9451243 Crittenden Too many of our precalculus and calculus students do not seem able to learn to think about mathematics, but only to perform rote computations. Too many do not even make it through the course. A computer laboratory to accompany calculus courses addresses these problems. The project follows successful pilot projects that have been run since the Fall of 1990. The first project used Apple IIe's in 12 of 77 calculus sections over a period of two years. During the summer of 1993 these machines were replaced by 15 486 PC's with Maple V, to offer an optional lab in 7 of 40 sections in the 1993-94 academic year. Simple algorithms first, and then the more sophisticated commands and graphics of Maple were employed successfully to generate data that the students use to develop intuitions about theoretical relations, to gain a deeper understanding of the theory, and to make it credible through verifying examples. The addition of 30 Gateway 4DX2-66's builds upon the successful pilot experiences by providing a sufficient number of PC's to make these labs a required part of the calculus sections. The 30 new machines allow the expansion of the current facility to 20 machines and establishment of a second, dedicated computer lab of 25 PC's with Maple V, to handle classes of as many as 45. The project will result in a laboratory manual and the requirement of a laboratory component for all calculus sections which allows the experiences of the laboratory to be integrated in the teaching of the calculus. Future plans include using the laboratory for pre-calculus as well as calculus.
