Colloquium Announcement
Department of Mathematics
West Virginia University
As a part of Allegheny Mountain Section of the MAA Meeting.
for
Thursday, November 6, 1997, at 3:45pm
in 324 Armstrong Hall
(Tea and cookies begin at 3:00 in coffee room.)
Professor Frank Beatrous
University of Pittsburgh
IMPLEMENTING CALCULUS REFORM IN A LARGE INSTITUTIONAL SETTING
Ramping up a successful pilot project to full implementation is a major
undertaking, requiring dedicated leadership and institutional support at
all levels. Based on experiences at the University of Pittsburgh, I will
discuss some of the issues involved, including:
1. Why we should bother at all;
2. Issues related to the use of technology;
3. What it costs, in terms of capital and operating expenses, and
human resources.
I will also discuss some of the aftermath of curricular reform, including
the inevitable backlash against reform, as well some of the implications
of changing the way we deliver instruction. This will include the use of
existing, relatively cheap technology to create virtual learing
environments that may be spread out over a campus, or for that matter,
over the entire planet.