Pre-Calculus Essentials

Welcome! We hope you are looking forward to the fall semester. We are excited to offer you the opportunity to participate in a special program designed to help you get a head start in your first year math courses here at Cal. Below we have lots of information on the program, and you can find the sign-up link at the very bottom of the page , enrollment opens Monday, July 19th, 2021.

What is this?

Pre-Calculus Essentials is a short course covering foundational topics from algebra and pre-calculus. It was designed specifically for students intending to take Math 1A, 10A, 16A, or 32 here at Berkeley. This online course will run from July 26th through August 13, 2021.

We know many students have a difficult time transitioning from high school mathematics to university level mathematics, and we want to set you up to be more capable and more confident in your first year courses here at Cal.

Who is involved?

Pre-Calculus Essentials was developed by Alexander Paulin and Kelli Talaska, who have both been teaching at UC Berkeley for over a decade.

This year, Professor Alexander Paulin will be leading the program and teaching the summer course with the support of a team of enthusiastic undergraduate peer tutors and learning a specialist at the Student Learning Center (SLC).

What sort of time commitment is required?

Our goal is to provide several levels of engagement, so that you may choose the option that works best for you.

• Peer-Tutor Option (2-3 hours per day):

  • We expect this to require about 2-3 hours of work per weekday (M-F) during the 3 weeks of program. This time will be consist of attending synchronous lectures (on Zoom daily 1-2PST), potentially watching supplemental videos, doing practice problems, participating in tutor-lead discussion , and talking with tutors and/or instructor in office hours. The only part of this mandatory is attending the peer-tutor discussion groups.

  • This option has limited capacity, and will fill up fast. If you want to sign-up for it your should complete the MDTP diagnostic assessment as soon as possible, then complete the sign-up form below.

• Self-Study Option (1-2 hours per day):

  • We expect this will require 1-2 hours of work per week day at your own pace. This time will consist of attending the synchronous lecture (on zoom daily 1-2PST), doing practice problems and dropping by office hours.

  • Even if you cannot make this time commitment, we still recommend signing up for this option. You are under no obligation to attend live-zoom lectures. You will have access to extensive lecture recordings and learning materials that you'll be able to look at in your own time.

How should I interpret the score from my MDTP assessment?

The MDTP assessment can help determine if you have mastered basic high school math skills needed to do well in pre-calculus or calculus courses. Below are our recommendations based on your MDTP assessment scores. (Note: Students in SEED Scholars Program will automatically be enrolled in the Peer-Tutor Option.) MDTP assessment results will be emailed to students with 1 to 2 days after completion of the assessment.

• Below critical level in three or more topics or an overall score of 0-47:

  • • Recommendation: Peer-Tutor Option

    • Scores in this range indicate that students have multiple basic skill areas in which they need to build strength.

• Below critical level in one or two topics or an overall score of 48-57:

  • • Recommendation: Self-Study Option

    • Scores in this range indicate competence with multiple core skills, but room for improvement in others.

• Overall Score of 58-60:

  • • Recommendation: Self-Study Option

    • Scores in this range indicate competence with most high school math skills. However, there is a big jump in rigor from high school to college, so students can still benefit from our summer program.

While the Pre-Calculus Essentials course is completely optional, we do feel that it can help all of our students to kick off the year with a strong start. The recommendations above are just starting points to help you make a decision; all students who would like to participate are welcome to choose either of the two options, peer-tutor or self-study option, regardless of their MDTP scores.

What topics will be covered?