All common home work assignments are posted on the course web page. Individual instructors may assign additional problems or make alterations to the posted list.

5. Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning is an important feature of this course. Studying and working in small groups is one of the most effective devices for learning mathematics. One reason is that you can only use what you remember, and people remember:

6. Exams and Grading

There will be two uniform exams during the Fall semester, one on October 11 and the second on November 15. These will be evening exams, from 6-8 PM, in order to allow the time necessary for the reading and writing required by the exams. An example of the first exam is given on the course home page. In the event that there is a conflict with another scheduled academic activity, you need to notify your instructor well in advance so that the problem can be cleared up. The final exam is also a uniform exam. Each of these exams will be taken by all students in all sections at the same time, and are graded by all the instructors working together.

After each exam, a letter grade will be assigned using a scale determined by the course director specifically for that exam. The level of difficulty of the exams will be considered. All sections of this course use the same grading guidelines:

The gateway exam. There will be a basic skills gateway test on differentiation which you need to pass with a score of 70% or more by the deadline announced in the course schedule. These routine tests are repeatable, and in general do not pose a problem for students who are keeping up with the course work. You may practice each test online as many times as you like at the Calculus Gateway Site. The gateway exam will first be given in class and after that you may take a test online for a score as often as twice per day until the deadline, November 15. The gateway tests do not have the potential to raise your grade, but a failure to pass the gateway will automatically reduce your final grade in the course by one full letter grade.

7. The Calculus Center

The Mathematics Department and the Q-Center run a free Calculus Center. The Calculus Center is staffed by course instructors, advanced undergraduate students and undergraduate tutors who have been trained to tutor calculus. This is an excellent place for your home work team to meet or you to go when you need a little extra clarification. If you are not already part of a home work team, the Calculus Center will form a team that you can join. Calculus Center hours and additional information are available on the Q-Center website.

8. Studying

"How much time do I need to study for calculus?" You should plan to study a minimum of two hours outside class for each hour in class, which means that we expect you to spend at least 6.5 hours a week outside of class working on calculus. Our text is most likely different than texts that you have used in previous math courses where it may have been possible to avoid reading the text by using examples as a pattern for the home work. This book contains the main ideas of calculus in plain English. Your success in using it will depend on your reading, questioning, and thinking hard about the ideas presented. Students using this book have found discussing the problems in small groups very helpful. Study groups may be organized by your instructor or the Calculus Center.

9. Team work

For the team home work, the teams can be organized in a variety of ways. Below is a description of how calculus teams are organized at the University of Michigan, where they have a calculus program very similar to ours. This is a very good model for you to follow in organizing your team. Each member of the team has an important role. These roles - scribe, the clarifier, the reporter, and manager - are to be rotated each week so that everyone samples each role.

Each member of the team has an important role. These roles are to be rotated each week so that everyone has the opportunity to try each role. The roles are the scribe, the clarifier, the reporter, and the manager.

Scribe: The scribe is responsible for writing up the single final version of the home work to be handed in. This is the only set of solutions which will be accepted or graded. Each member of the group will receive the same grade. Whenever possible, your solutions should include symbolic, graphical and verbal explanations or interpretations. Diagrams and pictures should also be provided if possible.

Clarifier: During the team meeting the clarifier assists the group by paraphrasing the ideas presented by other group members, e.g. "Let me make sure I understand, the graph goes up ...". The clarifier is responsible for making sure that everyone in the group understands the solutions to the problems and is prepared to present the problems to the class if the team is called on.

Reporter: The reporter writes a record of how the home work sessions went, how long the team met, what difficulties or successes the team may have had (with math or otherwise). If there is disagreement about the solution of a problem, the reporter should present sketches of alternate solutions and explain the difference of opinion. The report should list the members of the team who attended the session and their roles. The report should be on a separate sheet of paper and the first page of the team's home work solutions. You may use a copy of the sample cover sheet for this purpose.

Manager: The manager is responsible for arranging and running the meetings. If the team has only three members, or if one of the four members cannot attend, the manager should also take one of the other roles. When the home work is returned, the manager sees that it is photocopied and distributed so that each team member's portfolio contains a copy of the corrected problems.

Making Home work Teams Work

The goal of team home work is to ensure that everyone learns with and from the other members of the group. This means that when the work is completed and submitted, every member of the group should be able to explain how to solve all the problems. Here are some ideas that past students have come up with to help your group function at its full potential.

Schedule enough meetings, and don't schedule them at the last minute.

Go to every meeting and be on time. (Woody Allen says, 80% of life is just showing up.)

Do the reading and work on each of the problems before the group meets.

Find a way to express varying opinions in a friendly way.

Listen carefully. Don't interrupt and don't tune out.

Make sure that everyone is equally involved.

Avoid making others feel dumb.

Stay on the topic.

Don't rush to finish before everyone understands.