Math 1020Q – 07: Problem Solving

Mark Naigles

Office: MSB 234, Phone: 486-2091, Email: Naigles@math.uconn.edu

Office Hours: Thursday 1:00 - 2:20 PM, and by appointment

Meeting Time 3:30 - 6:00 PM Thursdays in MSB 411

Textbook PProblem SSSolving by DeFranco and Vinsonhaler

General Information

Goals: The goal is to foster problem solving skills that can be applied throughout the college experience and the rest of your life.

Expectations: First, you are expected to come to class. I will not be doing much lecturing – you will be working on problems. You are responsible for everything that happens in class. If you miss a class, you are expected to find out what happened, either from me or one of your classmates. Second, you should expect to do much of your learning outside the classroom, generally spending around 4-6 hours a week working on this class. Problem Solving, like most subjects, is learned by doing. Most of all, it is expected that you will get excited about what you are learning and take delight in your own, perhaps unexpected, ability to solve intriguing problems.

Homework: Homework will be assigned and graded each week. Homework is to be done outside of class and we will not devote extensive class time to the discussion of homework problems. Your written work is expected to be neat, accurate, and contain written explanations using full sentences and standard English. It is easier to grade (and award credit for) work done on a word processor. All work and justification must be shown; an answer without an explanation is not worth any credit. It is your responsibility to get help if you can’t complete an assignment. You can come to my office, work with other students, send me an email, or use any reasonable method to figure out how to complete your assignments. Please be familiar with UConn’s policy on Academic Integrity.

Week	Date Assigned	Material	Assignment Due on Date
1	August 28, 2008	Chaps 1-2: Problem Solving, PSSSP
2	September 4, 2008	Chap 3: Be Proactive	Automathography, Heap Letter
3	September 11, 2008	Chap 4: See it	Symmetry
4	September 18, 2008	Chap 4: See it, Chap 5: Simplify it	Prom Problem
5	September 25, 2008	Chap 5: Simplify it, Exam #1	Parking Lot
6	October 2, 2008	Chap 6: Stir it Up	Forty Thieves
7	October 9, 2008	Chap 6: Stir it Up	Should You Switch?
8	October 16, 2008	Chap 7: Pause and Reflect	Faculty Debts
9	October 23, 2008	Chaps 8-9: Interpersonal, Communication	Grilled Cheese
10	October 30, 2008	Estimation	Grappling with Groups
11	November 6, 2008	Review and Exam #2	Maple Tree (10 ways to measure)
12	November 13, 2008	Revisit PSSSP and work on Final Project	House Hunt
13	November 20, 2008	Revisit PSSSP and review for Final Exam	Weights
14	December 4, 2008	Present Final Projects

Group Projects: Towards the end of the semester, you will be assigned projects to be worked on in groups. One write-up will be submitted for each group. Your Final Project will be a group project. Projects will be graded on accuracy, creativity, and presentation. We will begin some projects in class to get you started, but additional time outside of class will be required to complete them. Groups may be asked to present their project solutions to the class. All Final Projects will be presented during our last scheduled class meeting.

Grading: The two hourly exams are scheduled for the second half of our class on September 25^th and November 6^th.

No make-ups will be given. If an emergency arises and you must miss an exam, you are responsible for notifying me before the exam or you will not get credit for that exam.

2 exams: 25.0% Final Project 12.5%

Homework / Classwork 50.0% Final Exam 12.5%

Total 100%