The author of our textbook (see below) is a leading proponent of the "flipped classroom." In this methodology, class time is spent doing problems, using peer instruction and answering questions. Listening to lectures prepared by the professor is done by students on their own before class!
All of last fall semester's flipped classroom mini-lectures are on YouTube and I will be creating new mini-lectures as we cover the material. The mini-lectures are there to highlight the textbook and workbook and pace your reading. They are also there to share my intuition on the most challenging sections with you. The mini-lectures are short (10-15 minutes max — not one hour!). They are meant to be used with the textbook — not replace it.
Although students have demonstrably higher success rates with the flipped methodology, most students like the traditional lecture format because it feels familiar, and it is at least a system in which they are "getting by." Unfortunately, "getting by" is not remotely sufficient to create a foundation of knowledge for an up-and-coming generation of scientists and engineers.
We will be implementing as many flipped classroom techniques as we can collectively handle. Please bear with me, and if you are finding the flipped classroom disorienting, perhaps you could be encouraged by a look into the literature on its effectiveness: for example, a study involving 6,000 students who were studying the same material as you will be studying this semester, and which demonstrated that flipped classroom resulted in more than twice — yes, more than twice! — the gain in performance on standardized tests as conventional instruction.
The campus bookstore has a discounted package price on the textbook and workbook:
We need to cover Chapters 1-17 of your textbook in 14 weeks — yikes! Actually, it might appear that there are 14 weeks in the semester, but with Monday off for Labor Day, two days off Thursday and Friday October 18th and 19th as a midterm break, and Wednesday through Friday off the week of Thanksgiving, we actually have only 14 * 4 - 6 + 2 = 52 classes.
Out of the 52 classes subtract three classes for midterm exams. (Yes, three is a lot of midterms, but believe me, it is better to have lots, because it helps keep everyone caught up and knowing where they stand.) Therefore, we only have 49 classes to cover 17 Chapters! To put it another way, 15 of the chapters we can spend three days each on but 2 of the chapters will have to be covered in only two days each. If the pace seems fast it is because it is.
This is the schedule for the midterms and the final:
15% for the homework, 20% on each of three midterms (totaling 60%), and 25% final. Unless otherwise specified, homework must be submitted to the beginning of class. Late homework will be accepted for 80% of the possible points, but not after the corresponding unit exam! Homework must be stapled and on full-sized paper.
I don't make the final curve until after the final exam is graded and its score is folded in. Last year the A- grades went down to about 80%, the B- grades went down to about 60% and the C- grades went down to about 40%. The material and exams are hard, but the highest scorer got 96.6% and two others were close behind, so it is definitely possible to learn it all and score well.
Your laboratory work is graded separately. Prof. Rosario has a separate syllabus.
31 of you are launching on this journey. As you will see, I will be putting in a lot of time to help you be successful. I don't have unlimited time though. Things that are not very constructive uses of anybody's time — and which I won't be very accommodating of — are:
Some students are under the assumption that there are three or so absences excusable per class per semester (perhaps because some classes that are graded on participation allow that). There is no such assumption for this class. The material builds very rapidly, and it is unavoidably cumulative. Therefore, you are 100% responsible for the material in all classes. I can provide an outline of what was covered in any classes you miss, and you should ask a fellow student for detailed notes.
If you are a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) major, introductory physics is your single most important class. This is because physics is at the foundation of almost every other science and engineering discipline. Even the mathematics you will use this semester was originally developed by physicists (especially Isaac Newton) to solve physics problems.
Therefore, if you are a STEM major, you should plan to spend more time on this class than any other. As a rule of thumb, you will spend at least two hours outside of class for every hour in class. If getting behind and then trying to catch up before each exam is a strategy that has worked for you in the past, please be forewarned that there is too much rigorous material covered in college-level physics for that strategy to work out.
By the way, this course is sometimes taken to satisfy part of the Pathways to Knowledge Core Curriculum Requirement. Therefore, attention will be paid to the Mathematical and Scientific Understanding goals and outcomes.
A misconception: physics professors frequently hear from students that "I understand the material but I can't do the problems." Physics is about being able to solve a wide variety of problems starting from a small number of principles. Therefore, "understanding the material but not being able to do the problems" is an excellent example of an oxymoron. Above all else, keep doing problems, and do them mostly — if not entirely — on your own. This is what will make you good at physics.
Of course if you are flat-out stuck, ask a classmate for a pointer, come to my office hours, or visit the STEM Center (see below), but do not fall into the trap of just "following along" with other people's solutions. Virtually all understanding that you feel you are gaining in that way is illusory.
I will be doing everything I can to make the material intelligible, but the biggest variable is how much you embrace the subject matter and how much focus and self-discipline you can find within yourself. Not finding the hours to do the work on your own, or being motivated just to get a grade rather than to understand the material are probably the two main reasons students get behind or lose motivation and eventually abandon STEM majors for something else that has different demands.
The Saint Mary's Academic Honor Code (AHC) is applicable to this (and all) Saint Mary's courses. You are responsible for familiarizing yourself with it: AHC Website. You may also wish to consult the view of the Academic Honor Code in the Faculty Handbook.
Accommodations that take into account the context of the course and its essential elements for individuals with qualifying disabilities are extended through the office of Student Disability Services (SDS). Information regarding the services available may be found on the SDS Office Website.
Saint Mary’s has a center for students taking STEM classes in Assumption Hall, Room 200. The STEM Center provides several services, including free tutoring in math, chemistry, physics, and biology. Please be very respectful of the Assumption Hall residents.
John Baptist de La Salle dedicated himself to serving students who could not afford the private tutoring that was the primary form of education in his day. Saint Mary's is an heir to that mission and its faculty and staff are entrusted with carrying it out.
It is my goal to make each of you feel and know that you are valued and belong, regardless of your background or demographic. Please let me know if I am falling short in that. We all have blinders. I am constantly re-examining and trying to correct my own.
A syllabus is not the place to enumerate all of the ways the physics faculty go out of their way to make everyone successful. We are in the business of teaching and doing physics and almost all of the time you will hear us talking about physics. Please be assured that we take the Saint Mary's mission very seriously even when we aren't talking about it.
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