Mathematics 5900
Spring 2006
Instructor: Kelly A. MacArthur
Class Time and Place: 4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Wednesdays at Granite Elementary School
Office Hours: Mondays 10:40 – 11:30 a.m., Tuesdays 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.,
and Fridays 10:40 –11:30 a.m. or by appointment.
Office Location: JWB221
Office Phone Number: 581-6443
E-mail address: macarthur@math.utah.edu
Text: Mathematics for Elementary Teachers, by Sybilla Beckmann.
and Navigating Through Algebra* (*either Grades 3-5 or Grades 6-8), by National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Grading: The grades will be calculated as follows:
Weekly Homework 15%
Project 1 10%
Project 2 10%
Midterm 1 20%
Midterm 2 20%
Final Exam 25%
Weekly Homework:
- I will collect homework during class each week. All of the homework
assigned the previous week is due at that time.
- You will get half credit if you DO every problem. This portion of the grading
will not be based on correctness. This is basically motivation for you to do
the homework because that is the only way to survive a math class.
- The other half of the credit for homework will be based on the correctness
of five questions chosen randomly by me each week.
- The homework set MUST be stapled together with the corresponding
cover sheet as the first page.
(I will provide the cover sheets in class.) A homework set turned in
without being stapled together or without a cover sheet will not be counted!!
Please do not come to class hoping that I or someone else will have a stapler.
Be prepared when you arrive.
- I will drop your two lowest homework scores for the semester.
Other Policies: Due to experience, I have decided to make some additional
policies regarding my classroom administration and grading.
- There will be no retakes of exams. Your score is what you get.
- You may make arrangements to take an alternate exam if you talk to me about
it first and explain the extenuating circumstances that make it necessary. Needing
to work, babysitting your siblings, oversleeping, or needing more time to study do
not pass as acceptable reasons to inconvenience me. Getting in a car crash
or your mother’s death, on the other hand, is sufficient reason to request to
take an alternate exam. But, it is 100% your responsibility to communicate with me
as soon as is possible, before the exam occurs. Talking to me after
the test will be sufficient reason for me to allow you to get a zero on that test.
I reserve the right to make alternate exams more difficult than the scheduled exam.
- I will demand respectful behavior in my classroom. Examples of disrespect
include reading a newspaper or magazine in class, social chatting with your friend
in class, text-messaging your buddies during class or cuddling with your girl/boyfriend
in class. If you choose to be disrespectful during my class, I can guarantee I
will take action to terminate your disruptive behavior.
- There will be no cursing nor negative ranting (for example, “math sucks”)
on any written work turned in. The penalty for such things on your written work will
be a zero score on that assignment or test!
- You need to have a valid email address registered with Campus Information System.
I will regularly send emails to the class and expect you to be responsible for
receiving that information.
- If you have crisis-level extenuating circumstances which require flexibility,
it is completely your responsibility to communicate with me as soon as possible. The
longer you wait to communicate with me, the less I can do to help.