This semester (Fall 2001) three special sections of Math 112 will be offered, with enrollment limited to 20 students per section.

Is this some kind of experiment?
     Project based calculus is not an experiment but a broad movement across the country, based on the consensus that how we teach calculus (and mathematics more generally) should be modified to make for a more effective and interactive learning process. In fact, this course has been offered at Cornell since 1995.

Will these special sections be totally different from the regular 112 sections?
    No. These sections will cover the same material as the regular 112 sections. The same text (James Stewart's Calculus) will be used.

Okay, how will these sections be different then?
    These sections will focus on learning through group activies. Roughly half of the class time will be spent on group in-class activities and there will be three group projects to be worked on outside of class, in consultation with the instructors. Our basic text will be supplemented by handouts which will introduce activities and projects. To compensate for the extra projects, these sections will only have two prelims rather than the standard three.

Is this course right for me?
    If you would like to work in groups, solve real world problems, and improve your technical writing, or you prefer classes having less pressure of prelims, you should consider enrolling in one of these special sections.
    Studies have documented that in projects-based calculus courses, students gain a deeper understanding of the material from their hands-on, personal involvement with the material, and often receive higher grades, on average, for these reasons. Similarly documented were positive correlations between having taken projects-based calculus and success in future engineering courses. Professors who have taught projects-based calculus have also commented that on a student's record, a student having taken an ordinary calculus course is not nearly as striking as one who had participated in a project based course.

Great, but what about grades?