Math 1560 Course Outline

Subsection 2.1 Course website

The primary course website is Moodle. On Moodle, you can expect to find:

1. Links to important resources, like this syllabus, and the textbook.

2. Links to key course activities, including the online homework, and the discussion forum. (The links will log you into those services automatically.)

3. Details about your grades and assessments.

4. A weekly topics schedule.

As you learn to navigate online learning (and as I learn how to guide you), the weekly topics schedules will be key to staying on top of your course material. Every week you can expect to receive details on readings, videos, homework, and assessments, as well as information on what will be taking place in class, and how to access those classes.

In case there's a day when Moodle isn't working properly and you need access to course materials, you can find some of them (like this syllabus) on my personal website. The textbook for this course (and many others) is available on our Open Textbook Server.

Subsection 2.2 Scheduled classes

Math 1560 will be taught using a blend of synchronous and asynchronous instruction. Asynchronous components are explained in later sections. We have maintained the originally scheduled class meeting times, which are as follows:

Math 1560A

Monday and Wednesday, 1:30 - 2:45 pm.

Math 1560B

Monday and Wednesday, 4:30 - 5:45 pm.

Math 1560C

Monday and Wednesday, 9:00 - 10:15 am.

You should try to attend your assigned section, or it'll mess up the group work dynamics. But that's not always realistic, so attend when you can. (I won't tell the Registrar if you don't.) Let me know if you want to change times permanently. And if group members are expecting you, let them know too!

There is also a weekly tutorial. Tutorials take place on Thursday and Friday. Since there are 11 tutorial sections, we won't list them all here. The easiest way to access your tutorial information is by looking up your personal schedule on the Bridge.

Classes will be a mixture of Q&A (where I do examples by request) and group work (using Zoom's breakout room feature). Sometimes I will provide a problem for discussion that you will work on as a group, and then we'll reconvene as a class to compare group responses. You will also have time in class to work on group assignments, and after each test there will be a group test that takes place in class.

For the Q&A portion:

• You can use the discussion forum to recommend problems for us to discuss. (See Section 3. I'll run a live Q&A session on Piazza.)

• Once we choose a question to solve, I'll give the class an opportunity for input on how to solve it.

• I will record my solution (based on your input) and upload later to YouTube. Recording will be done so that only my video is captured. (That is: if you all want to turn on your cameras so I can see your smiling/frowning faces, I promise not to record you and put it on YouTube.)

Tutorials will be synchronous, and facilitated by a tutorial instructor. You will use tutorials to work on the basic computational skills essential to success in calculus. Work in tutorial will be done in groups, and graded for feedback.

If you can't attend tutorial synchronously, please let me know. I'll try to accommodate. This is the one part of the class where I think you'll be way better off if you can attend in person.

Subsection 2.3 Course textbook

Our course textbook is APEX Calculus, by Greg Hartman. This book is an open education resource (OER). That means that the book is fully free, both in terms of cost, your freedom to use and share the book however you see fit.

If getting the book for free somehow feels wrong, or you worry you're missing out by not buying anything, here are two great books you can buy:

1. Mathematics for Human Flourishing, by Francis Su

2. Change is the Only Constant, by Ben Orlin

Neither of these books are in any way needed for the course. But they're cool books, and they're about math. (The second is even about Calculus!) So if you feel like you need to spend money on a book, you can. (Or I don't know, go to the library or something.)

About APEX: For the last year or so, I've been working with Greg and others to convert the textbook to a system called PreTeXt. The PreTeXt language allows us to write a book that can be produced in a variety of formats.

There is a PDF version (the original format of the book), which will be available on Moodle. The PDF version is useful if you want to print the book, or simply want to be able to read when there is no access to internet.

The real advantage of PreTeXt is that we can output to HTML format. The HTML version of the textbook can be found at https://opentext.uleth.ca/apex-standard/part-calculus-I.html. This version of the book can be read on both desktop and mobile web browsers. It also contains a number of nice features, including embedded videos, interactive graphics, and annotation tools.

Subsection 2.4 Grading scheme

Traditionally Math 1560 has been a mostly skills-focused course: the focus was on learning how to compute limits and derivatives, and the tests mostly checked your proficiency in these skills. This doesn't work well online, when most routine calculations can be done easily on the computer! Our assessment principles this year:

• No big high stakes assessments: lots of little ones instead.

• More concepts, and less rote computation. (Less — not none. Your follow-on courses will still assume you know how to take a derivative.)

• Classes (the synchronous part) will be used for work, not lecture. (Nobody wants to sit though a 75 minute Zoom lecture on Calculus, including your instructor.)

• Group work is good for you. (Even if you don't always like it!)

The various graded components of the course are explained below. At first it will seem like there's a lot to do! But most items are small, and many can be done during class time.

Reading questions (5%)

To encourage you to keep up to date with the textbook readings/videos, there will be a weekly quiz, delivered via WeBWorK. The quiz questions will check your reading; not your math. Reading questions will be due by 8 am every Wednesday. The main purpose of the questions is for me to be able to identify (from your responses) what areas of the content need to be addressed in class. Typically any reasonable effort to answer will receive full credit.

Tutorials (10%)

Every tutorial will involve an assignment to be completed. You will be encouraged to work on these problems in groups. Evaluation will be strictly formative: you will receive feedback on the work that you submit, but any sincere demonstration of effort will receive full credit.

In subsequent tutorials I may check to see if you've actually read the feedback you receive. Since you're not being graded on whether you're right or wrong, we'll use tutorials as an opportunity for you to learn all the basic computational skills.

Online Homework (10%)

The homework, like tutorial, will focus on building fluency with the computational procedures of calculus. You can expect a new problem set every week. Homework will be delivered through the WeBWorK online homework system. See Subsection 4.1 for details.

Assignments (10%)

Assignments will be done in groups, and there will be time set aside in each class to work on them. Each assignment have only one or two problems, but these will typically involve multiple steps, and you will be graded as much on the quality of your explanation as on the validity of your mathematics.

Typically a written assignment is expected, but interested students are encouraged to explore alternative formats. For example, if a group wants to submit a video presentation instead of written work, that sounds like fun, and I will totally be on board with that.

Here is a fictitious (but possibly informative) grading rubric for assignments:

• A: wow, they clearly discussed this as a group, and nailed down all the key points! I also appreciate how the work is legible and relatively free of frustrated scribbling.

• B: everyone had something to say, but I'm not sure they all agreed. There's an obvious mistake that someone should have caught, suggesting that nobody thought to read it over before submitting.

• C: most of the details are there but this was clearly done in the last hour before the deadline. Also, it looks suspiciously like one person did all the work.

• D: looks like parts (a), (b), (c), and (d) were each done by a different person, and then arranged randomly on the page.

• F: nothing submitted. Or work is a crude drawing of what appears to be an integral attacking a kitten.

Tests (65%)

Each of the five chapters will conclude with a test. The test will be open book. There will be a time limit, but you will have some flexibility in terms of when you choose to begin. Details on test dates can be found in Section 7.

The following grading notes apply. Each test is worth a total of 13 points.

1. Prior to each test you will be asked to submit a “study sheet”. This will be worth 2 points.

2. You will be asked to give (anonymous) feedback on the study sheets of three other students. This will be worth 1 point.

3. You will write the test individually, and submit via Crowdmark. The individual test will be worth 6 points.

4. After the individual test, there will be a follow-up group test. This will take place in class, and will be worth 2 points.

5. After your test has been graded, you will be asked to submit a short reflection piece, where you comment on your performance and the feedback you receive.

   Typically, you will be asked to comment on the following:

   1. What did you do to prepare for the test?

   2. What types of mistakes did you make on the test?

   3. What (if anything) could you do differently next time?

   Post-test reflection will also be worth 2 points.

6. There are five tests in total. I will automatically take your best 4 out of 5 test scores. That way you can miss a test (or have a bad day) without affecting your grade.

   Notice that the individual portion of the test (i.e. “the test”) is only worth just under half the total test grade. So you can tank the test and still pass the test, if that makes sense. (But if you've done the pre-test activity I bet you won't tank it.)

   Note that the group test is scheduled to take place in class. I will be working to identify students for whom this would be a hardship. Those of you who legitimately cannot attend (you know, for reasons) will be grouped together and given an alternative activity.

Participation

Participation credit can be earned as follows:

• Contributions to the discussion forum

• Contributions to annotations in the textbook

• Active participation in synchronous meetings

Participation is not required, and does not directly affect your grade. Quality participation is regular (at least weekly), and enhances the learning experience for your classmates.

For many students, life intervenes and you miss a deadline, forget an assignment, etc. Participation is your way to demonstrate continued engagement in the class, even if you mess up on the occasional assessment.

With that in mind, participation credit is redeemable. ¹

You can redeem your quality course participation for: ²

• A no-questions-asked extension for online homework or an assignment.

• A hint during a test.

• Forgetting to do your reading questions.

• Forgetting to do your post-test reflection. (Depending on how you did on the test. I might decide you really need to do it.)

Alternatively, you can save up those participation credits for the big ask. Namely, there comes a point at the end of semester where a student looks at their grade, (and possibly Table 2.1 below) and sends an email saying something like, “But I'm only 2% away from an A-!” If you've been participating regularly throughout the semester, I may be willing to entertain such a request.

Each of the grade components above will be assigned a numerical score. These will be added to get a score out of 100. Your score out of 100 is converted into a letter grade according to the following table.