MATH 211: Advanced Calculus
Overview
MATH 211 prepares students for applications of calculus across STEM fields. The course consists of three modules: vectors, curves, and multivariable functions; partial derivatives and multiple integrals; and vector calculus through Green’s, Stokes’, and the Divergence Theorem. The text is OpenStax Calculus Volume 3, which is free.
A second learning objective sits alongside the mathematics: reading a section of a mathematics textbook independently and working from it. The course design practices that skill deliberately.
Flipped Classroom
Students read the assigned sections and complete a short pre-class check-in on Canvas before each meeting. Class time is then spent solving problems, individually and in small groups, while I circulate to give targeted feedback and individual help. The check-ins are graded on completeness and serve as self-accounting tools and gather questions and feedback that inform the class meetings.
Screen-Free In-Class Problem Solving
Laptops, tablets, and phones stay closed while we work problems in class. Students use paper and pencil. Exam days and accommodations approved by the Department of Accessibility Services are the exceptions. Removing screens from the problem-solving hour keeps the work in students’ own hands, which is both better practice and the honest preparation for closed-book exams in an era of readily available AI assistance.
Custom WeBWorK Problem Set
Assignments are hosted on my own WeBWorK server. I have built a problem set aligned section by section with the OpenStax text. Problems are chosen to build and test mastery rather than to be looked up: most allow three attempts and scaffolded problems allow more, with the best attempt counting.
Computer-Based Exams
Exams are administered through WeBWorK during class time in a departmental computer lab rather than in the usual classroom, so we can ensure academic integrity. The exams are closed book. The only permitted aid is one handwritten, double-sided page of notes, which students prepare themselves; writing that sheet is itself good exam preparation. Problems allow multiple attempts, so an arithmetic slip does not cost the whole problem.
Use of AI and Other Tools
Students are encouraged to use web search, chat tools, and computer algebra systems to explain concepts, build visualizations, generate additional examples, and check calculations. They may not search for or generate solutions to assignment problems, or use symbolic or numerical software to produce answers they submit: the assignments exist to build the problem-solving skill the closed-book exams measure.
The practical test students apply to their own work is whether they could redo the problem alone, right now, and explain each step.
Prerequisites
MATH 112/112Z or equivalent, and a strong command of single-variable calculus: differentiation rules, integration techniques, and sequences and series.