Class Information

Course Title Math 1420: Calculus I

Instructor Kameryn Williams

Website http://kamerynjw.net/teaching/2023/math1420/

Email kameryn.j.w [ at ] shsu ( period ) edu

Class Hours and Room

  • Section 03: MWF 2:00–3:15 LDB 218

  • Section 09: MWF 11:00–12:15 LDB 400

Office Hours WF 9:30–10:30; W 3:30–4:30; or by appointment

Office LDB 413

Textbook None required, but the free online OpenStax text Calculus: Volume 1 is a helpful reference.

Course Description Students study limits and continuity, the derivative, techniques for differentation of algebraic, logarithmic, exponential, and trigonometric functions, applications of the derivative and anti-differentiation, definite integrals, the fundamental theorem of calculus.

Prerequisite C or better in Math 1410 or Math 1314 and Math 1316 with a grade of C or higher; or high school equivalent.

Learning Objectives

This class in the first in the calculus sequence. The content is divided into four learning objectives for you to master over the course of the semester.

  • (A) Conceptual understanding of calculus

    • Intuitive understanding of limits, continuity, derivatives, and integrals.

    • The graphical meaning of calculus concepts.

  • (B) Formal understanding of calculus

    • The formal definitions of continuity, derivatives, and integrals.

    • How to use formal definitions to get further information.

  • (C) Rules for computations

    • Rules for limits, derivatives, and integrals.

    • How to use these rules to do calculus computations.

  • (D) Approximations and applications

    • How calculus concepts give rise to approximations.

    • Related rates and optimization problems.

Grading Policy

Your grade is comprised of two components, a major component for approximately 2/3 of the overall grade and a minor component for approximately 1/3. The major component is based on exams while the minor component is based on regular homework assignments.

  • (64%) Major Assessment. This is broken down by learning objective, divided evenly between the three midterms and final exam. Each exam consists of one section for each learning objective. So each section of each exam is worth 4% of your overall grade. The point of this breakdown is to give you more precise feedback so you have a better idea of where to focus your studying efforts.

    • (16%) Conceptual understanding of calculus

    • (16%) Formal understanding of calculus

    • (16%) Rules for computations

    • (16%) Approximations and applications

  • (36%) Minor Assessment. This is further broken down by assignment type.

    • (28%) Online Homework

    • (8%) Written Homework

Major Assessment Policy

There will be three midterm exams throughout the semester, plus one cumulative final. Each exam is broken up into four sections, one per learning objective. Exams are in-class, written, individual efforts.

No calculators nor notes are allowed for exams.

Exam dates:

  • Unit 1 Midterm: Wednesday, 2/8

  • Unit 2 Midterm: Monday, 3/6

  • Unit 3 Midterm: Monday, 4/10

  • Cumulative Final:

    • Section 09 (11:00 class): Monday, 5/8, 10:15–12:15

    • Section 03 (2:00 class): Wednesday, 5/10, 3:00–5:00

The 1420 instructors have organized bi-weekly calculus study sessions. (See the pdf linked in the announcements section.) To encourage you to attend for the extra calculus practice, each session you attend will net you 2% extra credit on one learning objective for one exam. (The different objectives are weighted equally so for grade calculations it doesn’t matter which objective the extra credit is applied to.) For example, if you attended 5 sessions and got 92% on the Formal Understanding learning objective, I would put 102% = 92% + 10% in my gradebook.

The final is cumulative and also broken up by learning objective. At the end of the semester, I will compare your grade on the learning objectives on the final to your lowest grade on each objective from the midterms. If the final’s grade is higher than the lowest midterm grade, then I will replace the midterm grade in the gradebook with the final grade. For example, if you got a 90% on Formal Understanding on the final but your lowest midterm grade for Formal Understanding was 80%, then I would replace the 80% with 90% in my gradebook.

Minor Assessment Policy

Online homework will be given through the free and open source MyOpenMath system. Homework is due weekly, and broken up by topic, with each topic corresponding to one section of the OpenStax textbook. That said, you are strongly encouraged to do homework every day we have class. Mathematics is a cumulative discipline, and the way to learn it is to do it. You don’t want to struggle with Friday’s material because you put off learning Monday’s material until the weekend.

Info about how to access the MyOpenMath site for the class can be found on the Blackboard site and the class discord.

For online homework, at the end of the semester I will drop your 4 lowest homework scores. Additionally, MyOpenMath is set up to give you 10 “late passes”. These allow you to extend the due date on one topic by 72 hours, giving you a no-questions-asked extension.

There will be one written homework per unit, for a total of 4 throughout the semester. These are an opportunity for you to practice communicating mathematics. Not only is it important to be able to convince yourself of why some piece of calculus reasoning works, you also need to be able to explain it to others.

Written homework is graded based upon mathematical correctness and exposition, each comprising an equal portion of the grade. For mathematical correctness, your computations and reasoning should be valid, and any final answers you produce should be the correct ones. For exposition, you should adhere to the standards of academic writing—use complete sentences and proper grammer, etc.—and the clarity of your presentation.

Textbook Information

None required, but the free online OpenStax text Calculus: Volume 1 is a helpful reference. Let me also reiterate here that the online homework system for the class is also free.

In sum, the cost of required books, materials, etc. for this class is $0. I suggest you look into what your books for other classes cost and, if it would save you money overall, opt out of the bookstore’s Bearkat Bundle program. This program charges you a flat fee based on your total credits taken each semester to provide you with required textbooks, etc. If you have other classes which, like this one, cost significantly less than the Bearkat Bundle credit fee (approx. $27 per credit), you could save money by opting out of the program and buying your books yourself.

Attendance Policy

No portion of your grade is directly based on attendance, but exams are in-person and you do have to be present for them. That said, I strongly advise you to attend every class. Like most math classes, the material in this class builds upon itself, so that if you fall behind early it is very difficult to get back on track.

Attendance will be taken daily. The department wants information about attendance in calculus so we can better understand how to ensure student success. But this will not be used in any way to determine your grade. It’s just information gathering.

If you must miss an exam period please contact me in advance so we can schedule an alternative. It is prohibitively difficult for me to arrange an alternate if you wait to contact me.

Communication Policy and Office Hours

Announcements will be posted to the public course website and class discord. I will use blackboard only for the gradebook feature.

There is a discord server for this course, which is a place to contact me, ask questions, and discuss course material with your classmates. You can also email me, but that is less likely to be seen as quickly. If you do email me, please mention the class number (Math 1420) in the subject of the message.

Office hours are held multiple times in the week, to give you an opportunity to ask questions and receive help in-person outside of class time. If you prefer to meet virtually via zoom, or to meet at a different time, please contact me to arrange that.

Covid Policy

Per the governor’s orders, the university is not allowed to require you to vaccinate nor institute a mask mandate. That aside, I encourage you to get vaccinated, including booster shot(s), if you have not yet already done so. You can get vaccinated through the Student Health Center, who also offer covid testing. Both vaccines and testing through the SHC are free of cost.

The CDC recommends indoor masking in areas with significant or high transmission rates.

If you have a positive covid test, or have strong reason to think you may have covid pending a test, you should self-isolate. Contact me so I know you will miss class and we can work out how you can continue to follow class progress during your quarantine.

Academic Honesty

The work you present is expected to be your own. For many majors, mathematics classes form part of the core base of skills you need to succeed in later classes, and you are harming the future version of yourself if you try to avoid learning the material for this class.

Cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty are not tolerated.

Accessibility

Students with disabilities are legally entitled to reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to education. Any student who feels they may need accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Students with Disabilities office. I am committed to providing students with equal access to this class, and am happy to work with you to ensure reasonable accommodations. Because the accommodations offered are usually forward-looking modifications rather than mitigating poor grades you may have already received due to your disability, it is important to get in touch with the office as soon as you can. Further information and contact details can be found on their website.

The ADA defines a disability as a medical condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities—including things like walking sleeping, taking care of yourself, learning, and regulating your emotions—or major bodily functions. If you have a medical condition—including mental health conditions—that significantly interferes with your schoolwork, you probably qualify. You do not need to disclose your condition to your instructors to receive accommodations.

Other Campus Resources

Additional Information

Further information about campus-wide policies for all classes, can be found at this site.