Student Feedback on MATH 307, Winterterm 2010

• 1. Are you happy with what you learned in the course? Do you have any comment on what was most valuable or what should be changed?
  Yes, I was very happy I took the course during the winter term. It was a very good introduction to a formal approach of mathematics. Due to the short semester, there were periods in which it felt rushed, but that was really the only shortcoming, and I think Prof Truman did a good job of accounting for that. Though it might be difficult to do, the thing I might change is to provide more academic assistance later on in the afternoon after class. A problem set and quiz were due/taken every day. My approach (and that of most of my classmates, I presume) was to get started on the problem set and studying in the early afternoon. By late afternoon or evening, we'd either finished successfully or run into a wall that some guidance could have helped us through. But by that point, there normally weren't any tutors or professors available.
• 2. Are you taking MATH 410 now? If you are, (a) how helpfulwas MATH 307 for preparing you, and (b) without MATH 307 would you have waited another semester before takin MATH 410?
  Yes, I'm taking 410 now. 307 was immensely helpful toward my understanding how to structure a proof. I'm certain it will help me not only in 410 but in other courses as well.
• 3. On balance, was it a good choice for you to take this course over winterterm?
  Yes, very much so.
• 4. What would be your advice to other students considering taking MATH 307?
  Go in prepared to work hard.

• 1. Yes, I am happy with what I learned and I thought it was valuable.
• 2. I am taking Math410 now and it was extremely helpful because I got some of the fundamentals used in many proofs from the class, but I don't think I would have waited had I not taken MATH307.
• 3. Yes, it was a good choice for a course over winter term.

• I am very happy with what I learned in the course. Being enrolled in MATH410 now, I am confident that without having taken 307 I would have been, perhaps not overmatched, but certainly not as able to tackle the material as I am now.
• 2. Are you taking MATH 410 now? If you are, (a) how helpfulwas MATH 307 for preparing you, and (b) without MATH 307 would you have waited another semester before takin MATH 410?
  a) See answer to #1. b) Yes I probably would have waited another semester before taking MATH410.
• 3. On balance, was it a good choice for you to take this course over winterterm?
  It was definitely a good choice for me to take this over winter term because if I want to graduate in Spring '11, I only have about 3-4 credits of wiggle room and I would prefer to save those in case I need to withdraw from a course or other unforeseen occasions. If I had taken MATH310 during the Spring, I would have had every credit scheduled until I graduated.
• 4. What would be your advice to other students considering taking MATH 307?
  If you are deciding between going straight into MATH410 without taking MATH307 or 310 and taking MATH307 first, I would absolutely recommend taking MATH307. Having not taken MATH310, I am not sure which of the two better prepares you for MATH410, but MATH307 certainly gives you all the background necessary. MATH310 may just give you a little more practice with the exact topics covered in MATH410.
• Any other comments?
  Dr. Truman was an excellent professor.

• 1) I am mostly happy with what I learned in the course. I like the earlier parts that focused on number theory ideas because the proofs are very easy for them and help start seeing how they work. Also I liked the focus on the proof techniques and the more technical proofs like Epsilon proofs for convergence and Epsilon Delta for continuity. That is something my teacher for 410 did not explain in much detail and many of the students were lost on how to do them regularly since she used 1/n --> 0 as her example, and just used the archimedean property, which doesn't come up that often for convergence proofs. The only thing that should definitely changed would be the office hours. I understand the teacher has other things to do, but the office hours before and after were really hard to work with. After was fine if you actually had a question with old material, but the office hours before made it hard to ask questions on the previous days homework. It was generally a rush into her office to get an explanation to do 2-3 problems before class started, but she was very lenient on turning homework so it worked out, but it was just a rush in the morning since by the time you started the homework you wouldn't be able to see her until 30 minutes before class. (sorry about the long sentence)
• 2) Yes I am taking Math 410 now. So far, Math 410 has been a breeze. I really feel like I have a handle on the first several chapters, and the proofs are much easier this time around. I also have found that the new material covered in the course thus far that we skipped (for example, uniform continuity) is much easier to understand. If I had not taken Math307 and tried to take 410 I would have definitely dropped it. The book is not very clear and sometimes the teacher's examples only make sense because I have already learned it. Without having the background in writing proofs I would have been completely lost on how to do the homework.
• 3) It was a great choice, and now Math410 is just another course, instead of some monster I was dreading from what I had heard from other Math majors.
• 4) It is a great course if you have a good handle on Math and are a hard worker. The course is fast and the homework lasts easily 2-3 hours a night later in the course.
• I really don't think the tests should be take home. Although they worked fine, I think an (unheard of) weekend test that is moderated would be a much better choice for tests, simply because then there is a much more even playing field for people taking the test. Yes, the teacher said on our honor to only take an hour (or whatever the time was), but I don't always trust some of my classmates and in general I feel like take home tests disrupt the honest distribution of any class, unless its open notes, which this test was not.

• (1) The material from Fitzpatrick was most helpful. The material from Chartrand had limited usefulness, and I would say that taking more time to fully explain concepts from Fitzpatrick would be preferable to doing repetitious exercises from Chartrand.
• (2) I am currently in section 0202 of MATH 410. 307 was between somewhat helpful and quite helpful; in any event it was useful to have seen the material before 410 and to have done some calculus with proof. I probably would have waited another semester to take MATH 410.
• (3) I think it was the correct choice to have taken 307. Given the chance to do it again, I would have made the same decision.
• (4) If another student has already been able to take some classes where proof-writing is necessary but which are not as difficult as 410 (e.g., 406, 430) then 307 will probably have limited usefulness. If a student has had trouble in previous classes, they should probably wait to take 310, since the pace of 307 does not lend itself to getting behind. On the other hand, if you found your introductory math classes to be relatively painless but would like a guided introduction to calculus with proof, 307 is probably a good choice.

• 1. Yes I'm happy with what I learned in the course.
• 2. Yes, I'm taking MATH 410 now and I think that 307 was really helpful in preparing me for 410. No I would not have waited another semester before taking 410, but it would probably be a lot more of a struggle.
• 3. Yes.
• 4. Take it if your not completely comfortable with proofs or if you haven't taken any proof classes before. 410 will be much easier if you put in the time to prepare.

I did take the Math 307, however I audited the course so I am not sure I will provide the best feedback. I was very happy with the course and am currently enrolled in 410. If 307 was not offered I would have waited another semester and taken 310 in the spring.

• 1. Are you happy with what you learned in the course?
  Do you have any comment on what was most valuable or what should be changed?
  I thought the course was quite well-structured given it's short length. I feel that students were given a relatively complete introduction to formal mathematics. I'd be better able to answer what should be changed after having completed Math 410 and Math 411.
• 2. Are you taking MATH 410 now? If you are, (a) how helpfulwas MATH 307 for preparing you, and (b) without MATH 307 would you have waited another semester before takin MATH 410?
  I am not taking math 410 this semester.
• 3. On balance, was it a good choice for you to take this course over winterterm?
  It was indeed a good choice.
• 4. What would be your advice to other students considering taking MATH 307?
  My advice would be to not attempt to prepare ahead for the course using Math 310 course materials, as the 307 course only covers portions of the 310 curriculum.
• Any other comment?
  I still don't understand why I didn't get an A.

• 1. I am happy with what I learned in the course.
• 2. I am not taking MATH410 now. I may be taking it this summer or next semester at the latest.
• 3. I needed the credits nad it was good preparation for MATH410.
• 4. Do it. It can only help