Course Goals: To obtain calculational competency, concept understanding, and mathematical literacy in linear algebra.

Homework: The homework for this course will be due on Thursdays. The assignments are from the text, Introduction to Linear Algebra, by Gil Strang, and can be found on the course schedule. LATE HOMEWORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED! Your homework must be written up neatly, on one side of the paper, and STAPLED. No scruffies on the paper please. Your lowest homework grade will be dropped when calculating your course grade.

Midterm Exams, and Final Exam: There will be two midterm exams and a final exams. These exams will be taken individually to test your calculational competency, concept understanding, and 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 are posted on the course schedule.

Group Exams: Group exams will be given in class most Fridays, as posted on the course schedule. 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 announce in class a few days before the exam what the groups will be.
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 since the previous exam. 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 member 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.