About the Course

Computing for Mathematics: Introduction to the course

This course will follow 3 mains texts:

1. A book covering the use of a programming language called Python: vknight.org/pfm/
2. A set of short tutorials showing how to use the mathematical typesetting language LaTeX: vknight.org/tex/
3. A document with guidelines for writing mathematics.

All course materials are available online at vknight.org/cfm/. You can also find all the source files that create that website at github.com/drvinceknight/cfm/.

Technology in class

Please use whatever resources you need to be successful in this class. Let me know if I can help with anything.

Office hours

I will not hold specific office hours: please email me to arrange a time to come and see me.

Kindness

In this course every participant (including myself) will be having many interactions with other participants. Some potential examples of this:

• Peer to peer discussions during classes;
• Me explaining a given topic.

I expect every participant (including myself) to act with kindness during these interactions.

Some examples of how this applies to me:

• When a student is late or absent at a class I will assume they have good reasons. If this happens regularly
• I will first be concerned for their well-being.
• Ask how I can help them catch up.
• If a student asks for an explanation of a topic that has been covered multiples times I will assume that some set of circumstances has prevented them from seeing these explanations and:
• will explain the topic.
• also point them at the explanations in the course materials and/or class recordings. If this is a regular occurrence I might ask if there are any circumstances that I can help with.
• If I make a mistake in a class explanation and someone helpfully points it out. I will listen and thank them for pointing it out and either go over the mistake then and there or go over it again at a future meeting.

Structure of the course

The course runs over a single semester and alternates between two kinds of week.

In Weeks 1 to 3, 6 and 7 we cover the mathematical and computational foundations of the module in scheduled classes.

In Weeks 4, 5, and 8 to 11 the emphasis shifts to group work. Your group meets each of those weeks to study the Python for Mathematics book content and to make progress on the group project. Group work has its own timetabled session, so you are not expected to find a free hour between four diaries. Each session holds a short meeting, and the contact hour is used to hand in the week's minutes and to ask questions. The project work itself you fit around these, on your own or together in a workshop. Groups are formed during Week 3, so that you have your group from the start of the first group-project week.

Weeks 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10 each have a minutes template linked in the schedule. One member acts as secretary for the meeting (the role rotates each week) and is responsible for completing the minutes. The group prints the minutes and submits the hard copy as a group during the contact hour. The engagement recorded in the minutes is the evidence used for the individual component of the group project mark.

Assessment

There are three pieces of assessment in this course:

• Individual coursework (20%)
• A collection of individual quizzes (20%)
• Group coursework (60%)

More information about assessment: here

Facilitator notes: About the course