Faculty Syllabus

The Nature of This Course

This course is very different from some of your other math courses in that you are asked to use complete sentences to explain your thinking process or justify your answers, which will prepare you for the next college-level course.  In these courses, how you are thinking about the mathematics is just as important as getting the “right answer.”   

Why use group activities?

When an instructor prepares a math lecture, they have questions in mind that they ask the class as they work through examples.  Because students process information in different ways and at different rates, it can be difficult for all students to follow a lecture.  To give students more processing time, we have written our lectures out in activities.  This way every student has time to really think about the question, form better connections between concepts, and practice writing out meaningful responses.   In-class activities allow students to practice these skills before they are expected to do it on their own on an assignment.  The more effort and thought you put into the activities, the more you will learn and be prepared for what is expected on assignments and exams.

How does working together help you learn Math?

Working together exposes you to other ideas you may not have considered.  Also, it gives you an opportunity to pose questions to other students and to the instructor.  Responding to questions from other students allows you an opportunity to express your explanations and justifications and check your own understanding of the content.  Your instructor is always available to help clarify as you are working through the activities, so don’t hesitate to ask for help.  

Class Expectations

• You are expected to struggle through some complicated ideas with classmates and on your own to make more meaningful connections and synthesize ideas.  
• You are expected to work with real-world scenarios and data, which means the numbers get messy.  
• You are expected to talk with other students about your ideas and listen carefully to their ideas so you can learn to think through all kinds of different math problems.  
• You are expected to spend a lot of time thinking more deeply about mathematical ideas, and to write about your thought process.  

• Grade Components

  NCBM 0222	MATD 0485
  MATD 0485 Grade: 60% Group Work/Participation: 40%	Exams: 60% Quizzes: 15% Homework: 15% Group Work/Participation: 5%

This is a First Day™ class. The cost of the required statistics textbook, including an online version of the textbook and software access, has been added to your tuition and fees bill.   

Statistics Textbook: Introductory Statistics: Exploring the World Through Data, 4th Edition, by Gould, Ryan, & Wong. Pearson Publishing (with MyLab software) 

Additional Textbook:  Developing Mathematical Thinking.  This is a free textbook compiled by the math faculty at Austin Community College using various Open Educational Resources (OER).

1. Provide an opportunity to increase/improve quantitative literacy.
2. Provide an opportunity to communicate mathematical ideas in a small group setting.
3. Provide just-in-time review of prerequisite topics.