Math 231 Policy Information

Fall 2004

Sections: 01 and 04


Instructor:
 Dr. D. Brian Walton
Office:
 Burruss 026
 Office Phone:
 568-6387
Website:
 www.math.jmu.edu/~walton
 E-Mail:
 waltondb@jmu.edu


Class Times
Section 01: MWF 8:00-8:50 (Burruss 141), Tu 8:00-9:15 (Burruss 139)
Section 04: MWF 11:15-12:05 (Burruss 141), Tu 11:00-12:15 (Burruss 126)

Office Hours
Office hours are a very important resource of which you should learn to take advantage. Don't be shy---come see me. I have scheduled office hours at the following times:
    Mon, 9-10 am, 1-2:30 pm; Tue, 9:30-10:45 am; Wed, 1-2:30 pm
Or we can make an appointment. Call me or send an e-mail.

Textbook
Integrated Calculus, by Laura Taalman, Houghton Mifflin (2005).
 
What is Math 231? (as explained by Dr. Taalman, course developer)
"The Math 231--232 sequence covers all of the material in Math 235 as well as precalculus and algebra material, and some material from the beginning of Math 236. This course is for those people that feel they need more precalculus or algebra preparation while learning calculus. You should not necessarily take this course simply because you have not had calculus before (many people in 235 have not taken calculus). You should not take this course because you think it will be `easier' or `less work' than Math 235. In fact, most 231--232 students feel that this course is harder and more work than Math 235, but that this course gives them a better understanding of the material and enables them to successfully learn calculus while improving their algebra and precalculus skills."

Syllabus
We will cover the first seven chapters of the textbook (Chapters 0--6). Briefly, the chapters we cover are (0) The Basics, (1) Functions, (2) Limits, (3) Derivatives, (4) Power Functions, (5) Polynomial Functions, and (6) Rational Functions. I will maintain a schedule on the class website indicating what sections we will be covering and when.

Assessment
Grades will be based on student performance in homework, quizzes, three in-class exams, and a comprehensive final exam. A student will earn a score in each area as described below. The final grade will be based on a weighted cumulative score with the following weights: Homework (25%), Quizzes (12.5%), Exams 1-3 (12.5% each), and Final Exam (25%).

Homework
Homework provides students with the opportunity to put concepts and skills into practice. Homework assignments will be posted on the course website. Assignments will include both conceptual problems as well as skills-based problems. It is important to learn good communication skills, so problems should be written in a way to communicate a solution, and not merely to show the work and answer. Many problems have answers in the back of the book---simply copying the solution/answer is inadequate. In addition, every section of the book has a Problem Zero, which will always be assigned. This problem asks the student to create their own summary or study-guide for the section.

Homework will be due in class. After homework is collected, a student will help randomly select how the homework will be assessed. Possible assessments will be Handed-In (2 pts), Problem Zero (5 pts), and Full Assessment (20 pts). The probability for each assessment will be made so that there are approximately 8 Problem Zero and 8 Full Assessment assignments by the end of the term. Additionally, the lowest score in each of the Problem Zero assignments and of the Full Assessment assignments will be dropped.

Late homework handed in within 2 hours of class will receive a 2 point deduction; after 2 hours but before 4:00 pm the same day will receive a 5 point deduction. Dropping the lowest score from graded assignments is intended to accommodate most unavoidable circumstances for students who are not able to turn in their homework. In class activities will also occasionally provide the equivalent of a Hand-In assignment.

Quizzes and Exams
Class on Tuesday is longer, so we will use this day for scheduled quizzes and exams. A schedule will be maintained on the class website. Three in-class midterm exams will be held on the 4th, 8th and 12th weeks of class. You must contact me in advance if you will miss a quiz or exam. For uncontrollable circumstances of a significant nature (by my judgment), you may make-up the quiz or exam during office hours.

A final exam will be held according to the Registrar's published schedule:
    Section 01: Wednesday, December 8, 8 am - 10 am.
    Section 04: Friday, December 10, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm.
You may not reschedule the final exam.

Grading
I do not personally like the deduction style of grading assignments, quizzes, and examinations. Consequently, your work will be graded based on your ability to convince me that you understand and can use the concepts and skills covered in the course. Communication, clarity and correctness will play important roles in this evaluation. Every graded assignment will be awarded a letter grade (possibly +/-) according to the following chart.

A Excellent understanding and execution, none or very few mistakes
B Good understanding and execution, but a moderate number mistakes
C Some understanding and execution, but significant mistakes
D Little understanding and execution, major mistakes and partially incomplete work
F Lack of understanding and execution, significantly missing work.

To promote and ensure fair grading, preliminary numerical grades will also be assigned for evaluated problems and the letter grade will be based on the total numerical grade of the problem, as well as taking into account the difficulty of the assignment and other class-wide circumstances.

Calculators
 A graphing calculator is a requirement for this course. (The TI-83/84 is a popular recommendation. Sharp and Canon are other options.) Some calculators can perform symbolic algebra and calculus operations and will not be allowed during quizzes and exams (e.g., TI-89/92).
 
Withdrawal Policy
The last day to withdraw from the course through e-campus is Thursday, October 21. Following this date, a student must obtain the instructor's permission to withdraw. In general, I will not allow such a late withdrawal except for extreme circumstances. Poor class performance will not be accepted as a valid reason.

Disability Accommodations
Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations to meet course requirements must register with the Office of Disability Services (ODS) and contact me to discuss access issues. ODS is located in the Wilson Learning Center, Room 107. Phone/TTY 8-6705. You will be respected and your confidentiality will be maintained.

Honor Code and Collaboration Policy
Academic integrity is a fundamentally important aspect of university learning. You are expected to abide by the Honor Code of JMU. In this course, you are encouraged to work and study together. For the purpose of this course, you may discuss homework problems together in groups. However, simply sharing solutions with each other is considered a violation of the Honor Code by both parties. Your work should reflect your own understanding. Also, when solutions for problems are provided for this class, it will be considered a violation of the Honor Code to share these solutions to individuals who do not belong to the same section. (After all, they may not have completed that assignment yet.) Cheating in any form is a violation of the Honor Code.

Getting Help
I hope you will feel comfortable coming to ask help from me. Please take advantage of office hours, and don't be afraid just to drop by when you need. Also, you can get help at the Math and Science Learning Center (Wilson 104) most days of the week for free help. You may also send me e-mail, and I will try to respond in a reasonable time frame.