Hi Everyone,
Welcome to Math 226! I'm Mark, the TF for this course. Differential equations is one of my favorite subjects, and I'm excited to be teaching it. In order to help you better understand what is expected of you this semester, here is some additional information regarding discussion sections, grades, and homework.
At the end of the semester, I will compute your discussion section grade which is worth 26% of your final grade for this course. The two group projects will be worth 9% each and your homework will count for the final 8%.
Here are the rules regarding homework (so read closely): Your weekly homework assignments are due during your discussion section. If you are unable to attend your discussion section you may turn in your homework during any of the four other sections. Homework should be turned in either the beginning or end of discussion (this way you don't interrupt the middle of a discussion section). The last possible time I can accept your homework will be Tuesday between 4:00 and 5:00 (my office hour). Please note that homework cannot be left in my mailbox or Prof. Blanchard's. Also, you cannot slip your homework under my door or under Prof. Blanchard's door. It is your responsibility to turn in your homework directly to me so that it does not get lost.
Each homework that you turn in this semester must have a cover sheet stapled to the front. This cover sheet can be downloaded from the course website. I suggest printing out a copy of the cover sheet and making about 10 copies. Be sure to follow the instructions on the cover sheet when preparing your homework assignments. Please do not tear or fold the corners of your homework to keep it together.
Homework will be graded on a 0-10 scale. If you do the problem correctly and show all your work, you will receive full credit. If you do not get the correct answer, you may still receive partial credit for doing correct steps in the problem. For this reason, it is important that you show all work. If you do not clearly show the steps that you are taking in a given problem, the grader will not be able to award partial credit. Simply writing the problem number and copying the problem out of the book does not count as showing your work. You are expected to complete and submit each homework assignment.
Working through the homework problems is the best way to practice the skills you will learn in this course. Use the time you spend on homework to make mistakes. Then, learn how to fix them. Doing homework problems (and sometimes struggling through homework problems) lets you know that you really understand the material presented in lecture. Watching me work through problems does not. For this reason, do all of the homework problems before you come to discussion. Then ask me problems that you were still unable to figure out. After seeing a solution to a problem, you should be able to recreate it from the beginning (without your notes) if you truly understand it.
I am here to help you, so I encourage you to see me during my office hours or in the tutoring room with questions. If you need more practice, try working through unassigned problems in the book. Give yourself every possible advantage that you can to learn how to do these problems before exam time. If you are diligent about working through your homework, you can identify places where I can help. However, if you wait until you are taking the exam to see where your weaknesses are, then it will be up to you alone to sort them out.
My office hours: Monday 4:00 - 5:00 and Tuesday 4:00 - 5:00
My tutoring hours (MCS 144): Friday, 11:00-12:00
My office: MCS 163, 617-353-5213
e-mail: mveillet@math.bu.edu
Thanks and good luck!
Mark