Assignment Instructions/ Description
math-1030Discussion 2: Explain Your Brain Assignment Overview and Group Discussion"You may think of [showing your work] as an extra requirement. After all, when you're out in the real world, all that matters is getting the right answer. That's true, but there is a difference between being in the real world and preparing for the real world. (Last I checked, when you get a wrong answer in class nobody gets injured or goes bankrupt.) Your job at school is to learn thought and work habits that ensure you will get the right answer when there is nobody around to check you. And part of that is exposing your process so that problems can be corrected." —Stan Brown, Show Your Work!
You will use MyMathLab for the majority of the exercises you work on throughout the course. Although the MyMathLab interface provides excellent tools for answering problems and is able to analyze your answers using artificial intelligence, it does not provide a way for you to demonstrate the steps you took to arrive at solutions. Therefore, Weeks 1–5 also include "Explain Your Brain" Group Discussion Assignments that require you to work individually and with a group (also referred to as a "team") to explain each of the steps that show how you arrived at the answers.
You may be able to solve a one-, two-, or even three-step problem in your head or with a calculator. However, the act of skipping over the "simple" steps can leave you with underdeveloped basic skills that show up when you are trying to solve more difficult problems. And let's face it, most problems that you will encounter in both math and in life are rarely as simple as we would hope. Therefore, truly understanding the thought process behind each step in a solution can transfer into clearer problem-solving skills in all areas of your life.
The Explain Your Brain Assignments in this course are designed to help re-develop these basic skills and to foster collaboration within a team of students. Being able to explain how you arrived at your solution has important applications in all areas of education, as well as in the workplace. Posting solutions and working together throughout the week is an also an effective way to collaborate with a team, share insights, and learn from and help one another.
"It's just as important to be able to communicate what you know as it is to know it." —Gretchen Buher, Making Small Groups Work
For Week 1–5 Explain Your Brain Assignments and Group Discussions
You will be assigned two problems to complete each week.You will write out all of your work and an explanation for each step using a Word document template provided in the Week 1 Learning Resources area.You may need to use the Symbol and Equation Editor functions of Microsoft Word. You can find an explanation of how to use these functions in the Optional Resources of Week 1 Learning Resources.When working toward your answer, think about the examples in the textbook; ask yourself if your answer COMPLETELY explains how this question is solved in the same step-by-step manner as a textbook. Make sure that your work and your explanation is thorough and easy to follow, even for someone who might be unfamiliar with this type of problem. For some problems, you may want to explain the mathematical procedures of how you solved something. For others, it might help to explain why you did a certain thing, too. Your ultimate goal is to present the solution of a problem with the explanation and reasoning behind that solution.Although you should aim to arrive at the correct answer for each of these questions, the more important part of your assignment is the explanation you provide for the problem. Even if you do not get the correct solution, you may receive partial credit, and your Instructor may be able to help you understand where your misstep took place. Note: You will receive no credit for a solution submitted without an explanation. See the Course Information area for the evaluation criteria for the Explain Your Brain Assignments.More information is provided in each Explain Your Brain Assignment and Group Discussion area. Essentially, you will be completing the following:By Day 2: Work on your problems and submit your solutions.By Day 4: Respond to your teammates.By Day 7: Finalize your solutions.Once Your Answer Is Graded
Review Instructor's comments and use them to improve your work for the next week's Explain Your Brain Assignment.Documents
Review the following documents (which can be found in the Week 1 Learning Resources and in the Course Information area) to help you prepare for the weekly Explain Your Brain Group Discussion assignments:
Explain Your Brain ProblemsExplain Your Brain Solution ExampleExplain Your Brain Evaluation CriteriaWorking With Groups at a DistanceIn addition to standard assignments in MyMathLab that require just the final solution, you will work on a few problems each week that require you to write out each step used in solving the problem, along with an explanation for each step in your solution. You will complete two problems, post them to your team Discussion board, describe any successes and challenges you had while creating your solutions, and then assist your teammates with their problems. The objective for these Explain Your Brain Assignments is for you to write out how you arrived at the solution and work together with your teammates. These documents provide an example of the kind of responses you should create, how your work will be evaluated, and suggestions for how to work with your group.
Questions about this assignment? Post them in the Contact the Instructor area . That way, everyone in the class will see and benefit from the Instructor's response.
Submission and Grading Information
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