Contact: Maridith Geuder
For nearly 500 students enrolled this fall in first-year calculus at Mississippi State University, help with derivatives, integrals and other mathematical issues will be as close as their computers.
Mathematics associate professor Michael Pearson and biological engineering professor Thomas P. Cathcart have developed an extensive Internet site to provide assistance and additional resources for students taking the introductory course.
Called Calculus Online, the new site at http://www.calonline.msstate.edu/ includes a message board, supplemental text, sample problems, and a selection of problem-solving tools.
"The project grew out of a College of Engineering pilot," Cathcart said. He estimates that approximately 80 percent of the students enrolled in first-year calculus are engineering majors.
Last year the agricultural and biological engineering department served as a test site for an engineering initiative to enhance students' computer skills. Support from the Jackson-based Hearin Foundation funded that effort and expansion of the initiative this fall. The online course is part of the Hearin Computational Initiative.
Pearson, who taught calculus in the pilot project, and Cathcart decided to enhance their efforts by using the Internet. Their goal: to reduce the stress of learning calculus.
"There now is somewhere else for students to go for information," Pearson said.
Nearly 200 pages of web text supplement the student text and are "tailored to the way I teach," he said. "It corresponds to the syllabus and textbook but provides a different perspective."
"An evolving textbook" is the way Cathcart describes the site. Adds Pearson: "We're providing course-specific material that students can refer to any time. Because we're using the Internet, information can be updated and changed as needed."
A feature sure to appeal to students is the interactive message board, which allows them to pose questions of tutors at MSU's Learning Center. Housed in the College of Education, the center provides tutorial assistance in a variety of subjects.
While those posted to math tutors will be confined to the learning center's normal business hours, student questions for classmates and professors may be entered online at any time, Cathcart said.
"We'll encourage students to answer each other's questions and will invite faculty members to respond as well," he said. "One of the best ways students can learn is by explaining a principle to someone else."
The online project also has extracted a variety of computer-algebra software features and made them available on the Internet for easier access. As the project expands and bandwidth becomes available, the professors also hope to introduce video.
"At one time, providing a lecture was the only way to teach calculus," Pearson said. "Now, with so many new tools coming online, we can incorporate new capabilities. The Internet is helping us teach more effectively."