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Hi I am Dr. Arek Goetz a research professor of mathematics. Welcome.
You have a chance to participate in an exciting and unique endeavor. You can be part of an
international group of ethnically diverse students located throughout the United States
And along the way
you will earn credit from an accredited institution in the United States. Your active participation
in this class will help you ask investigative questions and seek answers about calculus
about mathematics and about the world in general. Calculus is a study about changes and the
world is about changes quantities that change. So it is really my hope that once you complete
this course you will see phenomena in nature, phenomena in politics economics and finance
through a different lens
a lens of a perpetual change. Please browse the website that have created over the years.
And be sure to check what other students who already took the class say about the course
and the tips that they offer for you to succeed as well.
I have been privileged to attract a truly committed group of students a fantastic mix.
Many of the students are competing for the top medical schools in the US prestigious
MBA programs. They will go to dentistry, pharmacy; many of them are graduate students. Some are
students who spend a year abroad and upon their return they will transfer credit to
their home institution. Some are high school students, motivated high school students who
would like to get credit while still in high school. We have people who work in industry
people who change their careers parents.
The individual circumstances quite vary but all students have one thing in common they
are motivated and their goal is to learn calculus, to learn day by day throughout the semester.
They are all committed to learning and helping one another.
Let us have a look how the course is setup. The setup is simple and the pedagogy combines
the best traditional methods with an online structure which helps to connect students
worldwide. So first what you do is you watch a video lecture.
Actually you do not watch it what you do is you interact with it. So you watch just a
little bit until I start solving an example. Then you pause the lecture and try to solve
the example yourself. You may rewind it if need be and if you get stuck
ask other students on the forum, rewind it, watch it again. But remember that human help
is always available even though the lectures is prerecorded, just ask on the forum. After
you have completed interacting the with lecture interact with the notes. And then there might
a small quiz that you need to take and finally you start solving homework problems. This
is the central part of your activity where you first try to solve homework problems yourself
and then you share hints and your frustrations if need be with others on the forum where
you can receive pointers and guidance if you are on the right track. Once you complete
solving homework problems you hand write them and make a picture. Usually a smart phone
is enough. You can scan them or if you prefer you can type. Then you email these problems
to our staff and promptly you will get feedback to most of your homework problems. There are
about twenty five lessons throughout the course. For details about the course please look at
the website. The course is flexible. And there is one proctored event which is the final
exam. But it can be proctored at the location where you will be. Just make sure that you
read the details.
By the way have you ever wondered what finance, economics, philosophy, psychology
all have in common?
They to a greater or lesser extent use the language of numbers to describe quantities
and relationships between these quantities. The relationships in mathematics are called
functions.
And calculus is the study of the changes of these quantities the changes of functions,
changes that are small and large.
Did I mention that the world around us is about quantities that change? Well recently
I got a new GPS, a training GPS that helps me, in addition to knowing my velocity and
pace, it allows me to monitor my heat rate. A heart rate is a rate of change.
I use calculus to help improve my performance while running. There are many applications
of calculus. And I hope you would be curious enough to find out by considering joining
us. If you have any questions please email me at arek dot goetz at gmail dot com .
Perhaps I will see you online.