Math 11, Fall 2020

Math 11, Calculus-Based Introductory Probability and Statistics, Fall 2020

Instructor (Lecture A00): Parinaz Ezzati (pezzati@ucsd.edu)
Instructor (Lecture B00): Jason Schweinsberg (jschweinsberg@ucsd.edu)

Announcements

Below are a few announcements that may be relevant for students who are considering taking Math 11 and do not yet have access to the Canvas page. Once the quarter begins, further announcements will be posted only in Canvas.

If you are waitlisted for Math 11, you should keep up with the class and turn in all homework and computer lab assignments until your waitlist status is resolved.
Students may add and drop courses during the first two weeks of the quarter. However, it is essential to keep up with the work for all courses that you are considering taking. If you are considering taking Math 11 but are unable to enroll and get access to Canvas, please contact your instructor so that we can arrange for you to get access to the course materials. Math 11 gets off to a very fast start. The first assignment is due on Wednesday, October 7, and it will be very difficult to join the course after that point if you have not been keeping up with the work.
The textbook for the course is Stats: Data and Models, 5th Edition, by Richard D. De Veaux, Paul F. Velleman, and David E. Bock. Because the homework problems come from the textbook, it is important that you have the 5th edition. You will not need access to MyStatLab. You can rent the e-book for $45 by going here. There is also a way to rent to e-book within Canvas for $69, which will give you access to the e-book from within Canvas. Within Canvas, you can also arrange to get a 14-day free trial. See the instructions on the course syllabus.
Live lectures will not be given. Instead, to accommodate students in all time zones, lecture videos will be posted in Canvas. Consequently, if you wish you may take Math 11 and still take another class in the same time slot, provided that you are able to take the exams at the alternate evening time.
The midterm exams will be held on Friday, October 30, and Monday, November 23. The final exam will be held on Tuesday, December 15. The exams will be offered both at the regularly scheduled class time and at an alternate evening time. Exams will be proctored over Zoom. Students with concerns about these exam arrangements must contact their instructor before Wednesday, October 14, so that we can make any necessary accommodations.

Important links

Lab Web Page
Academic Integrity Policy
Course Calendar

Things to do as soon as you get access to Canvas

Carefully read the syllabus and Academic Integrity Policy.
View the introductory video in Canvas.
Take the Academic Integrity Quiz in Canvas.
Follow the instructions in Canvas to download Minitab onto your personal computer, or make sure you can access Minitab through the CloudLabs.
Purchase access to the textbook.

Things to do every week

Watch the week's lecture videos, and read the corresponding sections in the textbook.
Attend your discussion section on Tuesday.
Submit your computer lab assignment by 11:00 PM on Wednesday. (No lab is due on the weeks when exams are held.)
Consider attending the (optional) Supplemental Instruction session on Wednesday (Professor Ezzati's class) or Thursday (Professor Schweinsberg's class).
Submit your homework assignment by 11:00 PM on Friday. (Homework 4 is due on Wednesday instead of Friday because there is an exam on Friday.)
When your graded work from the previous week is returned to you, look over the comments to make sure you understand your mistakes.

Ways to get help in Math 11

Your success in Math 11 will depend primarily on how much effort you choose to put forth on your own. Remember that for a 5-unit class, you should expect to devote a total of 15 hours per week to the course. While Math 11 involves a lot of work, students who work hard are generally successful. It is very rare in Math 11 for students who submit every homework and computer lab assignment to fail the course. You should not be discouraged by the need to work hard, as productively struggling with problems on your own helps you to develop your critical thinking and problem solving skills. Research has shown (see this article) that students who adopt a "growth mindset", believing that they can improve with hard work, are more successful than those who have a "fixed mindset", believing that success is due to intelligence which can not change over time.

While you are encouraged to struggle with problems on your own, there are also likely to be times when you will want to ask for help. In Math 11, there are a number of resources available to which you may turn for help. It is particularly important that you do not hesitate to ask questions about the material in the lecture videos, because you will not have the opportunity to ask questions live, as you would during traditional in-person instruction.

Discussion sections: You should attend your discussion section each week. Discussion sections will be run by your TA. During these discussion sections, you will not discuss homework problems, but you will discuss other similar problems. These discussions are intended to help you improve your problem solving skills.
Office Hours: The instructor and TAs will hold office hours over Zoom. The times will be posted in Canvas. You are encouraged to attend office hours if you have questions about any aspect of the course. You may ask about homework and computer lab assignments during office hours, but because the purpose of homework is to provide you with practice at solving problems yourself, please do not expect the instructor or TA to provide answers or solutions to homework problems.
Individual Appointments: Your instructor will be glad to meet with students individually over Zoom, outside of regular office hours, to discuss the course. This can be especially useful for questions about homework. It can also be useful if you need more extensive help than can be provided during office hours when other students are also present. To set up such an appointment, you should email your instructor.
Supplemental Instruction: The supplemental instruction program is run by the Teaching and Learning Commons. Weekly supplemental instruction sessions for Math 11 students, led by an undergraduate student, will be held over Zoom. These sessions are intended to help students achieve a better understanding of the course concepts. Homework and computer lab assignments will not be discussed during these sessions.
Online Tutoring: The Teaching and Learning Commons offers online tutoring for Math 11 students. This is the only "online tutoring" that is permitted under the Academic Integrity Policy. For more details and instructions about how to schedule an appointment, go here.
Piazza: There will be a Piazza site for Math 11, which will serve as an online discussion board for the course. If you have questions about the course material, course policies, or online multiple choice homework, you are encouraged to ask them in Piazza, where they can be answered by the instructors, the TAs, or other students in the class. Questions concerning the homework (other than the multiple choice questions) or computer lab assignments should be made visible only to the instructors and TAs and not to other students, unless it is more than one hour past the deadline.

There are also a few things to be cautious about when seeking help:

There are probably hundreds of websites and online videos explaining various aspects of the Math 11 material. If there is something in the course that you are struggling to understand, it is tempting to seek out these resources. However, while this is not prohibited by the Academic Integrity Policy unless you are looking for help about a specific homework problem, it is a way that you can waste a lot of time. The lecture videos in Canvas and the textbook explain what you need to know for the course. If something remains unclear after you have read the textbook and watched the lecture videos, it is probably better to ask for help in office hours or on Piazza than to look online.
While you are encouraged to attend office hours if you have questions about the course material, you are unlikely to benefit from just showing up at office hours without specific questions listening to what other students ask. If you have specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask them. If you feel lost in the course to the point where you are unable to formulate specific questions, it might be best to request a one-on-one appointment with the instructor.
Whatever you do, you should never resort to cheating when you are struggling in the course. It can be tempting to look online for help with a homework problem when you are stuck, or to ask a classmate to tell you the answer. However, this is inappropriate, and you must be strong enough to resist the temptation. Your integrity is more important than your grade on a homework assignment or exam. As noted above, there are many legitimate channels through which you may seek help without violating academic integrity principles.