Renewal in collegiate mathematics education (Q1126880)

The paper under review discusses reform or renewal in collegiate mathematics education, in particular as regards the teaching and learning of calculus. The paper clearly has a U.S. focus but presumably the author believes that the deliberations offered will pertain to the situation in other countries as well. After having discussed the recipients of calculus teaching in the US (only about 2\% of each calculus class graduate with a major in mathematics) and contrasted this population with that of the faculty who teach calculus, the paper makes a plea for a thorough renewal of the ways mathematics (calculus) is taught to undergraduate students. Such a renewal requires, the author submits, that faculty take a serious interest in how students (may) learn. As two useful resources for the generation of knowledge necessary for this endeavour, the paper points to (a) cognitive psychology, including what is referred to as principles of good practice (which are typically not fully observed in the traditional teaching practices in university mathematics), and (b) modern brain research, an important message of which, the paper says, is `selection not instruction', coined into a constructivist dictum: `The learner builds knowledge on what is already known, but only in response to a challenge'. Finally, the paper spends some sections on discussing the relationships between technology, curriculum and learning. Findings in cognitive psychology suggest that information technology can facilitate the fostering of concrete experience and active experimentation phases of the so called Kolb learning cycle whereas IT has less to offer as regards to two remaining phases of this cycle, reflection/observation and abstract conceptualisation. It further seems that most traditional content continues relevant, albeit not to the same relative extents and in the same order as before. Although the paper does neither possess a clear scientific focus nor present an in-depth analysis of specific issues, it does give a useful overview of some key factors significant for the study and practice of collegiate mathematics education.