Math 241 General Syllabus
Accessibility Services
If you are a qualified student with a disability seeking accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you should contact Accessibility Services. Their email is accessibilityservices@selu.edu. You will have to submit your accommodations request to your instructor and to the Department of Mathematics for their approval. After these entities have approved your request, submit the completed paper work to Accessibility Services.
Prerequisites
Math 105, Math 151, Math 155, Math 161 or an ACT score of at least 28 is the prerequisite for this course. Also, since there is a lot of reading involved, students in this course should be able to read and understand English.
Course Delivery
This course will take the “flipped approach”. Class notes written in Word documents and PowerPoint slides will be provided in Moodle for each topic in the course. You will be expected to review these items BEFORE class. The class period will be devoted to answering questions on 1) the topics for the day, 2) procedures used to complete assignments, and 3) the problems scheduled for upcoming tests. Presentations on different topics will be posted as soon as they are completed. Occasionally, I will revise the notes and presentation for a topic after it has been posted to correct errors or make the explanations clearer.
Attendance
I will call roll every class near the start of the period except on test days. Please remind me I forget to call role. If you miss a class, you are responsible for learning the material presented in class on that day. Examples of most everything we do in class are available in the text, in the PowerPoints, in my notes or on my website. Grades do tend to decrease as absences increase, so keep this in mind if you are thinking of missing a day.
Text
Allan G. Bluman, Elementary Statistics: A Step By Step Approach – A Brief Version, 8th edition, McGraw-Hill Education 2019. You will need the textbook in class almost every period.
Calculators
The TI-83, TI-83 Plus and TI-84 Plus are the preferred calculators for this course. These calculators are very user-friendly and have built-in procedures for computing basic statistics, finding regression lines, computing coefficients of determination and correlation, finding confidence intervals, and doing hypothesis testing – all of which we use in this course. The use of these calculators will be demonstrated in class. Also, the text gives some explanation and my website gives more explanation on using these calculators.
Other calculators are acceptable if they do all the operations listed above. I can only help with other calculators during my office hours, and I need to see your calculator manual to do this.
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You will need these calculators for all three tests and the Critical Thinking Assessment.
Statistics Software
You will need to use statistics software like Minitab, SPSS or R to do Assignment 3, the Mini Projects and the semester project for this course. These programs are available in Fay 120 and in the open lab in Fay 126.
Minitab is user-friendly, creates good graphs, and is the software used for demonstrations in class. Minitab has a 30-day free trial or a six-month rental for $32.99.
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The program R may be downloaded for free, but it is not easy to learn.
Rguroo is a user-friendly software program based on R. Rguroo has a 14-day free trial or six-month rental for $11.99.
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SPSS is available in most computer labs on campus, but it is harder to use.
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My website has information on how to use Minitab, SPSS, R and Rguroo for many of the tasks required in this course.
Assignment and Project Submission
You will submit assignments and projects to Dr. Gurney as email attachments. Assignment 1 can be submitted in any format. The other assignments, the Mini Projects and the Semester Project should be submitted as Word documents.
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When you submit an assignment or project by email, I will send a reply saying I have received it. If you do not receive such a reply, you should check with me to see if you need to resend it. The last day to turn in assignments or Mini Projects is Thursday, November 30, 2023.
Assignments (ASM's)
There are 3 assignments worth 20 points each. The assignments cover basic procedures used throughout the semester. More information on assignments will be given as the course progresses. Due dates for the assignments are shown on the class calendar. Assignments that are more than one week late receive a 4-point penalty.
Mini Projects (MP's)
There are three Mini Projects worth 60 points each. For each Mini Project, you will be given a data set and asked to find certain statistics and create confidence intervals for the quantitative variables, make two different graphs using statistics software and run two different hypothesis tests using a calculator or statistics software. Mini Projects that are more than one week late will receive a 12-point penalty.
Tests
There are three tests worth 60 points each. Tests are described in detail in the Test and Final Exam Descriptions section of my website. Test dates are shown on the class calendar on page 4 of this syllabus. You have a week to make up tests without penalty. Tests taken more than one week late receive a 12-point penalty. Tests may be made up during my office hours or we can schedule other times. The last day to take any test for credit is Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023.
Critical Thinking Assessment (CTA)
The Critical Thinking Assessment will gauge your understanding of basic statistical concepts. The CTA will contain 15 multiple-choice problems worth 2 points each for a total of 30 points.
Final Exam
The final exam will check for a deeper understanding of statistical concepts. The final will contain 15 short-answer problems worth 2 points each for a total of 30 points.
Semester Project
​The semester project is worth 150 points. The project is described in detail in the Semester Project section of my website. Statistics software must be used for all graphs. The semester project is due Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. Semester projects turned in Friday, Dec. 1, 2023 will be worth at most 120 points. Semester projects turned in Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023 will be worth at most 90 points. Semester projects turned in Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023 will be worth at most 60 points. Projects turned in after Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023 will be worth zero points.
Course Grading Scale
​All the points a student receives during the semester are added together to give a single point total. Course grades are then determined using the scale below. This scale is based on the 450 points possible from 3 assignments, 3 tests, 3 Mini Projects, the semester project, the CTA and the final exam.
Point Total Course Grade
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567 and above A
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504 to 566 B
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441 to 503 C
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378 to 440 D
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0 to 377 F
Essential Information Questionnaire (EIQ)
This questionnaire contains 20 questions worth one point each for a total of 20 points. The Essential Information Questionnaire will be available in Moodle after the first class meeting and will only be available until Wed., Aug. 23, 2023.
Pre-final Grade Estimates
When estimating grades during the semester for midterm grade reports, or student athletes, or if students ask me for an estimate, I do not include bonus points. Bonus points are added to your point total when your letter grade for the semester is determined.
Last Day To Drop
The last day to withdraw from the course is Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. If you need to drop this class, you must fill out and submit the required forms yourself.
Missed Tests and Late Assignments
If you have an excuse for turning in an assignment late or not taking a test, SEND ME AN E-MAIL on or before the due date or test date with (1) a BRIEF description of your excuse and (2) the date when you will turn in the assignment or take the test. DO NOT attach documents to your e-mail excuses.
Classroom Behavior
Remember that some students in this class are serious about learning the material in this course. If, on some days, you do not want to listen to the discussion or would rather talk to your classmates, then please leave. Disruptive individuals will be asked to leave.
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You are encouraged to ask questions and express ideas in class, but this should be done in an appropriate manner. If you have questions, ask the instructor - not the student next to you. If the instructor is not looking in your direction, just say the word “Question” to get his attention.
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Turn off all cell phones, pagers and similar devices during class. Finally, no printing is allowed in Fayard 120 during discussion of course material or while reviewing for tests or the final.
Sources for Math 241 Help
(1) The textbook.
(2) The instructor’s website.
(3) The instructor during office hours.
(4) Qualified tutors.
The following webpage provides a list of tutors available through Southeastern's Department of Mathematics.
www.southeastern.edu/acad_research/depts/math/programs/tutoring_lab/calendlytutoring.html.
Any math tutor will usually know the material on the first test, but many math tutors have not had the opportunity to learn the material on test 2, test 3 or the final. For those tests, I suggest you find a tutor who has taken Math 241 with me or who has a degree in statistics.
Moodle Use
You will access the Essential Information Questionnaire and the Critical Thinking Assessment on Moodle. PowerPoint presentations and class notes in Word will be posted on Moodle when they are available. Also, any significant announcements I make in class like changes in due dates or test dates will be posted in the announcement section of Moodle.
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When you turn in assignments and projects, in most cases, they should be graded and returned within one week. Tests taken in class should be returned with a grade at the start of the next class period. If you want to check your points during the semester, send me an email and I can let you know how many points I currently have recorded for you.
Having said all this, about once every three weeks, I will try to post whatever points I have for you on Moodle. I will enter zeroes for any assignments or test scores that are missing.
Academic Integrity
​Students at Southeastern Louisiana University are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. Copying someone else’s work or communicating with other people while taking a test are examples of behavior that violate these standards.
Audience for Your Work
A major goal of this course is to teach you to communicate statistical results clearly to people who may not have had statistical training. Picture the person who reads your results as you before you started this class. When writing final answers or conclusions for assignments, tests or projects, DO NOT use fractions, Greek letters, statistics symbols or E’s in numbers. Using these items will result in points lost on assignments, tests, Mini Projects, the final exam and the semester project.
Method for Success
After teaching college mathematics for more than 40 years, the best method I know for succeeding in a mathematics course is to work many examples of each different type of problem. You should spend at least two hours working problems for every hour you spend in class, and you should be doing this on a regular schedule during each week of class.
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If you need a certain grade from this course, you should check your point total with me often, and get help immediately if you have problems working assignments, taking tests on time, or completing your projects.
There is not much I can do to help if the first time you ask for help is two weeks before the end of the semester, and then you tell me that you don’t understand what’s going on in this course.