A User's Perspective

For nearly five years now, I have incorporated Duke's Connected Curriculum Project (CCP) materials into various lower division mathematics courses, including calculus and linear algebra. I have used the materials with different technologies, and at institutions with different student populations. There are some common threads in my experiences, but each class has also taught me something new about using the materials effectively, and I would like to share some of what I learned. My hope is that this discussion will complement John Hannah’s recent article (Hannah, 2001 ) on using Duke’s CCP materials in differential equations, and that perhaps my (our) experiences will encourage others to review this collection of materials and consider adopting modules for use in their own courses.

Stephanie Fitchett is Assistant Professor in the Honors College of Florida Atlantic University.

In the next section, I describe the CCP materials and discuss how and where they might be incorporated into courses. Sections 3 and 4 describe my experiences using the CCP materials, respectively, with junior-level students who had experience with a computer algebra system, and with first-year students unfamiliar with such technology. In Section 5 I discuss some of the logistics of using the materials, particularly handling and grading electronic files. Section 6 contains my observations on some effects the use of these materials may have on students. The final two sections include a brief summary and a list of references.

Published November, 2002

© 2002 by Stephanie Fitchett