Math 98: Adjunct for Math 1A

Spring 2020 (1-Unit, P/NP)

Faculty: Professor Aganagic
MWF 12-1 106 Moffitt
MWF 2-3 155 Kroeber

Instructor Information
Hieu Nguyen (hieu.nguyen@berkeley.edu)
Office: 102A Chavez
OH: Week 1: Wednesday: 1 pm –2 pm, 4:30 pm – 7 pm.
Thursday: 12 pm – 2 pm, 5:30 pm – 7 pm.
Friday: 1 pm –2 pm, 3 pm – 4:30 pm
(Office hours are in our office or in Drop-In Tutoring and
are subject to change)
Website: http://slc.berkeley.edu/math-1a

Course Description
Math 98 is designed to assist you in developing effective study strategies for quantitative reasoning courses. This
is accomplished through direct application of study strategy skills to the material covered in your main lecture
course. All of the work is geared towards assisting you in successful completion of your math course, and to
develop your quantitative reasoning skills and study strategies so that you are prepared for the rest of your studies
at the university. Please note that while much of the course will be dealing with content from your lectures and
discussion sections, this material is designed to supplement your regular course, not as a replacement.

By the completion of Math 98, students will have:

• Developed quantitative reasoning skills for success at the university level.
• Learned time management and study skills as an ongoing process.
• Established techniques for reading and analyzing mathematical writing (such as your textbook)
• Developed effective note-taking skills.
• Developed and applied mathematical intuition and problem-solving skills.
• Established collaborative and cooperative learning skills, and recognized their importance
• Practiced the analysis and solution of complex problems.
• Practiced and developed strategies to use in preparing for and taking examinations.
Enrolling in Math 98
Students get the course number for Math 98 in week 3 (2/03 – 2/07) after completing the following 6 items:
1. Take the entrance assessment. The score does not matter. However, I will grade it and you have to correct
any mistakes. Correction is due Wednesday 1/29 at 6 pm.
2. Fill in the in-take form here by 9 am, Monday 1/27.
3. Take and correct Quiz 1 (given on Monday 1/27 – correction is due Monday 2/03 at 7 pm).
4. Take Quiz 2 (given on Friday 1/31 – correction is due Thursday 2/6 at 7 pm)
5. Take Quiz 3 (given on Wednesday 2/5 – correction is due Wednesday 2/12 at 7 pm).
6. Attend all 3 hours weekly of the adjunct course. If you have an excused reason to miss a class, you must
inform me and make sure your excuse is approved by me. In addition, you will need to make up the work
that you would miss that day.
There are no auditors in Math 98, so you must officially enroll to be in this course.
Faculty sponsor: Professor Olga Holtz, Math Department
Sponsoring Departments: Student Learning Center and Mathematics Department
Course Policies
Math 98 is a 1-unit pass/not pass course. A 70% is required to pass the course. The grade breakdown is as
follows:
• Participation 5% • Quizzes 25% • Midterm 2 20%
• Homework 5% • Midterm 1 20% • Final Review 25%

Attendance policy: Attendance is mandatory. In order to enroll, you need to attend through the third week of the
semester. After that point, you will be allowed 1 (one) unexcused absence during the semester. Additional
unexcused absences will result in the loss of 2% of your course grade. Excused absences are those resulting from
illness, family emergency, etc. and you must inform me beforehand (or provide documentation). Note that
classes missed due to other courses (papers due, etc) are NOT excused absences.
Course Components:
Participation: Each week we will spend some time working in groups on worksheets covering that week’s lecture
material. You will be expected to participate with your group in solving problems and you may be asked to
present selected problems to the class. See this as a chance to master the material in the course. Participation in
the course requires reasonable progress on each of the worksheets. These are not regularly handed in (though
some problems not covered in class may be assigned as homework). (5% of Grade)
Homework: Periodically, I will assign homework assignments, such lecture note assignments, study strategies
exercises, or even extra problems. Each assignment will be closely geared towards helping you succeed in your
main lecture course and beyond. (5% of Grade)
Quizzes/Quiz Corrections: About every week, except on exam weeks, there will be quizzes, as a way to help
assess your competence with the material. Additional quizzes may be used to aid in preparing for exams, or to
work on particularly important topics. These quizzes will give you a realistic idea of how you’re doing in the
course. You will have the opportunity to correct your quizzes. (25% of Grade)
Midterm Exams: Your midterm exam grades will consist of two parts: the adjunct midterm review assignment
and a post-exam conference to assess and discuss your midterm exam.
(20% of Grade for Each Midterm)
• The adjunct midterm review assignments are handed out about a week before your lecture exam, and are used
to assess your abilities leading into the exam. This is a chance to assess your general exam preparedness,
including mastery of exam level material, test taking strategies (including time management on the test and
test pressure), and areas needing more study. Students are encouraged to meet with the instructor if there are
any parts of the assignment that are particularly difficult, or if there are concerns about test anxiety, time
pressure, etc.
• After the lecture exam, each student is required to conference with their instructor to go over their exam,
correcting any problems that were missed, and assessing exam preparedness and test taking strategies.
Remember that mathematics at the university level is cumulative, so this is a chance to ensure that you have
learned all of the material that you need to continue in the course, as well as a chance to develop and revise
your study strategies and exam preparation before the next exam.
Final Review Assignment: The final review assignment will be due during RRR week (the week after the last
day of formal instruction but before finals begin). Solutions will be available to the tutors and instructors and
students are encouraged to attend office hours during the RRR week to get their solutions checked. A pre-
determined number of problems will need to be verified as correct in order to pass this assignment. (25% of
Grade)

Faculty sponsor: Professor Olga Holtz, Math Department

Sponsoring Departments: Student Learning Center and Mathematics Department
Course Topics:

While much of this course is based on the content in Math 1A, this is not a drill class. Instead, we will be
exploring, developing and applying reasoning skills and problem-solving strategies to content-based material.
We will also be discussing topics regarding overall quantitative reasoning skills, study strategies, and test taking
strategies. Expect in-class discussions of these topics, self-assessment assignments, and collaborative learning
exercises designed to promote and develop these skills.

The following is a list of topics that will be covered at various points in the course:

• Strategies for success: A discussion of the ways your tools for studying transition from high school math
to university-level math.
• Mastering the material: What are the different levels of mastery that are expected at the university level?
• Collaborative and cooperative learning: Why is it important to work with each other?
• Time management and studying as an ongoing process
• Techniques for reading and analyzing mathematical writing (such as your textbook)
• How do you best learn from a lecture? Effective note-taking skills and how to stay engaged in a large
lecture class.
• Strategies to use in preparing for and taking examinations.

I look forward to working with all of you this semester! If you have any questions, please feel
free to ask me. I will be available for many office hours, and will also be available for individual
appointments.

Mastery of the Material

1. Knowing the rules and methods.

2. Knowing when and how to use the rules and methods.

3. Knowing the logic behind the rules and methods.

4. Able to incorporate different rules and methods in cumulative problems, or

seeing how they fit into the big picture.

5. Able to derive or devise new rules and methods from the old ones.

6. Able to critique and modify rules and methods.

Faculty sponsor: Professor Olga Holtz, Math Department

Sponsoring Departments: Student Learning Center and Mathematics Department
Tips for Success in Lower Division Math/Stat Courses

1. Take good lecture notes. The course material is based on what is covered in lecture and in the assigned
readings. Active engagement in the lecture is crucial in getting the most out of it. Taking good lecture notes
means not only writing everything that has been written on the board, but also any tips for understanding or any
questions that may come up that will help you remember the concepts and ideas in lecture. Your notes should
ultimately be a reference to help you study, with example problems illustrating the important problem-solving
strategies, and details regarding important theories, concepts, and proofs.

2. Use the text as a supplement to lecture. Reading the textbook before lecture is preferable, as you will
have a better understanding of the material being introduced in lecture if you are familiar with it beforehand.
Work out the examples before attempting the homework problems. Highlight the problem-solving strategies
illustrated in the examples.

3. Work many practice problems. Practice problems, such as the homework and text problems, as well as
problems assigned in lecture and discussion sections, are important to make sure you understand the material. But
don’t just focus on getting the right answer! True understanding comes from doing many problems, and
understanding the ideas that come up with each different problem. See each problem as a chance to develop your
problem solving strategies and conceptual framework, not as a scenario that needs to be memorized. The study
groups and adjunct courses offered by the Student Learning Center provides worksheets of problems designed to
help you develop these strategies.

4. Don’t fall behind or cram for exams. If you fall behind, not only will there not be enough time to catch
up, but because each topic generally builds upon previous topics, you won’t be able to understand the material later
in the course if you are confused about material earlier in the course. Use tutoring and office hours, particularly if
you are having difficulty keeping up. Cramming for exams may have modest results initially, but is useless in
terms of retention. Since final exams are cumulative, cramming for exams can be a recipe for disaster. In
addition, retention is important for continuing in later courses.

5. Use professor and GSI office hours. Most professors and GSIs encourage students to use their office
hours as a way to ensure that they are getting the most out of their courses. But make sure that if you come to
office hours with questions about specific problems that you do so after you have struggled with them! You will
be received much more favorably when you have questions like “I tried this technique but I’m having difficulty
applying it at this step” rather than “I don’t know how to do this problem.”

6. Use drop-in tutoring hours. The Student Learning Center offers free drop-in tutoring for all lower division
math and statistics courses. Many students use tutoring as a way to ensure that they understand the material at the
appropriate level. This is not reserved for just students who are having difficulty in a course. Often students use
tutoring as a way to better understand the material that they are able to do on the homework, so they can excel with
the material. But don’t come expecting the tutors to give you easy answers to your homework! The tutors are
trained to teach the concepts behind each type of problem, giving parallel problems that exemplify strategies, not
to work directly on your homework.

7. Work with each other. Working collaboratively gives you an opportunity to develop your knowledge to an
even deeper level. Having to defend and explain your strategies for solving a problem ensures that you understand
them. Networking with others allows you to explore alternative methods of solving problems, gain perspective
from your peers, and establish study partners. Many people use the SLC study groups and drop-in tutoring as a
way to meet people in their courses so they can work collaboratively.
Faculty sponsor: Professor Olga Holtz, Math Department
Sponsoring Departments: Student Learning Center and Mathematics Department