Questions tagged [community-colleges]
For questions relating to teaching math at the community college or two year college.
28
questions
8
votes
4
answers
682
views
Making an online math course "interactive"
I teach some fully online math courses (community college in the USA), and I'd like to hear how you have made your online classes successfully "interactive" along three axes: Student-to-...
19
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Whether to tell students how difficult (you think) a problem is
Background: Most textbooks end a section with a set of questions ranked either by topic or by difficulty. A distinction is often made between "exercises", which are for directly practicing a ...
7
votes
4
answers
2k
views
If I take Modern Analysis next year, will I be prepared to teach multivariable/vector calculus?
I’m currently getting my Master’s in Math at Portland State University so that I can teach community college mathematics. I’m specifically hoping to teach calculus, statistics, and linear algebra, so ...
29
votes
15
answers
4k
views
What's the point of learning equivalence relations?
I teach an introductory discrete mathematics course at a community college to math and computing majors, usually in their sophomore year. As is common, it's partly used as the first foray into formal ...
18
votes
14
answers
6k
views
What mathematics activities get students physically moving?
What college mathematics topics can be taught in such a way that causes students to physically move around?
Background:
Recently, it was suggested to me by a faculty member (from another academic ...
-2
votes
4
answers
460
views
Good textbooks for a college Basic Geometry course?
I will be teaching geometry for the first time ever this summer. I teach at a community college, and we only offer this course in the summer. (Mostly high school students take it, but it is a college ...
7
votes
1
answer
319
views
Measure of Improvement in Math Skills from Remediation with ALEKS
I am analyzing some data on ALEKS for my home institution (ALEKS, an acronym that stands for "Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces", is an online tutoring and assessment program that includes ...
11
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Multiple students writing $y\frac{d}{dx}$ rather than $\frac{d}{dx}y$ -- why?
I'm currently teaching a couple of courses that have a calculus prerequisite, and within the last week I've had two students make notational mistakes that amount to writing $y\frac{d}{dx}$ rather than ...
10
votes
3
answers
317
views
Formats for Calculus instruction at different colleges and universities
In the comments under another question, a couple of people expressed interest in how Calculus is taught at the University of Michigan. I'm not convinced a question that narrow is appropriate for this ...
2
votes
2
answers
467
views
Line Integral Motivation
Is there a case to be made that the topic of line integrals should only involve vector fields?
My colleagues and our textbook take the position that line integrals should only be taught from a vector ...
5
votes
3
answers
507
views
Advice on Full Time Community College Math Instructor Position
I have to do a teaching demo on the following:
Please treat the committee as students in your Calculus II class. Please take 12-15 minutes to introduce your lesson on the Taylor Series and its ...
15
votes
4
answers
711
views
How To Help a Quiet Class
This term I am teaching a very quiet precalculus class. I am having trouble getting students to answer questions or respond to verbal prompts, even questions I know they can answer. What I initially ...
17
votes
4
answers
561
views
Making solutions to all problems freely available
I teach at a community college, almost all physics but also a math course now and then. My current practice is that I assign homework worth a very small number of points (1 point per problem, as ...
12
votes
4
answers
930
views
How to design multiple choice questions
I've seen the previously-asked questions about the effectiveness of multiple choice problems, but I want to know about design. What are best practices in multiple choice problem design? The "common" ...
3
votes
1
answer
450
views
Good Textbook for combined Beginning and Intermediate Algebra Course
We'd like to create a course that covers beginning and intermediate algebra in one course (8 hours a week), getting students ready to succeed in precalc and calculus. I am at a community college.
I ...