Redesigning 18.01 (Calculus) around authentic problems and downstream connections

Principal Investigator
Prof. Larry Guth, Mathematics; Prof. Sanjoy Mahajan, Office of Digital Learning
Fund: Alumni Class Funds
Funding Period: AY2021
Department/Lab/Center: Mathematics

18.01 (calculus) is a GIR taken by about 150 students every fall – the first-year students with the least math background. It has an important role in educational equity, making mathematically intensive work in science and engineering available to all students. The students have difficulty translating between mathematics and real-world situations. They also have difficulty identifying and coordinating the relevant mathematical ideas in a real-world problem. Both translating and coordinating are essential skills in downstream courses. In consultation with downstream faculty and math faculty, we plan to restructure the course around real-world problems that teach these skills. We will develop a careful sequence of authentic problems that build in one new calculus idea at a time, while also giving students practice coordinating the previous calculus ideas, as they prepare themselves for real-world problem solving.