"There needs to be faculty collaboration on the realignment of the curriculum to meet current needs."
I could not agree more as it is not clear to me that;
"In today's world, calculus is not only a theoretical cornerstone but also a practical tool in diverse fields such as engineering, technology, science, and economics."
How do we know this to be true today? We might say these things to our students, but when was the last time we actually heard from industry professionals and hiring managers what concepts and skills are needed in modern workplaces? How much has technology augmented a worker's ability and need to analyze information using the 'rule of three'?
To be clear I don't believe our courses should be focused solely on job training, many of us have other valid, and abstract goals that our courses support. I believe that if higher education wants to continue to be relevant, we need to modernize if not our content, then at least the skills we help students develop.
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Robert Weston, he/him/his
Clark College
Vancouver WA
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-16-2025 10:37:56
From: Matthew Lee
Subject: IMPACTful Discussions: Changing Calculus Curriculum
I'm curious how much industry requirements of current employees play into the curriculum realignment. We definitely can't introduce every possible software/programming language, but we probably could introduce the idea of asking the question of how to do something in a new software that we know are doable in an older software.
For things like software and technology, how much of a balance do we use between accessibility to new users and industry standard software?
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Matthew Lee
Oakton Community College
Des Plaines IL
Original Message:
Sent: 01-16-2025 02:23:30
From: Eric Hutchinson
Subject: IMPACTful Discussions: Changing Calculus Curriculum
The calculus curriculum should focus more on real-world applications and data-driven problem-solving to meet current needs. In today's world, calculus is not only a theoretical cornerstone but also a practical tool in diverse fields such as engineering, technology, science, and economics. By integrating applied examples-like modeling with differential equations or optimization problems in economics-students can better understand its relevance and utility. Additionally, promoting computational thinking through tools like Python or Mathematica can help students connect mathematical concepts with technological applications.
There needs to be faculty collaboration on the realignment of the curriculum to meet current needs. Schools need to invest in tools and platforms to support learning.
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Eric Hutchinson
Professor
College of Southern Nevada
Las Vegas NV
Original Message:
Sent: 01-15-2025 21:08:43
From: Robert Cappetta
Subject: IMPACTful Discussions: Changing Calculus Curriculum
Check out our second blog HERE, which addresses some thoughts concerning the evolving calculus curriculum!
How should the calculus curriculum evolve to better meet the current needs? What must happen for those changes to occur?
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Robert Cappetta
Florida SouthWestern State College
FL
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