Calculus is the foundation for any STEM degree, yet a large percentage of students fail calculus. Very little is known about the effect purposefully designed video games can have on STEM students studying calculus. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact a purposefully designed educational video game has on freshmen college students…

This case study examines how online mathematics homework impacts student learning, attitude, and efficacy in a college Calculus I class. This research is important because it provides data on student perceptions for how to effectively implement online homework. Participants for this study completed homework using a blend of online and paper…

The online homework system WeBWorK has been successfully used at several hundred colleges and universities. Despite its popularity, the WeBWorK system does not provide detailed metrics of student performance to instructors. In this article, we illustrate how an analysis of the log files of the WeBWorK system can provide information such as the…

Higher education in the United States is facing a failure-rate crisis in entry-level mathematics courses. In this article, the authors describe an innovative, technology-enhanced hybrid course model that has significantly improved course completion and content mastery outcomes in general education (GE) mathematics courses. The model relies on five…

A portion of all students in introductory or developmental undergraduate mathematics courses find themselves at an unfortunate tipping point: the border between passing and failing. These high-stakes courses often come with high enrollments, and a recurring problem: high failure rates. The measure of success used at the author's institution, the…

Discusses two teaching ideas: (1) copying and distributing anonymous student mathematics homework to the class to increase student responsibility and their ability to communicate and read mathematics, and (2) using maximum/minimum applications of calculus to investigate the most economical dimensions for manufactured metal cans. (MKR)

The effectiveness of a distributive model and the conventional method for assigning homework in a first-semester course in calculus is examined. Results indicated a pay-off for the distributive model in terms of improved performance of the student of average or below-average mathematics ability. (MP)

This issue of "Investigations in Mathematics Education" contains: (1) a review of E. Fischbein's book "The Intuitive Sources of Probabilistic Thinking in Children;" (2) nine abstracts of research studies in mathematics education; (3) a list (by EJ number) of mathematics education research studies reported in the January to…