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Readers Respond: Does Fixing the Leaky STEM Pipeline Require Calculus To Adapt?

ED Surge

The need to strengthen the science, technology, math and engineering (STEM) careers pipeline has received renewed interest lately. A number of instructors say it’s partly reconsidering how calculus, a crucial step toward STEM careers and often a “weed out” course in higher ed, is taught. Can math be taught [or] is it just a gift.

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The Math Revolution You Haven’t Heard About

ED Surge

Math professor Martin Weissman is rethinking how his university teaches calculus. Called Math 11 A and B, these classes, which students take as freshmen and sophomores, constitute a “leaky pipeline,” Weissman says. Some educators place a share of the blame on calculus courses, which can push out otherwise interested students.

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UCLA Life Sciences Revamped How It Teaches Math. Is It an Example Others Should Follow?

ED Surge

It was from his dean, who said that the department had inspected their freshman calculus course, “Calculus for Life Sciences.” That call started the years-long process of reworking how the university’s life sciences department teaches math. The traditional calculus coursework, to people like Garfinkel, is totally outdated.

Calculus 300
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Math Webtools to Support Any Curriculum

Ask a Tech Teacher

Math used to be a tedious memorization of facts and formulas. Thousands of students found out, to their surprise — and often, their parents — that they loved math. Thousands of students found out, to their surprise — and often, their parents — that they loved math. Interactivate.

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Why Do Underrepresented Students Struggle to Get the Math They Need for College?

ED Surge

Students who don’t know that colleges prioritize calculus find themselves at a disadvantage in college admissions, according to “ Integral Voices: Examining Math Experiences of Underrepresented Students ,” a recent report from Just Equations, a California-based policy institute focused on making math more equitable.

Calculus 201
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Top 5: A Quiet Revolution in Math and Affordable Teacher Housing Among Most-Read Topics of Sept 2023

ED Surge

Our coverage of new approaches to math education drew the most interest from readers, with two different features exploring how to rethink calculus making our Top 5. EdSurge takes you inside Harvard’s Science Center, where this summer, professors imagined new ways to push calculus past its limits. Will Instructors Heed It?

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Math Instruction Isn’t Working. Could Better Teacher Training Help?

ED Surge

But Barclay — a former Virginia math educator of the year — thought back to his own experience with a discouraging middle school teacher and decided to think through what the student was saying rather than dismiss it. Or even newer math ?) So I’ve been wondering: What do we know about the science behind good math education?

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