UMTYMP Fall 2020 Plan

Due to COVID-19, every mathematics course on the Twin Cities campus this fall will be online, including UMTYMP classes.  This page gives an overview of how our courses will be structured this fall.  Last spring we had to convert to online courses in a matter of days, and each of our courses took a slightly different approach.  Throughout the summer we've been working to evaluate what worked best, and our faculty have continued to experiment with different online formats in enrichment programs and summer camps.  We've used that experience to design more effective courses, even if we cannot totally replicate the in-person experience.

Courses in Duluth and Rochester will follow the same basic structure, but students at those sites should pay attention to any announcements from their teachers about local modifications.

Course Structure

Our courses will be delivered with a mixture of pre-recorded materials (asynchronous learning) and live Zoom meetings with instructors and students (synchronous sessions).  Live interaction with other students and teachers is vitally important, but our experience is that those sessions are more effective in groups of 8-12 students, as opposed to an entire class.  Hence our regular 4-6pm class sessions will be split into multiple small-group Zoom sessions; that means some of our regular class activities (e.g. presentations and lectures) will have to take place outside of that regular class time.  Each part of the course is described here; see below for a summary of the weekly schedule.

Lecture Videos.  (Posted by 6pm on the day before class.)  Students will be asked to view a series of lecture videos online.  Depending on the topics involved, the total length of our lecture videos is typically 30-40 minutes.  Students should take notes and keep a running list of questions; they can post questions on Canvas or ask during their Zoom sessions.  Lectures will be posted the day before class so that students can watch them the night before or the day of their class, depending on their in-person/hybrid/distance learning schedules at their own schools.

Lecture Assignment.  (Posted by 6pm on the day before class.  Due by 4pm on class day.)  Students will complete a short assignment based on the lecture videos, and submit it electronically in by the beginning of their class.  The lecture assignment will usually have 2-3 basic computational questions, and will also provide a chance for students to give feedback about the lectures and any areas of confusion.  These short assignments give our teachers a chance to see how well students understood the lecture material before their live sessions.  Lecture assignments will be graded for completion only, not correctness.  The completion of lecture assignments will be taken into account when assigning participation grades for the semester.

Class Sessions. (4-6pm on class day.)  At a designated time during 4-6pm, students will join a Zoom meeting with their teacher and other students.  These sessions provide a chance for students to ask followup questions about lectures, for teachers to present additional material, and to lead students through additional examples.

Depending on the class and the material covered, teachers might elect to run three 30-minute sessions, each with one third of their students, or two 50-minute sessions, each with one half of the class.  During the remaining portion of the class time, students should work on homework on their own or in collaboration with other students.  Students in classes with WebWork, for example, can have a significant portion of their WebWork assignment complete by the end of their class.

Students should keep their schedules free of other activities during their entire 4-6pm class time; their scheduled Zoom meeting could change times from week to week.

We'll provide students with a Zoom link and schedule for their meeting before their first class in September.

WebWork. (Posted at 4pm on class day.  Due at 10pm or 11pm two days before the next class.)  Most of our courses include online homework, using the WebWork system (webwork.math.umn.edu).  WebWork assignments focus on more computational problems, and give students immediate feedback about whether their answers are correct.  Students are expected to re-do an incorrect problems until they have earned 100% on the WebWork assignment. 

In Algebra and Geometry, the WebWork assignment must be finished by 10pm on the due date.  Students in our Calculus 1-3 courses are older, and have until 11pm on the due dates to finish WebWork.  However: students should strive to finish WebWork within a day or two of class, and not wait until the due date!  WebWork assignments are due Monday or Tuesday for those occasional special cases where a student's weekend is particularly busy with other activities, or they are stuck on a problem and want to get help at the Monday study session.

Written Homework.  (Posted at 4pm on class day.  Due 6pm the night before the next class.)  All of our courses incorporate written homework assignments.  During Fall 2020 these assignments will be uploaded to our system electronically; students will receive full details of this process later in August.

Study Sessions.  (Mondays 4-5pm)  TAs (in Algebra and Geometry) or faculty (in Calculus 1-3) will be available on Mondays to answer questions in Zoom sessions.  Students can always ask questions and interact with each other and instructors throughout the week in other ways, including email and Canvas.

Weekly Schedule

The schedule below describes a typical week for students in Wednesday or Thursday UMTYMP classes.  Exam weeks will have slightly different schedules.  Exams will be held during the regularly scheduled 4-6pm times; see the schedule for your class.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page will be updated if our plans are revised.  The information here is current as of August 18, 2020.