MA 109-001, Fall 2009

 

Instructor: Jakayla Robbins, Ph.D.
Department of Mathematics
University of Kentucky

Office: 767 Patterson Office Tower (767 POT)
Telephone: (859) 257-4802
E-mail: jrobbins at ms.uky.edu

Office Hours (for Jakayla Robbins): Mondays: 10:00am - 11:00 am (Mathskeller)
Wednesdays and Fridays: 10:00am - 11:00 am (POT 767)
Additional office hours can be made by appointment and are welcome.

Lecture: MWF 9:00 - 9:50 am CB 106

Undergraduate Assistants: Jenna Noll (jmnoll2 at uky.edu) and Katie Jones (katie.jones at uky.edu)

Office Hours (for the undergraduate assistants):
Jenna Noll: T 3:00pm-4:00pm,R 12:30-1:30pm, F 12:00pm-1:00pm in the Mathskeller
Katie Jones: M 11:00am-12:00pm, W 3:00pm-4:00pm in the Mathskeller

The main syllabus for Ma 109 can be found at www.ms.uky.edu/~ma109/
Almost all of the information you need about the course can be found at this site. Homework for the class can be found at www.mathclass.org

Grading policy:

The grading policy for this course is described at www.ms.uky.edu/~ma109/. You will notice that you can earn 25 participation points for this class. You can earn these participation points by attending class, participating in class activities, and completing short homework quizzes.

Each day that we have class, you must sign the attendance sheet. I will conduct random counts to ensure that you are not signing the sheet for someone else. Students who sign the sheet for themselves, are not disruptive and participate in the entire class will receive 1 point for each day that they attend class. You can lose your attendance point if you arrive late, leave early, work on anything not related to the lecture, or are disruptive in any way.

We will also have a series of short quizzes. Each quiz will be worth 2 points. You will earn 2 points if you answer the questions correctly and show your work. You will earn 1 point if you turn in the quiz but did not answer the question correctly or did not show your work. You will earn 0 points if you do not turn in the quiz. You will need to purchase a set of 3 by 5 notecards for the quizzes. Each quiz must be submitted on a 3 by 5 notecard. Quizzes that are not submitted on a 3 b 5 notecard will not be grades, so you must bring your notecards to class every day.

You can miss up to a total of five attendance and quiz points and still receive full credit for participation. With one exception, you can calculate your final participation score using the following formula:

Participation Score = (Total Attendance and Quiz Points)/(Total Attendance and Quiz Points - 5)*25 points

You cannot earn more than 25 participation points. If the formula above evaluates to a number that is greater than 25, you will only receive 25 participation points.



Classroom behavior: I expect students to come to class on time and show respect for fellow students. That includes, but is not limited to the following. Do not talk unnecessarily during class. The lecture class is large and conversations among students will disturb others who are trying to listen to the lecture. Do not leave class early, since that can be distracting to others who are trying to listen to the lecture. You may not use the following items during class: MP3 players, cell phones, laptop computers, other electronic devices not related to this math class. You should not read the newspaper or work on assignments from other classes during this math class. Students who are disruptive in any way may be asked to leave the classroom and/or will lose their participation point for the day's class.

Advice: Form good study skills from the start. Come to class. Read the text and do the homework. Do not fall behind. It is often hard to catch up in a math class after falling behind. If you are having trouble, then seek help without delay. There are many resources available in the Mathskeller and in the The Study. Find classmates to study with. Go to office hours. Talk to me before or after class. Talk to or send e-mail to the undergraduate assistants, if necessary. Let them or me know if you are having problems or if you think that there is a problem with the course.