PROCEEDINGS OF THE 15TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2012
Portland, Oregon
Teaching Methods Comparison in a Large Introductory Calculus Class
Page: 2-375
We have implemented a classroom experiment similar to a recent study in Physics (Deslauriers, Schelew, & Wieman, 2011): each of two sections of the same Calculus 1 course at a research- focused university were subject to an “intervention” week where a less-experienced instructor encouraged a much higher level of student engagement by design; we employed a modified pseudoexperiment structure for our methods comparison with a Calculus 1 student population and with further steps to improve validity. Our instructional choices encouraged active learning (answering “clicker” questions, small-group discussions, worksheets) during a significant amount of class time, building on assigned pre-class tasks. The lesson content and analysis of the assessments were informed by existing research on student learning of mathematics, in particular the APOS framework.