Analyzes the influence of calculus performance on choosing a mathematics, science, or engineering (MSE) major, noting the role of diverse students' participation in the Emerging Scholars Program (ESP), which helps strengthen calculus performance and encourage persistence in MSE. Findings suggest that ESP students earn higher calculus grades than…

Develops and validates an instrument for determining student preferences for multiple representations of functions and establishes baseline data for future research. Students showed preferences for representations of functions which varied between contextualized and noncontextualized settings. Students' preferences for the two settings were more…

The Wisconsin Emerging Scholars Program (WESP) is a nonremedial, multicultural workshop approach to learning calculus that emphasizes community and collaboration. This approach is designed to foster substantial participation of underrepresented ethnic minority students and alleviate the problems of isolation and lack of support in a large,…

An individualized project is introduced to accompany a differential equations course with different modules ranging from standard to advanced levels with "Matlab" scripts. (Contains 1 figure.)

The purpose of this report is to outline the state of the art in calculus assessment and to indicate directions for explorations in assessment that will enable educators to gain a deeper understanding of student learning in order to improve student learning through calculus instruction. The purpose is accomplished in the context of two major…

This document promotes a better awareness of available technological tools, their implementation, and their advantages and applications in teaching and learning mathematics. Principles for successful implementation are: (1) computation should be an integral part of instruction; (2) software and curriculum development should go hand-in-hand; (3)…

This booklet is the second in a series of nine from the Teacher Training Institute at Hofstra University (New York), and describes the capstone course on calculus in secondary school mathematics, which was planned in response to numerous requests from the participants of the previous cycles. Included in this booklet are: (1) an introduction; (2)…

Results of a study that compared the performance of students in high technology programs in engineering and computer science are presented, with emphasis on students' mathematical preparation. The study population involved 175 transfer students who completed their mathematical prerequisites at three community colleges and 188 students who…

The author states that this book was written for anyone who wants to know what calculus is all about, and that those with knowledge of some algebra and geometry should be able to understand it. That calculus should be called "slope finding" is discussed, and this term is used extensively. The book is divided into three chapters: (1) the…

This book, written primarily for college students who feel uncomfortable with mathematics, attempts to provide its readers with new ways of thinking about mathematics, reading mathematics, studying mathematics, talking the language of mathematics and appreciating the power of using mathematics. Chapter 1 deals directly with the problem of math…

This document consists of three modules. The first looks at applications of analysis to medical radiology. The goals are to provide: 1) acquaintance with a significant applied mathematics problem utilizing Fourier Transforms; 2) generalization of the Fourier Transforms to two dimensions; 3) practice with Fourier Transforms; and 4) introduction to…

This module is part of a series designed to be used by life science students for instruction in the application of physical theory to ecosystem operation. Most modules contain computer programs which are built around a particular application of a physical process. This module is used to introduce the biology student to differential calculus, a…

These materials were designed to be used by life science students for instruction in the application of physical theory to ecosystem operation. Most modules contain computer programs which are built around a particular application of a physical process. The module is directed toward intermediate undergraduate students of the ecological sciences…

A study was performed to examine the attitudes of adult students toward a new mode of instruction (individualized instruction including modularized self-paced units) and to determine course effectiveness in terms of completion rates and final examination results. The subjects were sixty-five adult students who were enrolled in two calculus classes…

Parts one and two of a one-year computer-oriented calculus course (without analytic geometry) are presented. The ideas of calculus are introduced and motivated through computer (i.e., algorithmic) concepts. An introduction to computing via algorithms and a simple flow chart language allows the book to be self-contained, except that material on…