he would review the subjects, and he is very straightforward about the tests; one problem will look like this, another will be like this one etc etc. Unless you love theoretical math, the lectures are really dull, but go because that little bit of knowledge youre able to draw from the nonsense will get you through the tests. Oh, he also curves which is nice. There is one hw assignment due each week and a quiz every friday. I'd advise taking someone else for 344, but its a doable class.
MATH 344 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 9:58 am, Mar 23, 2006 Report Evaluation		Dr. Gu's accent really isn't that bad, once you get used to his odd terminology. He was very nice, assigned a fair amount of homework, and gave quizzes each week, which were always straight-forward and basic. The midterms were pretty easy, but that final came out of nowhere and destroyed my grade. He curves, so thank god for small favors. The class was taught over power-point for a lot of the quarter, which didn't really help towards the end, as the material became more difficult. I agree with the reviewer below: Gu did not teach heat, wave, and Laplace equations well at all. But overall, he isn't a bad professor, just not the best. All this obsession over his accent is pointless; show up, pay attention, and you'll be fine.
MATH 344 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 8:33 am, Mar 23, 2006 Report Evaluation		Gu's accent can be hard to understand at at times, but he's a nice guy who cares about teaching. The material isn't that difficult except for heat, wave, and Laplace equations. Gu is alright in presenting the material for MATH 344. The two midterms were fairly easy, but the final was "WTF???!!!" I got a B+, which I think is about what I deserved, since I bit the dust on the final. I think Gu could have done a better job about the heat, wave, and Laplace equations though. For Winter 2006 the other option was Terry, who I heard isn't much better. Bottom line: nice and funny guy, but an average professor. If you can, take someone better, if not, Gu is worth a try.
MATH 118 Freshman Grade Earned: A General Ed 4:38 pm, Feb 13, 2006 Report Evaluation		Hard to understand. Says stuff like "midatum," "pawabowa," and "abasowute vawoo." Powerpoints are clear and effective. Homework is long and tedious. But still, I just want to give him a hug!
MATH 118 Freshman Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 2:27 pm, Oct 27, 2005 Report Evaluation		DON'T TAKE HIM. HIS ACCENT WILL SCREW YOU UP!
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 6:49 pm, Oct 9, 2005 Report Evaluation		Gu, while not exactly a top grade professor, is still a good one. The biggest detriment with his teaching is his thick Chinese accent, but he tries the best to make the lectures understandable. His teaching needs a little bit better organization, but he is very smart and willing to help you. His explanations are not always the clearest, but he will make sure you understand. Tests are not too difficult as they are mostly HW-like problems without any surprises or theory-based stuff. Overall, not a bad teacher to take because he has a strong willingness to help students.
MATH 118 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 4:47 pm, Aug 8, 2005 Report Evaluation		Professor Gu was not exactly the best teacher around. It was extremely hard to understand his lectures. However, I found his powerpoint presentations to be used quite quickly. It was very hard to understand him while he speaks. He does however cares about the students and was always willing to help me during his office hours, and during quizes and tests. He does very well in a one-on-one situation, however to a class, I would not reccommend him. He is a nice guy, but still it was hard to get through his class this quarter.
MATH 241 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 12:56 pm, Aug 5, 2005 Report Evaluation		Gu rocks. The lectures are extremely straightforward and to the point: This is the theory. This is what it means. This is how you do it. The quizes and tests are very similar to the homework problems, he justs tweaks them a little bit, but the method is pretty much the same for each kind of problem; nothing weird or unexpected. His accent doesn't inhibit understanding him at all. Just pay attention, take notes, and do your homework (a shocking strategy.)
MATH 418 Senior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 11:12 am, Jul 16, 2005 Report Evaluation		You losers who say that Gu "does not understand" have no clue about what it means to be a professor at a university. Teaching at the university level is NOT the same in any way as high school. You folks need to grow up and accept the fact that this is not high school. Anyone who says Gu does not "understand" what he is doing only reveal your stupidity even more. The guy is an excellent mathematician. He's written quadruple the number of research papers normally expected of Cal Poly professors, and these papers are in mathematics, which is not easy to publish original research in. I'm so sick and tired of the assholes that go to university, don't belong there, and then compare professor X to high school teacher Y (most high school teachers barely know their subject enough to simply repeat what they have been told). Stop being an asshole and start working. Criticize yourself and your poor study/attendance/attitude before you criticize others. Otherwise, when you enter the work force, you are doomed.
MATH 244 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 1:14 pm, Apr 20, 2005 Report Evaluation		Gu is a nice guy, but that's about the only compliment I can give him. While his accent may contribute a bit, it is not the reason why Gu is a poor teacher. He simply has no idea how to present a lecture. He uses some sort of math program on the projector during his lectures and doesn't even really follow them. He puts definitions of important topics on the screen but never covers them in his lecture. He'll often go straight to an example problem, skipping steps without explaining them or defining important terms that he never even mentioned before. Essentially, if you can't learn from a book, don't take Gu.
MATH 244 Junior Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:47 pm, Apr 4, 2005 Report Evaluation		This is a great teacher for Math 244. He presents material fairly. My only problem was that he would waste time telling you what to right down from his projector lecture. I think I can figure out what's important on my own and not have class time wasted telling me that. On top of that, the hw was fairly extensive. However, if you stayed on top of it and understood it, the tests would be really easy. The reason for that was because the hw basically asked the question every possible way so when you saw it on test, you were not surprised and could easily do it. That's why the hw was so extensive. Plus, he teaches you how to use Matlab in the class which GREATLY helps expediate your hw. Matlab was the only way I could get the hw done in a reasonable amount of time. Fortuntly the hw was due only once a week. He was also great during office hours. He would field any question I asked and always answered it thoroughly enough for me to understand it. Overall, this was a great professor for Math 244.
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 10:19 am, Jan 13, 2005 Report Evaluation		Gu knew his material, there is no doubt about that. Teaching it was a different story. It wasn't just his accent that made it difficult to understand what he was teaching (though to many that was a major contributing factor), but the way it was presented.
MATH 244 Sophomore Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 2:37 pm, Jan 5, 2005 Report Evaluation		Incompetence. One word that would summarize this teacher is incompetence. Paying for a college education is a partnership between student and professor. Each has their roles, now if im willing to work my ass off for the professor, the least he can do is present the material clearly.
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 10:37 am, Oct 30, 2004 Report Evaluation		While Dr. Gu is a nice guy, I wouldn't recommend taking a class from him. His lectures are all done on his computer so you have to be a speed writer to get any decent notes. His examples aren't very helpful when it comes to the homework, which is collected. His office hours are also not a lot of help because he doesn't do a very good job of explaining what it is that he is doing. His accent is pretty rough too, so good luck understanding him. His class had two mid-terms and a final, pretty standard. Definitely pass on Gu if you have the chance.
MATH 418 Senior Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 11:19 am, Aug 12, 2004 Report Evaluation		Dr. Gu is an incredible professor. He really knows his stuff and he cares about the students. I don't care what any other jackass student has said, he is great. When students read this they shouldn't consider the "opinion" of lowly frosh/soph students who have yet to figure out what it means to really study and apply yourself to a course. You will get what you deserve from Dr. Gu and if you don't like it, try a little harder, kiddies!
MATH 241 Junior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 1:31 pm, Jul 21, 2004 Report Evaluation		If you want to learn about math, don't take Gu.
MATH 432 Junior Grade Earned: A Elective 10:35 pm, Jun 16, 2004 Report Evaluation		Gu is a pretty decent professor who teaches depending on what the students need. His accent may take a little while to get used to, but he knows what he is doing. Since this class is an upper division track course, you should not expect to understand the material enough to do the homework the first time around (although the class was easier to grasp than the first class in the series) but he is very willing to help. While the lectures may not be all that clear because he likes to explain the theoretical aspects deeply, he does point out the essential things that are needed for the homework. He is nice and willing to make the necessary accommodations for the class to do well. So Gu is a good professor because he will do whatever was necessary to help you out.
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 1:50 pm, Jun 8, 2004 Report Evaluation		STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT HIS ACCENT! Gu is a great teacher and people know it. Two mid-terms, one final, homework, easy as that. Not to mention that Calc 4 isn't as bad as Calc 3. He gets to the POINT and never lags on unnceccessary topics (compare to other teachers). Calc 4 is hard to teach (especially the last chapter) but he presents it VERY well. He uses the laptop to display graphs, example problems, and everything else needed. He is a great teacher and you'll enjoy Calc 4 through him. Take him if you can--even though some things he does is kinda weird (i.e. grading with his left hand, or tearing out pages from the Calc book).
MATH 241 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 12:00 am, Jun 1, 2004 Report Evaluation		THIS GUY IS GREAT! Turst me, Ive hated every other math teacher Ive had and this one is the only one I liked. He makes it so you can understand the material and really cares whether or not you do. Gu has fair tests and grades generously. I'd put him above Goldenberg and Stakus any day.
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:48 pm, May 12, 2004 Report Evaluation		>>>>> HERE IS THE TRUTH ABOUT GU. First thing, the reason why GU has such a low rating is that people in here complain about his accent. If you put the accent aside, he's actually one of the best math teachers for CALC 4. More than that, realize that some complain about him becuase they didn't put the extra effort to do well in the class. One thing I admire is that he "gets to the point." He doesn't make you do tedious or stupid problems for HW nor does he make you study a lot on sections that are like "who cares?" The problems he gives are ones that WILL prepare you for his tests. He uses the Projector a lot to convey difficult information such 3D drawings. If you hated CALC 3, you will not hate CALC 4 if you have GU. I HIGHLY recommend GU as a Math teacher. Take him if you can.
MATH 431 Junior Grade Earned: A Elective 11:18 pm, May 1, 2004 Report Evaluation		Optimization is not an easy class to teach since there are so many complications and tedious matrix calculations involved. With that in mind, I think Gu taught this class to the best of his ability with his Chinese accent, but the lectures were really unclear. His style is to tell the theory behind the methods and then give an example is a nice approach especially with the use of his laptop. The book is so theory-driven that it took lots of time to master the material. The book is really bad in explaining what we have to know. He was a nice man who was willing to adjust to the learning abilities of the class such as making the final a take-home, although at times he waits too long before making any adjustments. This class, and also 432 in spring, involved an extensive use of MATLAB. He is always willing to help you out in his office. But don't expect to be able to understand the first time around.
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 10:13 pm, Jan 27, 2004 Report Evaluation		Gu's a great teacher!! hw is due once a week and there is a quiz every week, they're never that difficult if you pay attention in class. There are 2 midterms and a final. For review he gives you 15 or so hw problems and tells you the test is going to be 5-6 of these questions with the numbers changed, how easy is that? He also curves his tests. I would definitely recommend Gu he's the best math teacher I've had at Poly.
MATH 418 Graduate Student Grade Earned: N/A Required (Support) 6:08 pm, Oct 28, 2003 Report Evaluation		Professor Gu is a nice man, however, that does not make him a good teacher. What I've learned, I've learned by reading the book and speaking to other professors. Professor Gu has a very difficult time communicating clearly. He often gets sidetracked during lecture and ends up confusing himself and us. He also does a lot of steps in his head. Likely, he is a math wizzard but that aside, skipping important steps makes it difficult to understand the lecture and consequently, the lecture notes. He also does not have a particularly good understanding of the physical phenomena that the math is modeling. This may be fine for math majors, but for engineering majors, it's a huge drawback. Most of us need to form some sort of physical understanding of the equations, Prof. Gu is unable to help with this. I would not reccomend this teacher for partials, however I haven't heard of a professor (yet) that is any better. As far as tests are concerned, they aren't too bad. They are straight forward and directly from the homework. However, the homework load is heavy, particularly since you have to teach yourself in order to do the problems.
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 10:35 am, Apr 1, 2003 Report Evaluation		Choose this professor!!! Aside from his accent he presents the material very well and understands the students difficulties. He gives a quiz at the end of every week but he tells you what to study for (its only one problem), 2 midterms and 1 final. He curves... a lot! Homework is given every day.
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 12:16 am, Dec 22, 2002 Report Evaluation		Professor Gu was actually a pretty good teacher. He covers most of the material really well and gives you a heads up on what's going to be on the quizzes (one every Friday) and even on the 2 midterms that he gives. However his final is quite difficult, but not impossible (seeing as how I got an A). Nevertheless, I took the workshop for his class and would definetly recommend a workshop for anyone who's never had Calculus before... I personally took Calculus in high school and passed the AP test with a 3, yet opted to take this class again, thus explaining my A. Last but not least Gu is a chinese prof, thus he has a fairly big accent and sometimes even tends to say stuff out loud in chinese by accident... once again I understood him better than others because I am chinese, hahaha, yet I still think he's hard to understand sometimes.
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 10:45 pm, Dec 19, 2002 Report Evaluation		This teacher is not as bad as people say. He does decently on lectures and wants people to succeed. However, don't slack... I did and didn't do as well as I should. Always do you homework... It wil saved you. It did for me. If it wasn't for the homework, I would have failed if it wasn't for the homework. Don't be too scared about the class. Just pray that the class isn't filled with people that already had Calculus. He grades the final grade on an asian style curve. Basically he curves it depending on how he thinks the class should get as a whole. If the overall class is good, the grading is a little bit harder.
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 1:36 pm, Dec 18, 2002 Report Evaluation		Gu is from China. So he has an accent. Big deal! It's math, not much talking is needed and I could totally understand him. I had never taken Calculus before and now I understand it. He always answered our questions in class and wouldn't get annoyed. He's very approachable. He's a very smart mathematician and I think he explained everything really well. Just make sure to go to class everytime because he explains it in different ways than the book and I think his ways are better. And the main reason to take this guy is it's an easy A! (2 midterms 5 problems each! and he told us which problems would be on them! 13 problems on the final!)
MATH 141 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 5:19 pm, Nov 13, 2002 Report Evaluation		Although Dr. Gu is a kind person who listens to you and tries to help, he never fully understands what is going on. I'm not one to talk, simply because I had a difficult quarter, but I found this teacher incredibly difficult to understand, comprehend, and like. Because of his constant pauses in the lecture to translate back and forth between Chinese and English almost half of my class was consistantly asleep. He would explain a theory, do a problem, then move on without asking if there were questions. On top of all this the examples he gave rarely correlated with the book or were much easier than the problems assigned. When you are learning new concepts, it's impossible to try and figure out what's happening, especially when "ech sqarrd eqwas dis".
MATH 143 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 2:12 pm, Jul 17, 2002 Report Evaluation		Good teacher who is passionate about math and cares about students. People need to get over the fact that he has an accent, who cares? Homework problems are mainly odd, so homework answers are available before class making it less stressful and easier to do the homework. Tests are fair. Do the Chapter Review problems that he gives, they will help out with studying for the tests.
MATH 317 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 4:10 pm, Mar 11, 2002 Report Evaluation		First off. Gu has an accent that is a little hard to understand at first, but if you pay attention, you will quickely pick it up. Second, he is a really smart and friendly teacher who makes every effort to help his students. He is very amiable and available during office hours. I took him for MATH 142, and now for 317, and he seems to grade fairly consistantly. If you don't like something he does in class, TELL HIM! He'll probably try to change what he's doing!
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 8:17 pm, Feb 18, 2002 Report Evaluation		yes he is hard to understand sometimes and man can the class get boring, just cause he is boring, but he gives lots of examples in class of how to do the problems, and is very helpful in office hours. he is a little harsh on the grading, but he grades on a curve, so it balances out, take him if there isnt anybody better, like greenwald, agronsky or mueller.
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 3:54 pm, Feb 6, 2002 Report Evaluation		Dr. Gu is an excellent teacher. Sometimes the difficulty is understanding his accent, but an overall good professor. Very dedicated to helping students learn the material.
MATH 143 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 8:33 pm, Jan 29, 2002 Report Evaluation		I though Profesor Gu was an extremely good teacher. Like others before have said, his accent does make it a little diffcult to understand at times, but once you got used to it, it really wasn't that bad. He cared a lot about Math, and he made sure that the rest of the class could understand what he was doing. I felt he did a very good job presenting the material, and I understood almost everything he taught. He is much better than my current professor, and I wish I had him again, so I could understand what is being taught. I would definatly recomend taking this teacher.
MATH 143 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 9:37 pm, Jan 8, 2002 Report Evaluation		his accent really can be distracting. i remember hearing him say taylor series and i couldn't figure out if he was saying power series or something else. since he grades the quizzes and tests, he notices if we are having trouble. going to his office hours would be a good thing to do, however i only did it 3 times. homework is overwhelming, but isn't due until next week which is very good. however how to do some of the homework may be discussed in class 2 days later or so. i think he is pretty good, and if i actually studied for the final, i would have gotten my b. oh yeah, he is very open to discussing your grade on the exam with you, so take advantage of that. you may get 1 or 2 more points, well every point counts and all.
MATH 143 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:38 pm, Jan 7, 2002 Report Evaluation		This professor is very passionate about math. That is good because he tries his hardest to make a generally boring subject interesting. His biggest difficulty is his heavy accent, and excessive teaching speed. To him, this material is elementary, so his speed in lectures is sometimes overwhelming. Hands flying over the chalkboard, writing and erasing almost faster than he can talk. He encourages students to ask for help, because he knows this will slow him somewhat. Overall, a good teacher who takes just a little extra effort to understand.
MATH 143 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 9:50 pm, Jan 7, 2002 Report Evaluation		Dr. Gu was an awesome professor. He's totally the opposite of what these other ratings say. He has an accent, yes, but its extremely easy to understand him. He speaks English just fine. Also, he's got a great format for teaching the class and doesn't worry about algebra as much as the calculus concepts. He is a great professor and having failed this class before, and passing it with a B proves it. You won't regret it if you take him!
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 11:35 am, Nov 15, 2001 Report Evaluation		great help in office hours! - tests are fair
MATH 304 Junior Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001 Report Evaluation		He's a pretty nice guy. He seems to really care about the students and knows the material well. However it was really hard for me to understand him during lecture. He has a really heavy ascent and his english vocabulary is pretty limited to say the least. I remember during one lecture we spent about 5 minutes helping him remember an english word. Sometimes he was pretty unprepared for class. During another lecture he got stuck working a problem and we just sat in our desks for 10 minutes watching him think. Now, when I had him I believe it was his first quarter teaching here so chances are that if you get him he will be more organized, prepared and for his sake more understandable.
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001 Report Evaluation		Gu has a really good personality and he tries to make the material really interesting. However, i had a very difficult time understanding him because he has a very thick accent. There were days when i just sat in class and paid no attention to what he said because i couldnt understand him. He really tried hard to answer students questions to the best of his ability and he REALLY knows the material well. We had weekly quizzes, which were pretty straight forward and fairly easy. The final was harder than the quizzes.
MATH 317 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001 Report Evaluation		Gu cares a lot about his students, a quality you don't find in other teachers on campus. He knows his material quite well, however, his accent does make conveying his topics a little hard to understand at times. One of the few teachers that understands that you have more than one class. Flexible with office hours and is willing to spend as much time as you need to understanding the subject well. Another good point is the practical uses he provides on fourier transforms/series. Take this professor if you have the opportunity to.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 12:26 pm, Dec 4, 2000 Report Evaluation		Dr. Caixing Gu is a very nice and friendly teacher. He tries hard to explain untill you get it. He gives good examples, tries to make the material clearly and simple as possible. His tests are little bit hard but also straight forward and he grades fairly. Eventhough, he has accent but you can still understand him cause he teaches very well. Highly recomended!!!
MATH 241 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 8:26 pm, Nov 18, 2000 Report Evaluation		As a 1st time Freshman, I was concerned about the clarity and the difficulty of the math material presented in a Cal Poly course. Dr. Gu demonstrated a traditional atmosphere in his lectures which only required close attention (partly because English is a 2nd or 3rd language for him) and some effort outside the course set aside for homework. His exam questions are fair, consistent with his grading. His understanding of the course material itself and
MATH 221 Freshman Grade Earned: A Required (Support) 8:11 pm, Oct 19, 2000 Report Evaluation		Dr. Gu really had a passion for math, as evident in his lectures. Yes, it is a bit difficult to understand what he says sometimes, but that just means that you have to listen more carefully to what he says. He is a very competent teacher and you can learn a lot from him if you pay attention. Often his upbeat attitude keeps you awake and laughing. =) Each of the two midterms had about 7 questions and hir final about 14. His tests are comprehensive and easy to follow if your homework is done. Overall, I recommend Dr. Gu without hestitation.
MATH 318 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 5:49 pm, Sep 25, 2000 Report Evaluation		Exams are difficult but his overall grading is more than fair. I did not have any problems understanding what Dr. Gu said but that is not to say that others may have had problems. Grades are based on exams only which sucks since you have to do homework anyways if you plan on passing. But, if I would have put in any effort at all in this class it would have been an easy A but it was summer school and I didn't want to.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 5:16 pm, Apr 18, 2000 Report Evaluation		This professor sucks. He did not teach to the students at all. He just did examples on the board, with his body in the way, not caring if students could see, or understand what he was doing. His accent was so strong, that he was hard to understand. One time in class, before finals, he spent ten minutes trying to fugure out how to do a problem. Hmm, whos the teacher here? I would definately not recomend this teacher.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 5:51 pm, Apr 16, 2000 Report Evaluation		Most students complained about his ability to present the material in class. He was not fair in his grading on tests. His second mid-term he had everyone redo because they did so poorly. He was fair in the overall grading in the class. Some people found his accent (Chinese) hard to understand as well. But take a teacher that you can learn from.
MATH 142 Freshman Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 4:50 pm, Mar 26, 2000 Report Evaluation		dr. gu is a nice guy, however, he doesn't present the material very well or clearly. usually, he just gives you a couple of example problems on the board and does them, then sends you on your way. the whole key to this course is in the homework. do that and you'll do decently.
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 10:23 am, Feb 18, 2000 Report Evaluation		Dr. Gu means well when it comes to teaching this course. You can tell he really likes math, and is very knowledgable on the subject. I didn't find his accent hard to understand (you get used to it) but because Chinese is his first language, sometimes things get lost in the translation. This made it harder for me to learn this already difficult subject. The plus side is that he is well aware that he sometimes does not make sense and is always asking if there are questions.
MATH 241 Sophomore Grade Earned: D Required (Support) 10:09 am, Jan 5, 2000 Report Evaluation		Dr. Gu did not explain the material of this class well at all. As mentioned, his accent is quite thick, and makes it very difficult for students to understand what he is saying. I found his lectures pointless, and found myself going to my previous math teacher for help, and doing countless practice problems on my own. I went to every lecture, though it didn't seem to help much. He is friendly at office hours, but never finished a problem to completion. If you can understand math w/o a lecture, you will do fine. Otherwise, take someone you can understand.

	Home      Go Back       Professor List       Professor Search

This site has been accessed 1810060 times since 1.9.99 Polyratings.com, Version 3.5.1 © copyright 1998-2012 All rights reserved Based on the OpenRatings professor ratings engine