WVU Calculus
Dr. Vicki Sealey
sealey@math.wvu.edu
Dr. Jessica Deshler
deshler@math.wvu.edu
Overview
Structure of calculus courses at WVU
 Roles of graduate teaching assistants
(GTAs) and undergraduate tutors
 Curriculum and methods of one of these
courses (Non-Engineering Math 155)
 Info about nationwide AP calculus
students

Introductions
Tell us about yourself (name, where you
teach, etc.)
 Tell us about calculus at your school

Options for Calculus I

Math 155 – One semester calculus I course
◦ Engineering sections
 Gary Ganser
◦ Non-engineering sections
 Vicki Sealey

Math 153/154 – Two semester calculus I
course
 Eddie Fuller/Stacey Bowling

Math 150 – Business calculus
 Marjorie Darrah
Eligibility for Calculus
• Quantitative Reasoning Assessment
 Basic Algebra (BA)
 Calculus Readiness (CR)
Math 150/153: 15 BA / 24 Total
Math 155:
17 BA / 33 Total
QRA Placement
Eligibility for Calculus
•
Course Credit
Math 150: C or better in College Algebra
Math 153/155: C or better in College
Algebra and Trigonometry
Course credit is honored over QRA scores
Eligibility for Calculus

AP Credit
◦ 3 on the AB exam: placement into Math 155
◦ 4 or 5 on AB exam: credit for Math 155
◦ 3 on BC exam: credit for Math 155
◦ 4 or 5 on BC exam: credit for Math 155 and
Math 156
Course Structure for Math 155
Non-Engineering
Textbook: Essential Calculus by James
Stewart
 Scientific calculator required
 Graphing calculator strongly
recommended

◦ CAS not allowed (TI-89 and above, for
example)
◦ Memory cleared before each test
◦ Sometimes not allowed on quizzes
Course Structure, cont.

Four credit course, but meets for an
additional 50 minutes per week
◦ More time to do math (not just see math)
◦ Time for group work activities

Evening exams
◦ Common across sections
◦ Common grading
Homework
Roughly half online and half written
 Online HW common across sections

◦
◦
◦
◦
WeBWorK or WebAssign
Immediate feedback, multiple attempts
Video tutorials (WA only)
Each student has slightly different numbers in
each question
◦ GTA answers questions through e-mail
Instructors

Use an instructional team
◦ Course coordinator (Vicki)
◦ Grad student coordinator (Jessica)
◦ Lead instructor (Iwona Wojciechowska)
Consistency across semesters (and within
each semester)
 Dedication to this course

Graduate Teaching Assistants

Their roles in the course:
◦ Each section has an instructor and a graduate
teaching assistant (GTA)
◦ Each GTA is assigned to two sections
◦ Proctor and grade exams, quizzes
◦ Assist the instructor as needed in-class
 Group activities
 Teach up to one class per week
Graduate Assistants

Professional development as novice
instructors of college math
◦ Teaching experience
◦ Write exam questions
◦ Office hours – working one-on-one with
students (Math Learning Center)
◦ Grading – common grading on exams, quizzes
 Rubrics developed by Vicki Sealey, Jessica Deshler,
and by GTAs.
Other Help
Math Learning Center
 Tutoring center in Towers dorms
 Shared office hours
 Review sessions outside of class

Curriculum

Concept first approach
◦ Procedures follow the concepts
◦ Applications often motivate a need for concepts

Emphasis on limits
◦ Limits of functions
 Holes, jumps, asymptotes
◦ Derivatives
 Limit of difference quotient
◦ Integrals
 Limit of Riemann sums
Teaching Philosophy
Constructivist perspective
 Reflective abstraction (Piaget)

◦ Not just seeing math topics
◦ Doing something with math and reflecting on
the structure

Cooperative learning
AP Calculus Statistics

From 1992, of students who took some
form of calculus in high school
◦ 31% took precalculus in college
◦ 32% took no calculus

Students who pass the AP exam do quite
well in college.
◦ We’re concerned about the students who
don’t pass the test but are still top students.
 Many of these students aren’t taking additional math
courses.
QRA Placement
ASU Calculus Statistics

In a 5-year period at ASU, of all students
who received an A in precalculus and
their major required at least Calculus I…
43% did not take calculus.
ASU Calculus Statistics

During the same 5-year period at ASU
◦
◦
◦
◦
43% of engineering majors
54% of math majors
51% of physical science majors
50% of technology majors
who enrolled in calculus I and whose
major required calculus II never earned
credit in calculus II.
Our hopes
College math should be a natural
progression from students’ high school
math courses
 More students interested in studying
mathematics

◦ Math majors (including dual majors)
◦ Math minors
◦ Math ‘enthusiasts’