Fall, 2017

AP CALCULUS BC, Mr. Swatek

Classroom Responsibilities

1. Respecteveryone in the classroom.

2. Respect the property of the school and of others.

3. Be prepared each day, with a positive attitude, a textbook, pencil, paper, eraser (if you’re going to make lots of mistakes), and homework.

4. Follow all rules established by the teacher.

Special Class Policies:

Cheating:

Cheating in all forms is not permitted. This includes but is not limited to copying from another person during a quiz or test, copying homework without trying to understand it, stealing someone else’s work, illegal notes during tests or quizzes, etc. Students caught cheating will earn a zero on that assignment. Cheating on a test will also result in a referral to the administration.

Cell phones and other electronic devices.

Please do not use electronic devices (except for calculators when permitted) during class time. Tell your parents not to call or text during class time; they need to call the office and get connected officially. Illegally used devices will be confiscated for that period, at a minimum. Repeated offenses will be dealt with more severely.

Absences and make-up work

It is the student’s responsibility to find out what material, handouts, assignments, or tests were missed while he or she was absent. Every student should have access to Edline, and have the most current agenda.

If a student is absent on a homework turn-in day, it is due on the day of return.

If a student is absent on a test or quiz day, he or she must make it up within one week of returning to school.

The student is responsible for finding the time to make up the test or quiz: a free period, lunch or after school

Special circumstances will be granted exceptions.

Tardiness and Leaving the classroom.

Students are expected to be in the classroom when the bell rings. Students are also expected to take care of their other business outside of class time. Enough tardies will result in you dropping the class, as per school policy.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR TEACHER

A. Teacher must believe that assignments and lessons are valuable for the students. No busy work will be assigned.

B. Teacher will behave consistently and fairly.

C. Teacher will make himself available for meetings with students and parents outside of class.

D. Teacher will contact guardian if student is in danger of not getting his/her desired grade.

MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS

The following materials are required for class, and should be brought each day:

Textbook.

A supply of paper for class work. It should be punched to fit in a 3-ring notebook.

Graph paper (lightly ruled) will come in very handy.

Sharpened pencil(s). Color is very useful for making neat, readable drawings.

A fine point white board pen.

A graphing calculator is required! Any TI-83+, any TI-84 series, or an 84 compatible TI-Nspire calculator are the recommended calculators for this class. TI-89s will do the job, but they are much more difficult to use, and their operation will not be demonstrated in class to the same extent as the recommended calculators.

Optional: a supplemental AP prep book. I don’t have a specific recommendation, but the more AP type problems you do, the better off you will be!

AP CALCULUS BC: GRADING POLICIES

Tests (and ultimately, my grading system) are designed such that demonstrating basic levels of understanding, such as memorization, categorization, and solving problems exactly like many shown in class, will earn a passing grade, that is, a “C”. To earn an “A”, students must consistently demonstrate higher levels of understanding. They should be able to apply theclass content to new problems; they should be able to analyze a given situation, determine an appropriate approach for solving it, and carry out that strategy (think, “solving word problems”!). Getting the passing grade should be easy for any student who wishes to. Getting the good grade will require a dedication to truly understanding the material. I love to report grades of As, but I don’t always get to.

Class participation: students are expected follow the rules and directions of the teacher, and to seriously take part in class activities and discussions. Failure to do this will result in a lowered grade. Unexcused absences result in a lowered class participation grade, because of class work missed, which does not get made up.

Homework will count for about 15-25% of the semester grade.

  • Neatnessand completeness are of great importance in this grade.
  • Each sheet should have the student’s name, date assigned, period number, assignment number, and page number, all in the upper right hand corner. It should be done neatly. All work should be shown when appropriate.Homework not conforming to these rules may be rejected.
  • Random homework assignments will be collected and random problems on that assignment will be checked for correctness. This check will constitute a portion of the homework grade, and could be the difference between B and an A on that assignment.
  • Homework is due at the beginning of the period on the due date.
  • If Homework is not ready at the beginning of the period, it is considered late. Late Homework earns a severely reduced grade. No late homework will be accepted after the unit test on that material.

Quizzes will count for about 10-20% of the semester grade.

Quizzes will usually be unannounced.

Quizzes should be done neatly in pencil, with all work shown when appropriate.

Tests will count for about 40-50% of the semester grade.

Tests will always be announced.

Tests should be done neatly, with all work shown when appropriate.

Projects will count for about 5% of the semester grade.

The nature and point value of each project will be explained when assigned. If there are not enough projects to justify these percentage points, they will be split between the homework and quiz grades.

The semesterfinal will be worth about 20% of the semester grade.

The only extra credit I anticipate being available is on virtually every unit test. Most tests get scaled down to some degree. Scoring above the scale will count as extra credit. If by some chance there is any extra credit assignment, it will be difficult, and graded to a higher standard than regular work. It will be much wiser to do the assigned work as it comes rather than to skip it and hope to make it up with non-existent extra credit.

Study groups

Students are encouraged to form study groups of two to five people which will meet regularly outside of class to review material and do homework. The study group can be a powerful tool for learning difficult material, and is widely used in college and graduate school. Get into the habit of working in study groups now.

Groups may meet at a home, at the Library, in a classroom – anywhere that is conducive to studying. They should meet on a regular basis.

Grading Scale: I am required to mark a letter grade. I’d prefer to just mark your percentage grade, but that’s not the system we have. These are the unchangeable arbitrary customary cutoff values: (no, I don’t round off – don’t even ask)

90-100% A

80-89.99999% B

70-79.99999% C

60-69.99999% D

Below 60% is a failing grade.

PARENT/GUARDIAN INFORMATION SHEET

AP Calculus BC, Mr. Swatek

Greetings,

I have the privilege of being your child’s AP-Calculus teacher during this year. I expect our class to be instructive and enjoyable for the students and myself. We will be learning the whats, the hows, and the whys of the wonderful world of Calculus. The goals of this class are (1) to learn, understand, and appreciate calculus and its applications, and (2) to prepare the student to pass the AP-Calculus BC test in May. The final exam is scheduled for the third week in April. Please be aware that missing class, especially during that time frame, right before the AP exam, for any reason including college visits and music festivals can be detrimental to their grade and AP score. I hope that you will be an important part of this learning process by being aware of what we are doing and assisting whenever possible. Every two to three weeks, students will receive agendasvia the class website, indicating topics of study, assignments, dates of tests, and other information. Please review each agenda to stay current with our class.

In order to prepare for this exam, we must move quickly and efficiently through some difficult material. It is the responsibility of all AP-Calculus students to work diligently to understand the material. If a student falls behind, he or she will have to spend outside time to catch up. I will be available most lunch periods for extra tutoring. I cannot stress this enough – each student must stay current with the material as it is presented!

Students should expect to spend time doing homework every night, with little or no time to work on it during class. This means the student may have to spend an average of about 45-60 minutes per night in order to do his or her work (as some of them will find out, that’s 4-5 hours if they put off a week’s worth of homework until the last night!). This is reasonable and standard for a high level math class. If another class or activity demands so much time that they cannot meet their commitment to AP Calculus, then they will suffer on homework grades, and since they missed the practice problems, on test grades as well.

At the end of the semester, I must give a single grade that will reflect (1) mastery of the material, (2) work ethic, and (3) integrity, three things important to any college or employer. An A student will have completed all or almost all assignments, proved a high degree of competency as demonstrated by exam scores, and will have participated honestly by turning in only his or her work. A student cannot earn a grade of A without sufficiently addressing all three components.

Each student has received a sheet explaining the responsibilities we all have in the classroom, as well as my grading system and class requirements. Please take a look at these sheets, and if you have any questions or wish to speak with me, feel free to email me (preferred) or call 310-378-8471 and leave a message for meand I will return your call.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Michael Swatek ()

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