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ACE teaching cycle-based experimental calculus curriculum on limits

Design · All designs
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description

An experimental curriculum modeled on the ACE (Activity, Classroom Discussion, Exercise) teaching cycle, designed to initiate reflective abstraction on the concept of limit. Each day's lesson included reflective activities done in cooperative groups, an instructor debriefing discussion, and individual exercise sets. It covered the same topics, time, and textbook sections as the traditional curriculum, with identical limit examples and the same homework assignments; the stated differences were the collaborative activities and the teacher scripted interactions.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

  • Scripted lesson plans, class activities, class work sets, and homework sets validated by an expert panel via a Delphi method of iterations

Constraints

  • Evaluated only against a matched traditional section at one midwestern community college

Target Learners

  • first-semester community college calculus students

Learning Goals

  • understanding of the concept of limit

Claims

Examples

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Key Sources

  • Cappetta, R.W., and Zollman, A. (2013). Agents of Change in Promoting Reflective Abstraction: A Quasi-Experimental Study on Limits in College Calculus. REDIMAT – Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, 2(3), 343-357. https://doi.org/10.4471/redimat.2013.35
Page metadata
Field Value
type design
id ace-cycle-reflective-abstraction-calculus-curriculum
title ACE teaching cycle-based experimental calculus curriculum on limits
description An experimental curriculum modeled on the ACE (Activity, Classroom Discussion, Exercise) teaching cycle, designed to initiate reflective abstraction on the concept of limit.
status review
generated by process:settle-candidates on 2026-11-02
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 1 — cappetta-2013

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