PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
A collaborative effort for improving calculus through better assessment practices
Page: 878
Like many institutions across the country, Utah State University’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics has embarked on an effort to improve the calculus sequence with the following objectives: (1) improve our students’ comprehension and application of key topics, (2) retain/recruit more students into STEM majors, and (3) provide more consistency across sections. After initial planning and preparation in the 2014-15 academic year, new practices were ready for implementation. In the fall of 2015, teams of instructors worked from common guided course notes, and met weekly to discuss instruction and develop common assessments. This poster displays the methodology of test design and item analysis we employed in the Calculus 2 course. While our team is only at the beginning stages of this work, the methods for creating reliable and relevant measures of student learning hold promise for achieving the goals of our reform.