[WHAT IS DUE WHEN] Our Text [Cool calculus links to check out]
As you see this sentence concentrations of ions in your brain are changing, allowing electricity to pass along neurons, allowing your brain to do this amazing thing called reading. Not into brains? Try this: a billion or so years ago two black holes spiraled in on each other blasting out waves in the fabric of spacetime that we humans just detected for the first time a year ago. Wow! Colossal! Why do I bring this up? Both of these amazing events are just dripping with calculus, derivatives all over the place. Anytime there is interesting change (changing ion concentrations, changing curvature of space) there is calculus. Becoming fluent with introductory calculus is the point of this course. And here we are, getting to work on gaining this fluency together!
And how do we do it? Hard work! Here is the plan:
About me: Liz Stanhope
Office 302 Bodine Hall
Office Hours: posted here
Text: Active Calculus, by Matthew Boelkins, David Austin and Steven Schlicker.
This text is available for free through the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Course philosophy: Suppose after watching the Olympics this summer you've decided that you would like to take up the balance beam. So to teach you I hop up on a beam in front of class and do some handstands and cartwheels. Then I ask you to copy what I did on your own at home, and expect a quiz on beam skills next week. This is not good! Sports are learned by doing, not watching! Math is the same way. Because of this we will spend much of our time together doing calculus. I will be the class coach, steering the class towards our key ideas, pointing out areas for growth as you practice, and cheering when ideas come together. I ask you to work very hard (calculus is worth it!), come to class prepared by doing reading and Preview Activities, engage fully in every class, and give Individual and Team Homework your best effort. In response you are invited to advise me (one-on-one, or on mid-semester surveys) in how the course is going: What can I do to be sure you are getting the most out of Math 131?
What is graded? Why is it graded?
Preview Activities (10%): These activities show that you have worked through the basics of a topic and a ready to devote class time to more complex ideas. Doing basics in class is uninteresting and leaves students having to learn the more complex material on their own, without instructor support. When assigned, Preview Activities are due BEFORE class. Email Liz (stanhope at lclark dot edu) a scanned version of your solutions to the Preview Activity BEFORE class. In the title of the email write "Preview Activity 1.1" (or whichever number it is). Bring a hard copy of your solution to class that day.
Twice a week Individual Homework (11%): The point of individual homework is to hone your skills in working calculus problems. Just like cartwheels or playing the piano, regular practice is necessary to develop proficiency in calculus topics.
Once a week Team Homework (19% times team factor*): Numerous studies (Graham et. al., Epstein) indicate that active, team-based learning is vital to student success in science, technology, engineering and mathematical fields (STEM). Also, the workplace frequently expects employees to work in teams, Google is one example. Finally I believe one of the coolest things about doing math in this wonderful liberal arts setting is that you gain both technical skills (say, calculus) and communication skills (say, reading, writing and speaking about technical things). So in the spirit of learning by doing, Team Homework is an important aspect of this course. This TEAM HOMEWORK WRITING page includes what you need to know for writing up your Team Homework assignments. This TEAM HOMEWORK ROLES AND ADVICE page explains the roles of each team member as well as some advice to make sure your team functions well.
Two Midterm Exams (19% each): These test your ability to synthesize course materials. Specifically they are a place to demonstrate your A level work, as described here in the college catalog and here as well: "A: Outstanding work that goes beyond analysis of course material to synthesize concepts in a valid and/or novel or creative way.
One Gateway Exam: The Gateway Exam is the place to demonstrate the symbolic skills needed to compute derivatives. To pass a Gateway Exam you must answer 8 out of the 10 questions correctly. It will be conducted once in class, and if you do not pass you may take the Gateway Exam outside of class as many times as needed to pass. Note that you may take at most two Gateway Exams in one day. Failure to pass the Gateway Exam will result in your final course grade being reduced by one letter grade.
One Final Exam (22%): The goal of final exam is similar to that of a midterm exam however ideas from the entire course will be tested on the final.
Course Exams and Due Dates
October 4: Midterm Exam 1 (please plan to be in class from 11:30-12:30)
October 28: In-Class Gateway Exam (might change depending on our pace in class)
November 15: Midterm Exam 2 (please plan to be in class from 11:30-12:30)
December 13: Math 131 Final Exam 1:00-4:00 (unexcused absences from this exam result in a score of 0)
Eight Team Homework assignments will be due on the following Thursdays: Sept. 8, Sept. 15, Sept. 22, Sept. 29, Oct. 13, Oct. 20, Nov. 3, Nov. 10.
Call for all A's: This course is not curved, nor is it a 'weeder' course. I hope very much that everyone earns an A.
HELP! There are several sources of help for Math 131 students. Please do not ever hesitate to come to my office hours. Peer help is available at Lewis & Clark's Symbolic and Quantitative Resource Center. My webpage on study strategies is a great source of ideas if you feel like you don't know how to approach this course, or if you feel like you are putting in a lot of studying hours but still not learning as much as you hope to. The college also has a free one-on-one peer tutoring program through the Student Academic Affairs Board (SAAB).
Inclusive Classroom The College mission statement states that Lewis and Clark "seeks to be a community of scholars who are alive to inquiry, open to diversity, and disciplined to work in an interdependent world." In this spirit we expect that all of our statements and actions will be based on mutual respect. If you have ideas about how our classroom could be made more inclusive, please don't hesitate to discuss them with myself or Balal.
Special Needs If you have a disability that may affect your academic performance, you may request accommodations by submitting documentation to the Student Support Services Office in Albany Quadrangle (x7191), and that office will notify us of the accommodations for which you are eligible. We cannot provide accommodations without notification from Student Support Services.
*This score will be multiplied by a Peer Team Evaluation factor determined by your group members. We will practice this peer-evaluation method around mid-semester, and the actual factor to be used in grading will be determined by your peers at the end of the semester.