Matthew Haas
| CSCS2330-001
| haas@corning-cc.edu
| 3 credit hours
| discrete@lab46.corning-cc.edu
| Fall 2009
| #discrete
| /var/public/discrete
| T-Th 10:40am-12:05pm / C002
| 68453
|
Course Description:
Discrete mathematical foundations and their relationship to computing. The foundation of discrete structures, mathematical reasoning, combinatorics, graphs and trees, Boolean Algebra and logic gates, and Karnaugh mapping.
Prerequisites: (CSCS1320 C/C++ Programming OR CSCS2420 Java Programming) AND MATH1411 Elementary Functions I, or Instructor Consent. Students cannot receive credit for this course and MATH 2330.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate:
- application of concepts,
- understand the process behind various mathematical concepts,
- ability to convey mathematical and computer science concepts,
- critical thinking abilities,
- increased understanding of discipline concepts,
- experience implementing concepts on the computer,
- ability to solve problems creatively.
Required Books:
Grading Policy:
The grading policy is broken down into 3 main areas: Journal, Assessments / Projects, and Attendance / Participation.
Journal:
36%
For the duration of the course I would like for you to keep a journal which details your experiences and revelations of your journey through the course. Each week (excluding break weeks) I would like for you to contribute to your journal, so that a written account can exist to tell your individual story of the course. (Great for looking back on things, and also useful if you are meeting with me).
In some cases, I may present some more structured activities to be done in the journal.
Please reference the Journal Initialization Tutorial for further information.
To get full credit on your journal entries each week, you need to accomplish the following:
- MINIMUM word count of 250 words each week. If you do not reach the necessary minimum count you will lose credit. Additionally, entries must contain relevant content. While I welcome off-topic banter, I don't want that to be the exclusive subject matter of your entries. Relate to what is going on in class- the topics, what you're doing with them, something you've realized, etc. Excessive irrelevant content risks invalidating the entry.
- ON TIME and VIEWABLE. Journal entries for a given week are due BEFORE 2AM the following Tuesday. For example, Week 1's journal entry must be completed before 2AM of the Tuesday of Week #2; Week 2's entry must be done before Week 3's Tuesday 2AM, etc.
NOTE that, excusing extreme circumstances, there will be no make-ups for missed journal entries. Have them in with minimum word count by the 2AM Tuesday deadline or lose credit.
NOTE for those taking multiple courses with me: Journal content each week MUST reflect consideration from ALL courses you have with me.
Additionally, there are additional journal achievements that can be unlocked:
- INTRO: You've filled out an intro section so that it details who you are (minimum of 128 words),
- ALTER: You've customized the journal index.php from the defaults in some way (says your actual name, colors have changed, etc.),
- EXIST: The journal and all entries exist (as in you've actually set it up and made an entry each week),
- VIEWS: All journal entries are viewable (no permission problems on ANY entries),
- WRITE: 3 journal entries exceed the minimum word count (can be achieved up to 4 times).
In your journal I would like for you to detail your experiences in the course. Summary of experience/class notes; or statements/musings on questions like: Do you understand the material? Is it interesting? Anything not making sense? Any parallels to the real world? and general comments and thoughts.
Use the journal to allow me to see the course through your eyes.
Assessments / Projects:
32%
Assessments/Projects constitute the portion of your grade involving Presentations, Exams, Quizzes, Projects, Papers, Labs, Case Studies, and/or Homework assignments- the means by which I will be assessing your understanding of the material through directed explorations of various topics. Such assignments may be comprehensive to one another.
Projects, Labs, Case Studies, and Homework assignments are subject to the pertinent areas of the Submission Policy and will involve further research and exploration of some problem or topic being covered in the course. Projects may encompass a more time-consuming exploration of a topic or problem, whereas Labs will generally be a specific experiment related to the topic. Case Studies may involve the study or focus on particular concepts learned in class and on other assignments; Homework assignments will be more of a drill exercise helping to gain more familiarity with a particular topic.
Exams and Quizzes may also be given during the semester, depending on material covered and preference. Exams will focus on various concepts learned and will generally be essay-based (or rely on a detailed explanation of some process).
Assessments/Projects as assigned must be well organized (ie easy to read) and contain enough of a written description so I can see the "you" in your responses. Generally, developing your own format and following the guidelines laid out in the Submission Policy will be more than adequate.
In addition to any of these, the following achievements are available to be unlocked:
- TURNIN: All assignments assigned have been submitted,
- ONTIME: All assignments submitted have been done so before their deadline.
Note that I am not interested in "English teacher approved" essays- in some courses and settings that is more important. For this course, I want you to be able to effectively convey your thoughts in words- a crucial ability that can later be applied to "proper English essays".
You can never write too much in my class.
Attendance / Participation:
32%
Attendance constitutes a portion of your grade. There are 15 weeks in the entire semester.
During each class, I will endeavor to pass around an attendance sheet, or deploy some form of attendance-taking mechanism, in which everyone in attendance that day needs to sign or acknowledge so I have that as a record. If you come to class on time each day, and stay throughout the class, you can consider this part of your grade "in the bag". It is your responsibility to submit appropriately to the sanctioned attendance-taking mechanism.
Class participation will also play a vital role during the course.
The participation component of your grade deals with how active you are in the class. Do you contribute to class discussions? Pull your weight in group projects? Ask questions? Respond to questions? Turn in work on time? Contribute to the class wiki? Are you a positive addition to the class?
Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble here. However, if you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, then it will be duly reflected.
This isn't a "kiss up to the teacher" grade. I don't want people bending over backwards to please me. I want to see people learning and asking questions and growing, not agreeing with everything I say. Sometimes I will specifically ask questions or say things for the sole purpose of getting individual perspectives.
Participation is the contribution of YOU to the overall class, in a positive and harmonious manner to the overall group :)
The following achievements are available to be unlocked:
- EMAIL: For every three weeks of class, you have participated on the class mailing list with at least 3 messages sent/replied (can be achieved up to 4 times),
- IRC: For every three weeks of class, you have participated in the class IRC channel at least 3 times (can be achieved up to 4 times),
- UNLATE: For 90% of our scheduled classes, you arrive in class and are on the system to be monitored for attendance before class is already in session,
- FINAL: You submit the End of Course Experience, completed, before the deadline during finals week.
Submission Policy:
The following guidelines should be used whenever submitting an assignment for this class. If an assignment is submitted that does not conform to these criteria, I reserve the right to deduct points off the assignment. Any exceptions to this policy will be noted.
1 Unless otherwise specified, assignments can be submitted via e-mail, in electronic format, or on paper.
I also accept assignment submissions via singing telegram, airplane banner, crop circles, creative dance, etc. so long that I get to witness such things, and receive something which lets me look back on it later (photos, video, transcription on paper, etc.). Chances are such creative submissions will gain you some bonus points.
In cases where there are multiple sections of the class, be sure to know your particular instructor's e-mail address and section number. Be sure to include all the associated and requested files and data.
Please do NOT submit assignments electronically to me that are in WordPerfect or Microsoft Works formats. I cannot read either of them. If you have and use these programs, please print out your work to hand in.
2 Be sure to include the following information on your assignment submission:
- Name,
- Course and Section,
- Due Date,
- Assignment # and description,
- Short abstract describing the purpose of your program / assignment.
Presentation of this information in a clear and organized fashion will make your assignment all the easier to read. You may come up with your own format for the display of this information.
Any e-mail submissions should have an appropriate subject line. Please use subjects on all e-mails. This is also very important.
Leaving off the subject line is like sending a letter without putting a stamp on it-- it causes someone extra work. And that someone would be me. So don't do it. Please please please use informative subject lines!
3 For any provided questions: identify each question or selection you are answering by listing or paraphrasing the original question.
Do not just give me an answer.
This is important. I mean it. You don't know how frustrating it is to get an assignment that just has the answers on it. It takes so much longer to grade.
I reserve the right to deduct points if you don't do this.
4 Keep your programs and assignments organized and easy to read.
Use a uniform writing style. Messy or unorganized submissions will have points deducted. Think to yourself: does it look good? Would I want to read this? Take pride in your work.
These assignments are not just for me to read and grade- you may wish to incorporate them into a portfolio for use in the future. Making an investment now could pay off later!
5 Turn in assignments on time.
Late assignments will be subject to an appropriate penalty. Circumstances vary, see the Late Policy for details.
If you have submitted an assignment and realized you left something out or can improve upon it: go for it!
I accept resubmissions on assignments, so long as I haven't already graded them.
6 If you encounter an error while performing some assignment (and the directions do not indicate you should be receiving an error), chances are you made a typo. Consult the class mailing list or send me an e-mail.
Assignments containing answers based on the error are subject to points being deducted.
7 Be sure to keep a backup copy of all assignments submitted in the event something is lost in transmission.
It is your responsibility to be able to send another copy of your assignment should the original be lost.
8 Use your own judgment. The world today is increasingly filled with rules and policies dictating what you can and cannot do. I am not about to go and list all the specifics and restrictions regarding assignment submission.
You are here to learn and to grow, and I want to allow you a certain amount of flexibility in that process. Spending all your time formatting an assignment to my specifications isn't my idea of learning. Incorporate these guidelines into your general style, if you miss the mark I'll let you know. But focus more on learning and understanding than worrying about dotting every 'i' or crossing every 't'. There's enough of that elsewhere in the world.
|
Attendance Policy:
Attendance plays an important part in one's educational journey each semester. Missing class deprives you of essential knowledge and hinders understanding towards your eventual mastering of a topic.
Because we are all here to learn (and if learning isn't a priority, I highly suggest you think about making it such), and believe it or not- learning isn't just about one person, but the entire group. So it is important to be present in order to positively contribute to the learning experience.
I also reserve the right to drop students from the course due to excessive absences.
Late Policy:
Sometimes, even though we try our hardest to get everything in on time, the spurious Murphy's Law will make an appearance. Your dog ate your network cable, a burst of cosmic rays damaged your RAM precisely where your work was located... the list goes on.
If due work is not submitted by its respective due date, and no advance attempt has been made to communicate with me, the assignment will be invalidated of any value.
Bottom line.. if something is going to be late: let me know. It happens, just don't make a habit of it. Communication is key.
Network Outages:
In the event that a significant network or computer outage occurs on a network under CCC jurisdiction, an appropriate adjustment will be made to any applicable due dates.
Be aware that if a new virus comes out the default action taken will be to disable all incoming connections on the CCC firewall. This means if you are at home and this action is in effect, nothing on campus will be accessible to you.
If, however, an outage occurs on your end, that shouldn't necessarily be used as an excuse for missing deadlines on work submission. Everyone has a CCC student account, so work can be done while on campus. A certain amount of leniency will typically be granted, if you are usually on-time with your assignments and maintain regular communication with me.
If you experience any sort of problem connecting that does prevent the successful submittal of an assignment or assessment, I expect some notification on your part. Any error messages or diagnostic results will be useful in determining the scope of the problem and consideration regarding due dates.
Collaboration:
Because this course is open resource (ie book, computer, note, etc.) I would like it generally to remain closed person. The reason for this is that the amount of resources available to you are vast, and the goal here is to discover and learn the material through individual initiative. Not to mention that such collaboration on quizzes and tests is CHEATING, and subject to disciplinary action by the school. Individuals are allowed and expected, to assist others through the mailing list (WITHOUT GIVING EXPLICIT ANSWERS) and through personal e-mail and chatting, so long as it does not interfere with a testing situation. If groupwork is required on a particular assignment, it will be stated.
Explicit copying on lab or other course assignments is also forbidden.
Weekly Schedule:
| 1
| Introduction, Programming Primer
| | 2
| Logic
| | 3
| Logic, cont'd
| | 4
| Basic Structures
| | 5
| Basic Structures and the Fundamentals
| | 6
| The Fundamentals and Recursion
| | -
| Break Week
| | 7
| Counting
| | 8
| Counting and Combinatorics
| | 9
| Counting and Combinatorics, cont'd
| | 10
| Relations, Graphs and Trees
| | 11
| Boolean Algebra
| | 12
| Boolean Algebra, cont'd
| | -
| Break Week
| | 13
| Theory of Computation
| | 14
| Theory of Computation, cont'd
| | 15
| End of Course Experience
|
* Topics are not set in stone.. they are merely my initial musings as to the flow of the course throughout the semester. Order and presentation may change as deemed necessary. | 
![[Cover of Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications]](http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0072880082/cover/Rosen_lg.jpg)