Calculus Saves Lives! Motivating Mathematics

Mathematics and technology serve the health sciences as demonstrated in this article,cowritten by one of our calculus students. Creating a lesson based on dosing an antibioticallows teachers and students to see the immediate value of high school calculus and technology.

Integrals of functions containing parameters

Calculus students are taught that an indefinite integral is defined only up to an additive constant, and as a consequence generations of students have assiduously added ‘+C’ to their calculus homework. Although ubiquitous, these constants rarely garner much attention, and typically loiter without intent around the ends of equations, feeling neglected. There is, however, useful work they can do, work which is particularly relevant in the contexts of integral tables and computer algebra systems. We begin, therefore, with a discussion of the context, before returning to coax the constants out of the shadows and assign them their tasks.

Comparison of Student Achievement and Problem-Solving Techniques for Integration Between Online and Face-to-Face Calculus Courses

Understanding the learning online students acquire through online course experiences is important as online course options and availability continue to expand. This study seeks to compare problem-solving techniques and course learning outcomes of Calculus students through the comparison of work completed by online and face-to-face Calculus students. Four assessment questions, regarding integration, will be reviewed in an effort to distinguish commonalities and/or differences in understanding and problem-solving strategies deployed by online and face-to-face Calculus students. Statistical analyses of question scores will include usage of Levene's test, Welch test, Brown-Forsythe test, and F-test. A qualitative analysis will also be conducted to analyze problem-solving strategies used by the online and face-to-face Calculus students.