We are
continuing to showcase growth mindset language in the syllabi and course
materials developed by CSULB faculty. The examples below are borrowed from the
Spring 2017 syllabi by Ladera Barbee, Rebecca Bishop Jen-Mei Chang, Joshua
Chesler, Gerald Geier, Andrea Johnson, Florence Newberger, T.R. Rubino-Schaefer,
Kagba Suaray, and Truong P. Tran, Department
of Mathematics & Statistics, CSULB.
Dear Student,
I’m looking forward to working with
you this semester! I know that Business Calculus has a reputation as being a
hard class. It can be challenging and time consuming but if we both work hard
and do our best, I believe that this class will be a valuable learning
experience for you. I promise you that I will do my best to provide information
in a clear and understandable way. I will be here to answer your questions. In
turn, I ask you to try your hardest, don’t give up, and ask for help when
needed. When you succeed on an assignment, I hope you experience the reward and
pride from working hard. If you don’t do as well as you wanted on an
assignment, know you are not a failure. Use that non-desirable outcome as a
learning experience, make changes, and grow. Here is to a GREAT semester!
Sincerely,
Ladera Barbee
First, you must recognize there is a
difference between understanding something and knowing how to do it. For example, if you play
basketball, you may understand the job is to score a basket, but you may not have the skill
to get the ball through the hoop. In math, you may understand a question, but you may not
have the algebraic skill to do the question. In basketball, the only way to get the
shooting skill is to shoot lots of baskets; in math, the only way to get the algebraic skill is to
do lots of questions. If you can’t do a question at first, look
back at the text, notes, etc, find out
how and then repeat it until you can do it completely without help. / Truong Tran
Ready? Let’s get to work! Your brain
is not in a fixed state; in fact, it physically grows and develops as you
learn. Your job now is to grow your brain! This class is not trying to test to
what degree you are a “math person,” or how smart you are. Instead, it’s going
to provide resources and strategies, and then help you see how well you can use
them to train your brain. / Rebecca Bishop, Gerald Geier, Florence Newberger
We are committed to your success and
willing to do anything to ensure that happens. If you are not being successful in the class,
please do something or say something right away, don't wait until it's too late! Suggestions
and comments are always welcome and strongly encouraged. There is not an one-size-fits-all way
to promote learning for everyone, we are always willing to work with students individually to
help them learn. All you need to do is ASK! /
Jen-Mei Chang, Joshua Chesler
My Role as Your Instructor. I view my
role as instructor as part safari leader and part personal trainer – my job is
to guide you safely through the math I love so much. I try to offer
opportunities for you to learn, think, try new things, and practice. I try to
give you tips and warnings about how not to get hurt – one of the biggest of
which, both for this course and in “real” life, is – don’t assume, ASK. If
you’re struggling, ASK. If you’re upset with some part of the course, ASK. If
you’re upset at me, ASK. I encourage you to reach out to me and to each other
whenever you have questions or concerns. / T.R. Rubino-Schaefer
Evaluation: Grades are designed to
measure the level of your understanding against the learning objectives I
proposed earlier. They are not indicators of your smartness nor goodness of fit
(for math); rather, indicators of your efforts by the time the exams are taken.
/ Jen-Mei Chang
Exams are designed to assess your
mastery of core concepts and they are written at a level for you to be
successful. Exams take approximately 60 minutes to complete, but you should
take your time and you may use the entire class period to work on it. If you
find the first exam difficult or have trouble completing it, you may not yet
have mastered the material for the exam. You may need to implement alternative
study strategies or dedicate more time practicing problems. / Andrea Johnson
For final grades, I do consider
improvement over time if you start slow. / Kagba Suaray
The Maintenance / Improvement portion
of your grade is based on you
maintaining a 70%
grade on each midterm and quiz (assessment). If you
receive a score below 70% on a particular assessment, you must show evidence of
attending at least two tutoring sessions or office hours for at least one hour
each before the next assessment. / Kagba Suaray
Important Administrative Dates. You
have until the “last day to withdraw without a W” (the date is given below) to
decide if you wish to commit to this course. If you remain enrolled after that
date, you are committing to monitor your progress, and make timely adjustments
to your study strategies until you find one with which you can succeed and
complete the course. Once you commit, do not plan to give up and withdraw. Come
see me before it’s too late. We’ll work together to make it happen. / Florence Newberger
