Guide to Team Homework

Team homework is a vital part of this class. Team homework problems and due dates can be found under the assignments link to the left.

Team homework problems are challenging problems designed to make you think about the material. You should not expect to sit down and figure these problems out in a few minutes and be done with them, even if you were able to do that with the regular assigned homework. Expect to spend several hours on each team homework assignment. You will be put into a group of 5 students either the first or second day of class. Together you will decide an appropriate time when ALL of you can meet to work on the problems. Each of you should make an effort to solve the problems before the meeting, but it is not expected that you come to the meeting with the problems solved completely. During the meeting you should strive to not only solve each problem, but to make sure EVERY member of your team has a complete understanding of the solutions. It is essential that each person understand the solutions as the concepts tested by these problems will show up on exams!

Once you have solved as many of the problems as you can, you should decide ONE person to write up the solutions to be handed in. Who writes up the solutions should be rotated amongst the group. After the solutions are written up, you should all meet a SECOND time to look over the solutions and make sure that what is being turned in represents your best efforts.

You will be graded not just on whether you have the correct answer, but also upon your presentation of the solution. Your solution should be written up on complete sentences giving a full explanation of what you're doing. You should write your solutions not as if I will be reading them, but as if someone else in the class who has no idea of the solution is reading it. That person should be able to read your solution and come away with a complete understanding of the solution. If you have questions on what I mean by this, or how you should write you solutions, please stop by my office and ask.