Dr. Ritter's FAQ's : Fake and Otherwise

 

ANSWERS

Do you require attendance?

    Require attendance?? I typically do not call roll.  I also do
not summarily deduct points from your total if you are absent or
arrive late.  You have to be careful, however.  I do expect you not
to miss tests and exams.  I will hold you accountable for
information provided during class.  A significant chunk of this
magic does not appear in your text!  If you expect to miss class,
for whatever reason, and a test is not scheduled,  you should
arrange to obtain notes from a classmate.  The way you should think
about this is that I require attendance, but my enforcement is
indirect and thus, subtle.  Think of it as a variation on the theme
of "You snooze, you lose."

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I missed class.  May I copy your notes?

    Sorry, but the answer is no.  My notes are the barest
outline of what I intend to do in class.  Although I take the time
to write out definitions and the statements of theorems carefully,
the examples that I may provide have almost no details.  If you
miss a class, you should arrange to obtain notes from a classmate
who takes good notes.  I will not give you a private lecture to
replace what you miss.

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So what happens if I miss a test?

    Miss a test?  You wouldn't.  That simply isn't done.   Here is
what you will find in the Game Rules of most of my classes:

    You must arrange in advance in order to take an exam or test
at other than the scheduled date and time.  Failure to abide by
this will result in a zero score on the missed test(s).  If you
have a genuine emergency, you are expected to phone, if possible,
and provide written documentation.

If you expect to have to miss a scheduled test, you are expected to
get in touch with me before hand in person or by e-mail or by phone in
order to arrange to take the test at some other time.  [The "or" here 
is not of the "exclusive" persuasion!!]  There are legitimate reasons 
to miss due to work, illness, or deaths within one's family, etc.  In 
the normal course of affairs, not having studied or done homework 
does not qualify.  If you have a "last minute" emergency, like your 
car dies,  you are expected to call and leave a message on my voice 
mail immediately.  You will then provide documentation.  Failure to 
act in an adult, responsible manner WILL result in obtaining a score 
of ZERO on missed tests and exams.  Keep this in mind:  Although you 
pay me, in this endeavor you are employed by me.  If you don't act 
responsibly, you get fired.  Such is the strangeness of the higher 
education system in the U.S.A.

NOTE:  Beginning with the Fall Term, 2002, as a matter
of routine, if you are unable to take a make-up test within one week of
the administration of the original test and if you have provided me with
approved, appropriate documentation, you will not be given a make-up test.  
Instead, I will shift the possible point value of the test to the Final
Examination. What this means is this: your score on the Final Exam for the
purposes of computing your final total will be 

      (Your_Score_On_Final) * ( F_E_P_P  +  Shifted )/(F_E_P_P),

where, of course, 'F_E_P_P' denotes the number of points possible as
indicated on the actual text of the Final Exam, and 'Shifted'
denotes the sum total points possible from the test(s) whose points 
have been shifted to the Final Exam.
 

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Do you give partial credit?
  
    Partial credit??  The answer to that one is, "It depends ... ."
Some simple problems get graded "right" or "wrong", and the same
is true for most definitions and statements of important theorems
that you are required to reproduce.  For the more complicated and
technically involved problems, I do give partial credit.  To
understand how you get partial credit, you need to know what is 
required to obtain full credit.  There are several things that are 
particularly important here:

    Neatness and legibility;

    The correct use of language and symbolism;

    Completely answering the question asked.

What may shock you is this: you can lose points from what you may
believe is a "correct answer" by failing to use notation correctly 
or by making absurdly false assertions en route.

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Do you grade on a curve?

    My own preference is to use a flat planar surface, like the 
surface of a desk top or a nice lap board, which has zero curvature
in each direction, to perform the dastardly deed.  Silly answer,
right??
    Almost all of the course "Game Rules" include a section labeled
Evaluation listing how many tests, quizzes, and so on that
will probably be administered during the term, together with their
point values.  In addition, you will find there the magic number 
Total Points Possible or something similar.  For instance, 
in some of the recent Game Rules the following appears:

Evaluation:    Four 1.67 Hour Tests @ 100 points per test.
               Comprehensive Final Exam worth 200 points.
               Total Points Possible = 600

[Be advised, the details here are course dependant!!]

Further down the page, amongst the notes, you will find the
following:

     Grading Scale (%'s):
     A : [90,100];  A-: [87,90);   B+: [84,87);   B : [80,84);
     B-: [77,80);   C+: [74,77);   C : [70,74);   C-: [67,70);
     D+: [64,67);   D : [60,64);   D-: [57,60);   F : [0,57)

What this means is this:  If, at the end of the term, you have
accrued a total of n points, your grade for the term will be,  
at the very least, the letter grade owning the interval containing the
rational number

                  [n/(Total_Possible)] x 100.

So, for example,  if Total_Possible = 600 points, and the total
n from all your test and final exam scores is n = 420, 
then you can be certain of getting a "C" or better for the semester 
since C owns the interval [70,74) and in this case

   [n/(Total_Possible)] x 100  =  [420/600] x 100  = 70. 

At the end of term, I may provide uniform gifts of various
sorts, but that is not something about which you can be 
certain.  What you are to do is to spend the time mastering the magic!!
I really do not grade on a curve.  

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Do you take up or check homework?

    For courses below the level of "Introduction to Higher Math, 
MAA 3200" I do not check or grade homework.  You will find
that there are Student's Solutions Manuals and such like readily
available to check your work until you develop some confidence.
Many texts provide very brief indications of answers for the odd
problems.  In some instances, you may actually find the
Instructor's Manual for the text on the web!  

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Do I have to do the assigned homework?
  
    No.  Of course as an adult you should realize there are a
number of undesirable consequences that are highly likely.
    It is important that you realize that the magic encapsulated
in Mathematics is that of written language used with extreme care.
The only way mastery is achieved is by spending the time and
pushing the writing utensil carefully, thoughtfully, across the 
paper.  The easy way to do this is to work very hard.
    By way of a little friendly advice, do not spend an inordinate
amount of time playing with the old tests found in the TestTomb or in
studying the hand-written answer keys to old tests that can frequently
be purchased from the University Copy Center in Graham Center.  Put
the sweat equity into reading the text and tackling the homework with 
the answer key closed.
 
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Do you answer questions on homework in class?

    As time permits, I'll answer some questions in class. 
Occasionally I will do this at the beginning of class, but more 
often than not, I will deal with homework problems after I have 
completed my lecture for the day.  

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Should I do the supplementary exercises?   

    Although I do not always assign the supplementary exercises at
the end of a section or chapter,  the more you do, the better your
mastery should be.

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How much time should I spend on homework?   

    Enough.  Sufficient unto is the homework thereof.  You must
become friendly with the demon to control the magic.  The usual 
rule of thumb is that you should allot two hours for each credit 
hour per week. That, of course, assumes you are on top of the game.  
When you find that the prerequisites are rusty, then you must add 
time to use the WD-40 of review to remove the corrosive effects of 
time and disuse.  For a three credit-hour course over a 14 week 
semester that is 84 hours if you are on the ball.  For a four 
credit-hour course over the same semester the total study time 
should be at least 112 hours.  Doing the majority of this very
near test times or near the end of the semester is a very very
bad idea.  How do I know this??  The demon has personally 
told me that his warming to mortals takes a long and concerted 
effort by those who would enter this kingdom of magical written 
language. 
 
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How many questions are on the test/quiz?

    The number of questions varies from test to test.  To get a 
reasonable idea of the format and style of my tests and quizzes,
you should go visit the Test Tombs.  

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When is the test/quiz?

    Print a copy of the Game Rules and Initial Itinerary 
for your class.  With the exception of changes of date that may
occur as a result of the university unexpectedly being closed, you will
find the desired information in at least one of these two documents.  If
the university is closed suddenly, for whatever reason, I will announce
the alterations, if  there are any, in class, if possible.  Additionally,
I'll post a message on the page containing all the classes for the
semester.  If necessary, I'll also provide an up-dated itinerary for the
class.

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May I use a calculator during the test?

    Of all the courses I currently teach, Trigonometry is
the only one where I permit the use of a calculator.  A scientific,
non-graphing, non-programable calculator is required in 
Trigonometry because one no longer uses tables of the trig 
functions values.  I typically recommend the inexpensive solar-power 
varmints.  For the rest, the answer is NO.

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Do you allow cheat sheets, formula sheets?

    The only course in which a formula sheet is permitted is 
Differential Equations,  and that is a table of Laplace
Transforms that I provide when it is needed late in the course.  
For all the rest, the answer is NO.  No cheat sheets, no 
derivative tables, no integral tables, no trigonometric identity 
tables.   

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Do you have some old tests I can look at?

    Go visit the Test Tombs.  Break out your muddy court
jester and make him print 'em.  Print as many copies as you want.   
You have my permission.  You can even obtain brief answers for 
some of the more recent ones and view the statistics that reveal 
how those who suffered through the real thing fared.  Be clear about
this though, the tests and final exams to be found in the Test Tombs 
are not practice tests.  They were the real thing.  They do
provide an indication of the format of my tests, but under no
circumstances should they or their answers be memorized.  Spend your
valuable sweat equity in the careful reading and re-reading of the
current text -- with paper and writing utensil used to fill the gaps left
by the author(s) -- and then doing the homework exercises with the 
answer key closed.  [Of course you should peek after a genuine attempt.] 
A link to the Test Tombs may be found below:
  

Test Tombs



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