Sample Syllabus Online MTH 60

Course Information:

• Course Title: Introductory Algebra – First Term
• Course Number: MTH 60
• CRN: 10653
• Credits: 4
• Term: 
• Course Prerequisites: MTH 20 and (RD 80 or ESOL 250) or equivalent placement. Recommended: MTH 20 be taken within the past 4 terms.
• Course Description: Introduces algebraic concepts and processes with a focus on linear equations, linear inequalities, and systems of linear equations. Emphasizes number-sense, applications, graphs, formulas, and proper mathematical notation.
• Course Outcomes: Upon completion of the course students should be able to:
  1. Identify the differences between an expression and an equation.
  2. Simplify and evaluate algebraic expressions.
  3. Solve linear equations and inequalities in one variable, and linear systems in two variables.
  4. Identify and interpret the slope as a rate of change in linear relationships.
  5. Create linear equations, inequalities, and systems that model contextual situations and use the model to make predictions.
  6. Represent linear relationships between two variables using a graph, table, verbal description, and algebraic formula.
• Full Course Content and Outcome Guide: MTH 60 CCOG

Instructor Information:

• Instructor: Diane Edwards
• Email: email me from the Classlist in D2L or at dedwards@pcc.edu
• Phone: 971-722-7695
• Campus Office Location: Rock Creek Campus, building 2 room 210 if campus is open
• Virtual office hours: Monday and Wednesday 3pm-5pm. Available at other times by appointment
• Campus Address: Portland Community College 17705 NW Springville Road, Portland Or, 97229

Instructional Approach

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here and am excited to work with you this term. While this online course is set up so that you should have everything you need, I still expect to interact with each you individually and will offer opportunities for you to interact with your classmates. I’m eager to provide any further explanation/examples when necessary, and feel that being able to do this on an individual level with students is one of the greatest strengths of online courses and instruction.

As for the nuts and bolts of how this course works, it’s arranged chronologically and employs a modular design. It’s not self-paced. The weekly assignments are listed in that week’s lesson module. These modules are available by clicking the Content link in the course navigation bar.

Modules will open on Tuesdays, as shown in the course calendar. You will generally have work due the following Sunday, and then Monday. This Tuesday through Monday schedule might seem awkward at first, but students generally find it very familiar after a week or so. Note that the Module 0 introductory assignments are an exception, and are due Wednesday of the first week.

In each module, you will find links to the lecture outlines and videos for each section we will cover that week (usually three or four sections). Print out the lecture outlines and take notes on them/fill them in as you watch the videos. Watch the videos and read through the appropriate textbook sections before you do the WeBWorK homework and worksheet. Doing a little bit each day is ideal. Note that the WeBWorK homework will take a decent amount of time, and it’s best to start well before Sunday.

Please use the open Our Online Classroom – Open Q&A discussion to ask questions about any of the tasks/content for the week. You may also email me with any questions you may have. Note that I will often re-post email questions and my replies (without any names attached) so that the entire class can benefit.

Assignments within the modules will direct students to use many of the tools contained in D2L Brightspace, as well as other external resources such as YouTube and WeBWorK. All required tools will be accessible both from within the weekly content modules, as well as from the course navigation bar. I will email and/or post any announcements/reminders on the course homepage one, two, or, sometimes three times per week.

Participation Expectations

Please engage with the course and content often, ideally at least three or four different days during the week (if not daily!). Math is easier to learn in small chunks, and frequent practice helps solidify your understanding. Each time you log into the course be sure to check for any new announcements and any email and discussion messages, as well as any assignment feedback.

Communication Guidelines

Best Way to Contact Me

The best way to contact me is by using the D2L Brightspace email system which can be accessed from the Classlist. You can use it to send an email to me and/or your classmates. Please include a relevant subject section of your email. D2L Brightspace will automatically include the course number and CRN for the course you are taking with me, and it’s helpful for me if you keep this in the subject line.

Instructor Response and Feedback Time

I am generally online every day, Mon-Fri. Emails are not sent to my phone but I will check my email several times on those days. I will be sure to be online during the first weekend of the term. Aside from the first weekend of the term, I am not routinely online during the weekend. Weekend emails will likely get replies on Monday. Although I may reply promptly to your email, it will sometimes take 24 – 48 hours before I reply.  Worksheets, discussions, and exams will be graded within a week after the due date, but usually sooner. WeBWorK scores will be input into D2L Brightspace at the time of the midterms and final exam. You will be able to see scores in WeBWorK at any time.

Instructional Materials

Required Resources

• Textbook: ORCCA Edition 2 Part 1 (Chapters 1-4): An Introductory Algebra Textbook Created by Portland Community College Faculty
  You can access it any of the following ways:
  • For free as an interactive eBook
  • For free as a downloadable PDF (with color) or as a downloadable PDF (without color)
  • For purchase through the PCC Bookstore
• Calculator: You will be using a scientific calculator in this course, as needed.

Software/ Hardware/ Equipment/ Technical Skill Requirements

• Printer to print lecture notes and worksheets, or access to a printer
• Scanner or scanning app to upload completed worksheets
  • Adobe Scan is a free app for scanning documents to a mobile device.
• Firefox, Chrome, or Safari web browser
• Be able to view, download, and print documents and upload files to Assignments folders in D2L Brightspace
• The technical requirements for most online classes include access to a computer with a modern operating system and a supported web browser
• Technology Requirements for Online Learning at PCC

If you need technical help, you can email the Student Help Desk at shd@pcc.edu

Accessibility Resources for Required Course Activities

• Accessibility Guide for WeBWorK
• Accessibility Resources for Adobe Reader
• Accessibility Features for Google Products (including YouTube)

What a Typical Module Looks Like

There is a lot of information about the course below, and I encourage you to read it fully both now, and again when we’re a couple weeks into the course. As a brief summary, here’s what a typical module will entail:

• Module opens on Tuesday morning
• Do: Watch videos, take notes, read textbook
• Do: Complete WeBWorK homework
• Due: Discussion post and WeBWorK homework (Sunday at 11pm)
• Do: Send questions to your instructor and/or post to Our Online Classroom – Open Q&A
• Do: Complete worksheet
• Due: Worksheet (Monday at 11pm)
• Due: Self Reflection (Monday at 11pm)
• Module closes on Monday night

Major Elements of the Course

Videos and Lecture Notes

Just like in a face-to-face lecture, taking notes helps students both comprehend and retain the information they’re learning. I like to think of this as muscle memory. Each section of the textbook has lecture note outlines that accompany the YouTube video lectures contained in our course. Print these outlines, fill them out as you watch the videos. This will help you to both learn and retain the material. (These are not collected or graded at any time.)

WeBWorK/ Practice Homework

WeBWorK is a free online homework system that is an interactive version of the types of homework problems you’ll find at the end of a section in a textbook.  It is part of your grade. These problems provide practice with the concepts and types of problems that require proficiency to be successful in the course. For these problems, you’re expected to try each until you get it correct. WeBWorK automatically grades them, and will tell you if your answer is correct or not. Each module has WeBWorK problems assigned, and a few modules have problems that can’t easily be done in an online homework system. In those cases, you’re expected to do a few problems from the textbook and these are noted in the course calendar. (These are typically graph this by hand problems, and you’ll simply check the answers yourself.)

Email Your Instructor/ Show Me Another features: There are two important features in WeBWorK. The first is Email Your Instructor. You can click this from any page in WeBWorK, and include a message about a problem you want help with. This is the fastest way for me to assist you with your online homework, and I encourage you to use it if you’ve tried a problem a couple times but don’t know where you’re going wrong. The second important feature is a Show Me Another button that you can click. This provides a similar problem that you can practice, but that won’t count for credit. This is a great resource, as it also provides a walk-through solution. If you read the walk-through solution though and don’t quite understand, don’t hesitate to use the Email Your Instructor.

Opt out option: If online homework just really isn’t your thing, contact me. The textbook has problems that match the WeBWorK problems, and I can provide you a set list of textbook problems to do instead. You’ll have to write out all of your answers and work by hand, and then submit this to me. Please note that while I’m open to you opting out, WeBWorK has a few advantages and is more sophisticated. (It can tell you if an answer is right or wrong without telling you the answer itself, it can tell you what type of error you made, and it has a Show Me Another feature that provides alternate problems you can keep practicing with, among a few other things).

Discussion Postings

Another graded portion of your grade is to participate on the Discussions Board located under Discussions in Desire2Learn. You need to post 1) a thoughtful response under each discussion topic and almost always also 2) respond to one other student’s response by Sunday at 11:00pm (Pacific Standard Time) of each assigned week. Be sure to use complete sentences, correct grammar and punctuation.

Worksheets

The worksheets are a way that you receive feedback on your hand-written mathematical work and conceptual understanding. Each module has a worksheet that is due at the end of the module on Monday at 11pm. These will cover the most key concepts from the module that you’ve seen and practiced in both the lectures and WeBWorK. These most closely mimic what you’ll see on exams, and are graded for accuracy (whereas the WeBWorK/practice homework is graded for completion).

Please print each worksheet and write your answers out by hand. (Or, if you have a tablet with which you can write electronically, that works too). You are welcome to submit these earlier in the module, particularly if you do most of your work on the weekends. Graded worksheets with my feedback included will be returned to the same Assignments folder where you upload each worksheet.

Module Reflections & Exam Review Assignments

The module reflections are an opportunity for you to self assess your work for that module, and to discuss this with me. Each week has a very short survey that you fill out for this.

Exams

There are three required on-campus proctored exams (Exam 1, Exam 2, and the Final Exam) during the term.

These exams will be online exams and you will find them in the quiz link in d2l. They will be similar to the worksheets, except that some will be multiple choice or true/false.  For some questions, you will still show some steps in the available space. A

Note: The exam must be taken by the scheduled dates.

Late Work & Make-up Policy

The late work policy for various assignments is the following:

• Module discussion postings will close on the due date and will not be accepted late.
• WeBWorK assignments will close on the due date and will not be accepted late.
• Worksheets will be accepted up to 48 hours late with a 10% deduction.
• Exams cannot be made up. If one exam is missed, the final exam score will also be used in place of the missed exam. A student missing two exams will not be able to pass the class. Also, the final exam is mandatory. If you miss the final exam, please contact me immediately to discuss your situation.

Documentation Requirements

Because communication is an integral part of mathematics, the PCC Mathematics Departments have certain requirements for how work should be written. You should read and become familiar with the MTH 60 Notation Standards, as they will help you earn full credit on your assignments. Additionally, each Module’s videos will demonstrate proper documentation related to that week’s material.

If you ever have questions about appropriate documentation, please send me an email or make a discussion post in the Our Online Classroom – Open Q&A discussion.

Grading Criteria

Weights of Graded Elements:

Activity	Percentage of Grade
Lecture Notes	0% – not graded
Discussions	8%
WeBWorK	10%
Worksheets	30%
Module Reflections	2%
Midterm Exam 1	15%
Midterm Exam 2	15%
Final Exam	20%

Course Grading Scale:

Letter Grade	Grading Scale by Percentage
A	90 – 100%
B	80 – 89%
C	70 – 79%
D	60 – 69%
F	< 60%

Grading Options and Deadlines

Students are solely responsible for adding, dropping, or withdrawing from any class, as well as for selecting their desired grading option. Please review PCC Registration Policy for more information

The following are the different grading options that are available to you for this course. For more information, please go to the PCC Grading Guidelines.

Please note that all of these options have different deadlines. All specific deadlines can be found by clicking on the ‘See your drop and withdraw deadlines’ link under in the Term-to-Term Checklist section of the MyPCC Home tab. For more information, see Drop/Withdraw Deadlines.

Audit (AUD) Deadline:

If you would like to audit the course, you must discuss this with me, obtain my approval, and we must complete the process with the Registration office by 4:00 PM on the first Friday of the Term. Students can view course specific deadlines from the MyPCC Home tab, ‘See your drop and withdraw deadlines’ link. (Students seldom audit a math class. Auditing is usually chosen when someone wants to learn from the class for personal benefit and have no need for a grade.)

Drop Deadline:

If you would like to drop the course, you must officially drop the course using MyPCC by Saturday of the first week of the term. Students can view course specific deadlines from the MyPCC Home tab, ‘See your drop and withdraw deadlines’ link.

Withdrawal (W) Deadline:

If you decide to withdraw from the class, you must officially withdraw using MyPCC within the first 80% of the course. Students can view course specific deadlines from the MyPCC Home tab, ‘See your drop and withdraw deadlines’ link.

Pass/No Pass (P/NP) Deadline:

If you would like your grade for the class to be assigned using the Pass/No Pass system, you must change your grading option through MyPCC within the first 80% of the course. Students can view course specific deadlines from the MyPCC Home tab, ‘See your drop and withdraw deadlines’ link.

PCC Resources and Information for Students

Resources for Online Students

In case you missed it, be sure to check out the Resources for Students page (contained in the Introduction to Online Learning module), which has links to various resources available online and on PCC campuses.

College Resources

PCC offers a variety of resources to help you succeed in your classes and to enhance your college experience (e.g., jobs on campus, child care, student clubs, tutoring, writing centers, Multicultural Centers, Women’s Resource Centers, Veterans Resource Centers, Queer Resource Centers, Dreamers Resource Center, emergency loans, food pantries, advising, counseling). You can access information about college resources and activities at www.pcc.edu/student-life/. Even though some of these resources aren’t available until the campus opens again, the student life link will provide you with current resources.

College Libraries

Each PCC campus has a library where students can access a variety of resources. Librarians are available to help students with research by chat, email, text, or phone. Visit www.pcc.edu/library/.

Food and Housing Insecurity Statement

If you face challenges affording food or housing, this will naturally affect your classwork. PCC wants you to be successful and offers some resources that may help: Emergency Funds (www.pcc.edu/enroll/paying-for-college/emergency-funds.html) and food pantries (www.pcc.edu/student-leadership/services/free-resources/). You can also contact a campus Student Conduct and Retention Coordinator at conductandcare@pcc.edu.

ADA Statement/ Academic Accommodations

PCC is committed to ensuring that classes are accessible. Disability Services www.pcc.edu/disability/ works with students and faculty to minimize barriers. If students elect to use approved academic accommodations, they must provide in advance formal notification from Disability Services to the instructor.

Title IX/ Non-Discrimination

Portland Community College is committed to creating and fostering a learning and working environment based on open communication and mutual respect. If you believe you have encountered sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, sexual assault, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, age, national origin, veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability please contact the Office of Equity and Inclusion at (971) 722-5840 or equity.inclusion@pcc.edu.

Sanctuary College

PCC is a sanctuary college. For more information and resources, please see PCC’s Resources for Undocumented and DACA Students webpage.

Additional PCC Statements and Policies

Internet Etiquette (or Netiquette)

Click here for more information about Netiquette.

Flexibility

The instructor reserves the right to modify course content and/or substitute assignments and learning activities in response to the coronavirus/environment, institutional, weather or class situations.

Payment Deadlines

Please review the PCC Payment Policy for information on payment and enrolling in courses. You can see your balance or access your bill online in the MyPCC Paying for College tab.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

The Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook establishes students’ freedoms and protections as well as expectations of appropriate behavior and ethical academic work. The Handbook includes items such as the Policy on Student Rights, the Policy on Student Conduct, and the Academic Integrity Policy.

Academic Integrity

Students are required to complete this course in accordance with the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook. Cheating includes any attempt to defraud, deceive, or mislead the instructor in arriving at an honest grade assessment, and may include copying answers from other students or using unauthorized notes during tests. Plagiarism is a particular form of cheating that involves presenting as one’s own the ideas or work of another, and may include using other people’s ideas without proper attribution and submitting another person’s work as one’s own. Dishonest activities such as cheating on exams and submitting or copying work done by others will result in disciplinary actions including but not limited to receiving a failing grade. For further information, review the institution’s Academic Integrity Policy.

Academic Honesty

Students assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the coursework they submit. Work submitted by a student must be original work completed by the student. You may get help when working through problems and exercises, but then you must rework the problems on your own before submitting the work to me. The worksheet must be your own work. No one other than you may write your assignments (unless granted by an approved PCC Disability Services accommodation).

Two or more people may not submit identical or nearly identical documents. If this occurs, the minimum consequence will be that the grades will be one-half the score for each person for the 1st offense. At a minimum, a grade of 0 will be earned for any further offenses. More than one offense may result in disciplinary actions including but not limited to receiving a failing grade for the course.

Discussions about exams are not permitted until the grades for the respective exam are posted. Please be aware that there is always the possibility that a student has not taken the exam yet, and you are responsible for withholding any information about the exam.