In this paper we demonstrate how video game mechanics can be used to help improve student engagement with online mathematics homework. Specifically, we integrate two common video game systems, levels and achievements, with the online homework program "WeBWorK." We describe the key features of the implementation of these systems and…

Introductory undergraduate physics courses aim to help students develop the skills and strategies necessary to solve complex, real world problems, but many students not only leave these courses with serious gaps in their conceptual understanding, but also maintain a novice-like approach to solving problems. "Matter and Interactions"…

This paper examines the effects of policies that increase the number of students who take the first course in algebra in 8th grade, rather than waiting until 9th grade. Extending previous research that focused on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system, we use data for the 10 largest districts in North Carolina. We identify the effects of…

Calls for better preparation of STEM teachers have been prominent in educational communities and among the public for the past several years (e.g. American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 2007). Some research suggests one way to improve mathematics instruction is to increase elementary pre-service teachers' "mathematical…

This article discusses an activity designed to encourage writing to learn in mathematics. There were three stages of data collection. An assessment, requiring basic algebra only, was completed by 118 undergraduates from statistics and calculus courses. Students were given summaries of all participant responses, along with the correct answers.…

The study investigated teacher knowledge of error analysis in differential calculus. Two teachers were the sample of the study: one a subject specialist and the other a mathematics education specialist. Questionnaires and interviews were used for data collection. The findings of the study reflect that the teachers' knowledge of error analysis was…

This paper is going to analyse errors and misconceptions in an undergraduate course in Calculus. The study will be based on a group of 10 BEd. Mathematics students at Great Zimbabwe University. Data is gathered through use of two exercises on Calculus 1&2.The analysis of the results from the tests showed that a majority of the errors were due…

The purpose of this study is to present some of the classical concepts, definitions, and theorems of calculus from the constructivists' point of view in the spirit of the philosophies of L.E.J. Brouwer and Errett Bishop. This presentation will compare the classical statements to the constructivized statements. The method focuses on giving…

Observing the way a watering hose is wrapped on a rotating cylinder, a catenary shape is detected for the suspended portion of the hose. We calculate the angle [alpha] the tangent to the curve at the highest point of the suspended portion makes with the horizontal. By means of this quantity, the length of the suspended and dragged portions of the…

With the help of the National Science Foundation, the Department of Mathematics at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez has developed a set of manipulatives to help students of science and engineering visualize concepts relating to points, surfaces, curves, contours, and vectors in three dimensions. This article will present the manipulatives…

Student use of out-of-class time was measured for four years in the introductory second-semester calculus-based physics course at the University of Arkansas. Two versions of the course were presented during the time of the measurement. In both versions, the total out-of-class time a student invested in the course explained less than 1% of the…

This paper provides an exposition of the unfolding and growing complexities of student and instructor gesturing over time. Specifically, it provides an account of how different forms of gestures, all related to the same mathematical idea, can create a chain of signs that support and enhance increasingly sophisticated understanding of one important…

Integral calculus is generally regarded as a fundamental but advanced aspect of mathematics, and it is not generally studied until students are aged about fifteen or older. Understanding the transformative potential of information and communication technology, this project undertook an investigation in four Australian schools to train students…

In this article, the author reports results in their efforts to model sublimation of carbon dioxide and the associated kinetics order and parameter estimation issues in their model. They have offered the reader two sets of data and several approaches to determine the rate of sublimation of a piece of solid dry ice. They presented several models…

The Intermediate Value Theorem (IVT) is not often proved in Calculus I classes because many teachers and students see the theorem as obvious and its proof as impenetrable. This article addresses those two misconceptions, showing "how" the IVT can be proved in Calc I... and "why" it "should" be.