| Session: Fall 2009 | Instructor: Barry McQuarrie | Office Hours: | ||
| MWF 1:00-2:05pm | Office: Science 1380 | MWF 9:15-10:30am | ||
| Location: Sci 3650 | Phone: 589-6302 (I do not use voicemail) | Th 10:30am-11:30am | ||
| mcquarrb@morris.umn.edu | drop in (if my door is open we can talk, if it is closed I am not available) | |||
| http://cda.morris.umn.edu/~mcquarrb/ | other times via email appointment |
Course Prerequisites & Goals
Students taking this course will have a diverse background of mathematical experience. This course will not cover all the material that is in a high school algebra course. It is designed to help you identify and strengthen weaknesses in your math background up to the level of precalculus.
Textbook
NOTE: TEXTBOOK EDITION IS ACCURATE FOR FALL 2009.
Tobey, Slater and Blair Beginning and Intermediate Algebra 3rd or 2nd Ed (the bookstore has ordered the 3rd edition). Things I like about this textbook are that it has:
- plenty of worked out practice problems in the back of the book,
- a Chapter Organizer at the end of each chapter to help organize your learning--I recommend to all my students that they do something like this for each of their classes, since most textbooks do not have this feature,
- Chapter tests which will be good review for the proficiency tests, and Developing Study Skills notes.
You could probably use Tobey and Slater Beginning Algebra 6th Ed. instead. This text will not include some topics that you might want to review before precalculus, such as exponential, logarithms, and an introduction to functions (these topics are not in this Basic Algebra course). Also, the homework problems probably will not match up.
Time Commitment
This course carries no credit for graduation, but 4cr towards financial aid. The workload is that of a 4cr course.
University policy says ''one credit is defined as equivalent to an average of three hours of learning effort per week (over a full semester) necessary for an average student to achieve an average grade in the course''. Our course is a four-credit course, meeting approximately three hours per week: 4 credits times 3 hours/week/credit - 3 hours/week in lecture = 9 hours/week outside class. Thus, you are expected to spend 9 hours per week working outside of class, reading the textbook and working problems.
Please make the most of my office hours! To get the most out of the course you should
- do homework every day,
- allot time to think about what it is we are doing,
- discuss the techniques we are studying and their implementation with your classmates,
- discuss any difficulties with me during class or office hours.
Course Components
Units. The course is divided up into 13 self-contained units organized around different topics in algebra. The units build on themselves somewhat, so it is important to master a unit as we study it.
You will be allowed to use calculators on the homework and tests, but you should realize that a calculator alone cannot give you the algebraic mastery that you need to pass this course and to succeed in future courses. Focus on doing problems by hand and use the calculator sparingly.
There are sometimes different ways to solve mathematical problems. If you are proficient in a technique that is different than the one described in the text for a particular type of problem, talk with me about it. As long as you can answer the questions correctly and using correct mathematics, that will be sufficient.
Lectures. (Monday) Every Monday, I will lecture on the topics of the unit. I may not cover every single thing in the unit, so it is important that you are also reading the text and working on the homework problems. To get the most out of lectures, you should preview the unit by reading the text and seeing what types of problems are assigned in the homework.
Workshops. (Wednesday) Every Wednesday, we will have Workshop Wednesday. This is when you can work on problems and get help from me, our TA, and your peers. To get the most out of workshops, you should have worked on homework after Monday`s lecture, and identified places where you have questions.
To succeed in this course, you will have to do more homework than just what gets done in class during workshops! Practicing problems is what makes the information "portable" so that you can succeed on tests without access to notes, textbook, or other cues.
Proficiency Tests. (Friday) Every Friday, we will have a proficiency test for the current unit. To pass the proficiency test you will typically be allowed only one error (I want you to have mastery of the material, which is what you will need to succeed in future math courses-a passing familiarity with the concepts is not sufficient).
Depending on how the time goes, if you have a small number of errors on a proficiency test I may give it back to you and ask you to redo some problems. If you do not pass a proficiency test you can take another proficiency test for the unit on a following Friday (after completing the test for that week`s unit), or take it during office hours.
Final Exam. A cumulative final exam will count as Unit 14. Every student will write the final exam. If you have not successfully completed all thirteen units, during the final exam time you may also take a proficiency test for one of the units you have not passed.
Participation and WeBWorK. Historically, the people who do not earn above a C- in the class are the ones who simply do not come to class. Participation is Unit 15, and as long as you come to class regularly and are engaged in your learning you will earn credit for this unit. If you do not come to class (especially on Workshop Wednesday), you will not earn credit for participation. I have assigned some homework using WeBWorK, which you can learn more about here. Completing at least 60% of the WeBWorK homework will also be required to earn credit for the participation unit.
Grading
Your final grade is solely determined by the number of units you master during the semester. Please note that you are not competing against your fellow students.
The grade for the course will be calculated in the following manner:
| Units Mastered | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 or less |
| Letter Grade | A | A- | B+ | B | B- | C+ | C | C- | D+ | D | F |
| Grade Point | 4.00 | 3.67 | 3.33 | 3.00 | 2.67 | 2.33 | 2.00 | 1.67 | 1.33 | 1.00 | 0.00 |
Here is the University-wide uniform grading policy.
- A: Represents achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements.
- B: Represents achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements.
- C: Represents achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect.
- D: Represents achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to fully meet the course requirements.
- F: Represents failure and indicates that the coursework was completed but at a level unworthy of credit, or was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and student that the student would be temporarily given an incomplete.
- I: See the catalog.
Expectations
- Be in class on time. Neither I nor your fellow classmates enjoy the disruption late arrival causes. I know that situations crop up that will entail late arrival (please come even if you are late!) but try to ensure it is the exception and not the rule.
- Cooperation is vital to your future success,
whichever path you take. I encourage cooperation amongst
students wherever possible, but the act of copying or other
forms of cheating will not be tolerated.
Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for a course is grounds for
awarding a grade of F or N for the entire course.
Any act of plagiarism
that is detected will result in a mark of zero on the entire test for both parties.
Please come and talk to me if you have any questions about what constitutes
academic dishonesty.
UMM's Academic Integrity policy and procedures can be found at the following website:
Academic Integrity www.morris.umn.edu/Scholastic/AcademicIntegrity/. - As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to
learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems,
feeling down, difficulty concentrating, and/or lack of motivation. These mental health
concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a
student`s ability to participate in daily activities.
If you have any special needs or requirements to
help you succeed in the class, come and talk to me as soon as
possible, or visit the appropriate University service yourself.
You can learn more about the range of services available on campus by visiting
the websites:
- The Academic Assistance Center www.morris.umn.edu/services/dsoaac/aac/
- Student Counseling www.morris.umn.edu/services/counseling/
- Disability Services www.morris.umn.edu/services/dsoaac/dso
- Multi-Ethnic Student Program www.morris.umn.edu/services/msp/
