Welcome to the course page for Math 112 Section S01. Much of the information included below can be found more succinctly on the course syllabus.

Course Design: This class will be taught using a "flipped classroom" model. This means students will be asked to complete a reading assignment and watch a short 20-30 minute lecture before attending class. During class students will work collaboratively with their peers and with assistance from the instructor on problems related to the reading and lecture.

It is reasonable to ask why one would want to use a flipped classroom instead of a more traditional method. From my perspective there are two key benefits. The first reason is mostly predagogical: I think problem solving is the best way to learn and engage with mathematics. The second reason is more practical, in the unfortunate event students need to quarantine or miss class, it is much easier for them to keep up with digital lectures and find alternative ways to work through the in-class problems.

Flipped classrooms do, sometimes, present additional challenges for students. It is exceptionally important that students taking the course are disciplined about watching the lectures and engaging in the classroom work sessions.

Learning in the Year 2021: Of course this class is not being taught in a vaccuum and, as I am sure you have now heard an uncountable number of times, this presents additional challenges. While general guidance from the college can be found here, I wanted to share some aspects of pedagogy I will be giving extra focus this semester:

     1. Teaching with empathy. Learning math in the best of times can be challenging, uncomfortable and disheartening. Trying to learn math in circumstances that are already challening, uncomfortable and disheartening is less than ideal. I think it will be extra important this semester to give each other the benefit of the doubt. My (virtual) office door is always open if you need to talk (or vent).

     2. Communication. On my end I hope to clearly communicate expectations and feedback. I also want to make sure students have opportunities to provide their own feedback and ask for additional support if they need it (see the next point).

     3. Providing additional resources. I have designed the course with a focus on making sure there are many different resources available to help you learn the course material. As the semester progresses you may feel that there are other things that would help you succeed, please do not hesitate to ask for those things.

Discord: I am going to experiment with using Discord this semester. From my perspective, Discord combines many of the useful features of Zoom (video chat) and Slack (persistent text chat rooms). It should make it easier for students to work in groups during class with the ability to easily jump between groups. This is, at least somewhat experimental and I reserve the right to bail and go back to using Zoom if it ends up being more trouble than it is worth. I will send an email during the first week of class with an assignment for setting up and using Discord.