An Applications-First Approach to Calculus II through Differential Equations Modeling
1Adam Rumpf, Florida Polytechnic University, Lakeland FL USA
"An Applications-First Approach to Calculus II through Differential Equations Modeling"
https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/simiode/expo
Abstract: We present a plan to re-envision the Calculus sequence in a modern, engaging, and applications-driven way by making differential equations modeling an immediate and central part of the Calculus II experience, using differential equations models as the course's introduction and regularly referring back to them as a motivating application for the later material. Differential equations are exceptionally applied and provide the opportunity to discuss many real-world uses of calculus and its intersections with other STEM fields, they give the opportunity to show interesting phenomena unlike anything the students will have seen in Calculus I, and they can be studied and understood well before the students possess robust tools for evaluating antiderivatives. We will discuss our efforts to develop and implement this plan at Florida Polytechnic University in Fall 2023, the updates we implemented in Spring 2024, and how you might be able to update your own approach to teaching Calculus.