| Within the context of undergraduate mathematics education reform, many schools have proposed studies and examinations of their calculus programs, assessing curriculum, effective instruction, student satisfaction, and faculty expectations. This study examined a method of instruction, specifically based on constructivist principles and inquiry-based instruction methods, and its effectiveness in students' conceptual understandings of the material in a first semester calculus course. Specifically, the researcher sought to answer the question, "Do students enrolled in a first semester calculus course who receive two big-idea lessons exhibit deeper conceptual understanding of the material than students enrolled in sections that do not receive the special instruction?". The heart of this study lay in the "big-idea" lessons. The concepts addressed in these big idea lessons focused on limits, derivatives, and antiderivatives, respectively. The intent of these lessons was to provide a bridge for students between their symbolic manipulation skills and conceptual understandings of the material. |
