Discussion on Blended Learning and Calculus with Prof. Gerda de Vries
Blending First-Year Calculus: Tales from the Trenches on blending Calculus for the Life Sciences and Calculus for the Physical Science
Subject: Discussion on Blended Learning and Calculus with Prof. Gerda de Vries, Friday Feb. 3, McLean Hall 201, 10:30 - 11:30
You are invited to the lounge tomorrow for a discussion with Prof. Gerda de Vries, Associate Dean Undergraduate, Facutly of Science, and Professor, Department of
Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of Alberta, about her experiences with Blended Learning and Calculus.
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Friday Feb 3 McLean Hall 201.
An abstract provided by Prof. de Vries and related to this is below:
Blending First-Year Calculus: Tales from the Trenches on blending Calculus for the Life Sciences and Calculus for the Physical Sciences
Blended learning is a combination of face-to-face and computer-mediated teaching and learning activities. Blended learning gives students some control over the time, place, content, and pace of their own learning, and it provides instructors with flexibility to enhance and "flip" the in-class experience. At the University of Alberta, we created and designed Calculus for the Physical Sciences I and II in a blended format in 2014-2015, followed by Calculus for the Life Sciences I in 2015-2016. In these courses, we also experimented with two-stage exams, to provide a better learning opportunity for students.
I will present an overview of the structure of our blended courses, and provide examples of some of the online material that we produced and face-to-face learning activities that we experimented with. I will share some initial feedback (from students, observers, and the instructor), and reflect on our successes and challenges.