Redesigned calculus courses to enhance student success

Calculus courses are foundational for a number of majors, and a recently implemented redesign has created a fresh, modernized approach to the sequence.

Mohammad Kazemi, professor and associate chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, said, “If students do well in Pre-calculus and Calculus I and II, then they can proceed and do well in a number of other disciplines, such as biology, pre-med, chemistry, physics, math, of course, geology, engineering and computer science.”

About 2,000 students are enrolled in various calculus courses, so a redesign has far-reaching implications.

“Our goal is to encourage students to be more actively involved in the learning process and for them to take greater ownership of learning the material,” stated Kazemi.

This past fall, members of the redesign team studied national and institutional models to determine best-practice pedagogy, and they conducted a pilot of the course redesign during the spring 2014 semester. Each class topic was introduced with a set of out-of-class activities, which included assigned readings, online videos or Moodle quizzes developed by faculty in the Mathematics and Statistics Department. Lectures focus on conceptual problems students have with the material; instructors provide more in-depth explanations to class topics.

According to Kazemi, students’ preparatory work outside of class is designed to be a brief introduction to concepts that faculty members will cover during lectures.

“What we discovered were students came to class better prepared and participated more, did more homework and seemed less frustrated with the material,” he explained. “The pre-class work helps to familiarize the students with what they’ll be studying in class, which gives the instructor more time to go over more involved material.”

Instructors are meeting throughout the semester to discuss class progress, teaching style and challenges/issues for students.

Because these courses are the gateway to advanced study in various disciplines, students must receive a grade of “C” or higher, otherwise they have to repeat the course.

University officials said this was another goal of the redesign – to reduce the number of students who receive a “D” or “F” or who withdraw from the course.

The calculus redesign was funded by a grant from the UNC General Administration entitled “Leveraging Technology to Strengthen Academic Quality.” Faculty from the Mathematics and Statistics Department, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University College and the Center for Teaching and Learning worked collaboratively on the pilot program and the fall implementation.

The effort is part of 10 large-course redesign projects supported by the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Provost’s Office.