How Do I Get Help?

Tips for Success: First, here's some advice for improving your chances of doing well in this course:

• Read the textbook. This is your primary source of instruction in this course.
• WORK PROBLEMS!!! The best way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics. Work through the list of recommended problems for each section until you understand the material. Do even more problems if you are having trouble with a particular section.
• Get help. If you have made an honest effort to understand a concept or to do a problem and are still struggling, get help. Make use of the resources listed below. However, before you consult one of the class tutors, make sure you have first read the material and tried some of the homework problems. The best way for tutors to help you will be for them to first look at your homework attempts to see where you are having trouble.
• Keep up with the class schedule: Try to keep up with the homework and reading, and get questions answered promptly. If you fall behind by a week or more, it will be very hard to catch up. If you have problems with a particular section, spend extra time and do extra problems from that section, and get help as soon as possible from some of resources listed below.
• Put in the time. This may be a very challenging course for some of you. You should plan to spend about 15 hours of work per week on this course. This is a big time commitment. It is imperative that you plan your social life around your courses, not the other way around.
• Find a friend or group to work with. Mathematics is more fun to learn, and can be better understood if you work with others. Swapping ideas with others when you are all stuck on a hard problem, quizzing each other before a test, or critically reading each other's solutions to homework problems are all valuable ways to enhance your (and others') understanding of the material. However, it is important that all members contribute in such a group environment, and that each student takes responsibility for her or his own learning and understanding of the material.
• Don't wait until the deadline date to take a unit exam. If you don't happen to feel well that day, or you get a flat tire, etc., then you're out of luck. Plan to take the exam on an earlier day when you feel good. Also, if you take the exam on an earlier day and you do poorly, you are allowed to repeat the exam on a later day if you wish.

Important Guidelines: Here are three important guidelines that I expect you to follow, and which will help you do well in this course:

• Check the course website at least three times per week for new announcements and updated pages. Since there are no class meetings, the course website is only way that I can communicate with the class. Checking the website three times per week is analogous to attending class in a normal class, and it just takes a few minutes each time. As with all classes, sometimes circumstances require minor changes to the class schedule and structure. I also include important exam hints on the website, and you don't want to miss them. Announcements and reminders are frequent, and I expect you to read them.
• Read the unit exam description before you take each unit exam. I often give reminders and announcements about syntax, and other information about exam questions. I expect you to read this information.
• Take several pretests before you take the proctored exam. Past classes have found the pretests and practice exams extremely useful study tools for the proctored exams. Sometimes the textbook is rather thin in certain types of problems that I feel are important. In addition, due to the limitations of computer-graded exams, some questions have to be asked in a different manner than in the textbook. Thus, taking the pretests and practice exams will alert you to the types and formats of questions that I expect you to know in each section.

Help Resources: Since this is a self-paced course, you cannot ask questions in class. Instead, you can use the many resources given below to help you understand the material in this course.

• Textbook answers: The answers to many of the problems are in the back of the book.
  
  
• Solutions manual: A solutions manual comes with the textbook, with solutions to all the odd problems and most of the review problems.
  
  
• Unit Pretests: Take several Pretests on each unit before you try the actual Unit Exam..
  
  
• Practice final exams: You can download samples of the Trigonometry and Analytic Geometry Final Exams.

• Online tutors: Online tutors are available via a service called NetTutor. The tutor uses a "whiteboard" to communicate between you and the tutor. Tutors are provided most afternoon and evening hours according the schedules given below, but you can also use the service at any time to post questions for tutors. See the Online Tutoring page for access information and more details.
  • In the Live Classroom section of NetTutor, you can interact in real-time with online tutors provided by the textbook publisher (McGraw Hill). These are available in the MH "Tutorial Class" according to the following schedule:
    

    Monday-Thursday	12 noon - 8 pm EASTERN time
    Friday	10am - 6 pm EASTERN time

  • In the Q&A Center section of NetTutor, you can submit questions at any time to the tutors in the MH "class", and retrieve your answers later.
  • In the Archive Center section of NetTutor, ISU-Precalculus "class", you can view detailed solutions to selected problems.

• Instructor: You can usually get answers to questions about the course within one day by sending email to math141x@math.iastate.edu or math142x@math.iastate.edu, depending on your class. If you need help with the mathematics course material, it is better to first try the online tutors, or the Iowa State University tutors listed below, but you can also send questions via email or fax to the instructor.

• Iowa State University resources: Students who live near Iowa State University may also take advantage of the following resources:
   
  • Mathematics Computer Lab: You can get help with the course material in the Mathematics Computer Lab in 449 Carver. The lab is open 12-4 pm Monday-Friday. Occasionally the lab is reserved for a class or workshop. The reservation schedule is posted on the web and also outside the lab.
    
    
  • Academic Success Center: The Academic Success Center has programs to help you with any academic problems. Programs include the Academic Learning Lab, Supplemental Instruction, and Tutoring Services.

self-paced Math 141-142 home page