Junior Seminar in Mathematics / CS
MAT 3880
2 credits
Spring 2025
Meeting Times: Wednesdays, 10:00 - 11:40 (see schedule below)
Location: Natural Sciences 3052
Instructor: Professor Abdul-Quader (or just “Athar”)
Email: athar.abdulquader AT purchase DOT edu
Office Hours: Mondays and Thursdays, 9 - 10 AM NSB 3003
Inclement Weather Hotline: 914-251-7500
Course Description
“Designed to increase students’ knowledge of research methods, understanding of research articles, and ability to write research papers. These skills prepare students to conduct senior project research and write their senior thesis.”
The above description is from the department webpage. What does this mean? What’s the point of this course?
There are a few goals for this course: to introduce basic steps for conducting research; to promote effective communication on the subject matter in classroom and online discussions; to provide an opportunity for students to collaborate in groups; to elevate student ability to express their ideas and mathematical/computer science thinking in clear and concise writing; to help students to determine topic for their senior project Students are also exposed to a wide range of new topics in Mathematics and Computer Science through presentations by students, faculty and/or guest lecturers.
Learning Outcomes
Below, the PLOs refer to the Mathematics/CS Program Learning Outcomes
After successful completion of this course students will be able to…
- understand different research methods and techniques; (PLOs 2, 4, 5)
- become aware of fundamental concepts of analytical and critical thinking; (PLOs 2, 5)
- identify reliable information sources; (PLOs 3, 5)
- efficiently and effectively find and summarize scholarly articles; (PLOs 4, 5)
- create a solid literature review paper; (PLO 3)
- practice being peer reviewers; (PLOs 4, 5)
- think positively about public speaking; (PLO 3)
- be effective in scientific written and verbal communication (PLO 3).
Policies
Academic Integrity Policy
The Purchase College academic integrity policy explicitly forbids cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is the appropriation or imitation of the language, ideas, and/or thoughts of another person and the representation of them as one’s own original work. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the definition of plagiarism and the acceptable methods of attribution.
Accessibility
The Office of Disability Resources collaborates directly with students who identify documented disabilities to create accommodation plans, including testing accommodations, in order for students to access course content and validly demonstrate learning. For those students who may require accommodations, please contact the Office of Disability Resources as soon as possible, 914-251-6035, ODR@purchase.edu (Student Services Building, #316A), www.purchase.edu/odr.
Mental Health and Well-being
University faculty and staff recognize that mental health and stress can impact college performance and interfere with daily life activities. At Purchase, Counseling & Behavioral Health Services can provide support if you’re struggling with feeling overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, lost, stuck or in a crisis. Please call (914)251-6390 or visit our website for more information. CBHS services are free and confidential.
We support all students experiencing emergencies. Services include therapy, support groups, stress reduction at the Harbor Center, and other activities. The Counseling Center in Humanities Lower Level is open M-F, from 9:00a.m.– 5:00p.m. for appointments and walk-up scheduling, or call (914) 251-6390. The Harbor Center Sanctuary in Fort Awesome is available for stress reduction, mindfulness and meditation training, free drop-in classes and support groups, and relaxation.
Student Conduct
All students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with Purchase College’s Student Code of Conduct. Any repetitive or disruptive behavior, including but not limited to outbursts, intoxication/drug use, personal or physical threats, damage to property, etc., may result in the professor requesting the student to leave class, contacting University Police, and/or notifying the Office of Community Standards.
Learning Center
All students at Purchase College can take advantage of our tutoring services in the Learning Center and the Einstein Corner. These are free, 45-minute, peer-to-peer tutoring sessions in a variety of subjects and in writing across the disciplines. Sessions can happen in person or through the Online Writing Lab up to 3x/week. The OWL allows students to submit a paper draft and get written feedback by email within 48 business hours. We strongly recommend face-to-face meetings for first-year students and multilingual writers. I encourage you to take advantage of this service to help you excel in this class, as well as your other courses. Please visit the Learning Center and Einstein Corner websites for more information.
Attendance
- Attendance and punctuality are mandatory for every class.
- Your presence is vital for participation in varied learning activities and small-group work.
- Attendance will be taken at the beginning of every class.
- If you miss class, please don’t ask me if you missed anything important; each class covers important material.
- If you miss class, it is your responsibility to find out from classmates what you missed and submit assignments on time.
Grading
This course will be using a contract grading system. That is: if you complete all assignments in the spirit in which they were assigned, you attend class (on time) and participate, you will receive an A.
Assignments
- Forum posts: there will be two forums that you will need to post to. Each post should be about 1-4 paragraphs.
- Literature review (800-1200 words) using at least 2 sources.
- We may go through some feedback and a second draft.
- Senior Project Proposal.
- Three presentations:
- A “Lightning” (5 minutes) talk on an area of mathematics or CS research.
- A “Brainstorming” talk about ideas you are interested in pursuing for your senior project. (10 minutes)
- Your senior project proposal (5-10 minutes)
Each assignment will be given a grade: 0 if it is not done, 1 if it is late or incomplete (insufficient), or 2 if it is done on time, in the spirit of the assignment.
For example, if a forum post asks you to introduce yourself in 1-3 paragraphs, and you write one sentence, you would get a grade of a 1.
Losses
- Every 0 on an assignment drops you one letter grade (from an A to a B, or B to C, etc).
- Two late or incomplete assignments drop you one letter grade.
- More than two absences drop you one letter grade.
Course Outline (Tentative)
We will likely modify this depending on the availability of faculty / guest presentations.
| Week (date) | Topics | Assignments (due before class) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (1/22) | Intro to course / goal setting | |
| 2 (1/29) | No class | Forum 1 posts |
| 3 (2/5) | Guest Lecture: Peter Dearing (Learning Center) on Time Management | |
| 4 (2/12) | Faculty presentations | |
| 5 (2/19) | No class | Forum 2 posts |
| 6 (2/26) | No class | |
| 7 (3/5) | Lightning talks | |
| 8 (3/12) | No class | Literature Review |
| 9 (3/19) | Presentations: Brainstorming | |
| 10 (3/26) | No class: spring break | |
| 11 (4/2) | Presentations: Brainstorming | |
| 12 (4/9) | No class | |
| 13 (4/16) | Presentations: Senior Project Proposals | Senior Project Proposals |
| 14 (4/23) | Optional: attend seniors final presentations | |
| 15 (4/30) | Optional: attend seniors final presentations | |
| 16 (5/7) | Finals week: no class |