Concepts and Structures: Course Syllabus
- Instructor:
- Dr. John
R. Wicks, email: jwicks@northpark.edu,
weekly
schedule
-
- Office:
- W10B (basement of Carlson Tower, across from Lounge Area)
-
- Office Hours:
- See weekly schedule
for current hours, and by appointment. It is best to email me or leave
me a voice-mail message to suggest a meeting time, and I
will return your message to confirm; if I do not have a
clear conflict on my schedule,
I am more than happy to see you at any time during the
day Monday through Friday. Please be
sure to come to see me before you start
to have real difficulties.
-
- Phone:
- (773) 244-5652 office
- (773) 262-7621 home (before 10 pm.)
-
- Class Schedule:
- See weekly
schedule for current location and hours.
-
- Text:
- There is no assigned text. All material will be presented
in lecture, handouts, and Web-based tutorial
materials.
-
- Goals:
- This is a college level math class. Not only will
you be expected to learn how to solve problems, but you
should be conscious of what you are doing and why.
This course is designed to be unlike any other math
course you have ever taken. It can be divided into
roughly four components:
- Graph
Theory: This is a geometric approach to
solving a variety of practical problems about
finding the "best" way to do certain
things.
- Linear
Algebra: This uses a systematic procedure to
solve systems of linear equations.
- Matrix
Algebra: This shows how our traditional
concept of "number" can be generalized,
with some surprising consequences.
- Applications of Linear Algebra: This includes Fractal
Geometry, Linear
Programming, and Markov
Analysis.
-
- Homework:
- Homework will be assigned daily, according to the following schedule.
It is imperative that you do the
homework regularly and neatly. I would suggest that you
allot an hour a day for this class. Difficult concepts
sink in slowly, terminology is only learned by using it
over time, and algorithms are learned through repetition;
in other words, everything that you need
to know for the exams can only be learned by working
steadily, instead of leaving it go for a week or two and
trying to "cram".
-
- I would encourage you to form study groups and work
together. Homework will not be graded, but there will be
regular in class quizzes based on the homework. You
should form study groups of two or more; verbalizing
to each other how to do the problems is a great way to
improve your understanding (of course that does not mean
simply copying) and you can check each other's
work and give each other hints. Besides, it makes
studying more fun.
-
- Although you may print out the text, you must allocate
time for reading much of the text on the computer.
The text uses hyper-links to clarify terminology and to
cross-reference material; you will not be able to use
this from a printed copy. The text also uses color, which
will not come out on a black-and-white printer. Most
importantly, the text provides a number of programs that
help you to make and solve practice exercises and to
check your answers, which you will nto be able to use off
of the computer. The computer can help significantly while
you are learning to master the solution process,
avoid mistakes, and to find mistakes that you may make.
-
- That said, you will want to work to the point where you
are able to solve problems completely by hand, without
the computer (except possibly to create practice problems
or check your solutions). You should eventually write-up
your solutions to the homework neatly, explaining your
work as you go, you can train yourself to avoid mistakes,
especially when under pressure (eg., during an
exam). If you cannot clearly communicate the solution, it
does not matter that you know may how to solve the
problem. Besides, if it is neat and
well-organized, your homework will serve as one of your
most valuable study aids for the exams.
-
- There are also tutors available free of charge, through the Center
for Academic Services.
-
- Attendance:
- Participation in class discussion, group work, and
note-taking are all important components of this course.
Students are permitted five (10%) unexcused hours of
absence. Absences in excess of this will reduce the final
grade 2% per excessive hour missed. You will be asked to
sign in at the beginning of class. After the first
10 min., you will be considered absent.
-
- Grading:
- Grades will be computed as follows:
| In class exams (3) |
60 % |
| Final |
30 % |
| Quizzes and Labs |
10 % |
-
- Summary sheets indicating the material to appear on Exam 1, Exam 2, and Exam 3 will be made available. If you
cannot take an exam at the scheduled time, you must make arrangements with
me to take the exam at an alternate time before the scheduled exam
time, or you will forfeit a letter grade on the exam.
-
- Grades will be available for each student via WebAssign.