Course Policies & how to do well in this course

General: We want you all to do well, but to have this happen we need you to do your part. Please take advantage of all of the opportunities to learn and review the material.

• Attend lectures every day. Lectures will expand on material from readings, not simply restate it. We provide lecture notes, BUT taking notes in your own words can aid learning, and our notes DO NOT include close to 100% of the material presented in class.
• Recognize that learning must be an active process.  Lecture time is limited.  Much of your learning must involve initiative outside of class.  We put great effort into organizing lectures and lecture notes, and we expect you to take an active role in your learning.
• Review/relearn lecture material soon after lecture. Do not expect to absorb the information needed to do well just before each exam.  You will need to master too much accumulated detail and integrate too much information for cramming to be successful.  Trust us.  Use the lecture notes regularly to figure out what you do and do not understand. If there is anything you don't understand, come and ask questions at office hours!
• Come prepared. Do the assigned readings before class, in order to understand more of the lecture material, to ask better questions, and to participate in discussions.
• Read carefully. The texts review material that we will cover in lecture, and thus provide a "third professor" to help you master the subject.  It is thus an excellent source of information. We will also read journal articles Make sure you understand figures and tables, for the paper discussions.
• Get started early on your presentation. Don't leave research and organization of your presentation until the last minute--these will require both research and creative thought.
• Ask questions! Be sure that material is clear in your mind. Ask for clarifications in lecture, come to office hours, study with other students. A general and important rule: there are no stupid questions or comments! 
• Participate!  Course discussions are fun, help reinforce the material we learn, and are an important component of your grade
  

Anyone who falls in the bottom 20% of the class on any exam is strongly encouraged to meet with one of the professors at the earliest possible time to plan how to improve your performance on the next exam.

Turn off cell phones and pagers . Tape recording lectures is allowed. If you do not understand a point in lecture, please feel free to interrupt by asking a question. No matter what, do not feel intimidated or embarrassed to ask questions! Laptops permitted during lectures although this may be discontinued if the typing becomes distracting.

Grading: Your final grade will be determined based on your performance on exams and your class participation. There will be three exams, with 20% of your grade coming from each of  the first two exams, and 25% from the final exam.  20% of your grade will be determined by the quality of your oral presentation midway through the course.  15% of your final grade will depend on course participation (asking and answering questions, participating in discussion-- note also that while attending class is a good idea, it is NOT participation, and note that the participation grade WILL be 0 if you do not participate). Each exam will cover primarily the material indicated; however, as you learn basic material it will be reflected in your understanding of more advanced material later on in the course. Grades will not be assigned for individual exams, only points; you will be able to see how you did from a posted distribution of scores after each test. Final grades will be assigned on a curve based on the total number of points for the entire semester-- thus a single poor performance is less likely to adversely affect your grade. Rather your overall standing in the class determines your grade. Exam questions will be taken from lectures and assigned readings. Exams must be taken on the dates indicated during the regular class period; no makeup exams except in special circumstances, i.e., medical or family emergency documented in writing. The makeup test may be an oral exam.

Grading disputes: If your exam points were added incorrectly, please see one of the instructors and we will be happy to make a correction. All other requests for exam re-grading must be in the form of a written appeal to the appropriate instructor, justifying why your answer should be accepted. Note that the entire exam may be re-graded. No exam taken in pencil will be re-graded. All appeals for changes must be made within 10 days after the exam is returned to the students.

Last revised 12/29/2007