One of the goals of Active Learning courses is to optimize your learning of the material. An effective way to achieve this is through group work: for the majority of every class day you will work in a group of three or four students on solving assigned problems. During that time, I will circulate between different groups to gauge progress and provide guidance when necessary.
The success of this format depends heavily on your regular attendance: by skipping class without a reasonable excuse you are not only hurting yourself, but also your classmates!
Individual homework will be given every class day and collected at the beginning of the next class hour (except on exam days). I will grade a problem or two and return the graded assignments the following class day. Besides written work, it is expected that you will have read each section of the text before the class when it is to be discussed. I may give an occasional quiz on the assigned reading, with the quiz score counting as another individual homework.
Each day you will be randomly assigned to a group. At the end of class every student will turn in his or her solutions. One of the papers from each group will be selected at random, and the entire group will receive the same grade. Your lowest two group work scores will be dropped.
The weekly two hour lab will involve group work on more challenging projects. The lab groups will change after each hour exam and otherwise remain fixed. At the end of each lab, every student will turn in a solution of which only one will be graded. Again, the entire group will receive the same grade.
There will be four one hour exams and a cumulative final. The second hour exam is called the Mastery Exam and it is different from the other exams and the final. It will examine your mastery of some very basic skills that are absolutely essential for success in courses having Math 220 as a prerequisite. You will need to get at least an 85% to earn credit for the exam. If you do not succeed the first time, you may take a repeat exam offered weekly for three weeks. The following penalty applies for retakes: your score will be reduced by 10% for each retake that is needed to get an 85%. If you do not earn a grade of 85% on any of the retakes, then your exam 2 grade will be 0. Most students do not need more than one retake. Practice Mastery Exams will be provided.
The grade distribution will be no harsher than a standard ten-point scale, i.e. 90% guarantees an A-, 80% a B-, 70% a C-, and 60% a D-. The scale will be relaxed if appropriate. Note the following:
Your grade is calculated using the following weights:
| Daily homework | 10% |
| Daily group work (in class) | 10% |
| Lab work | 10% |
| Each one hour exam | 10% |
| Final | 30% |