Home Page, Course Menu, Quarter Schedule, Grading Policy et. al.
Dr. V. M. Smith, Office 8-205, phone: (909) 869-3465
email: vmsmith@CSUPomona.edu
Texts: Contemporary
Abstract Algebra by Gallian Fifth Edition
Materials required: You need a loose-leaf notebook
or other binder in which to keep all aspects of your quarter's work including
homework, lecture notes, etc. You may be asked to discuss it and/or an overview
of all your work at any time during the quarter.
Project: Attendance with report from a mathematics conference or an Internet project investigating different internet sites, giving a critique of and preparing a mathematics class lesson plan or hypothetical industrial or science application that involves abstract algebr. Due date and other details will be given in class.
Conference Attendance
is highly recommended for all Secondary Teacher Candidates, notably:
Library or other Resource Work:
You are expected to know how to use the internet and the library to help you in learning the concepts covered in class and in the text. Just and you would not write a term paper on the works of Shakespeare consulting only one book or article, you should not expect to be able to fully understand the abstract mathematical terms and concepts we cover in this course from just one reference source. To help you in gaining as wide a perspective of the material covered as possiblt, we will have multiple class activities that will be worked individually, by pair/share, and in groups. You are responsible for your own learning of the material in this class and you are expected to take whatever steps are necessary to be successful in your endeavor. The results will be most rewarding, I promise you. The personal excitement of discovering a new concept or thoroughly understanding the proof of a very deep theorem is not something that anybody can give you. It can come only from within you.
Comment: The aim for all tests, quizzes and activities, etc. is to help you learn the material and make positive progress on your journey as a life-long learner. You are responsible for all work assigned whether or not it is specifically discussed in class or whether or not you were in attendance. No make-up scores are recorded for any work turned in late.
Your course letter grade is determined by your ability to use and explain both written and orally the concepts covered by the end of the quarter. Any adventure into mathematics is challenging at times; however, it is always exciting and rewarding for those who persevere. Improvement in reading, writing and problem solving requires time and commitment; you must budget your time accordingly. You should allow for an absolute minimum of four hours concentrated out of class study for each hour we have in class.
Further comments:
As with all courses in mathematics, we look for patterns and learn how to expand on relationships to solve abstract problems. Being able to visualize some of the abstract concepts we cover and relate them back to the basic arithmetic principles we use daily and first learned in elementary school makes our activities exciting as well as instructive. A main goal of this class is to improve our mathematical processing (critical thinking) skills so we can use throughout our journey as life-long learners We strive to become more proficient in seeing mathematics as a process rather than a set of memorized rules with the goal of arriving at exact answers to arithmetic problems.
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