Grades are a reflection of your learning progress. Every few days, you should click on the Grades button in our course navigation and review your scores and my feedback. There are no hidden points in this class. You do the work, show that you've learned and you get points. It's that simple. If something seems not right, reach out and let me know.
You will be evaluated based on the following components:
Homework: 10%
Quizzes (10): 30%
In-person Exams (3): 45%
Project: 5%
Activities (Discussions and Investigations): 10%
Final Grade:
90 -100% = A, 80-89.9% = B, 70-79.9% = C, 60-69.9% = D, 0 - 60% = F
Start by watching the lecture videos for each lesson. If it’s helpful for you, print out the blank lecture notes file and take notes as you are listening to the video. Pause the videos and try out the problems before I do them and then watch my solution. If you scan and submit your completed lecture notes in Canvas then you get extra credit points.
After you watch the videos, do the online homework assignments. You have an unlimited number of tries for each assignment and these are meant to get you to practice math skills. If you get stuck for too long on a problem, skip it and come back to it later. Bring those problems to the live session or email me or put them in the discussion board. If you are spending more than a few minutes on one problem and keep getting it wrong, you probably need some clarification. The Homework is automatically submitted, and the grade is updated as your work on the assignment.
Complete the work “by hand” showing all the steps to your solutions. Scan your work with an app such as Adobe Scan and compile all your work in a single pdf (please don’t submit lots of different files). I encourage you to work on the quizzes collaboratively but not to look up solutions online or use an online solver. Attempt the problems by yourself first then use the discussion board to collaborate with each other and come to the live meetings for problem solving sessions. You will automatically get the solution key once you submit your quiz in Canvas. Use these quizzes as your study guides for the exams – the exam problems are most like the problems on quizzes regarding difficulty level and content. The lowest quiz grade will be counted as extra credit.
There will be three exams in this course. Each exam will have a group portion (25% of exam grade) and an individual portion (75% of exam grade). The exams are short-answer and you need to show all work for each problem solution. You are allowed a scientific calculator or you can use one of my TI-84 calculators and one sheet (8 x 11) of notes. The exams are in-person at Miramar College. Please let me know right away (at least 2 days before the exam day) if you have conflicts with the exam dates and we can make alternative arrangements. I will make alternate arrangements for conflicts such as other classes, work, illness, travel that you already arranged and cannot be changes, jury duty, other. If you are not able to take your exam at the schedule times you will have to complete both the group part and individual part by yourself.
Learning is a collaborative process and I will ask you to engage in discussions often as you are starting the course, completing quizzes and investigations and reflecting on your learning. Sometimes discussions will be graded on their own (such as the quiz discussions), sometimes they will part of the grade for another assignment (such as the investigations discussions). In all discussions be thoughtful in providing feedback to your fellow students and keep in mind that the ultimate goal of these discussions is for us to learn from each other and improve our understanding of math.
In these assignments you will have a chance to explore applications of differential equations, discover processes used for solving equations or extend your understanding of the methods you are learning in this class. Complete as much of the investigation as you can by yourself, then go to the discussion board associated with the assignment and collaborate with other students by sharing ideas and strategies for completing the assignment. The lowest investigation grade will be counted as extra credit.
There will be one project in this course where you will get a chance to explore the application of the concepts you are learning in this course to other disciplines.
You can earn up to 60 extra credit points (20 pts = 1% extra credit of your final grade) by doing extra assignments.
1. Lecture Notes Assignments (2 points each)
2. Attend campus events (on-campus or Zoom) (5 points each)
3. Extra Investigation assignment (5 points each)
4. Extra Quiz (5 points each)
5. Contribute to a Module Summary Wiki (1 point each)
6. Solutions to Addition Chapter Problems (2 points each)
7. Surveys (5 points each)
Each of you will figure out how to structure your schedule to complete your assignments for this class. I know that you have other commitments besides my class (Really?! No, Ms. Anne, your class is my top priority and this is all I want to do this semester : )).
I set deadlines for all the assignments in Canvas as a pacing guide and I really recommend that you follow those as closely as you can. I bet you KNOW that if you start getting behind it’s a slippery slope and it becomes impossible to catch up. If you turn in an assignment after the posted deadline, it will show up as LATE in Canvas but there will be no deductions on these assignments for lateness. However, assignments will close as indicated below and you will not be able to submit them after these final deadlines.
Final deadlines for Homework, Quizzes, Quiz Discussions, Investigations for Chapters 1,2 & 3 are September 28 @ 5PM
Final deadlines for Homework, Quizzes, Quiz Discussions, Investigations for Chapters 4 & 5 are November 9 @ 5PM
Final deadlines for Homework, Quizzes, Quiz Discussions, Investigations for Chapters 8 & 9 are December 14 @ 5PM
Exam 1 (Chapters 1, 2 & 3): September 28, 5 – 8 PM
Exam 2 (Chapters 4 & 5): November 9, 5 – 8 PM
Exam 3 (Chapters 8 & 9): December 14, 5 – 8 PM
Make-up Exam: December 15 by appointment
Project is due December 1 @ 11:59PM
Extra credit assignments have a final due date of December 15, 11:59PM
No assignments will be accepted after December 16, 11:59PM
Any student who may need an academic accommodation should discuss the situation with me during the first two weeks. DSPS (Disability Support Programs Services) at Miramar College offers a wide range of services for students with verified disabilities. If you have a learning, physical, or psychological disability which requires special accommodations for classroom participation and/or examinations, please let me (the instructor) know on the first day of class and notify the DSPS office on campus in room K-204, by email: miradsps@sdccd.edu or by phone, (619) 388 – 7312. Students may contact DSPS: https://www.sdmiramar.edu/campus/dsps
You are expected to be honest and ethical at all times in the pursuit of academic goals. It is entirely to your best benefit to always strive to do your work to the best of your ability and submit work that is solely yours. I have a zero tolerance policy on cheating. This mainly includes submitting work that is not your own, plagiarizing on quizzes or investigation assignments, getting help or collaborating on individual portion ofs exams or using unauthorized resources on exam. Students who are found to be in violation of Administrative Procedure 3100.3 Honest Academic Conduct, will receive a grade of zero on the assignment or exam in question and will receive a failing grade for the class if more than one incident occurs. You may be referred for disciplinary action in accordance with Administrative Procedure 3100.2, Student Disciplinary Procedures.
As a diverse community of learners, students must strive to work together in a setting of civility, tolerance, and respect for each other and for the instructor. Conflicting opinions among members of a class are to be respected and responded to in a professional manner. There are to be no offensive comments, language, or gestures. http://www.sdccdonline.net/students/resources/NetiquetteGuidelines.pdf
Incomplete grades will only be given to students who have completed 85% of the course work, i.e., students who have extenuating circumstance that prevents them from taking the final exam. If it is a medical issue, a doctor’s note is required.
If you are experiencing difficulty with the structure of the class or any type of conflict, please communicate with me, your instructor. We can review the syllabus together, go over your grades, or discuss other issues. If together we are unable to resolve the situation, the next step would be for you for contact the department chair for the math department, Anne Gloag, at agloag@sdccd.edu. Since I am the math department chair, you can contact the assistant department chair, Julia McMenamin at jmcmenam@sdccd.edu instead.
You should drop all classes which you are no longer attending. At my discretion I will withdraw a student after the add/drop deadline due to excessive absences. I will do this after contacting you to find out why you stopped participating and to see if there is anything I can do to help to get you back on track. Students, who remain enrolled in a class beyond the published withdrawal deadline, as stated in the class schedule, will receive an evaluative letter grade in this class.