Institution Name:  Appalachian State University

Main Course Title and Catalog Description:  MAT 1120 - Calculus With Analytic Geometry II (4 hours):  A study of the logarithmic and exponential functions, circular functions and their inverses, techniques of integration, improper integrals, infinite series, Taylor polynomial and power series.

Support Course Title and Catalog Description:  MAT 1532 - Calculus 2 Support (1 hour)

Approximate yearly enrollment in support course (if known):  24 students

Approximate size of each section of support course:  15 students

Approximate percentage of students in main course that are enrolled in support course:  ~8%  (24 out of about 310)

Contact hours per week for support course:  1 hour per week

How students are chosen for the support course:  All students enrolled in Calculus 2 are sent an email describing the course and students self-select.

Goals/Learning outcomes of support course (what is the support course targeting?):  

Successful students in this course will:

• reinforce algebraic skills needed for Calculus 2

• review basic knowledge of rational, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions

• monitor their learning of Calculus 2 and actively seek out resources for assistance when needed

• practice writing mathematics (especially material in Calculus 2) using correct and complete notation and illustrating all necessary justification

• practice reading mathematical texts and develop strategies for learning mathematical content from the Calculus 2 textbook

• develop strategies for learning and retaining mathematics

Assessment of support course – personal evaluation of strengths and weaknesses:  

Students are assessed on attendance and participation in class, expected visits to office hours of Calculus 2 or support course instructor or mathlab, and some out-of-class assignments pertaining to development of skills.

Strengths:  Self-regulation is addressed so students gain experience with tools that will help them succeed in all courses, not just math.  Course mixes review of prerequisite material with summaries of current content and connections with past and future material.  Emphasizes the community aspect of learning.

Weaknesses:  Only one contact hour doesn’t give much time to delve deeply into topics or to establish rapport with students.  There is flexibility with the topics and pacing of the course so that instructors can choose some content based on their interests.  This makes planning the weekly support course challenging since students will be covering some different topics and will be at different places in the content on a given day.