The student experience of learning advanced placement calculus AB in a Web-based environment

Holloway, Dean (2002) The student experience of learning advanced placement calculus AB in a Web-based environment. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (40MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to identify impediments to learning calculus concepts in a web-based, Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB course and to make recommendations for the improvement of learning in that environment. The subjects of the study were 15, level III students from 3 high schools in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada who enrolled in Mathematics 4225, a provincially approved, first calculus course which prepared students to write The College Board AP Calculus AB examination for university credit. In this study, students and an instructor in 4 geographically distant sites in 1 school district were linked via a digital Intranet to create a virtual classroom where instruction occurred synchronously, using Microsoft NetMeeting and Meeting Point computer software, and asynchronously, through a website developed specifically for Mathematics 4225 using WebCT and Microsoft Front Page 98. Students were surveyed to determine their experience of learning calculus in a web-based environment and to identify features of the course that needed to be added, modified or removed. The course textbook was analyzed to determine the appropriateness of the epistemological messages conveyed to students. Calculus AB College Board examinations were also compared in terms of the changes in structure and difficulty level enabled by the recent authorized use of graphing calculators. On the basis of the gathered data and the text and examination analyses, recommendations are made for the improvement of learning.

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