Course Goals: To learn to calculational competancy, concept understanding, and mathematical literacy of calculus. To understand fundamental concepts such as rates of change, tangent lines, optimization, and others as listed on the course schedule.

The course textbook is Calculus, Single Variable Early Transcendentals, 5th edition, by James Stewart.

Homework: The homework for this course will primarily be WeBWork. WeBWorK is an online homework distribution and grading system. WeBWorK provides instant feedback as to whether you have done a problem correctly or not. You can try each problem as often as you like, with no penalty as long as it is before the due date. NOTE: WeBWorK is NOT designed to tell you what you have done wrong on a homework problem. When a problem is marked incorrect you should rework the problem from the beginning paying special attention to algebraic simplification. If you are still making a mistake please come to my office hours and bring your clearly written solution so we can find the error. For more information on WeBWorK, see the Introduction to WeBWorK Page. If you add the course late you need to email me as soon as possible so that you can be added to the webwork system.

Here are some tips on using WeBWork:

• Get started early on WeBWorK each week, and enter some answers at least a couple days before the due date. That way, you will have time to seek help on the harder problems (and the ones that looked easy at first but turned out to be trickier) before the set is due. Avoid the last-minute rush. The system often becomes overloaded and slow in the last couple hours before a set is due, since everyone is trying to enter their answers at the same time.
• WeBWorK usually requires very precise answers. For instance, if the correct answer is 1.60045 and you enter 1.6, the system will respond that your answer is incorrect. So if you're entering a decimal answer, give at least five digits of accuracy. On most problems, you can enter answers like cos(9.81sqrt(340)) instead of a messy decimal, and WeBWorK will do the calculation for you.
• Some WeBWorK problems require formulaic answers, like x^(2/3), which means x raised to the power of 2/3 (two-thirds). However, if you enter x^2/3, the system will say that's wrong, since WeBWorK interprets that as one third of x squared. So Be careful, and check your syntax. (WeBWorK Set 0, which is recommended but not counted in your grade, will help you learn about entering formulaic answers.)
• WeBWorK has a previewing feature which allows you to see how a complicated formula you just entered is actually interpreted by WeBWorK. The previewer should help you track down syntax errors as well as ensure that your answer is being interpreted the way you want without having to add three hundred parentheses.
• Last, and MOST IMPORTANT, do not spend large amounts of time guessing random answers and entering them into WeBWork. This is a waste of your time! If you don't know how to do a problem, please come to office hours. If you think you are doing everything correctly and WeBWork doesn't accept your answer please come to my office hours, or email me with an explanation of what you have done, so I can help. Banging your head against the computer, yelling at it, or throwing the computer out the window does not change whether or not WeBWork accepts your solution.

Group Exams: Group exams will be given in class every other Friday. Here is a general outline of how the group exams work.
Students are put into groups of three and these groups change throughout the term. I will be determining the groups throughout the semester.
Each student in the group MUST bring a page of notes with them to class on the day of the exam. This note page is your way to show me and your group members that you are prepared to contribute to the group exam. It should also be a study guide for you and help you to summarize of all the important new concepts covered in class. You will turn in your page of notes with the exam.
On the day of the exam you sit with your group members and are each given a different question to answer. You are then responsible for answering your question and proof-reading the answers of your group members. In the proof-reading stage your group members should explain what he/she did and then you can ask them questions or make suggestions in regards to their solution. Remember to be KIND and RESPECTFUL with your comments. I will also be available to answer questions during the exam, but ask your group members first. You are in groups so that you can help each other and talk about the problems as you are working through them. At the end of the exam all three people in the group should know how to do all three problems.

Preparing for the group exam: Understanding the material presented in lecture is the best preparation for the exams. I also recommend reviewing old homework and starting new homework assignments early, as these problems give you extra practice for the exam. Your page of notes should be the "highlights" from your class notes and homework problems. The questions on the exams will be different from those you have seen before, but you have 50 minutes and three SMART heads to put together to get the solution.

These exams are not meant to be scary! They are tools to help you learn mathematics by trying a challenging new problem yourself, and then talking about it with your classmates. You DO HAVE TO STUDY for the group exams, which is why they are called "exams", but they are meant to be a low-stress high-learning experience. In previous classes, students have made the following comments about the group exams.

• "I appreciated that we were all treated as resources and worked together for success in the class."
• "The group exams were very helpful because it allowed you to see what other people's problem solving tricks/steps were."
• "At first I was really worried about the group exam idea, but they turned out to be fair and extremely helpful. It was good to be able to work with other people."
• "The group exams really help to solidify the material from the week, but without the stress of a typical test."
• "the group exams facilitated the learning of the material by allowing students to talk through the problems, and by allowing students to share their strong points and help strengthen their weaknesses."

Grading the group exam: Each group exam is worth 20 points. You earn 15 points for the answer you give to your question, and 5 points for proof-reading. The 5 points for proof-reading can be lost if your group member makes a mistake that you should have caught. Then if they lose 2 points for the mistake you'll lose 1 point out of 5, or half the number they lost without exceeding 2.5 points per group member. The mistakes I think the proof-reader should catch include conceptual mistakes and obvious algebra oopsies. You will NOT lose points for overlooking arithmetic mistakes, unless they lead to answers where the mistake should have been easily noticed, such as getting a negative number for the area under a curve. You will NOT lose points if your group member simply does not know how to do the problem and leaves it blank. Your group should try the problem together but everyone needs to carry their own weight. You will lose points if you don't turn in your page of notes with the exam. This is your proof that you are prepared to participate in a group activity. Nobody wants to be in a group with people who aren't prepared and haven't studied, so this is how I check to see this doesn't happen.

Please know that I work very hard to make the exams fair as well as challenging and beneficial. It can be hard to learn mathematics by just watching it go by on the blackboard. I believe it is easier and more fun to learn by DOING mathematics and TALKING mathematics in small groups where everyone is working together to help each other learn.

When calculating your grade, your lowest Group Exam score will be dropped. There will be no make-up Group Exams, so if you have to miss class on the day of a Group Exam, this will be the grade you drop.

Midterm Exams, and Final Exam: There will be two midterm exams and a final exam. These exams will be taken individually to test your calculational competancy, concept understanding, mathematical literacy over the topics covered thus far in the course. The final will be comprehensive. The dates and times of midterm and final exams will posted on the course schedule.