Summer Seminars on Workshop Calculus: Using Interactive Methods and Technology to Teach Fundamental Concepts to Mathematically-at-Risk Students

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This project is intended for faculty who are searching for new pedagogical approaches and new uses of technology to teach calculus to mathematically-at-risk students--students who are not prepared to enter the traditional calculus sequence, but need to acquire fundamental calculus concepts for use in other disciplines or further study of mathematics. The project is based on the Workshop Calculus program, developed at Dickinson College with support from the Fund for Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). One-week Workshop Calculus immersion seminars are being offered in the summers of 1996 and 1997, with twenty-four participants invited each summer. The primary purpose of the summer seminars is to provide participants with the necessary background and support to adapt the Workshop Calculus materials for use in their own environments, and to forge the necessary liaisons to help them successfully implement their projects. To help accomplish this, participants will: (1) learn to use interactive teaching methods such as guided inquiry, collaborative learning and experiential learning cycles--that is, to use the workshop approach--to enhance student learning; (2) gain experience using technology--including a computer algebra system, the mathematical programming language ISETL, and Microcomputer-Based-Laboratory tools--to help students understand fundamental calculus concepts; and (3) customize Workshop Calculus instructional materials for use at their home institutions and design their own workshop-based courses; and (4) refine existing assessment tools to analyze the impact of the workshop approach on the attitudes and learning gains of students at their institutions.