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Syllabus for Advanced Linear Algebra
MTH312

Instructor:
Greg Crow, Ph.D.
Text:
Linear Algebra and Its Applications,
2nd Edition
David C. Lay
Addison Wesley
ISBN 0-201-64845-8
Table of Contents:

Course Description
Required Materials
Comment
Homework Portfolio
Examinations
Grading Policies
Attendance Policy
Classroom Attire
Academic Accommodations
Cheating Policy
The Final Examination
Class meetings:
MWF 10:55-11:45
Quad I
Office hours:
Rohr Science 220



REQUIRED MATERIALS


Comment
We will try and avoid the following pitfall by making lots of nice pictures:

At the beginning college level, visualization is a big part of understanding. Consequently, students who are operating with few mental pictures are not really learning mathematics. Their calculus consists of a vast series of algorithms and a complicated cataloging system which tells them which procedure is used when. The effort put into this kind of teaching and learning is largely wasted: memorized algorithms are soon forgotten and, worse still, such courses perpetuate the idea that math involves doing calculations rather than thinking [emphasis added].

(by Deborah Hughes Hallet in Visualization and Calculus Reform, in the collection Visualization in Teaching and Learning Mathematics, edited by Zimmerman and Cunningham (MAA notes \#19))


Homework Portfolio
Homework problems will be assigned daily and collected near the end of the 1st quad. Your work will be graded based on accuracy, completeness and elegance. Maple submissions of entire assignments are heartily encouraged (however, you should link your portfolio together with a table of contents and hyperlinks).


Examinations
There will one final take home examination. In addition, there will be an in class component of the exam that will be administered on the date the exam is due.


GRADING POLICIES

Grading Distribution
Final Examination 650 points
Homework Portfolio 350 points
Total 1000 points

Grading scale. Grades are based on the number of points accumulated throughout the course.
Approximate minimal percentages required to obtain a given grade are:

Grading Scale in percentages
A B C D
+ (87.5, 90) (77.5, 80) (67.5, 70)
[92.5, 100] [82.5, 87.5] [72.5, 77.5] [62.5, 67.5]
- [90, 92.5)[80, 82.5) [70, 72.5) [60, 62.5)




ATTENDANCE POLICY.
After you miss the equivalent of 2 class periods, you will be warned of impending de-enrollment. If you do not contact the professor following the warning, you will be de-enrolled. If you miss the equivalent of 5 class periods, you will be de-enrolled.


CLASSROOM ATTIRE .
All students are expected to dress in ways that allow the classroom to be a place where all students are comfortable and can work efficiently. Certain distracting attire is not permitted in the classroom. For example, attire associated with the "rush" activities of fraternities and sororities simply causes too many distractions in the classroom. If you choose to "rush" one of the fraternities or sororities, please make sure the "rush" officials know that "rush" attire will not be allowed in this classroom.

ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS.
All students are expected to meet the standards for this course as set by the instructor. However, students with learning disabilities who may need accommodations should discuss options with the Academic Support Center (ASC) during the first two weeks of class. The ASC will contact professors with suggestions related to classroom needs and accommodations. Approved documentation must be on file in the ASC prior to the start of the semester. All such arrangements must be completed within the first four weeks of class.

CHEATING POLICY
A student who is caught cheating on an exam will receive a zero on that exam and may receive an "F" for the semester.



THE FINAL EXAM IS A COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION.





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Last modified on 26-Aug-2002
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E-mail: gcrow@ptloma.edu