Presents a college calculus program based on the discovery method and the educational psychology literature used to develop it. Lists departmental, educational, and calculus reform goals, and describes characteristics of the program, including relaxed atmosphere, use of visualization, and supplemental teaching techniques. (13 references) (MKR)

Describes an experimental test conducted with high school students to determine the effect of posting explicit goal structures on problem-solving performance in an intelligent tutoring system for calculus. Related rates word problems are discussed, and student performance in terms of speed and accuracy is analyzed. (Contains 29 references.) (LRW)

Describes World Wide Web sites and hypertextbooks for interactive learning related to the following academic subjects: calculus, chemistry, medicine, astronomy, engineering, and literature. Provides examples of large Internet sites that act as clearinghouses for information on hypertextbooks. (AEF)

Discusses the use of the Calculus & Mathematica materials, presents an objective assessment of student performance based on a uniform final exam, presents a summary of student perceptions drawn from responses to survey questions, and gives an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the courseware. (19 references) (Author/MKR)

Demonstrates that the functions known as the witch of Agnesi and the normal distribution are not identical by comparing the areas under the curves and the slopes of the lines tangent to the curves of the two functions. Suggests follow-up activities to the investigation. (MDH)

A study compared the performance of two groups of university students. One group (n=40) was taught calculus using a computer algebra system whereas the other (n=41) used paper-and-pencil computations. The computer group scored significantly higher than their counterparts on both a conceptual knowledge test and a calculus computational exam. (JJK)

A study documented 10 college students' understanding of the limit concept and the factors affecting changes in that understanding. Encouragement by the researchers for the students to change their common informal models of limit to more formal conceptions were met with extreme resistance. (Author/JJK)

Describes an attempt to increase business calculus students' desire to learn by overcoming typical low levels of mathematical preparation and motivation utilizing a corporate structure managed by the students. Includes 10 sample problems from fictitious corporations. (JJK)

Discusses the rationale and a method for the instructional use of graphing calculators as an intermediary step between the intuitive notion of the concept of a limit and its formal epsilon-delta definition. (JJK)

Compares the effectiveness of four different calculus instructional formats based on quantitative measures of student performance, adjusted for differences in student preparation for calculus. Student performance is shown to improve when instruction is presented in a format with faculty involvement. (nine references) (JJK)

This article utilizes several examples to describe the use of MathCAD, a computer scratchpad for calculations, within a lecture-demonstration method of teaching general calculus. Both hardware requirements and software features are discussed specifically related to the proper design of student worksheets with emphasis on parameter variation. (JJK)

An approach that may be used to introduce the fundamental ideas of thermodynamics using a mathematical background with the knowledge of the behavior of matter is described. The physical background, conservation of energy, predicting the behavior of a system, and solving problems are topics of discussion. (KR)

Examples of subroutines that generate both symbolic and graphic solutions to differential equations are presented for the two computer algebra systems, MAPLE and Mathematica. Included are the listings for the Mathematica procedures developed for use in this article. (JJK)

Examines the point of inflection in the curve determined by the hinge of a bifold door as it opens. Determines the equation of the branch function of the curve and calculates its point of inflection. (MDH)

Offers information on a project to improve students' understanding of derivatives. Students use the software package "Cactusplot" which allows them to calculate the slope at various points, and "Graphical Analysis III" software to graph the data and modify the graphs if necessary. (ASK)