What Is Expected of Me in Math 1?
This is a 17-week in-person course.
You will learn in a community with your peers. This is not a self-paced course.
This class meets regularly on campus in room 2490 from 11:00 am - 1:15 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays.
You are expected to ENGAGE in the class to learn the content, and interact with your peers and me. Do your best!
Textbook, Software and Other Materials
Education should NOT be expensive. However, too often it is. I am striving to make your course with me as inexpensive as I possibly can. I am using FREE textbooks and free online resources. I allow free calculator apps for phones, even on exams.
If you encounter a problem with the course or with required resources, please let me know. I may be able to help.
Access to the internet will be necessary, due to the online homework and weekly readings that accompany the lessons.
Textbook: Calculus (OpenStax) (chapters 1-6.3), a free online textbook. Sections will be linked on Canvas for you to annotate (part of your pre-lesson homework). If you want a hardcopy for reference, I would suggest an older edition of Stewart's Calculus or Thomas' Calculus - NOT THE NEW EDITIONS!
Online Homework System: MyOpenMath through Canvas is an online homework system similar to MyMathLab, ConnectMath, and WebAssign, but FREE to you! There could be some coding errors with some homework problems, so bear with us as we fix them!
Canvas Student App
A scientific calculator is required (Example, but other brands and types are acceptable). Your computer or phone's calculator is also sufficient for most of our calculations by hand (turn phone to landscape). We may use a graphing calculator in class, and graphing calculator apps will work fine for this purpose. You can also borrow a TI-84 graphing calculator from the library, but get one quickly!
Desmos Test Mode App is a FREE alternative to a scientific calculator and is allowed for the Midterm and Final Exams. Currently this is only available on iPhones.
Chrome is the preferred browser for Canvas. However, make sure you have multiple browsers installed because if something doesn't work in one browser, it should work in the other. Stay away from Internet Explorer.
Here are links to popular browsers:
In order to view documents and certain multimedia on the Web, you need specific browser plug-ins. The most popular plug-ins are Acrobat Reader and Flash and are typically built into your web browser. If you do need to download these free plug-ins, click the links below.
CANVAS: Instructions and Submissions
Canvas will be used to house all documentation from class, as well as the primary communication between you and me, and you and your fellow students. Canvas is a powerful tool to help facilitate discussion outside of the traditional classroom.
All your work is submitted through Canvas. Content is organized by chapter modules to keep you on task with the material. There are several ways you can navigate through Canvas, but I encourage you to stick with the modules.
More about getting started with Canvas can be found here.
Technical Support
Contact LPC’s technical support desk during weekdays to get any Canvas problems solved. During nights and weekends, you can contact Canvas directly at 1-844-600-3467.
If you need NetTutor technical support, click the Customer Service Request link within NetTutor, and fill out the form. You may also call the NetTutor Customer Support Team at (813) 674-0660 x204. The direct email is support@link-systems.com.
Grades
Readings/Annotations/Lessons = 22%
Practice (HW) = 22%
Mathematician Project = 10%
Exams (4, 8% each) = 32%
Final exam = 14%
Note that about half your grade is on formative assessments and half on summative assessments. I want to provide you with ample feedback on your formative assessments so you're ready for the summative assessments. The mathematician project is more of an enhancement of the class, so we learn more of the history of mathematics and the roles that many diverse people have played in contributing to this beautiful subject.
More Information on Assignments
Focused Lessons
Learning the material initially will consist of three different means of delivery:
I will show how to do examples in class, so you can see how we do things in calculus. You will have Focused Notes so you can follow along. There is room in the margins to make more notes to help you learn. An optional note-taking lesson will be added to Canvas.
Read the textbook. Either before or after class and working on example problems, it is good to go through your textbook for more notes and learning.
Annotating. Writing in the margins is a powerful tool to organize thoughts, questions, and make notes that stay with the book. I will have some questions scattered throughout the text too to focus your learning.
Practice
Practice homework is intended to practice what you learn. Each lesson will have a few problems for you to apply your learning. You are welcome to work with others on completing the problems, but you will have different problems (different numbers). You should keep a notebook of your work - don't just do the problems on scratch paper - so you can refer back to how you completed your work. I will occasionally ask you to upload a picture of your work, so keep this journal handy when you do your homework.
Exams
There are four exams in the semester:
Exam 1 covers Chapter 2 (with some Ch 1 Review)
Exam 2 covers Chapter 3
Exam 3 covers Chapter 4
Exam 4 covers Chapter 5
Final Exam is comprehensive and includes Ch 6
Exams are closed notes; NO PERSONS other than me can help you. Exams are scheduled for particular days and specific times. If these days/times don't work in your personal schedule, message me.
Do not use PhotoMath, Wolfram Alpha, or any other solving app/software/website to help you complete your work. You have plenty of opportunities to do well in my class, and I encourage you to ask me if you have questions, including questions on a quiz/test. Do not cheat. Please. It is not only disrespectful to me and your fellow students, but it is ethically wrong and jeopardizes your grades.
Final Assessment
Tuesday, May 21 from 9:30am-11:20am is your final exam. The final exam will consist of questions from the entire course.
To help us all learn about the history of mathematics and meet some interesting mathematicians, you will choose a mathematician from a provided list (or you can ask to get one not on the list approved) and create a short post on that mathematician's life and work. You will only do ONE of these during the semester, but due dates will be staggered so we have about five presentations on Canvas per week. Those of you who don't have a presentation due that week should view it and provide comments on the discussion board.
Some mathematicians are OFF LIMITS (they are too well-known or aren't really known as mathematicians). You will need to get your mathematician approved before you complete the project.
The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful. ~ Henri Poincaré
Media Credits:
Course Banner: Lego Stormtrooper at a Painting Canvas, Photo by Daniel Cheung on Unsplash
Bottom Quote Background: Trees and Sky, Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash