Modernizing Calculus to Enhance STEM Retention

Abstract

We investigated the effects of a major revision of the differential and integral calculus curriculum, the primary goal of which was to improve STEM retention. The revamped curriculum has greater emphasis on the power of computing to help visualize patterns and gain insights to better prepare students for STEM majors, and less emphasis on traditional and theoretical calculus content, such as the limit definition of the derivative. We investigated a comparison between 338 students who had taken the traditional sequence and 328 who had taken the revamped sequence during the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters. STEM retention, i.e., following through with the initial intent to major in a STEM field, was enhanced by 7% in the revamped group. STEM majors in the traditional group were found to over-perform in their other STEM classes by a 0.18 GPA margin, while non-STEM majors in the revamped group over-performed in their other STEM classes by a 0.17 GPA margin. Both differences are statistically significant. Focus groups were also conducted to gather and synthesize student perceptions. Results may encourage similar innovations to core math curricula in other universities to foster enhanced STEM retention.