ERIC Number: EJ1292570
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1051-1970
EISSN: N/A
Experiencing Calculus through Computational Labs: Our Department's Cultural Drift toward Modernizing Mathematics Instruction
Krause, Andrew J.; Maccombs, Ryan J.; Wong, Willie W. Y.
PRIMUS, v31 n3-5 p434-448 2021
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 recitations in Calculus II with computational team labs to bridge this divide. Interview, classroom observation, survey, and gradebook data suggest that the labs facilitated a rich learning experience while student grade outcomes were unchanged. Student engagement, however, was inhibited by institutional structural factors, whose remedy requires a shift in departmental culture concerning the purpose of mathematics instruction.
Descriptors: Calculus, Mathematics Instruction, College Mathematics, Undergraduate Study, Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Laboratories, Grades (Scholastic), Student Participation, Barriers, Learning Activities, Engineering Education, Educational Change, Change Strategies, Student Attitudes, Undergraduate Students, Teaching Methods, Group Activities, Cooperative Learning
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A