Homework
You are required to spend at least one hour working productively between every two classes. I will give assignments, but you may allocate this time as you wish: by reading the textbook, doing homework exercises, doing unassigned problems, reviewing notes, watching lectures online, conversing with a large language model (about topics from the course), etc.
Working productively means engaging activley with the material. A good rule of thumb is that you should be writing (or typing), and you should need to think to figure out what to write. For example, reading the textbook and copying notes from it is not active. But reading the textbook, recognizing a concept as confusing, and creating an example to clarify it would be active. Asking an LLM to "Explain page 17 of Infinite Descent into Pure Mathematics." is not active by itself, even if you read the response. But it could be if it is followed by specific follow up questions, like "Explain why IDPM didn't define a|b to mean that b/a is an integer," that involve thoughtful prompt design.
I will ask you to submit some record of how you spent your hour on Canvas. This might be a scan of completed homework problems, but it could also be a list of the sections you studied, or links to videos you watched, or a transcript of your discussion with Chat-GPT. Along with your submission, you should enter a comment with the number of minutes you spent on your homework.
The comment should be formatted as
Time: ##
where ## is the number of minutes spent working actively.
Grading
| Component | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Homework | 10% |
| Quizzes and in-class work | 10% |
| Presentations | 10% |
| Midterm exam 1 | 20% |
| Midterm exam 2 | 20% |
| Final exam | 30% |
Scores on the 0–5 scale are translated to Canvas percentages and letter grades using the following ranges. Each lower bound is included; a bound preceded by “<” is not included in that row.
| Numerical score | Canvas percentage | Canvas letter grade |
|---|---|---|
| 4.4–5.0 | 94–100% | A |
| 4.0–<4.4 | 90–<94% | A− |
| 3.7–<4.0 | 87–<90% | B+ |
| 3.3–<3.7 | 83–<87% | B |
| 3.0–<3.3 | 80–<83% | B− |
| 2.7–<3.0 | 77–<80% | C+ |
| 2.3–<2.7 | 73–<77% | C |
| 2.0–<2.3 | 70–<73% | C− |
| 1.7–<2.0 | 67–<70% | D+ |
| 1.3–<1.7 | 63–<67% | D |
| 1.0–<1.3 | 60–<63% | D− |
| 0–<1.0 | 0–<60% | F |
Academic honesty
I encourage you to consult outside sources, use the internet and large language models, and collaborate with your peers. However, there are important rules to ensure that you use these opportunities in an academically honest way.
- Anything you submit for grading must be your work, and only your work, and it should accurately reflect your understanding.
- Any sources consulted must be cited.
- Expect plagiarism to be treated severely. Deliberate plagiarism will be reported to the Honor Code Office.
To avoid plagiarism, always keep track of the references you use and cite all resources you consult, whether they are textbooks, tutors, websites, classmates, language models, or any other form of assistance. Using another person's words verbatim without attribution is forbidden, as is using those words with only small modifications.
The ideal way to use a source is to study it, understand it, put it away, use your own words to express your newfound understanding, and then cite the source as an inspiration for your work. The particular citation format is not important, provided it identifies the source and gives readers enough information to find it. Textual references should be specific—for example, include a page number—and internet references should include a working URL.
Artificial intelligence
The grading scheme of this course is designed to avoid temptations to use AI in a way that would be incompatible with learning. You are therefore permitted to use AI in any way that you find useful for out of class assignments. In-class assignments, quizzes, and exams will have specific rules concerning permitted materials and assistance, and will normally exclude AI.
Accommodations, classroom behavior, and the Honor Code
The Office of Academic Affairs officially recommends a number of statements for course syllabi, all of which are fully supported in this class.
If you need an accommodation of any kind in this class, or are uncomfortable in the class for any reason, please contact me and I will do my best to remedy the situation. You may contact me in person, by email, or through the anonymous feedback form.