Math Impact Grant Update

One goal of the Impact Grant program is to share the progress of the grant projects. The following update was written by Elizabeth Miller, a member of the Math project team.

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We are enhancing the lecture component of the large calculus class by using technology. In particular, we are:

• constructing slides using Smart Notebook software;
• writing on lecture slides using a Sympodium;
• enhancing slides with graphics and interactive figures;
• posting interactive figures to a learning management system for students to access outside of lecture;
• posting lecture slides before lecture and the annotated slides after lecture;
• making a screen capture video of each lecture, creating a menu for each video, and posting these videos online;
• assessing our approach by giving the students a satisfaction survey, having a focus group with the professors teaching the enhanced courses, and comparing the class averages of the enhanced sections with the regular sections (we have standardized exams);
• developing clicker questions to help review previous material or lead in to the day’s lecture. The students will respond via Twitter by using a specialized hashtag.

All these components are being developed concurrently and a different member of our team is leading each piece.

Further, we are in the middle of preparing to submit for IRB exemption, a process we knew nothing about and have found a little overwhelming. In the near future, we plan to work out the kinks of the Twitter polling option and to start on a training manual for current and future instructors of the technology enhanced calculus course.