MTH299 FS23 Syllabus

Course Structure

Class Meetings

Each section meets in-person three times per week.  The Monday class will be a recitation taught by the TA, while the other classes will be taught by the instructor. 

Office Hours

Office hours are dedicated times outside of class set aside by your instructor to  discuss anything related the course with students.  For example, you can use office hours to get help with material you are struggling with, or discuss your goals and progress in the course.  You are strongly encouraged to make use of this as a resource to aid your study.  The office hours are as follows:

You are welcome to attend the office hours of either instructor, and if you are not able to make the scheduled office hours you may email your instructor to arrange an appointment at an alternative time.

Other Communications with Instructors

As an alternative to attending office hours you may contact your instructor by email.   Instructors will strive to respond to emails within one business day but may not respond if:
●    they already addressed or are planning on addressing the question/issue in class to everyone, or
●    if the answer is available on the syllabus/course website.

Course Objectives

This course acts as a bridge from your training in calculus which typically focuses on formulas and calculations to that of higher mathematics which focuses on abstraction, problem solving, and proof. You will be taught to think independently, to digest abstract concepts and tools from higher mathematics, and to communicate clearly in mathematical context - by writing mathematical proofs in a clear and detailed manner and explaining solutions to your peers. You will be expected to become proficient with the structure of mathematical logic, including truth tables, and you will be expected to become proficient in some basic styles of proof, such as: direct proof, proof by contradiction, proof by induction, proof by contrapositive, equivalences, and more.

Expectations

You are expected to be an active, hardworking, diligent, and competent learner. The average time each student is expected to spend outside of class, combined between the tasks of reading, going over examples from class and working on homework problems is approximately 12 hours per week.  We expect you to ask lots of questions, to frequently visit office hours, and above all, to be an engaged learner. By this we mean that you will engage in working with your peers in and out of class, and ask plenty of questions of your instructors. 

During the Monday recitations you will be routinely encouraged to ask questions of the TA, and of your fellow students. You will be expected to share your thoughts and arguments with the rest of the class. Remember that this classroom is a safe space for you and your peers to share their thinking and to learn. The instructors and TAs will not tolerate any bullying or demeaning behaviors. If you ever feel like your voice is not valued or heard in class, please talk with your instructor and/or TA.

During each recitation class you will work in groups with your peers. In this class, mathematics is a social activity. Your instructors will assign you to various groups with your peers throughout the semester. You are expected to be an active member of these groups. You, along with your fellow group members, will collectively work on problems, and work to build collective understanding of various proving techniques. You will have access to common resources (your notes, instructors’ help, etc.). You and your group mates will present your solutions to your classmates. You are encouraged to ask as many questions as needed (to both your classmates and the instructors), and to talk with everyone else as needed. 

Supplies

Technology

A device (computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.) that can connect to the internet is required so that you can access all materials posted on D2L and upload homework to GradeScope. Homework assignments will be submitted as PDFs through GradeScope. You can write your solutions by hand on paper, scan them and upload them, you can use a tablet to write your solutions, or you can type your solutions using LaTeX or Word. Part of your grade will come from a portfolio, which should be produced using LaTeX.   This can be done either with the free online editor Overleaf, or by installing LaTeX locally.  LaTeX help sessions will be scheduled during the semester to help with this.  

Textbook

We recommend the textbook How to Think Like a Mathematician, by Kevin Houston, but do not require you to obtain it. Class notes, worksheets, and homework solutions will be provided on D2L. 

Course Grade

Your course grade will be based on the maximum of the following two numbers:

In addition, you must take the final examination in order to pass the course. Final grades will be no lower than those given by the following table: 

Recitation worksheets

Recitation worksheets can be completed by coming to class, doing the work, and interacting with your classmates.  Recitation worksheets will be graded on the basis of completion: any reasonable submission will receive full credit, and they will be submitted to the TA at the end of each recitation. 
If you cannot make it to recitation due to extenuating circumstances (e.g. illness), please contact your instructor. Depending on the situation, your instructor may allow you to submit your worksheet via an alternate method within 24 hours.

Homework

Homework is easily the most important activity for learning in this course (and any mathematics course, really). As is often said, mathematics is not a spectator sport!, so the class is designed for students to stop watching people solve math problems, and work together or individually to solve problems themselves. You are encouraged to discuss homework problems with one another, but you must write up your solutions individually. You are not permitted to use online resources to find solutions. 

Homework will be available on Gradescope and D2L on Wednesday of each week and will usually be due on Wednesday at 11:59PM ET of the following week. Your homework should be uploaded on Gradescope, unless otherwise indicated, by the deadline. Each homework will contain at least 3-5 problems.

Think of a proof as your attempt to convince someone that a certain statement is true - therefore, you need to be convinced that you know what you are talking about and that your assertions are indeed true so that you can convince your peers/grader. Also, it is important that your homeworks and the arguments within are easily readable by your instructors. To facilitate this, the final drafts of your homework must be generated after you have already worked out the problems on the homework.  These final drafts must be generated after you have already worked out the problems on the homework. These final drafts must be clearly legible and submitted through Gradescope as a single pdf file.

A special note on homework grading: We may be unable to grade every homework problem which you hand in. We will make a selection of homework problems to grade each week at our discretion. We will do our best to provide solutions to the homework so that all of your hard work can be put to good use in learning/practicing the material in this course. Some number of lowest scoring homeworks will be dropped from your score as determined by the above.

Quizzes

There are four quizzes, which will take place in class. They will include proof problems and are designed to be doable in 45 minutes. For a tentative schedule, please see the separate schedule document on D2L. No collaboration or use of outside resources is allowed. Please refer to the Spartan Code of Honor and Academic Integrity policies.

Final Exam

By registering for this class, you understand that the final exam is a mandatory part of the course. The final exam is scheduled for Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 7:45am - 9:45am ET.  The final is cumulative. Those with another final exam scheduled during this time or three or more final exams scheduled on this day may request an alternate final exam date / time but must do so at least 2 weeks before the final exam date. All students are required to take the Common Final Exam to pass the course. If a student has exceptional special circumstances or an official university excluded absence, a make up may be given within 24 hours of the original final exam time only after proper official documentation has been provided.

Portfolio

The portfolio is meant to help you create a big picture view of the class by summarizing the main proof techniques and most important logical equivalences and tools that will be used again and again in your future proof-based mathematics courses. We hope that this portfolio will be a mini-textbook written by you for you to use and add to in many of your future classes. A partial draft of the portfolio is due on 10/27.

The complete portfolio is due 11/29. The portfolio should be professional and needs to be typed in LaTeX.

Your submission must be your own individual work.   Consistent with MSU’s efforts to enhance student learning, foster honesty, and maintain integrity in our academic processes, instructors may use a tool called Turnitin to compare a student’s work with multiple sources. The tool compares each student’s work with an extensive database of prior publications and papers, providing links to possible matches and a “similarity score.” The tool does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred or not. Instead, the instructor must make a complete assessment and judge the originality of the student’s work. All submissions to this course may be checked using this tool. Student submissions will be retained only in the MSU repository hosted by Turnitin.

ChatGPT

Your use of ChatGPT and similar tools will be treated in the same way as discussions with another student, therefore submission of its output as your own work is strictly prohibited.  

Schedule

For a tentative schedule of deadlines, please see the separate document on D2L.

Late/Missing Assignments and Absence Policy

Late/Missing Homework Policy

Late homework will not be accepted.  Dropping the lowest homework scores is meant to account for any unforeseen circumstances.

Late/Missing Quiz Policy

Typically a missed quiz is given a 0. Please make sure to arrive on time and prepared. All the (tentative) quiz dates are announced well in advance. Dropping the lowest quiz score is meant to account for unforeseen circumstances.

Religious Observance Policy

In line with MSU’s religious observance policy, if a  graded component with fixed time (i.e. recitation, quiz or final) falls on a student’s religious holiday, they may request to complete the assignment at an alternative time.  Such requests must be made at least two weeks in advance.

Learning Continuity Statement

While we hope that this semester will contain no disruptions, we intend to remain flexible to unforeseen circumstances.   Dropped scores from homework and quizzes allow flexibility to account for individual circumstances.   Students missing work due to illness beyond  the flexibility already afforded in the syllabus are advised to meet with an academic advisor to discuss the University’s Medical Leave Withdrawal Policy and other avenues for support.

Administrative Drop for Nonattendance

Students may be dropped from this course for non-attendance by a departmental administrative drop after the fourth class period, or the fifth class day of the term of instruction, whichever occurs first.

Other Important Policies

There are many other important policies that deserve to be in here but the syllabus is already quite long. Check out these policies which we abide by via https://math.msu.edu/Classes/other_policies.aspx

Important Dates