153 Winter 2022

Syllabus

Course: Math 153 (Course Catalog)

Title: Geometry for Secondary Teachers

Credit Hours: 4

Prerequisite: MATH 109 or MATH 31CH.

Catalog Description: Two- and three-dimensional Euclidean geometry is developed from one set of axioms. Pedagogical issues will emerge from the mathematics and be addressed using current research in teaching and learning geometry. This course is designed for prospective secondary school mathematics teachers.

Textbook: Kiselev's Geometry. Book I. Planimetry by A. P. Kiselev. Adapted from Russian by Alexander Givental.

Course Readings: Reading the sections in the textbook that correspond to what we are discussing in class is a very important part of learning the subject. Lecture time is very limited and not every subject can be fully covered in the time allotted for lecture. Consequently, it is in your own interests to read the related chapters in the textbook. You should read the section of the book prior to the lecture in which that section is discussed.

Homework: Homework is a very important part of the course and in order to fully master the topics it is essential that you work carefully on every assignment and try your best to complete every problem. Textbook homework will be assigned throughout the course. Each week (excluding exam weeks), several problems will be selected for you to turn in and these problems will be collected and graded (via Gradescope). The problems to turn in will be announced on Thursday at 11:00am and will be due that day at 11:00 pm.

Quizzes: There will be quizzes given via Canvas Quizzes each week (excluding exam weeks) on Fridays, starting with Week 2. You will be given exactly 35 minutes to complete your quiz. (The quizzes are 30 minutes, but we are providing you with an extra 5 minutes in case of technological difficulties.) The quizzes will be available on Fridays between 11:00 am and 11:00 pm. There will be no makeup quizzes, but we will drop the lowest two quiz scores.

Late Add Policy: If you are on the waitlist for a course, you are expected to attend class for the first two weeks and complete assignments. If students choose not to attend class or to not turn in assignments before the due dates, the student will receive a "0" on all missed assignments/quizzes/etc. No exceptions will be made. Similarly, a student not on a waitlist who chooses to add the class late will not be given additional time, nor will they be excused from the assigned work.

Midterm Exams:&There will be two remote 50-minute midterm exams given during the times specified in the Schedule of Classes.

27 Jan 2022 (Thursday) at 6:00 pm
24 Feb 2022 (Thursday) at 6:00 pm

You will be given exactly 60 minutes to write your exam and upload it to Gradescope. (That's 50 minutes for the exam plus 10 minutes for upload time.) You will be given a two hour window within which to complete your exam (beginning at 6:00 pm). Makeup exams will only be given in cases of extreme emergency, such as hospitalization.

Final Exam: The Final Exam will be remote. The date of the exam, as listed in the Schedule of Classes is

16 Mar 2022 (Wednesday) at 8:00a-10:59a

The final exam will be an "untimed" Gradescope assignment, but you must submit it within the time window (8:00 am - 10:59 am) that is specified in the Schedule of Classes.

Technology Requirement: It is a requirement of the course that you have a stable enough internet connection to complete and upload your exam solutions during the time available. We will not accept late exam submissions and we will not accept submissions by email.

Note on Scheduling: The midterm and final exam times were posted to the Schedule of Classes before the beginning of the term. By enrolling in the class, you are agreeing to take the exams at the scheduled time. Exams will not be rescheduled to accommodate scheduling conflicts.

Regrade Policy: Your midterm exams will be graded using Gradescope. You will be able to request a regrade via Gradescope for a specified window of time. Be sure to make your request within the specified window of time; no regrade requests will be accepted after the deadline. The quizzes will be automatically graded (by computer), and so there won't be a built-in regrade request system for the quizzes. If you think there has been a error in the grading of a quiz, you must contact your instructor immediately.

Administrative Deadline: It is your responsibility to check that your exam scores and quiz scores are correctly recorded in the Canvas gradebook. Contact your instructor before the end of the 10^th week of the quarter to resolve recording errors.

Grading: Your course grade will be determined by your cumulative average at the end of the term and will be based on the following scale:

A+	A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	C-	D	F
[97,100]	[93,99)	[90,93)	[87,90)	[83,87)	[80,83)	[77,80)	[73,77)	[70,73)	[60,70)	[0,60)

Your cumulative average will be computed as a weighted average using the following percentages as weights:

20% Homework
20% Quizzes
20% Midterm Exam 1
20% Midterm Exam 2
20% Final Exam

Please notice that outside factors, including the need for a certain grade for admission/retention in any academic program, scholarship or transfer credit, graduation requirements or personal desire for a specific grade DO NOT appear in the above calculations, and thus are not considered in any way in the determination of your course grade. Effort, improvement, class attendance and participation will all dramatically improve your grade in the course in that they will allow you to do well on quizzes, exams, and the final exam. They will NOT, however, actively participate in the calculation of your course grade.

No extra credit will be given in this class.

Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty is considered a serious offense at UCSD. Students caught cheating will face an administrative sanction which may include suspension or expulsion from the university. It is in your best interest to maintain your academic integrity. (Click here for more information.)

Academic Integrity and Homework: All homework that you turn in should be your own work. Passing off the work of another as your own is a serious academic integrity violation. You are allowed to consult with other students in the class, but the work you turn in should be written by you, in your own words. Copying homework from another student or from any other sources (including online sources) is not allowed.

Academic Integrity and Quizzes/Exams: You are not allowed to consult with other students when working exams or quizzes. For exams and quizzes, you must work on your own. You may not ask another person for help, either online or offline. In particular, you may not visit any site where questions may be uploaded and answered by others. Quiz and exam questions must be answered by you and you alone.

Filing for a Incomplete: Sometimes it is not possible to complete all of the work in the course due to circumstances beyond your control. (Being unable to take the final exam because of accident or sickness, for example.) In such a case, it may be possible to file for an Incomplete grade. If an Incomplete is granted, you will be given the opportunity to complete the work during the next quarter. (All work must be completed before the end of Week 10 the following academic quarter.) In order to be eligible for an Incomplete, you must meet the following criteria:

Your incomplete work must be due to circumstances beyond your control. (Sickness, accident, etc.)
You must be able to verify the circumstances with official documentation.
Your coursework must be of "non-failing quality" (from the Academic Senate Regulations). This means that you must be currently passing the course according to the method for computing your grade that is described above.

Follow this link to find more information about filing for an Incomplete on TritonLink. To apply for an Incomplete, you must fill out and submit the official form.

Credit by Examination: It is not possible to take this class via Credit by Examination.

Suggestions: Below are some suggestions that I hope will help you to succeed in this course:

Spend sufficient time on the course. According to the policy of UCSD's Academic Senate, "The value of a course in units ... shall be reckoned at the rate of one unit for three hours' work per week per quarter on the part of the student." During a ten-week quarter, for a 4 credit course, you should be willing to spend about 12 hours per week on the course.
Keep up with the homework and do not miss a midterm. Missing a homework assignment will hurt your grade because no homework scores will be dropped. This policy is designed to encourage students to complete all the assignments and reward those who do.
Get started on the homework assignments early. And "early" means "right after the lecture in which it is discussed". This will reinforce the topics we discuss in the lecture, help you keep up with the class schedule, and allow you to make the most of your discussion section time by coming prepared with specific questions. And if you don't put the homework off until the last day, you won't have to worry about something coming up and preventing you from doing it! (Seriously, don't put the homework off until the last day.)
Read the section of the book we are covering before the lecture. Or, if not the whole section, try skimming through it. Read the section titles, the definitions, the theorems, and anything else that the book emphasizes. Skimming the section before we talk about it in class will give you some added context, and will help you make connections between the topics we discuss.
Take notes by hand (whenever possible). Studies have found that students retain information better if they take notes by hand.
Always try to work out a problem before reading a solution. Coming up with a solution yourself is a very different cognitive process than understanding a solution someone else provided. Whether it is a homework problem or an example from the textbook or one given by WebAssign, you should try to solve the problem first. Work on the problem for at least five minutes. Set a timer.
Don't worry if you make mistakes sometimes! We all make mistakes. Mistakes are great, because they show us where we might need some extra work. Mistakes on exams are a little more costly than mistakes on homework. That's why you should treat all homework exercises as if they were exam or quiz questions. Get all of the mistakes out of the way on homework, and then you won't have to worry about them showing up on exams!
Read the book. And get a physical copy of the book, if you can. It helps more than you might expect. If you want to look up a topic, try looking in the book instead of online. Check out the index in the back of the book.
The best way to learn something is to teach it, so try teaching the topics to your classmates, or a family member, a friend, a pet, a stuffed animal, or even an empty chair. Try to anticipate what questions someone will ask you. It is a great way to assess your own understanding, and it helps to find gaps in your own knowledge of the subject.

Name and Gender Pronouns: UC San Diego is committed to supporting its students' name and gender preferences. Class rosters provided to your instructor and TAs have students' legal names, but we will strive to honor your request to be addressed using a preferred name or gender pronoun. Please let your instructor and TA know your preferences so that we can make changes to our records. (Certain university records may be beyond our ability to change, however.)

Equity, Inclusion, and Respect: We are committed to the UC San Diego Principles of Community. "To foster the best possible working and learning environment, UC San Diego strives to maintain a climate of fairness, cooperation, and professionalism. These principles of community are vital to the success of the University and the well being of its constituents." The principles of community include (but are not limited to):

"We affirm each individual's right to dignity and strive to maintain a climate of justice marked by mutual respect for each other."
"We reject acts of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and political beliefs, and, we will confront and appropriately respond to such acts."
"We promote open expression of our individuality and our diversity within the bounds of courtesy, sensitivity, confidentiality, and respect."
"We are committed to promoting and supporting a community where all people can work and learn together in an atmosphere free of abusive or demeaning treatment."

Visit the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for more information.