Though from time to time I make assignments which are meant specifically to be done in a group, you are always encouraged to work with others on out-of-class assignments unless otherwise indicated. In fact, I urge you to find one or two other students and agree to meet at a regularly-scheduled time each week to study together. Here are some reasons for doing this (some of these may apply to you more or less than others, depending upon your innate mathematical ability):

• If you view math as a set of skills to learn, then you are embarking on a very difficult venture indeed when you sit down to learn in a detached way the myriad of skills that go with a specific course. As it happens, these skills are generally based upon a relatively small collection of ideas/concepts that, if mastered, make the skills much easier to apprehend. You will find it easier to master these fundamental ideas through discussions with classmates (always striving to use the terminology/vocabulary appropriate to the course). You should talk about the concepts in each new section, identifying carefully what they are and what they are not. No section is likely to emphasize more than two concepts, and often these are repeats (concepts that have appeared in some form earlier).
• If you spend time demonstrating to others in your group your solutions to various problems, you will find frequently that another has solved a problem in a substantially differently fashion than you. Real learning begins when you grapple together over the merits of different methods, and why they do or do not lead to the same answer.
• You may find that another group member can solve a problem you've tried unsuccessfully to solve.
• Even if you tend to get all of the problems, there is value in explaining things to others. Every teacher you know will tell you that they thought they knew a subject well before teaching it, but gained new insights/understanding as they taught it.
• Studying together provides opportunity for Christian interaction. We can encourage one another, bear one another's burdens/frustrations, and share our gifts with others.
• One day you will seek employment. Companies are looking for people who, while individually competent, have good teamwork experiences and skills.

Concerning homework, you may borrow someone's idea for solving a problem, but cite your source (a classmate, peer, book—provide the usual bibliographic information, website—provide the url, etc.). All assignments (except for projects specifically assigned in groups) are to be written up separately on your own, using your own words. Give as much attention to presenting your solutions in a coherent manner (using mathematical symbols as part of your sentence structure) as you give to actually solving problems, as it is the explanation of each problem that is graded (not simply the answer itself). Handing in another's writeup of any part of an assignment will be considered an instance of academic dishonesty (See Section 4.2.8 of the Faculty Handbook.), resulting in a zero for the entire assignment.

If any part of an exam write-up is not your own, or is the result of unauthorized access to information stored anywhere in any form, the result on the first instance will be a score of zero. A second occurrence will result in automatic failure of the course.

This page maintained by:
Thomas L. Scofield
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Calvin College