Surely no subject in early college mathematics is more exciting or more fun to teach than the calculus. It is like being the ringmaster of a great three-ring circus. It has been said that one can recognize the students on a college campus who have studied the calculus -- they are the students with no eyebrows. In utter astonishment at the incredible applicability of the subject, the eyebrows of the calculus students have receded higher and higher and finally vanished over the backs of their heads.
Howard Eves, quoted in Thompson and Gardner. Calculus Made Easy. St. Martin's Press. 1998.
Basic Info
Instructor: Dave
Feldman
Email: You know what it is.
Pronouns: he/him/his
Problem Solving Sessions: TBA, Dining Hall
Office Hours: By appointment (see
my schedule)
Tutor: Bianca Massecci
Course Goals
- I want to help you improve your problem solving skills and mathematical confidence. More generally, I want you to leave this course with an increased ability to do mathematics.
- I want you to gain a firm, enduring understanding of one of the big ideas of calculus: the integral.
- I also want you to gain a good introduction to infinite sums and series.
- I want you to be able to correctly perform mechanical calculations using the course content, apply problem solving skills to new areas, and effectively communicate problem solving strategies in writing.
- I want you to experience using a computer to help you do mathematics.
- I want you to learn semi-independently about a topic of your choosing and gain experience orally presenting technical information.
- I want you to have fun while learning a lot.
Textbook
As our primary text we will use Calculus, fourth edition, by Hughes-Hallet, Gleason, et.al. Be sure you have the right edition of the book. Here is more information about the text. I would like to cover most, but certainly not all, of chapters 5-9.
Official Syllabus
A one-page listing of the topics we'll cover in this course can be found here
Evaluation
- Weekly Homework Assignments: 70 percent.
- Mid-Term Exam: 15 percent.
- Final Exam/Project: 15 percent.
I will assign grades (for those who so opt) by following the guidelines put forth in the COA Course Catalog. I do not have any quota of A's, B's, etc. I recommend against letter grades; I believe they are more likely than not to interfere with genuine learning. But I also understand that many students believe (perhaps correctly) that grades will make it easier to get into graduate or professional school.
Policies and Details
- The final version of this and related documents can be found on the course web page.
- Homework will usually be due at the end of the day on Friday. More than one unexcused late homework assignment will result in me mentioning this in your narrative evaluation and may result in a lowering of your grade.
- If you need extra time for one or two of the homework assignments, it's not a big deal. But be very careful to not fall farther behind every week.
- I will accept late homework assignments. However, I may not be able to grade these assignments thoroughly.
- More than two missing homework assignments will result in a grade no higher than a C.
- You are strongly encouraged to work together on homework. You can also consult me, class tutors, other faculty, friends, and family. However, the homework you hand in should represent your own understanding. This means that if your friends get a homework problem and you don't understand how they did it, you shouldn't photocopy their solution and turn it in.
- There will be an in-class midterm exam in early February. This
test will be open notes, open book. And there will be ample time to
do the work. You may not, however, get any help from any humans
during the exam, nor will you be able to use a computer. Why this
form for an exam?
- I want to make sure that you don't over-rely on wolfram alpha.
- Some of you may in your future lives need to take timed, in-class tests, so it might be good to not get completely out of practice.
- A short in-class test should take less time than a take-home test.
- We will spend some time in class using the website wolfram alpha. There won't be a separate lab session for this. It will be incorporated into classes.
- You will want to have at your disposal a calculator or phone/tablet app that has trig functions, logs, and scientific notation. I strongly suggest an actual calculator. You do not need a graphing calculator for this course (or, in my opinion, ever).
- Toward the end of the term you will do a small project. (However, I am open to considering other options. Let's discuss this in a week or two.)
- As I plan on sending out homework assignments and other information via email, it is important that you check your email regularly.
- The tutor will have some regular hours, and you should also feel free to contact her to find a time to meet.
- Academic misconduct---cheating, plagiarizing, etc.---is bad. Any cases of
academic misconduct may result in a judicial hearing. Here is the
faculty-approved statement about plagiarism:
By enrolling in an academic institution, a student is subscribing to common standards of academic honesty. Any cheating, plagiarism, falsifying or fabricating of data is a breach of such standards. A student must make it his or her responsibility to not use words or works of others without proper acknowledgment. Plagiarism is unacceptable and evidence of such activity is reported to the academic dean or his/her designee. Two violations of academic integrity are grounds for dismissal from the college. Students should request in-class discussions of such questions when complex issues of ethical scholarship arise. - A more informal description of the course can be found here.
Hours of Academic Engagement
You should expect to spend a minimum of 150 academically engaged hours associated with this one-credit course. These 150 hours will be spent roughly as follows: 4.5 hr/wk in class, 0.5 hr/wk reading and preparing for class, 9 hr/wk on homework, and 1 hr/wk on your final project.