Roxanne M. Byrne's Point of View

        So that the course can be a success for both of us, I am giving you my teaching philosophy; what I consider to be my responsibilities and what I consider to be yours. If you have a problem with the way the course will be conducted, then you should change sections to another teacher.

        I believe that ALL of you can learn mathematics. If you can learn how to play games, follow directions and have perseverance, you can learn mathematics. This is not to say it will be easy. Some will get the material with ease, some will have to spend a lot of time on it. Find out which one you are and plan accordingly. One of my favorite quotes is

MATH IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT - BUT IT CAN BE A GROUP ACTIVITY

Study groups are a great way to learn mathematics, both for the "A" student and for the "C" student. Participation in a study group means that all members of the group take responsibility for both learning the material and seeing that each member learns the material. I cannot "learn" you the material nor can your fellow classmates. Only you can do that. Just as watching someone else do push-ups does not tone your muscles, watching me or a fellow student or a tutor do problems does not increase your knowledge of mathematics. YOU must work the problems yourself. That is not to say that you should not get help from me or fellow students or tutors, but that you should ultimately work it yourself. One way to do this is to wait a least a couple of hours after you have been shown how to work a problem and try doing it again yourself from scratch. If you can, then you probably understood the explanation. If not, get help again until you can do it on your own. Remember, you are the one that needs to take the tests without help.

        These are the assumptions I make when you enroll in my course.

        There is a great deal of material to cover in this course, material that you will be expected to know when you take any course that has this course as a prerequisite. Therefore, there is not sufficient time for each detail of every topic to be explored completely in class. Nor should there be. This is a college course and you are all adults. Decide how you learn best and spend your time wisely. I also would prefer to spend the class time wisely and cover those areas that are giving trouble. Read the sections assigned for that day at least one day before the class. Try to work the examples. Even if you do not understand all the material, your brain has had a chance to think about it before class so that it will not be completely new when we discuss it during class. Also, you will have some idea of what you didn't understand. Come to class with questions! I will cover the basic material in each class from the appropriate sections and you will, individually or in groups, work some of the problems. After the basic material is covered, the class will be opened for questions. If things are still not clear, ask your questions first from the current sections, then from previous sections. Class time is not meant to be a substitute for reading the text nor for working the problems in the text. Working problems helps to broaden your knowledge and commit the information to memory.

        Now to my responsibilities:

        I wish you the best of luck in this course. There are many opportunities to get help. Visit me during my office hours. Use your fellow classmates. Use the TA's in the Math Educational Resource Center (MERC) in Science 130. Ask other faculty. Go to the library and find other texts on the subject. Take advantage of it!

        See you in class.