Math 261–220: Calculus III
Honors section addendum
Honors sections of courses at CSU include additional responsibilities. For our course, this additional
work will be a handful of graded homework problems (“challenge problems”) and a small-group
project culminating in a peer-reviewed presentation (see below). Without these honors sectionspecific additions, Math 261 is already fairly work-intensive, so it is not my intention to overburden
you with this extra work. Please let me know if it gets to be too much.
Challenge problems: Throughout the semester, I will give you several “challenge problems” that
take a bit more work than a basic problem and for which I will expect accurate, concise solutions.
The goal of these problems is to get you to write technical mathematics well. For each problem, I
will request a rough draft which I will check for both technical accuracy and grammar. I’ll get the
results back to you ASAP. Shortly after I return the rough draft, I will expect a final draft that is
technically and grammatically accurate and reasonably concise.
Projects: The main addition to your workload is the inclusion of a group project. I will hand
out more details about these projects later. The rough idea is that there will be 2-3 people per
group, and your task will be to apply calculus (from Calculus I, II, or III) to solve some real-world
problem (deciding where to lay a pipeline, maximizing fuel efficiency, etc.). The projects won’t
involve any special area knowledge – calculus will be enough. Each group will be responsible for
presenting their work orally in a concise, professional manner, after which the other students will
evaluate the presentation and provide written feedback to the presenting group. There will also be
an open, frank discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of each project/presentation immediately
following the presentation. A brief report on the project must be submitted to me by the last day
of the course. The goal of this experience is professional development, so let’s keep it friendly and
professional!
PICC self-assessment: Students are to complete the online PICC form before the end of the 4th
week of the semester. This is a requirement from the Honors Program.
Impact on grading: Since I need to evaluate you on the challenge problems and projects, the 600
point total will count as 80% of your final grade. The challenge problems (10% of the final grade)
will be graded as 75% for technical accuracy and 25% for clarity. The projects will be graded as
25% for technical accuracy of the written report, 25% for clarity in the written report, 25% for
technical accuracy of the oral presentation, and 25% for clarity in the oral presentation. Student
feedback (written & oral) about the presentations will be used primarily for the development of the
presenters and will not be formally evaluated, though professionalism and constructive criticism
will be expected. I may request a confidential report from each student about the contributions of
each group member. If some group member does not pull his or her weight, their project grade will
be reduced.
Feedback: I am always happy to hear it, even if it is negative.
Final Note: You should know that I have insulin-dependent diabetes and may therefore need to
sit down and take it easy at some point. There is also the very slight risk that I could have very
low blood sugar at some point, causing me to pass out. If that happens (the probability of this is
very low), I will need somebody to call 911. Please don’t worry: I haven’t passed out yet and don’t
intend to! Even if I do pass out, I am not in any significant danger.