Rich Mountain Community College
MTH023
Beginning Algebra
Fall 2005
RMCC Mission Rich
Mountain Community College
the
Instructors: Mrs.
Contact Information: E – Mail: Lkropp@rmcc.edu Telephone: 1-479-394-7622 ext. 1334
Prerequisite: Grade
“C” or better in MTH013 or a minimum score of 40 on the ASSET Numerical Skills
Placement Exam.
Course Description: This course is designed primarily as a refresher
course for those students who are weak in basic algebraic skills and need a
review of the fundamentals. It is
designed to help students fill in the gaps in their mathematical background so
that they will have the skills required for successful completion of college
credit mathematics courses.
Course Credits: Although developmental classes do not count toward the
requirements for graduation or toward transfer credits, enrollment in Beginning
Algebra will count toward the credit-hour load required for financial aid. Please Note: Your grade in this course will not be included in your
overall GPA for graduation; however, in order to enroll in Intermediate Algebra
you must pass this course with at least a “C” (or score a minimum of 40 on the ASSET Elementary Algebra Skills Placement Exam).
Each
student will be required to complete 53 lesson objectives (including all required quizzes, homework, notebooks, and unit exams) in the ICL system in order to
receive credit for the course. Students
will progress at their own rate and will need to pace themselves accordingly in
order to finish the course by the end of the semester.
Students
who successfully complete an ICL course prior to the last day of the semester
of enrollment may immediately begin the next ICL course with no additional tuition or fee. Should a student successfully complete the
second course before the end of the semester, both the tuition and the lab
fee/PIN charge for the second course will be waived. The student will
receive credit and a grade for both classes.
Students
who begin, but do not complete, a second course within the same semester cannot
receive an “I” grade and must register for the course, pay tuition and the lab
fee/PIN charge for the subsequent semester.
These students will not have to
retake the entire course but may complete the remaining lesson objectives from
the previous semester.
Required Materials: I CAN Learn Authentication code (given in class),
Algebra Textbook (given in class), three-ring binder, graphing calculator
(available for check-out through SSS)
ICL PIN fee: Students will be issued a PIN
code at the beginning of each semester for the ICL system. Students who drop/withdraw by the 80% refund
date or who fail to attend any class prior to the official 11th day
of the semester may request a refund of the lab fee/PIN charge. However, they must do so no later than five
working days from the 80% refund date.
Course Objectives: Upon satisfactorily
completing MTH023 Beginning Algebra, the student should be able to do the following:
§
Apply the basic
concepts of real numbers.
§
Apply the basic
concepts of variable expressions.
§
Solve various
types of linear equations (with and without application).
§
Solve basic
inequalities.
§
Apply the basic
operations to polynomials.
§
Apply the various
factoring techniques to polynomials.
§
Graph ordered
pairs of numbers and linear equations.
Teaching Methods: This
will be a computer-based learning classroom using the I
CAN Learn Education Systems. The
classroom will be self-paced with one-on-one instruction with the
instructor. Peer teaching or group work
may also be used.
Extra Lab Time: There will be open ICL classroom hours when any ICL
student from any class may use the ICL system.
The schedule will be posted outside the classroom door each
semester. Students will need to have a
current student ID to be admitted to
the lab and MUST sign the login
sheet or risk losing a seat. There is a
1.5 hour time limit for the open stations when other students are waiting.
Students
may also be allowed to use the ICL system as a walk-in when other classes are
in session by using the designated open stations. Students may also use the classroom as a
walk-in if there are classroom assigned stations open. Students MUST
ask permission from the instructor before using the station, and should wait at
least 15 minutes AFTER the class session has started before entering the
class. Again, students MUST sign the login sheet.
Course Requirements:
v
ICL Quizzes
Ø
Each student will
be required to complete a minimum of 53 lesson objectives in the ICL
Pre-algebra system.
Ø
Each lesson
objective will have a pre-test that is open book/notes (not timed), which may not
be repeated. A score of 100% is required
on the pre-test in order to proceed to the next lesson.
Ø
After you miss
your first question on a pre-test you will be guided through a lesson. Following each lesson is a quiz that is open
book/notes (30-minute time limit), which may be repeated.
Ø
A minimum score
of 70% is required on the quiz in order to proceed to the next lesson
objective. Students who fail to earn a
70% on their second attempt will need to ask a tutor or instructor for an
override code before proceeding again with the lesson objective.
v
ICL Cumulative Unit Exams
Ø
There will be
seven ICL cumulative unit exams given throughout the semester on the ICL
system. Each cumulative exam will be
given after the student completes the appropriate ICL unit objectives.
Ø
Each cumulative
unit exam may be taken only once,
and may only be taken during the
regular class time. You may NOT take an exam during open classroom
hours, or by walking in during another instructor’s class session.
Ø
The cumulative
exams will be closed notebook/book exams.
Any student caught using their
book or notebook during an exam will be given a zero for that exam – NO
TOLERANCE!
v
Homework/Notebook
Ø
Homework
assignments will be given every class period by the computer after the student
logs off the computer. Assignments
should be written down in the student log sheet. Different homework assignments will be given
depending on where the student ends in the lesson objective. Instructors or tutors can help if students
have questions on the homework assignment.
Homework should be kept in the student NOTEBOOK and will be graded when
notebooks are collected (prior to each cumulative unit exam). Remember, homework is vital to success in any
math class!
Ø
Each student will
be required to have a three-ring binder for all class materials and class
work. This notebook should include everything that is said or done
in the ICL class. Students will have a
hard time succeeding in this class without a complete notebook. Student
notebooks are required to be
submitted prior to taking each cumulative unit exam; exams are noted on the
student progress log sheets. Notebooks
will be graded for completeness, neatness and accuracy. The setup of the notebook is VERY
important! (See below and attached
notebook rubric for guidelines.)
NOTEBOOK SETUP:
·
Begin
each day on a new page of your notebook, and date
it in the top right corner.
·
You
are to have a heading for the days you are absent
from class with the reason why you were not in class.
·
Expectations for notebook “look” (headings,
requirements for working problems, etc…)
Write
the OBJECTIVE you will be working on
at the top of each page.
·
Each
lesson objective will be divided into four sections: PRE-TEST,
LESSON PRESENTATION, GUIDED PRACTICE, and QUIZ.
·
Label
each of the sections as you do them in your notebook. For example, when you do a QUIZ, copy and solve the problems
underneath the title.
·
As
you work through problems in this course, adhere to the following:
o
Show
all work leading to your answer. Each
line should follow logically from the line preceding it. Showing
your work helps me identify your mathematical strengths and weaknesses.
o
Clearly
indicate answers. (Box, circle, or
highlight them.). Clearly indicate incorrect problems, and label corrections next to
each missed problem.
o
Work
DOWN your paper (no more than two columns per side of your paper). Strictly enforced.
o
Skip
a line between your answer to one problem and the beginning of the next
problem.
Strictly enforced.
·
PRE-TESTS 
At the
beginning of each lesson objective you will be given a five question PRE-TEST. If you score 100% on this test, you will be
able to skip the lesson and go on to the next PRE-TEST. If you miss a
question on the test, you will be placed into a lesson that presents the
information, definitions, examples, and practice that are necessary to master
the objective.
·
If
you pass the PRE-TEST, label it “Attempt:
0” in the Student
Progress sheet.
·
A LESSON PRESENTATION section will follow. Label this section, and copy all of the
important definitions, rules and examples that are given.
·
LESSON PRESENTATIONS
You
will then move to a section called GUIDED
PRACTICE. Label this section, and
work all problems in your notebook. This
section allows you to practice the material learned in the LESSON PRESENTATION.
·
Upon
checking this practice with the computer, you will be given a STUDY BREAK. You are to use this study break to read
through your work before you take the QUIZ
over the lesson objective.
·
Each
QUIZ has a thirty-minute time
limit. Any question left unanswered will
be graded as a 0.
·
Clearly
mark all incorrect problems, and write the solutions next to the incorrect
problem(s). Label the solutions as “QUIZ solutions.”
·
QUIZZES
If
you are not successful on the QUIZ
(scoring under a 70%), record your score and attempt number in the Student Progress Sheet. Make a new
entry in your notebook, and label it “Objective”
(attempt 2) and date it. You will return to the LESSON PRESENTATION and GUIDED
PRACTICE for review and more practice before attempting the QUIZ again. Watch the presentations clearly and compare
with your notes. Copy any new examples.
·
After
the second unsuccessful attempt to pass a quiz, you will be notified by a
prompt that the teacher (or tutor) must put in an alert password. Have your student notebook open so that the
teacher may look over your work and make the appropriate suggestions for
success.
·
If
you are successful on the QUIZ (scoring
at least a 70%), you will be sent to the next PRE-TEST. Record your QUIZ grade on the Student Progress sheet.
Write the new objective and continue with the same procedure.
·
HOMEWORK
At
the end of the class period, after you log off the computer, you will be given a
HOMEWORK assignment by the computer.
Write down the HOMEWORK assignment given in your Student Progress sheet.
·
Make
a new entry in your notebook for the HOMEWORK,
with the date, objective title, and the assignment, and then complete the HOMEWORK. HOMEWORK
is to be placed in your NOTEBOOK
immediately after your class work for that day.
Method of Evaluation:
ICL
Quizzes 35%
ICL Cumulative Unit EXAMS 50%
Notebook/Homework Assignments 15%
Total 100%
A:
89.5 – 100% B:
79.5 – 89.4% C:
69.5 – 79.4% D: 59.5 – 69.4% F: 59.4% and below
Grades shall be assigned on
the basis of a standard percentage scale:
Grading Policy (See attached.)
Attendance Requirements (See attached.)
Attendance will be checked
each session. If you are not in your
seat within the first 15 minutes of class, you risk losing your seat to a
walk-in student from another class!
Additional Information:
v
Special Note
Congress
recently amended provisions governing what happens to your federal financial
assistance if you withdraw from all your classes or if you stop attending all
of your classes and drop out of school.
In essence, if you withdraw or drop out BEFORE 60% OF THE SEMESTER HAS
PASSED, YOU WILL PROBABLY OWE A PORTION OF THE GRANT BACK TO THE GRANT
PROGRAM! You must repay or make
repayment arrangements within 45 days of the date you are informed or sent
notice or you will lose further eligibility for attendance using federal
financial assistance at ANY college until the debt is paid in full.
v
It
is the policy of
v
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic
dishonesty are prohibited. In addition
to other possible disciplinary sanctions which may be imposed through the
regular institutional procedures as a result of academic misconduct, your
instructor will assign an “F” for the exercise or examination for the first
offense and assign an “F” for the course for the second offense.
v
Inclement Weather Policy
If severe weather forces cancellation of classes at
the beginning of the day, an announcement will be made on FM 102.1 between
v
Classroom Behavior
- Food
and drinks are NOT permitted in this class.
·
Electronic
devices, such as cell phones and pagers, are NOT permitted and MUST
be turned off during class. Violation of
these policies may result in disciplinary action.
·
Students are NOT permitted to bring children to
class.
The
material contained in this syllabus is subject to change upon announcement by
the instructor.