Jessica M. Deshler

An Active Classroom: The Emerging Scholars Program at West Virginia University

Abstract In an effort to support the success of minority students and to incorporate inquiry-based learning (IBL) into the calculus sequence of courses at West Virginia University, a modified version of the Emerging Scholars Program (ESP) was implemented in the fall of 2009. Since then, approximately 100 students have taken ESP Calculus I, with many of them subsequently taking the ESP sections of Calculus II, III, and Differential Equations. In this paper, we describe in detail the use of class time in this modified course with a focus on IBL and present student success data and information from student evaluations of instruction. Data indicate students take authority for their own learning in this class and prefer the format to that of a traditional classroom. Success rates indicate they are succeeding at higher rates than their non-ESP counterparts in Calculus I and at the same rates as the general population in Calculus II.

The effects of different versions of a gateway STEM course on student attitudes and beliefs

BackgroundSubstantial research has been conducted focusing on student outcomes in mathematics courses in order to better understand the ways in which these outcomes depend on the underlying instructional methodologies found in the courses. From 2009 to 2014, the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) studied Calculus I instruction in United States (US) colleges and universities in the Characteristics of Successful Programs of College Calculus (CSPCC). One aspect of this study attempted to understand the impact of these courses on student experience.ResultsIn this paper, we describe results from an examination of the effect of course structure on students’ attitudes and beliefs across different versions of Calculus I at a large research university in the USA. To do this, we implemented a follow-up study of the national MAA study of calculus programs in part to identify potential relationships between various course structures and changes in attitudes and beliefs during the course. We compare our results both internally across these course structures and to the national data set.ConclusionsWe find that the statistically significant changes measured in confidence and enjoyment exhibit differences across the different calculus implementations and that these changes are statistically independent of the underlying student academic backgrounds as shown by standardized test scores and high school GPA. This suggests that these observed changes in attitudes and beliefs relate to the experience in our varied course structures and not to the academic characteristics of students as they enter the course. In addition to our findings, we show how this national study can be used locally to study effects of courses on student affective traits.

International Similarities and Differences in the Experiences and Preparation of Post-Graduate Mathematics Students as Tertiary Instructors

In this workshop we seek to bring together researchers from across the globe to discuss the teaching preparation of post-graduate mathematics students tasked with teaching tertiary mathematics. In the United States, post-graduate mathematics students who are assigned teaching positions are referred to as Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and examination of their teaching-related professional development is on the rise. Current national efforts involve understanding the different ways GTAs are prepared for their mathematics teaching across the country. However, we know very little about the similarities and differences in the ways postgraduate mathematics students are involved in tertiary mathematics teaching and prepared for this teaching across the globe. A main goal of the workshop is to initiate a conversation resulting in an international overview of post-graduate mathematics student teaching preparation. We have recruited scholars who work in this area to bring to the workshop their expertise from institutional, regional or national perspectives to discuss similarities and differences with respect to two specific issues: (1) the ways that post-graduate mathematics students are involved in tertiary level mathematics teaching and (2) the ways they are prepared for this involvement in tertiary teaching of mathematics.

Bunny hops: using multiplicities of zeroes in calculus for graphing

Students learn a lot of material in each mathematics course they take. However, they are not always able to make meaningful connections between content in successive mathematics courses. This paper reports on a technique to address a common topic in calculus I courses (intervals of increase/decrease and concave up/down) while also making use of students’ pre-existing knowledge about the behaviour of functions around zeroes based on multiplicities.

Using Modified Lesson Study with Mathematics Post-Graduate Teaching Assistants

This paper describes an effort on the part of seven post-graduate instructors, or teaching assistants (TAs), to work together to develop, implement and critique two lessons for a Calculus I course. The TAs were asked to develop lessons for a fifty minute Calculus I class on topics of their choice. As a group, the TAs decided to focus their lessons on procedural topics instead of conceptual ones. One TA was chosen at random to teach the group-developed lessons during a calculus class while the other TAs observed. Upon teaching and observing each lesson, TAs were asked to provide a short reflective statement about what they saw during the lesson and about the overall experience of planning the lesson and either implementing or observing it. Their written responses were analyzed using an open and axial coding method (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). A preliminary analysis reveals the reflections of the TAs be focused superficially, supporting previous work on K12 pre-service teacher reflective abilities. TAs can be considered pre-service faculty with the same low level of reflective abilities.

Tracking the Success of Pre-College Algebra Workshop Students in Subsequent College Mathematics Classes

Abstract In 2007 the Department of Mathematics at our institution began developing a placement process designed to identify at-risk students entering mathematics courses at the College Algebra and Calculus levels. Major changes in our placement testing process and the resulting interventions for at-risk students were put in place in Fall of 2008. At the lowest level of this placement process we seek to intervene with students who traditionally perform very poorly in university-level classes by offering a self-paced remediation course. The current work will outline the basics of this remedial program and present data confirming the efficacy of the intervention.