Math 67-217
Data Exploration and Analysis
3 Credits
Fall 2007
Section 002 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM TR S. Halsey 309
Section 003 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM TR Swart 303
Instructor:
Paul Sanders
Swart 122
424-3078 or (920)-929-7408 Home
sandep06@uwosh.edu or pt23@execpc.com
Office Hours:
Tuesday and Thursday 11:45 to 12:45 or by appointment
Textbooks:
Excursions in Modern Mathematics
By Tannenbaum and Arnold, Edited by Szydlik
(You want the thin, paperback version edited by Jennifer Szydlik)
Data Exploration and Analysis: Course Materials for Math 217
Prepared by Szydlik, Oktac, & Collier
Other Supplies: Scientific calculator, graphing calculator not required.
Prerequisites:
C or better in Math 110
Overview:
This course is primarily a content course. We will cover topics, which will increase the students’
mathematical awareness, and topics students need to master to become effective teachers in the
elementary and middle school. This course is designed to provide you with the opportunity to
understand statistical techniques, probability, and simulation. The majority of class time will be
spent working on activities and problems in small groups and discussion of strategies and
solutions.
Objectives:
This course is designed to provide you with 1) experience collecting, analyzing and displaying
data, and 2) understanding of statistical techniques, probability, and simulation. It will give you
the skills to interpret statistical claims, and provide you with knowledge you will need to teach
probability and statistics to elementary school children.
Outline:
Collecting Statistical Data; Samples, censuses, surveys, & clinical studies (2 weeks)
Descriptive Statistics and relationships among data measures ands displays (3 weeks)
Counting, Multiplication Principle, Permutations and Combinations (2.5 weeks)
Probability, Language, simulation, and calculation (2.5 weeks)
Probability Distributions, Normal, binomial, Random variables,
Central limit Theorem (4 weeks)
Format:
The concepts of this course will be explored through interesting hands-on activities and problems.
Class time will be spent working on those problems in cooperative small groups and discussing
strategies and solutions. You are expected to participate fully in the class activities and to share
your ideas with the class. You will be responsible for completing readings, working problems sets,
and working on projects outside of class.
Evaluation:
Attendance and participation (5%) It is very important that you are here to participate in the
problem solving and contribute to the class discussion. You may miss two classes without penalty
and after that; you will lose one percentage point of your course grade for each day missed.
Written work (35%) This includes individual problem write-ups, group problem write-ups, short papers,
quizzes or exercise sets. Late assignments will not be accepted.
Exams (60%) We will have three in-class exams. Each is worth 20 percent of your course grade. The dates
of those exams are Thursday, October 4th, Tuesday, November 6th; and Tuesday, December 4th. No make
up exams will be allowed without prior notification to the instructor.
Grading Scale: 93 to 100 A, 89 to 92 AB, 82 to 88 B, 79 to 81 BC, 70 to 78 C, 60 to 69 D,
and 0 to 59 F.
Guidelines for Written Work
As you prepare your written work, please pay particular attention to the following.
o The statement of the problem must precede its solution. The reader should know what
you are doing and going to do by only referring to your paper. Your paper should stand
alone. That is, if someone read it they could understand it without referring to the
original statement of the problem, and they would not have to guess to fill in gaps. The
solution should be written clearly and flow nicely from beginning to end.
o Do the problem in 2 steps: first solve it, then write up the solution.
o There should be no tacit assumptions in your solutions. Except in well-defined
situations, each statement you make must be explicitly justified.
o Write your solutions neatly using proper grammar. Use the language of the course and
use it correctly.
Picky things; Use standard (8.5 x 11) paper. Turn in your homework on time. No grade for late hand-ins, except
in bona fide emergencies. Write your name on each sheet you hand in and staple them in proper order. Also, please
number your pages. I would appreciate it if you only write on one side of the paper. It is desirable to indicate on your
hand-in whether you received help or not in doing the particular assignment. Working with others is encouraged
(please make a note of this on your paper). However, the final draft must be written alone! You should fully
understand your solution when you hand it in; you may be asked to explain it.
Your papers will be judged on the basis of correctness, use of the language of the course, writing style, effort and
adherence to these guidelines. It is important that you demonstrate some thought went into your work!
Additional information:
o Students will be absent on the day an exam is scheduled because of participation in a university approved
activity must arrange to take the exam early.
o Math tutors are available free of charge in Swart Room 113. There are tutors specifically for math 217.
o UW Oshkosh is committed to a standard of academic integrity for all students. System guidelines state:
“Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, for the appropriate citation
of sources, and for respect of others’ academic endeavors.” (UWS 14.01, Wisconsin Administrative Code)
Students are subject to disciplinary action for academic misconduct.
o Reading mathematics means something very different from reading a novel, as a slogan says, mathematics is
not a spectator sport, and you need to be actively involved in studying the text. You may want to start by
reading a section to get the main ideas without paying attention to all the details. Then go through the material
again with pencil and paper at hand. Right out each step of each worked example, filling in all missing details.
Then see if you can work the example without referring to the text. If you are stuck, try writing all questions
whose answers would help you over the difficulty. Frequently you will discover the answer in this process.
o Wisconsin DPI Standards for Mathematics are your guidelines in the classroom you can find these standards at
http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/standards/matintro.html.