Course Description:  Topics covered:  Exponents, algebraic fractions, polynomials, functions, graphing lines, linear and quadratic equations, systems of equations, radicals, linear inequalities, absolute value equations and inequalities.  Prerequisites:  Elementary/Introductory Algebra (MSCTC Math 0090) or specified MnSCU Math Placement Score.  Credit for MDEV 127 is applicable to degree but not towards any major or Dragon Core Mathematics requirements.

Course Goals: The primary goal of MDEV 127 is to prepare you for success in the college-level algebra course Math 127, as well as for other collegiate courses requiring mathematics.  This includes mastering the required basic mathematical skills and developing successful study habits.  Besides learning to read a mathematics text and learning to organize, solve and present solutions to problems you will need to develop self-discipline for studying mathematics every day.  The nature of Mathematics is such that you must take it in small bits - avoid trying to cram several chapters at a time.

Class Format:  This course consists of 2 lecture sessions and 2 laboratory sessions each week.  The text sections for each lecture day are given on the schedule page.  You should pre-read the sections in the textbook before the lecture on that material.  It will help you follow the lecture, and you will know what parts of the lecture are most important for you to pay close attention to (it will be those parts you didn't understand when you read the material).  The homework for each section is due (and will be collected and graded) on the lecture day after the day that section is covered in lecture.  So you must do the daily homework.  During the lecture, I may skip the more basic or simple information (like vocabulary or material you should have learned well in high school) so that I can concentrate on the harder or more confusing topics.  Active participation in class is encouraged as it strengthens comprehension.  Use reading and lecture time as an opportunity to develop your critical thinking skills. 

MSUM's standard is that one semester credit hour for undergraduates is meant to represent three hours of academic work per week for the average student who has the expected preparation for the courses that he or she is enrolled in.  For a four-credit course such as MDEV 127, this means that you should expect to work 12 hours a week on just this class.  You will meet for 200 minutes, or 3 hours and 20 minutes, during the week, which leaves 8 hours and 40 minutes for work at home.  So you should expect to work at least an extra hour and a half a day, five days a week, assuming that you are at the level that the mathematics department expects for students in this course.  If your background is a little weaker than that, you should expect to spend more time studying and doing homework outside of class than this.  In my experience, students say that on non-exam weeks, they spend about 7-8 hours a week on this course outside of class.  Significantly more time just before exams.

During laboratory sessions students can expect to be engaged in activities of the following type.

1.  Group work and activities related to lecture topics.  Students will be able to discuss topics from the lecture, obtain one-on-one assistance, and develop strategies appropriate for solving problems.

2.  In order to develop reading, organizing, and writing skills some activities might require students to read about a topic and then solve and present well written solutions.

3.  Hour exams (four each term) will be scheduled during laboratory sessions.

Attendance:  In order to succeed in mathematics classes, experience indicates that it is extremely important that students stay on schedule.  Because we are interested in your success, this course carries the following attendance requirement:  "Any student that is absent from more than 5 of the regularly scheduled lectures or laboratory sessions (5 total) during the term will have his/her overall percentage score lowered by 2 percentage points per each additional absence before final grades are assigned." 

If you do miss a day, you will not be given an opportunity to make up work from class that you miss, and it is up to you to learn the material on your own.  I will not give you the lecture on a one-on-one basis in my office.  Regardless of why you miss, missing class will likely mean that you won't understand the material as well as you should and your homework, lab, and exam grades will likely suffer as well.  Unfortunately this statement is true whether you miss class because you just didn't want to get up that morning or if you miss class because you had a major emergency (in fact, the better the reason for missing class is, the more students tend to not understand the material no matter how much they try to make it up, since they are distracted by other concerns in their lives).  Missing class is strongly discouraged. 

For a known absence due to military duty, jury duty, or other legal requirement, you must give me notice as soon as feasible and prior to the absence.  These types of reasons, with documentation, will not count toward the five-day limit.  An absence due to an official university activity will also not count towards the five-day limit if you provide me written notice at least two weeks prior to the absence, as per university policy.  I feel it is necessary to point out that relatively few faculty members or coaches remember to provide this notice in that time frame, but it is up to you to remind them, since insufficient notice will be your problem, not theirs.  Absences due to personal reasons such as illness or family emergencies will count toward the five-day limit (and are why you have five days instead of zero days).  If due to one of these reasons you will miss an exam, you must notify me as soon as feasible, which among other things means before the exam in the vast majority of cases.  In order for a makeup exam to be graded, written documentation of the reason for the absence will be required.  Examples are:  a note from the doctor saying you were seen (it does not have to say what you were seen for), a copy of the police report for a minor car accident, funeral program or obituary, etc..  (In the case of a funeral, if your relationship is not clear, I may ask you to write a short sentence saying what the relationship is and to sign it.)  In addition, makeup exams are given only on Study Day.  This semester, Study Day is Wednesday, December 8.

I do not accept late labs or homework assignments for any reason other than illness or military/jury duty lasting more than six class days.  There will be about 23 lab assignments, of which only the top 18 will be kept.  There will be about 23 homework assignments, of which only the top 18 will be kept. Therefore, a normal minor illness should not affect your grade.

Absences due to family vacations, reunions, weddings, etc., are not excused absences unless you inform me of them by Monday, August 30.  I expect you to schedule such events around your class schedules if they come up during the semester, especially since the exam dates are already set.  In addition, one-day illnesses will not be excused absences if they occur on any day but an exam day.  If it occurs on an exam day, I expect you to go to the health center on campus to get checked out.  A note from the health center or your doctor's office will be required before I will grade a make-up exam.

Comments:  The faculty and tutors of the Mathematics Learning Center are dedicated to providing you the opportunities for success in studying mathematics.  It is up to you to make good use of these opportunities.  Our goal is to help you prepare for studying college level mathematics by mastering basic mathematical skills, developing effective study habits and achieving the confidence level needed for success.

If you encounter difficulties, consult with your instructor and/or the Director of the Mathematics Learning Center as soon as possible.  We will work with you to provide a resolution.

In addition to the MLC tutoring, the Department of Mathematics has a free tutoring room available for your usage.  This room is located in Maclean 383 and is usually staffed with tutors during school hours Monday through Friday.

The hours for both the tutoring in the MLC and in the main math tutor lab are available on my office hours page.

No food or drink in the laboratory.

It is always advisable to keep your textbook receipt.

Academic Honesty: You are expected to do your own work.  You may certainly work with others and get help on homework assignments and labs (in fact, it's strongly encouraged), but the work you submit should be your own work.  Note that during exams you will not be allowed to get help from others.  Make sure that you learn the material while you do the homework and labs - that is the purpose of the assignments.  Then during the exam you can demonstrate your knowledge - that is the purpose of the exams.  Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in any college course (or any course at any level).  See the MSUM Academic Honesty policy for more information and possible consequences of cheating.

Special Accommodations: Students with disabilities who believe they may need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg Toutges, Coordinator of Disability Services at 477-2131 (voice) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY), CMU 114 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Course Requirements:  You are expected to complete daily homework, complete and submit the labs, and take and pass all the exams on the scheduled date.

Evaluations Standards: Your course grade will include lab and exam grades.  For more details, see the grade page.

Course Outline:  See the course schedule.

Calculators:  In this course, a calculator will not be allowed at all.  It is important to develop a number sense in mathematics, and that is not easy to do if you never do your own arithmetic.  I design any calculations on exams to be ones that I can do in my head.  I realize that this does not necessarily mean that you can do it in your head, but it should only be a short calculation that you can do off to the side of the problem.  If you find that I haven't provided enough room to do that, then you are probably missing an algebraic simplification that makes the arithmetic much easier and quicker, and you should look for that.

General Comments:  For all graded work in this class, you must show work for credit and give exact answers.  In general, if you have to write it down, you have to show it to me.  My rule of thumb when grading is either whether I could do a similar calculation in my head and not make a mistake or if the point of the problem is being met (i.e., if the point of the problem is to show a known result, you have to show it in some detail).  If I feel that you needed to show more work, I will indicate it.  I want to emphasize that showing work is a lesson you would much rather learn on the labs than on the exams.  My criteria is the same for both.

I do not curve courses of this level.  I have given a class average of a B+ in a course of this level, and I have also given a class average of a D+.  I grade you as individuals, and by whether or not you personally have mastered the material.  I also very rarely give extra credit, and when I do it is to the entire class.  If you come to my office at the end of the term and ask if you can do extra credit to improve your grade, my answer will be no.  The grading scale and weights for the homework and exams are given here.

I will in general return any work the next class day.  If you are not there, I will not give it to friends, roommates, or siblings/spouses/children/parents, nor will I give out grade information on the phone or via email.  (These restrictions are not arbitrary - they are based on federal law regarding student privacy.)  Normally (and if I remember), I include any old assignments with any current ones, but I do not try to pass them back a second time unless you have turned in the most recent assignment.  I will bring the old assignments with me every day, so if you ask at the end of class you can get them then.

I expect you to be responsible for yourself as far as getting notes from a classmate if you miss class.  You may get a blank copy of the lab from Mrs. Schmiess (I do not have copies).  I also expect you to turn in any homework early if you know that you will miss class.  This includes those instances when the absence is due to an official university activity.

Cell Phones and other Respect Issues:  Turn off your cell phones when you go to class (this class or any other class).  Cellular phones and other distracting devices generally have no place in a formal or semi-formal setting, such as a classroom.  Having your phone on, even in vibrate mode, or texting during class is disrespectful to both your instructor and your classmates.  If your cell phone rings, beeps, or has an audible vibrate during an exam I will reserve the right to require that you turn in what you have at that point, without finishing the exam, or to reduce your exam grade by 25%.  The point is that such an interruption can hurt your classmates' exam grades.  In mathematics in particular, regaining a train of thought that was interrupted by a classmate's phone can be very difficult for some students, and their exam grades correspondingly suffer.  I strongly suggest that you always remember to turn off your phone.  This policy applies to any other distracting device, such as a pager or alarm clock, as well.

Similarly, I expect you to respect the learning environment by being in class on time and ready, to do mathematics the entire period, and to remain in class until the end of the class.  On those rare occasions where you must be late, show respect by taking off your coat and getting out your notebook in the hallway before entering the room, and sitting down in the first available seat by the door - even if it is not where you prefer to sit.  That way you minimize the interruption to the classroom.  In general, behavior that seriously disrupts the class may be dealt with the MSUM Care Team or Campus Security, if applicable.

In addition, during exams, your cell phone (or any other electronic device) may not be visible at all - you must put it in your closed bookbag or something similar.  If you use it for your watch, you will have to bring a different clock to exams or use the classroom clock.

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