Open Calculus: A Free Online Learning Environment

Dartmouth College mathematicians have developed a free online calculus course called "Open Calculus." Open Calculus is an exportable distance-learning/self-study environment for learning calculus including written text, nearly 4000 online homework problems and instructional videos. The paper recounts the evaluation of course elements since 2000 in two experimental/control course situations involving nearly 300 students

Calculus, Biology and Medicine: A Case Study in Quantitative Literacy for Science Students

This paper describes a course designed to enhance the numeracy of biology and pre-medical students. The course introduces students with the background of one semester of calculus to systems of nonlinear ordinary differential equations as they appear in the mathematical biology literature. Evaluation of the course showed increased enjoyment and confidence in doing mathematics, and an increased appreciation of the utility of mathematics to science. Students who complete this course are better able to read the research literature in mathematical biology and carry out research problems of their own

Quantitative Literacy Assessments: An Introduction to Testing Tests

This paper describes how professional evaluators construct assessment instruments that work properly to measure the right thing. Constructing an assessment tool begins with getting feedback from relevant experts on the content of questions. The tool is developed and refined through comparison with existing instruments, focus groups and cognitive interviews. The final instrument is formally tested for content validity, usability, reliability and construct validity through a variety of statistical measures. This process of construction is illustrated by two examples relevant to quantitative literacy: the Medical Data Interpretation Test and the Math Attitudes Survey

Teachers Talk: Pressure Points in the K-8 Mathematics Curriculum

Forty K-8 teachers participated in small, in-depth, facilitated discussions about pressure points in the curriculum. We define a pressure point as a topic, skill, or concept that is crucial to future mathematics learning but which many or most students do not master to the extent expected at a given grade level. They are issues that persist from one grade level to the next; eventually they impair the ability of students to succeed in technical disciplines. The teachers identified a number of pressure points; we focus on an understanding of place value and reasonableness of answer as two examples that were identified across all grade levels. Our small-scale study represents one approach to integrating teachers into the process of identifying important and relevant research questions in mathematics learning. We argue that the pressure points identified by teachers are areas in which targeted research would have maximum impact on learning and teaching, from teacher preparation to targeted diagnostic tools to student success rates