PRIMUSPub Date : 2023-01-10DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2023.2167251
Michael D. Smith
{"title":"Active Learning Ideas for the Transition to Proofs Course","authors":"Michael D. Smith","doi":"10.1080/10511970.2023.2167251","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2023.2167251","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents several activities suitable for a transition to proofs course. In addition, this article surveys literature in support of active learning in the transition to proofs course and discusses how these activities have been successfully implemented in one such course.","PeriodicalId":39375,"journal":{"name":"PRIMUS","volume":"32 1","pages":"744 - 758"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86981965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PRIMUSPub Date : 2023-01-09DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2022.2163329
M. Johnson, Shelby R. Stanhope, Leann Ferguson, Brandon Kim, Rita Jerome
{"title":"Improving Student Preparation and Pass Rates in Flipped Multivariable Calculus with Low-Stakes, Daily Quizzes","authors":"M. Johnson, Shelby R. Stanhope, Leann Ferguson, Brandon Kim, Rita Jerome","doi":"10.1080/10511970.2022.2163329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2022.2163329","url":null,"abstract":"Motivating students to watch pre-lesson videos to prepare for class is among the most significant challenges cited with flipped learning. We demonstrate boosting student preparation by up to 29% by implementing start-of-lesson quizzes. This is shown through the comparison of a flipped control group without the quizzes to flipped experimental groups including the quizzes. Results indicate daily, low-stakes quizzes can also reduce failure/withdrawal rates and help maintain student motivation to prepare for class. An 8% improvement in final exam scores was also found in comparison to the previous semester not including methods such as flipped learning. Statistically significant correlations were also found between student perceptions of the class and their video-viewing habits, homework completion and graded event scores.","PeriodicalId":39375,"journal":{"name":"PRIMUS","volume":"45 6 1","pages":"714 - 728"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86383679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PRIMUSPub Date : 2023-01-04DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2022.2163328
David Glassmeyer
{"title":"Connecting Trigonometry to Parametric Equations Using the Ladder Task","authors":"David Glassmeyer","doi":"10.1080/10511970.2022.2163328","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2022.2163328","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article presents a task providing college students opportunities to build on their high school knowledge of trigonometry to explore parametric equations and inverse trigonometric relationships within a contextual learning ladder problem.","PeriodicalId":39375,"journal":{"name":"PRIMUS","volume":"33 1","pages":"705 - 713"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78888374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PRIMUSPub Date : 2022-12-13DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2022.2122646
M. Rabideau, A. Starnes
{"title":"Investigating the Relationships Between SAT Scores, High School GPA, Undergraduate Precalculus Grade, and Calculus Grade","authors":"M. Rabideau, A. Starnes","doi":"10.1080/10511970.2022.2122646","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2022.2122646","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In this paper, we study how well SAT scores, high school GPA, and undergraduate precalculus grades relate to undergraduate calculus grades at a 4-year private nonprofit university that does not have a placement exam. In addition, we compare the success in calculus of two groups of students, both of whom require two semesters to pass calculus. The first group takes calculus twice (failing the first attempt) and the second group takes precalculus followed by calculus.","PeriodicalId":39375,"journal":{"name":"PRIMUS","volume":"62 1","pages":"691 - 704"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74325118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PRIMUSPub Date : 2022-11-14DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2022.2139082
Justin Ecke, Volker El Turkey, Houssein Elsinger, Jason Enlow, Matt Epifanio, Irene Firkins Nordstrom, Jennifer Fisher, Brian Fisher, Brian Kaur, Manmohan Kessel, Cathy Kilic-Bahi, Semra Kolba, Tiffany Koshy-Chentihittayil, Sherli Kurz, Terri Lai, Yvonne Linhart, Jean Marie Lockwood, E. Lu, Yuanting Lutzer, Carl Lynch, Alison Ma, Yanping Mangum, Nina Williams, Kristopher Wright, Sarah Wyels, Cindy Yoshinobu, Stan Zandieh, Michelle Zengin
{"title":"A Grateful Acknowledgement of PRIMUS Reviewers","authors":"Justin Ecke, Volker El Turkey, Houssein Elsinger, Jason Enlow, Matt Epifanio, Irene Firkins Nordstrom, Jennifer Fisher, Brian Fisher, Brian Kaur, Manmohan Kessel, Cathy Kilic-Bahi, Semra Kolba, Tiffany Koshy-Chentihittayil, Sherli Kurz, Terri Lai, Yvonne Linhart, Jean Marie Lockwood, E. Lu, Yuanting Lutzer, Carl Lynch, Alison Ma, Yanping Mangum, Nina Williams, Kristopher Wright, Sarah Wyels, Cindy Yoshinobu, Stan Zandieh, Michelle Zengin","doi":"10.1080/10511970.2022.2139082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2022.2139082","url":null,"abstract":"The entire editorial and publishing team for PRIMUS takes this moment here to thank all the many individuals who have served as referees in recent months. The peer-review process is critical to bringing high quality and relevant articles to PRIMUS readers, and this process depends on the time and commitment of the dedicated and knowledgeable experts in the field who volunteer their considerable time and efforts to referee for the journal. At this time, we publicly credit our referees to acknowledge and endorse their work and, even more importantly, to remind ourselves of how the journal is not possible without their outstanding efforts. Below is an alphabetical list of themany recent PRIMUS referees.We are deeply grateful to each and every one of them for their contributions to PRIMUS. Their broad expertise, insightful questions, thoughtful criticisms, and expository recommendations make the papers we publish unequivocally better.","PeriodicalId":39375,"journal":{"name":"PRIMUS","volume":"5 1","pages":"i - iii"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82918362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PRIMUSPub Date : 2022-11-03DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2022.2122645
Dan Spencer, Christy Willis, Yan Shen, Molly Fenn, Shira Viel
{"title":"Utilizing a Blended + Flipped Learning Approach in a Calculus for Life and Management Sciences Classroom","authors":"Dan Spencer, Christy Willis, Yan Shen, Molly Fenn, Shira Viel","doi":"10.1080/10511970.2022.2122645","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2022.2122645","url":null,"abstract":"The current study evaluated the success of implementing a blended + flipped structure in a Calculus for Life and Management Sciences course. By reimagining two of the three weekly instructional hours as online asynchronous lessons, we redesigned a 200-person section into 30-person sections, with minimal additional instructor resources. Findings indicated that students viewed the course positively, with perceptions positively correlating with course outcomes. Further, students reported more positive beliefs relating to their ability to accomplish course learning outcomes, comfort with math, and perceptions of in-class readiness compared to those in the traditional course format. Significant differences in grade distributions were also observed.","PeriodicalId":39375,"journal":{"name":"PRIMUS","volume":"438 1","pages":"670 - 690"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76464395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PRIMUSPub Date : 2022-10-14DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2022.2120583
S. Gordon, F. Gordon
{"title":"The “Calculus” of Moving Averages","authors":"S. Gordon, F. Gordon","doi":"10.1080/10511970.2022.2120583","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2022.2120583","url":null,"abstract":"This article makes a case for introducing moving averages into introductory statistics courses and contemporary modeling/data-based courses in college algebra and precalculus. The authors examine a variety of aspects of moving averages and draw parallels between them and similar topics in calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. The article: (1) shows how to calculate the moving averages for a set of data; (2) discusses the effect of the length of the moving average cycle on the sequence of values generated; (3) discusses the mathematical properties of the moving average as a mathematical function/operator; (4) addresses the problem of how to retrieve the underlying sequence of data values from the known sequence of values of the moving averages; and (5) discusses the significance of the moving averages in the sense of smoothing out the original data to better identify the pattern in that data.","PeriodicalId":39375,"journal":{"name":"PRIMUS","volume":"35 1","pages":"622 - 636"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74551991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PRIMUSPub Date : 2022-10-14DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2022.2122092
Xiaoeheng Yan, Veselin Jungić
{"title":"Opportunity to Interpret: Infection Rates in the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Xiaoeheng Yan, Veselin Jungić","doi":"10.1080/10511970.2022.2122092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2022.2122092","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic provided students a rare opportunity to use their mathematical knowledge to make sense of a top-of-mind crisis. Based on a report in a major regional newspaper, we designed tasks that require an understanding of infection rates and an interpretation of a misleading claim made in the newspaper. Our analysis of 91 undergraduate students’ responses to one of the tasks shows that 77% of the participants used the first or second derivative to interpret the claim. While an assessment for fundamental calculus courses may include both the memorization of procedures and high-cognitive-demand tasks, the findings suggest that it is feasible and worthwhile to build assessment questions on a meaningful connection with the real world.","PeriodicalId":39375,"journal":{"name":"PRIMUS","volume":"14 1","pages":"652 - 669"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79234857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PRIMUSPub Date : 2022-09-30DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2022.2122091
B. Doleshal
{"title":"Escape the Semester: Game-Based Pedagogy in a Math Course for Non-Science Majors","authors":"B. Doleshal","doi":"10.1080/10511970.2022.2122091","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2022.2122091","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents an experience in teaching mathematical thinking through games in a math course for non-science majors. The course described here has run twice on the campus of Sam Houston State University and is a combination of escape room pedagogy and game-based pedagogy. From these courses, I note an increased engagement of students with course material, more positive attitudes about the course, and stronger learning.","PeriodicalId":39375,"journal":{"name":"PRIMUS","volume":"77 1","pages":"637 - 651"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90487001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PRIMUSPub Date : 2022-09-12DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2023.2229819
C. Renesse, Sven-Ake Wegner
{"title":"Two Examples of Ungrading in Higher Education in the United States and Germany","authors":"C. Renesse, Sven-Ake Wegner","doi":"10.1080/10511970.2023.2229819","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2023.2229819","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, the authors discuss their experiences with ungrading at a small public university in the U.S. and a large public university in Germany. The courses described are Calculus 1 and a content course for pre-service secondary teachers of mathematics. The professors teach differently: one with lecture, the other with inquiry-based learning, and choose to use elements of ungrading in different ways. In one case, the professor lets students self-evaluate their homework, while in the other the professor uses a mix of specifications grading and ungrading for the final grade. We outline and compare our assessment approaches and discuss student performance and feedback. We also present some patterns relating to gender: in both cases, we observed that women students chose lower self-evaluations than men students. We end this paper with a general reflection on our teaching experience and our plans to use ungrading in the future.","PeriodicalId":39375,"journal":{"name":"PRIMUS","volume":"1 1","pages":"1035 - 1054"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82083327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}