Workshop Leader:Don Sherry
Office: 1138 F/AB
Office Hours: 10:40-11:35, M-TH
Phone: (313) 577-3225 (NOTE: Please leave a message for me with the Math Dept. office staff at (313)
             577-2479 if you cannot get through, or if there is no answer.)
e-mail: sherry@math.wayne.edu or donsherry@compuserve.com

Workshop UA: Sarah Trimble
Office: 1092 F/AB
Office Hours: 3:55-4:55, M W
Phone: (313) 577-2504
e-mail: TBA

        PREP is fashioned about the ESP (Emerging Scholars Program), and is based on two principles:

                    (1) A commitment to excellence through high expectations, hard work and dedication;
                    (2) An emphasis on group work and a sense of community.

        A normal MAT course requires that the student attend four hours of lecture per week and satisfy whatever requirements the instructor may set forth. PREP requires an extra hour inside the classroom and an additional four hours per week of often challenging, frustrating, mind-bending and intense mathematical problem solving.

        Why work in groups? It is important to realize that everyone is capable of making intelligent contributions in solving a given problem at hand. In the early 1980s the automotive industry discovered that they needed to take the concept ‘group effort’ seriously. They found that giving each employee a chance to voice his or her own opinion helped the company achieve its objectives quicker and more efficiently--and it often led to better solutions. Also, virtually all mathematicians, engineers and scientists work in some sort of collaborative fashion. Ongoing educational studies continue to support the claim we in PREP and ESP have known all along: One of the best ways to come to truly understand mathematics is to teach it and/or explain it to someone else.

        YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BE HERE, AND ON TIME, EVERY WORKSHOP DATE. You simply cannot participate in a group study session if you’re not here. Missing workshop will put you behind in the material and cause for you a break in the flow of the course. It also hurts your fellow classmates, as then there is one less resource person to bank on. PREP is committed to excellence. Your attendance, therefore, is mandatory for your success in this program. In the event you find you cannot attend a workshop session due to an unforseen or unavoidable circumstance, you MUST report the absence to Joan Italia, ESP Coordinator, as soon as possible, preferably in advance of the session, and preferably in person. Her office is 1087 F/AB; her phone number is (313) 577-8839.

Please observe the following remarks with respect to attendance:

• Any unexcused absence from workshop may result in your dismissal from the PREP program. For example, do not make a medical/dental appointment for any Monday or Wednesday during our time slot. If you already have such an appointment, please call your doctor/dentist immediately to bump up or bump back the appointment.
• Any absence will be presumed to be unexcused unless excused by Joan Italia, ESP Coordinator. I do not excuse workshop absences, and neither does Sarah, and we do not serve as reporting intermediaries/go-betweens. If you feel there is a good, valid reason for your absence, be prepared to back up your claim by delivering to Joan relevant supporting documentation.
• Acquiring more than 4 workshop absences--for any reason--will result in a total loss of the 10% workshop component of your final mark for MAT 1050. (That is, you will have ‘failed’ workshop, and hence forfeited the 10% workshop component of your final mark for MAT 1050.) Also, this is grounds for nonadmission to the ESP program.
• Tardiness counts towards absences being recorded, and it does accumulate. Please don’t find yourself always being 3-5 minutes late for workshop. If you find that chronic tardiness is simply unavoidable due to, say, having to run clear across campus from a class directly preceding workshop, speak with me IMMEDIATELY, during the first week of classes. Also, please arrange your school schedule so that personal matters--or other school matters--can be taken care of after workshop, NOT in the last 5-10 minutes of workshop.

• While in workshop, personal matters are to be taken care of in a timely fashion. For example, it’s okay to run downstairs to grab a pop or candy bar or bag of chips, but you’re NOT allowed to run over to the SCB for some A & W. Hence, if you find yourself craving one of those delicious, unbeatable root beer floats, please budget your time accordingly so as not to be late for workshop.
• Common sense is the order of the day. For example, do NOT schedule tutoring sessions for other courses (such as English or chemistry) right before workshop. Being late to workshop due to such a session will NOT be excused. The same holds for tardiness due to conversations with counselors, participation in blood drives, etc.

        The MAT 1050 PREP workshop is part of the MAT 1050 PREP course, and therefore you do not receive a separate S/U mark or letter grade for the workshop. However, the PREP workshop does account for 10% of your overall final mark in MAT 1050 PREP.

The weekly journals. Each workshop date you’ll be given a worksheet consisting of roughly 9-12 exercises. Often the problems on these worksheets are quite challenging and are almost always more difficult than those found in your text. You will keep workshop journals (an inexpensive two-pocket folder or three-clasp pocket folder is suggested), and these will contain and provide a running record of those worksheet exercises you’ve solved in and out of workshop. Your journals will be collected every Wednesday (normally), and over the weekend I’ll grade them and return them to you the following Monday with helpful hints and suggestions. NOTE: Each journal MUST contain write-ups of two problems from the current worksheet. On a typical Wednesday, then, every folder I collect will consist of two journals, making four exercises for me to pore over. For a typical workshop, here’s the idea: From the current worksheet you’ll need to write up crisp, clear and detailed solutions to two of the exercises--but not just any ol’ two. Angela will choose one of the two, and I will choose the other. To help you out a bit, please refer to the ‘ESP Journal Guidelines’ page and the accompanying sample problems later in this syllabus to get a feel for how your journal entries will look. I’ve also included a F99 calendar at the end of the syllabus so that you’ll know exactly where we’ll be each workshop date, the due dates for journals, etc. You’ll also notice a few other reminders on other important dates on the calendar.  [NOTE: Please see me for copies of the 'ESP Journal Guidelines and the F99 Calendar.]

Assuming your journals are turned in on time, are complete, and are done in a satisfactory manner, when they are returned you will find two marks (one for each journal) of 6, 8 or 10 given. A short description of each mark follows.

Mark                                                                                    Meaning

  10                                                                                      Excellent work. Journal entries are in accordance with ESP
                                                                                            Journal Guidelines. Presentation and solutions of problems
                                                                                            are of superior quality with few or no errors.

    8                                                                                      Good work. Journal entries are in accordance with ESP
                                                                                            Journal Guidelines. Some minor errors appear in solutions
                                                                                            and/or presentation. There is room for improvement.

    6                                                                                      Poor work. Journal entries are not at all in accordance with
                                                                                            ESP Journal Guidelines. The journal is fraught with major
                                                                                            errors in solutions and/or presentation.

If applicable, a mark of 0 is immediately assigned to any missing journal, incomplete journal, or any journal not done in a satisfactory manner. For example, suppose John Doe has exceptional write-ups on his Worksheet 2 exercises, but he’s missing one of the two write-ups on Worksheet 3. John would then find a 10-0 score at the top of his folder when returned.

Please observe the following remarks with respect to the weekly journals:

• Acquiring more than four 0 journal marks--for any reason--will result in a total loss of the 10% workshop component of your final mark for MAT 1050. (That is, you will have ‘failed’ workshop, and hence forfeited the 10% workshop component of your final mark for MAT 1050.) Also, this is grounds for nonadmission to the ESP program.
• There is no such thing as a ‘late journal’--excused or otherwise. For example, if you miss workshop on a Wednesday and did not make arrangements for a fellow classmate to turn in your folder, then these two journals will be marked 0-0--not a good thing. Ouch! That is, your weekly journals must be in, be complete, and be done in a satisfactory manner every Wednesday as specified on the F99 calendar.
• A journal mark of 0 is permanent. You are not required to submit missing journals at a later date. You are not required to resubmit incomplete journals or journals not done in a satisfactory manner at a later date.