Math 171 WES discussion section 327 description.

Discussion web page: http://www.math.wisc.edu/~ejohnson/171/

Instructor Information.

• TA: E. Alec Johnson (ejohnson@math.wisc.edu)
• SA: Sasha Cai Lesher-Pérez (lesherperez(at)wisc.edu)
• SA: Joel Hestness (jthestness(at)wisc.edu)
• Education Researcher: Paula DeAnda
• WES coordinator: Dr. Concetta Gómez
• Instructor: Dr. Han Peters

Format.

• We will meet for six hours of discussion each week. Non-WES discussion sections meet for two hours each week to review lecture material, answer questions about homework, take quizzes, and go over them. We will spend at most two hours per week doing review (what normal discussion sections do). The remaining four hours per week will be devoted to workshop, which consists of working in your group on the problems in a worksheet given out that day.
• We expect each one of you to excel. You should enjoy coming to class, and you should expect to be challenged.
• One of the purposes of WES is to foster greater integration of your academic and social lives. Special events are a good way to do this. We will never cancel class on the day after an examination.

• I will generally begin section by taking a few minutes to answer questions about lecture and homework.
• I will quiz you on the material covered by the homework once I have returned the homework and commented on it.

• You will be assigned to groups. Typically there will be three people in each group. I will change the groups regularly. I may occasionally have you choose your own groups, but not initially. I want you to get to know all your classmates.
• In each discussion session you will be given a worksheet of problems to do with your group.
• You are not expected to finish each worksheet.
• Save your worksheets in a binder for future reference. This will come in handy when you are studying for examinations.
• Learning to work effectively in a group takes time and effort. We will talk about this regularly. Talk to us if you are having difficulty with this.

• You should be registered for math 298, worth 2 credits. If you have three unexcused absences from this discussion section, you will fail math 298. You cannot make up an unexcused absence.
• I will penalize lack of participation by giving half-absences and imposing make-up work. In particular, if you are more than 10 minutes late for class I will give you a half-absence until you have done the make-up I assign (such as doing an extra set of assigned problems, or coming early to class and presenting a problem).
• During workshop sessions conversation should be about the problems you are working on. Taking extended breaks and extensive socializing are grounds for a half-absence.
• You are never allowed to work on homework during class.
• I encourage you not to bring your books to class. You won't be allowed to consult your books or notes while you are working on the worksheets. Textbooks these days are too bloated and heavy. Save your back and shoulders.

• You are expected to come to class every day prepared. This means that you have attended the previous day's lecture, read the section that the lecture covered, and have started some of the homework problems.

• Homework will be collected and corrected; it will not be assigned a numerical score. The purpose of turning in homework is to give you more feedback.
• I view homework as a paper form of office hours. Put question marks by problems you didn't understand and write questions on your homework. The more effort you put into formulating your questions, the more effort you can expect us to put into writing a response.

• I will give regular quizzes. I will throw out your lowest two quiz scores. If you miss a quiz (whether the absence is excused or not), it will count as one of the quizzes you drop.

• Your discussion score will contribute 10% to your grade for the course. (The rest comes from your examinations.)
• I will give regular (probably weekly) quizzes on the homework. These quizzes (as well as the worksheets) should help prepare you for the exams.

• Review Workshops. I urge everyone to take advantage of the following review workshops:
  Sept 6-7 (Wed and Thu), 4:30-5:30 p.m., B130 Van Vleck Hall:
  - Wed "Formulas, Fractions, and Factoring"
  - Thu "Rational Exponents and Inequalities"
• Office hours: As long as people keep coming I will hold two office hours weekly.
• Free drop-in tutoring for WES students will be available from 5pm to 9pm every Sunday through Wednesday night in room 277 Bascom Hall, beginning Sept. 10.
• Math Lab: Open Monday-Thursday, 3:30-8:30pm in B227 Van Vleck. Graduate students are available to answer questions. Math Lab will open later this month, beginning Sept. 18.

• You are welcome to bring food and drink into class. Please be considerate.
• General principle: if you order in food it's for everyone to share.
• I hope that one day each week someone will bring in snacks. I'll post a sign-up sheet. Please everyone take a turn.