Instructor
Ms. Wendy St. John stjohnw@sonoma.edu
Virtual Office Hours: Tuesdays and Fridays, 1 – 2 p.m.
To make an appointment to meet with me during office hours, click here.
Textbook
You are not required to purchase any texts for this class. All course readings will be made available online.
You may be required to buy a one-semester subscription (for about $10) to a tool we will use called SageMathCloud. (Details will be provide after the start of the semester. Please do not purchase ahead of time).
Lecture and Assignment Schedule
Synchronous lecture and discussion sessions will be held Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:00 to 2:50 p.m. Recordings of all lectures will also be available on Canvas, for viewing outside of class time.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://SonomaState.zoom.us/j/94669778803?pwd=R0hLMS9DREZlR3dhdFM3bVRObGc1Zz09
Meeting ID: 946 6977 8803
Passcode: GEP202
Tentative schedule of course topics
| Week | Topic | Materials |
| 1 | Estimations and Models | Introduction to Quantitative Methods |
| 2 | Cognitive Biases Tree Models | |
| 3 | Quantities | |
| 4 | Monday, September 7th – Labor Day – NO CLASS Unit Conversions | Solutions to unit conversions |
| 5 | Significant Figures Place Value | Study Guide for Exam #1 |
| 6 | Scientific Notation Wednesday, September 23 – Exam #1 | |
| 7 | Chunking | |
| 8 | Computation with Excel (I) | Computational Skills I |
| 9 | Computation with Pivot Tables, and Python | Computational Skills II Computational Skills III: Learning Python |
| 10 | Exponential Models & Gaussian Distribution Model | Computational Skills IV: Python and Sensor Data |
| 11 | Populations and Samples | |
| 12 | Wednesday, November 4th – Exam #2 | |
| 13 | Wednesday, November 11 – Veteran’s Day – NO CLASS | |
| 14 | Linear Model with Gaussian Noise | |
| 15 | Confounding variables Wednesday, November 25 – Thanksgiving – NO CLASS | |
| 16 | Metacognition and the power of mathematics | |
| Finals Week | Final exam date TBA |
Unforeseen Circumstances
We are facing a number of things this semester that might result in unforeseen circumstances for any of us. Here is a protocol for dealing with situations that prevent us from accessing our online course activities:
- If you are not able to log on for any reason (power outages, internet connectivity issues, illness):
- As soon as you are able, email me at stjohnw@sonoma.edu to let me know your situation.
- Once you are able to get online again, we’ll be able to work out a way for you to catch up on any course material you missed.
- If you come to a synchronous class meeting and I am not there within 15 minutes, you can assume that I am not able to get online.
- I will contact you as soon as I am able so you know when to expect me to be able to hold classes again.
- If possible, I will continue to record and post lectures, and possibly introduce discussion or lab activities so you will be able to continue working in my absence.
- Once I am able to connect again, we will work out a strategy to make sure I’m able to successfully deliver all course content.
At all times, I am committed to working with you to make sure that external circumstances don’t interfere with your ability to engage with course material, and that these unexpected issues won’t impact your grades.