We describe the components and implementation of an activity for multivariable calculus featuring applications to the field of chemistry. This activity focuses on the isobaric thermal expansion coefficient found using partial differentiation of the volume of an ideal gas with respect to temperature as pressure is held constant. Broader goals of…

Our traditional model of calculus instruction at a large public research university emphasized factual knowledge and procedural fluency with few realistic applications, leaving a chasm between classroom mathematics and disciplinary practice. Amid an ongoing effort by our department to improve undergraduate learning outcomes, we replaced…

This paper aims to illustrate a design cycle of inquiry-based mathematics activities. We highlight a series of questions that we use when creating inquiry-based materials, testing and evaluating those materials, and revising the materials following this evaluation. These questions highlight the many decisions necessary to find just the right tasks…

Reviewing numerous textbooks, we found that in both differential and integral calculus textbooks the authors commonly assume that: (i) students can generalize associations between representations in two dimensions to associations between representations of the same mathematical concept in three dimensions on their own; and (ii) explicit…

Describes an activity designed to help students develop a good foundation from the beginning of the transition from multivariate calculus to linear algebra. (MM)