Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 1 NSF-USF-STEP METHODS A STEP to Grow in Science-Engineering- Mathematics Undergraduate Degrees TEAM Dr. Kandethody Ramachandran Dr. Catherine Bénéteau Dr. Scott Campbell Dr. Gordon Fox Dr. Arcadii Grinshpan Dr. Marcus McWaters Dr. Jennifer Lewis

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 2 University of South Florida  The University of South Florida (USF) is a large, multi-campus national Research I university with over 48,000 students.  At USF Tampa campus, there are over 30,400 undergraduates, more than 8,400 graduates, over 550 Doctor of Medicine candidates and more than 1,500 non-degree-seeking students.  USF is ranked 8th as an 'Up-and-Comer' among the country's national universities in the 2012 edition of U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges edition.ranked 8th  USF ranks 10th worldwide among universities granted U.S. patents.

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 3 The STEP project at University of South Florida ( is based on the premise that success in calculus is the gateway to success in the STEM fields. This project is aimed at increasing STEM graduates through intervention programs in the Engineering and Life Science Calculus sequences. Through this project we have developed and implemented several transportable strategies such as  one-stop extended-hour tutoring ( STEM Mart, ),  project-based teaching, and  peer leading. These multiple strategies have transformed the teaching of calculus at USF and are leading to increased retention and pass rates for students. USF-STEP PROJECT

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 4 Challenges faced

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 5 Project Based learningProject Based learning Teach calculus through projects based on real life problems  Students work with a faculty member or supervisor in their workplace to define a problem, write and analyze appropriate equations, and write a narrative report – in essence, they write a story problem, and then answer it and write it up as a scientific report.  Motivation: Enhance the students' ability to connect mathematics with other subjects Our solutions

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 6 Project Based InstructionProject Based Instruction All the calculus II&III sections are linked to the project submission/evaluation system (CIIM-MUG), thus allowing the calculus instructors to make use of the project option in all upper level calculus sections every semester. Every semester updating and distributing the applied calculus project guidelines. Developed the website ciim.usf.edu The summaries of the completed projects and names of the student contributors are posted at dents Teamed the USF research faculty and Florida professionals with strong engineering and science students who are interested in interdisciplinary research based on mathematical modeling.

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 7 During , the project option has been introduced to 89 calculus sections (with 4644 registered students) taught by 21 instructors; 1255 distinct projects have been submitted. The total number of subject area advisors is 394: 167 from USF and 227 external to USF from 190 companies/organizations. About 1000 students/year is affected by this strategy Developed a network of subject area advisors.  These projects include majority from engineering topics, many from medical, natural sciences and other fields representing real life topics.

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 8 Project Based Instruction EffectsProject Based Instruction Effects Created an electronic journal Undergraduate journal of mathematical modeling: one + two Project activities have resulted in a new center (Center for Industrial and Interdisciplinary Mathematics, at USF- being directed by Dr. Grinshpan. So far 90 articles are published ( ),  Project bank will be a source for project based teaching

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 9 Project Based Instruction EffectsProject Based Instruction Effects Many STEM students take the calculus project seriously and devote more time and efforts throughout the course than those who choose the traditional option. Calculus retention among students who submitted projects is about 25% higher than those who did not submit a project. Calculus projects connect students with professionals in their field, thus increasing STEM retention.  The innovative PBL model has led to the formation of increased engineering-mathematics collaborations and a mathematically enhanced engineering curricula.

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 10 Peer LeadingPeer Leading Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) In peer leader program, selected student leaders provide structured tutoring and serve as role models for other students  developed a curriculum for Engineering and Life Science Calculus 1

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 11 Peer LeadingPeer Leading  Selected undergraduate peer leaders underwent a weekly training session and they led weekly, 50 minute cooperative learning inquiry sessions in most of the Calculus 1 sections  Between 13 to 17 undergraduate peer leaders/semester worked with students. About 1200 students/year are affected by this strategy  Curriculum development follows the learning cycle of data exploration, concept invention, and application concept Students discover concept prior to the lecture

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 12 Effects  Pass rate in POGIL classes went up by more than 10% compared to current control group  Withdrawal rates went down from about 23% to about 12%, a drop of at least 11%  Several peer leaders became engaged in undergraduate research and pursued graduate studies.

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 13 Effects Got permanent funding from the USF for  22 Undergraduate Peer Leaders  4 graduate TAs every semester for Mathematics.  Many faculty and graduate students are trained in this method of teaching  A book: Calculus I - A Guided Inquiry was published (July 2014) by Wiley and the POGIL press

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 14 STEM MartSTEM Mart STEM Mart is a walk-in tutoring center that provides undergraduate students in the STEM disciplines an opportunity to receive free tutoring from other successful undergraduate students selected by the program.  Open extended hours (M-Th., 10am-9pm, F., S,10am -4pm) and weekend hours (Sun., 1pm- 5pm).  About 40 undergraduate students serve as tutors for elementary level STEM courses  STEM Mart is now recognized as a successful peer mentoring model.

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 15 STEM Mart Utilization Image from STEM Mart

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 16 STEM Mart Effect

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 17 PROJECT BASED INSTRUCTION Pass rates are over 25% higher for students who did projects compared to those who did not. The percentage of students who graduated with a STEM degree is 5% higher for students who did projects compared to those who did not. Data Results

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Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 19

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 20 Factors that contributed to USF’s STEP grant success Factor 1: Coalition of faculty, administrators, and staff Effectively managing the project starts at assembling a team of strong faculty with diverse interest and passion that the PI can work with. Factor 2: Decentralization Created subcommittees based on the interests of the Co-PIs and entrust all decision and implementation aspects to that committee. For instance, we created subcommittees on Projects, evaluation, STEM Mart, and peer leading. In turn they became not only ambassadors but also implementers of the project methods in their departments and colleges.

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 21 Factors that contributed STEP grant success Factor 3: : Make students experience the benefits When STEM Mart started, there were not much traffic. Now for each tutor, there are multiple students attending on help topics. Sometimes, we are unable to meet the demand. Students can make hesitating administrators into true believers ! Aligned our project methods with institution priorities

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 22 Factors that contributed STEP grant success Factor 4: Assess impact and publicize  Collect data and let data speak for itself. A strong evaluation creates believers.  We believe that one of the most important aspect that enabled institutionalization is because we constantly feed the upper administration the results of assessments. For instance, as result of project methods, The overall pass rate in Calculus increased from 55% in 2006 (before project inception) to 75%. This augments well with institutional priority “Student success”

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 23 Impact on Institutional culture Peer leading is now permanently funded for many of the science courses. STEM Mart concept resulted in much large Science, Math, and Research Technology Lab or SMART Lab ( ) is equipped with more than 300 new computer workstations to provide a hands-on learning space geared toward improving student performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related coursework.

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 24 Impact on Institutional culture Last academic year, USF hired 7 tenure track faculty in CAS with expertise in teaching science. One of the tenure requirements for these positions is to publish on education research. Basically Student success became center of the university mission and culture.

Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 25 Conclusion

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Interdisciplinary and Inquiry Based Teaching of Calculus 27 SUGGESTIONS