Assignments and responsibilities will vary from section to section; they are up to your individual instructors. Your official assignments will be given to you by your instructors. They supersede anything posted on the Web! You will be told in class which exercises from the text should be handed-in for grading, which workshop problems are to be handed-in, what material will be covered on examinations, dates and places of examinations, etc., etc. The only reliable place to find out this information is in your own class, not on the Web or in anyone else's class.
You are required to attend ALL class meetings. There are several reasons to observe this requirement carefully:
- As discussed in the preceding paragraph, assignments may only be announced in class.
- Common sense and common courtesy.
- The more active part you take in class, the more you will benefit.
- Quizzes may be given unannounced in class.
- Most students in Math 151-152 have already studied a certain amount of calculus in high school. It is tempting and common for such students to try to coast at the beginning of the course, relying on their previous experience. This is dangerous because Math 151-152 may cover topics from a different or more complete point of view, and because coasting leaves you rusty and standing still mentally when the course begins to cover unfamiliar topics. Every year many students, convinced that they are safe from danger, fall into this trap with disastrous results.
- Poor attendance will be a consideration in deciding borderline grade situations.
Getting Help
Everyone has questions that don't get answered in the classroom. (If you never have any, then it's a good rule of thumb that you're not thinking hard enough about your course.) When this happens, there are several places to turn for help. First of all, your professor and teaching assistant have office hours, and you're not getting your money's worth at Rutgers if you need help but haven't visited their office hours. You may also be able to get some help from your peer mentor. Ask! Discussing questions with fellow students can be extremely valuable. Remember, of course, that plagiarism is absolutely forbidden; after these discussions, when you write-up assignments and put your name on them, you are certifying that you wrote them in your own words and by yourself. Beyond these resources, you can visit one of the Math and Science Learning Centers on campus (Busch: Allison Road, 732-445-3123/3898; Douglass: Chemistry Building 3rd Floor, 732-932-8991), where walk-in tutoring is available at specified hours, or one of the Learning Resource Centers. At these centers your tutor will not necessarily be someone from the mathematics department. Or you can hire a paid tutor; the mathematics department (732-445-2390) maintains a list of tutors.
If you need help, seek it out promptly and participate actively. If you find that
- you're struggling but still telling yourself that you can learn the course without talking to others who know the subject, or
- you're afraid to "look stupid" or "show your ignorance" by asking questions, or
- you're sure you can catch up in the last couple of weeks of the semester,
Math 151-152 main page