Reviews for Horst E. Winkelnkemper
Average Rating:| Anonymous Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: B May 20, 2011, 12:59 pm | Winlelnkemper is really a sweet guy who wants you to do well and you can tell by the way he grades. No one really knows how, but this is what we know: His weekly homework assignments are pretty much extra credit, but DO them. They really, really help and show up on the exams. Exams offer 600 points, but you only need 400 to get an A. For the final, you might do terribly, but it shouldn't bring down your grade too badly unless you score like 2 letters under the grade you have. In class, he might make a lot of mistakes, but at least it keeps you on your toes. Just make sure you're paying attention. He also has some funny mannerisms including his wardrobe, but they make his class more interesting. Overall, I recommend 141H with Winkelnkemper. He makes Calculus not so rigorous. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: May 19, 2011, 12:45 pm | I hope I can take another Math class with this man in the future. He is clearly a genius, and is one of the most unique people I have ever met. He teaches by example, rather than explicitly explaining concepts, so if you don't learn that way, you may struggle (but, if that's how you learn, you're in for a great class). He's old and can make some mistakes sometimes, but he does so many examples that you eventually understand. His curves are ridiculous - I think it is impossible to fail this class, and tests are straightforward & based off of his examples. Despite initially reading reviews on ourumd saying I wouldnt learn anything by taking Winkelnkemper, I actually learned a lot from Winkelnkemper, and really enjoyed Calc 2. Homework was collected but never graded, and the pace of the class was fairly stress-free. DEFINITELY take this man for calculus if you have the chance! |
| Anonymous Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: A May 14, 2011, 9:56 am | Winkelnkemper is a solid teacher. You will learn Calc 2 pretty well with him, and might come to enjoy math. You will probably also get an A with some work. I would recommend him. There are two exams(big curve) and a final which should all be fine if you study. There is also weekly homework based on completion which will bump up your grade a little by a plus (B to B+ or B+ to A-). First off, let me say that I learned a lot. I had to do some work though. Winkelnkemper does a lot of examples. He rushes through them, but you can stop and ask him questions during it. He is responsive to student concerns during the class. You will have to work outside of class to understand the material like in any Math class. Overall though he was a solid math teacher. Even though he rushes a little bit, he does a lot of good examples, and everyone in the class can work together with him to figure out his work. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH402 Grade Expected: B April 27, 2011, 4:44 pm | During a typical lecture Winkelnkemper will stand directly in front of the blackboard copying his notes from his paper to the board, pronouncing each symbol as he writes it. He reaches the bottom of the board and then erases it. Repeat. Then at the end of his notes he scrambles out to his office and doesn't hang around to answer questions. In fact he's never asked if anyone has questions, which is in a way fortunate since when someone tries to ask one anyway it takes an agonizing back-and-forth of shouting and gesticulating to communicate the question. I've had many questions but feel extremely discouraged from asking. Office hours would be an nightmare. The blackboard scribblings are occasionally inarticulate and logical leaps only become clear after 30 mins of studying your notes. Notes taken from the board are useless; you need to commit to rewriting your notes every night to understand what's going on. But to give him credit I've never found an error in his notes; though I get really frustrated I can at least count on the literal correctness of whatever he writes. Even worse than the note-copying behavior though is when he tries to explain something on the fly. He will write an expression or two as he talks, and if you can catch up with copying notes before he erases them then those few expressions won't make any sense in the flow of the notes. I feel like I don't understand algebra very well after taking this course. Gulick's advice is "If you take him you'll get a good grade but you won't learn anything." For example I accept the validity of the proofs connecting the concepts of units of a field (elements with inverses) and factoring polynomials, but I'm completely bewildered by the connection. He offers no commentary at all about why inverses should have anything at all to do with factoring. Many other issues like this are also a problem... As other reviewers said he grades very easily. With every test comes a true/false quiz which gives you +10 points for every correctly answered question and -5 points for every incorrectly answered question, so obviously just guess if you don't know the answer. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: A- December 6, 2010, 10:32 am | Definitely a unique experience taking his class. Winkelnkemper is a genius and he knows the material extremely well, but this also causes confusion in his class. He will skip steps when doing problems because he can do them in his head, while the class is left wondering what he just did. If you haven't already taken calc 2 then this class may be a bit more of a struggle for you because its hard to learn from this guy. However, I would recommend taking this class because of the grading method. I got a 75% and a 60% on both of our tests during the semester, and those were both high A's. He will go over everything on the test in the days leading up to it, often working out exact problems that will be on the test, so pay attention the days before tests and you will do fine. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH274 Grade Expected: A+ May 26, 2010, 8:52 pm | Professor Winkelnkemper is funny and engaging, and it seems like the material of the course is something he wants to teach. His lectures are sometimes a little messy, and he sometimes makes kind of basic mistakes in the arithmetic that are hard to convince him he's made. This class was very, very easy if you'd taken math classes (i.e. stuff beyond calc I), since you'll probably have already have seen most of the proofs that are on the midterm and final. The people in the class who hadn't seen a lot of the proofs, and weren't all that comfortable with proofs who struggled a bit with the material. But like all the reviews say, he's pretty much the easiest grader ever. I got well over 100% on both the midterm and the final, and I'm pretty sure, even if you weren't all that comfortable with the material, you could probably get As on the exams with maybe an hour or two of studying. |
| MusickVideo Course: MATH463 Grade Expected: A May 20, 2010, 9:45 am | Winkelnkemper is, admittedly, not normal; he does not use email, he does not have a formal syllabus or technique for computing grades, and he never grades/looks at homework. However, do not let this fool you, as he is actually a very good professor! Classes are spent going through basic theory and a few small proofs (memorize these proofs; they appear on exams and are weighed heavily), and then going through millions of examples that pretty much answer every question you would have had. Homework is collected every week, though never graded or looked at. Exams are very long, but you only need about 60% for an A on them. Despite the unusual teaching style and classroom environment, this course is not difficult and if you pay attention in class, you'll own the exams. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH463 Grade Expected: A April 29, 2010, 8:49 am | This professor didn't have much of a syllabus. It basically said homework was assigned and due on Thursdays (which, to his credit, never changed), and that there would be some amount of exams at some point during the semester. I attended every class in order to get/turn-in the homework, find out about the exams, and of course to get helpful hints like "this could be worth a lot of points on an exam". But in the end, I didn't pay a lick of attention during lecture, ever. I read the book to learn the material, and then only to do the homework and study for any exams, which was a maximum of reading the book twice a week (and even then, not very thoroughly). The class was easy. The material is moderately hard, certainly easier than proof classes, but a little more nuanced and challenging than real calculus. The professor was probably alright at teaching. He worked a lot of examples to explain concepts. I just wasn't interested. |
| sillyputty184 Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: B April 19, 2010, 2:14 pm | Pretty much learned nothing because he just generally does not make sense. german by way of mexico. has three pairs of pants and two shirts. he loves imaginary numbers. super smart guy, terrible class. hugely curved though, no idea how i got a B. Easy enough A or B for calc II, but a bad idea to take if you plan on going on to calc III. i've never had problems with math until i showed up to calc at UMD. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: A+ April 7, 2010, 1:00 pm | He's an interesting teacher... he mostly does proofs and example problems to illustrate concepts rather than outrightly explaining them. If you don't learn well that way, then read the book. Regardless, he is absolutely hilarious and puts a huge curve on the class. I always enjoyed his lectures. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: January 25, 2010, 8:29 am | A very relaxed class...mainly because I barely learned anything. Exams have unreal curves and he teaches by examples and proofs. Very funny prof though. Definitely a unique experience! |
| freeman1 Course: MATH463 Grade Expected: A December 18, 2009, 2:31 pm | Not the greatest teacher. Teaches by example so you can learn from him. Showing up to class helps if you want to see example problems. Need to know the proofs for the exam. Got a 286/535 on the first exam and got an A. There will be two or three proofs on the exam. Just memorize them. First exam two proofs worth 110 out of 535 total. Good professor for elective class. Second exam is much harder. I only got 125/600 points but that came out to be a flat C with the curve. The Final is a repeat of the first two midterms. 400/800 points is an A. Just study the midterms and you should do fine. |
| satz24 Course: MATH402 Grade Expected: C May 18, 2009, 3:28 pm | This man is a joke of a professor. Sure, you can read these other reviews which state that he basically gives you the tests before hand, and then inflates your grade not only throughout, but at the end too. As an education major, i can see his philosophy is simply he doesn't care. the students who get A's are students who study hard memorizing his examples. the students who want to learn, can struggle because he actually doesn't teach, so reviewing is very difficult. if you do happen to take this guy, know that you wont learn ANYTHING, but you can get an A+ if you do 350 points out of 500 on the "hourlies." you will, however, memorize a great deal of problems that you have no idea what they are. this man makes teaching look like a circus... |
| emf Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: April 21, 2009, 10:24 pm | A very interesting guy. Every class would just be him doing examples the entire time. He never interacted with the class, he just wrote on the chalkboard the whole time. He might look back at the students 2 or 3 times the whole class. He would say some pretty interesting and funny things, but he was really difficult to understand. A note about his curve...I got a D on our only test and C on the final and still got an A for the class. |
| jwong89 Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: B April 19, 2009, 9:37 pm | Great professor. He's difficult to understand at first, but once you get used to the accent it's actually really amusing to listen to him talk. He teaches well, goes over a lot of examples. Homework was collected once a week and never given back so I assume it was more of a completion grade then whether or not you actually got the problems right. Tests were really easy because he gives sample exams and the actual exams would be similar. Some of the problems would even be the exact same problem just with different numbers. The tests would be a bunch of problems and you would only have to get about half of the possible points to get an A so you could just choose the ones you know best. Unfortunately, the common final for MATH141 was not nearly as easy as Winkelnkemper's tests (screwed me over at least) so you have to watch out for that. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: March 23, 2009, 11:40 am | I hope you can take this man for Calculus II. He's hilarious on top of being a good teacher. His tests are easy and this class will not stress you out like other professors would make it. |
| hcnguyen88 Course: MATH463 Grade Expected: A December 29, 2008, 2:15 pm | Very funny teacher. The lectures can be confusing but he often reteaches the more difficult material two or three times. The homework is easy (most of the time) and the tests are very much like the homework. He curves a lot -- best professor for a non-math major to take. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH463 Grade Expected: A November 9, 2008, 1:31 pm | Take this professor. There are some professors at UMD that will teach you nothing but give you A's, and some will teach you a lot but nearly fail you. This guy is the best of both worlds. He is loud, weird, and really funny in his own way. I laugh at least 1 time per class. He does loads of examples, and his exams are basically just like the homework. The exams will have a LOT of questions. It will also ask you for 2-3 proofs that he performed in class. These proofs are the brunt of the points, so MEMORIZE THEM!!! Since you won't finish the test anyway, the strategy is basically to answer a little bit of each question. If you can't do the entire thing, no worries, just set up the problem and move on, you will get half credit. The test will have some enormous point value (ours had 590 points) but it will be out of roughly half (300/590 = 100% on the exam). If you don't get an A in this class, then you are incredibly lazy. Basically this professor is the best bet for non math majors. If you are taking this course as an elective for minor gains in your actual major, then this is the man for you. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH463 Grade Expected: A September 29, 2008, 1:25 pm | Horst Elmar Winkelnkemper. 50% = A, He collects homeworks once a week which he never ever returns or grades for that matter. If you don't at least smile once per lecture, there's something wrong with you. |
| umdisbest Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: A- May 21, 2008, 11:40 am | I love this man. He's a little incoherent and he smells like an old person but he's a nice guy. His lectures are pretty boring but most people did crosswords to pass the time. He teaches by example and puts a couple ridiculous proofs on exams, so just memorize them. You can get about 50% on each exam and pull off an A. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: April 28, 2008, 11:53 pm | A very unique professor. The lectures are very very very boring with sporadic moments of him giving funny comments. He will give you the basic concept and then do a lot of of examples, mostly from the book. Most people in class either bring their laptop or do a crossword/sudoku puzzle to pass the time. Exams are quite easy to get an A on because there is a HUGE curve. Like 350/600 is an A. Take this class if you want an easy A for Calc II but not if you want to be prepped well for Calc III. |
| Anonymous Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: A March 4, 2008, 7:26 am | Fun teacher - crazy guy! If you want an easy A for Calc II, take this class, but it will not prepare you extremely well for calc III... |
| kiterunner Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: A+ December 22, 2007, 7:51 am | An extremely fair grader and decent professor. Exams are easy to get an A on, regardless of how much you actually know. |
| TVanBlar Course: MATH141H Grade Expected: A November 28, 2007, 7:02 am | This guy is insane. Born in Germany raised in Mexico. It takes a few classes to understand him and get used to him. Skims material but does many, many examples. Tests are extremely easy, like 360/600 is an A. Fun stuff overall but I don't know how much I actually leaerned. |
| joe23 Course: MATH401 Grade Expected: A October 25, 2007, 6:55 pm | Decent professor. Lectures weren't particularly interesting, but they weren't boring. He starts at the basics and builds from there. So even if you know little about linear algebra, you won't get lost. If you prepare for them, the exams aren't that bad. They are curved so even if you get a lot wrong you can get an A. You don't even have to be good at proofs to get an A, but you do need to remember how to solve the various types of problems. Overall, it was fairly easy for a 400 level math class. |