Math 2560 Course Outline (Post-Strike Revision)

Subsection 2.1 Course website

The primary course website is Moodle¹. 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.

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 website². The textbook for this course (and many others) is available on our Open Textbook Server³.

Subsection 2.2 Scheduled classes

We will meet synchronously, but I will record lectures. I will expect you to keep up with the readings/videos in the book, so that we can spend most of class time working on problems together. Some class time will be used for group work on assignments.

If circumstances prevent you from attending class during the scheduled time, you will have access to the recordings and the textbook. We use Campuswire as a course communication platform. One of its nice features is the ability to set up chat rooms for students who want to work together, but can't make it to class.

In Subsection 2.4 you're going to see that there are lots of pieces to your grade. And yes, most of them have deadlines. But don't worry! Most of those pieces are small: designed to be done in class, or to take up no more than an hour or so of your time. Learning any kind of math is a marathon, not a sprint. So I'm giving you a little bit to do every day. Keep at it, and you'll do well. (Also, many deadlines are flexible, so don't hesitate to ask if you need more time.)

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 Flourishing⁴, by Francis Su

2. Change is the Only Constant⁵, 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 few years, 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-II.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

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.

Tutorials (15%)

Each tutorial will consist of a set of practice problems. These will be done in groups during class time, and submitted via Crowdmark.

If you cannot attend a tutorial, you will still be able to submit the assignment. This can be done on your own, or you can use Campuswire to arrange a group.

Tutorials are graded on a 2 point scale. Work that is mostly correct and complete is awarded 2 points. If you have significant mistakes, you'll receive 1 point, but you can submit revisions to increase this to 2 points.

Online Homework (15%)

Whenever we're covering a topic for which appropriate problems are available, I'll provide a problem set you can complete, to help develop proficiency with the computational procedures in the course. Homework will be delivered through the WeBWorK online homework system. See Subsection 4.1 for details.

Assignments (20%)

These will be done in class, in groups. My preference is for you to submit in groups as well, but individual submissions are accepted.

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.

Reading assignments (10%)

For each test, I will provide a set of reading questions to be answered through Moodle. This will be facilitated though Moodle, using the Workshop activity. In a Moodle Workshop, you submit work like you would for a Moodle assignment. But once the submission phase closes, the workshop moves on to a peer feedback phase.

The goal of these assignments is to encourage you to read ahead (as well as giving you the opportunity to see work from your peers) so the deadline for these will usually happen before we are done with the chapter.

Typically, any reasonable effort at completing these activities will receive full credit. Any peer score over 75% will be automatically rounded up to 100%. I will review anything below 75% to see if the lower score is deserved.

Tests (40%)

There will be three tests in total. Each will be a take-home test with a window of availability. Test 1 covers Chapter 6, and will be avaiable from February 3rd at 6:00 pm until February 5th at 11:59 pm. Test 2 covers Chapter 7, and will be available from April 7th at 6:00 pm until April 10th at 11:59 pm. Test 3 covers Chapters 8 and 9, and will be available from April 28th at 6:00 pm until May 1st at 11:59 pm. Students with exam conflicts for Test 3 may request a later exam window if necessary.

You will write the test individually, and submit via Crowdmark. The test will be a take-home test: open book, and open notes. The primary restriction is that you are not allowed to hire someone else to write your test for you. (This includes using certain subscription-based websites that offer “homework help”.)

Your test grade will be based on your best 2 out of 3 tests. If you miss a test due to illness, the other two tests will count. In the case of scheduling conflicts that you're aware of in advance, I can always change the timing for your test.

Regrading policy:

• All graded work can be revised and resubmitted for extra credit. Corrections should be submitted within one week of work being returned, and you can earn back up to 50% of the points you lost by making corrections. (For tutorials, you can earn back 100% of the points you lost.)

• If you are confident you know how to fix your mistakes, you can submit corrections via email. If you'd like to discuss your feedback first, we can discuss corrections during student hours. For group work, emails (or student hour appointments) should include the whole group.

• Corrections are based on feedback: to revise a question, you must first attempt the question. (Don't leave anything blank.)

Other grading policies:

• In each grade category except for tests, I will drop your lowest score. This includes an assignment you missed completely, whether due to illness or the generally overwhelming burden of trying to learn during a pandemic.

  If you miss a test, contact me ASAP and we can arrange for an makeup test.

• Students are expected to abide by University regulations regarding academic honesty. Use of resources (online or otherwise) is permitted, as long as these are properly cited. Getting someone else to do your work for you is not permitted.

• If we determine that you cheated on an assignment or test (through plagiarism, copying, online “study” sites, etc.) you will receive a grade of zero on that grade item, and you will not be able to “drop” that grade item as your lowest grade in that category.

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.