Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Being Active In Research Makes A Person A Better Teacher And Even Helps When Working For A Company, Francisco Zapata, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich
Being Active In Research Makes A Person A Better Teacher And Even Helps When Working For A Company, Francisco Zapata, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich
Departmental Technical Reports (CS)
At first glance, it looks like being active in research is not necessarily related to a person's success in being a teacher or being a productive company employee -- moreover, it looks like research distracts from other tasks. Somewhat surprisingly, however, in practice, the best teachers and the best employees are actually the ones who are active in research. In this paper, we provide an explanation for this seemingly counter-intuitive phenomenon.
Spatial Training And Calculus Ability: Investigating Impacts On Student Performance And Cognitive Style, Lindsay J. Mccunn, Emily Cilli-Turner
Spatial Training And Calculus Ability: Investigating Impacts On Student Performance And Cognitive Style, Lindsay J. Mccunn, Emily Cilli-Turner
Journal of Educational Research and Practice
Undergraduate calculus is a foundational mathematics sequence that previews the sophistication students will need to succeed in higher-level courses. However, students often struggle with concepts in calculus because they are more abstract and visual than those in other foundational mathematics courses. Additionally, women continue to be underrepresented in the STEM fields. This study builds on previous work indicating a malleability in spatial ability by testing whether improvement occurs in students’ spatial and mathematics ability after implementing spatial training in calculus courses. The researchers also measured associations between spatial training and self-reported cognitive style. While spatial training did not significantly improve …
Coordinating Stem Core Courses For Student Success, Cristina Villalobos, Hyung Won Kim, Timothy J. Huber, Roger Knobel, Shaghayegh Setayesh, Lekshmi Sasidharan, Anahit Galstyan, Andras Balogh
Coordinating Stem Core Courses For Student Success, Cristina Villalobos, Hyung Won Kim, Timothy J. Huber, Roger Knobel, Shaghayegh Setayesh, Lekshmi Sasidharan, Anahit Galstyan, Andras Balogh
School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations
Research indicates multi-section coordination improves the academic performance of students in STEM education. This paper describes the process of coordination in Precalculus, Calculus 1, and Calculus 2 courses undertaken by a large department that grew from the merger of two institutions through a pilot program, and a project grant. Components introduced in the project courses are documented, including collaborative problem-solving sessions, student learning assistants, Q&A sessions, and additional technology resources. Preliminary data is provided on the impacts of the initiative on student success. The study findings provide a template for coordination, faculty buy-in, and increased student engagement at similar institutions …
Convex And Nonconvex Optimization Techniques For Multifacility Location And Clustering, Tuyen Dang Thanh Tran
Convex And Nonconvex Optimization Techniques For Multifacility Location And Clustering, Tuyen Dang Thanh Tran
Dissertations and Theses
This thesis contains contributions in two main areas: calculus rules for generalized differentiation and optimization methods for solving nonsmooth nonconvex problems with applications to multifacility location and clustering. A variational geometric approach is used for developing calculus rules for subgradients and Fenchel conjugates of convex functions that are not necessarily differentiable in locally convex topological and Banach spaces. These calculus rules are useful for further applications to nonsmooth optimization from both theoretical and numerical aspects. Next, we consider optimization methods for solving nonsmooth optimization problems in which the objective functions are not necessarily convex. We particularly focus on the class …
Introductory Calculus: Through The Lenses Of Covariation And Approximation, Caleb Huber
Introductory Calculus: Through The Lenses Of Covariation And Approximation, Caleb Huber
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
Over the course of a year, I investigated reformative approaches to the teaching of calculus. My research revealed the substantial findings of two educators, Michael Oehrtman and Pat Thompson, and inspired me to design a course based upon two key ideas, covariation and approximation metaphors. Over a period of six weeks, I taught a course tailored around these ideas and documented student responses to both classroom activities and quizzes. Responses were organized intonarratives, covariation, rates of change, limits, and delta notation. Covariation with respect to rates of change was found to be incredibly complex, and students would often see it …
The Process And A Pitfall In Developing Biology And Chemistry Problems For Mathematics Courses, Mary Beisiegel, Lori Kayes, Devon Quick, Richard Nafshun, Michael Lopez, Steve Dobrioglo, Michael Dickens
The Process And A Pitfall In Developing Biology And Chemistry Problems For Mathematics Courses, Mary Beisiegel, Lori Kayes, Devon Quick, Richard Nafshun, Michael Lopez, Steve Dobrioglo, Michael Dickens
Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations
In this paper, we describe our process for developing applied problems from biology and chemistry for use in a differential calculus course. We describe our conversations and curricular analyses that led us to change from our initial focus on college algebra to calculus. We provide results that allowed us to see the overlaps between biology and mathematics and chemistry and mathematics and led to a specific focus on problems related to rates of change. Finally, we investigate the problems that were developed by the partner disciplines for use on recitation activities in calculus and how those problems were modified by …
The Effect Of Self-Reflection On Relative Student Success In Undergraduate Calculus 1, Kevin Shryock
The Effect Of Self-Reflection On Relative Student Success In Undergraduate Calculus 1, Kevin Shryock
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
This thesis examines the effect of completion and self-reflection credit on multiple aspects of undergraduate student success in Calculus 1. Specifically, this study assessed the validity of a plug-and-play classroom framework utilizing a combination of a holistic rubric and corresponding worksheets to direct students’ attention towards their conceptual understanding of material and written work, all while removing the pressure of performance grades on all but four summative assessments. By comparing students’ relative performance on these summative assessments, as well as students’ responses on regular surveys, this study found that students who chose to forego performance grades in favor of completion …