Essential Additional Information for

Introduction to Mathematics for Computer Science (06-20415)

(Autumn 2012 and Spring 2013)

Main Examination

Additional Note about the Textbook

Lecture Slides

As the year proceeds, we will incrementally add the slides.

Don't expect them to be available before mid-afternoon or evening on the Wednesday of each week.

Exercises, Quizzes and Class Tests

Exercises used in a Class Exercise Session or Class Test will be posted on this site at some point after the session.

Lecturers

• John Barnden (Prof. of Artificial Intelligence)
  Room 136
  Ext 4-3816
  Email jab@cs.bham.ac.uk
  Homepage http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~jab
  OFFICE HOURS: see his timetable

• Dr Bernd Bohnet
  Room UG37
  Email bohnet@ims.uni-stuttgart.de
  OFFICE HOURS: Weds 2:00-4:00pm

In the first semester, the lecturing will shared roughly equally between Dr Bohnet and Prof Barnden. Barnden will lecture in Weeks 2-6, and Bohnet will lecture in Weeks 7-11.

In the second semester, all of the lecturing will be done by Prof Barnden.

Getting Help

• From the Lecturer

  I (John Barnden) encourage you to come to my OFFICE HOURS to ask questions or make comments. If you cannot manage the stated times for some important reason, please contact me to arrange an appointment.

• From the Demonstrators (teaching assistants)

  • Abigail Razon - arr125@cs.bham.ac.uk.
    OFFICE HOUR: Tuesdays 12:00-1:00pm, in her office:
    Room 125,     4-7969.

  • Ben Kurk - bjk861@cs.bham.ac.uk.

  • Luke De Feo - LMD223@bham.ac.uk.

  A couple of them may be on hand to help you in Friday EXERCISE CLASSES. You can also EMAIL THEM at other times with questions about module material, incl. exercises. They may choose to define particular times of the week at which they will reply to such messages, depending on how many messages there turn out to be. You can also GO TO SEE ABIGAIL in her office hour each week.

• University Maths Help Scheme

  The university has recently set up maths support centre.

• PASS Meetings

  As Dr Mark Lee recently announced, Peer Aided Study Support (PASS) meetings start again from week 2 (week starting 14th Jan). PASS sessions are led by second year Computer Science students and are open to all first year students who want some study support. The PASS sessions will happen in room 222 of the Computer Science building during the following times:

  • Tuesdays (12:00-1:00): staffed by Amaar, Chris, Samirah

  • Fridays (1:00-2:00): staffed by Miruna, Radina, Sissi

  with the exception of 8th February when our meeting rooms will be closed for re-decoration.

• From the Personal Tutor on textbook companion website

  See below, in the Textbook information.

• Additional Forms of Self-Help

  See in particular WHAT CAN I DO TO IMPROVE?

Feedback You'll Get in This Module

As the module proceeds, you'll get the following sorts of feedback on your work and development:

• MARKS on your continuously assessed work (Class Tests)

• NOTES we write on your answer papers (exercises and tests) during marking
  (mainly your Class Test papers, but if you want to show us your work on, say, In-Class Exercises or textbook exercises, we can make comments on that too)

• INFORMATION GIVEN TO THE WHOLE CLASS, e.g. orally in lectures, about how the class has done on tests and exercises, and what errors have occurred and how to avoid them

• COMMENTS TO YOU IN PRIVATE if you come to see us or you email us about your work, specific problems you're having, etc.

Spirit of the Module

We take very seriously the point made in the Syllabus Page for the module that a main function of the module is to build up your confidence in tackling mathematical tasks and undertaking additional learning of mathematics later on. The point of the module is not just, and not even primarily, to teach you a load of concepts and methods. We're sympathetic about and feel we have insight into the sorts of difficulties people can have in mathematical areas. These difficulties often arise from confidence being unnecessarily damaged in earlier periods of life. Although we ourselves have some claim to be good at maths we have also encountered difficulties, including failing to understand things, finding things horribly daunting at first, etc.

Thus, it is important that you exploit the opportunities the module gives you not just to listen in amazed admiration to our lectures and enthusiastically tackle the work we set, but also to ask questions (in class or in private). We EXPECT people to have difficulties and will gain satisfaction from helping people to overcome them. Indeed, we will feel bored, lonely and under-appreciated if not exploited to the max.

Nature of Class Sessions and Other Aspects of the Module

Overall Scheme

The Class Tests are assessed (marked) and are roughly equally weighted except that the first one in semester 1 has a weight of only about half the weights of the others. Altogether the six class tests account for 50% of the module mark, with the Examination occupying the other 50%.

On the other hand, the work you do in the Class Exercise Sessions will be "formative", i.e. unassessed.

We may also circulate additional formative exercises for you to do as HOMEWORK. This may happen as frequently as weekly.

Tackling the formative exercises, whether the in-class ones or the homework ones, will help you enormously with the Class Tests and the Examination. We would not expect someone to be able to get a good mark on, or even pass, the the Class Tests or Examination if they have not tried to do the formative exercises.

General Points about Lectures

Much of the detailed information about how to do particular mathematical tasks will be in the textbook, etc., NOT presented in lectures. The lectures are for

• explaining and clarifying concepts
• occasionally, presenting additional methods
• going over exercises and tests (this WILL be an opportunity for us to show in detail how to do tasks)
• explaining the importance of the concepts and methods for CS.

The SLIDES that we will be presenting in lectures will be available via this webpage. However, in lectures we may say or write on (say) a whiteboard things that won't be available electronically.

You are encouraged to ask questions and instigate discussion during lectures. Because of this, we make no guarantees about what topics we're going to cover in any particular lecture.

Textbook, Additional Notes and Other Reading Material

You will need to do readings in three main sources:

1. THE MODULE TEXTBOOK: K.A. Stroud, Engineering Mathematics, 6th edition, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

   • Copies have been ordered for the university bookshop. There are several copies on one-week loan in the Main Library, and one for reference use in the School Library.

   • The module will draw mainly from Part I (all sections) and sections 1, 2, 4-6 and 27 of Part II. The necessary parts are specified in lecture slides, usually at the beginning of a batch.

   • But the rest of the book also provides an excellent resource for additional learning of your own throughout your degree programme and beyond. Although the book is expensive it is a good investment, and buying a copy will save you a lot of trouble in terms of borrowing copies from other students or from a library.

   • We will make heavy use of the exercises in the textbook.

   • You may get hold of a previous edition. Earlier editions, even the 5th (published in 2001), will have many detailed differences from the 6th, and you may have to hunt around in the book to find bits corresponding to those we refer to in the 6th. Also, some exercises may be different or missing.

   • The book contains a useful CD and specifies a a companion website with free additional resources. These resources include a Personal Tutor that takes you through problems interactively, and a set of additional problems.

   
   

2. ANSWER NOTES for CLASS TESTS and FORMATIVE EXERCISES (to be made available as the module progresses, via this webpage).

   
   

3. ADDITIONAL NOTES (HANDOUTS) (distributed occasionally, generally via this webpage).

The formative exercises, Class Tests and Examination may draw from compulsory reading material lying within the above items (or others if we specify any), even when the specific topics in the material are not covered in lectures.

Broad Nature of the Examination

Previous Examination Papers

Collaboration

In the Class Exercise Sessions you will still work individually, but with some help on request from us. You will also be allowed to ask the occasional question of other students sitting nearby, but we need to limit such interchanges in order to keep the noise level down so people can concentrate.

There is no formal restriction on collaboration on the Homework exercises, and such collaboration can, when responsibly conducted, be helpful for your learning. But please bear in mind the main principle behind the exercises, both assessed and unassessed, namely that it's important for YOUR sake that YOU PERSONALLY get the practice of DOING the work and THINKING about the module material.

Syllabus Page for the module

Last mod 2jun1