Calculus is a central pillar of scientific education, and is a principal language and problem solving tool for science and engineering. At the University of Maryland, Math 140-141 is the first year sequence of calculus courses designed for science, engineering and mathematics students.
In our calculus course, class meets 5 times a week: MWF in large lecture, and TTh in 22-student sections for 80 minutes. Your attendance is requested each day. The first portion of the TTh session (normally around 15-20 minutes) will be for questions related to homework problems; the remainder of the session will be for worksheets prepared especially for that session. You will generally work in groups of about 4 students; the group's task is not only to produce solutions to the problems on the worksheet but also to make certain that each member of the group participates and in the end understands how to solve the problems. We note that recently it has been documented that when each group member takes an active role in the group discussion, group learning generally gives better understanding and yields better retention of the material -- which are basic ingredients in calculus.
The text is written to be read by you. If you have questions while reading it, then jot down the questions and ask them. Handouts are designed to enhance the understanding of the material, and to make you think a little. The problems on the worksheets have been carefully tailored (by our professors and teaching assistants) so that they should be able to be solved by you; you will probably gain more insights by discussing these problems with others (e.g., in your group). Don't be discouraged when you find problems whose solutions do not pop out instantly. Remember that learning takes work; one cannot learn calculus by osmosis or by listening to others talk about it.
The goal of your professor and TA is for you to learn calculus and succeed in the course. We also hope that you will enjoy calculus, and take pride in your understanding of the subject.
Professor Gulick's office is 2103 Mathematics Building.
His office telephone number is 301 405 5157.
His email address is dng@math.umd.edu.
His office hours during Spring 2001 are MWF 9-10 and WF 10-11, and by appointment.