This course is going to be different from most of your previous mathematics courses. In an algebra course, you had nightly homework and then didn't see the material again until the exam. In this course, we are going to use projects to learn the material. You will be exposed to the same material several times in different projects.
The problem with a project based course is that it is difficult to predict how long a project will take. We will take as long as we need to finish a project, but that means there won't be a calendar for the course.
You may check your grades online using the "check your grades" link from the instructor's homepage. If you find discrepancies, please inform the instructor.
These projects will be the main building blocks of the course. We will start a project, go as far as we can with it, and take as much time as we need to finish it. There will be substantial class time devoted to working on the projects, but you should plan on spending some additional time outside of class to work on them. It is anticipated that we will cover four or five class projects this semester.
The checkpoints are intended to measure progress throughout the semester. They may take the form of a quiz, exam, or timed mini-project. They will most likely occur after we have finished a class project to assess what you have learned during that project. Notification of whether or when there will be a checkpoint will be given as we near the end of a class project.
The student project builds off of the work you did with the class projects. Instead of just analyzing the surveys that someone else has done, you'll go out and gather your own information and then perform the analysis on your data. This is a group project with up to three people in a group. It will include a 50 point oral presentation to the class and a 50 point evaluation of the group dynamics and each member's contribution.
Since most of the work in this course consists of projects and demonstrating what you've learned, it doesn't make sense to have a final exam. Instead of an exam, we will have a final project where each student will be given a data set and asked to answer questions based on the data. The final project is due by 5:00 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011.
Every student will start off with the full 100 points for attendance. You will be allowed to miss one day without affecting your grade, but after that, you will lose 20 points for every class period missed. After 6 missed days, you will get none of the attendance points. Partial attendance (showing up late or leaving early) will affect your grade based on how much of the class you actually attend.