The purpose of this study is to design a constructivist learning environment that helps learning the limit concept. The study is a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research. The control and the experimental groups were chosen from the students attending a calculus course. Worksheets were used to assess students' learning of the limit concept.…

In this research report we examine knowledge other than content knowledge needed by a mathematician in his first use of an inquiry-oriented curriculum for teaching an undergraduate course in differential equations. Collaboratively, the mathematician and two mathematics education researchers identified the challenges faced by the mathematician as…

In this study the effectiveness of an arrow diagram which can help students apply the Chain Rule was investigated. Different variations of this diagram were used as mnemonic devices for applying the Chain Rule. For the investigation two instruments were developed, diagnostic test and post-test. The diagnostic test was developed to determine the…

The transition from school to tertiary study of mathematics comes under increasing scrutiny in research. This article reports on some findings from a project analysing the transition from secondary to tertiary education in mathematics. One key variable in this transition is the teacher or lecturer. This article deals with a small part of the data…

An experimental two-track intermediate algebra course was offered at Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA, between the Fall, 2002 and Fall, 2005 semesters. One track was modeled after the existing traditional California community college intermediate algebra course and the other track was a less rigorous intermediate algebra course in which the…

In the typical first-year mathematics course--whether it be calculus or a general education quantitative proficiency course--we struggle to help students see the relevance of mathematics to their own lives. Particularly in a focused course such as calculus, there is a danger that students see mathematics as an isolated subject, with applications…

This booklet contains a representative sample of the efforts of colleagues at 11 institutions to use graphing calculators to enhance the teaching of calculus and precalculus. The first section contains examples of graphs for teachers to choose from for presentations, including: simple examples to illustrate some standard ideas in precalculus,…

Theorems about the hyperbola which are ordinarily introduced in calculus courses can be proved without using the calculus. (SD)

An approach to the calculus beginning with calculations of speeds was suggested by Morris Kline. This approach is developed and metricated. (SD)

By converting functional equations to cylindrical coordinates, plotting points on cardboard, and connecting these points with thread, one can make three-dimensional string figures illustrating the behavior of functions for which the derivative is not always defined. (SD)

A project on computer based dialogue for freshmen is described and evaluated. The dialogue utilizes a CAI language written in Fortran that allows a designer to easily write and edit questions at his own desk without the use of a terminal. (Author/DT)

This course is intended for students who have a thorough knowledge of college preparatory mathematics, including algebra, axiomatic geometry, trigonometry, and analytic geometry. This text, Part I, contains the first five chapters of the course and two appendices. Chapters included are: (1) Polynomial Functions; (2) The Derivative of a Polynomial…

This course is intended for students who have a thorough knowledge of college preparatory mathematics, including algebra, axiomatic geometry, trigonometry, and analytic geometry. This text, Part II, contains material designed to follow Part I. Chapters included in this text are: (6) Derivatives of Exponential and Related Functions; (7) Area and…

This book is a translation of a Russian text. The translation is exact, and the language used by the author has not been brought up to date. The volume is probably most useful as a source of supplementary materials for high school mathematics. It is also useful for teachers to broaden their mathematical background. Chapters included in the text…

This book is designed to illustrate how one general method of calculus is used in many different sciences and how different methods of calculus have furthered the development of essentially one field of science. The material is written so that it could serve as a math-science supplement for many courses. Chapters included are: (1) Introduction;…