Excursions in Mathematics (Math 1140)

Instructor: Dr. Kirsty J Eisenhart   Office: 3329 Everett Tower

      Phone:  387 - 4529                               e-mail: kirsty.eisenhart@wmich.edu

        Mailbox:   Everett Tower, 3rd floor (math dept office)

        Office Hours:    by appointment

Note that your first point of contact is your Friday Lab instructor.

Course Prerequisite:  A satisfactory score on the Math Placement Exam, or a C grade in Algebra I, Math 1100 (or equivalent transfer credits).

Text:    For All Practical Purposes, 7th Edition

Calculator:   You will need a graphing calculator for this course.  The TI-83/84 or any calculator which is capable of one and two variable statistics (mean, standard deviation, linear regression, etc.) will suffice.

Course Description and Content:   Excursions in Mathematics is one course which satisfies the general education requirement of a college level mathematics course. This course is designed for non-science majors. As such this will be the first  college level mathematics course taken by the majority of the students enrolled in the course.
As seen in the course description in the undergraduate catalog, its purpose is to develop an awareness of the use of mathematics in the world around us. We will cover selected chapters from the course text including Finance (21 & 22), Statistics (5 - 7), Voting Theory (9), and one of the following: Graph Theory (1 & 2), Digital Revolution (16 & 17), or Size and Shape (18 & 19).
In addition to this, the course is designed to strengthen analytical thinking.  Students will be asked/ encouraged to find patterns, make conjectures, and judge the validity of given conjectures.  The students will test their conjectures and eventually provide counter examples to disprove invalid conjectures or give justifications for conjectures they determine are valid.

Note to Students:   For the majority of you (I would guess over 95% of you) this is your first college level mathematics course (note that according to the undergraduate catalog, math 110 is high school level algebra I).  As such you may be unaware of what is expected of you.  One large difference between typical high school mathematics and college level mathematics is a shift in responsibility; the students are given a more active role in their learning process.  Another typical difference is that a college level class will place more emphasis on the thought process than on the final answer.  Thus assessments will lean more heavily on justifications: explain, verify, compare and contrast, and/or give a counter example.

Student Responsibilities:   Here are some ways you should prepare yourself for these types of assessments:

• Actively participate during large lecture and lab classes.  Do not wait for your peers to hand you the solutions.
• Take notes during class.  Be sure to take notes on what is said as well as what is written on the board.
• Fine tune your class notes as soon after class as possible.  Do not wait more than a day.  The longer you wait the less you will recall of important classroom discussions.  These rewritten notes will be more organized than in class notes and will allow you to study for exams more efficiently.
• Summarize the activities and discussions from class.
• Indicate and explain important points.
• Provide connections between this class and previous classes.
• Read and outline your text book.
• Be sure to rewrite definitions in your own words and create/present examples to clarify the definitions.
• Reread examples to determine what point the authors are trying to make with the examples given.
• Talk to peers to fill in each others' gaps.  WebCT is a great tool for this.
• Do all assigned homework.
• If you struggle with any of the assigned problems, find a similar problem in the text for extra practice.  Many of you may need to do more homework than is assigned.
• Be sure to show all work, justify each step, and write down any formula you use.
• If you use a graphing calculator write down the equation(s) you typed into the calculator and when applicable sketch your view window.
• Check your solutions.  Many assigned problems will not be collected.  You are responsible for determining whether your solutions are correct.  This may mean discussing your homework with your peers.  Again the WebCT is an excellent tool for this.
• After we complete a chapter, look over your notes (rewritten class notes, text notes, and comments from peers).  Summarize the content of these and look for connections within the chapter and connections between the new material with previous knowledge.
• Constantly ask yourself and others "why".  Again WebCT can be a helpful tool.
• Your teaching team (myself and the lab instructors) are here for you.  Utilize us as need be, but realize that you will need to be able to fly solo during exam time.

Grading Scale:
 

Lab Evaluations:    Attendance and homework are vitally important to obtaining an understanding of any mathematical material. I will therefore be assigning several homework problems from each section that you will be evaluated on during your Friday labs.  In order to succeed in any class, it is also critical that you stay on top of your assignments.  For this reason, late homework will not be accepted.  In the case of the occasional illness, please have your homework delivered to the Math Department mailroom before class.  Each lab instructor has a mailbox in the Math Department office on the 3rd floor of Everett Tower.

Projects:   These assignments are designed to further extend the theory we have discussed in class. The projects will be more extensive then a typical homework assignment, and so they are worth more points than a homework assignment. You will be allowed to complete any of the projects in pairs. If you choose to pair up for a project you must pair up with a student being taught by the same lab instructor as yourself. Click here to see the due dates of homework and projects.

WebCT Assignments:   The purpose of these assignments will vary.  One purpose is to allow for the kinds of conversations that are not feasible in a large lecture class, thus you may be required to participate in topical discussions.  Another purpose is to allow me to assess the general level of confidence and/or understanding of the material, toward this end you may be required to solve problems and write short essays.

Tests:   There will be 3 unit tests worth 150 points each (for a total of 450 points). Most of the problems on the unit tests will be similar to, or elaborations of, homework, group work, and lab problems. Other questions may test definitions, example problems, and/or class work. Note that answers to selected section problems are in the back of your text.  You may wish to use these as practice problems. If you are unable to attend class on any exam day you must notify me before the exam or a make-up will be denied.  The final will be a comprehensive test worth 25% of your grade.  For a listing on exam dates, see important dates listed on the math 1140 homepage

Incompletes:   According to University policy, incompletes are given only in those rare instances when extenuating circumstances have prevented a student from completing a small segment of the course. An incomplete is never given as a substitute for a failing grade. The last day a student can process an officially withdrawal from a class to avoid a failing grade is Monday, Nov 5th .

WMU Policies and Procedures:   You are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs that pertain to Academic Honesty. These policies include cheating, fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse. [The policies can be found at http://www.wmich.edu/catalog under Academic Policies, Student Rights and Responsibilities.] If there is reason to believe you have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. You will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s). If you believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing. You should consult with me if you are uncertain about an issue of academic honesty prior to the submission of an assignment or test.