Our project encourages collaborative behavior among students through group interaction with animated software within the class period, and with group projects done outside the class period. Our project combines the Harvard approach to calculus and precalculus with an approach pioneered by Triesman and adapted by Sher and Wilkinson to the community college environment. We are developing interactive software that illustrates precalculus concepts. Our software allows the students to interact with mathematical constructs, such as lines and parabolas, use the computer together as a group to solve problems involving linear and quadratic equations and trigonometric functions. The software presents functions algebraically, graphically and numerically. Beta-test versions of this software will be made available at our internet site: sunynassau.edu.Group projects in data modeling force the students to understand data and use graphical, numeric and algebraic approaches to the data.
The students develop linear quadratic and exponential models of a public domain data set for 3 projects. They performed algebraic manipulation in constructing the models, graphical manipulation when presenting the models and numerical analysis when measuring the error between their models and the actual data. Sher and Wilkinson found that their success in encouraging group effort led to a six-fold increase in enrollment in their higher level calculus courses and a substantially increased minority enrollment.
Our approach is partially modeled on theirs and we also expect a substantial improvement. At this early stage of our project, quantitative results are not available.