Reimagining Calculus Education | Jan Cannizzo, Ph.D. | TEDxStevensInstituteofTechnology

Calculus is a fascinating and essential subject, rich both in elegant ideas and practical applications, yet too many students perceive it as dry, or opaque, or a hurdle to be overcome en route to pursuing other goals. In this talk, mathematician Dr. Jan Cannizzo will diagnose the problems that plague the typical calculus classroom and discuss what can be done to make calculus come to life in the minds of those who study it. Jan Cannizzo has been a faculty member in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Stevens since 2014. Jan is passionate about dispelling the common misconception that math is inherently dry or inaccessible, merely a hurdle to overcome en route to pursuing other goals. He is a co-organizer and the master of ceremonies of the annual Reimagining Calculus Education conference. Together with colleagues, he helps run the Stevens Math Olympiad and Math Circle initiatives, outreach programs that aim to get schoolchildren in local schools excited about mathematics. In addition to teaching precalculus through multivariable calculus, he has been instrumental in the development of the Stevens Calculus System, an innovative approach to freshman calculus education. Jan received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Vadim Kaimanovich. In 2017, he received the Harvey N. Davis Distinguished Professor award for excellence in teaching. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@rosablackwell64]

I love the comparison of calculus to Van Gogh! I never thought of math that way. Wish I had this guy as my teacher...

[@kathieharine5982]

Even my real analysis book by Rudin was only $8.00, new, in 1972. It was cloth bound too, not paperback.

[@ben_turner]

By far the best MA-120 professor out of all my MA-120 professors

[@jamesballas5974]

Ben Turner agreed

[@kayhandurmus7072]

Yes

[@mohammedameer2936]

its really fascinating that even the TED talk wasn't crowded with the audience or the video itself is not seen by a lot of people... i love mathematics and videos like this encourage more people in to giving interest into this beautiful subject.

[@joshwurzbacher4241]

I'm 36 in precalculus and the difference for me now as opposed to when I was in high school is that I really want to understand what I'm learning. Digging deeper to how it is useful. I asked my professor why we need to find the inverse of a function and she said she didn't know. Now I must find out.

[@AD-wg8ik]

This man I a great orator

[@TusharDeb]

Really enjoyed this talk!

[@asimian8500]

It's an interesting TEDx talk, but frankly most people don't need to take Calculus. What I would love to see reimagined is basic math and a number sense. The reimagining should take place at the elementary level. This alone would be a vast improvement in the lives of most people. And those that want to continue will be well positioned to take Calculus and more advanced courses.

[@qualquan]

Failed to identify a fundamental cognitive dissonance in the standard teaching of calculus. IOW sometimes dx is NEVER zero a at other times it is made zero.

[@CoolGirl007]

Never ever got to sleepy like the picture unless lack of interest, maths is brain exercises can't go sleepy 😄

[@roberthiggins2241]

Your presentation is right on the money, yet you fly over the audience's heads. For example, look at the images of the audience when you ask 1) Have you taken calculus? 2) Did you get anything out of the course?. About 20 to 25 % were somewhat positive in their response for #2. This tells me that there is a feeble understanding. For myself, as a person who has taught trig, pre-calculus, and calculus many times. What are the two categories found in Calculus? Plus, what is the most essential ability you as the student must acquire to understand and manipulate mathematical expressions. I hope you agree that the characteristics of any mathematical expression for calculus are change and total. Finally, the understanding and manipulation of fractions. In closing, fractions are the first and most often a point of failure that blocks the person's ability to understand anything past arithmetic, including more advanced arithmetic.