Resequencing Calculus Phase 2 (RC2) will beta-test a 3-semester, early-multivariate calculus sequence, develop supporting course materials and assessment instruments, and build support for widespread, sustained adoption of this approach. Topics are ordered so that material prerequisite for upper-level STEM courses is front-loaded into the first two semesters, Calculus 2 is an attractive jumping-off point for students in biology and chemistry, there is a natural progression of difficulty throughout the 3-course sequence, there is room in Calculus 3 to complete vector calculus through Stokes’ Theorem and the Divergence Theorem, and rigor is maintained. This is accomplished through an early introduction to multivariate calculus, vectors, and sequences; a postponement of infinite series; the inclusion of a brief treatment of matrices; and the de-emphasis, deletion, or redistribution of a handful of other topics.

RC2 will build off of Resequencing Calculus (RC1), an NSF-funded project (CCLI grant #0836676) at the University of Evansville (UE) to develop a text to support the first two semesters, to pilot the 3-semester sequence (using selections from a standard text for Calculus 3), to assess the effectiveness of the materials and the sequence, and to disseminate the results.

Specific goals of RC2 include: