Course Structure

We have five high level learning objectives for the course.

1. Students will productively discuss mathematics in a group setting.
2. Students will write detailed solutions using appropriate mathematical language
3. Identify areas in mathematics and other fields where calculus is useful.
4. Analyze unfamiliar problems and craft solutions.
5. Master single variable differential and integral calculus.
There are also weekly objectives as well as objectives for individual components of the course.

Our central philosophy is that students learn mathematics best by doing mathematics and that we can have maximal impact on that learning when we do mathematics with you. This informs our focus on active learning exercises during class time and led us to push what would be lecture - a passive mode of learning - outside our time together.

MATH 3 is structured to allow students opportunities to visit and revisit material on a flexible schedule. Course Components:

• We have moved content that might normally be covered by lecturing in class to video or reading (you can choose the mode) - these will be a primary component of your homework for this class. Each set of videos will have a practice problem set that you can access through WebWork.
• Class time will have two main components. Review of the content to answers questions and clarify points and group problems solving sessions.
• Your grade in the course will emerge from three components - successfully completing the practive problem sets, turning in some of the group work problems throughout the term, and the evaluation of your portfolio (see the tab on mastery grading).

Why did we settle on this structure? It's design is an invitation to you to engage with the material along multiple avenues allow you to choose what works best for you. The iterative nature of turning in work for the course gives you the chance to build your skills over time, allowing you to focus more time on difficult areas.

• Our text for the course is the OpenStax Calculus: Volume 1. Links to an external site.  The link is to the html version but you can download a pdf Links to an external site. as well.
• Our videos often have transcripts or other write-ups for students that prefer text to video.
• Our departmental syllabus for math 3 gives the topics we cover in roughly the same order as we will cover them.  Every instance of math 3 is a little bit different - tweaking the presentation and topic choice.  Don't be surprised if we deviate from this syllabus from time to time.

To help you more easily organize your time each of the week pages will be color coded so you can quickly see what is preparation (yellow), in-class (green), follow-up work (purple), and work to turn in (red). Each of these will annotated with icons to point you towards the type of work we are asking you to do such as watching videos , reading texts ,group work , and computational practice .

As with all Dartmouth courses, the Academic Honor Principle applies to our course. Our course does not have exams, so those portions do not apply. For WeBWork and team homework, you are allowed and encouraged to work with your peers. For the portfolio work, collaboration is allowed but the work you turn in must reflect your own understanding and experiences in learning the material.

Over the course of the term, you will be building a portfolio of work that will translate into a majority of your grade.  We have identified 5 topics for you to demonstrate competence.  For each of these topics, you should aim to produce 4-5 pieces of mathematics that demonstrate that you have met the objectives for the topic.

Topics

Our five topics are Limits, Continuity, Derivatives, Applications of Derivatives, and Integration.  In the assignments associated to each topic we will give you a list of objectives and sub-topics to cover.  With your exemplars, you should aim to cover as many of of these as possible and prioritize ones you think are particularly important to your understanding of the material.  In some cases, we will prescribe some of these that will need to be covered.

What They Are

These pieces of mathematics will be examples or solutions to problems.  These exemplars have four components:

• A complete write-up of the solution to the problem,
• An argument as to why it contributes to meeting the objectives of the topic with examples of other problems you evaluated and chose not to present,
• A discussion of the connections that this problem has to other topics and parts of the course, and
• A reflection on how completing this exemplar furthered your learning in the course.

When You Will Turn Them In

You will turn in these exemplars over the course of the term for feedback. While this is largely self-paced, we have deadlines in place for the submission of an initial set of exemplars for topics and then a second deadline for the final submission, revised according to our feedback. These milestones are in place to ensure you don't fall behind, but they also prevent us as instructors from being overwhelmed with work to evaluate. 

We may need to change these dates in some cases, such as if there is not enough time for feedback or that the pace of the course changes and dictates pushing back some of the deadlines.

What Feedback You Will Get

Each exemplar will be evaluated along several dimensions with three possible outcomes: exceeds expectations (E), meets expectations (M), and does not meet expectations (D).   

1. Is the solution mathematically correct? (M/D)
2. Is the mathematical exposition complete, clear, and concise? (E/M/D)
3. Is the comparative summary compelling? (E/M/D)
4. Are the connections drawn appropriate and important? (E/M/D)
5. Does the reflection demonstrate significant gains in learning? (E/M/D)

Here is a sample write-up Download sample write-up of an exemplar that demonstrates the differences between these categories.

How This Feedback Will Translate to a Final Grade

The exemplars in your final submissions will be evaluated along the five dimensions described above and assigned points out of 100 according to this table:

This means that if you want to get an A in this class, you will want to meet expectations on every part and you will need to exceed expectations on some parts.

How this fits together with the rest of your grades

Your final grade has three components:

WeBWork, 15%

Team Homework, 35%

Portfolio Mastery, 50%

In designing the course, we have tried to make choices that keep the materials and activities as accessible as possible. One of our priorities is to make this course as friendly as possible to all students at Dartmouth.

If there are accommodations you need for your learning that we have not foreseen, we are happy to work with you to make your experience in this course as good as we can. Dartmouth's process for accommodation requests is achieved in collaboration with Student Accessibility Services.

Students requesting disability-related accommodations and services for this course are required to register with Student Accessibility Services (SAS; Getting Started with SAS webpage; student.accessibility.services@dartmouth.edu; 1-603-646-9900) and to request that an accommodation email be sent to me in advance of the need for an accommodation. Then, students should schedule a follow-up meeting with me to determine relevant details such as what role SAS or its Testing Center may play in accommodation implementation. This process works best for everyone when completed as early in the quarter as possible. If students have questions about whether they are eligible for accommodations or have concerns about the implementation of their accommodations, they should contact the SAS office. All inquiries and discussions will remain confidential.

Attendance

You are expected to attend class in person unless you have made alternative arrangements due to illness, medical reasons, or the need to isolate due to COVID-19.  For the health and safety of our class community, please: do not attend class when you are sick, nor when you have been instructed by Student Health Services to stay home. You will be able to view lecture videos and other course materials in Canvas if you are unable to attend.

Safety

In accordance with current College policy, all members of the Dartmouth community are required to wear a suitable face covering when indoors, regardless of vaccination status. This includes our  classroom and other course-related locations, such as labs, studios, and office hours.  If you need to take a quick drink during class, please dip your mask briefly for each sip. Eating is never permitted in the classroom. (The only exception to the mask requirement is for students with an approved disability-related accommodation; see below.)  If you do not have an accommodation and refuse to comply with masking or other safety protocols, I am obligated to assure that the COVID-19 health and safety standards are followed, and you will be asked to leave the classroom. You remain subject to course attendance policies, and dismissal from class will result in an unexcused absence.  If you refuse to comply with masking or other safety protocols, and to ensure the health and safety of our community, I am obligated to report you to the Dean’s office for disciplinary action under Dartmouth’s Standards of Conduct. Additional COVID-19 protocols may emerge. Pay attention to emails from the senior administrators at the College. I will communicate any changes and their resulting implications for our class community.

Accommodations

Students requesting disability-related accommodations and services for this course are required to register with Student Accessibility Services (SAS; Getting Started with SAS webpage; student.accessibility.services@dartmouth.edu; 1-603-646-9900) and to request that an accommodation email be sent to me in advance of the need for an accommodation. Then, students should schedule a follow-up meeting with me to determine relevant details such as what role SAS or its Testing Center may play in accommodation implementation. This process works best for everyone when completed as early in the quarter as possible. If students have questions about whether they are eligible for accommodations or have concerns about the implementation of their accommodations, they should contact the SAS office. All inquiries and discussions will remain confidential.

Some students may wish to take part in religious observances that occur during this academic term. If you have a religious observance that conflicts with your participation in the course, please meet with me before the end of the second week of the term to discuss appropriate accommodations.