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Instructor of record:

Alfa Heryudono
Dept of Mathematics


Guest lecturers:

Richard Price of MIT
Editor of the American Journal of Physics

Russ Hensel


Math Dept Secretary:

Point of Contact:
Jill Peters
LARTS Room 396F
Phone: +1 508-999-8316

This will be a special and very innovative course. It is the centerpiece of UMassDartmouth's Professional Preparation Program for Math, Science, and Engineering students.

Although the course is organized around student projects, it is much more. The course will give students an experience much more like the technical workplace than the experience in most courses. It will also provide skills that are lacking in most STEM bachelor's recipients, deficiencies that have been pointed out by those who will be hiring these graduates. The following are some of , but not all of, the particular features of the course:

• There will be a strong focus on oral and written technical communication. There will be explicit instruction in communication, but -- more important -- students will be required to give frequent short oral presentations, and to write technical documents. There will be constant feedback, by both faculty and students, on oral presentations and technical writing
  
  
• The course is being designed with advice from Industrial advisors, and these advisors will appear in class to tell students about life after graduation.
  
  
• A frequent complaint of employers is that students have been educated with "back of the chapter" problems, and cannot think critically or bring together disparate technical elements. This course will give practice in these skills.
  
  
• Another complaint is that collaborative work is an essential part of the technical workplace, but graduates typically have little preparation in this. The course will provide such preparation.
  
  
• A major complaint of tech employers is that students do not have the reliability and conscientiousness that are necessary in the competitive workplace. This course will instill a professional attitude in the handling of student projects. In particular, there will be firm deadlines for milestones, and inflexible deadlines for such things as progress reports.
  
  
• An ongoing thread in the course will be real-world technical problems. These problems will provide much of the basis for practice in communication, critical thinking and collaborative work. The problems will be assigned during the first two weeks of the course.