A calculus retention program for students at risk in engineering

Hart, Beth; Holloman, Thomas L.; O'Connor, Carol A.

doi:10.1109/fie.1995.483028

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Difficulty in succeeding in calculus is one of the primary reasons students transfer out of engineering. In fact, historically, calculus has served as a filter in many engineering schools 1 . Engineering schools and math departments in a variety of universities have worked together to address this problem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Engineering schools and math departments in a variety of universities have worked together to address this problem. Approaches include: introducing additional cooperative learning and problem-solving opportunities for engineering students taking calculus 1 ; creating learning communities based on math placement so students can help and encourage each other 2 ; removing pre-requisites to permit students to take Calculus 1 in their second semester and still progress on schedule in their engineering curricula 3 ; redefining how engineering math is taught and creating a hands-on, application-oriented approach addressing only topics relevant to the core engineering courses ; and instituting an "early warning" system with optional "intensive pre-calculus" mid-Page 13.256.2 semester math tracks for struggling students 5 . Many of these approaches have been successful in increasing student success in calculus and in increasing engineering retention at the specific university in which the method was implemented.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Breaking The Cycle Of Calculus Failure: Models Of Early Math Intervention To Enhance Engineering Retention

Hensel¹,

Sigler²,

Lowery³

2008 Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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She holds an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Higher Education Teaching of Mathematics and Computer Science from West Virginia University, an M.A. in mathematics from S.U.N.Y at Buffalo, and a B.S. in mathematics from Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. She worked for 7.5 years as a mathematician and computer systems analyst for the U.S. Department of Energy and has 18 years higher education experience teaching math, computer science, education and engineering courses. In addition to coordinating the freshman engineering program, she teaches freshman engineering courses, advises students, serves as a liaison to the engineering residence hall, and participates in several of WVU's ongoing efforts to improve the overall experience of first year students.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breaking The Cycle Of Calculus Failure: Models Of Early Math Intervention To Enhance Engineering Retention

Hensel¹,

Sigler²,

Lowery³

2008 Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Calculus courses have been recognized as one of the reasons students leave engineering within their first year and have served as a filter of under-prepared students in many engineering Page 23.605.2 schools [8,9] . The traditional model of engineering curriculum begins with one year of freshman calculus as a prerequisite to subsequent core engineering courses [10] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First-Year Math and Physics Courses and their Role in Predicting Academic Success in Subsequent Courses

Pembridge¹,

Verleger²

2013 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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This paper builds on the previous literature, primarily studies at large public institutions, by exploring the role that first-year math and physics courses play in the persistence and success of undergraduate engineering students in the context of a small private business, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (BSTEM) only university. Literature has identified math and physics aptitude as predictors of academic success in college. Additional literature has indicated that there is the potential for overload through students taking too many courses in their first year; however the presence of a corequisite calculus and physics requirement provides an opportunity for the transfer of math knowledge to a different context. Findings from logistic regressions and group comparisons on institutional data from engineering students enrolled between 2001 and 2010 indicate that there are no significant differences in course grades between students that took calculus as a prerequisite versus as a corequisite, however students that had lower course loads during the semester they took Calculus I were more likely to graduate with a degree from the university, though not necessarily in engineering. Additionally, Physics I course grades appear to be a predictor of persistence in engineering and subsequent Physics II course and corequisite Calculus I grades. The findings provide information that can be used by other institutions of similar size and scope to examine the structure of their first year courses in engineering, initiate university policies, and develop interventions to support math, physics, and overall graduation success.

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“…Difficulty in succeeding in calculus is one of the primary reasons students transfer out of engineering at West Virginia University and other colleges. Historically, calculus has served as a filter in many engineering schools 1 . Engineering schools and math departments in a variety of universities have worked together to address this problem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Joint Math Engineering Projects To Facilitate Calculus Success In First Year Students

Lowery¹,

Kane²,

Kane³

et al.

2010 Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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It has been observed that most first year engineering students seem to enjoy and often perform well in their project and project-oriented freshman engineering course, but seem to have difficulty and often perform poorly in their first calculus course. Working from the perception that first year engineering students do not make the connection between what they learn in calculus and the problems they solve in freshman engineering, the faculty who teach the engineering sections of first semester calculus and the faculty who teach freshman engineering worked together to define projects that span both classes.

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A calculus retention program for students at risk in engineering

Cited by 5 publications

References 2 publications

Breaking The Cycle Of Calculus Failure: Models Of Early Math Intervention To Enhance Engineering Retention

Breaking The Cycle Of Calculus Failure: Models Of Early Math Intervention To Enhance Engineering Retention

First-Year Math and Physics Courses and their Role in Predicting Academic Success in Subsequent Courses

Joint Math Engineering Projects To Facilitate Calculus Success In First Year Students

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