Classrooms:      MF  Main 419
                           W  Main 321 (21st Century Lab)

Office:                Main 121

Phone:                738-8247

E-Mail:               callond@franklincoll.edu

(I will generally check e-mail and voice mail messages around 9:15 AM and then occasionally throughout the day.)

One-on-one interaction (both instructor-student and student-student) is vital to the learning process.  My entire schedule is available on the web so you can see when I'm likely to be available outside of office hours, or you may make an appointment if that's preferable.  E-mail is also a useful tool for brief questions.  I hope you will find the most comfortable and effective method or combination of methods, both in-class and out-of-class, for you and I to work together.  While you may call me at home (535-1805), I encourage you to use that option sparingly in light of my need for time with my family and early bedtimes for my young children.

Other Resources:

You will find that there are other sources of assistance available for this class.  First of all, I encourage you to make lots of connections with your classmates.  They can often be helpful as you prepare new material or review concepts already examined in class.   For deeper difficulties or more long-term assistance, please contact Jann Johnson in the Teaching-Learning Center on the third floor of Hamilton Library (extension 8285 or by e-mail at johnsoj).

A course designed for students who will enroll in MAT 130 in the subsequent semester and whose mathematical background is inadequate.  Includes basic algebraic operations involving monomials, polynomials, exponents, radicals, and logarithmic and exponential functions and solutions of linear, quadratic, and functional equations.  This course emphasizes a graphic approach and involves use of computer software.  Not open to students with credit in MAT 130.

Course Prerequisites:

MAT 090 or competency in intermediate algebra as demonstrated on the mathematics placement exam.

Course Overview:

The analogy of tools and the toolbox will be an apt comparison for us during the semester.  Students in this course are generally preparing for a major related to business or to a life science.  Mathematics is a fundamental tool in all these areas for analyzing data.  In particular we will explore functions, which are the basic building block of the concepts and processes  of calculus.  We will examine and develop the principles of problem solving, using functions to model real situations and making use of appropriate technology to construct those models from data, and then drawing reasonable conclusions from those models.

The Mathematical Sciences Department is devoted to the principles of active learning, which emphasizes teaching so that students are involved in the learning process and not merely passive bystanders.  We attempt to include activities which appeal to a variety of learning styles.  Three key features of this approach are:

* discovery learning, in which activities are structured so that students are led to explore new ideas through experimentation;

* collaborative learning, in which students are taught skills needed to work effectively within groups so that the learning process is enhanced;

* use of technology, with instruction in specific techniques and software packages which illustrate how computers and calculators can be effectively used to improve mathematical productivity.

Course Text:

Functioning in the Real World: A Precalculus Experience by Gordon, Gordon, Fusaro, Siegel, and Tucker.  This text was specifically chosen because of its fit with our philosophy regarding this course and how to learn mathematics in general.  You may find it quite different from the texts you used in high school, but I believe you will grow to appreciate that its  approach will allow you to learn more effectively and with better recall.

As noted in the catalog description, this course is designed to prepare you with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in calculus.  However, our long-range goal is to help enable you to use mathematics effectively in your career and private life.  In particular, that means helping you to develop the ability to continue to learn mathematically-related ideas throughout your lifetime.

To carry on the analogy with tools, we want you not only to learn how to use the basic tools to accomplish certain tasks, but also to acquire the knowledge needed to continue learning new uses for those tools and to extend that expertise to new and different tools.

So while we are examining specific concepts and processes, we will focus on broad-based principles which can be applied to a variety of situations and topics.

In particular, I want you to leave this course with:

1. A knowledge of certain fundamental functions, their characteristics, and applications.  Those functions include linear, power, exponential, and logarithmic functions, as well as their extensions to polynomial, rational, and radical functions.

2. An understanding of certain basic techniques of problem solving and the ability to apply them in a variety of settings.

3. An understanding of the modeling process and  how it is used to acquire information and to make decisions.

4. The ability to use certain computer software and to make informed decisions about the appropriate applications of technology.

5. Improved comfort and capability in working on team projects.

When we explore new concepts in the course and when you demonstrate your mastery of them, we will do so using all three aspects of mathematical ideas:

symbolic (or algebraic)
graphical (or geometric)
numerical

No assessment procedure or set of procedures can perfectly reflect your achievements in this class.  I will use a variety of methods to provide you with appropriate feedback and  to give you the best chance to demonstrate what you have learned.  Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions you may have about a particular assignment or test during your preparation time, while you're working on it, after you've completed it, or when you've received my evaluation of your efforts.

Daily Assignments and Activities:  A variety of in-class activities and take-home assignments will be undertaken in both group and individual settings.  A selection of these will be graded, while others may receive ungraded feedback.

Group Project #1:  This will help demonstrate your understanding of the material in section 2.2.
It will also give you a chance to apply what you have learned about functioning effectively in group settings.

Test #1:  This will evaluate your mastery of the first part of chapter 2, and will include a section using the computer and a section on which computer and calculator technology would be of no benefit.

Test #2:  This will assess your comprehension of all of chapter 2, with emphasis on the last part of the chapter.  It will include a take-home section and an in-class section.

Group Project #2:  This will be a week-long assignment which allows you to apply the techniques of chapter 3 to a particular situation.

Portfolio:  Because of the importance of knowing the various functions examined during the course, you will be asked to keep a portfolio which catalogues those functions, their properties, and uses.  Specific requirements will be handed out on a separate assignment sheet.  Most of the work will take place during our study of chapter 2 and section 4.4.

Final Examination:  The final examination will be comprehensive.  It will be given Monday, December 13, at 2 PM in Main 321 for Section A and Tuesday, December 14, at 2 PM in Main 321 for Section B.
 

Your final grade for the course will be calculated according to the following format:

Daily Activities and Assignments            about 150 points
Group Project #1                                              25
Test #1                                                           100
Test #2                                                           100
Group Project #2                                              75
Portfolio                                                          100
Final Examination                                            150

TOTAL                                                  about 700 points
 

Grades will be calculated according to the following guidelines.  While I may raise a letter grade, I will never lower it below the grade indicated.

     93 - 100  A
     90 -   92  A -
     87 -   89  B +
     83 -   86  B
     80 -   82  B -
     77 -   79  C +
     73 -   76  C
     70 -   72  C -
     67 -   69  D +
     63 -   66  D
     60 -   62  D -
     59 ->       F

Most students in this course need review of certain aspects of algebra.  A regular part of the daily homework will be exercises on selected algebra topics which will be available for student practice.  To ensure that students have mastered the requisite algebra skills for success in calculus, there will be four gateway exams which will be graded on a pass-fail basis.  Gateway exams can be retaken at scheduled intervals until they are passed.  No student can receive a grade of "C" or higher without passing all four gateway exams.

Attendance:

It is vital that you be a part of each class session possible.  Not only do you lose out if you're not here, your classmates and I miss your contributions.  But I also know that there are times when you simply cannot make it to class due to illness or other important reasons.  Unfortunately, the freedom of college life can make it tempting for freshmen especially to miss too many classes before they realize the negative impact it is having on their grade.  While I rarely have an attendance policy in my upper-level courses, I have found it necessary to do so in 100-level courses.  I will allow you up to three absences without a penalty.  (I do not try to keep track of whether absences are excused or unexcused; in either case you have missed our class.  In any case, it is considerate and expected that you let me know before classtime that you will not be there so that you can make arrangements to find out what you will miss.)  For the fourth and each subsequent absence, I will deduct ½ % from your final course percentage.  The only exceptions will be lengthy illnesses or major personal problems (death in the family, etc.), and those will be handled on a case-by-case basis.