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Predictors for Success in Calculus I

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Conference

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Tampa, Florida

Publication Date

June 15, 2019

Start Date

June 15, 2019

End Date

June 19, 2019

Conference Session

Mathematics Division Technical Session 1

Tagged Division

Mathematics

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

17

DOI

10.18260/1-2--33184

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/33184

Download Count

1272

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Paper Authors

biography

Rebecca George University of Houston

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Rebecca is an Instructional Associate Professor at the University of Houston in the Mathematics Department. She have been at UH for 12 years as an instructor. Prior to teaching at the University, she taught secondary mathematics and computer science for 20 years. She is involved with the local high school calculus teachers and organizes free workshops and creates free learning materials for these teachers. Rebecca's primary research focus is student success in STEM courses.

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Abstract

Rebecca George

Abstract: “What are the factors for success for students in calculus 1?” Because calculus 1 is considered a gateway course in most STEM majors, this is a common question among universities as attrition rates of students in these majors is considered high. This paper explores the use of different statistical approaches to analyzing data on students who have taken calculus 1 at a large research extensive university. Hierarchal Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis will be used in determining if the class attributes of different sections determine the success of students in calculus 1 in college. HLM analyses will be used because students are nested within each class, or section. Another model involving the mediation variable of anxiety level will be explored. Lastly, a multivariate model will be used to examine relationships between all factors. For all models, the dependent variable is student grade in calculus 1. In the HLM model, the level one factors are student academic level, gender, whether the student attended on cam- pus tutoring, and whether the student is a STEM major (or more specifically an Engineering major). The level two factors come from the students’ class section and include whether the section is online or face-to-face (mode of instruction), the semester (Fall vs. Spring), the size of the class, and the instructor’s gender. Keywords: calculus, student success, statistical analysis

George, R. (2019, June), Predictors for Success in Calculus I Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--33184

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