Experiencing Calculus Through Computational Labs: Our Department's Cultural Drift Toward Modernizing Mathematics Instruction. Issue 3 (28th May 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Krause, Andrew J.; Maccombs, Ryan J.; Wong, Willie W. Y.
• Is Part Of: PRIMUS. Volume 31:Issue 3/5(2021)
• Page Start: 434
• Page End: 448
• Publication Date: 2021-05-28
• Subjects: Calculus -- computational labs -- problem of scale -- rich learning experience -- modeling -- qualitative assessment -- active learning -- group work; Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Periodicals; 510.711
• DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2020.1799457
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1051-1970

Abstract

Abstract : 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.