Campus Policies

It is our shared responsibility to know and abide by the University of Maryland’s policies that relate to all courses, which include topics like:

• Academic integrity
• Student and instructor conduct
• Accessibility and accommodations
• Attendance and excused absences
• Grades and appeals
• Copyright and intellectual property

Please visit www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html for the Office of Undergraduate Studies’ full list of campus-wide policies and follow up with me if you have questions.

Activities, Learning Assessments, & Expectations for Students

Lectures: Class time will be occupied by lectures that follow a set of PowerPoint slides that you can download from the lecture slides folder on the course page. The lectures will explain the description of phenomena with the aid of three kinds of demonstrations

• Mathematical: derivations of equations elaborated on the board will be used to quantify characteristics of predictions of a concept
• Numerical: computer simulations of some phenomenon embedded in the Power point
• Physical: real life experimental demonstrations will provide the most convincing validation of the utility of some of the concepts

Participation: The lectures assume that you are keeping track of the material of the previous lecture. This will enhance your learning and participation in the class, which is crucial to the classes success. To ensure a minimal level of participation, I will keep track of your participation through questions you ask or answer. You get full credit for participation if you ask or answer 6 questions in the semester related to the material presented in the lectures.

Homework : Problem sets will be posted as assignments on ELMS. The problems can also be downloaded from the assignments folder. Homework submission should be preferably by paper in class or at instructor office. Email submission to TA is allowed but should not be hand written. Homework will be assigned roughly once a week, and is to be turned in at the beginning of class on the due date. Homework will typically be posted on Friday and due the Wednesday two weeks later (i.e. about 10 days). 20% will be marked off on homework turned in after the end of class. Homeworks turned in after the solutions are posted will not be graded. If you cannot attend class, please get your homework to me before class starts.  New assignments will be posted on the course website, along with the homework solutions. Homework problems are carefully chosen to highlight some of the important topics covered in lecture, as well as important applications of the material. It is important that you carefully complete and make sure you understand all of the homework. You are encouraged to work with others on homework, however, it is forbidden to blindly copy another person’s work. There are 9 homework sets and one will be dropped. Each homework will be worth two percentage points towards the final grade.

Exams Three in-class exams midterm 1 ( October ), midterm 2 ( November ) and final exam. Both exams and solutions will be posted in the exam folder after the exams. 

Exams are meant to test your understanding and ability to apply concepts covered in the course. I therefore do not expect you to memorize constants and equations. I will provide you with a sheet of relevant equations that will be posted in the exam a week before the exam. I will give you the value of any constants you need. Although the main focus of the exams will be problem solving, all exams will likely contain one conceptual question with a written part to verify that you understand and can explain the physical concepts. Exam and homework problems will be from the textbook.

Course-Specific Policies

No computers, phones or tablet devices are permitted during our class meetings.  I understand and have considered arguments for permitting laptop and tablet computers in the classroom.  However, in my experience (and based on the research evidence) the reality is that they present an irresistible distraction and detract from the cooperative learning environment.  Researchers have found that these distractions do in fact interfere with learning and active participation.  For that reason, the use of computers and phones will not be permitted during class meetings (except when required for DSS accommodations).  If a computer is needed to accomplish a class objective for the day I will provide it or give you advanced notice to bring one with you.

I expect you to make the responsible and respectful decision to refrain from using your cellphone in class.  If you have critical communication to attend to, please excuse yourself and return when you are ready.  For more information about the science behind the policy watch: http://youtu.be/WwPaw3Fx5Hk

Please give me as much advanced notice as possible if you are unable to make it to any of the exams. This is crucial since exams are worth most of the credit. We will try to work out some solution such as either shift the exam (possible other than final) or arrange a makeup with some equivalent (but not necessarily identical) exam.

Get Some Help!

You are expected to take personal responsibility for you own learning. This includes acknowledging when your performance does not match your goals and doing something about it. Everyone can benefit from some expert guidance on time management, note taking, and exam preparation, so I encourage you to consider visiting http://ter.ps/learn and schedule an appointment with an academic coach. Sharpen your communication skills (and improve your grade) by visiting http://ter.ps/writing and schedule an appointment with the campus Writing Center. Finally, if you just need someone to talk to, visit http://www.counseling.umd.edu.

Everything is free because you have already paid for it, and everyone needs help… all you have to do is ask for it.

Grades

Grades are not given, but earned.  Your grade is determined by your performance on exams, homeworks and participation in the course and is assigned based on your score according to a curve. Typically I follow a curve scheme where the median score would be graded at B-. The lowest grade would be C- (very few). The top grades will be A+ and As. The number in each category would be roughly equal depends on appropriate breaks in the score distribution. 

Of course, all this being said this rule is subject to change depending on the performance of the class. If some students do extremely poorly (e.g. score well below 40%) I might consider going below C- for the lowest grade.  On the other hand, if everyone does well (i.e. above 90%) I have no hesitation giving the entire class an A. Also, if someone scores above 80 that is a B or better independent of whether the average is above 80.

If earning a particular grade is important to you, please speak with me at the beginning of the semester so that I can offer some helpful suggestions for achieving your goal.

All assessment scores will be posted on the course ELMS page.  If you would like to review any of your grades (including the exams), or have questions about how something was scored, please email me to schedule a time for us to meet in my office.

Late work (as explained in the instruction) will not be accepted for course credit so please plan to have it submitted well before the scheduled deadline.  I am happy to discuss any of your grades with you, and if I have made a mistake I will immediately correct it.  Any formal grade disputes must be submitted in writing and within one week of receiving the grade.

Course Schedule

Note: This is a tentative schedule, and subject to change as necessary – monitor the course ELMS page for current deadlines.  In the unlikely event of a prolonged university closing, or an extended absence from the university, adjustments to the course schedule, deadlines, and assignments will be made based on the duration of the closing and the specific dates missed.