Spring 2024 MCS 142 Course Description

Section

• MCS 142 001 meets on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:00 to 8:50 in Olin 321

Textbook

Introduction to Modern Statistics Mine Cetinkaya-Rundel and Johanna Hardin

Computer Software

The primary software used in this course is Posit (RStudio). Gustavus has an online version of Posit at posit.gac.edu You can read more about Posit at www.rstudio.com

Classes

Classes will be used for discussion, problem solving, lecture, and other activities. You should prepare for classes by doing the reading beforehand, thinking about the problems in the text, and formulating questions of your own. You should also participate as much as possible in class. Class meetings are not intended to be a complete encapsulation of the course material. You will be responsible for learning some of the material on your own.

Comments:

• Be respectful and courteous to your classmates and instructor. Your background, experiences, and understanding of the material may differ from that of others in the class.
• Attendance is not mandatory, but is highly recommended. It is impossible for you to participate in class if you are not in attendance.
• Should you need to miss a class for any reason, you are still responsible for the material covered in that class. This includes notes, readings, and assignments.
• Student comments:
• "Stay on top of the homework or else it gets overwhelming."
• "Ask questions!"
• "Make sure to do all the homework. It really helps you understand the material even if sometimes it feels like busy work.""
• "Definitely do it! I was scared to take the class, because I consider myself a humanities person, and I have tried to stay away from STEM class as much as I can. However, I really ended up enjoying this class, and often felt extremely relieved to be able to use my brain in a different way than my other classes require of me. I thought I would be lost taking this class, but the instruction was all really clear and I often didn't have too many questions following the lectures. Just make sure you go to all the lectures (or watch all the videos if it is taught virtually again). And don't hesitate to ask for help, because all the material builds on each other, so you need to understand the basics."
• "Keep up with the work and be ready for group projects"

Homework

Homework assignments and their due dates will be posted to the course Moodle page. It is your responsibility to check to see when homework is due. Homework is due by 3:00 pm on the posted due date. Homework turned in after 3:00 is late. I DO NOT accept late homework unless there is a serious and compelling reason . I do, however, drop at least two homework scores at the end of the semester. If you have questions on homework problems you are encouraged to get help during office hours or ask the statistics tutors.

Homework problems are designed to help you learn the material we cover in class and in the reading. Approximately twice a week, you will hand in your solutions to the required homework that is due. These should be typed, or neatly written. The sections and problem numbers should be clearly labeled. You will submit your homework via Moodle. The grader will NOT grade all of the assigned problems. Several representative problems from the homework will be selected and graded. Each homework is worth 10 points. You may work on homework with others. You and your partners should turn in a single copy of the homework with everyone's name on it.

Quizzes

There will be roughly one quiz for each class lecture. Quizzes will be administered through Moodle. You may take each quiz at any time after the lecture. You may retake a quiz as many times as you wish. Quiz questions come directly from lecture and from the book. You will need to complete the quizzes to unlock homework and projects. Quiz scores do NOT count toward your final course grade.

Course Grade

You will be provided with a score on each assignment, quiz, project, and exam so that you may keep track of your performance. You can see all of your graded work in Moodle. As a guideline, the components will contribute in the following way to the final grade:

Academic Integrity

Honor Code:"On my honor I pledge that I have not given, received, or tolerated others' use of unauthorized aid in completing this work."

Gustavus Adolphus College is proud to operate under an honor system (https://gustavus.edu/general_catalog/current/acainfo). The faculty and students have jointly created an Honor Board to enforce the Honor Code and the Academic Honesty Policy. It is your responsibility, as a student, to ask questions if you are not sure about situations such as when to cite a source, how to cite a source, sharing data with lab-mates, and avoiding inadvertent cheating when working in groups. It is also your responsibility to learn about the policy and the consequences for violations so please ask questions!

The overarching principle of the Academic Honesty Policy is that students shall submit their own work, in fairness to others and to self. Your professor wants you, a developing scholar, to be able to take pride in your own academic work and to maintain your academic integrity. Citations must accompany any use of another’s words or ideas that are not common knowledge. Quoting or paraphrasing from electronic sources without proper citation is as serious a violation as copying from a book or other printed source. Using content generated by an artificial intelligence third-party service or site (AI-generated content) without proper attribution or authorization would also be a form of plagiarism. A student may not submit work that is substantially the same in two courses without first gaining permission of both instructors if the courses are taken concurrently, or permission of the current instructor if the work has been submitted in a previous semester. Ask your professor if you have questions about a particular assignment or kind of work. Please make sure you fully understand the rules related to online work, as it pertains to this course. Unauthorized aid during online exams and assignments is every bit as serious and inappropriate as it would be in an in-person course. In fact, in the online environment it is sometimes easier for faculty to detect violations.

The sanction in this course for a violation of the Honor Code involving plagiarism, copying another student on an exam, or other kinds of cheating on a single assignment will usually be an “F” on the plagiarized assignment or exam. For a more significant event, I, your professor, reserve the right to assign you a grade of “F” for the course. In addition, for any Honor Code violation, I will notify the Provost’s Office. A letter will be generated by the Provost’s Office and sent to you. The letter will remain on file. There will be no further consequence, beyond the course penalty and the letter, if you do not commit any further Honor Code violations. Repeat offenses could ultimately lead to dismissal from the College. A second violation in this course will result in an immediate F for the course. You have the right to appeal any Honor Code violation through an Honor Board hearing process. In this course, your professor aims for you to learn how to cite sources properly, do your own work on all exams, and function as a scholar with integrity. Please feel welcome to ask questions about the important matter of Academic Honesty and let me know how I can best support your learning.

• Homework: You may work in groups on your homework. Groups should be no larger than three students. You should make a real effort to solve each homework problem by yourself, although you can, and should, discuss problems and their solutions with your classmates after you've made this effort. Be sure to credit any sources that helped you find solutions.
• Projects: You may work in groups of up to four on any project unless otherwise specified.
• Quizzes: You are expected to work on quizzes on your own unless otherwise specified.
• Exams: You are expected to work on exams on your own unless otherwise specified.

Standards

For secondary mathematics education majors, Minnesota Education Standards that are met in this course can be found at https://gustavus.edu/mcs/MN8710.4600.pdf

Academic Accommodation for Religious Observance

A student whose religious observance conflicts with a course requirement may request an academic accommodation from the instructor. Students should normally make such requests in writing by the end of the second week of classes, but there may be exceptions. Students may also request accommodations for religious traditions surrounding death and dying when the need arises. The Chaplains' Office annually publishes a multifaith holiday calendar with accommodation notations. You can find it here: https://gustavus.edu/chaplain/multifaith/. However, this list is not exhaustive and observances are not necessarily days when individuals will not attend work or school. There are also different levels of observance in different traditions. The Chaplains’ Office is available for consultation on any requests for accommodation that are not included in their calendar.

Academic Accommodations

Gustavus Adolphus College is committed to ensuring equitable and inclusive learning environments for all students. If you have a disability and anticipate or experience barriers to equal access, please speak with the accessibility resources staff about your needs. A disability may include mental health, attentional, learning, chronic health, sensory, physical, and/or short-term conditions. Students with a documented elevated risk of COVID-19 may also request academic accommodations. When appropriate, staff will guide students and professors in making accommodations to ensure equal access. Accommodations cannot be made retroactively; therefore, to maximize your academic success at Gustavus, please contact them as early as possible. Accessibility resources staff are located in the Academic Support Center (https://gustavus.edu/care/accessibility/) (x7227). Accessibility Resources Coordinator, Corrie Odland (codland@gustavus.edu"), can provide further information.

Help for Multilingual Students

Some Gusties may have grown up speaking a language (or languages) other than English at home. If so, we refer to you as "multilingual". Your multilingual background is an incredible resource for you, and for our campus, but it can come with some challenges. You can find support through the Center for International and Cultural Education's (https://gustavus.edu/cice/) Multilingual and Intercultural Program Coordinator (MIPC), Carly Overfelt (overfelt@gustavus.edu). Carly can meet individually for tutoring in writing, consulting about specific assignments, and helping students connect with the College's support systems. If you want help with a specific task (for example, reading word problems on an exam quickly enough or revising grammar in essays), let your professor and Carly know as soon as possible. In addition, the Writing Center offers tutoring from peers (some of whom are themselves multilingual) who can help you do your best writing.

Research Help

You can always get help with your research at the library. Reference librarians will help you find information on a topic, develop search strategies for papers and projects, search library catalogs and databases, and provide assistance at every step. Drop-ins and appointments are both welcome. Visit https://gustavus.edu/library/reference_question.php for hours, location, and more information.