Introductory Math Seminar: Can biocalculus help fix the calculus image problem?

SEMINARS

Speaker:

Carrie Diaz Eaton - Bates

Calculus has an image problem in the biology major. Students are anxious about taking it, due to prior personal experience and because calculus as a major gateway course contributes significantly to attrition in biology. Biology instructors are not seeing the desired gains in problem solving and graphical interpretation important for their courses. This is exacerbated by increasing interest in big data and computational skills rather than the proofs and algebraic techniques methods which have traditionally played a dominant role in calculus. “Biocalculus,” on the other hand, is a promising remedy for these issues. Students in biocalculus articulate more detailed connections to the theory of their disciplines, have increased retention, and much higher learning gains. Biocalculus leverages students' passion and knowledge about biology and data in ways that may be particularly important to repaying educational debts to students with identities marginalized in STEM. However, significant challenges remain, particularly professional development and other investment needed to support such interdisciplinary courses and the epistemological consequences of the shift required.