MATH
155 Modern Statistics with Computer Analysis,
Sections 016 and 022
FALL 2009
Dave Parker's Class Policies
Click on this link to get a good general outline of the course, the text, etc. Please note that Algebra II and High School Geometry (or their equivalents) are prerequisites for this course. If you have any questions about whether or not you are ready to take this class, please see the instructor immediately! Also, if you are a new student at SU (incoming freshman or transfer student) who was instructed to take the ALEKS assessment, DO SO IMMEDIATELY IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO!
A course Intended for students in the social sciences and natural sciences who must make inferences from sample data. Credit may not be received for more than one of these courses: MATH 151, MATH 155, or MATH 213.
High school Algebra II and plane geometry. NOTE: Much of the material in this course is based upon skills taught in Algebra, and in this course you will be responsible for utilizing these skills correctly. Thereafter it will be your responsibility to master them outside of class time.
IMPORTANT BASIC SKILLS: If you never mastered these skills WITHOUT USING A CALCULATOR or if you have forgotten them, I will demonstrate them in class at least once. In particular, given the published prerequisites for this course, I can reasonably expect you to be able to do the following (without using a calculator):
FRACTIONS: Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide, Reduce to Lowest Terms, Convert to Decimal Numbers, Convert to Percentages, etc. For example, 1/3 + 3/5 = ? 1/3 - 3/5 = ? 1/3 * 3/5 = ? 1/3 ∕ 3/5 = ?
DECIMAL NUMBERS: Add and Subtract. For example, 0.6583 - 0.3574 = ?
ALGEBRA: Solve a simple equation for one of the variables or constants. For example, if 3 ∕ y = 12%, y = ?
I will be happy to assist you in my office, and free tutoring is available as well. But the purpose of this course is to teach you NEW material, NOT to re-teach material usually covered in middle school and high school!
MEETING TIMES AND PLACES:To introduce the concepts of statistical inference by way of both non-parametric methods and classical parametric methods.
Section
016 T - R 8:00 - 9:15 PM in
DH 112
Section 022 T - R 9:30 - 10:45
PM in DH 112
The department provides free student tutors who are available to assist you. The link above is set to the tutoring schedule. As soon as the schedule is announced for this semester, you will be able to find it there.
POINTS:
50
points total:
Three tests, 100 points
each:
300 points;
Four quizzes
50 points;
Final Exam:
200 points;
Homework assignments:
100 points.
650 points
GRADING
SCALE:
90-100%
A, 80-89.9% B, 70-79.9% C, 60-69.9%
D, Below 60% F.
NOTE: I will compute your course grade twice, once
ignoring homework (using only the quizzes, tests, and the final exam with a
total of 600 points), and again including the homework score (the 700 points
listed immediately above). Whichever is better will be your course grade.
However, because quizzes, tests, and the final exam are all based upon the
material in the homework, it is extremely unlikely that your grade without the
homework included will be higher than your grade including homework.
Your name on any work you turn in (homework, quiz, exercise, program, examination, term paper, etc.) certifies that you attest to ALL of the following:
I will consider any work submitted by you which violates any of the above to constitute plagiarism, and I will give you an "F" in the course and I will notify the Dean of Students Office about your academic misconduct. In case of particularly egregious violations, I will recommend the student(s) involved be academically dismissed from the University.Either the work is entirely your own, or
If it contains work by anyone else, such work by others is completely and fully noted or quoted, or
If you received help from anyone else that help is acknowledged, or
If you worked with others (which is encouraged!) you have indicated their names; Moreover, the work is only for this course and will not be utilized in any other course (unless I have given you written permission to do so); Finally, the work was completed by you this semester for this course and is not work which you (or anyone else) had completed previously. Assisting or allowing another student to commit plagiarism is also academic dishonesty, and the same penalties will apply. You are expected to take all reasonable and prudent steps to assure that your work is not copied or reproduced by others.
I encourage students to work together on assignments, but there is a difference between cooperative learning and academic dishonesty. As long as the final result is your own individual work, and you have made clear anything which another named person actually did and you have indicated the help you have received and the persons with whom you have worked, you have not committed plagiarism.
Obviously there will be no conversations during tests and exams. Similarly, absolutely no electronic devices (calculators, PDA's, cell phones, etc.) may be used - or even be visible during tests and examinations.
Please note: According to SU policy, any course grade of F given because of academic dishonesty will remain on the student's record, will be computed in the student's GPA, and will not be removed if the course is repeated. Moreover no student with such an F grade may receive academic honors at graduation.
Other than this statement of policy, there will be no warnings concerning this matter.
All tests and exams are comprehensive. Quizzes will cover material as announced in class, and the 50 points (total) for quizzes will be half of the percentage of quiz points earned, regardless of the number of possible points on each quiz. Approximately 75% of each test or exam will cover routine material and will be based upon assigned homework and assigned readings. (The precise material which each exam covers will be indicated in class.) Makeup's will NOT ordinarily be provided and a score of zero will be recorded if a student misses an test, quiz, or exam. Exceptional circumstances beyond the student's control are the only excuses justifying makeup's.
No electronic devices of any kind (calculators, PDA's, cell phones, etc.) may be used (or even visible) during tests and exams. You must turn off your cell phone during tests and exams. If your cell phone rings during a test or exam, I will collect your paper immediately.
NOTE: 50 points of the Final Exam will be out-of-class statistical critiques, assigned approximately halfway through the semester, and due prior to the end of the semester. Details will be announced later.
The material on any test (but not the final exam and not quizzes) may be re-tested, subject to the following conditions:
Homework will be assigned in this course, and a significant portion of your grade will depend upon your success in completing it. Moreover the quizzes, tests, and exams will be based upon the homework. Consequently there will be one or more homework assignments nearly every class, and each one is due at the beginning of the next class (unless otherwise announced).The purpose of homework is primarily to give you practice as an aid to learning. It is assumed, therefore, that you already understand what you are doing before you attempt the homework. It is almost certainly a complete waste of time to attempt to work homework problems if you do not understand the examples worked in class and in the text. (Under these circumstances you may be able to do the homework, but you will learn nothing.)
Throughout much of the semester, you will be unable to understand the new material unless you have mastered the previous material. The easiest way to succeed is to master each idea as it is presented in class and in the book. If you study so that you master material in this way, exams and tests become things to review for -- not things to study for. LEARN AS YOU GO!
In particular you are expected to study (even memorize if necessary!) the definitions, terminology, and concepts immediately after they are presented in class, and you are expected to use them to solve problems. The tests and exams will attempt to determine if you both know the definitions, terminology, and concepts - and can solve problems similar to those assigned for homework.
Your total number of homework points will be the percentage of points you earn, regardless of either the number of actual assignments or the number of points for each one.
Late work will be graded and returned but will not normally be counted.
You must activate your on-campus computer account, including the SU GroupWise e-mail system. I will use the SU GroupWise e-mail system for most out-of-class communications. Moreover the University will send important official announcements (including reminders about deadlines) to you using your on-campus e-mail account. Please read your e-mail messages frequently -- and certainly whenever you logon to the campus network. If you have an off-campus e-mail address, you can set GroupWise e-mail to forward messages to your other account(s). However if forwarding fails to work correctly, you are still responsible for messages sent to your on-campus account.
I believe that regular attendance of class is an essential part of this course. However, each student is assumed to be mature enough to make his/her own decisions in this matter, and as a consequence attendance in this course is optional, subject to the following conditions:
THE BUSINESS MODEL OF EDUCATION
In recent years it has become popular to compare universities to businesses, with students viewed as "customers," university presidents as "CEO's," degrees as "products," and the classroom as "the workplace." Within certain limits, I am willing to endorse that analogy. However, I absolutely do not subscribe to the various versions of, "The customer is always right." If you view yourself as a customer and I am the salesman, we need to make clear exactly what you are buying!
The course syllabus spells out in considerable detail most of the conditions of our contract. If you desire to receive a particular grade you will have to accomplish what the syllabus requires for that grade. Other than meeting the requirements as spelled out in the syllabus, there is no way for you to earn a grade. I can no more guarantee you a particular grade in this class than an athletic trainer can guarantee that you will be able to high-jump your height. I can guide you, but your ultimate grade will depend upon many factors beyond my control, including your willingness to work hard, your native abilities, your previous experience, and your interest. You may consider yourself to be a customer, but what you are buying does not come with any guaranteed outcomes. Even though you are the customer, what you want is not always what you get -- unless you are truly seeking an education!
HOW IT IS: Effort, Accomplishments, Your Job, Your Pay
SU considers a student who is taking 12 or more credits to be "full-time(1)." I will evaluate your work as if I were your employer for 1/4 to 1/3 of your full-time job. If you are appropriately prepared(2) to take this course I can thus reasonably expect three or more hours of work by you for every hour you spend in lecture. What I will do in class will help you to understand the material and to see the tasks which must be done. (Class time is relatively stress-free and relaxing if you come prepared.) Your real effort comes outside of class when you, largely on your own, work to master the material. That is your "job." Your pay (i.e. your grade) will depend upon the quality of your work, not upon how long it takes you to get the work done. There are deadlines which you must meet or you won't get paid.
I will assign a relatively large amount of work to be done outside of class and due at specific times, and I will evaluate(3) it assuming it represents the very best you can do. If your work is on time and of high quality, then you are doing your job. If your work is late, sloppy, or incomplete, then you are not doing your job. In the real world, if you do your job well you get paid and remain employed; otherwise you get fired. In this class your grade is your pay and will reflect how well you did your job. Out-of-class assignments are opportunities to demonstrate your very best work and to earn the highest possible pay (grade).
Most of your pay (grade) for this job (course) will be based upon your scores on quizzes, tests, or examinations (as announced elsewhere in this syllabus). Since these in-class, timed evaluations are all based upon the out-of-class assignments, your pay (grade) on tests (and thus in this course) will likely be low if you failed to do good work on the out-of-class assignments.
As do most employers, I have a number of policies regarding the workplace (class) which are spelled out elsewhere in the class syllabus. Life often intrudes upon ones employment obligations, and these policies detail a variety of exceptions which I will allow -- including doing work late, taking tests late, etc. However all of them are based upon my assumption that you view this class as being as important as a "real" job. If you simply disappear and fail to complete assigned work -- and then suddenly reappear and ask about "making up" past work, do not be surprised when I act as if you are no longer employed. As your employer I am very sympathetic as long as I am kept informed about crises and I am very unsympathetic when I am ignored.
1. If you are registered for more credits, if you are on an athletic team or involved in other time-consuming extra-curricular activities, if you have a part- or full-time paying job, if you have family responsibilities, or if there are other demands upon your time, then it is your responsibility so to budget your time that you can accomplish what you need to do.
2. If you have not satisfied the prerequisites for this course, no amount of effort may be enough!
3. Not all assigned work will be graded, and some will only be evaluated when you take quizzes, tests, or exams.
The material in this course will be covered rapidly, and it is dangerous to fall behind! If you miss class, try to get the notes from someone who was there. (My own notes may not be of much use to you because they are almost always just an outline of what I present.) Keep up - and succeed! If you start getting behind, come see me IMMEDIATELY!