MATH 1010
Dr. Sarah J. Greenwald

Office 326 Walker Hall 262-2363 Office Hours (see web page), or by appointment

Web Page http://www.cs.appstate.edu/ ~ sjg/class/1010/1010.html (Check this often!)

E-mail [email protected] I usually check e-mail every day, and this is the easiest way to contact me outside of class and office hours.

Policies

Attendance and participation are expected and required.

Please try to be punctual in attending, as I try to start each class on time.

You are responsible for all material covered and all announcements and assignments made at each class, whether you are present or not. You are also responsible for announcements made on the web pages, so check these frequently.

I will often facilitate discussion in order to reinforce concepts. Rather than lecturing from the textbook and then responding to your questions, I will combine some lecturing with being your ``coach'' as you explore problems, either individually or in groups, which facilitate discussion, as well as deep understanding of the material. Students report, and surveys document, more involvement, interest, and enthusiasm by students who take exploration based courses.

I will gladly meet with you during my office hours or by appointment, and I will try to respond to any concerns you may have.

Asking questions, and explaining things to others, in or out of class, is one of the best ways to improve your understanding of the material. So, we will sometimes vary the structure, so that students work in small groups on problems, or present solutions at the board. The course is to be an environment in which everyone feels comfortable asking questions, making mistakes and offering good guesses and correct solutions.

When you have difficulty with the material, or are otherwise concerned about your work in the course, see me and I'll see what I can do to help. You may wish to obtain a private tutor for this course through the learning assistance program (LAP).

Written Work

We'll use the top-down approach to problem solving throughout the course. When attempting a problem, try to break it into successively simpler pieces which you can solve. Then, try to to reassemble the pieces into a solution of the original problem. You should explore each question and write out your thinking in a way that can be shared with others. Focus on your own ideas. Turn in homework even if it is not complete, even if only to say, "I do not understand such and such" or "I am stuck here." Be as specific as possible. Conjecture. Use pictures.

You must turn in all written work on time, but revisions are allowed in response to comments I have made. Respond to the comments-use them as invitations to clarify your understanding of the problem or our understanding of your solution. You cannot turn in revisions unless you have turned in work when it was originally due. When turning in revisions, you must address the grader's comments on your original paper, and must resubmit the original paper along with the revision. See the web page for revision due dates. Typically, you will have 1.5 weeks from the due date to revise your work.

It is important that your work be neat and coherent, in addition to being mathematically correct, even if you are turning in a partially completed problem. You will not receive credit for homework which is not clearly organized and easily readable. All work and problems must be answered with a brief (if possible) and careful explanation. In particular, if an exercise is a "yes/no" or "true/false" type of question, a simple "Yes" or "False" is not sufficient. An answer requires an explanation on your part for credit.

This course carries a "W" designator. That means that you are expected to write well and frequently. If you have trouble writing, come see me - there are places I can send you for help!

Plan to spend at least 10 hours per week, out of class, studying for this course.

Read your textbook! How do You Know? Using Math to Make Decisions is more than just a collection of exercises. Always read the text and worked examples in the relevant section before attending lectures and attempting the exercises.

Do plenty of exercises, more than those that are assigned.

Work with friends and compare your answers. You should write up work on your own, however. Submitting someone else's work as your own (PLAGIARISM) is a serious violation of the University's Academic Integrity Code.

When working on an assignment, make certain you are doing the correct problems - in an English class you would not get credit for answering the wrong essay question.

Grades

Participation and Group Work 10% (participation, problem presentations, in class work, as well as newsgroup participation) Attendance and participation is expected and required. Missing more 8 hours during the course (careful - the lab is 2 hours!) will result in a grade of F.

Homework and Project Reports 50% (see also written work-above and Guidelines for Writing for more details) Homework and Computer Project Reports, consisting of handwritten and/or computer work, will be collected at the begining of class. Revisions will be accepted and are encouraged and are due by 5pm on the date indicated on the web. Each person is allowed one computer crisis. Otherwise, no late HW accepted.

Exams 20% No make-up exams will be given

Final Exam 20%

You must show work and give written explanations on all work turned in. Work will not be accepted without explanation and must also be turned in on or before the due date. If there is some reason you must miss a class, then e-mail me, or talk to me about and turn in the assignment early into my mailbox.