CLASS POLICIES

2010-2011

As the name suggests, this course is designed to prepare students for their first year of high school ALGEBRA. It introduces and reinforces concepts using symbols to represent physical and numerical quantities. Students will work to develop their understanding of these concepts and develop their skills with numbers and variables.

People learn to do math by trying to do math, making mistakes, and correcting their mistakes. All students are expected to attempt every homework problem assigned. They are expected to make some mistakes, but these will be identified and the proper procedures practiced before the class advances unto the next topic.

Students who can speak the language of mathematics begin to understand mathematics better than they did before they could speak this language. In PRE-ALGEBRA, the students will be expected to present their homework in class by copying their work on the board and explaining it to the class. Their ability to do this will improve during the year.

Homework is practice. No matter where the students are at the beginning of the year. No one should feel embarrassed by making mistakes while doing their homework. This is how people learn. Homework has the same role on math as practice does in sports. We get better by trying something, making mistakes, identifying those mistakes, and repeating the activity to develop our skill.

GRADING

Grades in this course will be determined using the following formula.

HOMEWORK will be 50% of the grade. Each homework assignment will be worth 4 points. There will be 2 points earned when the student shows work for every problem assigned and 2 more points for showing their work to get an answer. The work and answer do not have to be correct to get full credit. THIS IS PRACTICE!

PRESENTATIONS will be 10% of the grade. This will simply be the student’s attempt to explain their homework at the board. A student will earn 2 points every time the student is asked to go to the board, does so, and makes a sincere attempt to explain their work. A student will earn 1 point if the student doesn’t copy all of their work onto the board or makes no attempt to explain it.

QUIZZES will be 10% of the grade. Quizzes will never be announced in advance. They will always be short and will be corrected immediately. This will be done by exchanging papers and writing all corrections on the quiz paper before they are corrected and scored by the teacher.

TESTS will be 30% of the grade. Tests will always be announced at least one week in advance.

TARDY POLICY

All students are expected to be at their assigned seat when the bell rings. They should sit down immediately when they hear the bell.

ABSENCE POLICY

Students who are absent will always be given time to make up work wised. Test make-ups will have to be taken outside of the normal class time. Students are expected to arrange a time with the teacher to make up a test during a study hall, before school, or after school.

Class Information and Policies

Principles of Engineering (POE) is being taught at Wahlert High School as the first course from the “Project Lead The Way” (PLTW) program. (See at “www.pltw.org”.) This program has been designed and introduced nationally to provide high school students with information about careers in engineering and with the tools to succeed in engineering studies in college. It is designed to parallel the standard high school science and mathematics curriculum, and it does not serve as a replacement for any courses in the high school curriculum. Following POE, students may take more one-year courses in the PLTW sequence. Students may be able to earn college credits for some of their work in the PLTW sequence.

In POE, students will become acquainted with industrial technology and engineering as careers and with some of the skills necessary for success in these fields. Students will not become experts with any of these skills during the duration of the course, but they will be expected to develop learning habits and techniques that are necessary for success in technical fields. These habits include techniques for both individual and group assignments. Some of the habits that will be developed include maintaining a notebook with all classwork and homework for ready reference, working in groups, meeting deadlines, and solving problems through independent investigations.

Much of the work in POE consists of computer work and either individual or group projects. The early part of the courses focuses on engineering as a career while the latter part of the course focuses on skills that are used in engineering. Students signing up for this course should be comfortable with mathematics and physical science coursework as well as with computer software. The computers used in the PLTW sequence are Windows machines, and students will be expected to present PowerPoint presentations using them.

Grading

Grades in POE will be determined using a “standard” grading scale based in the percentage of the total points available for all work assigned. The number of points available for each exercise will be presented with the specific exercise. A significant portion of the grade will be the student’s three-ring binder. This binder is expected to contain ALL of the student’s work for the course. It is the documentation of what the student has done, when it was done, and with whom it has been done. The binder contains evidence of all successful and unsuccessful attempts to solve problems. It is a matter of primary importance for each student to bring the binder with them to class every day. The binder may have to be submitted for grading on any day on which class meets. In most cases, grades will be determined more by the completeness and presentation of the documents rather than by getting a certain number of answers correct. For full credit, work will need to be submitted on time.

The Grading Scale used is the only one available in the POWERSCHOOL software.

95% – 100% A

91% – 95% A-

88% – 91% B+

85% – 88% B

81% – 84% B-

78% – 81% C+

75% – 78% C

71% – 75% C-

68% – 71% D+

65% – 68% D

61% – 65% D-

Below 61% NC

Tardy and Absence Policies

Students are expected to be in the classroom and ready to work on their assigned projects when the tardy bell rings. This may mean that they are to be at their computer station, in an assigned desk, or working with their current team.

For an absence that the student is aware will occur before the day of the absence, the student is expected to contact the instructor to get assignments that may be missed while they are gone. Anytime a student has had an excused absence, they are to see the instructor on the day that they return to class to see what is necessary to make up the class missed. This may include getting class notes from another student.

Class Policies

Honors Physics is an introductory level, algebra-based general physics course that is designed to provide students with the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary for success in their first-year college-level science courses in the physical, engineering, and biological sciences that may follow next year. It covers a variety of topics in the broad field of physics and deals with methods of analysis involving situations that can be resolved using algebraic techniques and logical thinking. A familiarity with symbolic notation and a willingness to do the math is necessary for a student to take full advantage of this course, but a student can succeed in this course without being a mathematical genius. Most of the rigorous mathematical methods will be encountered in the first semester, but the principles they model provide the foundation for the second semester topics.

The mathematics of algebra will be used as a tool to model the nature of a variety of situations. These may appear to be recipes that we use, but they are limited in their uses. For a more complete real world analysis of the physical world in which we live, more complex mathematical models are necessary. Those will be addressed in this course, but skill with them will not be developed here. Understanding that “THE WORLD IS NOT THIS SIMPLE” will suffice.

Honors Physics is not taught as an A.P. course, but it is a dual credit course through NICC. This means that it is comparable to a junior college introductory physics course and is being taught by an instructor who is qualified to teach at that level. The credits earned are reportedly accepted as transfer credits by all colleges in IOWA and some out-of-state colleges. Students may elect to earn one or two semesters of college credit by completing this course. The instructor will provide the details in class.

To develop each student’s problem-solving skills, many problems will be assigned as homework so even the very best students in the classes are being challenged. Everyone should encounter difficulty with some problems in each set of exercises assigned. When this happens, spend no more than five minutes attempting to solve the problem. Go on to the next problem. You are expected to show some work for each problem, but you may not complete every (or even any) problem. WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING YOU TRY TO DO TO SOLVE A PROBLEM. You will often learn most from an analysis of an unsuccessful attempt to solve a problem, and your skill level will increase. The only failure in problem-solving is failing to write down the work from any sincere effort to solve a problem.

Grading/Evaluation

Progress grades and semester grades will be determined using the student’s LAB grade as 50% of the grade, the student’s TEST AVERAGE as 30% of the grade, the student’s HOMEWORK grade as 10% of the grade, and the student’s QUIZ AVERAGE as 10% of the grade. Total Points will not accumulate. This is a criteria system. Grades of NC, D, C, B, or A will be assigned for all tasks from evidence of the successful demonstration of specific of skills.

1. The LAB grade will be calculated using the student’s lab performance and evidence of daily class preparation. Lab reports will be submitted for each lab exercise performed in this class. THE TIMELY SUBMISSION OF LABORATORY REPORTS IS ESSENTIAL. The failure to submit data for evaluation or the alteration of data is unethical throughout science. Failure to submit lab reports in a timely fashion (usually within two days) will result in lower grades. Data that does not support an expected conclusion (often called “bad data” by students) is of more value than the repetition of an experiment. A reasoned, rational response has more value than the expected answer. With each lab exercise, the instructor will inform the students about the grading criteria for that report. These will be called “look fors” since they will be what the instructor is evaluating. Lab reports are to be done in ink.

Lab reports cannot be rewritten for a higher grade. If the deficiencies that appear on a report are resolved on three consecutive subsequent reports, one lower report grade will be deleted (not replaced) with each successive improved report submitted.

2. The TEST GRADE will be calculated using the average of all test grades. Since Honors Physics is a sequential course, the students’ skills will be re-evaluated on each subsequent test. Test will always diagnose the student’s problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills often need to be developed over a period of time. When the student has demonstrated that a skill has been developed, credit will be given for previous tests involving that skill level.

3. The HOMEWORK grade will be assigned from the student’s presentations of problem solving attempts during class problem sessions in which students are asked to present problems that gave them difficulty. Some written attempt to solve every assigned problem is expected. Each student is expected to keep a homework notebook with a collection of work illustrating the student’s attempts to solve the assigned problems and a separate class lecture notebook. An evaluation of the level of each student’s participation in class during problem sessions will be made, and the homework notebooks may be collected sporadically.

4. The Quiz Grade will be calculated using the average of all quizzes. The administration of quizzes will never be announced in advance. Quizzes will be used to diagnose the student’s grasp of vocabulary and concepts.

5. The submission of a Formal Lab Report will be a requirement for earning a second semester grade. Its weight for grading purposes will be equivalent to that of a test.

PROGRESS GRADES AND SEMESTER GRADES will be determined by adding the grades listed above with their appropriate weights, dividing that sum by the total weight value, and adjusted to reflect demonstrated improvement on topics that had previously earned lower grades.

ABSENCE POLICY

Students who miss a lab exercise will be expected to complete the exercise outside of the normal physics class time. This will usually require work after school or during unscheduled class periods to complete these labs. Exceptions may be permitted depending on the nature of the lab exercise.

Absence the day before an exam will not be an acceptable reason to postpone taking the exam. Exams will always be announced well in advance (although the instructor reserves the right to delay an exam when it is deemed prudent), and the day before each exam will always be a problem session or a review session.

Students absent the day of an exam will be expected to take the exam at the first opportunity after they return. This will be expected to be completed outside of the normal physics class time. Each student is expected to complete arrangements for the completion of the exam with the instructor before leaving class on the day that the student returns to class. In the event of an absence of more than one day, the student is expected to make arrangements with the instructor to complete all work that was missed before leaving class the day that the student returns.

If the student is aware that an absence from class will occur before the date of the absence, (THIS INCLUDES ALL FIELD TRIPS) normal school policy will be used. This includes the expectation that the student will complete a test before the date of the absence.

TARDY POLICY

All students are expected to be in the classroom with the necessary tools and to proceed directly to their assigned work station whenever the bell rings.

EXTRA CREDIT

Honors Physics offers a number of activities for students to improve their grades. These activities involve completing a project or presentation. Each provides a means of evaluating the students’ skills and performance. They all require work by the students outside of the scheduled class time. These include, but are not limited to: participation in the Department of Energy/Ames Lab Science Quiz Bowl competition; completing an entry for a science scholarship competition, and placing in the top five in the Keystone Regional Physics Olympics or the State Physics Olympics. In some of these activities, only a few students may qualify to participate. In others, all WCHS Honors Physics students may be entered with participation as a class requirement.

CLASS POLICIES

General Physics is designed to meet the needs of the college bound student whose career plans do not include significant depth in science course work in college. It is what is commonly called a survey course. This means that it covers a wide variety of topics and restricts the treatment of these topics to the basic principles encountered in simplified situations rather than exploring them in depth. Historically, physics has included the application of mathematical methods to resolve many physical situations. In this course, the mathematical analysis of physical situations will not require any methods more complicated than those found in algebra and right triangle trigonometry, so a scientific calculator will be sufficient for class use. A typical unit will consist of concept introduction, hands on experience (lab experiments), concept development (often mathematical), and problem solving using both qualitative and quantitative reasoning. A calculator, a spiral notebook for class notes, and a quadraruled notebook for homework (the pages have graph paper) will be necessary for this class.

Grading Policy

Grades in this course will be determined by each student’s performance on tests, lab exercises, quizzes, and homework assignments. All grading will be recorded using an NC through A criteria system. This means that students’ skills and the quality of their work will be evaluated instead of accumulating points to earn a grade.

Tests

Tests will comprise 40% of each progress and semester grade. Tests will be primarily problem-solving exercises where students will be required to apply and display their knowledge of physics terminology and concepts in problem-solving situations that will vary in difficulty.

There is not enough time during a test period to test students on each type of question that might be presented during a unit, so each test will include a variety of problems. To give each student an opportunity to demonstrate that they can do problem solving, there will be more questions on each test than there is time for most students to complete. This is intended to give each student the opportunity to select problems that they think they can solve more readily. Students should first elect to try those problems that they think they can resolve most readily before attempting as many of the others as they have time to try to earn additional credit. Tests must be completed during the regular class period. Tests will only be reviewed after everyone has taken the test. Exceptions may occur at the teacher’s discretion.

Lab Exercises and Reports

Lab investigations will comprise 40% of each progress grade. Labs will usually be explained the day before the investigation. Each lab exercise will include a lab report form that is expected to be completed and turned into the teacher within two days of the completion of the lab. Grades will be determined by the student’s activity during the lab and the quality of the lab report that they submit. Lab reports will be graded based on the quality of look fors. That is, what the instructor is looking for in each specific report. The look fors each lab includes will be explained the day the lab investigation is explained. Because changing or suppressing data is not ethical in science, lab reports must be completed in ink and submitted no later than two days after the completion of the lab.

Homework Problems

Individual homework assignments will constitute 10% of the student’s grade. Homework is to be kept in a quadraruled notebook that will be collected for grading at least once each grading period. It should be brought to class every day that there is no laboratory investigation, and it may be collected on any day without advance notification. Students are expected to be prepared to present their work on homework problems on the board when an assignment is due. Problems do not need to be finished to receive credit, but there should be enough work presented to demonstrate a sincere attempt to solve the problem. This means that the attempt must be presented on paper with at least a list of data and a related equation. Homework submitted late will be graded lower than homework submitted on time. Grades will be assigned on an NC through A basis with an “A” indicating that all problems are finished and accompanied by work that adequately justifies the answer.

Quizzes

Quizzes will be given irregularly throughout the course and will constitute 10% of the student’s grade. They will check the student’s understanding of concepts and vocabulary. Quizzes will never be announced in advance but will cover only topics that were discussed in class at least two days before the quiz. They are intended to diagnose a student’s progress at that specific instant. Thus, quizzes that are missed will not need to be made up. Each quiz will be graded on an NC through A basis.

PROGRESS GRADES AND SEMESTER GRADES

These will be determined by adding the grades listed above with their appropriate weights, dividing that sum by the total weight value, and adjusted to reflect demonstrated improvement on topics that had previously earned lower grades

Expanded Opportunities

Since this a course in which the subject matter develops sequentially, a student can demonstrate mastery of material in one unit by demonstrating mastery in the following units. Anytime a student earns grades on three successive exercises that are higher than a grade on a similar previous exercise, the lower grade will be dropped when calculating the student’s progress or semester grades. Projects may be available for which students will be able to earn extra credit.

TARDY POLICY

Each student is expected to be in their assigned place when the tardy bell rings. This will be either their assigned seat or lab assignment.

ABSENCE POLICY

A student will always get at least one full day to complete any work missed due to an unexpected class absence. However, missing class the day before a test will not excuse the student from taking the test with the rest of the class. The day before a test will always be a review day or an extra problem session, so no new tested material will be covered on that day.

If a student misses more than one day before a test, they should expect to take the test with the rest of the class. However, the grading scale will be adjusted by the instructor to reflect the work for which the student was in class.

In the event of an absence that the student knows about in advance, the student should make arrangements before the absence to have all work that will be missed completed before they return to class. This includes (but is not limited to) school field trips, college visits, and performances for which a student may miss a class.

If a student is absent the day of a lab investigation or a test, they are expected to make arrangements on the day they return to class to make up what they missed (Normally, this is to be done after class). Make up work may be completed before school, after school, or during a study hall period when Mr. Stierman can be present in the physics lab.

A.P. Calculus AB

Class Procedures and Policies

There is very little purpose in taking calculus in high school without planning to earn college credit for your work. This course is intended to prepare you to earn college credit through the A.P. exam program. During the past year, the AP program management (College Board) required an audit of AP courses across the country. Permission for a school to list a course as an AP course is granted only to teachers whose course syllabus and documented class procedures has been approved by the College Board. The AP Calculus AB course taught by Mr. Stierman has received this approval.

The exam scheduled for May 4, 2011 has already been written, but the A.P. instructors have been given no details about the specific problems on the exam. They have to prepare students to take a test that the instructors may never see in its entirety and that covers the entire list of AP Calculus topics. Indeed, there may be problems on the exam that don’t resemble any problems that they have ever seen, but the methods of solution will be familiar. Thus, this course is designed to cover the subject matter outlined under the AP program directions and to prepare you to complete exam questions that may not appear to resemble any exercises that you have ever seen. You will occasionally be tested with problems you have never seen before to prepare you for this experience. Even if you don’t plan on taking the A.P. Calculus exam, you will be held to the same standards as everyone who does.

Your role, should you decide to accept it, is to prepare yourself to take a test that will convince a person who does not know who you are that you know and can do calculus. When you are finished with the AP Calculus exam, you should feel a sense of accomplishment (and either satisfaction or relief).

Grading Policy

1. A CLASSWORK GRADE will be computed for each student. One class work grade will be assigned for each grading period. It will be a composite of the student’s class work during the current semester. Both homework and class responses/presentations will be included in this grade which will be the equivalent of six quiz grades in calculating a students’ progress grades. Each student is expected to make classroom presentations when directed by the instructor and answer questions during class. The response “I don’t know” (or an equivalent) will not be accepted. A written attempt to address the question is the least that will be required. Oral communication using the appropriate calculus terminology is important in developing an understanding of when and how to do calculus.

Don’t expect to be asked to answer questions only when you know an answer. More progress is made by working through unsuccessful attempts to solve problems than through successful attempts. This helps prepare students for the scoring on the A.P. Calculus exam and on class quizzes and tests in which an incorrect answer (based on proper reasoning) will receive more credit than a correct answer without an obvious supporting rationale. THE ONLY FAILURE IN THIS COURSE IS NOT PRESENTING AT LEAST A SINCERE ATTEMPT TO SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM ON PAPER.

A three-ring binder containing all homework attempted is to be kept by each student. These will be collected sporadically for evaluation with the grade based on the evidence that each problem has been attempted, the correctness of notation used, and clarity of the methods of solution attempted. Grading will be on an NC through A system. Classwork grades do not carry over into successive grading periods.

2. TEST GRADES will be earned for each test taken during the semester. Tests will usually be taken at the end of each chapter of the textbook and at the end of the first semester. Since the material in the text is sequential, and because the A.P. exam is a one-time exam, there will be no routine retests administered during the year. Your skill level will be re-evaluated and your grades adjusted through an evaluation of your work on subsequent tests and the work that you present during daily classes.

Tests will usually be graded on an NC through A system as follows:

A – at least 90% of the highest possible score

B – at least 75% of the highest possible score

C – at least 50% of the highest possible score

D – at least 25% of the highest possible score

As in the AP system, NO PLUS OR MINUS WILL BE RECORDED.

Each test grade will be equivalent to three quiz grades in calculating a student’s progress grades.

The test grading is patterned after the AP format. Points on an exam are awarded only for significant steps in the problem-solving process. Thus, each point indicates the successful demonstration of a concept being evaluated. On the AP Calculus AB exam, a score of 50% of the points available will probably earn a grade of at least a 3 on a 1 through 5 scale. This is the “passing grade” used by most colleges and universities that award college credit and placement through the AP program.

Most tests will be administered like the AP exam. There will be time limits imposed, and no one may be expected to successfully complete all items presented in the time provided. Students will always be advised to complete as many items as possible and to attempt to earn at least partial credit on all items. If the instructor perceives that a test should be graded on a curve, the “highest possible score” will be less than the “perfect score”.

3. QUIZ GRADES will be earned for each quiz. Quizzes will never be announced in advance. As the year progresses, there will probably be more quizzes with each successive unit. Each quiz will include material that was introduced at least two class days before the quiz. Quiz grades will be NC through A. The scoring of a quiz will depend on the format of the individual quiz.

PROGRESS GRADES AND SEMESTER GRADES will be determined by adding the grades listed above with their appropriate weights, dividing that sum by the total weight value, and adjusted to reflect demonstrated improvement on topics that had previously earned lower grades.

Most colleges will award college credit to a student who earns at least a 3 on the AP Calculus AB exam. There are exceptions – including the University of Iowa!! Check with the college recruiters. A grade of C+ in this class should reflect that the student is on track to earn a 3 on the AP exam.

ABSENCE POLICY

Absence the day before a quiz or test will never be an acceptable reason for postponing the quiz or exam. Exams will always be announced well in advance, and the day before an exam will always be a review day or a standard problem session.

A student absent the day of an exam will be expected to complete the exam during the first unscheduled class period (study hall or early release) the student has on the day that the student returns to class. It is the responsibility of the student to make the appropriate arrangements before leaving class on the day that the student returns to class.

A student who misses a quiz will not have an opportunity to take the quiz for credit. Each quiz is intended to check the students’ readiness at a given time. This should provide each student with an assessment of their current skill status. No penalty will be assessed for missing a quiz. There will be one less grade to be used in calculating the student’s grade. NOTE: This is also an opportunity to have each student’s work re-evaluated. Missing a quiz is the loss of an opportunity to be re-evaluated.

Standard WHS school policy concerning absences that the student should know about before the day(s) of absence will always apply. This means that arrangements to complete the work in a timely manner must be made long enough before the absence to permit adequate planning by the instructor. Tests may have to be finished before the expected absence.

TARDY POLICY

Each student is expected to be in the room with all required class materials when the bell rings and to proceed directly to their assigned station when the bell rings. A “warning” to “take your seats” may be given at this time. If a second “notice” has to be given, or if a student has to return to a locker to get required class materials, a tardy will be issued to each student involved.