Course Syllabus
Back to School Night Notes/Link for Parents and Guardians
Discrete Math-Overview and Policies 2021-22
Ms. Bell- Room 428-bellc@wellesley.ps.org
Website: https://wellesley.instructure.com/
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
― Jane Goodall
General Topics: Graph Theory, Applications of Graph Theory (management science decision-making considering traveling street networks, scheduling without conflicts, designing various types of networks, choosing new emergency or service facility locations and more), Surveys and Polling, Language and Fundamentals of Statistics, Combinatorics, Probability, Interpreting Graphs, Critical Thinking in Everyday Life, and if time permits, Apportionment, Voting Methods, Power in Voting, Review of Logic and Recognizing Fallacies.
Materials: You will need pencils/pens, graph paper, a TI-83 or 84 graphing calculator, and a math notebook or binder. Be sure to have all that in class each day. If you are using a spiral bound notebook, you will also need folders or pockets for handouts and to keep assessments in. You will have A LOT of handouts! Stay organized. Additionally, please bring in a box of tissues for classroom use. If you are concerned about getting any of the materials mentioned here and we will make it work. Note: We do use the textbook some, but we will also rely heavily on supplementary materials: notes from class, on-line material and handouts. For example, we will study combinatorics and probability mostly from non-book materials. I’ll let you know if there are days when you need to bring your text to class. For now you can keep it at home if you want to.
Grading Breakdown for 1st Semester*:
- Class Participation and Group Work - 10%
- Homework Checks/HW Quizzes- 5%
- Quizzes, Tests and Project Assessments (including open and closed notes/book)- 85%
*The grading breakdown is subject to change. You would be informed of any change and the reasoning behind it.
Classroom Policies:
- Extra Help/Open Classroom/MATH LAB- You are strongly encouraged to come to room 428 when you have questions or just need a place with good thinking air to do some work. And if you need to set a time to discuss something privately, come by and we’ll try to set that up. I will be available some days each week from 7:45-8:30 AM and/or from 2:35-3:15 PM. Check the board/door or check with me about my extra help schedule, it varies week to week. Also use the Math Lab for support outside of class. The Math Lab schedule is posted in my room, online and on the math lab door. The Math Lab is in room 452 for all block 1s and is held in room 426, right next to our classroom during the school day. It’s a great resource and I’m there often!
- Food, Drinks, Electronics,MASKS- Cell phones will be taken to the main office if seen being used in class. They are a distraction, keep them packed away. We’ll have a cell phone parking lot too that will be used if needed. Laptop use will be only be permitted when it is used for class work. No food in class. You may have drinks in class, but school rules apply. Please help keep our school and classroom clean. And do your part- wear your MASK! Thank you!
- Fire exit/emergency – Please adhere to the designed route and policy when we need to leave the building. Fire Alarm Exit Plan- LEFT out door and then RIGHT and down MAIN STAIR WELL and out back of school to SEAVER ST.
- Leaving class- If you must go to the bathroom, sign out on the sign-out sheet and check off again when you return. Try not to leave class much- you miss out and we miss you!
*Refer to the Student Handbook for other general WHS classroom rules and more on WHS Attendance Policy.
- Enrich our classroom. You have the power to make our school and this classroom better! Be a positive force. Be respectful of all people and things. Do not get in the way of your own or others opportunities for learning and thinking and having a good day. We are all counting on you! Please. And thank you in advance.
Our Discrete Math Class Website- CANVAS:
Go to your Canvas page and login- https://wellesley.instructure.com/
Click on Discrete Math.
- I will always post quiz and test dates on the site.
- I will post links to videos and articles that relate to the material we are covering.
- I will post Smart Board slides from class when helpful. But come to class- looking at the slides on your own is not the same as participating and learning in class!
- I will post some online discussion questions on the site periodically that you will need to post a response to. This way you have time to think before answering “big questions” and we will have a chance to hear from everyone, which is usually not possible during class time.
Test/Quiz Notes:
Test dates will be announced at least a week in advance and there will be 2 tests (or projects which carry a test weight) given each term. Longer quizzes will be announced 2-3 classes before the quiz but short open note quizzes or HW quizzes may be unannounced.
-There are NO make-up/re-take tests or quizzes for students whose absence from class is unexcused. However, I do encourage all students to do test/quiz corrections.
-If you are excused absent and miss a test or quiz, see or email me the day you return to school to schedule a makeup time to take the test. (As it says in the student handbook, “A student needs to meet with their teachers immediately upon his/her return to school to schedule makeup work.”) Even if we do not have class the day you return to school, see or email me the day you are out or the day you return. I will need you to make up the test/quiz within 2 school days of your return to school unless you have missed more than 1 class leading up to the assessment. Makeups can be scheduled to start anytime between 7:35 and 2:45 on most school days but I cannot excuse you from another class to make up a quiz or test.
“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.”
-Linus Pauling
Course Summary:
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