proton.me ) proton.me )
Class Attendance: There is a distance learning
section of this course (the Q section). This means all lectures will be
available in some recorded format. I also plan to make those recordings
available to all students in all sections. So, if you don't want to attend
class and you just want to watch the recordings, that should be possible.
Grading Policy: There will be a number of assignments during the
semester. These will, more or less, determine your grade. You don't need to
worry about getting 100% on all assignments. If you do a reasonable job on the
assignments, you'll get an "A" for the course. There is (typically) no
announcement about when the
assignments are posted, so you'll need to watch the
Assignments/Schedule Page to see the timing.
The "due dates" are not deadlines. You can turn in homework at any time until the end
of the semester. Do not send me an email asking for any kind of "extension" or
talking about "deadlines" and stuff because you went to a conference or a badminton
competition. There is no need for that. Just do the homework, and turn it in
when you get it done. Your homework will just not be graded unless you turn it in by the
due day. If at the end of the semester I see you've turned in all the assignments but
none of them are graded because you turned them in late, then you will get a "B" for
the course. Similarly, if I see you've turned in all the assignments but you've
consistently gotten "low" grades, for example, below 60 out of 100, then you'll get a
"B" for the course. If you get most (say 7 out of 10) of the assignments
in on time, get grades above 70 out of 100 on them and turn in the other 3 late,
then you can count on an "A." Otherwise, just be happy with a "B."
If at the end of the semester you have not turned in more than half the assignments
(at all) then I will assign you a "C" for the course. That's the lowest grade you can
get from me.
Additional suggestion concerning grades
You will probably do yourself, me, and everyone else a favor
if you just completely forget about grades
and just concentrate on learning about Fourier series and PDE.
Imagine grades and (learning) mathematics are completely unrelated---it
isn't hard if you try (as
John Lennon might say) and in fact that is an essentially correct way to
think about it. Having said that, if you don't want to learn about
Fourier series and PDE, you should definitely remove this course (with me
as the instructor) from your course list. Just don't do it. Do something
else. This includes taking the course because it is a requirement. Just
don't do it---or at least don't do it now. MATH 4581 is available every
semester, and there is no shortage of instructors who are happy to fuel your
illusion that learning is somehow connected with grades---you've just come up
on the short end of the stick in that regard this semester. If you want
to learn about Fourier series and PDE, on the other hand, then take my course
and put grades out of your mind.
In summary, just try to learn some mathematics in this course.
My experience with engineering students is that most of you are pretty hard working and have at least some interest in learning something, though the educational system has mostly "cured" you of expressing such an interest or thinking or learning for that matter. This is your semester to give it a try. The vast majority of engineering students will get an "A" on the transcript for this course, so let's forget about that and try to learn something.
One thing to note: Getting feedback (maybe from the grader for which you need to turn in the assignments on time) can be pretty helpful with learning the material. You can also get feedback by asking questions in class, office hours, and in other way. Remember: Learning is your responsibility. Only you can do it.
Final Exam, Thursday December 12, 11:20-2:10PM
I don't set this date or time. The time is pretty much irrelevant to
us, but I will make the final assignment due on this date. You should have at
least a couple weeks to work on it.