Instructor: C. Robert Secrist
Office Hours:
Contact me via email at secristb@kellogg.edu. I will respond within 2 work days during the week.
Monday night 9:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M. will be Virtual Classroom office hours at MyMathLab - Coursecompass.
Syllabus Contents: The syllabus contains most of the general information about this course. You can find the syllabus at Kellogg Community College's academic server. You need to immediately make a copy of it and keep it handy for reference.
Below you will find answers to other questions that you have about this course:
What are the attendance requirements?
Are there still assignments?
Are audits possible?
How can you get help?
What is the method of learning?
What is the course objective of this course?
What is in the mathematics departmental outline?
What is my philosophy about calculus learning?
What is the purpose of this course?
PURPOSE: This is the first semester of a four-semester calculus sequence at KCC. It is designed primarily for learning the basic calculus concepts needed by those studying engineering, business, physical science, computer science, and mathematics.
OBJECTIVE: You will be able to describe the following concepts: limit, continuity, the derivative, the differential, the anti-derivative, the definite integral, to state the geometric application of each concept, to evaluate each concept, and to solve application situations.
PHILOSOPHY: With this course, I will emphasize the understanding of calculus concepts, concentrating on the relationship between symbolic, graphic, numeric, and real-world representations. Understanding concepts includes facility with algebraic and symbolic manipulation and with hand computations. Thus, these will be included. All students can learn this concepts if they seriously study.
DEPARTMENTAL OUTLINE: The Kellogg Departmental Outline for calculus represents areas of mathematics department agreement about this course such as course description, text, learning objectives, and topics for the course.
Except in an emergency, you must, at a minimum, be online at MyMathLab - CourseCompass each day Monday through Friday.
You must check daily your discussion board and actively participate. This is where you are "in class" and participate in class discussion.
You must check daily your email.
Frequency: You will have an assignment each week day and are expected to work, at a minimum, all assigned problems. Regularly, SCHEDULE UP TO TWO HOURS PER DAY to practice and study calculus. DO NOT FALL BEHIND ON YOUR ASSIGNMENTS.
What is the importance of doing the assignments? You learn mathematics only by doing mathematics. Thus, do the assignments each day! Regularly I will check to see if you are doing your homework and completing your postings.
Moreover, in this class you are responsible for all information covered, including what I present in the course notes in addition to what is in the text.
METHOD OF LEARNING: ONLINE – GROUP STUDY:
You learn in this course by independently studying the textbook, the course notes, and practicing the problems.
You also learn by actively and regularly participating in the discussion boards by posting solutions to problems and questions and by replying to postings from other students.
I will approve your desire to change to audit status only if you are passing with a "C" grade at the time of the request and only if you give me a commitment to remain active in the course.
I have a variety of ways to obtaining help in this class:
Classmates: Studying together by placing postings on the discussion boards at MyMathLab/CourseCompass at at http://www.students.pearsoned.com.for the assigned problems and replying to postings of your classmates.
Classmates: Posting questions at the "Questions about the Course" forum at the MyMathLab/CourseCompass Discussion Board at http://www.students.pearsoned.com.. This is like asking questions of your friends and asking questions in class.
Online help: Free tutoring, videos, student study guides, electronic textbook and practice tests in MyMathLab / Course Compass at http://www.students.pearsoned.com.
The website “Calculus on the Web” is an excellent, free site that gives assistance and sample problems from calculus. Go to www.math.temple.edu/~cow/.