Getting Started

Welcome to Math 2B: Introduction to Applied Linear Algebra at Foothill College with Jeff Anderson. For more about Math 2B at Foothill College, please see Foothill's Math Department website. In the space below, I provide you with electronic copies of our course resources for my Math 2B courses.

Resources for the current quarter

Course Syllabus:       Winter 2025 Jeff Anderson’s Course Syllabus (incomplete draft 01/05/2025)

How to pass this class: Winter 2025 List of Final Deliverables for Your Learning Portfolio with Jeff Anderson

Meeting Schedule:   Winter 2025 Course Portfolio Meeting Schedule
Example Learning Conference Meeting Schedule

Math Discord: Winter 2025 Math 2BL Discord Channel

Flipped Learning:         Winter 2025 Flipped Classroom Activity List for the first two weeks of this quarter

Content Calendar:       Beginner Calendar for this Course (.pdf) - Jeff’s minimum expectations to pass this class
Intermediate Calendarfor this Course (.pdf)
Advanced Calendar for this Course (.pdf)

Course Emails: Jeff’s First Introduction to Conquering College Activities Email (Winter 2025)
Jeff’s Add Code Email and Jeff’s Add Code Policy

Learning Reflections: Mid-Term Learning Self Evaluation Activity ( .docx ) or ( .pdf ) - due at start of week 6
Final Learning Self Evaluation Activity ( .docx ) or ( .pdf ) - due during final meeting

Final Course Eval: This Course’s Final Course Evaluation (Google Forms Survey)
A. Once you complete this survey, please take a snapshot of the confirmation page.
B. Show your snapshot of this page to Jeff to confirm you’ve finished this work.

How to keep learning:    Applied Linear Algebra: How to Keep Learning Guide (v09/22/2024)
Take Math 2BL at Foothill College in Winter and Spring 2025 (.pdf)
Take Engr 11 at Footihll College in Winter or Spring 2025 (.pdf)

Conquering College: Introduction to Conquering College Email (sent on 01/05/2025)
Lab 1 Prompt
Lab 2 Prompt
Lab 3 Prompt
Lab 4 Prompt
Incomplete Draft of Three Resume Trick Exercises (1/13/2025)

Course Goals and Learning Objectives

In this course, I want to distinguish between input goals, output goals, and learning objectives. I also want to help you move away from a content-centered approach to learning. Before your read the learning objectives I share below, please click on and read the following blog post so you can better understand my expectations for our class:

https://jeffandersonmath.wordpress.com/2025/01/01/what-are-the-differences-between-input-goals-output-goals-and-learning-objectives/

Jeff’s Suggested College-Degree Learning Objectives

I offer you five research-based anti-oppressive learning objectives that I invite you to work towards as you complete your college degree(s). Please click on the URL below and read the five learning objectives I share with you:

https://jeffandersonmath.wordpress.com/2024/10/28/five-anti-racist-research-based-learner-centered-learning-objectives-for-college-students-updated/

I expect you to think deeply about these five learning objectives as a fundamental part of the work we do together in this class. In fact, I include these same five learning objectives in our course syllabus. I also ask you to reflect on these five learning objectives as part of your work on your mid-term learning self reflection activity and on your final learning self reflection activity. I also hope you will continue to work towards these learning objectives long after you finish our course.

Jeff’s Suggested Lesson-by-Lesson Math Content-Expertise-Focused Learning Objectives for this Course

To access more information on the type of questions I want you to be able to answer in each individual lesson, click on the link below:

Math 2B Lesson-by-Lesson Content-Specific Learning Objectives

This list should give you a very good idea of the ideas you might want to focus on in each lesson of this class while you are writing your lesson notes. Also, as you prepare for your in-class exams, you can use this list to focus your attention on the most relevant topics that we study in this class. 

For more about the exact content I want you to study and master, please study the math content learning resources available below. To access a master list of the videos we use in this course, please click on the link below:

Anderson’s Master List of Applied Linear Algebra Videos (.pdf)

Math Content Learning Resources

In Math 2B, we will study the 6 fundamental problems of applied linear algebra. Below I include links to all of my lesson notes that I have written for this course. May you have as much fun reading as I do when I write.

Math 2BL: Projects Options

One of my major goals as your teacher in Engineering 11 is to help you set a foundation for using your computer and coding skills to solve problems you care about. With that in mind, I want us to work towards a world where you use continue to use MATLAB (or some similar computer program) for years after this class ends. If we do our work well, you can use MATLAB as a tool to solve homework problems in your other classes, to do research projects, and to create projects that you put on your resume.

With this goal in mind, I invite every student in this class to create their own applied project in MATLAB. This project is one that you believe will advance your learning and set you up for success in your future academic and career goals. As you craft your vision for this applied project, please integrate the learning your doing and ideas you are studying from the book Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career by Scott Young. Specifically, I encourage you to engage in thoughtful meta-learning routines to plan your applied project. As you do so, I want you to project into your future and think about what MATLAB skills might be relevant for the type of work you want to do. To help get the juices flowing, I provide some possible projects you might work on.