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Course Policies Math 141 Introductory Statistics, Spring 2022

Overview

We are bombarded every day with an increasing number of statistics, from the rate of infections in the pandemic, to polls in upcoming elections, to the efficacy of medical treatments, to the impact of climate change, to the national unemployment rate. One of the major goals of this course is to help you become a knowledgeable and skeptical consumer of statistics so that you can determine whether the claims based off the statistics are accurate and compelling, unintentionally misleading, or perhaps even intentionally misleading.

You will gain experience with, and understanding of, some techniques of data analysis and statistical inference, as well as an understanding of some of the issues with data production. Since this is an introductory course, we will not be able to cover every statistical technique that you might use in the future, but the goal is for you to develop the solid background so that you can more easily learn the advanced methods that are used in other disciplines. This is going to be a fun semester.

The plan is that this will be close to a "normal" semester, but there are still a lot of unknowns about exactly how things will play out, both for the campus overall and for each of us individually. We'll need to be flexible, and we might have to make some adjustments as the semester goes along.

Let's all be kind to each other, and we'll figure it out.

Goals for a 100-level Mathematics Course

By the end of this semester you should:

Goals Specific to Intro Stats

By the end of this semester you should:

Expectations

Mathematics is a very active discipline that is best learned by doing rather than by observing. One of the features that makes your Wheaton education so special is that we have time in small classes to explore material together. The class meetings are not intended to be a complete encapsulation of the course material, but instead will focus on the major concepts from the Pre-Class Assignments and clarifying the more subtle ideas in the course. See the course webpage for more details of the structure of the class meetings.

You should expect to put in approximately 2-3 hours outside of class for each scheduled hour of class. In other words, expect to spend about 9 hours per week on calculus outside of the scheduled class meetings. There will be some weeks where you spend more time (e.g. working on exams), and there may be some weeks where you do not spend the full 9 hours.

The Honor Code

We operate under the Wheaton Honor Code for all of your academic work at Wheaton. This carries certain freedoms and responsibilities for both you as a student and me as a professor. I take this quite seriously.

Most likely, no Honor Code issues will arise this semester. If you are uncertain about whether a particular situation falls under the Honor Code, then please consult with me. However, if an Honor Code issue does come up, I will assume that you are prepared for the full consequences. Remember that you should write out, and sign, the following statement on all course work:

"I have abided by the Wheaton College Honor Code in this work."

Evaluation

Your final grade will be determined by

Pre-Class Assignments 10%
Class Engagement/Participation 10%
Problem Sets 20%
Three Take-home Exams 60%

Pre-Class Assignments

The purpose of reading the text before class is that if you are familiar with the basic concepts and definitions, then the class meetings can be devoted to the major ideas and subtleties of the material. Mathematical understanding is built in stages, and you will absorb the material more quickly if the class meetings are your second exposure to the fundamental ideas.

The Pre-Class Assignments include several questions that you should be able to answer after you have completed the reading. You will submit your responses through onCourse.

I will grade the Pre-Class Assignments using a binary scale: If you make a serious attempt, you will get full credit, whether or not your answers are completely correct. The purpose of these questions is to encourage you to engage with the material before class. If you've read the text but don't understand how to answer a question, it is perfectly fine to say "I did the prep work but don't see how to approach this question." You'll definitely understand by the end of the end of the week!

Notice that the Pre-Class Assignments are due at midnight on Sunday. This will give me enough time to review your responses before our class on Monday. You will be allowed to drop one Pre-Class assignment at the end of the semester.

Class Engagement/Participation

A significant part of the class meetings will be devoted to working in small groups on problems that delve more deeply into the content introduced in the Pre-Class Assignments and discussed at the beginning of class. A substantial amount of your learning will happen during these collaborative sessions by bouncing ideas off of other students and seeing how other groups approach the problems. I will also determine your Engagement/Participation grade for each class meeting using a binary scale: You were present and engaged with your peers or you weren't.

However, I also know that there may be times when you have a valid reason for missing class, especially this semester when there is so much uncertainty and we're taking extra precautions to keep each other safe. I'll be really flexible, so if you need to miss class, please let me know. Let's just keep the lines of communication open.

Problem Sets

You will have a Problem Set due most Thursdays that will normally consist of 4-6 problems from the textbook. Your solutions should be well-written and well-justified and will be graded by an advanced math student. See the Guidelines for Problem Sets for more details on the expectations of your writeups. You will be allowed to drop one Problem Set assignment at the end of the semester.

Take-home Exams

The purpose of the exams is for you to demonstrate your understanding of the course material and, just as importantly, to give you feedback on where your understanding is strong and where you may need more work. The exams will be open-note, take-home exams where you will have several days to work on them. See the Tentative Daily Syllabus for dates of the exams. I will provide more details about the structure of the exams as the time gets closer.

I know that exams can be stressful, especially with the other academic, extracurricular, and family commitments that you may have. To try to reduce some of this stress concerning your grade, I will weight your exam scores by differing amounts: Your lowest exam score will count 20% of your exam grade, the second lowest will count 30%, and the highest will count 50% of your exam grade. For example, if your three exam scores are 71, 82, and 93, then your overall exam average will be 85.3.

Getting Help with Intro Stats

Please come see me during my drop-in office hours posted at my Daily Schedule! No appointment necessary! If you have a conflict and cannot make my office hours, please email me and we can set up an appointment for another time. You should also take advantage of the no-additional-cost Peer Tutoring that is staffed by advanced math students.

Accessibility at Wheaton

Wheaton is committed to ensuring equitable access to programs and services and to prohibit discrimination in the recruitment, admission, and education of students with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Autumn Grant - Associate Director for Accessibility Services at the Filene Center for Academic Advising and Career Services. ~ accessibility@wheatoncollege.edu or (508) 286-8215

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