Assignments and Evaluations

In-Class Activities

To encourage you to actively engage with the course content, I will randomly assign in-class questions or surveys or alternative assignments. These will count toward your participation grade. Accordingly, they will only be available in class. I will not repeat the assignments and some will actually require you to be physically in the class.

These mini-exercises are graded on a very simple system:

• ✔: (100% in gradebook) Work is thoughtful, well-written, and shows engagement with the course content. This is the expected level of performance.
• ✔−: (50% in gradebook) Work is hastily composed, too short, and/or only cursorily engages with the course content. This grade signals that you need to improve next time. We will hopefully not assign these often.

There is an implicit 0 above for work that is not turned in. Notice that this is essentially a pass/fail or completion-based system. We're not grading your writing ability; we're not counting the exact number of words you're writing; and we're not looking for encyclopedic citations of every single thing to prove that you did indeed understand everything. We are looking for thoughtful engagement. Come to class, engage with the material. You'll get a ✔.

Assignments

Assignments form your main learning tool. Since there is no textbook, you should plan on spending quite a bit of time on each assignment. Overall, assignments are graded on the same check system:

• ✔+: (115% in gradebook) Exercises are complete. Every task was attempted and answered, and most answers are correct. Work on the final problem shows creativity or is otherwise exceptional. We will not assign these often.
• ✔: (100% in gradebook) Exercises are complete and many answers are correct. This is the expected level of performance.
• ✔−: (50% in gradebook) Exercises are less than 70% complete and/or most answers are incorrect. This indicates that you need to improve next time. We will hopefully not assign these often, but subpar work can expect a ✔−.

There is an implicit 0 for any assignment not turned in on time. If you have only partial work, then turn that in for some credit. We are not checking each line and we do not expect perfection; rather, the assignments are your main tool to learn. Also note that a ✔ does not require 100% success. You will sometimes get stuck with tricky algebra that you can't solve. We are looking for good faith effort. Try hard, engage with the task, and you'll get a ✔.

You may work together on the assignments, but you must turn in your own answers. You will turn these assignments in during class or via D2L. Assignments are always due before the start of class.

Paper

To meet the MSU Tier II Writing requirement, you will complete a paper near the end of the course. This paper is intended to be minimally intrusive. It is graded using a check system as well:

• ✔+: (22 points, 110% in gradebook) Paper is phenomenally well-thought-out and uses advanced techniques. The project discusses some important thing that is not readily obvious. I will not assign these often.
• ✔: (20 points, 100% in gradebook) Paper is fine, answers a question clearly, and discusses concepts from the course. This is the expected level of performance.
• ✔−: (10 points, 50% in gradebook) Paper is missing large components, is poorly written, does not answer a relevant question, and/or states falsehoods. If you receive this grade, you may revise your paper.

Details on the paper will be distributed midway through the course. It is designed not to deter anyone from taking this course who might otherwise be interested.

The problem sets

• PS0 Problem Set 0: Not A Real Problem Set Published
• PS1 Problem Set 1: Snap Draft
• PS2 Problem Set 2: Crackle Draft
• PS3 Problem Set 3: Pop Draft
• PS4 Problem Set 4 Draft
• PS5 Problem Set 5 Draft
• PS6 Problem Set 6 Draft