2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

At Wentworth Institute of Technology, more than two-thirds of students take calculus. Recently, 37% of those students were unsuccessful in their calculus courses. This impedes degree progress and impacts retention rates. Data suggests students from underrepresented groups fared worse than students from other demographics. As a result, WIT reevaluated the timing, scheduling, and pedagogical approach to the calculus sequence. The primary change converts the standard 14-week calculus course into two distinct 7-week courses, referred to as Split Calculus. The goal is to enhance curricular and scheduling flexibility. Additionally, by focusing on inclusive excellence, this new modality may provide additional benefits for students from traditionally underrepresented groups at Wentworth.

The new Split Calculus sequence consists of five courses. The first course, “Introduction to Calculus”, focuses on precalculus and algebraic concepts identified as a skills gap for calculus students. Subsequent calculus courses were split into two 7- week courses (Calculus 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B). Students struggling during any course can withdraw and reenroll in the same course for the subsequent 7-week session. This allows for a faster content recovery time and may empower a student who sees immediate results in their academic progress. Pathways for completion of the Split Calculus sequence include summer offerings as well as realignment of pre and co-requisites. It is anticipated that this new modality will increase student success in calculus and may impact retention rates, especially for students from underrepresented groups.

Similar programs have been implemented at the SUNY, Binghamton, and Stevens Institute of Technology. In this paper, we will give details about the implementation of this structural change, as well as present our preliminary data on the success rates of students in the first year of the program.