Math 135 - Preparation for Calculus - Fall 2015 - Prof. Mark Janeba

Meetings
MWF 9:10-10:10 a.m.
Ford 204
Office: Ford Hall 216
E-mail: mjaneba@willamette.edu
Phone/Voice Mail: (503) 370-6123
Office hours:  www.willamette.edu/~mjaneba/hours.html
Text: Functions Modeling Change: A Preparation for Calculus, 4th Edition
by Eric Connally, Deborah Hughes-Hallett, Andrew M. Gleason
ISBN : 978-0-470-48475-3    Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Course Content, Goals, and methods:

Upon completion of this course, successful students will demonstrate the ability to:
Learning methods employed will be:

Grading:

Course Points
Approx four homework quizzes at 25 points each,
drop lowest:		 75 points (approx)
Attendance, worksheets, and reading quizzes
 70 points
WeBWorK (note 1 WeBWorK point 1 class point)
 80 points
Three group exams at 40 points each
 120 points
Three group projects at 40 points each: 120 points
Three individual exams at 100 points each: 300 points
Comprehensive Final exam: 200 points
Total: 965 points (approx)
For each graded piece of work, I will post cutoff scores for grades of A-, B-, C, C-, and D. At the end of the term, if your point total is more than the total of the A- cutoffs, your grade will be an A- or better, and so on. However, see the notes below on grade adjustments. Cutoffs will never be higher than this:

A- B- C C- D
90% 80% 70% 67% 60%
... but they are often lower.
Exams:  Indvidual exams are an hour long, and are based on the material covered since the previous exam. They are tentatively planned for Sept. 16, Oct. 14, and Nov. 11, all Wednesdays. Any changes to these dates will be announced at least two class meetings in advance.
Group Exams are three page exams completed in groups of three, with each group member responsible for solving all problems on one page of the exam. Each student must proofread their group members’ work and offer suggestions if they believe the solution to be incorrect. At the end of the exam all three group members should know how to do all three problems. Each student is required to bring a one-sided hand-written page of notes to the group exam to demonstrate that they have spent time preparing to participate in a group activity.  Group exams are graded so that 75% of the score is based on the individual’s solutions to their own problems and 25% of the score is based on their proofreading of their group members’ work.
The final exam is cumulative over the entire term.  For borderline grades, I tend to pay more attention to the final exam score.  Final exam time is Monday, Dec. 7, 2014, from 8-11 a.m., as set by the University; the final exam will not be given early or late. Please make your travel plans now.  Really.  I mean it.  If someone else will be making your travel plans, it would be wise to notify them immediately of your committments.
Exam makeup policy: Make-ups for individual exams are given only for verifiable illness or for university-sanctioned intercollegiate activities. For collegiate activities, you must see me before you leave to arrange a makeup time. In any case, contact me in advance except in emergencies.


The projects will be done by assigned groups. For each project, one paper per group is to be submitted, and a common grade is given.  Each group member will also turn in a brief individual evaluation of the share of work done by their group partners.

Quizzes, Homework, Group Exams and Participation

Homework quizzes are 15 to 25 minutes long, with problems that resemble homework. Homework quizzes are taken without the textbook or class notes, and are announced at least one class meeting in advance, typically two meetings in advance.

Reading quizzes are 3 to 5 minutes long at the beginning of selected classes, and will cover central concepts from recent reading assignments.  Reading quizzes are not announced in advance.  You will be allowed to use any handwritten notes you want, but no machine-printed materials may be used, so students will find it advantageous to take notes while reading the text.

Webwork
WebWork is an online homework distribution and grading system that assigns to each student individualized versions of the problems, and allows multiple attempts to get the correct answer. It will be introduced during the first week of class.

Homework will also include non-WeBWorK problems listed on the class homework web page that are not collected; However, skipping or putting off homework will damage your grade badly. Don't let this happen to you. In order to perform well on the homework quizzes, students will want to do the problems assigned at one class meeting before the next meeting, and come to the next class prepared to discuss the problems and ask questions about them.  See also the workload policy below.  Note also that careful and precise exposition of your work is required on exams and quizzes; this will often involve a verbal explanation. Writing such explanations does not come automatically, so it will help to practice careful writing on your homework.

Attendance is figured into your participation grade as follows: There is no deduction for the first 3 absences.  Two points are deducted for the 4th and 5th absences, and three points for the 6th absence and each subsequent absence.  Late arrivals, especially when repeated, will likely be counted as an absence.  While it is awkward to include attendance in the class grade, my experience shows that it is a helpful incentive for many students.

Please come to class prepared to discuss the previous night's homework.

Accommodations for students with disabilities: Accomodations required by students with disabilities will be provided upon reasonable advance notice and verification of requirement/eligibility from the Office of Disability Services (Bishop Wellness Center).  If you forsee needing an accomodation, it is probably best to inquire at the Office of Disability Services at the start of the semester.  If Disability Services prescribes extra time for exams, you must remind your instructor of your needs at least one week before an exam and send an email reminder at least three days before the exam to ensure appropriate accommodations have been made. 

Policy on in-class distractions and cell phones: It is important to respect the concentration and attention of each student in the class.  Class time is limited, precious, and the tuition is quite expensive per minute.  Arriving late for class is not acceptable barring genuine emergencies.  Electronic devices not required (explicitly by the instructor) for the course must be turned off during class time, including laptop computers and smartphones.  Exceptions include calculators, and special-needs aids such as lecture-recording devices.  If your cell phone rings during regular class time, you will be required to bring treats (pastries or cookies) for the entire class at the next class meeting.  During exams and quizzes, the penalty is more specific: two points for each ring, or one point per second of audible sound, whichever is greater.  Please help me hold distractions for your fellow students to an absolute minimum.

Workload and time committment expectations
It is the policy of the College of Liberal Arts that for every hour of class time there is an expectation of two to three hours of work outside of class.
Thus, for our class you should anticipate spending six to nine hours weekly outside of class engaged in study time, reading and homework assignments, and group work.

Academic honesty expectations
All individual exams and homework quizzes are to be taken with books and notes closed (except as noted on the exam paper), completely on your own. Anything you can electronically store on an ordinary graphing calculator is acceptable unless otherwise directed, but written notes are prohibited.  Use of laptop and tablet computers, smart phones, and anything else capable of communication with the world outside the classroom will not be allowed during quizzes and exams.   For group exams and reading quizzes, the use of your personal notes is not only allowed but required; the format of allowed notes will be announced in advance.

On written group assignments, you may (and should) discuss the problem, methods of approach, examples you have found, and even the solution(s), with anyone. You may use any source you find useful, but you must acknowledge your sources in writing in the assignment. Grading is based primarily on the amount of work and thought that students have applied to their sources and the extent to which they have demonstrated understanding of them.

Plagiarism is the copying or paraphrasing of any work from another source without proper written acknowledgement.  You should not see (or hear) the written report or report-draft of any student outside your group until reports are graded. I will treat any such occurrence as plagiarism. All group members are responsible for knowing all the sources their group's members used in making a report. All involved with plagiarized projects will receive failing project grades.

In keeping with college policy, plagiarism will be reported to the dean for possible referral to the Honor Council per the Willamette Ethic. Systematic or organized plagiarism on exams or quizzes will result in course failure. If you are uncertain about some aspect of the academic honesty policy, it is your responsibility to get clarification from the instructor.

Last Modified August 25, 2015.
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