Title: Active learning designs for Calculus II: a learning community approach for interconnected smart classrooms

Authors: Yanhong Li; Jinjun Dai; Xinli Wang; Jim Slotta

Addresses: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstr. 13, 80802 München, Germany ' Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, China ' University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada ' University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Abstract: We present a study of active learning in Calculus II, which was conducted across 7 interconnected smart classrooms, with a single professor, 8 teaching assistants, and 317 undergraduate students. Our study explored (1) how to leverage this unique infrastructure so that all 7 classrooms of students were actively engaged as a whole learning community, (2) how to enable students across all seven classrooms to build a community knowledge base that serves as a resource for their subsequent learning activities, and (3) how active learning pedagogies influence students' epistemological beliefs. We will present our theoretical perspective of learning communities, our four active learning patterns, and how they were applied to create curriculum each week, as well as student outcomes. We found that participating in this particular course made a significant impact on students' epistemological beliefs, including stronger beliefs about the value of peers and teaching assistants as sources of knowledge. We close our study with a discussion of the implications of our work.

Keywords: active learning; learning community; smart classroom; calculus; math teaching; group learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMARTTL.2020.109504

International Journal of Smart Technology and Learning, 2020 Vol.2 No.1, pp.66 - 87

Received: 29 Nov 2019
Accepted: 23 May 2020
Published online: 10 Sep 2020 *

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