Are the standard courses more “theoretical” than C&M courses?
No. In many standard courses, the underlying ideas are in the book or in the lecture but not engaged by students. C&M students are fully engaged in underlying ideas. Dr. Francis Sullivan, Director of the Computing Laboratory of the Institute for Defense Analysis says this about C&M calculus courses: “For me the wonderful thing about C&M is that it concentrates on what calculus is about.” Back to Top Q: When it comes to hand calculations, how do C&M students compare? A: Hand calculations are a part of all C&M courses – so much so that the 1995 Park-Traverse study concluded that C&M calculus students can do hand calculations (derivatives, integrals etc.) on a par with students in corresponding standard math courses. The same study also concluded that C&M students have a stronger conceptual background than students in corresponding standard courses. C&M students know that math is much more than a collection of rote hand calculations to be memorized. Back to Top Q: Are repeated hand calcul
