BioCalc: A Model for Teaching Calculus to Biology Students

As stated in Outcomes and Assessment: Measuring Success, at the time of our interviews, an assessment of BioCalc and it's impact on life sciences majors was underway. The assessment was completed and a summary report issued in April 2001. The report, entitled "The Impact of BioCalc on Life Sciences Undergraduates at UIUC" was prepared for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, from which a grant was received for the development of BioCalc. With the permission of Susan Fahrbach, director of the Howard Hughes Program at UIUC, we quote from the report's findings below. This assessment was based on the records of "1273 life sciences majors who completed MATH 120 on the UIUC campus during the period from Fall Semester 1995 through Spring Semester 1999" (p.7).

Summary of the Initial Analysis of BioCalc Students

The impact of BioCalc on life sciences majors can be simply stated: students who take BioCalc receive better grades in MATH 120 than non-BioCalc students and are roughly twice as likely to take an additional math course. That the improved performance of BioCalc students in MATH 120 is unlikely to result solely from "easier grading" in BioCalc is indicated by the success of these students in the next course in the sequence, MATH 130. Also, BioCalc students do not differ from non-BioCalc students on other measures of academic success. There is also no evidence that the higher MATH 120 grades of the BioCalc students represent superior initial preparation or overall better academic performance on the part of the BioCalc students. In fact, the opposite is likely true given the inclusion of the CalcPrime^a students in the BioCalc totals. Note again that the population analyzed excludes students transferring credit for this course and students who entered with AP credit in Mathematics, so that the information presented only described life science students taking MATH 120. (p.9)

The following major conclusions are reported (p.11):

• The BioCalc option is equally attractive to all life science students required to take MATH 120. No life sciences options is over- or underrepresented.
• BioCalc students receive higher grades in MATH 120 than non-BioCalc students.
• BioCalc students are as well-prepared for MATH 130 as non-BioCalc students, as judged by grades obtained in MATH 130.
• BioCalc students are significantly more likely to take an additional math course than non-BioCalc students.
• BioCalc students are slightly more likely to remain in a biological science than non-BioCalc students.

Table 3 gives average grades received by BioCalc and non-BioCalc students in MATH 120, MATH 130, and the first-year introductory biology sequence (BIOL 120, 121, 122).

Course	BioCalc	Non-BioCalc
MATH 120	3.67 (499)	3.0 (774)
MATH 130	3.0 (121)	3.0 (242)
BIOLOGY 120	2.67 (348)	3.0 (526)
BIOLOGY 121	3.0 (308)	3.0 (424)
BIOLOGY 122	2.67 (263)	3.0 (368)

Number of students is given in parentheses.

For more information about the BioCalc assessment or to obtain a copy of the report, please contact the Hughes Program Office at UIUC, 429 Natural History Building, Urbana IL 61801. (217) 244-1984.

---

a. CalcPrime is a program offered through the Howard Hughes Program at UIUC for students who do not perform well enough on the math placement exam to enroll directly in MATH 120. It offers students an alternative to enrolling in a pre-calculus course.