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College of Science Holds Math Camp for Freshman as Ouickstart University Course

Date 2013-08-29 5069 Clicks

To help new students during the summer break review high school math, to help those who have only heard about calculus to lay a good foundation in the study and to better understand their future career plans, and to reinforce self-confidence as well, the College of Science will hold a freshman math camp this week for four days and three nights so that new students can “warm up their engines” before the school year begins. Whether they like math or not, all students will be able to gain a new perspective on math, seeing the subject as not just a tedious operation or formula. It is also hoped that participants can get to know one another and learn something other than what the courses offer via camp activities and programs such as teamwork and thinking outside the box.

College of Science Dean Wang Bo-cheng stated that in recent years the level of math skills displayed by most senior high school students has been in steady decline, and freshman calculus teachers feel that students without a solid foundation find it quite difficult to study. In view of this, the College of Science set up this camp before school opens thanks to the teaching of Department of Mathematics Associate Professors Li Wu-yen and Wu Jyh-shyang; the course contents include an introduction to logic, fun math, real numbers, the Cartesian coordinate system, functions and so forth, attracting the enthusiastic participation of a third of the freshman seeking Bachelor degrees in Math, Chemistry and Physics, amounting to nearly a hundred students. This shows that junior and senior high school students are not the only ones in need of bridging courses in basic subjects; college freshman are also in urgent need of such courses.

Professor Li Wu-yen’s main course covers derivatives of limits and trigonometric and transcendental functions in calculus, and graph-drawing, related variability and problems in optimization and application. In addition, he may balance the course by interspersing text material on math and popular science. Professor Li said that since time is limited, in order for students to learn more, classes will be lecture-based, and that students will interact while working on some topics they are given. Such an arrangement will familiarize students with the form of college classes so that they can quickly adapt to classroom conditions once school begins and connect with the course contents. Professor Wu Jyh-shyang’s course merges propositional logic, function concept and trigonometric function, limit derivative function and integral concepts, and the teaching methodology consists of lectures, interactive Q&A and achieving teaching objectives through imitation exercises. Professor Wu said that most students will find their thirst for knowledge to be very strong after four days of the class, and it can be seen from people’s expressions of doubt or knowing satisfaction whether or not they understand new concepts. This is quite different from formal classes, which have a particular pace and tempo. Teachers cannot wait in this case for a knowing look on a student’s face before continuing on with the lesson, but it is the direction that remedial teaching may take in the future.

The executive director of the camp, fourth-year Math major Lin Weijue, attended the same camp three years ago after having just become a freshman. He said that the camp offers a very memorable experience, and in addition to getting familiar with the manner in which college classes are taught, it is vital that newcomers be able to recognize fellow freshman students. The math camp ensures that a student will more likely be clued into the campus once the new semester starts. Moreover, the greater number of fellow students one knows, the more quickly you can find a solution via this pipeline to problems encountered on campus. Lin said that new students should definitely seize this opportunity to participate in the camp due to the help the camp offers in adapting to future learning conditions.

In regard to joining this year’s math camp, Bai Peijia, who is studying for a B.A. in Science, mentioned often hearing classmates who are taking calculus say it is a real headache, and that except for people who are really strong in mathematics, just looking at all the symbols and formulas in a calculus textbook will make one’s head spin. The humorous, easy-to-understand way that Professors Wu and Li use to teach the essential basics gets students interested in math, and quizzes are arranged for after the class to test whether students have retained the course content. The training for this camp has allowed Bai Peijia to understand that the key to learning math well is to just go for it and not worry about it too much. In the face of future studies, he will get an understanding of the course contents prior to the class, listen attentively to lectures during class and follow each process directly when making math calculations. Furthermore, such efforts will certainly allow him to pursue his university studies effectively when training himself to resolve problems.

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