Professor: Scott Ahlgren
Email: ahlgren@math.uiuc.edu
Phone: 244-1738
Office: 302 Altgeld Hall
Text.
Calculus from Graphical, Numerical, and Symbolic Points
of View, volume 1,
A. Ostebee and
P. Zorn, Saunders College Publishing.
Webpage. This syllabus and other course material and announcements, can be found on the course webpage: http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~ahlgren/math220sp05/math220.html
Classes. Monday-Friday from 11-11:50 in 143 Altgeld Hall.
Lab. Tuesday from 3-4:50 in 143 Altgeld Hall.
Calculator. You should have a graphing calculator. If you already own a graphing calculator, chances are good that it will do just fine.
Important. Bring your text and calculator to every class.
Active Learning. This is an active learning course in the University's First Year Discovery Program. There are seven hours of class time each week. You will spend almost all of this time actively working on mathematics in small groups. The professor will give brief lectures to introduce topics and to provide clarification when necessary. The professor will also circulate among the working groups to provide guidance.
We will be working hard in class! Active participation in the daily group work in class is crucial to your success in this course!
Reading. You will read each section in the text before it is discussed in class. This is crucial!
Group work. You will be assigned to a small group every day. At the end of each class, every member of the group will turn in its work. One of the papers will be selected at random, and the entire group will receive the same grade. Your lowest two scores will be dropped.
Homework.
Homework will be assigned every class and solutions due at the beginning
of the next class hour (except, of course, on exam days). Some problems
will be graded and the graded assignments will be returned
(usually) the following day.
No homework will be accepted after the start of class.
Your lowest five homework scores will be dropped.
Labs. We also have a two hour lab once a week. In this lab you will work on more challenging projects with a more stable group; these groups will change after each hour exam. Each student will turn in a complete writeup of the group's work. Only one solution to each problem from the group will be graded, and the entire group will receive the same grade (out of 10 possible points).
The instructor may occasionally give an individual a lower score then their group when the individual's participation is poor.
Attendance. You are expected to be present at every class meeting. Attendance will affect your final grade in the following way: after five unexcused absences you will lose two percentage points of your final course average for each additional absence.
Calculator policy on exams. Calculators will not be used for exams.
Mastery Exam. The second hour exam will be different from the other three hour exams and the final exam. It will examine your mastery of some very basic skills that are absolutely essential for success in later course work. You must demonstrate mastery of these skills at the 90% level or better in order to get any passing credit for this exam; if you do not reach 90% the first time, then you may take a repeat exam. These repeat exams will be given weekly three more times. The following penalty applies for repeats: your score for this exam will be reduced by 10 points (out of 100 points) for each retake that is needed to reach the 90% level. Note that your recorded grade for this exam will be zero if you do not reach the 90% success level on one of the mastery exam retakes. Most students will not need more than one retake.
Grading. Your course grade will be computed as follows:
Final grade.
Grades will not be curved in the traditional sense. In other words, it is possible
(although highly unlikely) that
everyone in the class will receive an A.
I guarantee that grades will not be adjusted down.
For example, if your final course average is 90%, then you are guaranteed at least an A-. Grades may be adjusted up if necessary, although this is not guaranteed.
Office hours. By arrangement (this is easy since we see each other for seven hours a week); or if my door is open stop in and I'll talk with you then or tell you when I can.
Final note. I am always open to productive suggestions about the course. Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions or concerns about the course and the group work.
Best wishes for a productive and enjoyable semester!