This will be one that I bring up in the Calculus Test Kitchen, but I am attaching a small snippet of the overall notes I am making. The Chain Rule: If you look at my examples 3.1.1 and 3.1.2, I give an example, allow students to answer the questions, and then provide the worked-out solution. In Example 3.1.1, when you open the solution box, they do enter some math and take derivatives.
I am hoping for your opinions on making students more involved with the example, rather than just typing in answers or is it ok they way it is.
Thank you for your time,
Nick
Thank you for sharing your activity with the community.
Overall, I enjoyed working through your Chain Rule activity. I have a few suggestions that may further enhance the learning experience for students.
- The introductory paragraphs seemed a little lengthy. Depending on the overall purpose of the activity, you might consider shortening them or breaking the information into smaller sections to make it easier for students to digest.
- Providing a brief definition or statement of the Chain Rule for finding the derivative of a composite function would help students understand the underlying concept before they begin applying the procedure.
- Preview Activity 3.3.1 is a great way to introduce the concept by having students identify the inner and outer functions before differentiating. This provides a strong foundation for using the Chain Rule.
- I also liked the inclusion of the short video lecture.
Example 3.1.1
- I appreciated the step-by-step breakdown in the solution. The sequential approach helps students understand the problem-solving process and provides a clear model for applying the Chain Rule.
- One suggestion is to initially ask students to find [Upload failed]and then provide the guided solution with blanks for them to complete each step. This would encourage more active participation rather than simply reading the completed solution.
- You might also consider adding a few more response boxes in the later steps of the calculation so students remain engaged throughout the entire differentiation process.
Example 3.1.2
- Similar to Example 3.1.1, providing fill-in-the-blank steps would make this example more interactive and encourage students to focus on each step involved in applying the Chain Rule rather than only the final answer.
Overall, I think this activity has a solid structure. With a few additional opportunities for students to actively complete intermediate steps, it could become even more engaging and effective for learning the Chain Rule.
Thank you so much! I made some of the changes already. I like the idea of them filling in answers during the solution.