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Instructor: Jessica Sidman Office: 402a Clapp Lab Phone: 538-3251 Email: jsidman Office hours: MT 3-4, Th 2-3 Text: Laboratories in Mathematical Experimentation: A bridge to higher mathematics, George Cobb, Giuliana Davidoff, Alan Durfee, et al, 1997. |
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We will use excerpts from the text. These excerpts may be posted
on ella and may be made available later as a course pack.
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Course objectives: The main objective of this course is to help you raise your level of mathematical sophistication by working as a mathematical investigator. You will work on a series of laboratory projects to discover what is true in each case. Over the course of the semester you will develop skills that will help you to communicate your ideas rigorously and clearly. You will also learn to think critically about mathematics that you learn. Course structure: This course has a unique structure. The end goal of each project is to present your work in a paper containing an introduction, definitions, examples, theorems, proofs, and conjectures. You will work towards this goal through discussions and computations in class as well as short writing assignments that you will complete on your own time. You should expect to turn in at least one short writing assignment a week. These short assignments are the building blocks of your paper. It is important that you turn them in on time so that you receive feedback that you can incorporate into your big paper. Check our class schedule for current information. Your reports need to be typed, preferably using the LaTeX document preparation system available on all of the 4th floor Clapp computers. If you have your own computer, you may download this software yourself. If you have a PC running Windows, you can download LEd. You will also need to install MikTex. Those of you with Macs running OS X, can download MacTex. MacTex is TexShop plus TexLive and it is all you need to install to get started in one step. If you are running Linux, you may already have LaTeX on your machine. Attendance is very important because class time will be mostly devoted to the collaborative discovery that fuels your reports. More detailed information about how to prepare lab reports will be given during the first week of class. Tech mentor: Tamar Wilson will be our tech mentor for the class. She will be available to help you write your papers with LaTex and will also offer some help with Maple and Matlab programs. Academic integrity: You are encouraged to work together and to share your ideas and discoveries with your classmates. However, your writing must be your own. You should be sure to acknowledge any sources of help received. More information about proper acknowledgements will be given in class. Grading: Lab reports will account for 85% of your course grade. You will have an opportunity to redo each lab report at least once, except for the final project. The remaining 15% of the course grade will depend on class participation, including attendance, short writing assignments, and oral presentations. |