Much of your experience in mathematics courses probably had the following flavor: You attended class and listened to lectures where theory and examples were presented. Your text usually gave a parallel development. Then your turn came: For every assigned problem there was a method already taught in class that you were expected to recall. Your job was to memorize these methods and decide which method applied and then to apply it (whether or not you understood it.) Under this system rote memorization and recall are substituted for understanding. Long experience (and most research) shows that this invariably leads to boredom and frustration and has little, if any, lasting value. I don’t want you to worry about having to “remember” lots of information in this course, I want you to understand the ideas.
Learning mathematics is not simply the acquisition of correct information. Learning requires integrating new information with your own knowledge and experiences, and delivery of information by itself doesn’t help you develop your own understanding of the material. What this means is that I cannot simply ‘transmit’ knowledge to you — you will have to take an active role in the learning process.
For me to lecture in class would is a poor use of your time. If you prepare for class by watching the assigned videos, doing the assigned problems on MyMathLab, and letting me know what part you found most difficult, we can use class time to work together to develop a deeper understanding of the material. I want you to work on the challenging problems/ideas in-class where I am available as a resource, rather than at home where you are all alone.
A typical day in this course will consist of several cycles of:
- Working problems alone
- Comparing your solutions/ideas/confusions with a group
- Presentations
- Class discussion
- (sometimes) small lectures
A typical homework assignment will consist of:
- Extension problems from the prior class (#b assignments)
- Videos on new topics (usually on khan academy)
- Homework problems on the material in the videos (#a assignments)
- suggested reading from the text
You can find your daily assignments at http://sites.msudenver.edu/collegealgebraflip/
