Course Description:  Topical and chronological survey of the main branches of mathematics. Required for Math Education majors. May not be used as a restricted elective for any other emphasis nor for the B.A. degree in mathematics. Prerequisite:  Math 262 (Calculus II).

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.  Since this is a 3-credit course, that means that you will be expected to work 9 hours per week, on average, for this course.  Only 150 minutes of that (or two and a half hours) will be in class.  The remaining six and a half hours are expected to be outside of class time.  Spending time reading the book, studying, and writing papers is meant to be a significant part of this course.

Course Objectives:

Students will acquire an appreciation of aspects of the history of mathematics and be exposed to some topics in mathematics not covered in other classes.

Class Activity:  In general, each class will start with a reading quiz, covering the chapter(s) that were assigned for that day.  The remaining of the class will be group discussion regarding the readings.  Class participation and attendance will be part of your grade.  Come to class having read the assignment and having comments and/or questions ready.

Attendance:  Class attendance and informed participation is mandatory.  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.  For an absence due to an official university activity, you must give me written notice at least two weeks prior to the absence, as per university policy, for a makeup exam.  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.  For an absence due to personal reasons such as illness or family emergencies, you should notify me as soon as feasible, before the absence in most 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..

Regardless of the reason for the absence, the reading quiz can not be made up.  I keep the best 20 grades on the reading quizzes.

The due dates for the papers are fixed - if you are not in class, your paper is still due.  It may be submitted to my OFFICE (not my mailbox, the secretary, or any other location).  The due time is 4:30 pm on the due date.  Late papers may not be accepted, and, if accepted, may have a significant penalty.  If you know in advance that you will be gone, you are expected to submit the paper in advance (even if the absence is for a university approved reason).

Academic Honesty: You are expected to do your own work.  Any work you submit should be your own work.  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.  Should I discover that a paper you submit has been plagiarized, the penalty will likely be automatic failure for the course as a whole and referral to judicial student services.

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, write the papers, and take and pass the final exam on the scheduled dates.

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

Course Outline:  See the course schedule.

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 spouses, 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, 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.  I also expect you to turn in any papers 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 Distractions:  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 by involving 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.

Prof. Ellen Hill Home Page

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