This case study examines how online mathematics homework impacts student learning, attitude, and efficacy in a college Calculus I class. This research is important because it provides data on student perceptions for how to effectively implement online homework. Participants for this study completed homework using a blend of online and paper…

This paper examines the prevalence of rapid answer copying among university students completing online homework for an introductory level calculus-based physics course taught remotely during the COVID pandemic. We first compared the attempt duration distribution of 26 problems, between 42 students who self-reported as having completed the homework…

Several publishing companies now offer competing brands of online homework (OHW) software. Students rarely have a voice in choosing their required course materials, even though, ultimately, they will be asked to use and pay for these systems. In this study, Calculus I students each tested three different OHW systems. The students were then asked…

In most mathematics textbooks, each lesson is followed by a set of homework problems in one of two ways -- blocked practice and mixed practice. Additionally, most mathematics textbooks rely on a common learning strategy called overlearning, that is, mastering a skill and continuing to practice this same skill. This study investigated the effects…

The online homework system WeBWorK has been successfully used at several hundred colleges and universities. Despite its popularity, the WeBWorK system does not provide detailed metrics of student performance to instructors. In this article, we illustrate how an analysis of the log files of the WeBWorK system can provide information such as the…

In an online asynchronous vector calculus course, we observed exam answers solved with a formula from online homework instead of the formula from lecture. Our exploratory study investigated (1) why students learned from homework instead of lecture for this topic and (2) their epistemological frames (e-frames) for lecture and homework. Per (1),…

Background: Many engineering students fail to proceed through required prerequisite mathematics courses. Since these courses strongly influence engineering student attrition, we should examine to what degree these courses truly serve as prerequisites for following engineering coursework. Purpose/Hypothesis: We examined two research questions:…

Homework is prevalent in mathematics courses, as are cumulative final exams. This study incorporated the memory science concepts of the "testing effect" and "spacing effect" in the homework and final exam of college mathematics courses. By replacing some new homework problems with review problems, students had additional…

In many university mathematics courses, homework accounts for the majority of students' interaction with mathematics content. However, we know little about students' activity as they complete homework. This paper presents an empirically-based model of students' activity as they complete an online homework assignment. I developed the model based on…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore how undergraduate students in an applied calculus course used the written curriculum (i.e., textbook, online homework system, and previous exams). The study design included three phases: (a) an online survey, (b) individual observations, and (c) student interviews. Students' survey responses…

This study examines high school preparation measures [ACT/SAT scores, high school grade point average (HSGPA), and conceptual physics pretest scores], in-class behavior measures (homework submission rates and lecture attendance rates), and in-class achievement measures (homework and test averages) for the last two fully face-to-face prepandemic…

We investigate Open Educational Resources (OER) in post-secondary Calculus with face-to-face instruction using web-based homework in a side-by-side comparison with Closed (Proprietary) Educational Resources (CER). Statistical analyses using multilinear regression models are developed to demonstrate several significant effects, to within a…

Calculus is an essential intellectual gateway and initiation in the education of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students. In this study, graded online computer homework was compared with graded handwritten homework in second-semester calculus for STEM students. Previous calculus studies excluded STEM students or compared…

Student perceptions on teaching and learning are investigated in a side-to-side comparison between traditional (closed, CER) non-free course materials and free open educational resources (OER). The primary resources being compared are textbook and automatically-graded web-based homework systems. The results are based on a 32 item survey given to…

This paper presents the results of a study on Calculus students' use of web-based homework. We collected data from students' web-based homework usage, such as their grades, time spent, number of attempts used to solve problems, and problem solutions. We also collected grades on in-class quizzes, which were given the day after homework had been…