- "NUTS & BOLTS" -- How the course works:
- Course Structure --
Here is the basic structure of the course :
This is a summer mathematics course -- it goes much faster than during a regular semester.
Consequently, this course requires much more of your time (per week)
than it would if it were during the regular semester.
It is imperative that you keep up and do not get behind, particular because this
course involves a lot of new terminology and mathematical relationships that
continue to build on each other all through the course.
As with many of the CR mathematics courses these days, some of your homework is to
be done online.
All exams will be given in class, and may be done either on paper or online.
The course material is organized into 9 learning units.
For each learning unit,
you do the following:
- You get instructions for that unit from this website.
- Note the Target Date and the Exam Date from the calendar.
- Following the unit instructions, you read the textbook pages assigned,
making entries in your Math Reference Book as you study.
- Work the problems that are assigned in the text.
- Attend class, where you can get more clarification and examples.
- At the testing website, complete the "Pretest/HW" assignment for that unit
several times, keeping your work organized in a notebook or binder
-- always write down the date and time, and write the number of the question
you are working on in your notebook or binder
(so that you can go back over your work later).
- Try to be as prepared as you can by the Target Date, so that you can ask
questions and get everything cleared up, so that you still have a couple
days to review and get more practice before the Exam Date.
- Complete the Blackboard Assignment (in the Blackboard Discussion Board) by the Target Date.
- Do the Written Assignments for that unit, which you get from Blackboard,
following the guidelines for written assignments.
- Take the Unit Exam the Exam Date.
- Materials you will need -- Text, Study Pack, Optimath Access Information, Email Address, Calculator, Computer, Notebooks, and TIME!
- Student Study Pack (recommended but not required):
The Study Pack, which you can get from the CR bookstore for about $30,
includes:
- Student Solutions Manual
- Algebra Review booklet
- Video Lectures on CD
- Optimath Access Information:
You will need a username and password in order to use the online testing system for this course.
Read the Optimath
information page to find out how to log in and use the system.
- Email Address:
Please note:
- You must have a valid email address.
- Graphing Calculator:
Get a Graphing Calculator such as a
TI-84, TI-89, or TI-83Plus. On the Eureka campus, a limited number of rental calculators are available.
At the Arcata Instructional Site, there will be a small number of rental calculators available by
the end of the first week of classes.
- Computer Access:
You will need access to a computer with an internet connection and one of the supported operating system / web browser combinations.
Other operating system / web browser combinations may or may not work.
(Read about the system requirements.)
Most dialup internet service providers will probably work fine, but the AOL internet service provider will NOT work with the testing system. If you use AOL, you will need to subscribe to one of the other free or low-cost providers.
Alternatively, you can use computers at CR.
- Notebooks:
You will be building yourself two books throughout the course that will be of great use to you
during this class and also in
subsequent math classes such as Calculus:
- Reference Book -- Get a Bound Notebook with Grid Paper, such as
something like THIS (about $2 - $4), for example.
Just check to make sure it is bound and that it has graph paper in it.
This is what you will use throughout the course to build yourself a math reference book.
You will record definitions, formulas, graphs, examples, and descriptions in here as you go along.
- Work Book -- Get a Spiral Notebook -- When you do the online pretest/homework,
use this book to do your work in. Write down the Unit #, and the Date and Time.
Put the Number of each problem you work on (you do not have to do them in order,
but be sure to write down the problem number). Either copy the question or jot down
notes about it, and do all your work in this Work Book. This will keep it all in
one place. If you have questions or could not see what error you made, then you can
get help from me or a tutor, and you can pull up the exact same question again to refer to.
This also helps greatly when you are studying for the unit exams and especially for the
midterm and final exams.
- Time (LOTS):
In your own weekly schedule, please make sure that you have blocked out 18 to 30 hours (per week)
to devote to this fast-paced SUMMER class.
- Schedule for the semester -- The semester calendar
shows which units will be discussed during which class meetings,
and lists Unit Target Dates and Exam Dates.
The most important dates to note are the TARGET dates.
Try to completely prepare for the unit exam before (or on) the target date
so that you will have adequate time to get everything cleared up and still have time to review before the Unit Exam.
The units listed for class days are what I expect to be lecturing on in class that day.
You will get much more out of class if you at least preview the material
in that upcoming unit before class.
- Communication -- There are many ways to communicate in this course!
- Blackboard : We will all use Blackboard
to communicate with each other (Note: within Blackboard
there are also several ways to communicate with me and the other students).
- Email : You can email me
and you can email each other (using Blackboard, even if
you don't know the other person's email address).
PLEASE put "Math 25" in the subject line or your message might get
filtered into the wrong place. Also please include your name in the body of the email.
- Phone :
- The phone number for the Arcata Site office is 707-822-8629. You can ask them to pass along
a message to me.
- My number at CR for my office in Eureka is 707-476-4543. If you get voicemail please be sure to speak
clearly and leave your name, phone number, and a good time to reach you.
- Regular Mail : Tami Matsumoto
CR
Arcata Instructional Site
100 Ericson Court
Arcata, CA 95521
- In person : The Faculty Office at the Arcata Site is shared among all the
different faculty who teach in Arcata. Office Hours are yet to be arranged, but I am always available
by appointment, and generally available before and after class.
- Mailbox (on campus) : At CR, if you have anything to drop off,
bring it to someone in the Arcata Site office.
Make sure it is clearly marked with my name on it (and yours, too).
- Prerequisite -- Math 120 (Intermediate Algebra) with a grade of "C" or better,
or satisfactory performance on the math assessment exam. Prerequisites will be enforced.
- Grading -- Your grade will be based on the following:
| Textbook Reading and Problems | 5% |
| Reference Book | 5% |
| Quizzes | 5% |
| Online Pretest/HW assignments | 20% |
| Blackboard Assignments | 5% |
| Unit Exams | 35% |
| Trigonometry Final Exam (after Unit 6) | 15% |
| Analytic Geometry Final Exam (after Unit 9) | 10% |
Also, your final grade will be affected either positively or negatively by your work on the Unit Written Assignments.
Unit Pretests and Exams will be graded on the scale given below.
Furthermore, your course grade is guaranteed if you make the grade cutoffs given in the
table below. In other words, grade cutoffs will not be any higher, but could possibly be lower
(this depends partly on the performance on the midterm and final exams).
| A or A- | Guaranteed for 85% and above |
| B- (or better) | Guaranteed for at least 72% |
| C- (or better) | Guaranteed for at least 60% |
| D (or better) | Guaranteed for at least 50% |
- FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
- How is this different from a regular Math 25 class?
- Because it is during the summer, the pace is MUCH FASTER.
You attend classes, just like in a regular section, but class meetings are a little bit longer
and more times per week. You have to work very hard to be sure to keep up
by reading the text before class and using the online system for the Pretest/HW assignments.
- Why would someone want this kind of class?
- Usually, with summer classes, people take fewer of them than during a regular term
and so students can concentrate more on this course. It is like an intensive learning experience, but
by immersing yourself in it, you can focus your attention and learn it better without so many other
distractions. It works particularly
well for people who knew the material before, but need a refresher.
- When do I attend class?
- EVERY DAY, Monday through Thursday, but only for an hour-and-a-half,
for 10 weeks (June 2 through August 7).
- How do we take tests?
- The exams this summer will be given during class time, but you can either take them
on the computer in the computer lab classroom (pretty much just like the way you do the
Pretest/HW assignments), or you can do them on paper.
- Is this class for me?
- It's hard to know. Some people find summer math classes very difficult, and some people love
that they just get to really focus on one class and get it 'out of the way.'
You must be self-disciplined, and really stay on top (or ahead) of the material.
You should schedule yourself 15 to 30 hours each week that you can devote to just this course.
|
Math 25 home page