Hello everyone I am Ben

Getting to know you

(Blog submission number 1)

(10 points)

Learning objectives:

By the end of this course, students will be able to do the following…

·       Recognize, observe, formulate, and understand mathematical connections in everyday life

·       Thoughtfully apply mathematical concepts to real world situations 

·       Recognize evidence of the many mathematical concepts that are at work in real life situations 

·       Analyze, think critically about, and demonstrate a meaningful understanding of mathematical concepts by effectively communicating their thinking and reasoning for their solutions and mathematical connections to real world situations (in other words, rather than simply knowing how to solve any particular problem, students should be able to explain how they to come to a particular solution and explain why it is correct)

·       Apply general strategies to more than one type of problem 

·       Comfortably and effectively utilize a variety of strategies to solve any given mathematical problem

Background:

A couple of the primary focuses for this class greatly center on your ability to effectively communicate mathematical ideas and to collaborate with members in your classroom community.  As a result, for this class, you will be required to create and maintain a mathematics blog.  The purpose of this blog will be for you to gain experience effectively communicating your mathematics understanding as well as collaborating with your members of your classroom community about mathematical concepts.  Some submissions will require that you respond critically to topics in class, from lecture, or from textbook readings.  Some submissions will require that you do research on a topic related to concepts discussed in class, elaborate on them, explain them in real world language, and apply them to real world situations. 

You will be required to submit four blog entries.  In addition to submitting your own work, you will be required to make thoughtful comments on posts from members in your learning community. Your submissions will be graded using a rubric with categories for creativity, problem solving, thoughtful reflections, insightful comments, etc.    

In many classes, especially math classes, learning is rarely extended beyond the hour and fifteen minutes of lecture time.  Hence, another purpose for this blog is to help prevent a stagnant learning environment and support and encourage learning beyond the classroom walls.  My goal is for you to become a part of a community of learners…learning, teaching, and supporting one another, as well as developing the skills you need for your own learning.

Directions:

Part a:

1.     Once you receive an invite from me, go to the following url http://functionalfamiliarity.blogspot.com/and subscribe to the class blog.

2.     Once you have created your profile, answer the following questions and post them to the class blog.  (you may number your answers, answer the questions in narrative form, I’m not going to be picky for your 1^st submission)

3.     Students who submit the questionnaire by 11:59pm, Monday, January 19, will receive two extra credit points added to their first quiz.  (you may number your answers if you like or answer the questions in narrative form… whatever you prefer.)

4.     The purpose of this questionnaire is to get to know you a little bit better and also to learn things that can assist in guiding my instruction of the class this semester.  Thank you!

Questions:

1.     What is your full name?

Answer: Youwei Cheng (Ben)

2.     Do you have a nickname that you prefer to go by?

Answer: Kobe

3.     What is your height IN INCHES (not feet)?

Answer: 5.97 inches

4.     What is your age in years?

Answer: 19 years old

5.     What time do you generally wake up on any given day?

Answer: 5:30 am

6.     What is your favorite candy?

Answer: MM

7.     What is your favorite snack food?

Answer: ice cream

8.     Who is your favorite musical artist/band?

Answer: Big Bang

9.     Do you have any hobbies/things you like to do for fun?

Answer: Basketball

10.  What is your mathematical background? (Not limited to the list below…list other topics if needed)

Basic math     algebra1       algebra2       statistics probability    trigonometry 

High school Precalculus             high school calculus 

college algebra     (taken at a college/university)   AP stats

AP calculus    college level calculus (taken at a college/university)

11.  What is your comfort level with solving math word problems, math application problems, and conceptual math problems?

Very comfortable (V)     comfortable (C)        uncomfortable (U)       extremely uncomfortable (E)

12.  What is your comfort level with math computations and calculations/using formulas and following steps and procedures?

Very comfortable (V)     comfortable (C)        uncomfortable (U)       extremely uncomfortable (E)

13.  What is your comfort level with any of the following algebraic and precalculus concepts?

Write one of the following next to each topic:

Very comfortable (V)     comfortable (C)        uncomfortable (U)       extremely uncomfortable (E)

Equations

Factoring

Adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing fractions/rational expressions

Simplifying expressions

Simplifying rational expressions (fractions and fractional polynomials)

Operations on roots and fractional exponent expressions

Operations involving whole number exponent expressions

Finding common denominators

Inequalities

Functions

Absolute value

Linear functions

Systems of equations

Domain and range

Inverse functions

Transformations (shifting, scaling, stretching, etc)

Quadratic functions

Completing the square

Exponential functions

Logarithmic functions

Base e

Graphing (trigonometric, quadratic, linear, exponential, and logarithmic functions)

Trigonometric concepts

14.  Have you taken American university’s math 151 (finite math) class? If yes, was your grade a “b” or better?

Answer: never

15.  Which social media formats are you familiar with?

Texting    facebook       pinterest flickr       wordpress      blogspot tumblr    twitter

google plus     Instagram     Snapchat      Yik Yak

16.  Which social media formats do you use most frequently?

Texting    facebook       pinterest flickr       wordpress      blogspot tumblr    twitter    

google plus     Instagram         Snapchat      Yik Yak

17.  What is your major?

Answer: Marketing

18.  Why are you taking this math class?

Answer: I like math

19.  Will you take other math classes in the future at American University or will this be your only math class? If yes, which classes do you anticipate taking?

Answer: calculus

20.  What do you hope to learn in this class?

Answer: The way to solve math problems

21.  Is there anything else you would like me to know about you?

Answer: I always work hard but I have a low English level

Part b:

1.     After completing your blog entry, comment on at least two of your classmates blog submissions (you are free to comment on more than two posts if you like).