Peter Liljedahl describes a Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) framework that shows teachers how to set up a classroom that promotes thinking. BTC is divided into 4 toolkits. The first toolkit consists of thinking tasks, vertical non-permanent surfaces, and visibly random groups. The second pertains to defronting the classroom, giving thinking…

As part of a departmental reform project, a large University converted a "Precalculus College Mathematics" lecture-based course for 97 students into an active learning flipped classroom for first-year engineering students. The curriculum was designed specifically to provide applications of pre-calculus in various engineering subjects.…

Documents specifying a national mathematics curriculum for grades K-12 have recently been written in Israel. We focus on the calculus component for the highest of three matriculation bound levels, and specifically on the influence of research on this component. In addition to issues of content, we identify three principles that have led the…

The Forty Fifth Annual meeting of the North American chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education was held PME-NA 45 in Reno, Nevada, October 1-4, 2023. The conference theme is "Engaging All Learners." Math learning should be a joyful experience for all students. When students are engaged and inspired,…

Engineering technology students can attain a meaningful mathematics learning if they are allowed to actively participate in hands-on activities. However, the current dissemination of knowledge in the classroom still focuses on teacher-centered paradigm of teaching. A study to explore lecturers' views regarding a newly developed integral calculus…

A model for securing student input for curriculum construction, including textbook writing, through observing small groups of students at work is described; its application to the topic of limits of sequences and implications for curriculum development in general are discussed. (DT)

This paper focuses on using technology to support mathematics instruction. Technologies such as computers and calculators are widely used in the teaching of mathematics. The educators advocate the use of these tools to reduce tiresome computations and tasks so that class time can be more effectively used for learning mathematics. The purpose of…

Addresses the assertion that the teaching of calculus using reform techniques puts students at a disadvantage when they must take subsequent math or science courses that are not instructed using the reform techniques. Answers the question of whether one method of instruction in calculus is better than another with regard to students' grades in…

Examines the performance of two groups of students in traditionally-taught second semester calculus: students who took reform first semester calculus and students who took traditionally-taught first semester calculus. Identifies and explores the issues that reform students faced as they transitioned into traditionally-taught second semester…

Describes how the cubic formula can be presented easily at the precalculus level, shows how to verify that the formula is correct, and identifies when it is profitable to use. (KHR)

Calculus has become the center of a heated debate within the mathematics community. There are those who question the very centrality of calculus in the mathematics curriculum. Evidence indicates that many current calculus courses are not serving students well. In addition, computers and advanced calculators can now do many of the manipulations…

This document is the report of a curriculum writing session, and covers three activities: (1) a textbook for grade seven, written using the outlines produced the previous year (SE 012 735), was reviewed and criticized; (2) the outlines for grades eight and nine, also produced the previous year, were completed in greater detail; and (3)…

In an attempt to promote the development of understanding over rote memorization, writing in mathematics has received increased attention in recent years. In Calculus, the Rule of Three (based on communicating ideas thorough algebraic, graphical and numerical means) has been replaced by the Rule of Four in which writing plays a central role.…

This article traces some of the events leading up to the call for reform, differing aspects of the suggested reform, steps taken, and possible future directions for the reform of calculus instruction. (CW)

Following a short history of calculus reform efforts, this article discusses curriculum development and research on student learning with respect to the concepts of function, limits and continuity, the derivative, and the integral; the availability and influence of new technologies on curriculum development; the consideration of the role of the…