The problematic persistence rates that many colleges and schools of engineering encounter has resulted in ongoing conversations about academic readiness, retention, and degree completion within engineering programs. Although a large research base exists about student preparedness in engineering, many studies report a wide variety of factors that…

When students of the of the physical sciences transition from school to university, they discover that knowledge of calculus is as vital as arithmetic, and that there is precious little useful information written without calculus. However, the lack of calculus in pre-university physics studies persists, especially in its application to the…

This paper is based on the presumption that teaching multiple ways to solve the same problem has academic and social value. In particular, we argue that such a multifaceted approach to pedagogy moves towards an environment of more inclusive and personalized learning. From a mathematics education perspective, our discussion is framed around…

The goal of this article is to raise questions that will promote discussions among secondary mathematics teachers about the concept of inverse functions and how to motivate a more conceptual understanding of them in their classrooms. The authors share data to answer the following questions: (1) What meanings of inverse functions do high school…

Several major organizations have recommended revisions to mathematics requirements for biology majors. To determine whether these changes would benefit future biologists, we investigated mathematics use in research biology. We surveyed prominent journals in high and low math-use areas for articles referencing the use of quantitative methods. In…

Contributing to a growing body of research on undergraduate students' quantitative reasoning, the study reported in this article used task-based interviews to investigate business calculus students' quantitative reasoning when solving two optimization tasks situated in the context of revenue and profit maximization. Analysis of verbal responses…

In this study, role of context familiarity in students' differential equations (DEs) solving was explored at pre-university level. An assessment test containing three self-developed DEs tasks were distributed among 430 students, studying in intercolleges. Collected responses were analyzed using a scoring rubric containing three main stages…

This paper addresses the need for empirical research on the processes by which students create algorithms. I analyse the collaborative work of three high-school students on a contextualised graph theory task, in which they created an algorithm for maximising the happiness score of a seating arrangement. The group found an optimal arrangement but…

This study investigates one Calculus student's meanings for quantifiers in Calculus statements involving multiple quantifiers. The student was asked in a two-hour long clinical interview to evaluate and interpret the Intermediate Value Theorem (IVT) and three other statements whose logical structure was similar to the IVT except for the order of…

The present study sought to examine mathematical performance of students with different learning preferences in traditionally taught first semester calculus as well as its relationship with learning preference, spatial ability, and verbal-logical reasoning ability. Data were collected from 86 students enrolled in two sections of first semester…

Specifications grading is a version of mastery grading distinguished by giving students clear specifications that their work must meet, and grading most things pass/fail based on those specifications. Mastery grading systems can get quite elaborate, with hierarchies of objectives and various systems for rewriting and retesting. In this article I…

In this paper, we focus on resolving three key challenges during COVID-19 distance learning: engagement, understanding, and assessment. In particular, as a case study for an undergraduate Engineering calculus course, we develop the Desmos activities and the Think Alouds to provide effective solutions for these challenges.

This paper examines the relationship between mathematics anxiety and students' performance, gender, length of the studies and postponed calculus courses in scientific faculties. The data were collected from Calculus 2 students at the Hashemite University during the academic Year 2015/2016. The student sample consisted of 179 students with both…

Solution methods to exact differential equations via integrating factors have a rich history dating back to Euler (1740) and the ideas enjoy applications to thermodynamics and electromagnetism. Recently, Azevedo and Valentino presented an analysis of the generalized Bernoulli equation, constructing a general solution by linearizing the problem…

This paper presents some critical perspectives regarding pedagogical approaches to the method of reversing the order of integration in double integrals from prevailing educational literature on multivariable calculus. First, we question the message found in popular textbooks that the traditional process of reversing the order of integration is…