Engaging students for success in calculus with online learning forums

It is said that we face an engineering “talent crisis” [1]; the United States is failing to keep pace in educating a highly skilled and diverse engineering workforce. Emphasis is currently placed on recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities. Newer distance-delivered programs seek participation of non-traditional and geographically underrepresented students. With expansion of educational offerings in engineering, one issue that emerges is student attrition during the first two years. It is suggested [2-4] that success in first year calculus reliably predicts persistence in engineering. To increase retention, new strategies are needed. Effective interventions may have the most impact if employed within the first year calculus sequence. Pedagogies that support traditional classroom learning as well as hybrid instruction and distance education offer the greatest transformative potential. This work-in-progress paper describes research underway to evaluate the use of online learning forums during first year calculus. A freely available, wiki-based online learning forum is employed during a mixed-methods study. The study is conducted within sequential calculus courses distance-delivered across two academic years. Qualitative and quantitative data are used to evaluate the effect of forum use on student achievement, engagement and attitudes. A usage model is developed to disseminate within the STEM education community.