Spring 2027

Techniques in Ordinary Differential Equations

Techniques in Ordinary Differential Equations covering linear DEs, series solutions, boundary value problems, Laplace transforms, and possibly numerical methods and autonomous systems.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Leslie Smith

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Jessica Lin, Minh Binh Tran

Lectures sometimes moved quickly, making it easy to get lost. Exams had a heavy time crunch, though students noted that questions were often taken directly from homework or recommended problems.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Recall and state the formal definitions, properties, and theorems associated to ordinary differential equations (e.g. systems of linear ODEs, homogeneous/inhomogeneous ODEs, series solutions, Laplace transform, equilibria, etc.).

  • Verify if a mathematical object has a given property used in ODEs (e.g. that a problem is well-posed, that a given function is a solution, etc.).

  • Apply algorithms to describe the solutions to various types of ODEs (e.g. separable equations, linear systems, boundary value problems, etc.).

  • Check the premises of theorems used in elementary ODEs in order to apply their conclusions (e.g., that a given equation satisfies conditions which guarantee the existence of a solution).

  • Apply the presented techniques for solving ODEs to solve problems from physics (e.g. spring problems, pendulum problems, etc.).

  • Express informal mathematical arguments in English using appropriate mathematical terminology and notation.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

MATH 222 or graduate/professional standing

  • take one
MATH 319 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Any of

Professors

Spring 2027
Historical instructors & teaching patterns

DAVID H CAMACHO is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2009, Fall 2012. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ISMOR FISCHER is recorded teaching in Spring 2019, Fall 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JESSICA LIN is recorded teaching in Spring 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MATTHEW JOHNSTON is recorded teaching in Fall 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MIHAELA IFRIM is recorded teaching in Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MIKHAIL FELDMAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2010, Fall 2010. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MINH BINH TRAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MUSTAFA KALAFAT is recorded teaching in Fall 2009. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SHARAD CHANDARANA is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

XIUXIONG CHEN is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

YAO YAO is recorded teaching in Fall 2012. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 320
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1120
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 320
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 320
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 310

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Yao Yao, Minh Binh Tran

Students found the course manageable when instructors provided clear explanations and predictable homework structures. Some reported that exams were straightforward and directly reflected the assigned problems.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.36 GPA, 71.2% A/AB (n=104 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.62 GPA, 81.0% A/AB (n=116 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.51 GPA, 74.3% A/AB (n=109 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Jessica Lin, Minh Binh Tran

Lectures sometimes moved quickly, making it easy to get lost. Exams had a heavy time crunch, though students noted that questions were often taken directly from homework or recommended problems.

Past student reviews · Yao Yao, Mihaela Ifrim

Feedback varied significantly by instructor; one student praised a professor's clarity and humor, while another struggled with a different instructor's handwriting and accent.

Topics

  • Linear differential equations, series solutions, boundary value problems, Laplace transforms, numerical methods, and two-dimensional autonomous systems.

Skills

  • Recall and state formal definitions, properties, and theorems for ordinary differential equations.
  • Apply algorithms to describe solutions to various types of ODEs.
  • Apply ODE solving techniques to physics problems such as springs and pendulums.
  • Express informal mathematical arguments using appropriate terminology and notation.

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.20 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
MATH 319 · Spring 2027

Techniques in Ordinary Differential Equations

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:600:011645",
    "course_id": "MATH 319",
    "course_uid": "course_1f8e8903c7761a5fe852a4bc",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "011645",
    "source_subject_id": "600",
    "title": "Techniques in Ordinary Differential Equations",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "c092f46e00e8c9268a8e2053ebe80ea361d5e21cb2fd9975d9ab9a3b9cfdbf55",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}