Policies and Practices Discussion

(The following is/are the initial prompt(s) for an online discussion; students may have posted responses, and prompts for further discussion may have been added, but these things are not shown.)

Welcome to the first discussion for Math 239. This discussion is part of our introduction to the policies and practices that will govern the course.

To participate in this discussion, first read the syllabus. Then offer your thoughts on, questions inspired by, or even answers to, one or more of the following; thoughts on, questions about, and answers to other students’ posts are also welcome, of course. Please make at least one post to this discussion by class time (12:30 PM) Wednesday (February 3).

Introductions

(While the first of these would be very useful to me, both are optional, since you only have to make one post. You can respond to something else if you prefer).

Introduce yourself by letting us know the name and pronouns you prefer to be called by in future discussions.

Give an example of something you think is a cool, weird, or otherwise fascinating idea.

Mastery Grading and Equity

The way I’m doing mastery grading might sound like a great deal from the students’ perspective: no exams, no late penalties, multiple tries at problem sets, etc. But what are some of the responsibilities you have in this system?

The syllabus motivates mastery grading as “trying to consciously undo some of the small ways in which conventional grading unconsciously disadvantages certain students.” Can you think of some ways in which grading you have seen in the past, either at the college level or before, “disadvantages certain students”?

Do any identified disadvantages disproportionately affect some races, genders, or other identities relative to others?

Health Measures

Every fall and spring, I have hay fever (allergies to plant pollen, causing runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, etc.) for a few weeks. Normally this is mild enough to have no real impact on my daily life, and hay fever is in no way contagious. This year, however, we are living with unusual public health measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Would you recommend that, on days when my hay fever is acting up, I try to hold class, or should I move it online? Would you want to be in a classroom with someone with hay fever symptoms?

What cohort are you in? When your first in-person class session be? Where will it be?

Other

Do you have any suggestions for policies or practices we should follow in this course?

Do you have questions about anything that was in the syllabus?