Course: Math 141 (Section 18), Fall 2021.
Instructor: Christopher Hanusa — Email: chanusa@qc.cuny.edu — Office: Kiely Tower 606
Meeting Times: Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:15–10:30AM in PH 113
Course Web Site: http://qc.edu/~chanusa/courses/141/21/
Online Community: Campuswire (Sign up with this code: 8426)

Our Textbook: Essential Calculus, Second Edition, by James Stewart. Please make sure you have access to a copy of the book throughout this semester. I do find it very helpful to have a physical copy of your textbook available to look through and explore in depth.

While I do not require you to purchase the textbook, if you are going to be taking more than one semester of calculus at Queens College, I do recommend that you purchase the bundle of the textbook and WebAssign from the QC bookstore or directly from the publisher. Think of it as an investment where you are splitting the cost over multiple semesters.

Optional Online Resources: WebAssign is a collection of online resources and problems that many find helpful. I do not make this a required part of the class, but I do open up the resources for you to access during the semester if you want additional practice. You can enroll yourself in our WebAssign section. The Class Key is qc 0268 8238. Log on to WebAssign and in the upper right corner it has a button that says "Enter Class Key". (If you are taking more semesters of calculus at Queens College, they may require you to purchase access to WebAssign, which is another reason to consider purchasing the bundle linked above.)

Required Homework Software: Webwork. This is a free open-source homework system. I will post homework assignments that will help you practice the material we learn in class.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, students should:

1. Recall key techniques from differential calculus and be able to apply them to unfamiliar examples.
2. Recall the statements, consequences, and applications of main theorems.
3. Develop familiarity with limits, derivatives, and applications of derivatives.
4. Develop the ability to work productively on mathematics with others.
5. Develop techniques for succeeding in college classes, especially in mathematics.

Class Expectations

Class Structure:

In some ways this is a math class like you’ve come to know, and in other ways this class will feel different because of how it is structured. As with many classes, there is some amount of mathematical content that you’ll be learning throughout the semester and you’ll need to convey that you’ve mastered.

Class Participation:

Succeeding in this class will require your participation. You are expected to come to class when you are healthy and contribute to our group class discussions when we are learning and applying class concepts. You are expected to contribute to Campuswire by asking questions about content that you don't understand, answering questions your fellow classmates asked, and responding to prompts given by your instructor. Additionally, you are expected to be a resource for your fellow classmates when working in groups which entails sharing your gained knowledge and being generous during presentations.

If you miss a class, YOU are responsible for the material you missed—get the notes from your classmates and study group and make sure that you understand the material that you missed.

Here are some other great ways to participate:

• Prepare questions in advance to ask in class based on the video lectures or the homework assignments (Webwork and/or book questions).
• Ask questions in class when something is unclear. An effective question to ask when you are lost is "I don't really understand how/why you did X; can you explain it in a different way?".
• Ask questions in class if you'd like additional explanations about topics.
• Ask a question in the Campuswire Class Feed.
• Answer a classmate's question in the Campuswire Class Feed.
• Contribute to Daily Questions posted on Campuswire.
• Attend Office Hours with homework questions or to discuss the class material.

Staying Engaged:

You are expected to keep up with the pace of the class materials. Follow along on the Course Content page to know what is due when. Many hours of work will go into understanding small details. As in any class, you will need to put in the time to fully understand the concepts. Since this course is a 3 credit course, this means 3 hours of in-class time, and in addition, six-to-nine hours of out-of-class work each week.

Our class's Campuswire community is there for you to ask questions — you should ask even the most basic questions because other people will also have those questions and it can lead to an enriching class discussion. Think of it as a virtual study group. Study groups allow you to learn the intricacies of the material; discussion of problems often lead to better understanding and new and more efficient ways to solve the problems. One of the best ways to learn something is to explain it to someone else; misunderstandings that you never knew you had will appear under someone else's questioning! In addition, seeing that others also struggle with the material helps to put your own level of understanding in a better perspective and will hopefully reduce some of your anxiety.

Attendance:

I will notice if you stop attending classes and stop participating. This will adversely affect your participation grade.

If you miss a class, you are responsible for the material you missed—get the notes from your classmates and study group and make sure that you understand the material that you missed.

Given that we are living through a pandemic and extremely trying times, I fully understand if something comes up and you have to miss a class; you do not need to justify your absence. If you have to miss multiple classes, do send me a heads up and we can come up with some accommodations to get you back on track.

Conveying Your Understanding

In this class there will be three ways to show me that you are understanding and mastering the course content. There will be homework assignments, group explanations, written assessments. There will also be an end-of-the-semester culminating event to be determined at a later time.

Homework Assignments

Homework assignments will be posted on Webwork. I do not assign homework to be busywork; I have chosen questions that help you go over the key concepts from class. You have unlimited tries and you are encouraged to work with your classmates on these problems and ask questions in class.

I have also provided a list of questions from our textbook. They are great ways to practice the concepts. It may sound counterintuitive, but it's very important to practice more examples of questions that you find difficult, so you strengthen your brain muscles in that area and learn the content more deeply.

The standards:

The key mathematical concepts from the class have been distilled into a list of standards. You will need to show mastery of each standard in two attempts in a row to convey that you have mastered the content. You will be able to show mastery either through written assessments or group explanations, as described below. The distribution of your scores on the standards will determine your standards grade, which makes up a large proportion of your final course grade, also described below.

Throughout the semester I anticipate around 20 standards. Your standards grade will be calculated as follows:

A	(95+)	Earn a score of 2 or higher on all standards and a score of 3 on fifteen of the standards.
B	(85)	Earn a score of 2 or higher on all standards and a score of 3 on five of the standards.
C	(75)	Earn a score of 2 or higher on fifteen of the standards (including all core standards) and no 0 scores.
D	(65)	Earn a score of 2 or higher on ten of the standards (including all but one of the core standards) and at most two of your scores may be 0.
F	(50–)	Earn a 2 or 3 on nine or fewer of the standards OR earn a 0 on three or more of the standards.

A	(95+)	Master sixteen of the eighteen eighteen of the twenty standards, including all core standards.
B	(85)	Master fourteen of the eighteen sixteen of the twenty standards, including all core standards.
C	(75)	Master twelve of the eighteen fourteen of the twenty standards, including at least eight of the nine core standards.
D	(65)	Master eleven of the eighteen twelve of the twenty standards, including at least seven of the nine core standards.
F	(50–)	Master ten or fewer total standards, or six or fewer core standards.

Written Assessments:

Throughout the semester you will be able to show mastery of the standards by way of periodic assessments that occur at the end of certain class periods. The score you earn will be either "Pass" or "Needs Improvement" depending on whether you have conveyed complete mastery of the material. The key will be making sure you have written enough to show me that you understand the material, and not just give "the right answer".

What is different from the high-stakes "tests" that you might associate with a math class is that there is an opportunity for you to re-assess standards when you want to improve your scores. This allows you to focus your studying on the concepts that you have not fully understood. You will be able to reassess up to two standards per week, so be sure to take advantage of this opportunity throughout the semester.

Group Explanations:

Throughout the semester you will be working in groups in class on the course content. Some of this information will be shared with the class, and when you and your groupmates share information related to one of the standards, you will be able to show mastery of the content, which will count toward your standard grade. My goal is to give you an opportunity to convey mathematical ideas verbally and show that you have understood the topics in a deep way.

End-of-semester culminating event:

Since the written and verbal assessments convey your cumulative understanding of the material in this class, there is no need for a traditional "final exam". Instead you will be given a set of questions that ask you to reflect on the learning you have done throughout the semester.

Grading Scheme

Your grade will be based on homework, assessments class participation, and your exams. Each component of your grade is calculated independently; then all pieces are combined using the following weighted average.

Grade from the standards: 75%
WebWork Assignments: 10%
End-of-semester culminating event: 10%
Class Participation: 5%

Getting Help

Study Groups:

An important component of your learning in this class is through study groups. Study groups allow you to learn the intricacies of the material; discussion of problems often lead to better understanding and new and more efficient ways to solve the problems. One of the best ways to learn something is to explain it to someone else; misunderstandings that you never knew you had will appear under someone else's questioning! In addition, seeing that others also struggle with the material helps to put your own level of understanding in a better perspective and will hopefully reduce some of your anxiety. If you can not find a study group, e-mail me so that I can help you get involved.

Our Campuswire Community

We’ll be using Campuswire for all our class communications. Use Campuswire to ask questions about concepts and assignments and send messages to members of our class community, including fellow students and your instructor.

The part of the site that shows up first is the “Class Feed” where you can post questions to the entire class (including to me). These might be homework questions or syntax questions or questions that percolate up from chatroom discussions. I expect that everyone will participate by asking and answering questions here. The class feed is also where timely announcements are posted.

You can use the “Chatroom” feature to create topic-specific chatrooms for group messaging and collaboration, which will be helpful to communicate about studying and for student-centered discussions.

There is a DM section where you can send me a direct message if you have a private question or concern that needs to be raised. Feel free to use that instead of sending messages by email.

The Math Help Room:

The Math Department sponsors the Queens College Math Lab, which offers drop-in help for your homework.

Office Hours:

Office hours is the time that instructors set aside outside of class time for students to come and ask questions. I am happy to help you with your homework and other class-related questions or concerns. During the first week of class I will send out a survey to determine the best times for office hours and they will be posted by the end of the the first week of class. If those times don't work for you, send me an email or DM and we'll set up a time that works for you.

Course Policies

Cheating/Plagiarism:

DON'T DO IT! It makes me very mad and very frustrated when students cheat. Cheating is the quickest way to lose the respect that I have for each student at the beginning of the semester.

Working together with classmates on homework and studying for assessments is encouraged and is certainly NOT cheating. (Please DO ask and answer each other's questions on Campuswire!)

On the other hand, do not help each other to answer the assessment questions. Both receiving and supplying the answers on an assessment is cheating. The work you turn in for your assessments must be your own. For the record, copying content from online or offline sources and passing it off as your own work WILL ALWAYS be considered cheating in this and all other classes.

Since this is time for joint exploration and learning, please do not ask students who previously took this class for help. The struggle in the class is part of the learning process.

I take cheating very seriously. If you cheat, you will receive a zero for the assignment and I will report you to the academic integrity committee in the Office of Student Affairs to be placed on your permanent file. If you cheat twice, you will receive a zero for the class.

Academic Dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion as provided at this link.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:

Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should register with and provide documentation to the Office of Special Services, Frese Hall, room 111 or by emailing QC.SPSV@qc.cuny.edu. The Office of Special Services will provide a letter for you to share with your instructor indicating the need for accommodation and the nature of it. This should be done during the first or second week of class. For more information about services available to Queens College students, contact the Office of Special Services (718-997-5870) or visit their website.

Technical Support

The Queens College Helpdesk provides technical support for students who need help with Queens College email, CUNY portal, Blackboard, and CUNYfirst. You can also contact the helpdesk throug (718) 997-4444, helpdesk@qc.cuny.edu), or in person in Room 151 of the I-Building.